MLMD – Chapter 10 Buying Supplies

“Little brother, could you let me take a look at the ‘big yellow fish’ you’re holding?”

Yue Yang turned his head and saw a middle-aged man standing beside him, dressed in an ordinary white shirt, smiling at him. The moment the man used the term “big yellow fish,” Yue Yang knew that even if the man wasn’t a true expert, he was definitely no novice either. Before modern times, in order to preserve value and for ease of use, people in China cast gold into two standard sizes of ingots: one weighing one tael and another weighing ten taels. They were respectively called “small yellow fish” and “big yellow fish.” Nowadays, very few people still knew these terms—anyone who could call them that clearly had some knowledge of the field.

Seeing the man smiling at him with an inquiring expression, Yue Yang naturally couldn’t be stingy. Besides, inside Jubao Pavilion, safety was guaranteed. He pointed at the bag and said, “Of course. If you’re interested, sir, feel free to take a look.”

The middle-aged man nodded in agreement and was just about to step forward to pick up a gold ingot when a voice suddenly rang out from the side.

“Huo Laosan, your guts are getting bigger and bigger. Today you actually dare to come to my turf and steal my business!”

As soon as the words fell, a refined-looking middle-aged man in a well-fitted black suit—one whose style Yue Yang couldn’t even name—walked over. Smiling, he said, “Well now, Huo Laosan. While I was away, your courage really grew. Today you even dare to intercept my goods—are you itching for a beating and looking to spar with me?”

The man called Huo Laosan turned around, smiled, and pointed at the newcomer. “Zhao Santong, your skin’s getting thicker too. These things don’t seem to belong to you yet, do they? Why can’t I take a look? The young brother here hasn’t even said anything—what are you getting so anxious for?”

The newcomer laughed as well. He walked up to Yue Yang, casually picked up one of the gold ingots, weighed it in his hand, and examined it carefully before nodding. “Not bad. Judging by the style, purity, and workmanship, these really are Ming-dynasty goods. Little brother, I want this batch of ‘big yellow fish.’ Name your price.”

Seeing the man’s extraordinary bearing, Yue Yang thought for a moment and said, “Sir, I’m not very knowledgeable about antiques. You’re the expert—give me a price. As long as it’s reasonable, I’ll agree.”

“Mm, you’re a smart young man.” Zhao Santong looked at Yue Yang with a trace of appreciation. After a brief pause, he said, “Jubao Pavilion does business with honesty as its foundation. These ‘big yellow fish’ naturally can’t be calculated according to the ordinary gold price. How about this—I’ll offer you three hundred thousand per bar. What do you think?”

Yue Yang thought it over. If sold at the regular gold price, each ingot would fetch at most a little over ninety thousand, not even a hundred thousand. Three hundred thousand per bar was already quite fair. Of course, if they went to auction, the price would be a different matter altogether—but that was another story.

Yue Yang nodded. “Alright, I’ll sell them to you.”

“Hey, wait!” The middle-aged man beside them grew anxious and hurriedly said, “Young man, don’t sell them all to him. I really like these ‘big yellow fish.’ Could you spare one for me? I’ll give you four hundred thousand!”

“Well…” Hearing this, Yue Yang turned his gaze toward Zhao Santong. After all, he had just agreed to sell all the gold ingots to him.

Zhao Santong burst out laughing. “That works—let him have one. Little brother, this Huo Laosan is a well-known local tycoon. Since he’s willing to throw money at you, just take it!”

Half an hour later, Yue Yang walked out of Jubao Pavilion. An additional 3.1 million yuan had appeared in his Bank of China card. With his hand stuffed in his pocket, his palm was already slick with sweat. To be honest, this was money he’d never even dared to dream of before. For a fleeting moment, he almost wanted to stay in the modern world and never go back—after all, if he spent carefully, this amount would probably last him for the rest of his life.

But that thought only flashed through his mind before vanishing. In its place appeared the kind face of the old matriarch, the gentle and shy smiles of the Linglong sisters, and Shunbao’s honest, simple look. Yue Yang knew that if he didn’t hurry back, the entire Yue Family Manor might very well be swallowed up by the Wang family and several others joining forces. If that happened, he would never forgive himself for the rest of his life.

Casting all those distracting thoughts far away, Yue Yang quickly drove to a seed company. He told them directly that he wanted to buy ten tons of hybrid rice and wheat seeds. Such an enormous quantity immediately alarmed the company’s management. Upon hearing the news, the manager hurried over, escorted Yue Yang to his office, and attentively served him tea and refreshments.

The seed company’s manager was a true professional. He knew very well what ten tons of seeds meant. At a calculation of just over one kilogram of seeds per mu, ten tons would be enough to plant seven to eight thousand mu of farmland. That alone showed that the young man in front of him must belong to some large farm. More importantly, the seed business was a steady, long-term trade—it required regular purchases year after year. If he served this client well, even at just two purchases a year, that would amount to nearly a million yuan in business.

Yue Yang didn’t waste words. Growing up in the suburbs, he himself had farmed before. Very quickly, he finalized the deal with the manager: four thousand kilograms of hybrid rice seeds at forty yuan per jin, and six thousand kilograms of wheat seeds at 1.3 yuan per jin. He also asked that the seeds be delivered to his suburban home. Once everything was settled, Yue Yang promptly transferred more than three hundred thousand yuan to the company’s account. Seeing how decisive Yue Yang was, the manager patted his chest and guaranteed that the seeds would be delivered to the designated address within three hours.

After buying the seeds, Yue Yang hurried on to a machinery factory, where he bought two sets of small positive-circulation drilling rigs and two tons of diesel fuel, again asking for home delivery. Only after finishing all of this did he finally return to his suburban house.

By evening, Yue Yang sat in the courtyard, staring at the piles of goods filling it to the brim, on the verge of tears. He did the math: aside from the ten tons of seeds, just the two drilling rigs alone weighed nearly six tons. Add to that a heap of fifty-jin barrels of diesel, and it all added up to eighteen tons of cargo. And the transport of these goods couldn’t be entrusted to anyone else—looks like he was destined to be a porter!

The night slowly passed. As the hazy morning sun rose from the horizon, early birds chirped cheerfully outside the courtyard. Yu Long was wearing a light green gauze jacket and skirt, with a red chrysanthemum she had picked from the flowerbed that morning tucked into her hair. Paired with her fair, oval face, she looked irresistibly charming.

But at this moment, Yu Long sat on the stone steps in front of the house, her chin propped in her hands, a hint of gloom on her face. Suddenly, she turned her head and called inside, “Sister, the young master has been gone for two days now—why hasn’t he come back yet? And this time he went out alone, without even taking Shunbao. It’s really worrying!”

Inside the house, Yu Ling was wiping furniture. Carrying a basin of dirty water, she walked to the flowerbed beside the house and began watering the plants. As she watered, she gently scolded, “You, always letting your imagination run wild. The young master went out to handle important matters. As maids, all we need to do is serve him well. Why think so much? Go on, hurry to the kitchen and prepare breakfast. If the young master comes back later, he’ll need something to eat.”

Yu Long didn’t believe her sister at all and giggled. “Sis, you’re worrying too much. It’s still early morning—how could the young master come back so soon? I don’t believe it!”

Seeing Yu Long not listening, Yu Ling pretended to be angry and raised the wooden basin in her hand. “You little rascal, you don’t even listen to your sister anymore? Hurry up and go prepare breakfast!”

Just as Yu Long stuck out her tongue and was about to reply, they suddenly heard a knock at the gate.

Knock, knock, knock… knock, knock, knock…

The Linglong sisters exchanged a glance. Yu Long quickly trotted over, calling out as she ran, “Coming, coming! Who is it, knocking so loudly?”

Creak—

The courtyard gate opened, revealing Yue Yang’s utterly exhausted face, followed by Yu Long’s startled cry.

“Ah, young master… you… why are you back so early? And… and in this state!”

The person at the gate was indeed Yue Yang, but compared to last night, he looked like a completely different man. He looked like a farmer who had just come back from the fields—his face smeared with patches of black and yellow, his hair in complete disarray, his clothes hanging messily on his body. If Yu Long hadn’t looked twice, she might not have recognized him at all.

After spending the entire night as a porter, hauling more than ten tons of goods through the spacetime gate, Yue Yang forced himself to endure the exhaustion and said irritably, “Yu Long, hurry up and help me inside. I’m exhausted to death!”

“Y-yes… right away!”

Frightened by Yue Yang’s appearance, Yu Long quickly supported him, and together they stumbled inside.