Chapter 15 Creating Channel for Selling Watermelons
Mei Xiaoran hastened her three steps into two steps and ran towards those several people and carelessly asked, “Hey, you all are the ones that were creating trouble with my dad yesterday, right?”
Mei Zhonghua was so tensed up that he almost shouted it out.
Oh My God!
This daughter of his must have become crazy. He even wanted to hide from these people when he saw them, but his daughter, without knowing the immensity of heaven and earth*, just greeted them upwards. This is way too daring.
(TN : have an exaggerated opinion of one’s abilities.)
When those few scoundrels heard Mei Xiaoran’s question, they couldn’t help but laugh, “Little girl, just how old are you but already wants to avenge your Dad?”
“I don’t need to take revenge for my Dad. I heard my Dad say that yesterday, he alone beat all of you down……”
Mei Zhonghua only felt that his vision suddenly blackened. This daughter of his really dared say anything out loud. Today, it seems that the two of them, a pair of father and daughter, won’t be able to walk out of the camp’s entrance.
There was no more smile displayed on that group’s face, instead they glared at Mei Xiaoran angrily. “What are you talking about? Your Dad isn’t that strong!”
“I don’t know if he is that strong or not. What if all of you have a one-on-one competition with my Dad?”
This talk of Mei Xiaoran, no one dares to take a part in it.
It’s not like they didn’t do it yesterday. Even if several of them joined up together, they could not win over Mei Zhonghua in a fight. If it was a one-on-one fight, it would definitely be even more impossible. They can’t let this little girl make a joke out of it.
What a group of frightened herds!
Mei Xiaoran sneered in her heart and continued to say, “All of you dare not fight with my Dad, which means that my Dad is still very powerful. All of you don’t have to be disheartened.”
“Actually, what do you want, little girl?”
“Then you all talk first, why all of you were blocking us here? Is it to make things difficult for my Dad?”
These words once again let Mei Zhonghua burst out a body of hot sweat. What exactly does his daughter want to do? How come she dares to say everything out loud?
That group of people also didn’t say anything. They are capable of telling the little girl that they were not convinced about yesterday’s defeat, so they wanted to find Mei Zhonghua to vent their anger on.
“You all didn’t even utter a sound. Then I’ll take it as all of you did not want to make things difficult for my Dad. If it was so, could it be that you all want to cooperate with my Dad?”
Mei Xiaoran pointed to the watermelons on the cart and said, “You all can’t pull the watermelon out from Xiaodong Camp, but my Dad can pull it out. Collaborating with my Dad is not something impossible too.”
Mei Zhonghua is really confused. What kind of trouble does his daughter want to create?
He doesn’t want to work together with this bunch of bad people. Don’t want to!
“Ranran, you must not speak nonsense.”
“Dad, I am not speaking nonsense. They were angry with you yesterday only because they were jealous that you are able to pull out the watermelons. If they want to cooperate with you, it’s also worth thinking it over.”
Mei Xiaoran raised her head and looked at those few people. “I can help my Dad make a decision. My Dad can hand over this cart of watermelons to you all, but the cost is five Yuan for one cart.”
“Are you crazy? You charge five Yuan for one cart?”
“All of you also know the price of watermelons. The wholesale price is three cents. My Dad’s one cart of watermelons, does it not weigh four to five hundred jin? Do you know just how much money we earn from you all for one jin? If you pull it out and even just randomly sell them, the money you earn will not be merely ten Yuan, right? “
Mei Xiaoran had already considered this matter yesterday. If her father could get a large quantity of watermelon out, becoming a middleman is also feasible. Just earn it little by little, and there’s no need to work so hard running back and forth for a distance of twenty Li only to make a sale. This way is much more relaxing.
Mei Zhonghua’s eyes brightened when he heard this. How could he not have thought of his daughter’s proposal before?
If that’s the case, then he doesn’t need to do anything. Just by picking out one cart of watermelons, he can earn five Yuan. Then, if he picks up eight to ten carts of watermelons and sells them at this place, it is much more comfortable than selling them on the street. He also won’t earn less money.
Those people are confused, it can even be done this way?
“You all can think about it first. My Dad and I still have jobs to do.”
Mei Xiaoran is ready to leave and she doesn’t want to give them too long of an opportunity to think…… If all of them agree, this money is earned too easily. Just don’t know what her dad will think about inside.
“Don’t be impatient. Don’t be impatient.”
The person that acted as the leader blocked in front of the cart and showed a smiling face at Mei Zhonghua. “Big Brother, yesterday was really no discord, no concord*. This idea of your daughter, let us discuss it over again.”
(TN : from an exchange of blows friendship grows.)
Mei Zhonghua is also a sharp man. After going through Mei Xiaoran’s small tug, he was then lively awakened.
“There’s nothing to discuss. If you want it, then do as my daughter says. If not, then forget about it. I’ll get busy with selling my watermelons first then.”
“Oh, Big Brother. It will be too much if with this one exchange only and you already earn up to five Yuan. The other brothers still have to pull for a distance of dozens Li and circling around the street to sell the watermelons. Can you ask for less and let other brothers be able to earn a living too?”
The others then chime in with this man’s proposal. They were all pestering Mei Zhonghua to take less. There’s even a suggestion from them that if only Mei Zhonghua could lead them into the watermelon field, it is doable too. They can pick their watermelons themselves.
Mei Xiaoran pondered over it for a while. It’s not like it was impossible either. If they let her dad pick the watermelons alone, it will be exhausting after filling several carts. If her dad can bring people in to pick watermelons, it will be more convenient.
The final result of the discussion is that if they directly take away the watermelon selected by Mei Zhonghua, it will cost them five Yuan per cart, and if they were brought inside by Mei Zhonghua to pick the watermelon themselves, it will cost them three Yuan per cart. This result, Mei Zhonghua didn’t immediately agree either. He doesn’t even have that close of a relationship with the person in charge, so he had to discuss it with the other party first. He should not be the sole decision maker.
It seems that everyone agreed for the time being. There’s even someone who took out five Yuan on the spot to sweep away the watermelons on Mei Zhonghua’s cart.
Mei Zhonghua pulled an empty cart back.
Mei Xiaoran didn’t understand it this time. “Dad, we are not going to pick another cart of watermelon, but instead go home with an empty load like this?”
“Let’s go. Let’s go back to our hometown and find your Paternal Second Older Uncle.”
Mei Zhonghua’s knowledge may not be as wide as Mei Xiaoran’s yet, but it doesn’t mean that he can’t handle affairs. He also has his own way of handling affairs.
After they were back at his hometown in the Wuli* River, Mei Zhonghua found his second older brother Mei Jianhua, and asked his second older brother to help him get two slips of MUDAN* cigarettes.
(TN : Wu=five, Li=Chinese mile. MUDAN=one of cigarette brands in China, it is translated as ‘Peony’, but I preferred MUDAN. I may keep using capital letters for all the brands throughout this novel.)
At that time, DAQIANMEN was of the medium grade brand of cigarettes, and MUDAN was definitely of a high grade one. DAQIANMEN cost thirty five cents per pack, while MUDAN cost fifty two cents per pack, and it was not that easy to buy. If one person could buy two packs to smoke, it is already considered not bad. But if someone wants to buy it in cartons, it will only be a dream. If Mei Zhonghua wants to get this cigarette in hand, he has to go to his second older brother and get his help. His second older brother is an accountant in the village and he must have an acquaintance in the Supply and Marketing Cooperative*. One should not underestimate the Wuli River is only five miles away from the city, but it belongs to Anping county management. The village has the final say in everything.
(TN : Supply and marketing cooperatives are a type of store where the country allocates production materials such as sickles and fertilizers; and living materials such as rice, oil, and salt; to the countryside in the planned economy era. In the era of planned economy, what the state pays attention to is that the state arranges all economic life. There is basically no room for the private economy, and farmers can only buy things from supply and marketing cooperatives.)
Mei Jianhua is still considered as someone that has a face, as he succeeded in getting the two cartons of MUDAN. Mei Zhonghua was so excited that he gave his second older brother fifteen Yuan on the spot. Mei Jianhua rejected it and said no, but then Mei Zhonghua said to use the rest of the money to buy workbooks for his nephews and nieces.
Mei Xiaoran was so angry when she saw this. Her dad only knew how to look after his brothers, whereas her dad himself didn’t earn much money but he was already spending extravagantly like this. The day before yesterday, he was still so worried about the ten Yuan for his children’s tuition fee that he couldn’t fall asleep. Now, in the blink of an eye, he just threw out nearly five Yuan. If there’s an opportunity, she must straighten her dad’s way of thinking.
Mei Zhonghua took the two cartons of MUDAN cigarettes and returned to Xiao Dong Camp once more. He found the person in charge and stuffed the two cartons of cigarettes over. “Big Brother, just regard this as you are helping fellow brothers. Some of them have a poor family, some have lots of siblings and some just want to sell watermelons for a few days to save for their child’s tuition fees.”
Gifts blind the eyes. Needless to say, after the person in charge took the cigarettes, he became easy to talk to and then wears the attitude of opening one eye while closing the other*. In any case, the watermelon is not his. He is in charge of letting people wholesale it out. Regardless of the amount, it is the organization’s responsibility. Whoever they sell it to, it’s the same.
(TN : to turn a blind eye.)
Seeing her father’s way of operation, Mei Xiaoran then becomes reassured. Old ginger sure is the hottest*. What she had thought of just now was indeed beautiful, but it’s actually very difficult to get it to work. If it is only a retailer, no one will run towards the watermelon field to pick up more than a dozen carts of watermelon in a day. It can only be done by going through channels*.
(TN : veterans are abler than recruits; going through channels=working through the correct people and offices to get something done.)
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