Chapter 41

"Clap, clap, clap!" Zhou Andong clapped his hands. "Everyone, quiet down. How many of you are there in total?"

"There are twenty-nine of us in total," the same young man shouted.

Zhou Andong said to the administrator, "I'm taking them to the finance department to pay. You handle the outgoing stock registration, then arrange a vehicle to help them deliver the liquor to the station."

"Alright, alright!" The administrator's attitude toward Zhou Andong did a complete 180-degree turn; he was incredibly polite. Then, suppressing his excitement, he moved the total of 145 cases of liquor to the entrance, finished the outgoing stock registration, and ran back to the logistics department.

"Old Zhao, what are you running for?"

"Old Liu!" The administrator, Old Zhao, caught his breath. "The liquor has been sold. I'm finding someone to load the liquor onto a truck and send it to the station."

He was in his fifties, with a face full of stubble and a large, bulbous red nose; one could smell the alcohol on him before he even got close.

"It really sold?" Old Liu's tone was very surprised. "The ex-factory price is 32, and there are actually fools buying it?"

"What kind of talk is that?" Old Zhao said with dissatisfaction. "The liquor is sold; judging by your tone, you seem quite unhappy about it."

"No, no!" Old Liu hurriedly waved his hands. "I just can't quite figure it out. The ex-factory price for Big Sorghum was only 4.3, and they wouldn't buy it. Now the liquor is the same, just with different packaging and a different name, and it's gone up to 32, yet they actually ran over to buy it. Don't you think that's strange?"

Old Zhao snorted: "What's so strange about it? Since Gu Shuji dares to do it this way, he must be like a blind man eating dumplings—he knows exactly what's inside."

Old Liu was not pleased: "Old Zhao, I've discovered that you're really not a good person. When I first heard that Gu Shuji was carrying out reforms and wanted to invest a lot of money, you were the one who cursed the loudest, saying that with that money, it would be better to pay out wages for the New Year."

Old Zhao's face darkened, and he flicked his arm: "I can't be bothered to talk to you; I have things to do, so I'm leaving."

At this moment, the atmosphere in the finance department was a bit eerie; apart from the sound of the abacus clicking, there was no other sound.

Zhou Andong had a cigarette in his mouth and sat on a chair. Those individual business owners stood to one side, while the few people in the finance department—whether they were knitting sweaters, reading newspapers, or cracking melon seeds—all raised their heads, looking at the accountant, He Xiaoling, who was clicking the abacus.

"Alright!" He Xiaoling pushed the abacus to the side. "Sealed Yugong, 165 per bottle, six bottles per case, 990. Unsealed Yugong, 32 per bottle, six bottles per case, four cases 768, totaling 1758 yuan."

When the other few people in the finance department heard this, they immediately gasped. They counted the number of people and did a quick mental calculation. One woman's hand trembled, and a handful of melon seeds spilled onto the floor.

145 cases, 870 bottles, sold out. In the past, at 4.3 per bottle, 870 bottles would have been less than four thousand. Changing the name and packaging actually resulted in selling at a sky-high price; it really frightened them.

Immediately after, they thought of how Gu Shuji said at the meeting yesterday that if the liquor sold, not only would wages be supplemented, but they would also increase by sixty yuan. Now it seemed there was really a chance, and one by one, they suddenly became very excited.

"I'll go first!" Jiang Aimin took a stack of money out of his bag and counted out 1760.

He Xiaoling frowned and said coldly: "Find your own change; I don't have any here."

"I don't need the two yuan." Jiang Aimin was notoriously stingy; he could squeeze water out of a dime, but today he was uncharacteristically generous and didn't even want the two yuan.

Jiang Aimin rounded up the total, and the others who had small change were too embarrassed to take it out. One by one, they finished paying, took their receipts, and left the finance department.

Zhou Andong stood on the steps outside, took one last puff of his cigarette, and flicked his finger. The cigarette butt, carrying a spark, flew into the sky and was then blown away by the wind, no one knew where.

"Alright, I won't accompany you anymore."

The young man asked: "Can we just go directly to the warehouse to pick up the goods?"

These people were all individual business owners, most of whom usually bought goods from second or third-tier wholesalers. This was their first time coming to the terminal manufacturer. So they had brought a lot of money and were very afraid of making the trip for nothing.

Zhou Andong said: "Aren't there two receipts? Keep one for yourself and give one to that administrator. I've already had him arrange a vehicle; whether you're taking the train or a truck, just tell the driver."

Inside the finance department, several people were all discussing it with excitement.

"Alright, so noisy, what does this look like?" He Xiaoling took the receipts and recalculated them. Her expression was a bit ugly, and she said impatiently before standing up and going to the office of the section chief, Liu Jian.

"Pah!" That woman spat the melon seed shell in her mouth onto the floor, curled her lip, and said, "A rotten woman; if it weren't for her climbing into Liu Jian's bed, she'd be nothing."

"Alright, alright, stop talking." A middle-aged man said: "In any case, today can be considered a good start, and it has given us confidence."

Liu Jian was holding a novel and reading it. Hearing the knock on the door, he didn't even raise his head and shouted: "Come in!"

He Xiaoling pushed the door open and entered: "Chang Kezhang!"

Liu Jian looked up and saw it was He Xiaoling. Immediately, a flame burned in his lower abdomen. He walked around from behind the desk, hugged He Xiaoling, and kissed her.

Don't look at the fact that He Xiaoling was already forty years old; she had a plump figure, knew how to dress, and looked very feminine.

"Oh my, stop it!"

He Xiaoling loved the feeling of men being obsessed with her. Involuntarily, a smug smile appeared on her face, and she pushed Liu Jian away in a gesture of feigned resistance.

"I have something urgent to find you about."

Liu Jian kissed He Xiaoling on the face: "What is it?"

He Xiaoling took the receipts and said: "Take a look."

Liu Jian took them and looked, and his expression changed: "What is going on here?"

He Xiaoling said: "I don't know either. Zhou Andong suddenly brought people here and just said he was buying liquor. I couldn't refuse, could I? If word got out, wouldn't those workers in the factory eat me alive?"

"Damn it!" Liu Jian turned and walked out. "I'm going to find the factory director. I'll wait for you at the usual place tonight."

He Xiaoling said: "Not today!"

Liu Jian stopped in his tracks: "Why not?"

He Xiaoling said: "My old man is back."

"Damn bad luck." Liu Jian cursed, ran to the third floor, and knocked on the door of Zhang Deyou's office.

"Factory Director, something has happened."

Zhang Deyou frowned: "What is it, being all flustered."

Liu Jian caught his breath and placed the receipts in his hand in front of Zhang Deyou: "Zhou Andong suddenly brought a lot of people to the finance department to pay for goods. 145 cases sold, over one thousand."

Zhang Deyou's heart sank. He took the receipts and looked at them again and again: "That's not right. Wasn't it 32 per bottle? How come there are some at 165 per bottle?"

Liu Jian said: "Zhou Andong created a sealed version; it's just a seal stuck on the liquor box, and this one sells for more."

"Bang!"

Zhang Deyou slammed his hand heavily on the desk, giving Liu Jian a fright.

"Nonsense!" Zhang Deyou's face was livid. "32 a bottle is already high enough; he dares to sell it for 165 just by sticking a piece of paper on it? What does he want to do? If he messes around like this, can he take responsibility if something goes wrong?"