Chapter 1057: Seeing the Money, Chen Hongjun and Li Long Were Different

Chen Hongjun was now both happy and somewhat worried.

Since the start of the Fritillaria season, he had already collected over three hundred kilograms of dried goods.

Like Li Long, he washed the collected Fritillaria clean together with his workers, then dried it again to ensure it reached premium quality.

The money he had earned earlier from collecting hides was now almost entirely invested, leaving him with little circulating capital remaining.

These three hundred-plus jin of dried Fritillaria had a purchase price of over twenty thousand yuan, but if sold at last year's prices, they could fetch nearly forty thousand yuan.

In other words, if he sold all the goods currently in his warehouse, his profit would exceed ten thousand yuan.

In less than two months, he had already earned enough to become a "ten-thousand-yuan household"; at this speed of making money, very few people could compare in the current situation.

However, if Jia Jia Tianlong did not arrive soon, he truly would not have enough circulating capital to continue purchasing Fritillaria.

But since the Fritillaria season was not yet halfway over and there was still a long time ahead, Chen Hongjun felt quite conflicted.

During the earlier difficult times, he had never thought to ask Li Long for a loan of circulating capital, yet now, when business was booming, he was nearly unable to hold on.

Fortunately, on April 30th, Jia Jia Tianlong arrived with two assistants, carrying large black bags.

"Hey, Old Chen, you're doing quite well here!" Seeing Chen Hongjun sitting personally behind the counter, evaluating a seller's Fritillaria, Jia Jia Tianlong, travel-worn yet beaming with joy, smiled and said, "You should have gone out on your own long ago; this is so profitable!"

Chen Hongjun smiled but said nothing. For people like Jia Jia Tianlong who had gone out early, it was easy to say such things; for him, as someone within the system, giving up his iron rice bowl was truly very difficult.

"How is it? How much stock do you have now? Should I collect from your place first, or go to Li Long's first?" Seeing Chen Hongjun remained silent and busy, Jia Jia Tianlong asked.

"I notice you don't have as many people coming here as over there? But you've only been open for a short while, and your reputation hasn't spread yet; doing this well already is quite good."

Having changed his status, Chen Hongjun could detect a slight change in Jia Jia Tianlong's tone; his jokes were more casual. He didn't mind; since he had come out to make money and get things done, he couldn't be too calculating.

Previously, Jia Jia Tianlong had treated him with the respect due a leader; now, they were transactional partners.

"Collect from my place first; I have over three hundred kilograms of dried goods here. If you take it all away now and give me the money, I can manage my cash flow better," Chen Hongjun said directly, half-truthfully. "I'm in contact with Li Long; this stock was reserved for you."

"Actually, you should know that I have more contacts than just you; others also want to buy goods from me, but since Li Long spoke up early, I saved it for you. If you don't take it, someone else might come and buy it, which would be awkward; I'm saving face for you now."

Although Jia Jia Tianlong's view of Chen Hongjun's role had changed somewhat, the solid fact of these three hundred-plus kilograms of Fritillaria could not change. Three hundred-plus kilograms could earn him an extra ten thousand yuan.

Who would quarrel with money? Could one quarrel with money? Jia Jia Tianlong immediately smiled and said:

"Good, good, good, Old Chen, I appreciate this favor. You finish collecting first; I'll wait a moment, and then we'll inventory the goods."

Chen Hongjun finished collecting from the current three Fritillaria sellers, handed the remaining two licorice sellers over to his partner, and then took Jia Jia Tianlong to the rear warehouse to inspect the Fritillaria.

"Old Jia, what is the price for Grade One Fritillaria this year?" Chen Hongjun asked while unlocking the door.

"It has increased by ten yuan compared to last year; premium Grade One is one hundred thirty; if you have Special Grade, I will buy it at one hundred fifty," Jia Jia Tianlong said. "Grade Two is one hundred. The demand for premium goods in the medicinal herb market is very high right now... Hey, Old Chen, as expected of someone who used to run an acquisition station, your goods are on par with Li Long's!"

"What do you mean 'your goods'? Are you insulting me?" Chen Hongjun had just opened the Fritillaria bag to show Jia Jia Tianlong when he heard this remark, and he retorted in annoyance, "You're the goods!"

"My apologies, my apologies; I was so excited I misspoke; I meant the goods here. Excellent, excellent; such clean Fritillaria without impurities, I have only seen this at Li Long's place in the past two years."

"Have you forgotten? Li Long initially sold his Fritillaria to my place; I was the first to witness it at least." Speaking of seniority, Chen Hongjun was a whole head ahead of Jia Jia Tianlong.

"Hehehehe, that's true, that's true. So, Old Chen, can we pour it out to take a look?"

"Of course, no problem. Come, have your men lend a hand; bring over those iron sieves from over there and set them up, and we'll pour all these bags onto them." Chen Hongjun had personally handled these Fritillaria, so he naturally had no worries.

Upon seeing the iron sieve filled entirely with distinct, clean grains of Fritillaria, grabbing a handful and feeling they were very dry, biting one open to find the inside equally dry with a strong bitter and medicinal taste, the smile on Jia Jia Tianlong's face became even brighter, and he said excitedly:

"Grade One, Grade One, absolutely Grade One!"

Having received Jia Jia Tianlong's approval, Chen Hongjun smiled. One hundred thirty yuan per kilogram was slightly higher than he had imagined; selling over three hundred kilograms would bring in over forty thousand yuan, ensuring no problems with cash flow for at least this period.

He hadn't intended to compare himself with Li Long, but he couldn't help asking:

"Old Jia, how much Fritillaria do you think Li Long will be able to collect this year?"

"Collecting five or six tons is no problem," Jia Jia Tianlong said casually while helping Chen Hongjun move the Fritillaria from the sieve to the scale with his assistant.

"Last year it was about that amount; this year it should be a bit more, right? In recent years, the amount of Fritillaria he collects increases every year compared to the previous one."

He did not reveal the exact figures completely; after all, his relationship with Li Long was better than with Chen Hongjun at this time, so he needed to hold something back when appropriate.

Chen Hongjun felt that if he collected throughout the entire Fritillaria season, reaching one ton of Fritillaria would be the absolute limit.

The net profit from one ton of Fritillaria at his place could reach thirty to forty thousand yuan. For him, this was an unimaginable figure.

Yet Li Long's place could actually collect so much; when he first opened his acquisition station, he certainly didn't have this much!

"Li Long's place cannot be calculated by ordinary logic," Jia Jia Tianlong, having roughly guessed Chen Hongjun's confusion, explained a few words. "He has a nationally commended title, and his purchase price was higher than other acquisition stations from the very beginning, plus his service attitude is good; he captured the hearts of those middlemen right from the start."

"Many people from other counties and cities also go to his place to sell goods; compared to that negligible cost of a train ticket, getting five extra yuan per kilogram of Fritillaria is what those middlemen care about!"

Although the logic was simple, not everyone was willing to do it; by the time they realized it, Li Long had already snatched away all the customers.

One step behind, and every step follows; this is what established Li Long's acquisition station as it is today. Although located in the remote Ma County, his reputation covers the entire Beiting Prefecture, including parts of Urumqi, and further west reaches Shawan and Kuitun; even, due to his road construction efforts, some people from the Ili River Valley bring their goods to sell to him.

Among private acquisition stations, he leads by a wide margin; no one can compare.

After weighing and paying, Jia Jia Tianlong counted out over forty-one thousand three hundred yuan from the black bag, handing stack after stack to Chen Hongjun.

"Old Chen, you were right to go out on your own. Previously, if we gave you this much money, most of it would be turned over to the state. Now, working like this, everything you earn is your own. Just from this single trip, you should at least become a 'ten-thousand-yuan household,' right?"

"Not that much; my circulating capital was all invested by Li Long, so I have to share part of the profits with him," Chen Hongjun said, quite happy upon receiving the money. He specifically found a large black backpack, stuffed the stacks of money in, and finally zipped it up, smiling as he said, "Wait until you come another trip, and I might nearly become a 'ten-thousand-yuan household'; my requirements aren't high, so this is quite satisfying."

"You can't be satisfied; you need to work harder. The more you collect, the more money I can give you. After all, this is Beiting City; the population base is here. I'm not saying you must surpass Li Long's place, but surely you shouldn't fall too far behind, right?"

"Can't compare, can't compare. I watched Li Long grow step by step; his luck is good, he seizes opportunities well, he knows how to learn and is humble; people like us who were one step slower find it hard to catch up," Chen Hongjun said very realistically.

Holding so much money belonging to himself for the first time, he still felt somewhat uneasy, wondering if he should pay the taxes early, otherwise, holding this money would feel unsettled.

Jia Jia Tianlong said no more; he took his people and left with the Fritillaria. This time, he had directly rented a vehicle from Urumqi, planning to drive and collect goods at several points in Northern Xinjiang; the first stop was at Chen Hongjun's, and the second stop was Li Long's acquisition station.

"I originally thought that after collecting Fritillaria from your place, I could still make a trip to Shawan, but the goods from your place directly filled my truck. Li Long, your scale is getting bigger and bigger!"

Here at Li Long's place, Jia Jia Tianlong was very relaxed. Neither of them personally lifted a finger; on Li Long's side, Sun Jia Qiang and Liang Shuang Cheng together moved the goods out from the warehouse, while on Jia Jia Tianlong's side, his two assistants were responsible for inspecting and receiving the goods.