Chapter 26: I'm actually going out to discuss big business

Upon hearing this.

Lu San's eyes lit up, and he followed up by asking: 'That matter the younger brother mentioned to you...'

Zhang Ge reached out and ruthlessly rubbed oil on a little sister beside him.

He then slowly withdrew his hand, and his expression immediately turned serious.

'The matter you mentioned.'

'I gave it serious thought yesterday and also discussed it with the boss.'

'We really don't need that much timber—1,200 cubic units.'

Upon hearing this.

Lu San was first taken aback.

'What do you mean? We don't need that much timber?'

'Then wasn't I working for nothing?'

'He was about to speak when Zhang Ge suddenly waved his hand to cut him off.'

'Let me finish first.'

'We really can't use 1,200 cubic units of timber.'

'But we've been hanging around this circle for years and still have a few friends.'

'Besides, just take my boss's younger brother's furniture factory—it consumes dozens to hundreds of cubic units of timber every day.'

'Just that...'

Zhang Ge said: 'After all, everyone's been in this business for years and has regular customers; if you want them to help take in this timber, you at least need to show some sincerity.'

'Sincerity?'

Lu San probed, asking: 'So what you mean, Zhang Ge, is...'

'Um...'

'At the very least, we need to make some concessions on price!'

Zhang Ge said: 'Only then can I step in to help you negotiate.'

'Of course, whether to concede or not is up to you; I have no objections either way.'

'If you're unwilling to concede, I'll just take back my 600 cubic units of timber.'

'The remaining 600 cubic units—you can figure out your own plan; maybe you'll sell them after all.'

'This...'

Lu San also felt a bit embarrassed.

Actually, yesterday he had already given Zhang Ge the bottom line: one cubic unit of timber for 130, which is 20 below market price.

If he concedes further, he'd only make a few tens of yuan per cubic unit—basically no different from playing for free.

But after thinking about the timber sitting idle at home for several months, Lu San soon felt relieved.

Anyway, that timber won't sell sitting at home; better to sell it at a discount to recoup costs quickly.

Moreover, Li Jiaci gave him 20,000 yuan, which also counts as compensating for his loss.

Upon thinking of this,

Lu San gritted his teeth and said: 'If Zhang Ge can take all 1,200 cubic units, I'll give you ten yuan per cubic unit as a tip—that's 12,000 yuan total. What do you think?'

Hearing him say that,

A hint of cunning flashed in Zhang Ge's slightly narrowed eyes.

But he still feigned difficulty, lowering his head to think for a long time before suddenly slapping his thigh.

'Alright then!'

'Who let me eat your food and drink your wine?'

Zhang Ge said: 'Even if I offend the boss over this, I'll get it done for you!'

Upon hearing that, Lu San's joy showed on his face.

'Thank you, Zhang Ge.'

'Really, thank you for the trouble, Zhang Ge.'

Lu San, full of gratitude, raised a toast to Zhang Ge.

Zhang Ge didn't refuse either.

And after the two of them downed another three cups of wine, Zhang Ge suddenly remembered something.

'Right!'

'There's something I almost forgot.'

Zhang Ge turned around, fetched a leather bag, and from it took out a stack of paper, placing it on the table.

Lu San blinked: 'What is this?'

'Of course it's a contract!'

'Nowadays, doing business no longer relies on verbal agreements.'

'No matter what, everyone signs contracts.'

'And the reason I'm asking you to sign this is not because we don't trust you.'

Zhang Ge chuckled: 'It's mainly to give both sides a guarantee—you earn money with peace of mind, we spend money with peace of mind, and you can rest assured, since everything is marked according to the price of 130 per cubic unit.'

Hearing that,

Lu San smiled even more happily.

'Yes, yes, yes.'

'Having a guarantee is good, having a guarantee is good.'

Lu San took the pen from Brother Zhang without a second thought and signed his name on the contract.

Brother Zhang checked the contract, found no problem, and carefully put it away.

Afterwards, he raised his wine glass and said to Lu San, "Congratulations to our boss Lu San on smooth sailing and prosperity, and I wish us a pleasant cooperation in advance!"

"Pleasant cooperation!"

This time we can sell all the pressed wood.

Lu San was naturally overjoyed; he and Brother Zhang spent the whole afternoon to the early morning playing at the Song and Dance Hall before taking a taxi home.

Lu San's wife saw him come home drunk again, and her eyes were full of disdain.

"All day long, you don't do any proper work, you just know how to go out and fool around."

"If you come back at this time again next time, you might as well just sleep outside!"

"Who went out fooling around?"

Lu San opened his bleary, drunken eyes and mumbled, "I went out to discuss business, and it's a big deal."

"Big business? Just you?"

Lu San's wife snorted coldly, "If you don't go out messing around with your gang of fair-weather friends, I'll burn high incense!"

"And there's more!"

"In a few days, go check out our factory."

"If those hooligans are still there causing trouble, then find an excuse to drive them out."

"Otherwise, letting them keep messing around, how can we even open for business?"

Lu San chuckled, "Even if you didn't say so, I plan to go drive them away in a couple of days."

"Let me tell you, I met a big boss who bought all our wood in one go!"

"What?"

Lu San's wife widened her eyes in surprise, "He bought all our wood?"

"Yes."

"I went out today specifically to discuss matters with that big boss."

Lu San said, pulling out the contract and placing it before his wife: "See? This is the contract we two signed, already stating six hundred cubic meters, and later he will also send another contract for six hundred cubic meters!"

"Good heavens!"

Lu San's wife hurriedly took the contract to look at it.

When she saw that it stated that if the wood could not be delivered within a week, she would have to pay five times the total value of the goods as compensation, Lu San's wife furrowed her brows.

"This, this, how come there's also compensation?"

"Do we have to pay compensation? Let me check!"

Lu San hadn't even glanced at the contract when he signed it earlier; only now did he notice those words.

But he wasn't worried at all, nonchalantly saying, "It's fine; we have so much wood, what's there to fear about not being able to deliver on time?"

"Just relax."

"Once your husband sells this batch of wood, I'll take you to buy furs, good ones, the most expensive!"

Hearing him say that,

Lu San's wife's expression also softened.

Yes, they have so much wood, what's there to fear about not being able to deliver on time?

And at that moment she couldn't help but feel excited about soon owning a new fur garment.

She even couldn't help but start fantasizing about what kind of fur she would buy—whether a long coat or mink.

"No."

"Mink fur sheds."

"We still need fur."

"Only then would wearing it make one look like a noble lady..."

She was thinking quite beautifully.

But there's a saying that goes well.

"Ideals are plump, reality is skinny."