Chapter 321: Yun Province Procurement

Two days later at the Rolling Mill, almost every department had two to three people, so this group of people standing at the entrance was quite a spectacle.

"Move out."

Li Huaide gave a big wave of his hand, and everyone climbed into the train cars one after another; fortunately, it was only September, so it wasn't cold.

"Factory Director, we have quite a large group," Zhang Ping'an said, having the good fortune to ride in the sedan with Li Huaide.

"Hahaha, less than twenty people, it's fine."

Li Huaide was clearly in a very good mood; this group of people were all his own core team, and after they returned, everyone would be promoted by at least one grade.

Zhang Ping'an clicked his tongue inwardly; appointing nearly twenty Cadres at once—only Li Huaide at this time would dare to do such a thing.

The train tickets had been bought long ago, and all eighteen people had sleeper berths, with those at the section level or above in soft sleepers.

After three and a half days, they arrived at Kunming Station with everyone looking exhausted; there were already people waiting at the station holding a huge sign that read "Sijiucheng Third Rolling Mill."

The history of the Steel Mill here could be traced back to the thirties and forties, around the same period as the Lou Steel Rolling Mill.

"Welcome, welcome! Factory Director Li, for you to come and guide our work in person—we have been looking forward to your arrival. I am Deputy Factory Director Lin Dashan."

Lin Dashan spotted Li Huaide, with his slicked-back hair, being surrounded by the crowd at a glance.

"Hahaha, not at all, not at all, Factory Director Lin is too kind."

Both sides quickly finished their introductions and, led by Factory Director Lin, arrived at their Steel Mill.

"Factory Director Li and everyone, you have all had a hard journey. We have prepared a welcome banquet at the Reception House; please eat and drink well, and then have a good rest afterward."

A welcome ceremony was naturally indispensable; at the Steel Mill's affiliated Reception House, Zhang Ping'an felt the hospitality of the people of Yun Province.

Li Huaide and the other Cadres at the section level and above were taken to a separate private room, while Zhang Ping'an and the others were in another.

There were the "eight big bowls" including meatballs, steamed pork with rice flour, and crispy pork, as well as steam pot chicken, milk curd, and strange insects like silkworm pupae.

Zhang Ping'an was fine; as long as they didn't look too strange, he dared to try them, even if the taste was sometimes hard to describe.

The next day, a simple meeting was held in the Steel Mill's conference room, and everyone followed their respective departments to exchange and learn.

The scale of the Steel Mill here was no smaller than their Rolling Mill, and the number of Workers was also comparable.

Aside from Zhang Ping'an, the other person who came for logistics was Zhu Weiguo; Zhang Ping'an was responsible for the procurement department, while Zhu Weiguo followed the Logistics Director.

For three consecutive days, they learned inside the factory, and it wasn't until the fourth day that Zhang Ping'an went out to procure goods with them.

"Brother Zhang, let me tell you, our procurement here can all be done by buying supplies next door, and occasionally you can even dig up some rare goods."

The one speaking to Zhang Ping'an was Zhang Yadong, Section Chief of the Third Section of the Steel Mill, thirty-nine years old, who was also involved in off-plan procurement; he emphasized the word "next door" heavily.

Zhang Ping'an understood in a second; it must be bartering at the border markets. No wonder they went to other factories to buy some daily necessities like cloth, towels, toothbrushes, and thermos bottles before leaving.

"Oh? Then I must learn a thing or two from you, Brother Zhang."

"Hahaha, easy, easy."

Both of them were involved in off-plan procurement and had many similarities, so they hit it off; plus, they were both from the Zhang family, which added another point to their closeness, and Zhang Yadong spoke his mind about many things.

Led by Zhang Yadong, the group of seven vehicles traveled for most of the day before arriving at a border market. Soon, a group of people with dark skin, medium build, and generally small eyes surrounded them.

"Brother Zhang, these are all people from Myanmar; they look about forty or fifty percent like us."

Zhang Ping'an nodded; they did look a bit similar, but one could distinguish them at a glance.

"Let's go, let's get out."

Zhang Yadong skillfully greeted a few people who looked like leaders. They soon dispersed, and before long, they pulled over flatbed carts; the front was loaded with tied-up Wild Boar and large chickens, and the back was filled with rice and sugarcane.

After a burst of gibberish haggling, both sides were very satisfied.

"Brother Zhang, we have to stay here for about five days. If you see anything you want to buy, just tell me. You can also walk around freely, but don't go too far."

"We usually trade once a month and stay for about three to five days each time. They all work for themselves, otherwise the trading could be faster."

"So that's how it is."

Zhang Ping'an was quickly comparing this with the map in his mind—the result of the investigation into Qi Lu at the Ghost Market a few years ago. He discovered it was only a hundred miles away from here, but it was tucked away in the mountains; there wasn't enough time to go back and forth.

Zhang Ping'an was a bit conflicted. On one hand, he wanted to nip the trouble in the bud, but he had no suitable excuse to leave. Plus, this was the border, and Zhang Yadong and the others would probably take roll call every day. It was tricky.

Forget it, let's finish the other goal first. Zhang Ping'an set his sights on the Jade from Myanmar.

"Brother, I heard that the Jade here is very cheap. How come I don't see any for sale?"

"Jade? You mean those colorful stones? They are at the northern end of the market. There's plenty there, but many are raw stones meant to fool people."

"Besides, what do you need that stuff for? Even though it's cheap, that thing is heavy and takes up space at home. Why, do you like those?"

"It's alright. Some friends like to collect them, and I was thinking if I could flip them."

"That's true, Jade is common here, but it might be worth something in Sijiucheng. Let's go, I'll take you to see."

"That would be good."

Led by Zhang Yadong, the two soon arrived at the northern part of the market. Most of what was displayed here were stone materials, with very few Jade ornaments.

Zhang Ping'an used his space scan to look at the nearest stalls and discovered that inside the large stones, there really was Jadeite. It lived up to its reputation as Myanmar; perhaps any random stone could yield material.

"Brother, see those stones? They say they are raw stones that can yield Jadeite, but who knows? They've been sitting there for seven or eight years."

Zhang Yadong pointed to a pile of stone materials in the distance that looked like a small hill. Each piece was almost the size of a square dining table, stacked densely together.

Zhang Ping'an's eyes lit up. This was practically tailor-made for him. Once he activated his space scan, he almost drooled. Only one thought remained in his mind: Mine, it's all mine.

"Who would want these? Just transporting them is a huge hassle," Zhang Ping'an said with a look of disdain.

"Right? You think so too, Brother?"

"Yeah, how is this any different from gambling? Brother, let's just go to the stalls and buy a few pieces."

"Done, leave the haggling to me."

Zhang Ping'an didn't care; he just picked the green ones to buy. And let me tell you, it was truly cheap, almost like picking them up for free.

"Brother, you're buying so many?"

"It's not expensive anyway, just buying them for fun." Zhang Ping'an spent over five hundred yuan directly to buy a pile.

"Brother Zhang is truly a man from the capital; he spends hundreds of yuan just like that," Zhang Yadong thought to himself.

"It's getting late, let's head back, ah~"

"Alright."

It was only a little past five, yet Zhang Yadong kept yawning repeatedly; only then did Zhang Ping'an carefully observe Zhang Yadong's complexion.

He then discovered that his complexion was dull, his eye sockets were deeply sunken, and his eye bags were slightly dark; Zhang Ping'an hadn't paid attention before, thinking he just hadn't rested well, but now, combining it with the current situation, it was definitely kidney deficiency.

"What's wrong, Brother Zhang?" Zhang Yadong felt a bit uncomfortable being watched by Zhang Ping'an.

"Ahem, Brother Zhang, do you often feel that your heart is willing but your strength is lacking?"

"How is that possible? I'm super brave," Zhang Yadong said, instantly bristling as if his tail had been stepped on.