PFC Chapter 507 Establishing a Long-Term Acquisition Relationship
Chapter 507 Establishing a Long-Term Acquisition Relationship
Back at the purchasing station, Li Xiangyang carefully put away the snake scales and said to Wang Ergou, "You stay here and watch over them. I need to go to a few surrounding villages to see if I can establish long-term purchasing relationships."
“Okay, you go ahead, I’ll take care of things here,” Wang Ergou assured, patting his chest.
Li Xiangyang drove his truck and his first stop was the nearby Heyan Village.
The production team leader of Heyan Village was surnamed Liu, in his fifties, and very shrewd. When Li Xiangyang found him, he was organizing account books at the village committee.
"Captain Liu, I'm Li Xiangyang from Xiaoliang Village. I run a mountain produce purchasing station," Li Xiangyang said, getting straight to the point.
Captain Liu looked up and sized him up: "Oh, I've heard. Your purchasing station is doing quite well."
"Thanks to everyone's support," Li Xiangyang said modestly, "I'm here today to establish a long-term partnership with your village. We just signed a big order and need a stable supply of goods."
Captain Liu put down his pen and asked with interest, "How exactly will we cooperate?"
Li Xiangyang was prepared: "Here's the thing, we can come and buy regularly, at a price 50% higher than buying individually. And if the quantity is large, we can discuss further."
"Half a percent higher?" Captain Liu's eyes lit up, but he quickly became cautious again. "Can you guarantee a long-term purchase? Don't just stop coming in a couple of days."
"Captain Liu, don't worry, we have a one-year supply agreement with Boss Zhao in the provincial capital. With this, our purchases will only increase. Besides, it's cash on delivery, and settlement is done on each order," Li Xiangyang assured him.
Hearing this, Captain Liu felt more confident: "I see. Then you can try collecting a few samples first. If it's really as you say, we can organize the villagers to collect them specifically."
"That's great," Li Xiangyang stood up. "I'll bring people to collect the first batch tomorrow."
After leaving Heyan Village, Li Xiangyang went straight to Dongshan Village.
Dongshan Village is close to Daqinggou and has abundant mountain resources. There is an old hunter in the village named Grandpa Chen, who is very respected in the area.
Li Xiangyang went directly to Grandpa Chen's house.
The old man was weaving bamboo baskets in the yard. Seeing someone approaching, he looked up and asked, "Young man, who are you looking for?"
"Uncle Chen, I'm Li Xiangyang from Xiaoliang Village. I'd like to talk to you about purchasing mountain produce."
Grandpa Chen scrutinized him carefully: "You're that young man who runs the recycling station? I've heard of you; you're a skilled hunter."
"You flatter me," Li Xiangyang quickly offered a cigarette, "I just wanted to ask if our village has a lot of mountain products?"
Grandpa Chen took the cigarette and said slowly, "There's plenty, but the road is difficult to travel. If you really want to collect it, you'll have to come and haul it yourself."
“That’s no problem, I have a truck,” Li Xiangyang said. “As for the price, we’ll offer absolutely fair.”
The two chatted for over half an hour, and Grandpa Chen was moved by Li Xiangyang's sincerity: "Okay, I'll talk to a few of the old hunters in the village about it later."
Next, Li Xiangyang visited three or four more villages. Some negotiations went smoothly, while others required further consideration.
As dusk fell, Li Xiangyang drove back to Xiaoliang Village. The shadows of the trees lining the mountain road stretched long in the setting sun.
The mountain road was difficult to travel, so Li Xiangyang was not driving fast. Just as the car rounded a bend, a figure suddenly appeared on the road ahead.
Upon seeing this, Li Xiangyang quickly stepped on the brakes, and the car slid a few meters on the gravel road before coming to a stop.
Upon closer inspection, it was a young woman in her early twenties, bending over and picking something up from the roadside.
Hearing the sound of brakes, she looked up in alarm, her face turning deathly pale.
"Are you alright?" Li Xiangyang asked, rolling down the car window.
The girl waved her hand, her voice trembling slightly, "N-nothing, it's my fault for being in the middle of the road."
Li Xiangyang then noticed that there were many herbs scattered on the ground, which looked like they had fallen out of her basket.
"Why are you, a young woman, still in the mountains so late at night?" Li Xiangyang got out of the car and helped pick up the herbs on the ground.
“I’m from Xigou Village,” the girl said as she picked up the herbs. “I went into the mountains to collect herbs today, but I didn’t expect to go so far and come back late. I was startled by the noise in the mountains just now, and the rope on my basket came loose.”
Li Xiangyang examined the herbs; they were all common herbs like Bupleurum and Saposhnikovia, but they were all of good quality, showing that he knew his stuff.
“Xigou Village is still seven or eight li away from here,” Li Xiangyang said, glancing at the sky. “How about this, I’ll take you back.”
The girl quickly waved her hand, "No need, no need, I can walk back myself."
"Don't be so polite," Li Xiangyang said, putting the last few herbs into her basket. "It's getting dark soon, and the mountain path is difficult to walk. Besides, I'm heading in that direction anyway."
The young woman hesitated for a moment, glanced at the darkening sky, and finally nodded: "Then I'll trouble you."
Once in the car, Li Xiangyang asked, "What's your name? How do you know so many herbs?"
“My name is Liu Xiaocui,” the girl said shyly. “My grandfather was a barefoot doctor, and I learned to identify medicinal herbs from him since I was a child.”
"Oh? So your grandfather is Doctor Liu?" Li Xiangyang remembered that there was indeed an old traditional Chinese medicine doctor in Xigou Village with good medical skills.
“Yes, you know my grandfather?” Liu Xiaocui was somewhat surprised.
“I’ve heard of him,” Li Xiangyang said with a smile. “Everyone says he’s a skilled doctor. By the way, are you collecting these herbs for your own use or to sell?”
Liu Xiaocui lowered her head: "I originally wanted to sell it in town; my family needs money recently. But the pharmacies in town offered too low a price."
Li Xiangyang's heart skipped a beat: "Are there many people in your village who collect medicinal herbs?"
"It's alright, about seven or eight households do it," Liu Xiaocui said. "It's just that the price isn't good; sometimes a whole day of picking doesn't earn as much as working in the fields."
“Okay,” Li Xiangyang thought for a moment, “I’ve opened a purchasing station in Xiaoliang Village, specializing in buying mountain products and medicinal herbs. The prices will definitely be higher than in town. You can send the herbs over here.”
Liu Xiaocui's eyes lit up: "Really? That's great!"
As they were talking, the car had already arrived at the entrance of Xigou Village.
"Wait," Li Xiangyang called to Liu Xiaocui, who was about to get off the car, and took out a pen and paper from under the seat. "I'll write you a note. Take this to the purchasing station and say that I introduced you."
Liu Xiaocui took the note and said gratefully, "Brother Li, thank you so much!"
"You're welcome," Li Xiangyang waved his hand. "Tell the other herb gatherers in the village that they can all send their herbs to our purchasing station."
After watching Liu Xiaocui enter the village, Li Xiangyang turned his car around and drove back.
He had thought a lot along the way. Although the villages he visited today had expressed interest in cooperation, the distance was far, and transportation was a problem.
Xigou Village, on the other hand, is not too far from Xiaoliang Village and has a tradition of collecting medicinal herbs, so it might be able to develop into a stable source of supply.
By the time we returned to Xiaoliang Village, it was completely dark.
The lights were still on in the purchasing station, and Wang Ergou and Zhang Weiping were counting the goods they had collected that day.
"Xiangyang, you're finally back!" Wang Ergou looked up and said, "I've got a lot of good stuff today, come and take a look."
Li Xiangyang walked over and saw several fox pelts, more than ten kilograms of dried mushrooms, and a small pile of herbs on the ground.