Chapter 210: The Person Arriving in a Jeep
“Caiyun, how do you think you did on the exam this ti?”
As he drove the horse-drawn carriage, Lin Heng asked with a smile.
Caiyun glanced at Lin Heng, blinked, and said, “I can’t guarantee a perfect score, but I’m confident I’ll score over ninety.”
Hearing this, Lin Heng couldn’t help but express his surprise, “You’re quite confident, aren’t you? I’m looking forward to it. If you do well, I’ll give you a big red envelope for the New Year.”
“Then it’s settled, Second Brother,” Caiyun giggled. Being able to return to school, she was putting in effort every mont.
“I’ll be waiting,” Lin Heng chuckled, urging the horse to pick up speed.
Half an hour later, they arrived at Huangtan Town. The golden sun had just risen, casting its warm light upon the world.
Lin Heng dropped Caiyun off at the school gate and then drove the carriage back to the shop.
“Brother Lin!”
Wang Zhou was a dedicated person, waking up early even on non-market days.
Recently, he had been exercising with Old Man Gao and, in his free ti, would read the books Lin Heng left in the shop.
“How did things go with your family? What did your parents say?”
Lin Heng asked as he entered, warming his hands by the fire.
With a smile, Wang Zhou replied, “Just like you said, Brother Lin. As soon as my parents heard, they canceled the engagent and told to make my own decisions. They said they wouldn’t interfere anymore.”
This outco was no surprise to Lin Heng. With such an easy job that paid twenty yuan a month, they would refuse not just one engagent, but even five or ten if necessary to keep it.
“That’s good,” Lin Heng nodded, then asked, “How are things going with Liu Cihua? Any progress?”
Wang Zhou looked a bit shy as he answered, “It’s going well. We’ve held hands.”
Lin Heng was a bit surprised. He thought Wang Zhou was too timid to even hold hands, but it seed he was bolder than expected.
Lin Heng nodded and said, “Then keep an eye on things. When the ti is right, you should propose.”
“Yes, I’m considering it,” Wang Zhou nodded.
The room fell silent for a mont. Lin Heng ward his hands, and Old Man Gao returned from the vegetable patch with so greens. Seeing Lin Heng, he smiled and asked, “Shall I make so for you too?”
“Sure, thank you, Grandpa,” Lin Heng replied without hesitation, even though he had already eaten.
After chatting with Old Man Gao, Lin Heng returned to the main topic, looking at Wang Zhou. “Since the vehicle hasn’t arrived, let’s go over the accounts. The New Year is almost here.”
“Okay,” Wang Zhou agreed, standing up to join Lin Heng at the counter.
Lin Heng first reviewed the ledger, then checked the inventory.
Recently, there had been fewer mountain goods. The shop was stocked with dicinal herbs like yellow ginger and epidium that Lin Heng had kept. He anticipated their prices would rise next year, so he was holding onto them to make a profit.
The money the shop had made over the past two months had not been taken by Lin Heng; it was all left there.
Counting the money in the drawer, there was a total of 1,330 yuan and fifty cents. He had initially left 500 yuan as petty cash, excluding the 300 yuan cost of goods. This ant that the profit from selling goods and collecting mountain products over the two months was 500 yuan.
Lin Heng was quite satisfied with this result.
Even though Liu Qicheng was no longer around, the collection of mountain goods was still similar to when the shop first opened. Using word of mouth and bundling with the small shop, the annual profit was considerable.
However, Lin Heng wasn’t too concerned about this; it was just a fallback option. The real money would co from farming.
Ti flew by, and it was already past nine o’clock when Caiyun returned with her report card.
“Second Brother, look at this!”
Caiyun walked in, handing a certificate to Lin Heng.
“Three Good Student Award, impressive,” Lin Heng gave her a thumbs up. It was the best certificate.
“And here’s the report card,” Caiyun handed over the report card, happier to receive Lin Heng’s approval than her parents’.
Lin Heng took a look, and just as Caiyun had said, she scored over ninety in all eight subjects, with a perfect score in math.
Lin Heng was a bit surprised. Did Caiyun always have such a strong ability to learn?
He couldn’t quite rember. In his past life, when Caiyun was in elentary school, he hadn’t paid much attention, only recalling that she had received two awards.
Lin Heng gave her another thumbs up, “That’s amazing. You must be the top student, right?”
Wang Zhou, standing nearby, was equally astonished. Such excellent grades were beyond his reach in middle school. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t achieve such scores, not even as good as Lin Heng, who didn’t study much.
He chid in, “Definitely the top. Who could beat that?”
Caiyun shook her head with a hint of frustration, “I’m second. The first is Liu Ciwen, who scored three points higher than .”
“That’s still close,” Wang Zhou laughed.
Caiyun gritted her teeth, “I’ll definitely surpass him next sester.”
Lin Heng was a bit surprised by this result, but upon reflection, he understood.
He then asked about the other students’ grades. Starting from the third place, the scores dropped significantly. Caiyun and Liu Ciwen were in a league of their own.
This convinced Lin Heng that Caiyun had a natural talent for learning. So people are just gifted in these areas, able to understand even in poor schools with few teachers.
Caiyun having talent is a good thing for Lin Heng, as it ans the family will soon be able to nurture an outstanding genius.
Once his business expands, Caiyun will have graduated and can co help at the company.
Family mbers are certainly more reliable than outsiders hired with money.
“By the way, Second Brother, Teacher Guo Xu asked you to visit the school. He’s leaving this afternoon,” Caiyun rembered and ntioned.
“I know.” Lin Heng understood this must be about the ginseng buyer, though he wasn’t sure of the specifics.
At this mont, Old Man Gao brought out a bowl of rice. “The al is ready, help yourselves. I’m not great at cooking, so don’t mind it.”
“Alright, I’ll go get so.”
Lin Heng, without hesitation, got up and headed inside.
He hadn’t taken a few steps when he heard the roar of an engine outside. Turning his head, he saw a truck parked outside.
The driver was none other than the wholesaler, Li Chengguo.
“Hello, Boss Li!”
Lin Heng quickly went out and greeted him with a smile.
“Long ti no see.”
Li Chengguo shook Lin Heng’s hand firmly and chuckled. “This ti, I’ve brought you a lot of things for the New Year.”
“That’s great.”
Lin Heng replied with a smile.
After pouring Li Chengguo a cup of tea and warming up by the fire for a while, everyone went to unload the goods.
This shipnt was worth a full five hundred yuan, replenishing a large batch of stock. If it weren’t for the New Year, such a large restock wouldn’t be necessary.
With the paynt settled, Lin Heng looked at Li Chengguo and said, “Didn’t you say you wanted wild yams last ti? My Elder Brother dug up four to five hundred jin. Do you want them?”
“Of course, how about forty cents a jin?” Li Chengguo replied with a grin.
Lin Heng was imdiately displeased. “Old Li, how about I take you to the mountains to see how hard it is to dig yams? Then we can discuss the price.”
Li Chengguo laughed heartily. “So, how much do you want?”
Lin Heng held up five fingers. “Fifty cents.”
Li Chengguo was helpless. “We’re old friends, but your price is a bit too high. I can’t make a profit if I take them down to sell.”
Lin Heng wasn’t swayed. These wild yams were highly effective and in high demand in the city, fetching prices comparable to pork.
In the end, Li Chengguo couldn’t out-negotiate Lin Heng and reluctantly agreed. “For this batch from your brother, I can do that price. But for the next batch, it has to be forty cents, or I’ll lose too much.”
“Haha, at least forty-five cents. Let’s go, you can pick them up from my place.”
Lin Heng waved his hand. In town, the normal price for wild yams was thirty cents a jin, so he could still make a profit of fifteen cents per jin.
Don’t be fooled by the high asking price; these items sold easily in the city. Many wealthy people preferred genuine mountain goods, and they sold as easily as pork.
Leaving Caiyun to help organize the goods, Lin Heng rode with Li Chengguo back to Red Maple Village.
Once ho, Lin Heng called for his Elder Brother and father, and they quickly moved their yams to the roadside.
Li Chengguo checked each bag, weighing them one by one, and felt a bit embarrassed when he found none were bad.
Lin Heng’s father and Elder Brother were honest people, having already sorted out the bad ones at ho.
After weighing, Father Lin’s yams totaled one hundred and twenty jin, and Lin Yue’s amounted to four hundred and eighty jin.
In the end, one received sixty yuan, and the other received two hundred and forty yuan.
“Little Brother, you’re really sothing, thank you so much.” Lin Yue said with a simple smile, holding the money.
“Yes, Lin Heng, you’re quite capable,” Liu Juan added, smiling broadly. Without Lin Heng, they couldn’t have sold at this price.
Father Lin slapped his thigh, regretting, “If I’d known, I would have gone deeper into the mountains to dig more.”
“Haha, no worries, I’ll give you a red envelope for the New Year.”
Lin Heng grinned.
After chatting for a bit, Lin Heng caught a ride back to Huangtan Town with Li Chengguo.
Upon arriving in Huangtan Town, Lin Heng went straight to the school, bringing gifts worth about fifty yuan for Teacher Guo Xu.
“Why did you bring gifts? I’m not helping you just for these,” Guo Xu said, pretending to scold Lin Heng.
Lin Heng smiled and said, “This isn’t a gift, just a token of gratitude for all your help and care for Caiyun. You’ve put in a lot of effort.”
After so polite exchanges, Lin Heng left the gifts.
Guo Xu poured Lin Heng a cup of tea and said with a smile, “The buyer I found is a friend of my father’s. He’s very interested and said if it’s really a hundred-year-old ginseng, he’s willing to pay seventeen thousand for it.
I ntioned your original asking price of twenty thousand. My dad’s friend isn’t short on money, he’s in real estate. I think you could negotiate up to eighteen or nineteen thousand.”
“Should I go down to negotiate, or will you bring him to town?” Lin Heng asked.
Guo Xu took a sip of tea and said, “I can bring him to town to discuss.”
Lin Heng thought for a mont and said, “Alright, I’ll give you a definite answer before you leave this afternoon.”
“Okay, I’ll be leaving at four in the afternoon.”
Guo Xu nodded, and after so small talk, Lin Heng took his leave.
Back at the shop, Lin Heng waited until after 2 PM, puzzled by the delay of the truck that was supposed to collect the mountain goods. It was the 15th of the month, the agreed-upon date, but there was still no sign of it.
Just as Lin Heng was about to head to the school to respond to Guo Xu, he finally heard the roar of an engine.
“Brother Lin, co out quickly! Two vehicles have arrived, a truck and a jeep!” Lin Yue’s excited voice echoed from outside.
Lin Heng hurried out and saw a yellow jeep following the truck. Driving the jeep was a woman in a black trench coat, with Jin Fuqiang, soone Lin Heng knew well, sitting in the passenger seat.
Lin Heng was a bit surprised. Who was this woman that warranted Jin Fuqiang’s company on the trip here?
After tidying his clothes, Lin Heng approached with a smile to greet them. “Director Jin, what brings you here personally?”
Jin Fuqiang chuckled and gestured to the stylish woman in the black trench coat. “Let introduce you. This is Miss Bai Xueqing from Baiyao Group. She insisted on coming to see the century-old ginseng you have.”
“Hello, Miss Bai, I’m Lin Heng.” Lin Heng extended his hand with a smile. The woman seed about his age, with fashionably styled wavy hair.
Bai Xueqing sized up Lin Heng, a bit taken aback by his youth and good looks, particularly impressed by the lively sparkle in his eyes.
She shook Lin Heng’s hand with a smile. “Hello, Boss Lin. Do you really have a century-old ginseng? Are you sure it’s over a hundred years old?”
“Of course. The ginseng is at my ho. We can go take a look,” Lin Heng replied with a slight smile.
Upon hearing this, Bai Xueqing said straightforwardly, “Let’s go see it right away. You can ride with us, and we can discuss the price later.”
“Alright, let’s go,” Lin Heng agreed, turning back to tell Wang Zhou sothing before getting into the jeep to head to Red Maple Village.
Bai Xueqing drove like a maniac, speeding all the way. Even Lin Heng, who normally didn’t get carsick, almost felt queasy.
In just over ten minutes, they arrived at Red Maple Village. The jeep stopped outside Lin Heng’s house, and he led them inside.
As they opened the gate, both Jin Fuqiang and Bai Xueqing were slightly taken aback by the sight that greeted them.
“You’ve done a nice job with this place,” Bai Xueqing couldn’t help but praise.
Lin Heng smiled modestly. “Just a humble countryside setup, nothing like the city.”
When Xiulan and Xiao Xia ca out, Bai Xueqing was once again surprised. Lin Heng’s wife was stunningly beautiful, and his daughter was exceptionally cute.
“Co inside, let’s chat,” Lin Heng invited them into the bedroom to warm up by the fire, while saying sothing to Xiulan.
Once inside, Lin Heng poured them each a cup of tea. Jin Fuqiang and Bai Xueqing took the cups but didn’t drink, placing them on the table instead.
Lin Heng didn’t comnt further, even though he used fine porcelain teacups, it was clear they were sowhat dismissive.
Bai Xueqing got straight to the point. “Let’s not beat around the bush. I need to head back this afternoon, so ti is tight.”
“Alright,” Lin Heng nodded, walking over to retrieve a rectangular, exquisite wooden box from the cabinet. Inside was the fully dried ginseng.
“Here it is, the century-old ginseng I ntioned,” Lin Heng said with a slight smile, placing the ginseng on the table.
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