Back to the 1970s: Building My Fortune Through Time Trading-Chapter 356: Hitting the Jackpot

"Comrade Chen, sorry for the delay, I had some work to handle. You weren’t too anxious waiting, were you?"

Su Xiaoxiao wiped the sweat off her forehead. She had run all the way here, sweating even in the cold weather.

Chen Guanghai was momentarily stunned when he heard her voice, and tried to stand up quickly, but his legs were numb from squatting too long, and he almost fell forward as soon as he stood.

Zhou Jian quickly and adeptly caught him, then looked up at the woman standing in front of him.

The girl before him looked about eighteen or nineteen, with fair skin and delicate features. She seemed just like a young lass; could she really have enough money to buy so many sea cucumbers at once?

Could his Brother Chen have been so desperate to sell that he’d let himself be tricked?

But he didn’t dare say this in front of Chen Guanghai, so he decided to wait and see how things unfold.

He thought, if this girl tries any excuse to not pay in full, there’s no way he’d give her the sea cucumbers.

Su Xiaoxiao wasn’t aware of his thoughts and noticed Zhou Jian staring at her, so she smiled apologetically at him. "I’m really sorry."

Chen Guanghai’s legs were getting less numb and he quickly waved his hand at Su Xiaoxiao, "It’s fine, Comrade Su, we’re not in a rush. It’s good you’re here."

Seeing her arrive, Chen Guanghai secretly let out a breath of relief, glad he wouldn’t have to haul the sea cucumbers back again.

Su Xiaoxiao, pressed for time, didn’t waste words and cut straight to the point: "Brother Chen, where are the sea cucumbers you brought? Let me inspect them first."

Understanding that it’s not easy for these fishermen, as long as the sea cucumbers were of the quality she’d seen earlier, she’d definitely buy them at the agreed price.

But if the quality was too poor, she wouldn’t let herself be a fool.

The ones Chen Guanghai took to the department store today were samples, and the samples were naturally the best-looking ones.

Chen Guanghai was confident about the quality of this batch of sea cucumbers, and agreed without hesitation, "No problem, they’re all here. Feel free to take a look, Comrade Su."

Only then did Su Xiaoxiao notice the two large burlap sacks by their feet, casually placed by the roadside curb.

For something so valuable, the two of them just left it by the side of the road—such a carefree mentality.

Su Xiaoxiao’s mouth twitched as she thought of how modern sea cucumbers each come in sophisticated, individually-packed gift boxes.

Zhou Jian stepped forward and opened the mouth of the burlap sack at his feet, then stepped back, observing her silently.

Although the man was silent, judging by his cautious gaze, he clearly didn’t believe she could afford to buy so many sea cucumbers.

She didn’t mind. In this era, many families didn’t make eight hundred yuan a year, so it was understandable they thought she couldn’t afford it.

She focused on inspecting the sea cucumbers in the burlap sack.

To make it easier for her to check, Chen Guanghai placed the other sack of sea cucumbers beside it, opened the bag’s mouth, and lined them up together.

With just one look, Su Xiaoxiao’s eyes widened. She’d thought the samples were already quite decent, but the ones inside actually had even better quality than the samples.

Could it be that Brother Chen had just randomly grabbed the samples from the sack? That’s way too casual!

After carefully checking through the sea cucumbers in both sacks, even reaching in to turn them over from top to bottom, she arrived at one conclusion: she was indeed going to make a fortune.

At eight yuan per pound, she almost felt like she was ripping them off.

Seeing her remain silent, Chen Guanghai grew a bit anxious.

Could Comrade Su be dissatisfied, or maybe she found the price too high?

He gritted his teeth and said, "Comrade Su, here we have a total of one hundred and eight jin. If you want them all, I’ll settle for eight hundred yuan."

That makes it effectively seven point four yuan per jin, the lowest price he could offer.

Catching, drying, and sorting sea cucumbers required a lot of manpower, and transporting them over a long distance... going any lower would mean they’d worked in vain.

Yet taking the sea cucumbers back to the village with many people waiting on this money to buy food wasn’t an option either. He couldn’t face them without money.

If push came to shove, he could consider lowering the price a bit... at least enough for everyone to eat and not starve.

Zhou Jian, sensing his hesitation, tugged on his sleeve uneasily, "Brother Chen, we can’t go lower on the price..."

Before he could finish speaking, Su Xiaoxiao interrupted, "Brother Chen, let’s stick to our agreed price of eight yuan per jin. For one hundred and eight jin, it comes to eight hundred and sixty-four yuan. I’ll also add ten yuan for travel expenses. Anytime you have more sea cucumbers of this quality, you can come to me—I’ll take them all."

What?

For a moment, Chen Guanghai wondered if his ears were malfunctioning.

Comrade Su not only didn’t haggle but also willingly offered travel expenses, this... this...

He pinched Zhou Jian’s leg hard, causing Zhou Jian to yelp, "Brother Chen, why are you pinching me all of a sudden?"

Chen Guanghai still looked bewildered, "I wanted to see if I was dreaming."

"Why don’t you pinch your own leg then?"

Zhou Jian replied with a somewhat aggrieved tone.

Embarrassed, Chen Guanghai scratched his head, "I’m afraid of pain."

Zhou Jian: "..."

Su Xiaoxiao took out a thick wad of banknotes from her bag, "Brother Chen, please count it, this is eight hundred seventy-four yuan. Also, could I trouble you with something? These sea cucumbers are quite conspicuous here, could you help me move them to the alley nearby later?"

She had noticed earlier that there was a dead-end alley nearby, perfect for discretely storing the goods in her small storage space.

Otherwise, carrying such large bags all the way—let alone whether she could carry them—would attract too much attention.

"Sure, no problem at all."

It was the first time Chen Guanghai had seen such an amount of money, so he wiped his hand on his pants before carefully taking it, and he and Zhou Jian began counting with one bundle each.

Watching them moistening their fingers with saliva to count the banknotes and their synchronized movements, Su Xiaoxiao silently looked away, cringing a little.

The two counted three times before they were sure of the amount.

After counting, their hands were shaking slightly, still finding it hard to believe.

"Gentlemen, if you’re done counting, could you help me move the goods to the alley next door?"

Su Xiaoxiao waited for them to finish before speaking.

"Comrade Su, why don’t you tell us where you live, and we’ll deliver them directly to your place? It’s too heavy for you to carry by yourself."

At this point, Chen Guanghai looked at Su Xiaoxiao with great enthusiasm—she was indeed their benefactor.

"No need, my friend will help me pick them up later. Don’t let me hold you up from catching your train."

"Alright, alright, we’ll help you move them."

The two huffed and puffed as they helped carry the two sacks of sea cucumbers. Suddenly, Chen Guanghai remembered something, "Comrade Su, would you like to weigh the sea cucumbers first?"

Earlier, the two of them had been so engrossed in counting the money that they forgot about this detail.