Chapter 910: A Big Shopping Spree at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative!
Qingshan County. Supply and Marketing Cooperative!
After leaving the county bureau, Li Yi didn’t go straight home. Instead, he drove to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative with Zhang Ziqiang and Zhou Wen.
The village was planning a celebration today, but judging by what Uncle Feng and Old Zhang had said, they didn’t intend to buy cigarettes or alcohol.
On one hand, tobacco and alcohol were simply too expensive. If the whole village went all out, the cost for those alone would run into several hundred yuan. For Feng Kai and the others, who were used to living frugally, it made more sense to save that money and slaughter an extra pig instead.
On the other hand, some villagers weren’t exactly the best when it came to drinking. They might seem perfectly respectable when sober, but once they had a few drinks, all hell broke loose—it was as if the whole of Qing Shan County belonged to them.
So, when the village held its annual banquet, they generally didn’t provide tobacco or alcohol.
But this time was different. Having finally returned home and encountered such an occasion, Li Yi felt he should show his support, so he planned to buy some cigarettes, alcohol, and drinks to bring back—it wouldn’t cost much.
The supply and marketing cooperative was just as bustling as he remembered. Right at the massive entrance, the area was packed with all kinds of animal-drawn carts—cows, horses, mules, donkeys, and every kind of large beast imaginable.
Once their vehicles arrived, there wasn’t even a single spot left to park.
Even if there had been space, they wouldn’t have dared park next to those large animals—they didn’t want their car getting bumped by the animal-drawn carts.
After parking the car on the side of the road, the group got out and strode into the supply and marketing cooperative.
Sure enough, the supply and marketing cooperative was packed with people!
Most were elderly farmers dressed in coarse cloth; some were buying daily necessities or farm tools, while others were selling eggs at the nearby counters.
This year, with the exception of Nianzishan Village, the entire county had begun implementing the household contract responsibility system, with each household operating independently.
With this shift, the village’s supply of farming tools was no longer sufficient; after all, the quantity was limited, and there simply weren’t enough to go around.
On top of that, with the autumn harvest just around the corner, many families were scrambling to buy sickles, whetstones, and other tools—in short, everyone was preparing for the upcoming harvest.
After waiting in line for a while, it was soon Li Yi and his group’s turn.
As soon as he approached, he caught the female sales clerk’s attention; after all, their attire—polyester shirts paired with slacks and leather shoes—was a rare sight in this remote county town.
The saleswoman glanced at Li Yi, then furrowed her brow and asked, “Comrade, what would you like to buy?”
“I’d like to buy cigarettes and liquor, and if you have any malted milk powder or orange powder, I’ll take some of that too!” Li Yi said.
“Comrade, we have locally produced sorghum liquor here, as well as Ningcheng Laojiao from Hongshan and Zuanlongye from Lucheng, plus Maotai. Which one would you like?”
The saleswoman continued, “As for cigarettes, we have Guanting, Yingbin, Ganghua, and Shanhaiguan. Which one would you like?”
Li Yi thought for a moment and said, “How much Moutai do you have here?”
“About ten cases, I think—I haven’t counted them exactly!”
“That’s so little?” Li Yi frowned.
“Comrade, you know this liquor is too expensive, so few people buy it. A county-level supply and marketing cooperative like ours doesn’t get much of an annual quota!”
The sales clerk then added, “If you need a lot for family events—weddings or funerals—I’d suggest using our local sorghum liquor. Not only is it affordable, but we have as much as you want!”
Li Yi did a quick mental calculation. There were about 150 men in the village, so if they needed one bottle per person, they’d need at least 150 bottles.
The local sorghum liquor came in unboxed bottles, with 12 bottles per case, meaning he’d need at least fourteen or fifteen cases.
With that in mind, he immediately said, “Then let’s go with the sorghum liquor. I’ll take 20 cases—do you have that much?”
“We do. The distillery is right here in our county. Don’t worry—we can handle 200 cases, no problem,” the clerk said with a smile.
“Bring out all the Moutai you have here too—I’ll take it all!”
Li Yi continued, “As for cigarettes, give me Yingbin—20 cartons. And for the malted milk powder and orange powder, 10 buckets (bags) of each…”
Li Yi’s words left the saleswoman completely speechless. She’d worked at the supply and marketing cooperative for over twenty years, but she’d never seen anyone shop like this before.
Not asking about prices at all, just asking if they had it in stock—it was so extravagant. This couldn’t help but remind her of that young man from two years ago…
That thought struck a chord, and upon closer inspection, wasn’t the man standing before her that very same young man from two years ago?
After locking eyes and confirming it was indeed him, the saleswoman said in astonishment, “You… aren’t you that young man who used to sell liangpi a couple of years ago…?”
“Sis, you still remember me?” Li Yi said with a smile.
“How could I forget? There’s no one else in the whole county who shops like you do. Back then, you’d come in every day to buy hundreds of pounds of flour, oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar, and you’d tell us it was for your workplace. It wasn’t until later that we found out you were the young man selling liangpi!”
The saleswoman continued, “It’s just that you look a bit different from how you did a couple of years ago, so I didn’t recognize you at first!”
Although he was still the same person from two years ago, Li Yi had undergone a complete transformation—from his clothes and appearance to his demeanor. If you weren’t familiar with him, you really wouldn’t have recognized him.
“Hahaha, but you recognized me, didn’t you?” Li Yi said with a laugh.
“By the way, I haven’t seen you around for the past couple of years. Have you stopped selling liangpi?” the saleswoman asked with a hint of curiosity.
“I’m out of that business. I found a job in the city and moved to Beijing with my wife!” Li Yi said, half-jokingly.
“So you just moved, then? I’m glad you weren’t arrested by the police…”
“What do you mean, ‘arrested’?” Li Yi asked, looking puzzled.
“Looks like you haven’t heard. After you stopped coming to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy supplies, people started saying you’d been arrested by the police for profiteering. Others said you’d gotten wind of it and fled early. Seems like it’s all just people spreading rumors!”
Li Yi really hadn’t heard about this. He couldn’t help but shake his head, then said, “If I’d been arrested or had run away, I wouldn’t dare show my face again. It’s pure nonsense!”
At that moment, the female sales clerk said with a hint of regret, “It’s a shame you stopped running your liangpi business. Otherwise, I could have taken you to meet our Director Qin!”
“What would I do meeting your Director Qin?”
“Ever since you stopped running that cold noodle business, lots of people have come to our Supply and Marketing Cooperative asking if we sell cold noodles. With so many inquiries, Director Qin started thinking about partnering with you, but unfortunately, you never showed up…”
Hearing this, Li Yi’s interest was piqued, and he immediately replied, “I wonder if your Director Qin is here. If he is, I’d be happy to discuss this with him—there might actually be a chance for a partnership!”
Although making liangpi doesn’t require much technical skill—many households in Qin Province and western Saibei Province know how to make it—very few people in a place like Qingshan County possess that skill.
Li Yi himself certainly wouldn’t be interested in the profits from selling liangpi, but the village would certainly welcome the extra income. If they could partner with the Supply and Marketing Cooperative to sell liangpi, they could easily set up a small liangpi workshop in the village.
For the village, this would be yet another way to increase income…
“Director Qin went to the city today and won’t be back until tomorrow!” the sales clerk replied.
“Here’s what we’ll do: when your Director Qin returns, tell him my name is Li Yi and I live in Nianzishan Village, Hongqi Commune. If he’s interested in the liangpi business, he can come find me in the village!”
“Alright, I’ll be sure to pass that along when he gets back!”
“Great, let’s settle the bill first. I’m in a hurry to get back!” Li Yi said with a smile.
“Alright, that’s 20 cases of sorghum liquor, 12 cases of Moutai, 20 cartons of Yingbin cigarettes, 10 buckets of malted milk powder, and 10 bags of orange powder, right?”
“Right. How much is that?”
“How many receipts do you have…”
“I don’t have any vouchers. Just charge me the price without vouchers!”
“Well… without receipts, the price is about fifty percent higher. With all this stuff, you’d save at least a hundred or two yuan. Why don’t you go outside and trade the receipts with those rascals? I’ll hold the goods for you?” the saleswoman suggested.
“No need, ma’am, I’m in a hurry!” Li Yi said firmly.
Although going outside to trade for some liquor and cigarette coupons would indeed save him quite a bit of money, given Li Yi’s current financial standing, there was absolutely no need to scrimp on such a small amount.
“All right, then…”
With that, the saleswoman picked up her abacus and started clicking away. After a moment, she said, “Comrade, that comes to 522 yuan!”
Li Yi paid immediately, then went to the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative and hired a horse-drawn cart used for hauling goods. After loading his purchases, he set off toward the village…
………