Happy Little Farmer
Chapter 175: Comparing Yourself to Others is Futile

Chapter 175: Chapter 175: Comparing Yourself to Others is Futile

Uncle Wang’s Codonopsis, Yang Fan made nearly three thousand from them, but then his daughter used such a method to earn back a thousand, Yang Fan felt incredibly frustrated.

But what could he do when faced with such a matter?

He couldn’t just let it go, nor could he easily get over it.

After driving back to the city, Yang Fan quickly rushed to Old Zhou’s shop.

The crowd at the door of the shop was even bigger than at noon, practically impenetrable.

Yang Fan parked his motor-tricycle to the side and squeezed into the crowd.

Old Zhou and his wife had switched shifts, Old Zhou was weighing goods for people, while Zhu Shanshan was busy doing the accounts.

"Fanzi, quick, quick, help me out," Old Zhou called out waving his hand when he saw Yang Fan in the crowd.

"Do what?" Yang Fan asked.

"There’s another scale over there, help me weigh some stuff, I’ll pay you a wage," Old Zhou shouted.

Yang Fan immediately shook his head, "I can’t do this job for you. If I get a few numbers wrong, I can’t afford to compensate for it."

"Just come on over, I won’t make you pay if there’s a mistake. It’s just for half a day, five hundred okay?" Old Zhou yelled.

Yang Fan still shook his head, "I still have some time this afternoon, I should earn more than five hundred."

"Hey, you little rascal. Look, if you still have buyers, arrange the price over the phone, and I’ll find you a driver to pick up the stuff, alright? It’ll be easier than you making trips back and forth, and you’ll make more money," Old Zhou said. "Come on and give your brother a hand; I must dispatch this truckload of goods by tonight, otherwise, I’m worried about price fluctuations."

Yang Fan was somewhat tempted; this method seemed easier than running it himself.

"Didn’t you hire so many people in the warehouse to sort things out? Just call two of them up front to help you, and you’ll be done," Yang Fan said.

Old Zhou shook his head, "It’s madness, we’re still short-handed at the warehouse. I even temporarily hired those few little girls from the market to come over and help me sort out the goods, and we’re still short of people."

Yang Fan was stunned, "The little girls you mentioned, are they the ones I know?"

"It’s them, who else could it be? Keep your voice down," Old Zhou winked and whispered, "Help your brother out? Just give me a quick answer."

"You really are something!" Yang Fan was shocked.

Hiring those girls who stand around on the streets to sort out the medicinal materials—no one with a normal brain would think of that.

"You arrange the driver; I’ll contact those sellers first," Yang Fan said.

"All right, that’s settled then. You can rest assured, the drivers I find only handle the logistics, they don’t do anything else." Old Zhou readily agreed, seeming worried Yang Fan might get the wrong idea, and even added a special explanation.

That point, naturally, was clear to Yang Fan. What could go wrong?

Even if the driver poached his business, offending Old Zhou and wanting to sell that truckload of goods would probably not be easy.

Yang Fan lit a cigarette and stepped aside to contact several other farmers from Caoji Village, negotiating the price right on the phone and briefly explaining the situation as well.

This kind of impromptu operation was only for familiar customers.

If it was the first time, they would be worried about Yang Fan not paying, and Yang Fan would be worried about them stuffing bricks into the shipment.

After the negotiation, Yang Fan wrote down the addresses of those farmers on a piece of paper and handed it to Old Zhou. Then he found out what else he needed to do next and turned himself into a helper for Old Zhou, taking over the weighing.

With his addition as a new force, the progress was noticeably faster.

By a little past five o’clock in the afternoon, Yang Fan’s goods had come back, and the weighing was almost finished.

After dealing with the remaining few people, Old Zhou casually checked Yang Fan’s haul and weighed it, "Good work Fanzi, you were my biggest customer today. The amount you’ve brought in is the most, all of it adds up to almost two thousand pounds."

Yang Fan hadn’t expected to acquire so much this time.

The prices had suddenly skyrocketed, and it seemed like the farmers weren’t willing to wait and see anymore.

The price of Codonopsis had been very stable over the past two years, with fluctuations indeed, but only by a small margin.

After harvesting, most farmers liked to hold onto their stock for a while, waiting for a better market condition before selling.

This time, the price not only surged abruptly but also sharply, so those who were not big risk-takers definitely didn’t dare to hold on any longer.

They felt they made a profit, and so had Yang Fan.

And it was a huge profit!

With nearly two thousand kilograms of goods, he made the biggest earning since he started this line of work—fifteen thousand.

Yang Fan normally also deals with Codonopsis, but his profit in the past was only about one yuan per kilogram, sometimes even less.

Today, he truly hit the jackpot.

After sending off the last few customers, Old Zhou and Yang Fan slumped down onto their chairs practically in unison.

After spinning non-stop for over three hours, Yang Fan’s head was still filled with various numbers, making him feel almost dizzy.

"Fanzi, business is like a battlefield, this battle was thrilling!" Old Zhou said, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Yang Fan nodded in total agreement, "If I may ask, how much did you make this time?"

Old Zhou held up a finger towards Yang Fan.

"Ten thousand?" Yang Fan asked, surprised.

Old Zhou shook his head.

"One million?! Holy shit, you made that much just today?" Yang Fan was shocked.

Robbing a bank wouldn’t be this fierce, right?

Old Zhou casually nodded, "With this wave, it’s secure."

Yang Fan’s mind buzzed. Compared to Old Zhou, his own business seemed insignificant.

"You’re really awesome, managing to collect hundreds of thousands of kilograms in one day. How did you do it?" Yang Fan inquired, astonished.

"How could I possibly collect that much on the spot." Old Zhou got up, handed a cigarette to Yang Fan, "I had about several ten thousand kilograms already in the warehouse, with an average profit of fifteen yuan. I’ve also got two regular supply cooperatives, each had several ten thousand kilograms as well, for which I paid ninety-four yuan and made a profit of eleven yuan. Plus what we collected today, with an average profit of three to five yuan, well, that adds up to one million, doesn’t it?"

"This kind of opportunity comes once in several years. If you seize it well, you soar; if you don’t, it can ruin your family. If I hadn’t shipped the goods out in time today, I could have lost everything, believe it or not?"

Yang Fan was stunned. Truly, comparison is the thief of joy.

"Being your friend really puts the pressure on!"

He had just been excited about making fifteen thousand, but upon hearing this number, he could no longer feel happy.

Old Zhou was ruthless in his dealings—he had been selling to outsiders at ninety-six, but to his old partner, it was just ninety-four.

"It’s only with you, you young man, that I make less profit, just one yuan." Old Zhou said with a smile, "Now that I’ve made money, shouldn’t you treat your older brother to a big meal?"

"Are you being serious? You, who made a million, actually want me, who made ten thousand, to invite you to dinner?" Yang Fan cursed indignantly.

Old Zhou sneaked a glance at Zhu Shanshan inside, who was pressing on her temples and resting, and whispered, "If you can stop your sister-in-law from going out, how about I treat you to a big meal tonight? Let’s relax properly."