Happy Little Farmer
Chapter 349

Chapter 349: Chapter 349

The codonopsis market had collapsed for quite some time.

It fell even worse than a cliff-like drop, directly breaking through the lowest price of previous years.

Now, even the ones with the best quality are only forty per kilogram.

Many buyers now dare not touch it.

Yang Fan, due to Old Zhou’s long-term contract protection, had been purchasing consistently throughout this period without much impact.

"Buy." Yang Fan said as he took a cigarette, "How much do you have?"

"How much? Hey, I darn planted eighty acres last year, got mischievously ambitious a while ago thinking of holding back some stock, hoping it could shoot up enough to get me a car. Turns out darn it, not only did I not get a car, I nearly lost my shorts."

The young man sat down across from Yang Fan, crossed his legs, and started to self-mock with some curse words.

Yang Fan chuckled; with eighty acres planted, this guy’s shorts really might soon be gone.

With the current price at forty per kilogram, he estimated it wouldn’t even cover the costs.

The thing requires money for seedlings, money for fertilizers, and labor is a major expense, the cost per acre is not low.

Otherwise, its price wouldn’t have been stable at around eighty these past two years.

At that price, everyone could make a profit of about ten per kilogram, but at forty, it’s definitely a loss.

"So, you’re planning to sell now?" Yang Fan asked.

The young man took a deep drag of his cigarette and said with a gloomy face, "No choice but to sell, if I keep holding it could drive me insane. Better to sell and regain some blood. Plus, I planted even more this year, tripled the area, looking at all that land is driving me nearly insane."

Yang Fan could understand his feelings.

Doing business on a small scale might not earn much, but the losses aren’t big either.

But if dealing with hundreds of acres without a sharp eye, it could mean working for nothing all year.

"I’ll buy whatever you have!" Yang Fan said.

"I asked around several places, only that guy named Old Zhou in the county is still buying, but he suppresses the price too harshly. Others won’t touch it, as soon as they hear the quantity is high, their heads shake like there’s something wrong with them," the young man rattled on.

"I really think now is the time to bottom-fish and stockpile. Codonopsis is a very commonly used medicinal herb, and its price can’t possibly be suppressed at forty forever. Yet, now no one is touching it," he continued.

Yang Fan smiled, it looked like he had inquired quite thoroughly, he had even been to Old Zhou’s place.

"Because during this time, the price of forty hasn’t even stabilized yet, it’s still occasionally dropping and rebounding," Yang Fan laughed, "With this trend, who would dare to touch it? If you take it, it might just crash on you right away. The stock we folks hold, it’s like money, it needs to circulate."

"If it’s compressed for a few more months, once this peak season is over, I also think its price will definitely rise, but who can withstand compressing it for a few months? This stuff sitting there is money! And besides, who can be sure about the market? What if it really doesn’t go up?"

"Then why are you still buying?" the young man asked curiously. "Do you guys have some special channel or something?"

"That, I can’t tell you. If I told you everything, wouldn’t I be sabotaging my own livelihood?" Yang Fan said with a light smile, his expression had quietly turned cautious.

This kid might also be dodgy, right?

"Right, right, I was being presumptuous," the young man laughed it off.

He fell silent for a moment, then suddenly changed the subject and asked, "Brother, here’s the thing, can we talk about a partnership?"

"Go ahead." Yang Fan said, wary.

"Since you have special channels on your side, how about I supply you long-term? And in return, you give me a price that’s slightly higher than the current market price, say fifty, how about that? I have eighty acres of planting area this year, and that’s a significant amount of income," said the young man.

For Yang Fan, a price of fifty meant earning just a bit less.

But he would still make quite a bit.

Yet, he always felt that this youngster’s intentions were not entirely sincere.

"I can’t do this!" Yang Fan shook his head and said, "Though your planting area is indeed large, and you are undeniably a major client in my eyes. But at fifty, not only would I not earn, I’d even lose a few dollars, and that’s not how business is done, right?"

"Since you have special channels, you should be making a sure profit, no matter what!" the young man said.

"Guaranteed profit only means that my goods can be sold, that I dare to buy when others don’t, that’s all," Yang Fan explained. "It doesn’t mean that the price offered to me is fixed and I can charge whatever I want."

"If you’re sincere about selling, I can buy, but if you have other motives, let’s just have a cup of tea and you can leave, okay?"

Yang Fan passed a brewed cup of tea to the young man.

The young man suddenly burst out laughing, "Boss, you’re being too cautious. I don’t have any other motives, I really came to sell. It’s just that, damn, this price really does leave me somewhat discontented."

"I can go up to forty-two," Yang Fan said. "If it’s over two thousand catties, I can add a further two yuan, but that’s my limit, so don’t try to haggle anymore."

"Two thousand kilograms I don’t have, but two thousand catties I can still manage," the young man said.

"Deal?" Yang Fan asked.

"Deal, deal!" The young man sipped his tea and suddenly scoffed, "This year my luck has been so bad that I’m almost questioning my life. If I don’t sell now, I can barely pay my workers."

"Back when I could have easily sold for ten thousand, I was loyally waiting for a surprise offer, but as I waited and waited, I ended up not even reaching that."

This guy really did seem quite frustrated.

If he had sold when the prices were high, not just ten thousand, but twenty thousand wouldn’t have been difficult.

But the market is just like that, experienced dealers like Old Zhou operate by the hour, ready to sell as soon as the signs are unfavorable. Only the novices still wait for the next peak, always just waiting a bit longer, always just a bit longer.

And that waiting, well, leads to nothing.

If it hadn’t been for Zhu Shanshan’s reminder, Yang Fan would have almost fallen into the trap himself.

"Boss, do you have time now? Come with me to pick up the goods," the young man said after setting down his teacup. "At this price, it shouldn’t be a problem for you to make a trip yourself, right? I’m nearly at a loss here, and can’t afford the extra shipping costs."

"It’s not that much money," Yang Fan laughed.

"It’s not a little either. It’s two hundred kilometers from here to your place," the young man said.

Yang Fan was taken aback, "You’ve come all the way from two hundred kilometers away to find me?"

"Exactly, isn’t this the land of medicinal herbs? I came here to try my luck since no one at our place is buying," the young man said shaking his head, "I guess I made the right choice, at least you’re actually buying."