Chapter 806: A Sudden Idea

Wang An looked at Ye Qingfeng, who was currently basking in a sense of pride. He initially wanted to give him a few pointers, but after thinking it over, he felt it wasn't necessary.

Thus, without lying, Wang An asked

"I have nearly 2,000 jin of fine grain coupons. How many coarse grain coupons can I exchange them for?"

Ye Qingfeng replied without hesitation

"To keep things simple, if a ticket scalper wants fine grain coupons, they use 4.5 jin of coarse grain coupons to exchange for 1 jin of fine grain coupons. If a ticket scalper wants coarse grain coupons, they use 1 jin of fine grain coupons to exchange for 4 jin of coarse grain coupons."

Fearing that Wang An might not understand, Ye Qingfeng explained further

"If we want one jin of fine grain coupons, we exchange 4 jin of coarse grain coupons for it. If we want coarse grain coupons, we exchange 1 jin of fine grain coupons for 4.5 jin of coarse grain coupons."

These words sounded a bit awkward because it was obvious that regardless of the exchange, the grain station staff never lost out; the ones who always lost were the ticket scalpers.

But once Ye Qingfeng finished speaking, Wang An understood what was going on.

The reason for such a counterintuitive exchange was that fine grain coupons were clearly scarcer and more valuable than coarse grain coupons.

On the surface, if a ticket scalper had 1 jin of fine grain coupons, they could only exchange them for 4 jin of coarse grain coupons at the grain station, but they could get 4.5 jin of coarse grain coupons from ordinary citizens.

Looking at it this way, it seemed as if the ticket scalpers could make a killing.

In reality, however, this type of exchange was extremely rare, or even non-existent.

Because in order to stay full, the common people chose to exchange their fine grain coupons for coarse grain coupons!

One must realize that when people can't even get enough to eat, no one considers whether the food tastes good.

Therefore, the actual transaction was that the common people used one jin of fine grain coupons to exchange for 3.5 jin of coarse grain coupons from the ticket scalper.

Then, the ticket scalper would use that one jin of fine grain coupons to exchange for 4 jin of coarse grain coupons from the grain station.

As for the possibility of a grain station employee proactively using 1 jin of fine grain coupons to exchange for 4.5 jin of coarse grain coupons from a scalper, or a citizen proactively using 4.5 jin of coarse grain coupons to exchange for 1 jin of fine grain coupons—it wasn't that it didn't exist, but it was certainly an exceptionally rare occurrence.

In any case, the end result was that the ticket scalper earned half a jin of coarse grain coupons from the common people, while how much the grain station employees earned remained a mystery.

This was because the fine grain coupons in the hands of the grain station employees would circulate to those who wanted to eat fine grains. In this era, who could possibly be an ordinary person if they could eat fine grains at every meal?

Thus, Wang An pointed directly to the core of the issue

"Then how do you trade with those cadres and staff members?"

Ye Qingfeng thought for a moment, seemingly pondering whether he should tell Wang An these things.

However, Ye Qingfeng spoke truthfully

"One jin of fine grain coupons for 4.5 jin of coarse grain coupons. Sometimes when fine grain coupons are scarce, it's 4 jin and 8 liang. But more often than not, they are just sold directly."

After Ye Qingfeng finished, Wang An nodded and said

"Mm, that's fine. Let's go with 4.5 jin. If you can exchange them for 4 jin and 8 liang, the remaining 3 liang are yours."

Ye Qingfeng immediately stopped him with great excitement

"That definitely won't do, Big Brother! If I make money off you, would I still be human?"

Wang An patted Ye Qingfeng on the shoulder and interrupted him

"Alright, alright, just do it this way. Who knows, in a few days fine grain might not be worth as much, and then you won't even be able to get 4.5 jin of coarse grain coupons back."

Wang An's words weren't exactly alarmist, because land redistribution in the south happened one to two years earlier than in the north. Once the first harvest of the south came in July, the Northeast would no longer need to provide massive amounts of grain support to other regions.

Consequently, the demand for both coarse and fine grains would ease significantly.

Ye Qingfeng was stunned for a moment, but he didn't insist further. After all, 1 jin of fine grain coupons for 4.5 jin of coarse grain coupons was normal; 4 jin and 8 liang was indeed a bit too high.

And so, Wang An handed over 1,500 jin of fine grain coupons to Ye Qingfeng, who then turned to find his colleagues.

Soon, Ye Qingfeng returned with 6,750 jin of coarse grain coupons.

After thinking it over, Wang An also bought 1,000 jin of black beans that didn't require coupons. It wasn't that he didn't want to buy more, but mainly because the four-wheel vehicle couldn't hold any more.

It must be said that although the price of black beans was higher than corn, using them as feed for mules and horses was incredibly effective. After feeding them this for a while, the coats of Wang An's mules and horses, including the donkey, looked glossy.

Most importantly, buying this stuff didn't require coupons.

As for loading the vehicle, it was the same procedure as last time. However, after loading was finished, although Ye Qingfeng still wanted to invite the three of them back for a few drinks, Wang An politely declined.

To be honest, Wang An was mostly afraid of being "asked for seed."

After leaving the grain station, Mu Xueli finally couldn't help but say enviously

"Brother-in-law, the lives of those people at the grain station are truly carefree. Just a bit of swapping here and there, and a huge pile of grain coupons ends up in their hands. That's just too damn awesome."

Hearing this, Wang Li also said with a face full of envy

"Yeah, it'd be great if I could get a gig like that."

Wang An rolled his eyes at the two of them and said irritably

"Look at you two, so spineless. Do you think doing that job earns more than you two do? Do you think your lives would be better? Besides, it's not like I don't want to do that job."

The first two sentences left Mu Xueli and Wang Li feeling somewhat embarrassed; after all, if Wang An hadn't led them, they would still be struggling on the line between hunger and satiety.

But Wang An's last sentence suddenly left Mu Xueli and Wang Li bewildered.

After the bewilderment passed, Mu Xueli suddenly asked with a mischievous grin

"Brother-in-law, how about we find Brother Wu and the others and have them get you a spot on the staff? Then once you're a big shot, you can arrange for me and Old Fifth to get in too. What do you say, Brother-in-law?"

Wang An bragged with excitement

"That works! Once the three of us are big shots, this DJ County will be ours to call the shots in, hahahaha..."

After Wang An finished, he burst out laughing, and hearing him say this, Mu Xueli and Wang Li laughed along with him.

Obviously, anyone knew Wang An was just bragging.

After a while, as Wang An drove the four-wheel vehicle, he glanced at Mu Xueli and Wang Li sitting on the left and right fenders and suddenly realized that bringing them to the county town was purely fucking redundant.

Mainly because by bringing them along, Wang An couldn't go find Fang Xiu'e to shoot the breeze. One must remember that it had been quite a long time since Wang An had "fired his cannon."

Furthermore, regarding the scar-removal medicine, Wang An still didn't know what the status was. The key was that he didn't know what Wu Dong and Wang Shuai had been busy with lately.

A money-making business like a pharmaceutical factory should at least be given some attention.

Thinking about it, Wang An suddenly had an idea.

That was to let Mu Xueli and Wang Li drive back first after processing the grain, and then he would return after he finished shooting the breeze in the county town.

(End of Chapter)