1Items with a market price of 170 are being offered a maximum of 140, and that too, not even paid in one go.
Is this treating Xiao Ming like a naiveté? More like they're treating him like a fat pig ready for slaughter!
If Xiao Ming really were a greenhorn straight out of the gate, it would be a miracle to recover two-thirds of the payment within two years.
At best, he would suffer a severe beating; at worst, he'd be driven to bankruptcy.
The key point is that these people aren't even breaking the law; there's nowhere to go to even argue your case if you die.
Business is a battlefield where you kill without drawing blood, and once money takes over the heart, it turns black.
Xiao Ming glanced coldly at the contractor, shook his head, and said, "No way, the loss is too great, I'm not selling."
"Brother, the price I'm giving you is already very fair. How much did it cost you?" the contractor pushed on, unwilling to give up.
Xiao Ming held up three fingers.
"One hundred and thirty? So I let you make ten bucks per ton, and that's still no good?"
"It's three hundred!"
The contractor was stunned, then angrily exclaimed, "Fuck! Are you playing me? I've been in this business for over twenty years, and I've never heard of sand that costs three hundred!"
"Just because you haven't heard about it doesn't mean it doesn't exist," Xiao Ming turned and walked to his motorcycle, "Besides, that's today's price. By tomorrow, even three hundred won't get you any."
"Where the hell did this lunatic spring from?" The contractor couldn't help but curse under his breath.
Xiao Ming put on his helmet and replied with a faint smile, "Watch your mouth. That last remark you just made could potentially cost you a hundred thousand dollars.
No matter how much the market price for river sand is tomorrow, if you want to buy, you'll have to pay an extra ten bucks per ton."
"What a joke! Do you think I'm an idiot? Even if I completely leave the construction industry, I'll never buy a grain of your sand!"
Xiao Ming just shrugged his shoulders, started the engine, and sped away.
In the early morning, as soon as Yang Hanqing came out of her bedroom, she smelled the aroma of fried eggs.
"Good morning, Qing! Sit down and eat," Jiang Xue said as she placed a plate and milk on the table.
Yang Hanqing clicked her tongue in admiration, "Beautiful, good figure, gentle and virtuous, able to handle both the hall and the kitchen.
No wonder Mr. Xiao treasures you. If I were a man, I'd probably have to tie you to my belt to feel secure."
"Qing, you're teasing me again. Talking about beauty and a good figure, you're the real standard! Especially those long legs of yours. No matter how you wear stockings, they look good. You could absolutely be a supermodel," Jiang Xue said.
Hearing Jiang Xue mention stockings, Yang Hanqing couldn't explain why, but the image of herself chasing after Xiao Ming with her high heels in hand suddenly popped into her mind.
It was the most embarrassing moment of her life. It wasn't exactly a memory etched in her heart, but it wasn't easy to forget either.
As she mused, Yang Hanqing felt an itch in the sole of her foot, causing all ten toes to curl up.
After a few more jokes, she picked up her phone to go through the daily routine of checking the news. Barely glancing at it, she suddenly stood up, not even caring that she'd knocked over the milk.
"What's wrong, Qing?" asked Jiang Xue, concerned as she picked up the cup.
Yang Hanqing looked at her incredulously, lips quivering, "Xue, what... what kind of person is your husband, exactly?"
Jiang Xue was completely clueless, "What could he be? Just... just an ordinary guy!"
Seeing that she genuinely knew nothing, Yang Hanqing simply shook her head and started dialing on her phone.
"Hello, Mr. Wang! This is Yang Hanqing... That's right, I'm interested in purchasing a batch of river sand. How much do you have available right now... Huh? Can it be? How can your large operation have less than a hundred tons..."
After making several calls, the answers were all the same: either not enough to bother with or outright no stock at all.
In truth, Yang Hanqing knew all too well that the chances of acquiring river sand at this time were slim.
Because the headlines of the news revealed that just last night, three provinces along the river had undertaken a joint operation, clearing out a long-standing illegal river sand mining syndicate.
One hundred and forty-seven suspects were arrested, and nearly ten million tons of illegal river sand were seized.
Any competent businessman could see that this meant a huge gap had suddenly appeared in the river sand market; what was once oversupply had now become undersupply. It was no wonder that construction material bosses were not in a hurry to stock up their wares and wait for the prices to rise.
Yesterday, Yang Hanqing couldn't figure out why Xiao Ming was buying so much river sand, and today she felt like she had been schooled. She was slightly annoyed with herself for not having the foresight.
If she had bought sand with Xiao Ming yesterday, wouldn't she be making money by just sitting around today?
What background did that guy have, anyway?
A piece of news that had eluded me was something he knew about by yesterday morning.
It was downright frightening!
"Qing, could it be... did my husband get into trouble?"
Jiang Xue's voice was tentative, jolting Yang Hanqing back to the present. She pushed the phone towards Jiang Xue and said enviously, "Relax! The price of river sand is going to skyrocket. I bet he's grinning from ear to ear right now."
After reading the news, Jiang Xue also began to smile, nodding, "If the price of river sand goes up, maybe the wages for his work can go up too. He really should be happy."
Yang Hanqing rolled her eyes and thought to herself, my naive sister, blessed with such a monster of a husband, I don't know whether to envy you or pity you.
Meanwhile, Gao Yinghai, the contractor who ridiculed Xiao Ming yesterday, had just slapped himself several times.
If he could turn back time, he would definitely kill his own greed instantly. At the very least, he should have made a good connection, or at least gotten a contact number.
Instead, now he had to run to the construction site early in the morning, waiting to be slapped in the face.