Chapter 212: Using the System Space to Make Some Money
In recent months, Deng Shirong had not been working as a matchmaker for two main reasons:
First, the income from matchmaking was no longer sufficient for Deng Shirong.
Second, matchmaking was related to the lifelong happiness of both men and women. Unlike the protagonist in the book I Don't Comply with Anyone When It Comes to Matchmaking that he had read in his previous life, Deng Shirong didn't have a matchmaking system that could see the marriage compatibility values of couples and ensure their happiness with ease.
His matchmaking efforts were purely based on his decades of life experience. He couldn't guarantee that the couples he brought together would be happy after marriage, so he had to be cautious before taking action. He didn't want to act blindly for the sake of system rewards and risk ruining people's lives.
Without matchmaking as a source of income, his only remaining income came from the tile factory.
The tile factory was doing very well these days, bringing the owner an average income of around 600 yuan per month, which was extremely impressive in the countryside.
However, the income from the tile factory alone was still not enough for Deng Shirong.
After all, he now owed the bank a huge sum of 806,000 yuan. Although, in this era, one could avoid repaying bank loans by being shameless, Deng Shirong, as a reborn individual, was determined to repay the debt.
With a restaurant under construction in the county, Deng Shirong had no idea whether it would be profitable. If he were to open a supermarket, he was confident it would make money, but the timing wasn't right yet.
As the saying goes, those who fail to plan for the future will face immediate worries. Deng Shirong felt that he couldn't pin all his hopes on the county restaurant. He needed to find a way to make some extra money on the side. That way, even if the restaurant ended up losing money, it wouldn't affect his family's quality of life.
As for what side job to pursue, Deng Shirong thought about it for a while and finally decided to use his system space to make some relatively safe money.
In fact, the easiest way to make money would be through smuggling. With the powerful tool of the system space, if Deng Shirong really wanted to engage in smuggling, no one could compete with him. However, he wasn't willing to take such risks. Instead, he planned to purchase some fruits, store them in the system space, and make a profit by leveraging geographical differences.
Of course, he could also take advantage of time differences to earn even more.
Moreover, fruits weren't state-controlled products, so there was no issue of smuggling. As long as he wasn't greedy and kept a low profile, he could make money without drawing attention.
After finalizing his money-making plan, Deng Shirong began to screen potential fruits.
His first choice was lychee. Lychees were notoriously difficult to keep fresh. If he used the static function of the system space to preserve them, he could make a significant profit just by leveraging geographical differences, even without creating a time difference.
The savings on transportation costs alone would be substantial.
However, after some thought, Deng Shirong decided to rule out lychees.
The reason was simple: they were too eye-catching.
Lychees were notoriously difficult to preserve, and overcoming this challenge locally would be no small feat.
Not to mention the time difference. If he sold lychees from summer in autumn, winter, or even the following spring, and they remained as fresh as if they had just been picked, it would attract too much attention. If caught, it would be a waste of time and effort.
Finally, after much consideration, Deng Shirong settled on longan fruit.
In later years, with advanced preservation technology, longan was available year-round. While the preservation technology of this era couldn't compare to that of the future, even under normal conditions, longan could last for about ten days, which was much better than lychees.
Deng Shirong planned to purchase a batch of longan trees, store them in the system space, and then take them to the capital to sell at a high price.
With this plan in mind, Deng Shirong couldn't sit still any longer. He hopped on his bicycle and headed toward White Duckweed Farm.
White Duckweed Farm was one of the five agricultural reclamation farms operated by the autonomous region. Located in Temple Lotus Brigade of Pine Mountain Commune, it covered a total land area of 46,314 mu, including 137 mu of paddy fields, 477 mu of sloping land, and 45,700 mu of mountainous land.
The farm had 22,800 mu (284,200 plants) of rubber trees, 970 mu of sisal, 250 mu of tea, and 3,033 mu of fruit trees, including lychee and longan.
Of the 3,033 mu of fruit trees, longan accounted for at least 2,800 mu, making it the farm with the largest number of longan trees in the county.
Thatchfield Village wasn't far from White Duckweed Farm. Deng Shirong arrived at his destination in less than half an hour by bicycle.
After asking around, he met the farm manager in the office within two minutes.
The manager, surnamed Li, was a middle-aged man about the same age as Deng Shirong.
White Duckweed Farm was a large operation run by the autonomous region. It had a red brick factory, a clinic, a store, a primary school, and three junior high school classes. The total area of the farm was 50,600 square meters, including 19,900 square meters of dormitories, 6,674 square meters of workshops, and 24,000 square meters of other buildings.
The farm employed over a thousand cadres and workers, making it a significant operation. Being the farm manager here was no small feat, and it was clear that Manager Li was quite capable.
After exchanging greetings, Deng Shirong explained his purpose: "Manager Li, I came here today to discuss a business deal with you. I wonder if your farm has signed a purchase contract with the supply and marketing cooperative for this year's longan harvest?"
Manager Li looked at Deng Shirong in surprise and said, "Not yet. Comrade Deng, are you interested in the longan from our farm?"
Deng Shirong nodded. "Yes, I'd like to purchase the longan from your farm. Is that possible?"
Manager Li replied, "Of course, that's fine. Comrade Deng, how much longan are you looking to buy?"
Deng Shirong said, "I'll buy as much as you can provide."
Manager Li reminded him, "Comrade Deng, the longan production on our farm has exceeded 60 tons in the past two or three years. Are you sure you want to buy that much?"
Deng Shirong smiled. "Manager Li, I'm certain. No matter how many tons you have, I'll take them all."
Hearing this, Manager Li couldn't help but regard Deng Shirong with newfound respect. In this day and age, it was extremely rare for a private individual in the countryside to have such substantial business dealings. He personally poured a cup of tea for Deng Shirong and asked, "Comrade Deng, what price are you offering?"
Deng Shirong made his offer: "I'll pay one cent more per kilogram than the supply and marketing cooperative. What do you think, Manager Li?"
He had considered the price on his way here. He didn't expect to compete with the supply and marketing cooperatives at the same price. After all, why would the farm choose to trade with him over their long-standing partners?
But offering one cent more per kilogram changed the equation. While it might seem like a small amount, for 60 tons of longan, it amounted to an extra 1,200 yuan. Even for a prosperous operation like White Duckweed Farm, this was not an insignificant sum.
(End of this chapter)