radicalducati Chapter 51: Random Talk.
Chapter 51: Random Talk.
"Master Duan, those words are quite hurtful."
Ai Wu looked at Duan Tongtian with a wronged expression and said.
"Ai Wu, your face is indeed a bit... well, isn't it?"
Zhang Guohao glanced at Ai Wu and said helplessly, "This kid's appearance is indeed a bit of a disservice to our readers."
In places with lots of men, no one cares about her looks. But if she were in the service industry, she'd be doomed. She'd be out of a job in no time due to customer complaints.
Ai Wu clearly understood these things, otherwise why would he cling to Zhang Guohao's coattails? Since his face could no longer bring him any advantages, he could only rely on hard work.
"Brother Hao, even Pigsy has someone who wants him, so I'm better than Pigsy, right? Pigsy said, 'A coarse willow basket and a fine willow measure.' Who in the world thinks a man is ugly? As long as I work hard and make money, who cares if I'm ugly or not?"
"Look at those foreigners, they're all like ghosts, yet they still attract women."
Ai Wu didn't care about others making fun of his appearance; after all, it was an objective fact, and he had accepted his fate.
But they still have to retort a couple of times. When men get together, arguing and bickering are inevitable, otherwise they'd have nothing better to do.
"When looking for a woman, you should look for a good girl. Don't always think about using money. Can you keep someone you buy with money?"
As the only one of the three to have settled down and started a family, Duan Tongtian's marriage is quite happy. Therefore, his views still reflect the mainstream thinking today: find a good woman and live a good life. What is a good woman? A woman who can manage a household is a good woman.
"This is advice from someone who's been there, Ai Wu. Don't always think about solving things with money. You need to find the right people. If you buy someone with money, they might be with you today, but tomorrow when you're broke, who knows who they'll go to!"
"Who knows, one day they might see you have too much money and give you a couple of ounces of arsenic to send you to your death. Then you can try to reason with the King of Hell, can you?"
"Look at my daughter, what a wonderful girl she is. She's family-oriented, does housework well, and never makes a fuss. You should find someone like her."
Zhang Guohao said.
"But I don't have the patience to talk about love with them."
Ai Wu frowned. He had never experienced romance before, and he thought it was much more satisfying to spend money.
"Who gave you permission to be in a relationship? I told you to find the right person, and then give her respect and money!"
"It all comes down to money now. Wouldn't it be more respectful if I just handed over the cash?"
"But just giving money without respect can easily lead to trouble!"
"I'll just change it more often; if something looks like it's going to cause a problem, I'll change it quickly!"
"You little rascal, you're a bit wicked. What if you have a child? Are you going to abandon the mother?"
"We'll see when the time comes. Who knows when we'll have kids!"
"Fine, you're awesome."
The three of them sat at the bow of the boat and chatted idly. Some of what they said wasn't necessarily sincere; it was mostly just banter. Anyway, they had nothing better to do.
Besides, in this world, human life is worthless, and women are even less valuable. It's inevitable that people will make fun of them, but who doesn't want to find a resilient, capable, and family-oriented woman?
Even if he talks like a Casanova or a heartthrob, when he actually meets the right girl, he'll probably throw himself at her like crazy. Men? They're easy to manipulate!
……
"Gentlemen, we meet again. This time we have some good stuff brought back from Northeast China: ginseng, mink fur, and deer antlers. You can probably make a lot of money by taking these back with you."
Manager Zhao greeted Boss Huo and his group with delight.
Among all the fleets transporting goods to the mainland, Boss Huo's fleet had the largest capacity, so he naturally received preferential treatment from Manager Zhao. Also, in the previous battles with the island's elite troops, Manager Zhao always saved the best items for Boss Huo.
These high-quality goods can cover part of the shipping costs, and through Boss Huo, we can also exchange them for some foreign exchange.
The world still doesn't really recognize the Chinese yuan, and if mainland China wants to do anything internationally, it needs to use foreign exchange.
Although some foreign exchange was obtained by cracking down on spies and agents, it was still not enough overall.
The mainland will face a shortage of foreign exchange for many years, so raising foreign exchange is one of Manager Zhao's tasks.
When it comes to exchanging foreign currency, the one who takes the least cut is still Boss Huo. Otherwise, why would mainland officials favor Boss Huo? He's really thoughtful.
"Really? Just now, a few bosses asked me if we had any old ginseng."
After getting off the boat, Boss Huo greeted Manager Zhao.
"These are genuine Changbai Mountain ginseng roots, especially one that's two hundred years old. You absolutely must get a good price for it!"
Manager Zhao led Boss Huo and Zhang Guohao to a tightly wrapped box, opened it, and showed the two the contents.
"Wearing a fur coat on Hong Kong Island? Aren't you hot?"
Zhang Guohao looked at the fine mink coat, somewhat puzzled.
"Wearing a mink coat here is the only way to show that a rich person is a rich person!"
Manager Zhao smiled.
"Fur has always been a luxury item. Rich people may not necessarily wear it, but they must have it."
"Showing off isn't something only children do."
Boss Huo nodded and said.
Zhang Guohao shook his head, indicating that he did not understand.
"Deer antler is highly nutritious; the price can't be too low."
"Twelve pearls from the East, it is said that they were all given to the emperor in the past. Now that the emperor is gone, they can be exchanged for money to be used by the people and the army."
Manager Zhao introduced the items he brought one by one, most of which were things that ordinary people couldn't afford or use.
However, these items, when exchanged for supplies and foreign exchange, could support the front lines and covert operations, or be used to improve people's livelihoods.
When a country is strong and its people are well-fed and clothed, it certainly wouldn't sell these things out casually.
But things are tough in mainland China right now, and eating is the most important thing. Nothing is more important than eating!
Ensuring that hundreds of millions of people in the mainland are fed is the top priority. These things that people can't get enough to eat or use are not as important as replacing them with grain and cotton clothing.
After introducing everyone to Boss Huo, and having Boss Huo register them one by one to board the ship, Manager Zhao approached Zhang Guohao.
"You mentioned before that you wanted to purchase specialty ingredients from Shandong Province, which is possible, but the price... We're friends, right? I'll definitely help you, but this is such a big undertaking; we have to explain this to the people!"
Manager Zhao looked at Zhang Guohao and said in a low voice.
"I understand. We definitely can't let the people suffer losses. I can only take a portion of what I need. We're not in a hurry. We'll take it slowly and make do with what we can. I'll try my best to exchange it for supplies and foreign exchange."
Zhang Guohao said to Manager Zhao that he had decided to open a restaurant and would definitely try to find some specialties from Shandong Province so that people could eat authentic Shandong cuisine in Hong Kong. This would be the foundation for opening the restaurant in the future.
"Don't worry, as long as the accounts match up, I absolutely guarantee your supply. It doesn't matter who I sell to!"
Manager Zhao nodded and said that this matter was not a violation of rules or regulations. What he wanted was supplies and foreign exchange. If he could get these things, then he would have completed the mission.
The mainland won't worry about where these things come from, since they're all from abroad anyway.