Wu Xiaoshan returned to the village and went to Qin Yufeng's house first to briefly talk about his cooperation with Yang Zishan.
At the end, he asked aloud, "Sister-in-law, over the years, the old man and I have owed the villagers a lot. This could be a good opportunity to slowly repay those favors. If they are willing to help me pick those several hundred pounds of Matsutake mushrooms, I'll pay them the market price. What do you think?"
After listening, Qin Yufeng fell into deep thought. It wasn't until a while later that she lifted her head and said with a frown, "Xiaoshan, I know your heart is in the right place, but have you considered this? Let's set aside the fact that trading mountain goods and wildlife with you is one thing, but picking several hundred pounds of Matsutake mushrooms is quite troublesome. If the villagers don't see the money up front, they might not trust you."
Hearing this, Wu Xiaoshan also calmed down. Indeed, as Qin Yufen had said, with the reputation he had in the village, he had no credibility whatsoever.
Although he had sold nearly thirty pounds of Matsutake mushrooms today, he hadn't received any cash. If he had, it might have been a bit easier.
Qin Yufeng quietly watched Wu Xiaoshan for a bit and finally smiled and said, "Alright, let's not trouble ourselves unnecessarily. Whether it works out or not, let's first try to talk with the villagers."
Afterwards, Qin Yufeng took Wu Xiaoshan to Old Man Li's house next door.
Old Man Li was over fifty but strong and healthy, well-known in the village as a major harvester. The villagers were also willing to go to him for advice on which spots in the mountains had plentiful goods and wildlife.
Just as they stepped out of the courtyard, Wu Xiaoshan saw a crowd at Old Man Li's house.
He knew this was a great opportunity, so he walked over and said loudly, "Uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters, if you get any mountain goods or wildlife in the future, sell them to me. I've negotiated with the owner of a big restaurant, and I can supply them in large amounts. I'll pay you the market price, not a penny less."
The crowd immediately buzzed with excitement upon hearing this, with many voices expressing their eagerness to sell to Wu Xiaoshan.
After all, they knew that the hard work of taking their goods to town to sell to the vendors was both time-consuming and laborious, with the added risk of being cheated on the scales. Having someone to buy their goods right at their doorstep was more than ideal.
"Xiaoshan, you're becoming something!"
"Tsk tsk, you've got quite the setup here, you're going to get rich!"
The crowd congratulated him, but when they heard Wu Xiaoshan didn't have cash to pay them immediately, their expressions soured.
Zhang Dabao, watching the crowd's reaction, swiftly changed his tune.
"Wu Xiaoshan, mountain goods and wildlife aren't cheap. Even a single pound can fetch a decent sum. I'm not against you buying, but you must pay cash!"
Wu Xiaoshan had noticed Zhang Dabao earlier and, after cursing under his breath upon hearing him stir up trouble, responded with a smile, "Director, rest assured, I, Wu Xiaoshan, will definitely not cheat everyone."
"Besides, Zhao Laosan from the next village does this as well, and he settles accounts monthly. At most, I'll pay everyone by tomorrow."
Zhang Dabao heard this and sneered repeatedly, taunting, "Wu Xiaoshan, don't mind my bluntness, but do you think you can compare yourself to Zhao Laosan? He has a big family and business. If he dared to cheat us, we could just go take something from his house to repay the debt. But if you can't pay us, are we supposed to dismantle that shabby door of yours?"
Seeing Zhang Dabao expose Wu Xiaoshan's shortcomings in front of everyone, Qin Yufeng finally couldn't hold back. She spoke up crisply, "How about this, I'll act as a guarantor for Xiaoshan. If he can't come up with the money, the villagers can come to me for the debt."
Upon hearing this, Wu Xiaoshan was deeply moved, but before he could say anything, he heard Zhang Dabao sneer again, "Qin Yufeng, you're a widow and a recipient of social welfare. What makes you think you can stand as a guarantor? I suspect you two are trying to con the villagers together!"
After finishing, Zhang Dabao looked at Wu Xiaoshan with contempt and then vocally herded a group of villagers away.
Qin Yufeng let out a silent sigh and said to Wu Xiaoshan, "Xiaoshan, perhaps we should think of another way, huh?"
"Wait a second!"
Just as Wu Xiaoshan and Qin Yufeng were about to leave, Old Man Li, who had been silent, quickly called out to them, laughing, "Xiaoshan, I have a few pounds of mountain goods here. If you don't mind the small amount, you can take them to sell. Just pay me after you've sold them."
Old Man Li lived next to Qin Yufeng and knew both Qin Yufeng and Wu Xiaoshan quite well, so he wanted to lend them a hand at this critical moment.
"Thank you, Uncle Liu, but you should keep them for now. I'll come to collect them once I have the money," Wu Xiaoshan replied with a bitter smile, shaking his head as he prepared to leave. It was then that a familiar red sedan pulled up steadily in front of Qin Yufeng's house.
"Xiaoshan, I finally found you!"
Yang Zishan got out of the car and immediately spotted Wu Xiaoshan among the crowd, her hand shot up in a wave as she smiled and greeted him.
Her voice instantly attracted a lot of attention, including Zhang Dabao and others.
"Director Yang? What brings you here?" Wu Xiaoshan was startled.
"I'm here to deliver your payment. Besides, I asked you to help me purchase local produce and game, how could I not give you some startup funds?"
Yang Zishan smiled and then went to fetch something from the car.
The moment she said this, most of the villagers were instantly attracted to her, crowding around.
"Big Sister, if you really want to buy local produce and game, my family has some!"
Zhang Dabao's eyes gleamed as he looked at Yang Zishan, shamelessly speaking up.
However, Yang Zishan merely glanced at him and shook her head, refusing, "Sorry, I already have a representative in Wolong Village. In business, what we value most is reputation. If you really want to sell, sell to Wu Xiaoshan. He can fully represent me!"
With that, Yang Zishan handed over three thousand yuan in payment to Wu Xiaoshan.
Wu Xiaoshan did not refuse, for it was rightfully his, and at that moment, he most needed this money to stabilize the hearts of his men.
Seeing Yang Zishan hand a stack of bright red bills to Wu Xiaoshan right then and there, the villagers who had not quite believed in Wu Xiaoshan immediately changed their attitudes, clamoring to sell their local produce and game to him.
"Xiaoshan, my family has about ten pounds of wild Wood Ear Mushroom, why don't I sell it to you? I'm not in a hurry for the money."
Though Zhang Dabao was very jealous that Wu Xiaoshan had found such a strong backer in Yang Zishan, he wouldn't let his grudge against money win, so he smiled and decided to collaborate with Wu Xiaoshan.
The last thing Wu Xiaoshan liked was Zhang Dabao. Seeing him now softening up to him, he responded indifferently, "Chief, it's not about the money. If I want to keep earning a living from this, I'll have to pay sooner or later."
"Only, local products have different grades. How much your wild Wood Ear Mushrooms can sell for per pound, we'll still need to check the goods. We can't just sell any bad quality to Director Yang, right?"
"You..."
Zhang Dabao's face immediately turned ugly. He fixed a hard stare on Wu Xiaoshan, never expecting this upstart to show him such little respect.
"Xiaoshan, my family also has some local products, very good quality. How about I bring them to you now to check? Don't worry about the money, you can pay me after you've sold them."
Seeing Zhang Dabao put in his place, a villager who had previously doubted Wu Xiaoshan quickly tried to ingratiate himself, afraid Wu Xiaoshan would embarrass him in public as well.
Once this man took the lead, other villagers also crowded around, begging Wu Xiaoshan to take their local products and game.
Wu Xiaoshan was very pleased with the villagers' reaction. He looked at Zhang Dabao, who had a dark expression, then smiled and said, "Folks, don't worry, everyone can bring their goods to my place. I will weigh and count them for you. As for the money, you can rest assured, I won't let you suffer any losses."
He paused, then looked at Old Man Li, smiling, "By the way, Uncle Liu, I found a place with a couple hundred pounds of Matsutake mushrooms. After a while why don't you gather some good hands to help pick them? I'll pay you the market price as usual, how about that?"
"Xiaoshan, you... you're taking too good care of the villagers, I... I don't even know how to thank you properly." Old Man Li had only intended to lend Wu Xiaoshan a hand, but who could have known that he'd be offered such a sweet deal in return.
This was hundreds of pounds of Matsutake mushrooms, after all. If each person picked a few dozen pounds, that would be a significant amount of money!
The other villagers also instantly thought of this and began praising Wu Xiaoshan.
At that moment, Wu Xiaoshan's prestige reached its peak.
The most annoyed person at the scene was Zhang Dabao. Seeing Wu Xiaoshan basking in glory among the crowd, a fierce look flashed in his eyes.