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Chapter 41: Settlement of the Balance
After returning to Jiangcheng, Li Yi instructed his people to drive the car directly to the meat processing plant. Of course, he also brought Xia Xun along to show him how the batch of apples was being stored in the plant's cold storage.
Li Yi then arranged for Xia Xun to stay at a hotel in the city and assigned Wei Sanpao to accompany him. Li Yi knew that while the natural disaster in Yandong City had already occurred, it would take some time before the price of apples skyrocketed. This would take at least a few days, or up to ten days to reach its peak.
However, Xia Xun would certainly not be able to wait that long. So, Li Yi needed Wei Sanpao to keep Xia Xun calm during this period.
At the same time, Li Yi ordered his people to promote the benefits and advantages of Japanese imported apples to various factories and enterprises. Since these apples were endorsed by the children of factory directors or deputy factory directors, the information was highly credible, which quickly created a buzz in a small circle.
Everything was progressing smoothly according to Li Yi's plan.
Meanwhile, in Yandong City, the natural disaster had been quite sudden. Although the meteorological department predicted heavy rain for the coming days, it didn't foresee the arrival of hailstorms and typhoons. As a result, many fruit farmers hadn't harvested their crops in time.
When the typhoon hit, a large number of ripe fruits were blown to the ground. Then, hailstones as large as pigeon eggs fell, further devastating the crops. The fruit farmers of Yandong City suffered a catastrophic loss.
After the disaster, only a few fruits remained on the trees that were once full, while the ground was strewn with damaged produce. The people were in despair, and fruit merchants were left confused.
Just a few days ago, they had been lowering prices in desperation. But now, with only one-tenth of the fruits remaining in the entire region, the situation changed drastically.
The savvy fruit vendors quickly adjusted their strategies and started buying fruits at higher prices. Within a day, the price of apples that used to cost a few cents per piece jumped to ten cents, then to twenty cents.
Even so, there were still not many fruits available for vendors to purchase in Yandong. As a result, the prices of various fruits shot up rapidly.
In Jiangcheng, Xia Xun grew increasingly anxious. He had hoped to receive the money quickly after arriving, and then head back to Yandong City as soon as possible. But upon arriving in Jiangcheng, he found the situation was more complicated than he had expected.
Since his arrival, the son of Director Wei's family had arranged for him to stay at a hotel and took him out every day to eat, drink, and have fun, without discussing the money at all.
This huge sum of more than 24,000 yuan was hard-earned by hundreds of families in the village. Xia Xun couldn't afford to treat it lightly.
After three days in Jiangcheng, Xia Xun grew restless. He insisted on seeing Li Yi.
Three days had been more than enough for Li Yi to settle the payment for the goods.
In fact, the day before, Li Yi had visited Wei Kangan again. When Li Yi suggested doing business together once more, Wei Kangan did not refuse this time.
Wei Kangan had been preparing mid-year bonuses for his employees and needed to buy fruits for them. Cheap apples and pears were the perfect choice. However, before they could finalize the order, the natural disaster struck in Yandong City.
As a result, fruit prices surged at an astonishing rate. For instance, the price of apples from the place of origin had risen to 30 cents per piece, while small vendors were now selling them for 40 to 50 cents each.
In just one week, the price had increased several times.
When Wei Kangan realized that Li Yi was offering apples at just 10 yuan per box, he had no reason to refuse. But there was a catch.
Li Yi had set a few conditions. First, the meat processing plant could only buy 50,000 kilograms of apples. No more. Second, the payment for these 50,000 kilograms must be made immediately. Lastly, Wei Kangan had to help promote these "imported fruits."
Luckily, these conditions weren't too difficult, and after a brief hesitation, Wei Kangan agreed.
So when Li Yi received notice from Wei Sanpao, he instructed him to let the finance department settle the payment of 25,000 yuan.
Li Yi then took the money to the hotel where Xia Xun was staying.
…
At the hotel, Wei Sanpao and others anxiously watched the door. Xia Xun was also growing more anxious. He had been so eager to get back the money for the villagers, but if he couldn't settle it, he didn't know how to explain himself.
Xia Xun had even prepared to create a scene at the meat processing factory. After all, it was the villagers' hard-earned money, and he couldn't afford to let it slip away.
Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed from the corridor.
A knock on the door followed.
Wei Sanpao rushed over and opened it.
"Brother Yi, you're finally here!"
Li Yi smiled and gave him a reassuring nod before walking straight to Xia Xun.
"Brother Xia, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting!"
"Brother Li, I really…" Before Xia Xun could finish, Li Yi opened his briefcase and placed several bundles of new 100-yuan bills in front of him.
"Brother Xia, this is 24,200 yuan. Please count it."
Xia Xun's face turned red, and guilt flashed in his heart. Still, he began counting the money in front of everyone.
A total of 242 bills—no one was missing.
"Brother Li Yi, it's 24,200 yuan, but you've given me 65.40 yuan extra. I'll get that back to you right away!"
"Haha, no need. I've kept Brother Xia waiting for several days, so just consider it an apology from me."
"How can that be?"
Li Yi interrupted with a smile, "Brother Xia, we've dealt with each other more than once. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future. Don't worry about this little thing!"
Seeing Li Yi's generosity, Xia Xun stopped insisting.
"Since the payment has been settled, I'll take my leave now."
At that moment, Li Yi spoke again. "Since Brother Xia is in a hurry to return, I won't keep you. But it's not safe to carry such a large sum of cash with you. I suggest you deposit the money in a bank or mail it directly back home. It's safer that way."
Xia Xun thought for a moment and agreed with Li Yi's suggestion.
Accompanied by Li Yi, Xia Xun checked out of the hotel, mailed the 24,200 yuan back home through the post office, and then took a car back to Yandong City.
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