Chapter 73: What Should I Do with the Baby?

In response to Li Xian's "don't be afraid to spend money" advice, Chen Shulin expressed disdain—talk is cheap, but where's the money?

Right now, the factory's accounts were empty, and all the bank loans had already been distributed to the employees. According to the arrangement made by this young man, establishing connections with the supply and marketing cooperatives would require a lot of social capital.

Producing ten tons of paper costs about ten thousand yuan, which was beyond his control. But if they carried out a large-scale free giveaway, wouldn't that cost an additional two to three thousand?

Adding it all up, without five thousand yuan, the plan wouldn't be feasible.

When Chen Shulin asked for money, Li Xian smiled and said, "You just prepare; I'll make sure the money is in place."

Chen Shulin was skeptical. The factory had already spent over three thousand yuan on buying materials and resuming production. Even if the new factory manager had some background, could he really afford this?

At that moment, Li Xian's pager rang.

Seeing the area code on the display, he couldn't help but smile. He asked everyone to continue preparing while he picked up the phone in the office and made a call.

The call came from a company named "Hongri Hardware" in the provincial capital. The caller, claiming to be the factory manager, mentioned that they had seen Li Xian's advertisement in the provincial newspaper and wanted to discuss the batch of aluminum ingots.

Li Xian smiled.

Money was coming, just as expected.

Although television and visual news had become widespread, newspapers were still a major source of information. It would be about ten years before computers and mobile phones fully replaced traditional newspapers, which would then become an optional medium.

Thus, a small advertisement in the provincial daily had made a big impact.

Throughout the morning, he received sixteen or seventeen calls, all inquiring about aluminum ingots. Most people found Li Xian's offer of 7,200 yuan per ton too high.

The average price of aluminum ingots was around 7,100 yuan per ton, and Li Xian's ingots were not from the provincial capital area, so transportation costs would be additional.

As a result, most callers wanted Li Xian to sell at the market price of 7,100 yuan per ton and cover the shipping costs.

In response to these requests, Li Xian consistently replied, "The price of aluminum ingots changes daily. This is the price; no negotiation. If you want them, come and pick them up. If you think it's too expensive, look elsewhere. But I must tell you, there are already more than twenty people ahead of you. First come, first served."

After saying this, he hung up the phone without further ado.

Bargaining?

Hmph, what a joke.

With so many calls coming in, all claiming they needed the ingots for their factories, but in today's market with skyrocketing raw material prices, which factories would be rushing to buy?

Li Xian knew well that among those calls, only five or so were genuinely in need of raw materials to maintain production. Most were like Sun Dazhi—coming with the intention of buying low and selling high.

They were all speculators.

Since the 14th Congress, the previously ambiguous policies had been fully clarified, and planned economy was completely rejected overnight. The anxiety over whether China would lean towards capitalism or socialism had vanished like smoke in a strong wind.

The long-suppressed market potential was unleashed, and massive demand was released in a short time. Naturally, the foundation for all this development was the skyrocketing prices of raw materials.

What was surprising and bewildering was that no one knew where this wave would end.

At this stage, Li Xian guessed that even those who held the core power might be confused. Perhaps now, they were secretly alarmed by the disruptive changes happening in China.

And these speculators even more so.

Just ten days after the 14th Congress, the price of aluminum ingots had doubled. Even if someone like Li Xian, who seemed to have foresight, stood up and declared that the price would top out at 8,000 yuan per ton, no one would believe it.

1992, a miraculous year.

In May, the Shanghai Stock Exchange ended its previous practice of price limits, fully opening stock prices. The Shanghai Stock Index soared from 616 points on May 20 to 1,420 points in just five days.

This unprecedented phenomenon made a large number of people suddenly rich.

However, the miracle in Shanghai had not reached the Northeast speculators due to regional limitations.

At this point, Li Xian did not believe that those people would let go in the face of raw material price surges almost equivalent to that stock market frenzy!

From this perspective, throughout the afternoon, facing over thirty phone calls and their tactics, Li Xian held firm to his bottom line.

Early the next morning.

Just as Li Xian got up and washed up, he found many messages had appeared on his pager.

Holding his toothbrush, he used the dormitory's phone to call each one back. Without exception, all were from people who had called the previous day or new ones who had seen the newspaper ad.

What amused him was that those who had complained about the high price of aluminum ingots the day before had all arrived at the Forestry Bureau in the middle of the night, waiting anxiously for his return call.

Li Xian informed them of the location of the retirement home.

After more than half an hour, seven or eight people rushed to the front of the office.

Seeing this scene, the elderly people doing their morning exercises, Li You, who had just recovered from a sudden health scare, and Old Li Daoyun gathered around.

"What's going on so early in the morning?" Wu Shengli, holding a bowl of soy milk and a piece of fried dough, looked curiously at the group of people dressed in formal attire but looking exhausted.

"Is Boss Li here?"

"Boss Li! I'm Xu Mahe, who called you yesterday! Boss Li, come out and talk!"

Clearly, these people did not know each other, but seeing the copper smell on each other, they immediately felt a huge sense of crisis.

Amidst the clamor, Li Xian, in big shorts, plastic slippers, and a sports jacket, walked out of the dormitory.

Seeing the people at the door, he was amused.

"Oh, sorry, everyone. I was sleeping too deeply last night and missed your calls. Look at this, you all came together."

He cheerfully greeted Old Hong, the doorman, and let everyone in.

The group of old men then realized that the "Boss Li" they had been shouting for was actually the mischievous Li Xian.

The term "boss" was still fresh at that time. It was a title somewhere between derogatory and flattering. A few years ago, it was synonymous with the capitalist class. But now, some Hong Kong merchants had reshaped this title.

"Boss Li, is the aluminum still available?"

As soon as the people who had called Li Xian "boss" entered the courtyard, they began to push and shout questions among themselves.

Li Xian nodded, "Yes, 24 tons, not a pound less."

"I'll take it!"

"Give it to me!"

Almost simultaneously, the people shouted.

Li Xian waved his hand with a smile, "Don't rush, don't rush. I said yesterday, cash on delivery. Whoever pays first gets the ingots first!"

"Boss Li, I want it now. As soon as the bank opens, I'll withdraw the money and give it to you! Is that okay?"

At this moment, someone emerged from the crowd.

This person was carrying a travel bag with "Guilin Scenery is the Best in the World" printed on it. With a thud, he threw it in front of Li Xian.

"Boss Li, here's fifteen thousand. I'll get you another twenty thousand when the bank opens! I want these aluminum ingots."

Perhaps the person was too excited; the travel bag was thrown hard, causing the plastic zipper to open and a bundle of hundred-yuan bills to spill out, scattering everywhere!

Li Xian bent down, casually picked up a bundle from the ground, and thumbed through it.

He then shook his finger and corrected, "Brother, it's twenty-two thousand eight hundred, not twenty thousand."

Behind him, many elderly people who had never seen so much money in their lives swallowed hard. Even Old Li Daoyun, who was used to seeing through worldly affairs, couldn't help but rub his eyes and curse.

"Burp."

"Thud."

Hearing a gasp and then a thud behind him, Li Xian sighed without turning around.

Debts cause such scenes, and seeing the money come back also causes such scenes.

Li You, what exactly do you want me to do with this baby?!

Being a child is not easy.