Nie Ran ignored her discouraged words and tidied up the wood, trying to stack it neatly and take up as little space as possible.
However, no matter how organized it was, the huge volume was still impossible to ignore.
He touched a piece of timber and said, “This time it can’t appear in the middle of the road.”
Otherwise, if so much wood fell from the sky, it would surely cause a big mess.
Ning Xin also knew this, but bringing things back to the 21st century from this world was still a first for her. She had no idea if it would succeed, let alone choosing the right location.
Naturally, the best place to appear was the abandoned factory. No one passed by, so no matter what happened, it wouldn’t cause a stir. The area was large enough to accommodate the wood.
The two stood beside her, and she closed her eyes, concentrating hard.
A few seconds later, the three of them appeared at the abandoned factory, and the wood thundered down beside them, rolling all over the ground.
Ning Xin opened her eyes and looked around, saying excitedly, “We’re here!”
Nie Ran nodded and started to retrieve the wood that had rolled away.
Ning Xin took Lang Xiao to help and asked, “What do we do now? Contact the buyers? I’ll search online to see where there’s a lumber market.”
“No need.”
Nie Ran took out his notebook from his pocket and flipped through a few pages, where several phone numbers were recorded, along with detailed information about the companies.
“I’ve already checked before. Just give them a call and ask,” Nie Ran said.
Ning Xin was quite surprised by his words. She hadn’t expected him to be so well-prepared, not only having ideas but also taking action.
The three of them gathered together, and she dialled the first number. A voice quickly came from the other end, “This is XX Wood Industry Co., Ltd…”
She hurriedly said, “Hello, I heard that your company is acquiring wood. I happen to have a batch on hand. Are you interested?”
“What kind of wood?”
What kind of wood? This question stumped Ning Xin.
She looked at Nie Ran, who mouthed a few words to her.
She repeated, “Golden Silkwood.”
As soon as she said this, the person on the other end, who had been sluggish just now, immediately became excited. “Are you sure? How many do you have approximately?”
“There are… a few hundred.”
Each one was over ten meters long, and even such a large warehouse was almost full.
Ning Xin withdrew her gaze and asked, “Are you interested in purchasing?”
“Yes! Of course! Where are you and the wood located? I’ll fly over right away.”
She gave the address, and the other party repeatedly urged her not to sell to anyone else casually. He assured her that he would offer the most satisfactory price, and then hung up the phone.
Ning Xin looked at Nie Ran with a puzzled expression, holding her phone.
“This stuff… is it really valuable?” she asked.
She had heard of Golden Silkwood before and knew it was valuable, but she didn’t recognize or understand it well.
Looking at this pile of wood, she wondered if Nie Ran had made a mistake.
He didn’t answer, but pointed to the second number.
“Keep calling,” he said.
“Keep calling? But didn’t that person just say…” she started.
“The more sought-after something is, the higher the price it sells for,” he explained, shaking his head. “And you’re supposed to be in business.”
Ning Xin suddenly realized, smacking her forehead to clear her head, and started dialling the numbers one by one.
As soon as the other party heard that it was Golden Silkwood and that there was a large quantity available, they all became interested. However, they were all from out of town, and it would take them some time to arrive. The earliest one could only come by tomorrow morning.
It was now three o’clock in the afternoon, and there was still some time before they could finalize the deals. Ning Xin initially thought about taking them back to their newly rented house to rest for the night, but she couldn’t relax leaving so many valuable items unattended in the suburbs.
After some thought, she decided to say:
“Let’s stay here tonight. Both of you stay, and I’ll go out to buy some food,” Ning Xin said.
Nie Ran suggested, “I’ll go.”
“No, no, no. You and Lang Xiao stay. You two are strong, in case anything happens, you can handle it,” Ning Xin insisted.
After saying that, she ran out of the factory area, hailed a Didi taxi on the main road, and headed straight to the city centre.
There wasn’t much available at the factory, just a patch of cement floor. They would need quite a few things if they were going to spend the night there.
At the supermarket, she bought two sleeping bags, several bags of bread, a few sets of travel toiletries, and two large buckets of mineral water. Then she went to various restaurants and packed some rice dishes, barbecue, noodles, and more before heading back to the factory with her arms full of packages.
When she returned, she found Nie Ran and Lang Xiao standing in front of the wood, seemingly at a loss for what to do. Ning Xin called out, “I’m exhausted! Come help out.”
They hurried over, each grabbing a pile of packages, allowing her to finally take a break.
Ning Xin shook her wrist and said to the two of them, “Once we make some money, I’ll buy each of you a phone.”
Sharing one phone among the three of them was inconvenient, as evidenced by the situation earlier. If she had been able to call Nie Ran when they got off the car and had one person go pick them up, she wouldn’t have had to tire herself out like this.
Nie Ran responded with a nonchalant “Hmm.”
Lang Xiao’s eyes lit up, nodding vigorously. “Okay! Can we get one with a bigger screen?”
Ning Xin smiled and patted his head. “Of course, I’ll get you one that’s convenient for watching TV.”
Should she just buy him a TV? But then there would be the issue of electricity.
Whatever, as long as they had money in hand, all problems could be solved.
Thinking about the possible income tomorrow, she couldn’t help but feel excited and called out to the two of them, “Come on, let’s eat. I bought a lot of delicious food.”
It was already evening when they returned, and it would be dark soon after dinner.
Lang Xiao obediently curled up in his own transparent plastic box, burping contentedly as he watched TV.
Ning Xin and Nie Ran each lay in their own sleeping bags side by side on the floor, looking like two large caterpillars from a distance.
Since the factory gates and windows were broken, they could easily see the vast starry sky outside just by lifting their eyelids.
“What do you want to do if we really make money tomorrow?” Ning Xin turned her head and asked.
Nie Ran smirked, “Hand the money over to you and let you decide.”
Every time he watched her carefully select and calculate before buying something, he felt a sense of fulfilment in his heart.
He might be dead, but he was still alive, and he was living a fulfilling life.
Ning Xin raised an eyebrow. “Really? You don’t plan to keep any pocket money for yourself? I’m not that unreasonable, you know.”
Suddenly, Nie Ran reached out from his sleeping bag and rested his hand on top of hers.
“If you want to thank me, how about giving me an answer sooner?”
Ning Xin’s cheeks turned slightly red, pretending to yawn.
“Oh, I’m so tired today. Let’s rest early.”
Soon, calm breathing sounds came from beside her. Nie Ran smiled, withdrew his hand, and closed his eyes as well.
The profit from the golden silk tree was obviously very tempting. Early the next morning, just as the three of them finished washing up and were having breakfast, the first buyer arrived.
He was a man in a suit carrying a briefcase, looking a bit dusty. He smiled at the three of them and extended his hand.
“Hello, I’m Manager Zhang, the one who contacted you yesterday. I suppose you’re Miss Ning?”
“That’s me.”
Ning Xin put down the bread and stood up, shaking hands with him.
His eyes couldn’t help but glance behind her.
“You’ve come from out of town too, right? Did you stay here last night? Oh, if I had known, I would have arranged accommodation for you. It’s not suitable to sleep here at all.”
Ning Xin had only ever run small businesses before, always in the position of asking for help. This was the first time she had enjoyed such enthusiastic treatment, and she smiled faintly.
“It’s okay. Let’s take a look at the goods first.”
The other party was waiting for this. He immediately followed her to the wood pile, took out his tools, and started examining and sniffing the wood, observing it with a somewhat professional demeanour.
Ning Xin couldn’t help but nudge Nie Ran’s shoulder and whispered, “How did you recognize this as golden silk tree?”
“My coffin is made of this wood.”
“You… picked out your own coffin?”
“All emperors prepare for their funerals when they ascend the throne.”
She swallowed hard, unable to imagine how that must feel.
“Wait a minute, does this mean you know where your grave is?”
“Yeah.”
“Where is it?”
“Do you want to dig it up and take a look?”
Ning Xin waved her hands repeatedly, “How is that possible? I was just asking.”
“It’s fine to dig it up.”
He looked ahead, “The things inside are just there, you can take whatever you like.”
Those are burial objects! They might even have corpse oil on them.
Ning Xin shivered at the thought of him actually wanting to give them to her, and dared not ask further.
On the other hand, Manager Zhang had finished inspecting the goods, and although he couldn’t hide his joy, his words were tactful.
“The goods are indeed good, but the market has been shrinking this year. It might not be easy to sell.”
Ning Xin had run her own shop for so many years, she could tell he was trying to lower the price. She responded straightforwardly:
“Is that so? What a pity. Looks like I’ll have to find someone else.”
She took out her phone, pretending to make a call. Manager Zhang hurriedly shouted to wait, about to grab her arm, but was stopped by a glare from Nie Ran. He awkwardly smiled.
“Although it’s not easy to sell, difficulties are meant to be overcome. How about this, you give me a price, and if it’s suitable, I can apply to the company right away.”
As a layperson, Ning Xin certainly wouldn’t foolishly quote a price herself. She said,
“Manager Zhang is a professional, why don’t you make the offer.”
After a moment of thought, the other party held up three fingers.
“What do you think?”
Ning Xin didn’t know if he meant three hundred, three thousand, or thirty thousand, but it didn’t affect her response. She shook her head and sighed.
“You’re not sincere.”
Manager Zhang quickly explained.
“How could that be? Most of these trees are under 100 years old, considered new material. Our company’s average purchase price for new material last year was twenty-three thousand per ton. I’m offering you thirty thousand directly, which is risking a loss.”
Ning Xin didn’t trust him at all. Coincidentally, another buyer arrived, so she left Manager Zhang aside and showed the new person the goods.
Seeing that there was already competition nearby, the other party significantly raised their offer.
“Fifty-one thousand per ton.”
Ning Xin glanced at the embarrassed Manager Zhang beside her, pursed her lips, pretended to be conflicted, but in reality, she was overjoyed. Fifty-one thousand per ton, she didn’t know how many tons were here, but at least there would be over a hundred thousand in revenue. There were still so many trees of the same species in Purgatory… Oh, she was going to make a fortune!
With the previous experience, Ning Xin didn’t rush to sign the contract. She waited until all the buyers arrived before making a decision.
Throughout the day, five or six buyers arrived, and the final offer stopped at 150,000 per ton.
Ning Xin felt it was about time to make a decision and prepare to sign the contract. Suddenly, Manager Zhang, who had been eagerly waiting all day, pulled her aside.
“Miss Ning, I was the first one to arrive early this morning. I didn’t even drink a sip of water after getting off the plane. It’s not easy, can we talk again? Please sell this batch of wood to me.”
“But you weren’t honest,” Ning Xin said. Earlier, he claimed that the trees were all under a hundred years old, but the other buyers tested them, and they were mostly around a hundred and twenty or thirty years old. Those few decades meant a lot of money.
He dared to do this because he saw them as young and easy to deceive.
Manager Zhang’s face was full of apology. “Yes, I made a mistake in judgment, I apologize to you for that. But our company is definitely the most sincere.”
“Then, give me another offer.”
He had been making calls non-stop earlier, presumably negotiating prices. He gritted his teeth and said, “160,000 per ton, all-inclusive. How about it?”
Ning Xin lowered her eyelids and thought for a moment before making another request.
“Pay the full amount within five days and then take the goods away.”
“No problem!”
Manager Zhang took out the contract prepared overnight and filled in the price, letting her review it.
She glanced over it once and then let Nie Ran take a look as well. After confirming that everything was correct, she signed on it.
The other buyers left regretfully, while Manager Zhang hurried back to the company to arrange for people to measure the weight and transport the goods.
Outside, the sky was filled with the glow of the setting sun, and inside the vast warehouse, there were only three people and a pile of wood left.
Ning Xin lifted her face, smiling happily. “What should we do? We might become millionaires.”
Manager Zhang acted swiftly. On the third day, he brought a large group of workers and many trucks to weigh the wood.
In total, there were 231 trees of various sizes and thicknesses. It took three days of busy work to weigh them all. The total weight was 143 tons, which amounted to 22.88 million RMB.
Manager Zhang informed the company to transfer the payment. Ning Xin received a text message on her phone, and after checking it multiple times, she counted the zeros.
The fact that the other party was willing to spend so much money to buy all the wood indicated that there was definitely profit to be made.
After some processing and marketing, they might be able to sell it for fifty million or even a hundred million.
But that was already beyond her control, so she didn’t feel regretful. Her mind was filled with the terrifyingly long string of numbers.
Two hundred and twenty-eight million. She had never dared to imagine such a large number before, how many years of running her shop would it take to earn that?
And it was all in cash, the kind of money she could spend anytime.
The feeling of sudden wealth was too overwhelming, Ning Xin felt like she was in a dream.
Nie Ran couldn’t help but chuckle, saying to Manager Zhang, “Alright, the contract is done. You can go now.”
The last truck was parked at the warehouse door. As Manager Zhang prepared to leave, Nie Ran had a question that he had been holding back for a long time, but finally asked.
“Where did you get so much wood? As far as I know, there aren’t many Golden Silk Tree forests left in the country. Selling over two hundred trees at once is rare. Could it be… smuggling?”
Nie Ran glanced at him, and he quickly reassured, “Don’t worry, I won’t disclose it to anyone else. I just want to understand the source of the goods. If there’s a chance next time, we can still cooperate.”
Nie Ran chuckled, “With so much wood, it should keep you busy for decades. Still not satisfied?”
He chuckled awkwardly, rubbing his hands. “Hehe, let’s all get rich together.”
Seeing that the other party was tight-lipped and unwilling to reveal anything, he didn’t insist. After bidding farewell to the three of them, he got into the truck and left.
Ning Xin covered her chest, feeling like she had been possessed.
“Two hundred and twenty-eight million…”
“You missed eight hundred and eighty thousand.”
She shook her head, “From now on, any number below one million won’t catch my eye. And don’t call me ‘Director’ anymore, call me ‘Rich Lady’.”
“Rich Lady, do you want the half bowl of fried noodles left from lunch?”
“Yes!”
Ning Xin flew over and snatched back her fried noodles from Nie Ran’s hands, gobbling it up.
“These noodles are so delicious.”
Nie Ran looked at her with a smile, seeming to be in a very good mood.
“We’ve earned so much money, do you want to celebrate?”
“Sure, where do you want to go to celebrate? Is there anything you want to buy? Feel free to speak up.”
Ning Xin was unusually generous this time, and Nie Ran actually thought of a place.
Lang Xiao’s mind was all on watching TV, shaking her arm.
“Rich Lady, let’s go buy some phones.”
“Director, let’s go buy phones.”
This was something they had promised earlier, and it was indeed time to fulfil it.
Ning Xin quickly finished her noodles, packed up her things, and prepared to go home when suddenly two cars pulled up outside, and four or five men got out.
“You! Do you think this place is your own home? Stop right there!”
This posture… Was the owner of the factory here?
Nie Ran and Lang Xiao didn’t have any credentials. Ning Xin didn’t want to end up at the police station, so she immediately put on a smile.
“We’re not leaving, we’re not leaving. And who are you?”
“How dare you ask? This factory and this land are all mine. You come and go as you please, even storing things here. Have you paid rent?”
“Sorry, I was trying to find the landlord, but couldn’t. It’s really unavoidable.”
Feeling guilty from the start, Ning Xin apologized smoothly.
“Unavoidable?”
The lead man pointed to the number on the wall. “What’s this?”
“Well…”
With an awkward smile frozen on her face, Ning Xin was still thinking of how to explain when Nie Ran suddenly spoke up.
“How much per month?”
“What do you mean how much?”
“We want to rent your factory.”
“You?”
The landlord scrutinized the three of them from head to toe, with a look of disdain on his face.
“Three young people like you, do you have the money to rent? What kind of joke is this?”
“Whether we have the money is our business. Are you going to rent it or not?”
Nie Ran looked young, barely in his twenties, but he exuded confidence, making the landlord hesitate.
The location of the factory was remote, and the size was not exactly large. Small companies found it expensive, while large ones found it too small. It had been vacant for several years.
After some thought, he said, “I won’t rent it on a monthly basis. It has to be at least a year, with a monthly rent of 100,000 and a deposit of 1 million.”
With a deposit of 1 million and an annual rent of 1.2 million, it amounted to a one-time payment of 2.2 million. And they would definitely need to use it for more than a year, so they would have monthly expenses thereafter.
Nie Ran asked, “What about buying it?”
“Do you have the money to buy it?”
He didn’t answer, irritating the landlord.
The landlord inexplicably became nervous. “I haven’t considered that yet. I need to discuss it and get back to you.”
“Fair enough.”
“Okay, give me your contact information.”
They exchanged numbers, and as they left the factory area, Ning Xin still couldn’t quite believe what had just happened.
“Are you really going to buy that factory?”
“It looks like it’s two or three thousand square meters. Even in the outskirts, it must cost a lot of money.”
Nie Ran replied casually, “If the price is right, why not?”
Ning Xin pursed her lips and hailed a taxi as one passed by.
With their sleeping bags and other belongings, they first returned to their accommodation to drop off their things before heading to the mall to buy phones.
Ning Xin had used three phones before, with the most expensive one costing only 1,600 yuan.
But that was in the past. Now that she was a multimillionaire, she didn’t need to worry about such small amounts of money and directly looked at the most expensive ones.
Nie Ran quickly made his choice and picked a black one.
Lang Xiao was torn between two models.
One had a large screen and a beautiful display.
The other was sturdy and durable.
Ning Xin glanced at the sky outside and whispered in his ear, “Why not buy them both?”
“No, no,”
He was pleasantly surprised and pointed to the sturdy one, “Let’s go with this one.”
Long lifespan, saves money.
The sales assistant was all smiles as he helped him set up the account.
The sales assistant’s enthusiasm overwhelmed Lang Xiao, so he hid behind Ning Xin.
Nie Ran had to step in for him.
The other sales assistant, curious, asked after observing them for a while, “Are you guys friends? You all look so good together.”
Ning Xin patted Lang Xiao’s head and replied with a smile, “We’re family.”
Family who shares joys and sorrows, sticking together through thick and thin.
Leaving the mall with their new phones as the sky darkened, they hurried back home, worried about Lang Xiao’s safety, and ordered takeout for dinner.
For dinner, they had fried chicken and fried noodles with sauce. Lang Xiao lay in the plastic box, looking pitifully, drooling.
Ning Xin handed him a piece of fried chicken and turned on the TV, playing his favourite animal world program. Sitting on the sofa, she said,
“We should buy something tomorrow so we have electricity when we go back.”
Nie Ran raised his head. “What do you want to buy?”
“A generator.”
With so much wood transported here, they could definitely transport a generator and diesel back as well. With sufficient funds now, the cost of diesel wouldn’t be a problem.
Nie Ran nodded and handed her the mixed noodles. “Eat up.”
The next day, Lang Xiao stayed home to sleep while Ning Xin and Nie Ran went to the market to buy a generator.
There were many different models on the market, with significant price differences.
The mainstream models were priced at 30,000, 50,000, and 100,000.
Ning Xin consulted the salesperson. If they bought a 100,000 generator, the monthly cost of fuel alone would be tens of thousands.
They could afford it, but where would they store so much fuel once they brought it back? Diesel could sometimes explode. If it blew up, it might destroy the house, but what if it injured someone?
She became tangled up again, then suddenly noticed a store across the street. She grabbed Nie Ran’s hand and walked in to ask, “Do you sell solar power generators?”
The salesperson greeted them warmly.
After chatting for a while and examining the models and case studies, Ning Xin was somewhat intrigued.
“How much is a set? Is the installation difficult?”
“It depends on your usage needs. How many days a year do you plan to use it? What appliances do you need to power?”
“365 days a year, for all household appliances.”
“Oh?”
“Is that not feasible?”
“It’s possible, I’ll have our technicians help you calculate.”
The two provided their house size and the approximate usage of household appliances, then sat on the sofa waiting.
Ning Xin had already fantasized about the wonderful life after the asylum had electricity. Nie Ran casually picked up the product brochure nearby and started reading.
The staff quickly provided a solution.
A complete set of Solar power generation system that could provide all the electricity needed for 365 days was priced at 120,000, and they could enjoy free installation.
Ning Xin wasn’t expecting to enjoy the installation service, and while the price was acceptable, she was most concerned about whether it would work smoothly.
The salesperson reassured them repeatedly and promised a three-year replacement guarantee and lifetime warranty, offering them a small discount as well.
Ning Xin looked at Nie Ran, who indicated that she should make the decision, so she said, “Please teach us how to install it. If possible, we’ll buy it.”
The salesperson couldn’t understand. “Why would you want to install it yourselves? Installation here is free.”
“We live in a very remote area.”
“The installation service covers the entire country, including rural areas.”
“Well… Anyway, just teach us.”
With her insistence, the salesperson had no choice but to agree and called an installation worker to explain the details.
Ning Xin wasn’t particularly interested in this aspect and listened in a daze. She wanted him to repeat it again, but Nie Ran said, “It’s okay.”
She turned to him. “Are you sure? What if we need help later and there’s no one to ask?”
He seemed very confident, but Ning Xin was still worried. She asked them to print out a complete installation guide and solutions to common problems before paying.
The items were too large to carry, so they arranged to pick them up when they returned.
As they left the market, Nie Ran planned to find a restaurant to eat.
Ning Xin grabbed his hand, looking as happy as a child about to go to an amusement park.
“What’s the rush to eat? Come on, let’s go buy appliances.”
She had been looking forward to it for a long time.
Nie Ran looked at her hand holding his, and his eyes curved into a smile.
“Okay, let’s buy appliances first.”
Not far away was an electronics mall. Ning Xin walked in excitedly, engulfed by countless appliances and enthusiastic salespeople.
Refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, televisions, induction cookers, ovens, water heaters…
She bought almost every appliance available, including electric toothbrushes and hair dryers.
She chose the latest models from top brands, and the total price was considerable.
A whopping 230,000 yuan.
As someone who used to hesitate over whether to buy a meat bun or a vegetable bun, Ning Xin’s hands were shaking a bit before swiping her card.
Nie Ran said behind her, “You’re a rich woman now.”
Indeed, she had over 20 million yuan. What was 230,000 yuan for appliances?
Ning Xin swiped her card, watching the POS machine go through the transaction, and finally understood why some people get addicted to spending money.
It really felt good to spend.
They also arranged to pick up the appliances when they returned home. After buying some food, they were ready to go back and see if Lang Xiao had woken up.
As their taxi passed by a real estate development, she instinctively looked up.
The driver complained, “Houses are getting more and more expensive these days. Can you guess how much this development costs? 120,000 yuan per square meter! Who could afford that except for some big shot?”
She shrugged and looked away, but Nie Ran suddenly leaned over.
“How about buying a unit here?”
“Huh?”
“You’ve always wanted a home, right?”
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