dkrc Chapter 144 Talking Business
Chapter 144 Talking Business
Chen Tuo wanted absolute authority and unquestionable authority, but Su Dao, on horseback, stammered:
"Chen Zhiqing, I have seventy semi-automatic rifles at the hunter's settlement. Could you transport them over to exchange for them?"
Upon hearing that it was semi-automatic, Chen Tuo frowned. According to Wu Laowai, the Russian SKS Songling Forestry Bureau wouldn't allow them to go down the mountain.
"Uncle Su, although that gun is the same as the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, the markings are different. I'll have to ask Section Chief Xiao about that!"
The old-fashioned Sudaonian and Buick models are quite common in China, which is the main reason why Xiao Kai dared to bring the gun to the grassland.
Although the Soviet-made SKS was the predecessor of the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, it was ultimately something that was not easy to appear on the market.
Chen Tuo couldn't possibly give Su Dao a guarantee on this matter; he not only had to ask Xiao Kai, but also Sun Changkui.
"It's not the Type 56.5. That gun fires water-based rapid-fire bullets, which are longer than the Type 56.5. They're called Toka 40 over the river..."
Upon hearing about the type of gun he had never encountered before, Chen Tuo asked in return:
"Uncle Su Dao, why didn't you sell it to the Songling Armed Forces Department?"
Chen Tuo's question was pointless; Su Dao had kept those guns at the hunters' camp for several years.
It wasn't that they didn't want to sell to the Armed Forces Department, but rather that Sun Changkui of the Armed Forces Department dared not accept it.
"The Changkui brothers dared not accept it, saying that such a gun model is not available in China!"
Upon hearing that it was a gun type that even Sun Changkui wouldn't dare to take, Chen Tuo tightened his grip on the horse's reins, neither refusing nor agreeing, but simply nodding.
"Chen, those guns are just a nuisance. If we could trade them for an old Buick, that would be good too!"
The loss of 70 Toka 40 semi-automatic vehicles was also a major setback suffered by Su Dao during his business dealings.
Those guns weren't obtained casually; he and Morigen made three trips and transported six sleds full of tea bricks in exchange for them.
If he hadn't suffered this loss, his business could have grown even larger.
Thinking about the frustration of getting something back but being unable to exchange it, Su Dao also told Chen Tuo in detail about how he suffered a loss.
"Uncle Su Dao, you mean the Evenki people guarding the warehouse over there, the ones across the river? Or a whole team?"
Su Dao complained, but Chen Tuo didn't listen to his humiliation; instead, he listened to his trading partner across the river.
According to Su Dao's description, the other party didn't mean to cheat him; it's just that the only decent semi-automatic vehicle they had at the time was the Toca 40.
The regulations have loosened up in recent years, so they replaced his car with a Soviet-made SKS.
"Hmm! They said it's a mixed Buryat and Yakut company, specifically for guarding the warehouse..."
"Is it just them, a single team, watching over things?"
"Yeah! It's cold over there, nobody can stay there, and they don't stay long either. They just graze reindeer nearby..."
"Take whatever you want from the warehouse, okay?"
"Pretty much, huh? Nobody's been checking for years. They say the people sent down here just have one meal and then leave..."
After listening to Su Dao's explanation, Chen Tuo knew he had struck gold.
To put it bluntly, Su Dao's trading partner across the river was a reindeer tribe in the Far East that was paid a salary.
The warehouse he mentioned was a small military depot on the Russian side, mainly storing light weapons and logistical equipment.
These junk items, which have been stored for over a decade or even several decades and have lost much of their attention, are precisely the border trade products that can circulate within the country.
Without Su Dao's supplementary explanation, Chen Tuo would never have bothered to find a market for his seventy Toka 40s.
Now, we have to find a sales channel, whether we want to or not, since it involves future cooperation.
The herders successfully hunted the wolves, and although it was almost dawn, they continued the bonfire feast.
Chen Tuo sat on the leather, brewing hot wine. While talking about his harvest, he also discussed the upcoming business with Xiao Kai.
"Toka-40? It should be SVT-40, right? This gun is delicate and troublesome to maintain. It shouldn't be a problem to have a few less on the grasslands."
Learning about various Soviet firearms was also part of Xiao Kai's militia training curriculum.
Unlike ordinary militiamen, he received militia training at the company and platoon level.
Although he lacked practical experience like Chu Maolin, his theoretical foundation was solid.
Firearms are still in the late stage of being hidden among the people; you can buy homemade guns, foreign cannons, and guns from all over the world in the market.
If it were a densely populated residential area like Songling, Xiao Kai wouldn't dare say there wouldn't be any problems.
But in the grasslands, which are even more vast and sparsely populated than Songling, let alone an SVT40, no one would be surprised if a herdsman had an AK47.
Herdsmen's duty is to protect the public cattle, sheep, and horses they graze; what kind of gun they use is not important.
On the grasslands where wolf attacks and harms are frequent, herders are often dozens of kilometers apart, and firearms are one of the necessities for their production and life.
Under normal circumstances, no one would care about the type of firearms a herdsman has.
Even if there's a problem, finding a reason to exchange it at the Armed Forces Department is a way to solve the problem.
The Songling Forestry Bureau handled the Soviet-made SKS that had been brought down from Sudaolong in the past in this way.
"Shall we go talk business with Uncle Qinggele later?"
Xiao Kai wanted to stay out of it, and Chen Tuo didn't want Su Dao to take any risks. It was better for Section Chief Xiao from the Forestry Bureau to handle this kind of unclear matter.
"Should I skip it?"
"Section Chief Xiao, Uncle Su Dao has traded his Tokay 40 for a Tibetan gazelle. Have you asked around at other zoos if they have any similar needs?"
Xiao Kai wanted to be a non-stick pan, and Chen Tuo couldn't let him take advantage of him for nothing.
You reap what you sow.
He wasn't like Sun Changkui, who would proactively feed Xiao Kai.
Sure enough, Xiao Kai perked up immediately upon hearing about the zoo outside; this was directly related to his idea of cultural tourism…
"Is it free?"
"What nonsense! Five hundred each, one thousand for a pair, two thousand for a family of three with puppies, shipping is not included!"
"Why is it expensive for a family of three!"
"That's called a community! Two thousand for one family, five thousand for two families, ten thousand for three families, take it or leave it! That's called selling exclusive goods!"
Upon hearing Chen Tuo's business acumen of slaughtering pigs and sheep, Xiao Kai rolled his eyes. The knife in this guy's hand was a real gem, capable of cutting through iron like mud.
"I'll have to ask!"
"Tell them that this winter, before spring, they will slaughter sheep and eat meat; if they miss this time, they will not be served."
After explaining his business acumen, Chen Tuo had Zhang Taibao and Guan Tianpeng carry the cooking pot while he and Xiao Kai walked up to Qinggele.
"Uncle Qinggele, shall we discuss a business deal?"
Both the gazelle herd and the wolf pelts hunted belong to the people of the winter ranch and will be distributed equally later.
If you were to exchange them little by little from the herders, the process would be very tedious.
Let Qinggele act as the herders' agent to negotiate a one-shot deal, and then let the herders negotiate the rest of the transactions themselves.
This avoids both the hassle of verbal disputes and the conflicts arising from unequal distribution of benefits.
"Okay! Let's talk in the tent at the back..."
As for Qinggele, he had already spoken with Su Dao once before, so talking to Chen Tuo and Xiao Kai again would be a piece of cake.
Inside the tents at the winter ranch, the decision was finalized by Chen Tuo and approved by Qinggele.
Su Dao could trade one Toka 40 semi-automatic horse for one draft horse and one Mongolian horse.
Although the price is a bit high, as mentioned before, the livestock that the herders raise nowadays are mostly from the team, and they own very few of them.
Privately owned livestock mostly consisted of cattle, horses, camels, and the like, used as means of transportation...