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Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Signing the Contract
Tong Yao tilted her head and asked, "How much per kilogram?"
The man froze. Buying milk by the kilo? Was he dealing with a big spender?
Recovering his wits, he managed to restrain his excitement as he replied, "Three cents per kilogram."
Three cents per kilogram! Tong Yao’s eyes lit up. This price was much cheaper than she had expected. She had thought that a kilogram of milk would cost at least seven or eight cents. In this era, milk production was low, and large-scale dairy farms were scarce, which made milk a bit of a luxury, just like electric fans. The high cost of production led to high selling prices, so she never expected it would only be three and a half cents per kilogram.
What Tong Yao did not know was that despite the low dairy yield, there weren’t many dairy processing plants in the modern era. Many milk-based products hadn’t been invented yet. Fresh milk had a strong smell that many people couldn’t get used to, and rural people were reluctant to drink it. So, the market demand was small.
Seeing Tong Yao silent, the man thought she found the price too high. He was anxious, unsure how to retain the customer because he wasn’t good with words. All he could do was stand there, waiting for Tong Yao’s decision. Finally, he gritted his teeth and handed her a bottle of milk.
"Miss, you can taste this first, to see if the milk is fresh. It was just milked last night."
"No, no," Tong Yao waved her hands, took out fifty cents from her pocket and passed it to the man. "Uncle, here’s fifty cents as a deposit. Starting from Monday, please deliver three kilos of fresh milk to the school’s gate every day. If I need more, I will let you know."
"Okay, okay." On hearing that he would be selling three kilos of milk every day, the man nodded excitedly, his hand shaking slightly as he took the money, his eyes tearing up, "Don’t worry, miss. I will deliver it on time."
Under the dairy farm’s rules, each person had to sell ten kilos of milk per day. The area he worked in, near the hospital, had few residents and limited demand for fresh milk. He hadn’t been able to meet targets for over ten days. The factory had issued a notice to him, stating that if he continued failing in his tasks, he would be fired.
His wife was bedridden, needing someone to take care of her daily. Their daughter and granddaughter had been sent back by their son-in-law. Their little farmland had been seized by his elder brother. If he lost his job, they would have nothing. Tong Yao’s patronage offered him a glimmer of hope for life.
Tong Yao found it odd that he seemed to be on the verge of tears just because she bought three kilos of milk from him. She took a closer look at him and noticed he had a limp when he moved his feet unevenly.
Children’s noises came from the residence. Looking up, she saw Chen Yanmei coming to get milk. Not wanting to run into her, Tong Yao quickly made her exit.
"Old Cow, who was that girl just now?" Chen Yanmei walked over holding her child, only catching a glimpse of Tong Yao’s retreating figure. She didn’t recognize her, and thought that she didn’t seem like one of the residents.
Old Cow handed the milk to Yanmei and casually replied, "A young girl who ordered milk." In his excitement, he had forgotten to ask for her name.
Yanmei took the milk and took a huge sip. Seeing this, Baodan immediately grabbed her face and snatched the milk back. He was merciless, leaving nail marks on Yanmei’s face, but she didn’t get mad, casually chatting with Old Cow.
"Whose girl is she?"
Given that Tong Yao had ordered to have milk delivered to the school and also looked young, Old Cow guessed, "She must be a student from Number One Middle School!"
Upon hearing that she was a student from the Number One Middle School, Yanmei ceased her inquiries. She had heard yesterday that Tong Yao was asking about milk, and had thought it was her. But she reasoned, how could Tong Yao, a country bumpkin, have such a chic figure.
...
Elsewhere.
He Fang was waiting at the door early in the morning for Tong Yao. Seeing her approaching from a distance, she quickly took her child to greet her. When they were still five or six meters apart, she called out cheerfully, "Sis."
"Sis Fang, have you been waiting for long?" As Tong Yao approached, she teased Niuniu a bit, then came to He Fang’s doorway. Tong Yao, being cautious, didn’t enter the yard and stood at the entrance asking, "Sis Fang, where’s Niuniu’s dad?"
Mentioning her husband, the smile on He Fang’s face faded slightly, "He came back for dinner last night, then left. He hasn’t come back yet."
Seeing He Fang’s reaction, it seemed that her husband being away was a common occurrence. Tong Yao changed the topic, "Did you talk to him about the rental?"
As the house was jointly owned by the couple, she didn’t want any troubles in case her husband disagreed with the renting of the house.
"I only told him that a friend will be storing stuff here, he didn’t mind. Don’t worry, Yaoyao, he usually doesn’t care." To be cautious though, He Fang did not mention the rent details fearing her husband might think of the money, she needed to think of a way to support herself and her daughter, as depending on her parents for help wasn’t a long-term solution.
Tong Yao might have guessed something but did not ask further. She took out the prepared contract and handed it to He Fang, "Sis Fang, there are ten clauses in this contract. You can see if there are any issues."
He Fang had only completed three years of school, but she could recognize simple characters. Someone was giving her money and keeping some stuff in her house. No matter how she looked at it, she wouldn’t be at a loss. Tong Yao’s mention of a contract was more of a formality, but He Fang still pored over it. Each clause was clearly written, spelling out monthly wage and rent payments, no price hikes within a year et al. Seeing no issues, she signed it. After she returned it to Tong Yao, Tong Yao handed over the money.
It been a while since she’d seen such a large sum of money, He Fang almost teared up, "When will you start keeping stuff here, sis? I can give you a key to the front door, and you can come by anytime."
"I haven’t bought the coal and stove yet, it’ll be a few days." Remembering that He Fang, being a housewife, might be familiar with all this, Tong Yao casually asked, "Sis Fang, do you know where I could buy briquette?"
He Fang replied, "I have some stockpiled at my house, you can use it if you don’t mind. I won’t charge you extra, just give me what I paid for them."
Tong Yao’s eyes gleamed, "Thank you so much." It was beneficial for her to use He Fang’s briquettes so she wouldn’t have to go out and buy them. 𝔫𝖔𝔳𝖕𝖚𝔟.𝔠𝔬𝖒
As Tong Yao was straightforward, He Fang found her trustworthy and kindly suggested, "Since the stoves on the market aren’t that effective and are expensive, why don’t you try making one at home? My father knows how to make them. If you trust us, I can ask him to make one for you, and you can just pay for the iron sheet."
"Thank you so much." Tong Yao hadn’t expected this turn of luck. In order to get He Fang’s help in the future, she wasn’t stingy, "Sis Fang, whatever the market price of the stove is, I’ll give that to you. Is that fine?"
He Fang quickly waved her hands, "Oh no! That’s too much."
Iron sheets weren’t expensive, and with the amount she’d offered, they could make several stoves. Fearing that Tong Yao would accuse her of overcharging in the future, He Fang didn’t dare to accept more.
"It’s not much." Tong Yao smiled and said, "I should pay your father for his labor in making the stove."
