Courtyard House: A Great Musician! Red Songs Resound Worldwide

"Do you know if there's any way to get some timber from somewhere else?"

"For example, on the black market, I don't mind if the price is a bit higher..."

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Exchanging Grain for Beams...National Grain Coupons

Jiang Datong was not surprised at all when he heard him say that.

After all, he's the kind of guy who throws out a whole pack of Daqianmen cigarettes.

However, the black market now mainly deals in daily necessities, food coupons, and meat coupons.

Who's burying timber here...?

He sat there pondering for a long time before he seemed to have come up with something.

"Section Chief Li, actually you can't buy timber on the black market at all."

"But there is a way to solve this, it's just a bit troublesome..."

"Troublesome?" Li Chaoyang frowned, thought for a moment, and said directly.

"Master Jiang, just tell me if you have any ideas."

"As long as you don't steal or rob..."

Jiang Datong hesitated for a moment, then said, "I know that timber can be obtained in the countryside."

"And they're all high-quality materials... large round logs like beams and pillars from landlords' houses."

"It can be used right away... but it has to be exchanged for grain; you can't buy it with money."

Upon hearing that there was hope, Li Chaoyang asked, "Shall we exchange it for grain?"

“Yes, we need to exchange it for grain.” Jiang Datong nodded.

"Actually, this method is not new. Many brigade headquarters in the mountains in the suburbs do the same thing."

"But there's a problem: if we get caught, it'll be considered speculation and profiteering..."

"It's more troublesome than getting some timber from the logistics department."

"So you need to think this through carefully."

After saying that, Jiang Datong advised again, "Section Chief Li, I actually think you and Director Cao get along quite well."

"Why don't we ask him for a solution? Maybe he can solve the timber problem."

But Li Chaoyang shook his head... "No, we can't get the materials from the factory, and we can't ask Director Cao for help either."

He does have some principles, after all.

Taking materials from the factory is, to put it bluntly, theft.

Taking grain to the countryside for speculation and profiteering is better than being a thief...

Not to mention, he even had to ask his newly acquainted old fan, Cao Guangyi, to help him as a thief...

This just doesn't make sense...

Actually, he had a way to get food, since he still had quite a few food coupons.

No more, three to five hundred pounds is a piece of cake...

But can this be done by Jiang Datong, whom I've just met...?

Li Chaoyang was actually somewhat hesitant about this, after all, you can't see into someone's heart...

After Jiang Datong finished speaking, he saw that Li Chaoyang was still frowning and deep in thought, so he spoke again.

"Section Chief Li, there's actually a problem with exchanging grain for it."

"It's easy to get timber into the city, and nobody cares, but getting grain out of the city isn't so easy..."

"Not to mention the wood needed to make furniture in this house, which would require exchanging more than 100 catties of grain."

"Just think about it, if someone were to carry two large sacks of grain out of the city, they'd probably be arrested before they even reached the outskirts!"

"I had only ever heard of 20 or 30 kilograms being enough to exchange for a log to bring into the city."

"But with such a large quantity, I wouldn't even dare to think about it... it's just too easy to be investigated."

Upon hearing this, Li Chaoyang suddenly understood.

There's really no need to worry about Jiang Datong's loose tongue.

After all, once he takes on this job, we're all in the same boat, so there's nothing to worry about.

Once the furniture is finished, we won't have to be afraid of Jiang Datong's big mouth anymore.

Even if we get reported, we can just put the furniture into the system and there will be no way to prove anything.

Having thought all this through, Li Chaoyang simply asked directly, "Master Jiang, there are risks involved in transporting this grain out..."

"Can't we just exchange them for grain coupons?"

But Jiang Datong shook his head upon hearing this, "Grain coupons? No way..."

"What, you only accept grain and not grain coupons?" Li Chaoyang was genuinely confused when he heard that grain coupons were no longer accepted.

If they only accept grain, do I have to personally make a trip to the mountains to exchange it for timber?

He does have a way of smuggling grain out without anyone noticing, and then bringing the timber back as well.

But he didn't know where he could get wood.

Besides, if I go myself, I can't let Jiang Datong come along...

Just as they were thinking about whether to ask Jiang Datong where they could exchange timber,

Jiang Datong replied, "No, it's just that our city's grain coupons can't be used in the countryside..."

"Besides, our food coupons are only valid for a limited time; they expire and become invalid..."

"Unless it's national food coupons, and if it is, you don't even need to pay..."

"But as you know, these national grain coupons..."

Li Chaoyang chuckled upon hearing this... "Master Jiang, I didn't say it was a local grain coupon."

"What I'm talking about is the national grain coupons!"

"If I were to exchange national grain coupons for timber, would 100 jin be enough, based on the amount of timber I mentioned before?"

Jiang Datong was stunned when he heard this... He had just mentioned more than 100 jin of grain.

One hundred catties of grain and one hundred catties of national grain coupons are not the same thing...

Those families with a larger population can buy over 100 jin of grain per month.

For example, workers like Jiang Datong who do manual labor receive a monthly grain ration of over 30 jin.

Even someone like Li Chaoyang, who sits in an office, gets at least 28 jin of food a month.

If you're frugal, you can save over a hundred kilograms of grain over the course of a year.

But national grain coupons were a different story...

National grain coupons could only be exchanged for local grain coupons, and a certificate from one's work unit was also required.

Moreover, they often come at a premium... because national grain coupons not only have no time limit, but can also be used to buy grain and oil!

Therefore, in terms of value, these national grain coupons were even more valuable than the face value of the grain they contained...

On the black market, a pound of national grain coupons can fetch as much as three yuan...

One hundred jin of national grain coupons... To be honest, Jiang Datong had never seen so many grain coupons since they were first issued.

As he thought about it, he swallowed hard... "Section Chief Li... you're not kidding me, are you?"

"I just said it weighed over 100 jin..."

"Do you really have that many national grain coupons?"

Seeing that he still didn't believe him, Li Chaoyang smiled calmly and casually pulled out a thick stack of receipts from his military satchel on the table...

Jiang Datong's eyes were somewhat vacant.

Looking at the grain coupons Li Chaoyang had placed on the table, they were all light red, five jin (approximately 0.5 kg)...

"Section Chief Li...this...so many national grain coupons? And all of them are five-jin coupons?"

He was completely stunned and couldn't believe it was real.

In a bit of a panic, I picked them up and flipped through them one by one...

Each one is a genuine national grain coupon.

There were a full twenty-five sheets, twenty-five pounds more than the one hundred pounds Li Chaoyang had mentioned before...

At this moment, Li Chaoyang still smiled faintly and said, "Master Jiang, don't worry, it's all true."

"A total of twenty-five five-jin national grain coupons."

"As the old saying goes, 'If you doubt someone, don't use them; if you use someone, don't doubt them...'"

"I'll leave the timber to you. Once it's replaced, we can start work immediately."

"As for your reward... do you think the extra twenty-five catties of grain coupons are enough?"