Siheyuan: Rebirth of a comfortable life starts with Shazhu

For Liu Guangqi, getting a letter of introduction wasn't too difficult.

The key is that he was prepared in advance.

Back when I was still working at the factory, I prepared a few letters of introduction without filling in the address.

It was prepared for visiting relatives.

Furthermore, in the past year or two, there have been far too many people sneaking around on trains heading south.

The train conductors couldn't keep up with all the inquiries.

In Beijing's hutongs, many locals refer to trains heading south as "money-making trains."

According to them, if they could make a trip there and bring back some basic industrial products, the profit would be several times the initial investment.

Even some of the train conductors who run this special line directly participated in selling the goods.

People aren't stupid; they can earn at least tens of yuan and sometimes hundreds of yuan for each trip they make, carrying a few packages.

Who wouldn't want to do it?

So Liu Guangqi boarded the train with a bit of trepidation, but he never expected that the things being discussed on the train would be so mysterious.

Some people approached him, hoping to find out if Liu Guangqi had any sourcing channels in the south.

There were also those who stole glances at Liu Guangqi's fanny pack, wondering how much money he had in his pocket, and whether they could find a place to "borrow" a couple of coins from him.

The daggers hidden in the sleeves of those men were faintly visible, gleaming coldly.

Liu Guangqi really has money.

In all his years of work, apart from the fact that Liu Haizhong was paralyzed and Yang Ruihua was hired to take care of the family for a few months, he has never done anything like that.

He basically never spent any money on his family.

Therefore, his savings amounted to a considerable sum, which was the source of Liu Guangqi's confidence to venture alone to the south.

But Liu Guangqi was no novice either.

He noticed that some passengers were looking at him with a less-than-pure gaze.

He was very careful and resolutely avoided going to places with few people.

Besides, he has a letter of introduction.

He was dressed smartly, like a leader on a business trip.

So he moved closer to the train conductors' break room, hoping to deter those who coveted him from making a move against him.

After all, reform and opening up haven't happened yet.

This is not the kind of train that went north in the late 1980s.

Those who carry slings may sometimes do some less-than-honorable things.

But most of the time it was done secretly.

Carrying a stab was primarily for self-defense.

The seeds of development are awakening, and those who can board this train and head south with their minds are mostly the smart people of this era.

Most people are just after money; they only resort to crooked and unethical means when they can't make money through honest means.

Driven by the train conductor, Liu Guangqi moved to another seat.

There was nothing he could do; the people sitting next to him all seemed to have a sinister look in their eyes and weren't exactly respectable.

Liu Guangqi was afraid that if he accidentally fell asleep, he would wake up to find his pockets slashed by razor blades.

He does have some connections in the south; a junior high school classmate of his went to the south years ago because of his parents' work arrangements.

Because that person left early, they hadn't heard about the shady things Liu Guangqi had done.

We usually keep in touch with each other by exchanging one or two letters a year.

Although their relationship was so-so, it provided Liu Guangqi with a place to stay.

Before boarding the train, Liu Guangqi sent a telegram to his classmate.

He believed that his classmate would be there to greet him then.

After all, it was back in junior high, and that guy always copied his homework. It's like how Qin Hui had a few close friends.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, Liu Guangqi sneaked into the sleeper car again.

Fortunately, all he had was a travel bag.

Dressed neatly, sitting on the aisle seat in the sleeper car, doesn't seem out of place.

Liu Guangqi sat in his chair, staring blankly at the scenery flashing by outside the window.

What he was thinking about was the scene that his junior high school classmate had once described to him.

Near a certain checkpoint, every night a group of people would climb over the barricades when no one was looking.

Then, once you land on Hong Kong Island, you can obtain Hong Kong Island residency.

Once you land there, you can find a high-paying job in that expensive place. For someone with some education, you can earn at least five or six hundred a month in Hong Kong.

Of course, Liu Guangqi has no plans to go to Hong Kong Island right now.

That classmate also said that those who climbed over the barbed wire fence would be punished by being given peanuts if caught.

Liu Guangqi didn't want to take that risk.

What he's thinking now is to take it one step at a time. If he can find some work as a middleman in the south, he could earn quite a bit.

If all else fails, we can always ask Xu Shengli for help.

"Comrade, is there a fire?" The door to the sleeper compartment directly opposite where he was sitting was opened.

A young man walked out, holding a cigarette, and paused for a moment when he saw him.

After all, Liu Guangqi should be sitting in their seats.

The young man was tall and handsome, dressed in a formal suit, the fabric of which looked quite high-end.

However, the other person was very polite. He glanced at Liu Guangqi but did not question why Liu Guangqi was sitting there. Instead, he used the excuse of asking for a light to strike up a conversation with Liu Guangqi.

Liu Guangqi was also very surprised, as he knew the value of a sleeper car.

Those were tickets that could only be purchased by those with a junior county education or above.

Alternatively, one could only qualify for a sleeper berth if they held a letter of introduction from a large municipal enterprise, meaning they were an important figure in a collective enterprise.

The reason he sneaked over here was because the thugs didn't dare come near this carriage.

Liu Guangqi hurriedly pulled out his matches and explained, "Comrade, I'm sorry."

I'm on a business trip to the south. There are a few people in my carriage, and I feel uneasy, so I'd like to ask if I can hide here for a bit.

After saying that, he took out his hard-seat train ticket and let the other person check it.

The young man didn't take the ticket; instead, he offered Liu Guangqi a cigarette and chuckled, "That's normal. Most people on this train are thinking about making a fortune."

They are different from us.

Liu Guangqi's unique professional demeanor has earned him the recognition of young people.

Liu Guangqi got up and left his seat; he had originally intended to leave.

But judging from the other person's words, they didn't seem to be thinking of driving him away.

So he stood there hesitantly.

He first leaned forward and accepted the cigarette from the other person.

This made Liu Guangqi even more certain that the other party was some important person.

"Cough cough... Hey buddy, are you from Beijing?" The young man lit a cigarette, took a puff, but kept coughing, clearly not a regular smoker.

"Yes, it's in Nanluoguxiang in the inner city." Liu Guangqi didn't hide anything about this.

Although the young man had a gentle demeanor, he seemed to possess an innate air of nobility. He spoke slowly and deliberately, and every word he uttered clearly reached Liu Guangqi's ears.

Liu Guangqi simply didn't have the courage to hide anything from him.

"Cough cough, no wonder my father-in-law said it's best not to smoke, this stuff is really pungent." The young man put the cigarette he had only taken two puffs of on the ground and crushed it out at his feet.

He picked up the cigarette butt again, tossed it out through the half-open car window, and complained. (End of Chapter)