Courtyard houses: Those who are capable are rewarded, and many children bring many blessings.

This was the first time Niu Dazhuang had ever been so open with so many of his kind. Being the center of attention for his fellow human beings in the bathhouse made him feel uncomfortable.

Even Gao Chunsheng swore, "Damn it! You're not some wild donkey that's become a spirit, are you?!" Niu Dazhuang quickly jogged into the large pool.

"Master, this is so uncivilized of you."

"Haha, we're all grown men, you're not a greenhorn, what are you being shy about!" Gao Chunsheng said as he entered the pool.

Northeasterners are so straightforward! The master and apprentice had just sat down in the hot water pool when someone came over: "Hey bro, is it natural, or is there some secret recipe?"

"Born that way!"

The man's expression clearly showed disappointment, but he still gave a thumbs up and said, "What a man! You're living in this era. If this were during the time of Empress Dowager Cixi in the Qing Dynasty, you would have been considered an auspicious omen and presented to the palace."

Niu Dazhuang then asked, "Brother, are you a Manchu?"

"Young man, you can't be so disrespectful. My family has been poor peasants for eight generations. We're the red-blooded proletariat! I only heard it from the elders..."

This guy was a bit too enthusiastic; the rest of the time I just listened to him ramble on and on.

Before leaving, he said, "I'm Dazhuang from Fengtian Traditional Chinese Medicine Company. Come visit me sometime."

"Okay, Brother Wang, I'll definitely go if I have the chance."

Taking a bath is a great way to relax, and then we returned to the guesthouse.

"You're pretty patient, kid!" Gao Chunsheng said with a chuckle, leaning against the quilt on the bed.

Niu Dazhuang handed him a cigarette and offered him one too, saying, "I know my master won't treat me unfairly, so why am I in such a hurry!"

"It's a bit against the rules, so you should be prepared. Don't be silly and go around telling everyone!" Gao Chunsheng warned him worriedly.

"I'm not stupid!"

"Hehe! There are some clueless guys like this. Team One, the one that runs the Tianjin route, had this kind of incident last year. The new guy sued his mentor."

"Oh, is that so? Who would dare to associate with him after that! Don't worry, Master, I'm not that desperate for attention. All the favors are yours, just leave me some soup!"

"Well, it's not entirely Li Dachui's fault. Old Zhou just made him work but didn't even give him any soup, so of course he sued him."

He thought it was before Liberation. People were supposed to be incredibly grateful for even a simple meal! This is our first time here this spring; it'll only be interesting on our way back.”

"clear."

Gao Chunsheng casually tossed the cigarette butt aside, sat up, took out a stack of national grain coupons and more than fifty yuan from his overcoat, wrapped them in a handkerchief, and put them in his military green satchel.

"Let's go outside and see if we can find anything."

I used ten jin of national grain coupons as collateral to rent a tricycle from the guesthouse. It's the kind of tricycle with the cargo bed in the front and the seat in the back.

Of course, Niu Dazhuang did the hard work. Gao Chunsheng sat in the front of the truck while Niu Dazhuang pedaled from behind. They had already left the old city area when they arrived at a bearing factory.

Gao Chunsheng got off the tricycle, stomped his foot, went to the guardhouse, said something, and then waved to Niu Dazhuang before the two of them went inside.

Gao Chunsheng was quite familiar with the roads in the bearing factory. He turned past the workshop in front and went to the warehouse in the back.

People from Northeast China are known for their warmth and hospitality. Before Gao Chunsheng could even speak, the warehouse staff had already greeted him.

"Old Gao, I reckon you'll be arriving in the next few days."

Gao Chunsheng pulled out an unopened box of Daqianmen cigarettes, tore open the packaging, lit one for himself, and tossed the rest to the other person.

"Are you alone?" Gao Chunsheng asked.

"No, how could it be just one person? But we're all family here. We've accumulated quite a bit this winter. Can you eat it all at once?"

"How many?"

"There are fifty sets for bicycles and over one hundred sets for tricycles. The ball bearings weigh over two hundred kilograms."

Gao Chunsheng looked troubled: "I can eat it, I can eat it, but I don't have the money!"

"That's easy! Leave whatever you brought with you, and you can pay the rest next time you come. We've known each other for a long time, don't you trust me?"

Gao Chunsheng was also a decisive person. He opened his oversized military green satchel and poured all the money and food coupons inside onto the table in front of him.

"You count!"

At this moment, a middle-aged man with a full beard came out of the warehouse. The two counted once, touched their hands, and then...

"Old Gao, there are 200 jin of national grain coupons, one jin and two mao, that's forty, and the money is fifty-eight. That's ninety-eight in total."

"My goods are 50 cents each for bicycle axles, 50 sets would be 25. Tricycle axles are a bit more expensive, 70 cents each. 130 sets would be..." She gestured with her fingers, moving the beads on the abacus a few times.

"One hundred and thirty sets is ninety-one. Let's calculate the price of these steel balls by the small ones, six cents per pound, two hundred and eighty pounds is one hundred and sixty-eight, which is a total of 284. Then subtract your 98. You, Lao Gao, still owe me 186."

After saying that, he pushed the abacus in front of Gao Chunsheng: "You calculate it again."

"I'm not going to pry into that thing. We've been dealing with each other for so many years, and you've never made a mistake. Alright, I'm going to wait at our usual spot."

Niu Dazhuang watched quietly from the side. When his master told him to leave, he didn't say anything more, turned the car around and drove off.

After the master and apprentice left the bearing factory, they said, "Let's go back and see that grove of trees. We'll wait there."

"Master, you have a good reputation. You didn't even have to write a note for such a large sum of money before you took the goods away," the sycophantic Niu Dazhuang promptly offered.

"It's mutually beneficial, and they're eager to cash out; keeping it all in the warehouse isn't safe."

Niu Dazhuang took out his cigarettes and lit one for each of them.

In the time it takes to smoke two pipes of cigarettes, the same person from before came riding over on a backwards donkey.

These things were all made of steel, incredibly heavy—that's for ordinary people. Niu Dazhuang carried one sack in each hand and moved them over. He didn't even count them, and rode his donkey back to the guesthouse.

Once inside the guesthouse courtyard, we first put the bearings into the driver's cab. Then we locked the door.

After entering the room, Gao Chunsheng was delighted: "Dazhuang, we should deal with things like this, which don't take up much space and are easy to sell."

"Master is right. How did you manage to resolve this relationship?"

"That's hard to say. Offer more cigarettes and talk less!"

"I understand that. I was asking how you entered the room the first time?"

"You drove in! Oh, I see. Our city also submits its plans through their bearing factory every year. Let me put it this way, we have business dealings with most of the heavy industry companies in Fengtian."

"Oh, I see. They're all heavy industrial products; there's not much we can handle!"

"You little rascal, you're really ungrateful. Do you know how much money we can make on this trip alone?"

Niu Dazhuang shook his head.

Gao Chunsheng proudly held up three fingers.