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

"Three hundred?" Niu Dazhuang feigned shock, but it was indeed a considerable sum. An ordinary worker's monthly salary was only around thirty yuan. In this era, thirty yuan could support a family of four.

There are too many examples like this around us, such as Jia Dongxu, who can support a family of four by working alone.

This is equivalent to ten months' income for most people. How could you not be shocked!

Gao Chunsheng modestly added, "Don't be too happy yet. This kind of thing only happens once a year. This is the amount they've accumulated over four or five months."

"And getting all these bearings back won't be something we can sell right away..."

Niu Dazhuang wasn't really interested in this small amount of money. It wasn't that he was arrogant; it was just that he had hard currency in his spatial storage, which was less valuable than grain. This huge personal space was completely useless to him.

Niu Dazhuang isn't short of fire; he can say whatever he wants to hear for free. Besides, he's counting on this job to launder money.

It's so frustrating to have money but not be able to spend it!

"Master, that's quite good! Bicycle and tricycle bearings are only changed once a year, and this is only the first trip of the year! We can't just sit idle all year!"

"Well, I'm just giving you a heads-up. If you get too big for your britches, you'll get arrogant. Don't squander your money."

"Our job as drivers is already enviable enough. If you keep spending money recklessly, someone might badmouth you. I'll get implicated too."

Niu Dazhuang hadn't really thought of that. Thinking about those eccentric neighbors in the courtyard, if he ate meat every day, he'd definitely be sued.

"Master, you're right. Even in that big tenement, things can get turbulent. I know how to keep a low profile."

"Yeah, educated people are different. With your help, I'm much more at ease. Tomorrow, prepare a pen and notebook and write down all the things they asked us to do. Before, when I came alone, I had to rely entirely on my memory."

"With so many people, I can't remember them all, so I can only help three to five people at a time. That's why you're literate. As long as time allows, we're willing to do anything."

That's how relationships between people work. If you help someone with something, they'll naturally think of you when something good happens to them.

"Tonight, it's my treat. Let's have a good drink, master and apprentice," Gao Chunsheng said generously.

"Hehe, Master, then I won't stand on ceremony. But let's make it clear first, don't be stingy with money. I've heard the wild game here is quite good!"

"You've got good taste, kid. But I think it's just so-so. How about pork stew with vermicelli and a bowl of rice? Tsk tsk..."

Time flies when you're chatting with someone, and just as it got dark, the master and apprentice went out for dinner.

That night, both master and apprentice drank quite a bit, and Niu Dazhuang finally got to eat Feilong (a type of dragon).

In a few years, eating wild animals will be illegal.

The next day, with the letter of introduction in hand, I successfully drove the truck into the Fengtian Provincial Seed Company.

Gao Chunsheng went to find someone to take over, while Niu Dazhuang took a cigarette and went to chat with the gatekeeper.

Get to know them first; you never know when you might need their help.

They drove the car into the warehouse, unloaded the sacks, and then the master and apprentice drove to Fengtian Mining Machinery Factory.

Niu Dazhuang didn't know what kind of equipment it was; it was just a big cylindrical tube that took a lot of effort to load onto the truck. First, a tripod had to be set up, and then a pulley system had to be hoisted onto it.

The pulley chain rattled and clanged...

They ate lunch at the canteen, and by the time the truck was loaded, it was already past 2 p.m., so the master and apprentice had to stay another night.

"Dazhuang, this is your first business trip. Why don't you buy some local specialties from Northeast China for your family? Do you have enough money?"

"Okay, Master, I'll go take a look around."

"Be careful, don't get into fights."

Niu Dazhuang wandered around for half a day and only bought some pine nuts and dried wood ear mushrooms.

"Master, do you know where their black market is?"

"What, didn't you bring enough tickets?"

"No, it's not that. I just wanted to go to the black market and see how it differs from ours. The mink fur here is really nice, and the prices are high too. But I remember what my master said: I can't show off."

"That's right. Nothing beats buying food. What's so special about mink fur? If you have money, I can even get you a tiger skin through connections."

"I haven't been paid yet, so I can only admire it from afar! Master, since you have this connection, even if you don't get the tiger skin, getting a tiger skeleton would be nice too."

"Do you think I'm some rich landlord? I know tiger bone is a medicinal ingredient, but it's really expensive, I can't bear to part with it!"

"Master, how many of us who drive long distances have a healthy back? Money earned but not spent is just worthless paper."

"You make it sound so easy. I have four children at home, the oldest is fifteen and the youngest is seven. They eat like bottomless pits."

That means I can earn some extra money. If I were working in a factory, my four children wouldn't even have enough to eat, let alone save any money.

"It's not easy for anyone!"

"You're right. My eldest son will be sixteen next year. I'm wondering if he can get a job at our company next year. We need to make some connections. In three or four years, he'll be of marriageable age. We need to prepare money. After the eldest gets married, it'll be the third son's turn..."

"Don't laugh at me, kid. You'll only be comfortable for a few years. Once you have kids, you might not be as good as I am now."

"Hehe, I think I'll be pregnant soon too. I'll be promoted by the end of this year! You, my advisor, better get your red envelope ready!"

"Hahaha, I knew you were capable. Let's make it clear first, there's a red envelope if you have a boy, but no thanks for a girl."

"Hey! Master, that's not fair. Women hold up half the sky these days!"

Gao Chunsheng curled his lip: "Nonsense, look around our company, are there any women driving big trucks?"

"That's just sophistry! Men aren't even good at embroidery!"

The master and apprentice drank boiled water, chatted, and occasionally lit a cigarette. Before they knew it, it was dark.

"If you want to go to the black market, go ahead. I won't go; I won't save much money. After you leave the guesthouse, turn around, cross a crossroads, turn left, and walk about a hundred meters. You'll see it there."

Niu Dazhuang went to the front desk to rent a scooter and glanced at the young lady at the front desk a couple of times.

"What are you looking at?"

Damn, in one sentence, the aesthetic appeal is completely gone.

"Nothing much, just asking if there's a black market nearby?"

"You're not from around here, are you?"

"I'm from Kyoto, here on a business trip."

At this moment, the receptionist's eyes lit up, and she excitedly asked, "So, are you going to...?"

Niu Dazhuang shook his head.

The young woman immediately deflated like a punctured balloon: "Oh, right, he's so busy. Have you ever seen Tiananmen Square?"

"I've seen this before."

"Could you tell me about the situation at Tiananmen Square?"

"Okay, but I'll tell you when I get back."

"Do you keep your word?"

"certainly,"

"What did you just ask?"