Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 760 May Everyone Be Happy

Eight hundred dollars was not a small amount of money at that time; it was enough for two months' wages for a full-time worker and three months' living expenses for a family of five.

The old man nodded and bowed in agreement, but his expression was somewhat doubtful, clearly not quite believing he had been tricked.

Xiao Wei stopped caring and left after handing over the man. As for whether the old man believed it or not, there was nothing he could do. In recent years, there have been more and more scammers with all sorts of tricks, some even ridiculously childish, but people keep falling for them. When they fall for it, they cry and wail, and when they want to take advantage, they are reckless. Such people don't really deserve any sympathy.

Where in the world is there an easy bargain?

Before leaving, Chen Hui pulled a wad of cash from the man's bag, grinned, and fiddled with it, saying, "Go back and coax Chen Xiao and Xiao Hong."

Xiao Wei got into the car, laughing, and said, "You can try to coax me, but my Xiao Hong definitely won't fall for it. Besides, I can't afford to mess with your wife, she's like a sour-faced monkey. You'll have to deal with it yourself."

Everyone knew this thing was worthless and had no value; it was just evidence, so they didn't pay much attention to it. The police chief even laughed and said, "Is this enough? If not, take some more. I'll keep some for myself."

Xiao Wei and Chen Hui shook their heads, shook hands with the director, and left.

The old man stood there watching the two figures disappear into the distance, gritted his teeth, and, taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, tightly gripped the five-hundred-yuan foreign bill and made a hasty escape, running away. He walked quite a distance from the police station before finally letting out a sigh of relief. He looked at the money in his hand and chuckled to himself. He turned around and looked around, then headed towards a bank. But when he reached the bank entrance, he hesitated, feeling as if everyone passing by was watching him.

The thought of exchanging over five thousand yuan filled him with excitement. "No, I can't exchange it here," he thought. "It's too close to home; everyone will know. I need to go to the city and find a place where nobody knows me." Having made up his mind, the old man turned and headed towards the bus station to go to the city.

Xiao Wei and Chen Hui got into the car and continued driving towards Beixi City. Xiao Wei picked up the phone and told Director Qin about the matter. Director Qin had gone back to Andong to move and said, "You're really something, kid. You can get cases anywhere, and it's all so easy. I'm packing up and moving in Andong. I'll ask around when I get back. This matter isn't a huge deal, but it's not insignificant either. It depends on the amount. You might get another credit for it. You're not going out these few days, right? You have to come over for a drink."

Xiao Wei said, "That works. I figured the wine would just be poured out without being drunk. I'll definitely go; can I bring my own wine?"

Director Qin laughed heartily, made a few jokes, and hung up the phone.

Upon arriving in the city, the two went directly to an underground shopping mall.

Now, Xinghai and the other six are quite capable. They've become familiar with the business, and each of them has undergone tremendous changes. A man's vision and wealth are his courage and backbone; even his voice is much louder than before.

"Xiaowei, what brings you here? Back on business? Huizi." Everyone waved and greeted Xiaowei and Chen Hui.

Xiao Wei said, "Well, I had some business to attend to back in the county, and I thought I'd drop by to see you guys. How's business?"

Chang Yuan said, "It's alright, hehe, it's pretty good."

Xiao Wei said, "Several shopping malls in Fengtian are about to open, and they're all renting out counter space like this. Do you want to go?"

Xinghai asked, "Then how do we do it here?"

Chen Hui said, "Just hire people. You just need to manage the money and goods. Hire people to sell them. Anyway, we have cars now, so they can just run around."

Xiao Wei bought a Daihatsu here, so he can now be considered a car owner.

Changyuan said, "We haven't paid you back the money here yet, how can we do it over there?" Xiaowei initially advanced 200,000 yuan, and when Director Liu took a stall and gave him back 50,000 yuan, Xiaowei didn't accept it. He directly used it to help them stock up on goods. Later, they got a Daihatsu truck, plus rent and other expenses, so the total came to at least 250,000 yuan.

Business was booming back then, a true seller's market. The three stalls brought in tens of thousands of yuan a month after deducting costs. The group had originally planned to pay back Xiaowei's money by the end of the year, but if they were to open another stall in Fengtian, they definitely wouldn't be able to pay it back. Back then, people were honest and didn't feel comfortable owing money.

Xiao Wei said, "You don't need to worry about the money. It's just a matter of whether you want to go or not. If you want to go, then go. Fengtian is much better than here. If you really don't want to go, I won't force you. Anyway, I don't have to worry about renting out my stall."

Liu Liu said, "If you ask me, we should go. The business is there, and we're not worried about not being able to pay Xiao Wei back this little bit of money. Wouldn't it be faster to get back the money if we had more stalls? There are eleven of us now, are we not going to be unable to handle it?"

Lai Zi asked Xiao Wei, "Wei, if we go to Fengtian, can I set up a stall by myself? I won't split the business here."

Xiao Wei said, "Sure, none of you knew anything about this place back then, so we all stuck together for courage. Now that we feel confident enough to manage, let's do it ourselves. Of course, if you want to continue as partners, that's fine too. We're all brothers, what's there to say?"

Lai Zi said, "Fine, I'll go. I'll do it myself. All five of them are dating, and they just leave me all alone. They're always provoking me. I'm going to find a woman from the provincial capital."

Everyone laughed. Because of a childhood illness that caused sores on his head and prevented hair growth, Lai Zi wasn't well-liked by the girls in his hometown. They were afraid he would relapse or that it would be hereditary. Rural social circles are narrow, and everyone knows each other well, so it's not easy for him to find a partner now.

And now that he has money, he's less inclined to find someone from the mountains again. It's not a matter of who looks down on whom; it's the human instinct to strive for advancement.

As they were talking, Gazi and Zhaodi arrived carrying a food bucket. These days, cooking is done by household, with each of the five households taking turns cooking for one day. Laizi, not having a partner, didn't have to cook, which he found extremely disheartening—a devastating blow.

They grabbed a large cardboard box and placed it on the ground. Everyone gathered to eat, and Xiao Wei asked, "It's only been five days, what about the other two? Who will do the cooking?"

Liu Liu handed Lina chopsticks and said, "Let's eat out and treat ourselves. We can all take turns paying."

Lina rolled her eyes at Liu Liu, handed the chopsticks to Chen Hui, and then took another pair. Here, Chen Hui was, after all, a guest.

The food was different from before; there was stir-fried meat, stewed bones, and chicken soup. The standard of living had improved many times over compared to when he first arrived. Xiao Wei felt very gratified and full of a sense of accomplishment.

"Is everything alright at home? Haven't you thought about bringing the elderly out?" Xiao Wei asked, picking up a bone and gnawing on it. Food cooked in an iron pot over a traditional earthen stove just tastes different; it's so comforting to eat.

Xinghai said, "Let's wait a bit longer. We need to pay off your debt first, then get a place before moving. There's not much point in coming out now. Renting a place doesn't cost money, does it? My old man will beat me up."

Changyuan laughed and said, "Xinghai has two families involved, which is quite a burden. If he doesn't handle things properly, he'll really get a beating. His dad will be the first to be beating Kexin's mom." Everyone laughed. Kexin's parents doted on their daughter. Her younger brother was raised like an adopted child, so they doted on Kexin.

Xiao Wei asked Xing Hai, "How did things go between you and Ke Xin? You didn't get beaten up, did you?"

(End of this chapter)