Reborn at 80: From Village Scoundrel to Billionaire

"Knock knock knock!"

Just as Liu Bei was hesitating, there was a knock on the door.

Then came Fan Ha'er's signature loud voice: "Brother Bei! Brother Bei! Are you done yet? Are you still going to sell the water monkey or not? Give us a straight answer! If we don't go soon, Da Zhuang and Tan Si's legs are getting sore from standing at the village entrance!"

Liu Bei snapped out of his thoughts and immediately shouted back, "Sell! Of course I'll sell! Wait, I'm coming out right now!"

As soon as the door opened, Fan Ha'er eagerly rushed over: "Brother Bei, why are you taking so long? Are you whispering with your wives, or are you getting ready to fight? If it's a fight, then I'm not in a hurry. I'll learn a bit from you before I go sell water monkeys!"

Liu Bei: "..." "Learn from you, my foot."

Liu Bei closed the courtyard gate behind him and lowered his voice, "Let's go to the village entrance."

"Alright!" Fan Ha'er chuckled and followed, rubbing his hands together.

The two had only taken a few steps when a head furtively shrank back into the shadows deep in the alley.

Zhao Liuzhi squatted against the wall, his eyes narrowed to slits. "In the middle of the night... are they really going to sell that water ghost? What's Liu Bei up to now..."

After thinking about it, he quietly followed them.

At the village entrance, Li Dazhuang leaned against a tree trunk, while Tan Si squatted on the ground rubbing his ankle. They had been waiting for a long time, and they immediately stood up when they saw Liu Bei coming over.

"Brother Bei."

"Everyone's here, let's go."

Liu Bei nodded, slung the otter pelt over his shoulder, and said, "Dazhuang, go to your second uncle's and drive the tractor out."

"Alright!" Li Dazhuang ran to the bike shed.

A short while later, the sound of a hand tractor came from the village entrance.

After several people climbed onto the truck bed, Liu Bei placed the otter at his feet.

Soon, under the cover of night, Li Dazhuang drove his tractor toward the county town.

More than an hour later, Li Dazhuang finally drove the tractor into the county town.

At this time, the county town was not like the countryside; the lights were still faintly visible.

Li Dazhuang drove the tractor through a maze of turns into a secluded back alley. After parking the tractor, Liu Bei led the three of them straight to the black market they had visited before.

It was almost 8 p.m., and most markets in the city would have closed long ago.

Only in the depths of this alley does the flow of people continue uninterrupted.

Based on his memory, Liu Bei quickly located the middle-aged man, Boss Ma, from the last transaction.

At that moment, the other party was squatting next to a burlap sack, examining the goods by the light of a kerosene lamp.

"Boss Ma," Liu Bei greeted him as he stepped forward.

The middle-aged man looked up and said, "Oh, isn't this Brother Liu Bei? It's been a while since you've come. What good stuff have you brought this time?"

Liu Bei placed the otter on the ground: "Look what this is?"

"What is it?"

Old Ma curiously leaned closer and peered at it carefully in the dim light.

"Holy crap! Isn't this... a water monkey? Brother Liu, you're really something! You even managed to get your hands on something like this?"

"Boss Ma, how much can I sell this for?" Liu Bei asked.

Old Ma scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed. "Brother, we're acquaintances, so I won't try to fool you. This stuff is pretty eerie; most people wouldn't dare take it. Besides, it's ugly, so it can't be used to make anything too delicate. As for the meat... it's too fishy, ​​really difficult to process. So..."

"Boss Ma, just name your price."

"How about this, the skin is thirty-five. The meat, on the other hand, is three pieces per pound. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei pondered:

The meat can probably sell for around 60 or 70 yuan, plus 35 yuan for the skin, so it can sell for about 100 yuan in total. That's far less than what I got from selling the black bear last time.

But he knew it would be good enough if this thing could even be sold.

"Okay, weigh it."

"Done!" Old Ma pulled an old scale from under the sack.

"Waaaaah~ Waaaaah~"

Just then, a series of urgent police whistles came from afar, growing louder as they approached!

"Oh no! The police are here! The police are here to investigate!" Someone shouted first.

"Run!"

The black market instantly erupted into chaos.

Holy crap!

Old Ma's expression changed, and he shoved the otter back into Liu Bei's arms.

"Brother Liu, this business deal is off today! You guys be careful!"

After saying that, he darted into a darker alley next door and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Li Dazhuang and Tan Si panicked and instinctively looked at Liu Bei: "Brother Bei! What do we do?"

Liu Bei's mind raced; rushing out now would be tantamount to walking into a trap.

At that moment, he saw streaks of gray dots in his field of vision.

Gray represents neutrality, neither good nor bad.

Suddenly, he had an idea.

"Don't panic. Follow me, don't make a sound, don't run, just go."

He carried the otter and walked toward a narrower side alley in the opposite direction from the sentry post.

Li Dazhuang and Tan Si exchanged a glance, gritted their teeth, and followed.

Fan Ha'er had been crouching down, pressing herself tightly against Liu Bei's back.

The alley was so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, and the ground was uneven.

In the distance, the sounds of whistles, shouts, and running blended together.

Liu Bei and his group wandered through the maze-like alleyways, turning this way and that.

About ten minutes later, the noise behind us gradually faded away, and the sound of the police whistles became indistinct.

Only then did the group dare to slow down, finally stopping outside a courtyard wall with a plaque that read "State-owned Red Star Restaurant".

"Huff... huff..."

Li Dazhuang, panting heavily, supported himself on his knees. "We should...we should have shaken them off, right?"

Tan Si wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, still shaken: "That was fucking terrifying!"

Fan Ha'er leaned against the wall, patting his chest: "Damn, we almost got caught! Brother Bei, do you think the person who reported us is crazy? Staying up all night to report us for selling water monkeys? If I find out who it is, I'll smash his balls in and then sleep with his wife!"

"How do you know it was a man who reported it?" Tan Si asked curiously, taking a breath. "What if it was a woman?"

"Women are even easier to handle!" Fan Ha'er said matter-of-factly. "Just sleep with them!"

"What if... it's an older woman? Would you sleep with her too?" Tan Si asked, suppressing a laugh.

Fan Ha'er glared: "What's wrong with being an auntie? Aunties are women too! Just sleep with them! What's there to be afraid of? I've heard that city aunties love to dress up, they're just like eighteen-year-old girls, and they sleep like angels!"

"Pfft—" Li Dazhuang spat out the mouthful of water he had just drunk.

Liu Bei's lips twitched, and he almost laughed out the jaundice.

This guy is a walking joke machine.

Just as the group was chatting and laughing in hushed tones, the tightly closed wooden door of the restaurant next door creaked open a crack.

A beam of flashlight shone out, flashing across their faces before finally settling on Fan Ha'er.

A middle-aged man's voice came from behind the door, tinged with laughter: "Young man, you're right. The aunties in the city, you know, love to dress up. Their skin is well-maintained, fair and smooth, and they still retain their charm. Sleeping with them... is indeed a unique experience."

"..."

Li Dazhuang and Tan Si were stunned.

Liu Bei frowned and subconsciously took half a step forward, blocking Fan Ha'er's path.

It's late at night, and other shops have long since closed. Who would come out of a restaurant?

At this moment, the middle-aged man shone his flashlight on Liu Bei and his group's faces, and continued, "However, most of the older women in the city prefer to have daughters. Those daughters take after their mothers and are often beauties. Young man, if you sleep with a pretty older woman, maybe... you can sleep with her lovely daughter too. Sleep with two at once, buy one get one free. No, it's sleep one get one free, it's a great deal."

"Buy one get one free?"

Fan Ha'er's eyes lit up instantly. She grabbed Liu Bei's arm and exclaimed excitedly, "Brother Bei! Did you hear that? I slept with a city auntie, and then I slept with her daughter too! I slept with two at once! I'm only one less than you! Aren't I amazing?"

Liu Bei: "..."

Li Dazhuang: "..."

Tan Si's mouth dropped open.

The middle-aged man behind the door seemed to pause for a moment, his flashlight beam sweeping back and forth between Fan Ha'er and Liu Bei twice: "Wait a minute... young man, what did you say? Your Brother Bei... slept with three people?"

"Yes!" Fan Ha'er puffed out her chest, her face full of pride. "He's my Brother Bei! He married three wives for me! But unfortunately, they all got divorced later. However, all four of them stayed in the same family after their divorces, and my three wives still live with my Brother Bei now!"

"Divorced but not separated?" The middle-aged man behind the door seemed to have met a peerless master, and he pulled the wooden door open completely.

A pair of eyes gleamed in the night, scrutinizing Liu Bei from head to toe, as if he were some rare treasure.

He strode up to Liu Bei, grabbed Liu Bei's hand without a word, and shook it vigorously: "Brother! You're a master! May I ask your surname?"

Liu Bei: "..."

Why hold your own hand so late at night?

Why are you shaking it so hard?

Is this guy crazy?

Before Liu Bei could answer, Fan Ha'er blurted out, "My brother Bei, Liu Bei!"

"Liu Bei! What a great name!" The middle-aged man patted Liu Bei's shoulder forcefully, his enthusiasm bordering on excessive. "Brother Liu Bei! Let me introduce myself! My surname is Qian, and my given name is Feng! Qian as in 'rich,' and Feng as in 'peak'!" He puffed out his chest. "In this life, I have three biggest goals!"

Li Dazhuang couldn't help but ask curiously, "Which three?"

Qian Feng held up three fingers, one by one: "First, make money and sleep with women!"

"And the second one?" Tan asked.

"Secondly, it's still about making money and sleeping with women!"

"And the last one?" Fan Ha'er pressed.

Qian Feng's expression was serious, and he stated decisively: "It's still about making money and sleeping with women!"

Liu Bei: "..."

Li Dazhuang and Tan Si exchanged a glance, utterly speechless.

What kind of amazing person is this?

Is there nothing else to pursue in life besides making money and sleeping with women?

Just as Liu Bei was about to pull his hand back and say something, he faintly heard the beams of patrol flashlights and the sound of footsteps coming from the direction of the alley entrance.