Chapter 41: Meeting Chen Qiming Again, Making Things Difficult for Xie Youzhen

Xie Tian placed a bag of wild vegetables onto the handcart and said, “Mom and I picked these when we went to wash clothes by the river this morning. We saved some on purpose. Mom said she’s going to the market later to buy some white flour to make shepherd’s purse wontons!”

“Second Brother, be careful on the road!”

Xie Zhao nodded and slung the handcart’s pulling rope over his shoulder. Seeing this, Xie Cheng walked over in a few quick steps, his brow furrowed. “Let me do it. The cart is heavy today, your shoulders won’t be able to take it.”

This required pure physical strength to pull.

His second brother had grown up in the county seat and had delicate skin. How could he handle this kind of hard labor?

Xie Zhao shook his head, gritted his teeth, and lowered his stance. With a sudden burst of strength, he lifted the handcart.

“It’s a long way, so we’ll take turns. Don’t worry about whether I can take it or not. I’m eighteen now, I can do it.”

Xie Cheng could not win the argument, so he had to let Xie Zhao pull it first.

Xie Youzhen pushed from behind. The father and his two sons gritted their teeth, exerted their strength, and set off from the house with the cart.

Around nine o’clock, the three of them finally arrived in the county seat.

After the New Year, the streets became increasingly crowded. Xie Zhao sold the wild vegetables as usual, and then parted ways with Xie Youzhen at a fork in the road.

“Dad, go to the hospital and wait for us first. Once Big Brother and I sell the river snails, we’ll come find you.”

Xie Youzhen nodded and rubbed his hands together nervously.

Although he was quiet by nature, he knew he had to learn how to run a stall on his own. His two sons were working so hard; he couldn’t hold them back.

At this moment.

Outside the Aquatic Products Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

A young man wearing a blue padded cotton jacket, corduroy trousers, and chunky leather shoes was looking around with a mix of nervousness and anticipation.

He rubbed his hands against the cold, muttering to himself.

Can we really get any river snails?

In this freezing weather, river snails in Liu City were selling for the same price as meat, yet they still couldn’t get any!

Heaven knew the fields had been turned upside down in search of them!

He clicked his tongue. Unable to bear the biting cold, he pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a few puffs.

Before long, he heard the sound of wheels rolling over the ground. He quickly turned his head and saw a handcart come into view. On it sat a large, heavy-looking vat.

The ones pulling the handcart were two young men.

The three of them instinctively locked eyes. With just that one glance, Zhao Wuyi knew that these were definitely the young men his boss had mentioned yesterday who were selling river snails!

A smile instantly broke out on his face. Pulling out a pack of Hongtashan, he walked quickly toward Xie Zhao and Xie Cheng.

“Oh, thank you both for your hard work! Bringing them all this way in such freezing weather! Here, have a smoke first!”

His smile was sincere, and Xie Zhao could tell at a glance that this man knew how to do business.

He did not refuse the offered cigarette. Even though he did not smoke, it would be good to take it back for his father.

Seeing Xie Zhao accept it, Xie Cheng also reached out and took one, tucking it behind his ear with practiced ease.

“Can I take a look at the goods?”

Zhao Wuyi rubbed his hands, looking a bit impatient.

Xie Zhao nodded. “Go ahead and check.”

Zhao Wuyi climbed onto the handcart and peered into the vat.

My goodness!

That was a lot!

Each one had a round, greenish shell, and they were crawling around with their tentacles extended. Zhao Wuyi scooped up a handful of water and splashed it, causing the top layer of snails to instantly retract and roll down.

Hiss!

It was freezing!

Zhao Wuyi quickly pulled his hand back.

He grinned and gave them a thumbs-up. “You said you’d deliver them yesterday, and you actually brought them this morning. And there’s so many! Keeping your word is what makes people trust you!”

Zhao Wuyi turned around and called over two men. One held a basket, while the other carried a large steelyard scale.

“Let’s go to the alley next door to weigh them. I’m in a hurry to send them back!”

Xie Cheng quickly pushed the handcart to follow him.

They poured them into the basket, drained the water, and put them on the scale.

Both sides checked the weight together.

“A total of forty-six jin and eight liang! Let’s call it forty-seven jin!”

Zhao Wuyi clapped his hands and held up the scale so Xie Zhao and Xie Cheng could get a clear look.

He grinned and said, “That comes to fifty-one yuan and seven mao^[1] in total, right?”

Xie Zhao did the math in his head, and once he confirmed it was correct, he nodded in agreement.

“Here’s the money.”

Zhao Wuyi handed over the cash, popped another cigarette into his mouth, and said, “This is still too little. Our boss’s Luosifen shops are all over Liu City! We can take as much as you have! Just keep bringing them! I’ll buy whatever you bring!”

Xie Zhao nodded, laughed, and chatted with Zhao Wuyi for a few more moments before they parted ways.

Xie Cheng rubbed his hands and turned to Xie Zhao. “When we get back today, we need to talk to the villagers. If it’s just the few of us, no matter how many we gather, it won’t compare to what we make from a few buckets of fish.”

“And out of this fifty-one yuan and seven mao, we still have to deduct over ten yuan in costs. Sigh!”

Xie Cheng sighed, looking dissatisfied.

Xie Zhao, however, remained perfectly calm.

Although it seemed on the surface that catching fish brought in more money, a closer calculation proved otherwise.

Fish prices were high only because it was winter. Once the weather warmed up and the fish became active and easier to catch, the prices would drop.

Furthermore, catching fish relied entirely on luck. Once more people started doing it, the fish would only become scarcer.

River snails were different.

They reproduced quickly, grew fast, and were available all year round.

Most importantly, no matter how many they gathered, Zhao Wuyi and Liu Zhi would buy them all. They never had to worry about finding a buyer.

In other words, as long as they bought enough from the villagers, the money they made would be beyond their wildest dreams.

Chatting back and forth, the two soon arrived at the County Hospital.

Meanwhile, inside the County Hospital, Xie Youzhen was staring wide-eyed, his dark face flushed red as he glared at the youth in front of him.

He gripped his bucket tightly, veins bulging on his hands. His mouth twitched, but in the end, he did not say a word.

In front of him, Chen Qiming stood with his arms crossed, staring back with a cold sneer.

“To think I’d run into you here! What a coincidence. You didn’t follow me all the way here just to corner me, did you?”

Chen Qiming stared at Xie Youzhen, pronouncing each word deliberately. “What’s the matter? Are you so poor you can’t survive, so you came to find me?”

“When you beat me up back then, I told you that a day would come when you’d beg me!”

Chen Qiming felt a surge of sheer vindication!

He felt utterly refreshed!

Back then, when Xie Youzhen had stripped him bare and chased him all over the village to beat him, he had sworn to himself that the man would regret it one day!

And sure enough!

Today, while visiting Chen Donghai at the hospital, Chen Qiming had overheard Xie Youzhen haggling with someone.

At first, he thought he had misheard, but when he walked over to take a look, well, look at that!

It really was him!

Looking at Xie Youzhen again, his clothes were washed thin and faded, and the shoes on his feet were old-fashioned, homemade cloth shoes.

Everything was exactly the same as when he had left!

An indescribable sense of satisfaction welled up in Chen Qiming’s heart!

Hmph.

If they had pampered him and treated him a bit better back then, he might actually have thrown some business his way now.

But trying to come to him now? It was far too late!