Chapter 269: All Set

By evening, Dapeng followed Zhou Yimin to make the delivery.

They had quite a bit prepared this time—both bicycles had their rear seats fully loaded with goods.

Originally, Li Youde also wanted to go, but there wasn’t enough space, and both of them wanted to ride. In the end, Dapeng won out with slightly better skills.

Since the selection had been decided by drawing lots, it was perfectly fair, and Li Youde had no reason to complain.

Just like that, the two set off for Zhoujiazhuang.

Even though it was nighttime, the moonlight was bright. Besides, Zhou Yimin and the others had lamps, so traveling wasn’t a problem. They just worried about the possibility of someone lying in wait to rob them.

Fortunately, it wasn’t that late into the night—things weren’t so chaotic yet.

Moreover, Zhou Yimin had come prepared. There was even a gun in his shop backpack, something he’d secretly acquired a while back for self-defense.

They finally arrived at Zhoujiazhuang, and just as they were about to enter the village, a voice suddenly called out ahead, “Comrades, what are you doing here?”

The country still wasn’t entirely safe, so some villages had guards stationed at the entrance just in case. If strangers snuck in, it could spell trouble.

Zhou Yimin responded, “It’s me!”

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Zhou Xuan asked, “Is that Yimin?”

Then he kicked the guy in front of him. “Get out of the way! Can’t even recognize Yimin?”

The man replied indignantly, “The light was too blinding—I couldn’t see clearly.”

Besides, Zhou Yimin usually came back with just one bike. Two this time had made him instinctively think it wasn’t him.

“That’s right! It’s me,” Zhou Yimin confirmed.

As soon as Zhou Xuan heard that it was really Zhou Yimin, he quickly put his gun away, afraid it might accidentally go off and hurt Zhou Yimin—that would be bad.

Zhou Yimin was now very important in Zhoujiazhuang. He was the key to full stomachs and the hope for a better life.

Zhou Yimin didn’t stop; he tossed over a pack of cigarettes for them to share.

Before long, he led Dapeng into the village.

Zhou Xuan jogged up to them, curiously asking, “Yimin, what are you doing coming back this late?”

“Just bringing some stuff for my grandpa and grandma. I’ll be heading out for a while, not sure when I’ll be back.”

He paused and added, “This is my friend Dapeng—you’ve all met him before. If he comes over later, please don’t stop him.”

“Alright! I’ll tell the others in the village.” Zhou Xuan nodded.

If it were someone else, they might not have agreed so easily. But Zhou Yimin was different.

After all, their village had benefited plenty from him. The life they had now wouldn’t be possible without his support. If anyone tried to harm him, they’d be the first to fight back.

Zhou Yimin didn’t linger in conversation. He and Dapeng hurried on home.

The others noticed the goods piled on the back of their bikes and were openly envious—those burlap sacks had to be full of good stuff.

Since Zhou Yimin had said he’d come that night with supplies, the old man and old lady hadn’t gone to bed. Instead, they sat outside, waiting for him.

When they saw the approaching light, the old man immediately knew it was his eldest grandson.

He rushed over to help.

Zhou Yimin said, “Grandpa, it’s not that much. Let us handle it.”

Then he and Dapeng began unloading the bikes and moving everything inside.

Everything was packed in burlap sacks—without opening them, it was impossible to tell what was inside.

Before long, they had moved everything into the house.

The old man opened the sacks and took out the items one by one.

There were ten jin of rice, ten jin of cured meat, ten packs of powdered milk, twenty jin of dried fish, thirty jin of flour…

There was even a sack of eggs. They had been well-protected this time, and not a single one was broken.

These goods—especially the meat—could last a regular family more than a year.

Most families couldn’t even afford a few jin of meat in an entire year.

“Grandson, you brought back so much. How are we going to finish all this?”

If these supplies got out, who knew how many jealous eyes they’d attract?

“Grandpa, this isn’t a lot.

Brother Xu and the others will be coming over for meals—we need to have something to serve them. Plus, Qianqian’s almost out of milk powder. Better to stock up while we can, right?” Zhou Yimin explained as he arranged the goods.

The old man couldn’t argue back. Xu Xiangbei had been dropping by frequently lately—if they didn’t have decent food to offer, that wouldn’t do.

“Next time, don’t waste so much.”

These supplies could probably win over several wives in the countryside.

Actually, even in the city, not many could afford to bring this much. Resources were still way too scarce.

“Mm! Alright, got it.”

They didn’t head back to the city that night. Dapeng stayed in Zhoujiazhuang overnight, and the two only left the next day around noon.

After a day’s rest, Zhou Yimin had all his things sorted. He had packed plenty to make his upcoming journey a bit more comfortable.

He’d already made arrangements with Li Feng: on departure day, Li Feng would drive over in the truck to pick him up.

Soon enough, he saw Li Feng driving up in a big yellow river truck. But there was another familiar face—was that Zhou Dafu?

Zhou Dafu hurried over to help. “Sixteenth Uncle, let me carry this stuff.”

He knew full well that the opportunity he had now was thanks to his Sixteenth Uncle’s help, so he wasn’t about to slack off.

“Dafu, you’re coming too?” Zhou Yimin asked.

Zhou Dafu replied, “Master Li asked me to tag along more so I can get familiar with the routes and operations.”

In truth, Li Feng hadn’t planned on bringing him. But after a full day of pestering, he finally gave in.

Seeing Zhou Yimin with so many bags, Li Feng teased, “Zhou Yimin, are you going on a business trip or a vacation?”

“Well, it’s my first trip out, right? Better to bring more. I don’t even know how long we’ll be out there!” Zhou Yimin replied.

He had even packed a bunch of meat buns in his shop backpack. The shop in his mind had plenty of goods—he could even buy things like hamburgers from the future.

But this trip wasn’t just about him. He couldn’t just whip stuff out of the shop backpack—that would be hard to explain.

Li Feng didn’t joke any further—this was a pretty common thing.

Most people with no experience traveling far always packed too much.

He’d done the same on his first trip—even brought a whole sack of steamed buns in case he got hungry. He had made quite the scene back then.

Honestly, he wasn’t afraid of much—except for the truck breaking down on the road.

Sometimes, when you’re miles from any town or shop, that’s a nightmare. And if you don’t know how to fix the truck, even worse.

Here’s hoping this trip goes smoothly and they have a safe journey.

Zhou Dafu, making his first trip far from home, was the most excited of them all.

(End of Chapter)