Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space-Chapter 767 - 642: Take More While You Can

After the transaction, the middle-aged man shook the remaining half sack of cash and smiled, "If you bring another truck with eight tons of goods, I really won’t have enough money. Since your truck is empty and returning will waste fuel, why don’t you load some goods? The price definitely won’t cheat you much."

Zhang Guoqing understood that the other party wanted more goods.

Coincidentally, he had the same intention. He smiled and nodded, "Alright. Since you put it that way, I won’t haggle with you. Just count those three pigs in the pen for me. And load me up with any other good stuff you have."

"Sounds good. You prepare first."

Zhang Guoqing knew he meant to wait until the goods arrived to talk further.

Seeing this, he wasted no time. Without a word, he directly placed a full sack of cash and a large bag containing the remainder into the truck’s back seat.

He glanced outside, patted Zhou Jiao, and signaled her to come in about twenty minutes.

Zhou Jiao acknowledged with a nod, started the truck, and reversed away, collecting the cash in the process.

Since the other party let them take the cash, it indicated no ill intent. Moreover, even if there were malicious intentions, they’d have to see if Zhang Guoqing’s bulging gun could be outdone.

Although Zhang Guoqing had a weapon and sedative, Zhou Jiao still had concerns. She stopped near the beach dock to start loading.

Why did she finally choose this spot, instead of the previously suggested road junction?

Zhou Jiao had realized that under the pressure of many tons of weight, the dirt road left obvious traces. If the other party intended to investigate or follow, they would definitely notice something odd.

Choosing a spot not far from the dock was also convenient due to the camouflage provided by sea transport.

After loading the truck, Zhou Jiao deliberately scattered some coal fragments along the road. Observing for a while to ensure nothing was overlooked, she set off again.

This time, upon reaching the road leading to the trade yard, she began to add a lot more coal to the truck bed. In her estimation, once the truck arrived, the group of them would surely unload immediately and weigh the goods, leaving her no chance to act.

Zhou Jiao’s thinking was aligned with Zhang Guoqing’s. After this transaction, she wouldn’t appear at this Black Market again, so she added as much as she could. Seeing the space freed up, she nearly cried with joy.

——It really wasn’t easy.

Finally, with no more room to add, staring at the remaining coal, Zhou Jiao calculated how much space the previous eight tons had taken up, and it seemed there might be room for another truckload.

At this moment, Zhou Jiao slapped her forehead hard. She had been pressing and collecting as much as possible; exactly how much did she have? Shouldn’t she ask the other party if they wanted more?

Meanwhile, Zhang Guoqing made another trip to the Black Market with the other party.

Why? According to the middle-aged man, his brother had goods on hand, and he suggested Zhang Guoqing pick them first. Once chosen, someone would deliver them to the yard, where they would settle accounts together.

Seeing the short distance between the two locations, Zhang Guoqing didn’t mind letting them ride to the subway entrance together. After the previous transactions, he also knew the other party was rearranging goods.

Once they arrived, he lagged behind a few steps, letting them finalize their discussions before talking to him again. He had a little plan, eavesdropping along the way.

"...Mr. Wang told me to come by tomorrow night to pick up this batch..."

"...Youngest, I’ll split five tons of this batch of coal with you... You can make connections with the steel factory... Make a double profit and earn some goodwill too. Your girl..."

"...Give a little more... Five tons for two families isn’t enough..."

"..."

"Youngest, since Third Brother put it this way, let’s settle it like this. We still need those people’s support."

Zhang Guoqing caught snippets, realizing it was settled. As for their complicated relationships, he didn’t bother to care.

A moment later, the middle-aged man, presumably Third Brother, handed Zhang Guoqing a piece of yellow paper, pointing at it.

Zhang Guoqing glanced at it; it was an inventory list with labels indicating imports or exports.

He specifically chose cotton and rice, leaving out many other valuable items. One should be considerate; this was clearly a smuggling ring, best not to provoke them.

The middle-aged man gave him a puzzled look, glanced around, and murmured, "It’s all quality goods, take a few more. Once gone, it’s gone."

Zhang Guoqing chuckled silently. He hadn’t expected this guy to be straightforward!

He quietly replied, "Brother, just do what you think is best."

The middle-aged man smiled with an understanding look, took the yellow paper inside, and came out empty-handed, indicating for them to follow.

The four of them, carrying the large half-sack of cash, returned to the small courtyard.

The others didn’t mention what goods were taken, and Zhang Guoqing didn’t bring it up either. It seemed the others managed different sections, and he surmised they’d taken this chance to acquire some quality goods.

They had just settled in when the sound of a truck engine roared from outside. In the dead of night, Zhou Jiao had delivered the shipment as expected. Just as she foresaw, they were all waiting by the doorway.

While they unloaded, Zhou Jiao gestured from the driver’s seat, signaling "one" multiple times. She admitted it was intentional, to make the other side request more goods.

"Brother, what does this mean?"

There was a flicker of amusement in Zhang Guoqing’s eyes, and he turned back, saying, "There’s room for another load on that side. If you need it, I’ll have her make another trip."

"Of course we need it. It’s getting late. As soon as she unloads and leaves, I’ll have my men fetch more cash. We’ll make up the difference with goods if needed."

Zhang Guoqing had no issue with this. The man’s character was decent. The items calculated earlier also hadn’t been marked up. He had seen the rice samples; they were indeed imported.

He signaled to Zhou Jiao, seeing it was late, and went over to help with unloading. For a moment, the four were too busy to weigh the goods. Once finished, Zhou Jiao quickly drove off.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged man instructed one of his young assistants to head out while he and the other assistant busily weighed the goods. Once done, they steadily filled the back room with goods.

A scrawny child approached the middle-aged man, indicating the goods with a nod, then silently exited through the back door.

Everything proceeded quietly and orderly, which made Zhang Guoqing raise an eyebrow. Inside, he cursed that Liu Laosan for knowing such figures.

Once the middle-aged man finished tallying the accounts with Zhang Guoqing, he didn’t rush to calculate the goods. He knew they were waiting for their aid. He wondered how much his "aid" had stored in total?

With the eight tons here plus the previous eight tons making sixteen tons, was there possibly another load? Knowing Zhou Jiao, if it were less than five tons, she wouldn’t have been in such a hurry earlier.

As time passed, the sound of a truck came again, and Zhang Guoqing finally let out a breath of relief. In the dead of night, even in the suburbs, making two trips with such noise was extremely dangerous.

With the well-known unloading and weighing process, the speed increased significantly, partly due to the late hour.

When the assistant who had left returned with a man carrying a burlap sack, they had already finished calculations on both sides.

When the total cash amount was reported to Zhang Guoqing, he didn’t have time to count it, directly tossing two sacks into the truck’s front seat for Zhou Jiao to check.

Meanwhile, he went with the middle-aged man to choose goods. Whatever didn’t take up much space but was lacking, he requested. Once he’s chosen, someone would immediately move it onto the truck.

Finally, Zhang Guoqing judged he’d gathered enough to make up the shortfall and stopped. Honestly, he was most pleased with this haul, especially the rice and the three pigs. The cash amount didn’t really matter, as he’d guessed. Third Brother truly found it worthwhile to acquire more useful goods.