The Happy Farmer Wanderer-Chapter 368: Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover_1
As noon approached, Tang Jianmin suddenly came to the small store to buy cigarettes.
Li Qing suddenly remembered that he was looking for workers, and Tang Jianmin was exactly the kind of excellent leader he needed.
Though his status didn’t seem official, he was actually a jack-of-all-trades in the village.
He was fully aware of what each family did for a living, how many people were in the household, and where their children went to school.
He even knew exactly how many livestock each family in the village raised.
Setting aside how he performed as a village cadre, his understanding of the village was absolutely thorough.
"Director Tang, a premium pack for you." Li Qing handed over a pack of Furong Wang to Tang Jianmin.
"You little rascal, are you looking for trouble? Call me uncle, not Director, you nonsense!"
Tang Jianmin hummed and then asked with a light chuckle, "Kid, what do you need?"
Li Qing nodded, "Uncle Tang, your eyes are as if they’ve been sharpened in the Eight Trigrams Furnace, so sharp!"
"Shut your mouth right now, or I will just take the cigarettes and leave," Tang Jianmin scolded impatiently.
Li Qing chuckled and pulled over a chair, "Uncle Tang, have a seat!"
Tang Jianmin sat down gracefully and said, "Your flattery today is giving me the jitters. Spit it out, what’s up? Just so you know, a pack of Furong Wang won’t convince me to do any murder or robbery for you."
Li Qing couldn’t help but laugh, "Uncle Tang, don’t be so nervous, it’s actually not a big deal."
"I’m planning to take on a small project recently but am short on manpower. Uncle Tang, you have a firm grasp of our village’s situation, and I would like to ask for your help to invite these men over for a meal, at a restaurant in town, the good stuff."
Tang Jianmin’s eyes gleamed slightly, "What kind of project, is the pay secure?"
"Uncle Tang, I’ve always been doing procurement in the village. When have you ever heard of me defaulting on payments to anyone?" Li Qing replied.
Tang Jianmin glanced sidelong, "I’m not talking about you, I’m talking about those at the top, the project owners, contractors, and the like."
"It’s a county project, and two major companies are doing the construction, so the wages should be secure," Li Qing said.
Tang Jianmin nodded, "Government projects are usually big jobs, but the pay isn’t as straightforward as private ones. Finding people is easy; I can rustle up dozens for you without any fuss, but you better think it through carefully."
"Don’t go through all this trouble only to end up making a contribution to the county."
Li Qing felt warm inside.
Even though Tang Jianmin was an ineffective village chief, he was indeed a good person.
His words were not only based on experience but also came straight from the heart.
"I will be careful, Uncle Tang," Li Qing sincerely said.
"Looks like you’re determined to go through with this. Alright, when do you need them and how many?" Tang Jianmin lit a cigarette and took out his cellphone right away.
"Ten skilled workers and twenty assistants, let’s treat them to a meal in town tonight!" Li Qing declared.
"Just wait." Tang Jianmin crossed his legs like Erlang Shen, instantly emanating a strategist’s commanding presence.
"Hey, Old Wang, there’s a big project that needs a skilled worker. Are you available?"
"Xiao Qin, there’s a job for two. Whose job? It’s our village’s Li Qing’s. A very reliable guy."
...
In just over an hour’s time,
Tang Jianmin made more than forty calls, smoked five cigarettes, and managed to gather the thirty people Li Qing needed right on the spot.
Facing Tang Jianmin’s connections for the first time, Li Qing couldn’t help but be astonished.
The village chief, known far and wide as the ultimate fixer, truly possessed no small amount of clout behind the scenes.
Li Qing silently took out a pack of Furong King cigarettes from the cabinet and put them in a black bag.
The issues that Tang Jianmin could resolve with dozens of phone calls, he feared he would have to visit each family in person!
"Kid, it’s all set for you. We’ll meet up at the entrance to our village tonight."
Tang Jianmin raised his cell phone towards Li Qing, "First time meeting, prepare the food to be solid. Our guys in the village are honest to a fault and not many have a truly wicked mind. You do a good job, and naturally, they’ll work hard."
Li Qing stuffed the prepared cigarettes into Tang Jianmin’s hand, "Uncle Tang, this phone call of yours, really helped me out a lot."
"The dishes must be solid., Everyone must eat and drink well. Remember to come early tonight, Uncle Tang."
"I’m not going!" Tang Jianmin patted the cigarettes Li Qing had prepared, "This gift is already heavy enough!"
"What are you talking about, Uncle Tang? You’re the lead organizer, how can it work without you? Come early." Li Qing said with a smile.
"Kid, you’re getting better and better at handling things. Alright then, I’ll bring two bottles of good liquor tonight, my son brought it from out of town. We’ll have a drink together." Tang Jianmin chuckled.
"Uncle Tang, I’ll take care of the liquor. You keep that liquor of yours for a quiet sip," Li Qing slapped Tang Jianmin’s arm and laughed.
"Liquor, it’s more flavorful when everyone drinks together. What fun is there in drinking alone?" Tang Jianmin spoke, "Don’t worry about it. Just make sure you secure a place for us, a big private room for more than thirty people."
"Alright then, tonight I’ll also take advantage and taste Uncle Tang’s fine liquor." Li Qing laughed heartily.
With this matter settled, Li Qing had pretty much finished most of the tasks he needed to do.
Indeed, it proved the old saying that looks can be deceiving.
Tang Jianmin always gave off the impression to Li Qing that he was a nice guy who didn’t get things done.
But now it seemed, just because he hadn’t done many significant things didn’t mean he was without ability.
Tang Jianmin’s single phone call was likely something no one else in the village, other than him, could manage.
After Tang Jianmin left, it was already noon.
Li Qing, not feeling like going home, simply prepared himself a pack of instant noodles and made do with that for lunch.
After a simple lunch, just as Li Qing was about to sleep, Yang Xuelan came in, holding her belly.
Li Qing heard the noise outside, came out from the inner room, and saw Yang Xuelan’s condition, he couldn’t help but laugh, "You’re not even two months in, how come you look more exaggerated than someone six or seven months along? Don’t be too careful."
"What do you know? It’s not easy getting pregnant; I have to be careful about everything." Yang Xuelan retorted.
Ever since she became pregnant, she looked much healthier.
After all, she didn’t have to do farm work anymore. Gao Li took care of all the big and small matters at home, and her body naturally became pampered.
"Too bad, I can’t get to you anymore!" Li Qing shook his head and sighed.
Among all the women he had been involved with, Yang Xuelan was the one he had been with the least.
Just two or three times back and forth.
Looking at Yang Xuelan’s plump and voluptuous figure now, Li Qing actually missed it.
Yang Xuelan’s face flushed slightly. "Don’t speak so absolutely. I’m pregnant, not dead!"
"Maybe in the future, considering you’re the child’s biological father, I might come by once in a while to warm your bed."
That remark instantly killed all of Li Qing’s interest.
With a stern face, he said, "Let’s not mention this ’biological father’ business anymore in the future, lest it cause trouble."
"Don’t worry, I just said it to you," Yang Xuelan smiled, "You have a young girl now, yet you still think of me, an older woman. I’m quite pleased."
