Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space

As night fell that day, the exhausted Ping’an washed up and went to bed early, while Zhang Guoqing pulled Zhou Jiao along, and the couple began to head out.

Not far from the He Family’s place, they saw He Laoer waiting for their arrival at the intersection. Upon seeing the couple, this nearly forty-year-old man was absolutely delighted.

"Uncle, why didn’t you wait for us at home? There are quite a few mosquitoes out here."

"I’m thick-skinned, no worries. So, should we head over there now?"

Zhang Guoqing nodded, signaling him to lead the way.

"We’ve got a lot this time, and my brother and I can’t afford to be careless. For safety’s sake, we can’t let a third person get involved. My brother is keeping watch over there now."

Zhang Guoqing was all for it.

"Brother, there’s quite a lot of goods this time, is that okay?"

Zhang Guoqing knew he was worried about whether he had enough money and smiled, "Approximately how much?"

"Over forty thousand. Not a lot of stuff, but all precious goods. We brothers managed to find quite a bit of Old Shan’s ginseng, plus deer sinew and antlers, which cost around twenty thousand. The Heshma Oil and Monkey Head Mushrooms aren’t very expensive, about ten thousand, and the rest are just some scattered rare items. We’ve almost scoured the area within a few hundred miles, there’s no more even if we wanted."

"Uncle, you’ve worked hard."

He Laoer smiled and waved his hand, "We’re making money too, no need for such politeness. This time we asked for more, and my brother got a good deal from a few people. He said not to count by the acquisition station prices but according to the actual prices we brothers bought them at. He has the bill."

Zhang Guoqing raised his eyebrows in surprise. Was there really such a good deal?

Before he could speak, the other party continued, "My brother said that after this, he’s going to call it quits. Just to celebrate! Anyway, he feels he’s doing right by some oppressed mountain folk, taking it as doing a good deed, and won’t associate with those people anymore."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Guoqing chuckled, "Uncle He is right to stop. At least not for a few years, then see opportunities later. There’s never an end to making money, as long as you leave the green hills, you’ll never worry about firewood."

"Brother, you think my brother’s idea is right, don’t you? Actually, we can’t keep taking time off every day. If it weren’t for my uncle being the team leader, we probably wouldn’t have managed.

The kids at home are getting older, they need to marry. Outsiders don’t know, they’d think we’re not doing proper business, and proper families wouldn’t want their daughters to marry in. Alas... no choice. Now even though we’ve got money, we don’t dare attract attention; we must first settle down. Making money is for the kids, and now everything’s for the kids, all the same..."

Under He Laoer’s sighs, the three arrived at a courtyard by the roadside. According to him, this was his brother-in-law’s courtyard in the county town where he worked, now vacant, and borrowed for half a month.

Zhang Guoqing didn’t have to ask more, learning that the brother-in-law worked at the police station, made him nod knowingly.

The humility just expressed was likely just talk; given such connections, there’d be no trouble marrying someone suitable. The He Family probably had high standards for a future daughter-in-law.

He Laoer knocked on the courtyard door and called out for his brother. Given the courtyard’s roadside location at the perimeter, there was no need to worry about drawing attention by calling loudly.

He Laoda opened the door and led them inside, pointing to a pile of goods on the kang in the western room, "Brother, you two check the items first. There are a few things that I didn’t think were costly and just included. Check if you want them, if not, it’s no problem, we can sell them elsewhere."

Zhang Guoqing knew they were planning to quit the business after this, and this goodwill gesture was to spare him any difficulty, the goods they deemed worthy wouldn’t disappoint.

He smiled and shook his head, "No need. Since you found them for us, we’ll take it all regardless."

He Laoda happily patted Zhang Guoqing’s shoulder, "Brother, you handle things straightforwardly! Alright, you check first, let me know if there’s anything not up to par."

Hearing this, Zhang Guoqing figured they must have already checked, given the two brothers’ character, he had faith. So, he didn’t inspect himself, just waited for Zhou Jiao to check and nod to him, and knew he hadn’t misjudged them.

"Uncles, calculate how much we owe, I’ll settle it early so you can rest early."

Upon hearing this, He Laoda wasted no time, he pulled Zhang Guoqing to sit at the table, and took out a sheet of paper, which happened to be the form Zhou Jiao had given them.

Zhang Guoqing took a look; it was densely populated with various purchase prices. Many prices were different, but regardless, all were far cheaper than the acquisition station.

"Brother, you’re straightforward, so I won’t say much. The prices are based on this, add a ten percent profit for me when it’s time for the count."

Zhang Guoqing quickly said, "Uncle, how could I? This profit should rightfully be yours."

"Haha... don’t decline. Let’s just decide this way, get it done early, and you can have it picked up sooner, no sense in delay."

Zhang Guoqing considered for a moment, then nodded, "Then I’ll thank both uncles in advance. Jiao Jiao, come over and compute; no need for a detailed tally, just take an average."

Zhou Jiao nodded in understanding. For example, if there were five transactions for Heshma Oil, each at a different price, she would just take an average price.

Suffering losses? She was of no mind to haggle. Their goodwill shouldn’t be met with coldness. Besides, this money was ill-gotten in the first place, leave some leeway, and it ends happily.

With Zhou Jiao’s calculating brain, it didn’t take long before she reported a number: 45,356 yuan, compared with the amount listed at the bottom of their sheet: 44,950 yuan, higher by four hundred.

Having previously given a five thousand yuan deposit, Zhang Guoqing handed over forty thousand cash, then counted out an additional three hundred fifty and handed it to He Laoda.

He Laoda gave him a side-eye, "Alright then. I’ve counted and it’s not four thousand five in profit, I’ll just shamelessly take it as four thousand five. Want us to help you move things out next?"

Zhang Guoqing shook his head with a smile, handing the change to Zhou Jiao, he laughed, "No need, someone will drive over shortly, they’ll handle the moving. You two uncles take the money and head back, not safe to stay late."

He Laoda stood up, nodding, "Understood. Having this much money on me makes me uneasy, gotta deliver to a few places tonight. So we brothers will head back, if anything happens, just mention our names, most wouldn’t dare not give us face."

Zhang Guoqing saw them off, standing there observing the surrounding quiet night for a while, making sure nothing was amiss before signaling Zhou Jiao to bring out the cart.

Returning inside, while Zhou Jiao packed all the goods, Zhang Guoqing still watched vigilantly for a while before leaving the room to open the courtyard gate for Zhou to drive out.

With the car’s roar speeding along the road towards the provincial city, after a few intersections, Zhou Jiao turned back, rerouting towards the direction of Lin Quan’s house.

Late into the night, the couple skulked around for quite a while before safely arriving near Lin Quan’s courtyard.