Reborn in 80: Starting with hunting in the mountains to get rich

Chapter 134 Borrowing a Bicycle, the Lu Family Sends a Truck Driver

Sun Quande was secretly counting his savings, not even taking the large sum of money out of the envelope, when he heard his son shouting behind him. Startled, he quickly looked towards the kitchen, afraid of disturbing his wife.

He glared at Sun Weimin, trying to stop him from leaving. But Sun Weimin was a stubborn man; he kept staring at the large envelope and wouldn't budge. After all, they were family, and they all shared some connection.

Sun Quande was at his wits' end with his son watching him. He couldn't get rid of him, and his wife was outside. So he could only whisper and scold, "Tell me, what idea do you have now?"

Sun Weimin had been waiting for his father to say this, and said with a grin, "Dad, I saw that Li Ju'an bought a bicycle, can you buy me a 28-inch bicycle too?"

Sun Quande glared at him fiercely, quickly stuck the large envelope back to the bottom of the drawer, and said, "If you want to buy it, just get it yourself."

"Dad, I don't have enough money. Not to mention, bicycle vouchers cost over a hundred yuan on the black market, and you might not even be able to get them."

"Ha, you know it's expensive, kid."

Sun Weimin nodded, his eyes fixed on the drawer, and strode out, saying, "I still need Mom to help me out a bit. Maybe I can get five or six hundred, let alone a hundred or two."

Sun Quande realized that the brat's words had a hidden meaning. If he let him out like this, his hidden stash of money would be in danger. He lowered his voice and scolded, "Come back! How much do you want?"

Sun Weimin smiled and quickly ran back, rubbing his hands together as he said, "Not much, not much, 300 yuan is enough."

"Pah! Get lost, stop pretending to be a big shot in front of your father. What brand-name bicycle costs 300 yuan? Even with coupons, it should only cost 240 yuan."

Sun Quande glared at him fiercely, pulled 24 ten-yuan bills from the envelope and threw them into his arms, then dismissed him with a look of disgust: "Go do your work, don't just stay in the house."

Sun Weimin decided to stop while he was ahead, saying, "Alright, we didn't see anything. If Mom asks, I'll just say it's money I earned from hunting hides in the mountains and selling them."

"Get lost, and don't spill the beans about your father's affairs."

The Sun family father and son each got what they wanted. Sun Weimin was even thinking about where to collect coupons and wanted to learn from Li Ju'an to buy a bicycle to ride around the village. He was really a smart old man.

……

The next morning, Lu Zhiqiang was sleeping comfortably on the kang (a heated brick bed) when his mother pushed him out of bed.

Lu Zhiqiang yawned repeatedly, thinking to himself that he shouldn't be going to the forest farm so early. Besides, it was just temporary work; what was there to make him get up so early? You get what you pay for. Temporary work only pays 17.7 yuan a month, which isn't even as much as he could earn by going into the mountains with Li Ju'an to split the profits.

Before Lu Zhiqiang even opened his eyes, he said, "Mom, I'm quitting this job at the forest farm. I'm not doing it anymore. It's bullshit temporary work; let whoever wants it do it. We're making cabbage money but worrying about selling flour."

Lu's mother told him to get up and cover himself with the blankets before she excitedly told him what had happened: "The eldest son of the Chen family got married. He married a girl who works as a sales clerk at the supply and marketing cooperative."

Lu Zhiqiang became increasingly confused as he listened. He knew the Chen family; he and his mother had been classmates since childhood and lived in the same village. What business was it of his that the eldest son of the Chen family got married? It wasn't until his mother explained that he finally understood what was going on.

Chen Dawei, the eldest son of the Chen family, married Jiang Man, who worked at the supply and marketing cooperative. The Chen couple were also classmates with Lu's mother. Their second daughter, Chen Chen, was of matchmaking age and worked as a teller at the Postal Savings Bank—a respectable job. When they learned that Lu Zhiqiang worked at the forestry farm, they thought they could introduce them and act as matchmakers.

Lu Zhiqiang lay back down on the kang (a heated brick bed), waved his hand, and said, "Mom, forget about it. I'm just a temporary worker at the forest farm. How could I be worthy of a female colleague from the bank? Besides, I'm quitting my temporary job today and going hunting in the mountains."

Lu's mother went on and on, saying that Chen Chen, the daughter of the Chen family, was beautiful, with fair skin and long legs. Upon hearing about the long legs, Lu Zhiqiang's eyes widened with excitement, then he waved his hand dismissively, "Mom, you know what kind of person your son is. He's just a temporary worker, a toad. You definitely didn't tell him, otherwise, why would he want to see me if he heard I was a temporary worker?"

A Dongfeng 140 transport truck drove in from the east end of the village, its roaring sound was very loud and could be heard from a long distance.

Mother Lu was so excited that she hurriedly pulled her good-for-nothing son up from the kang (a heated brick bed) and shouted to Lu Jinyang, "Jinyang! Get your brother up and get dressed. Uncle Chen will be here soon!"

"Hey Jinyang, you should go out and take care of something. I just saw Li Ju'an riding his bike in the village. I don't know where he borrowed it from. Go and borrow it and leave it in our yard. We'll return it to Uncle Chen when he gets back."

Lu Jinyang was an obedient young man. He responded and turned to borrow a car from Li Ju'an.

Lu Zhiqiang lazily put on the cotton-padded jacket and trousers he had worn a few days ago when he went out into the mountains, but his mother angrily pulled them off and made him change into a clean set of clothes: "We've brought guests and you're still wearing patched clothes, how filthy. Hurry up and change, don't embarrass your old mother later."

A few days ago, Lu Zhiqiang went hunting in the mountains wearing old cotton-padded jackets and trousers. Who wears clothes when hunting? On the mountain, you can easily scratch yourself if you're not careful. Even the newest jacket will become rotten and embarrassing to look at by the time you come down the mountain. So he had to slowly change into clean new cotton-padded jackets and trousers and rub his messy hair.

He had just gotten off the kang (a heated brick bed) when he saw Lu Jinyang leading Li Ju'an into the courtyard. Li Ju'an was also pushing a Phoenix 28 bicycle.

Lu Zhiqiang's eyes widened in disbelief. It was the first time he had ever seen a brand-name bicycle. It was truly impressive!

The thought of pretending the bicycle was his filled him with pride, and he became less resistant to meeting his blind date.

Li Ju'an was teaching his younger sister Li Xiao to ride a bicycle in the village. Before he could even let go of the pedals, he saw Lu Jinyang rushing over with a hurry.

The two of them were brothers who grew up together in the village, and it was just a small matter like borrowing a car to save face, so he took Li Xiao with him.

Li Ju'an parked his Phoenix 28 bicycle in the Lu family courtyard and asked, "Is it done? I'll come back this afternoon."

Lu Jinyang thanked him politely and promised to make him an ice sled that afternoon for Li Xiao to play with, and also to help Li Xiao with his homework when Li Ju'an was busy in the mountains. Li Xiao was overjoyed to hear that he could have an ice sled.

Li Ju'an was also very satisfied. Lu Wenqian's homework was always excellent, all thanks to Lu Jinyang's tutoring. How could he not be happy that his sister had a top student from the Lu family tutoring her homework?

At this moment, a Dongfeng 140 transport truck stopped at the entrance of the Lu family's courtyard.

A middle-aged man pushed open the car door, stood on the footrest with one foot, turned around and bent over to reach for something in the passenger seat. He picked up the item and told his daughter, who was sitting in the passenger seat, to open the door before jumping out of the car.

A middle-aged man stood at the gate of the courtyard, looking around, and called out, "Uncle Lu! Can't you stay home?"

The old man of the Lu family was inside the house and hurriedly called out, "Is this home? Who are you?"

A middle-aged man carrying a bag of eggs called out, "I am Chen Shangqiang, the third son of the Chen family."

Old Master Lu quickly got off the kang (a heated brick bed) leaning on his cane and called out, "It's you! Come in quickly! Zhiqiang, your Uncle Chen is here. Let him in quickly."

Chen Shangqiang, a middle-aged truck driver, stood at the entrance of the Lu family compound with his second daughter, Chen Chen, carrying eggs.

The father and daughter immediately spotted the Phoenix 28 bicycle parked in the yard. Chen Chen's eyes then fell on the two young men standing next to the bicycle.

Isn't that person Li Ju'an, who went into the bank to make a deposit?