radicalducati Chapter 202 She's a female bandit leader
Chapter 202 She's a female bandit leader
Li Weimin's legs were trembling as he listened.
He wanted to tug at his wife's clothes to stop her from exaggerating, but halfway through his hand, he was stopped by a glare from Li Xiaotao.
"Captain Qin, since I dared to speak up, I'll risk my life as collateral."
Li Xiaotao wasn't intimidated. She reached into her cloth bag and pulled out a crumpled notebook, slamming it onto the table with a "thud."
"These are the handprints of the village secretaries from last night, along with their approximate production estimates for each village. It's all here, in black and white, and the red handprints are a blood oath!"
She opened the notebook and pushed it right in front of Qin Rushan.
"These villages have laid out all their resources. As soon as our convoy arrives, the entire village, young and old, will pitch in to pick out the best melons for you."
Qin Rushan glanced at the dense red handprints, and realized that his judgment had already shifted.
These days, the bold get rich, and the timid starve.
But he's a seasoned veteran; he won't act until he sees a clear benefit.
"Let's put the gossip aside for now."
Qin Rushan leaned back in his chair, his roguish military air returning. "Even if we haul all these hundreds of thousands of catties of melons out, it's only business for this season at best. Once the melon season is over, what will my convoy do? This business won't last."
Li Xiaotao smiled.
That's exactly what she was waiting for.
"Captain Qin, who said we can only harvest watermelons?"
Li Xiaotao stood up, walked to the window, and pointed to the several imposing Liberation trucks in the yard.
"This vehicle is a great thing. Once the wheels are turning, it can haul anything."
She turned around, radiating a confident and flamboyant aura.
She didn't look like a village woman; she looked more like a strategist general.
"In our remote mountain village, what's the least valuable thing? Besides melons, it's the wild dates, walnuts, and dried persimmons that cover the mountains! And the dried chilies hanging from the beams of every house, and the wild mushrooms picked from the mountains!"
Li Xiaotao spoke faster and faster, and her tone became more and more animated.
"These things aren't rare in the village; every household has them, and they're very cheap. But what about in the provincial capital?"
She held up one finger and waved it in front of Qin Rushan.
"I heard someone at the market say that people in the provincial capital are picky eaters now. They're tired of eating meat and fish, and they crave wild game! A pound of dried mushrooms wouldn't sell for five cents here, but in the provincial capital's department store, if you put a 'mountain delicacy' label on it, it'll sell for two or three dollars!"
"And those dried chilies, people in the provincial capital love spicy food, but they don't grow these there. Our local bird's eye chilies are very spicy and red; they're hot commodities when they're transported there!"
"Isn't this enough?!"
Xu Yuecheng listened so intently that he forgot to move the beads on his abacus.
Qin Rushan remained silent.
He just found himself increasingly agreeing with what Li Xiaotao was saying.
He's been having a lot of worries these past few days.
The fleet is up and running, but relying solely on hauling melons is too monotonous and easily subject to seasonal limitations.
While he was at the provincial capital's transit station, he watched people making a fortune by dealing in all sorts of random local specialties, and he had been itching to do the same for a long time.
Unexpectedly, just as I was getting sleepy, Li Xiaotao handed me a pillow.
"What's wrong with your brain?"
Qin Rushan exhaled a puff of smoke. "Much better than those good-for-nothings who sit in their offices drinking tea all day! This approach works! I think it works!"
If he could revitalize these hundreds of thousands of kilograms of melons and other local specialties, Qin Rushan would not just be a transportation worker, but a big boss who would control the lifeline of urban and rural material circulation!
Li Xiaotao changed the subject: "Captain Qin, it's such a waste to take all the mountain produce out and come back empty-handed. Why don't we bring back some in-demand goods from the provincial capital on the way, resell them, and make a profit?"
Qin Rushan almost dropped the cigarette in his hand.
He stared at Li Xiaotao for a long time without saying a word.
This girl has exposed all his hidden schemes.
He'd been planning to tinker with something for the past few days.
I hadn't even figured out where to start, but this girl had already blurted it out.
"How did you know I wanted to do this?" Qin Rushan narrowed his eyes.
"I guessed." Li Xiaotao laughed frankly. "Someone as shrewd as Captain Qin couldn't possibly not see this."
Xu Yuecheng, who was listening nearby, couldn't help but laugh. He flicked his cigarette ash and said, "Old Qin, this girl has you completely figured out."
Qin Rushan didn't reply, but just stared at Li Xiaotao for a long time.
This woman's mind works faster than a car wheel.
Then he threw his head back and laughed.
"Hahaha! Okay!"
Qin Rushan stretched out his large, fan-like hand and patted Li Xiaotao hard on the shoulder, almost making her stumble.
Li Weimin was so frightened that he quickly took a step forward, trying to protect his wife, but Qin Rushan's imposing aura forced him to remain motionless.
"Old Xu! Listen to this! Listen to his insight!"
Qin Rushan pointed at Li Xiaotao, his admiration genuine, "If this girl were born in a chaotic era, she'd definitely be a female bandit leader! Her ability to get something for nothing, I'm impressed!"
Xu Yuecheng smiled too. He took out a pack of "Chunghwa" cigarettes from the drawer, opened it, handed one to Qin Rushan, and lit one for himself.
"That's definitely a good approach."
Xu Yuecheng exhaled a smoke ring, and amidst the swirling smoke, he stated frankly, "Our convoy used to only have vehicles, no cargo. Now that Xiao Tao has secured the cargo, we can go to the provincial capital and contact some department stores. Once this is established, we can make money hand over fist."
"So, is this settled?" Li Xiaotao asked.
"It's settled!"
Qin Rushan waved his hand and made the decision, "Tomorrow morning, I'll send five trucks over! Pick up all the melons from those villages! As for the local specialties, have the villagers prepare them first, and we'll continue after the melons are picked up!"
He then turned to look at Li Weimin, who had been standing by like a quail.
"Kid, your wife's a real gem. You'd better treat her well from now on. If you dare let her suffer any injustice, I'll be the first to object!"
Li Weimin nodded hurriedly, his head bobbing like a pestle pounding garlic: "Yes, yes, yes! I'll definitely listen to my wife! If she tells me to go east, I'll never go west!"
Seeing Li Weimin's cowardly appearance, Qin Rushan was in a great mood.
He picked up the Hongtashan and Xifeng liquor from the net bag and stuffed them into Xu Yuecheng's arms.
"We'll accept this gift! Tonight, let's call the brothers, get some more pig's head, and have a good drink to celebrate the grand opening of our business!"
A huge weight was finally lifted off Li Xiaotao's shoulders.
This not only sold the melons, but also paved a road to prosperity for the people of Lijia Village and even the surrounding villages.
As long as this wheel keeps turning, it's a never-ending stream of money!
"Then Captain Qin, Captain Xu, we won't bother you any longer. We'll go back to the village to make arrangements." Li Xiaotao pulled Li Weimin, who was still in a daze.
"Go ahead, go ahead!" Qin Rushan waved his hand, so happy that he even hummed a little tune.
As they stepped out of the transport team's gate, the sun was already setting, casting long shadows on the two men.
Only now did Li Weimin dare to breathe heavily. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and looked at his wife with eyes full of admiration.
"Wife, how could you be so bold as to say that? Five or six hundred thousand catties, my legs went weak just hearing that."
Li Xiaotao stopped and looked back at the gate of the transport team.
"Weimin, you must remember this. In this world, the bold get rich, and the timid starve. If we want to live a good life and not be looked down upon, we have to dare to fight and gamble."
She patted the cloth bag she carried with her; inside were not just notebooks, but also hopes for the future.
"Let's go home! Tell Dad to set up the loudspeaker and notify the village secretaries to get ready to load the money onto the truck and count it!"
Li Weimin was so excited by his wife's words that he straightened his back a little.
"Ugh! Time to go home! Time to count the money!"
The two rode their bicycles and sped off towards Lijia Village, facing the setting sun.
The wind lifted the hem of Li Xiaotao's clothes, and her figure appeared particularly resolute in the setting sun.
The era that belongs to Li Xiaotao has only just begun.
……
At the entrance of the transport team's compound.
As soon as Li Xiaotao and Li Weimin stepped out of the gate, they heard a series of hurried footsteps behind them.
"Sister Peach! Sister Peach, wait a minute!"
Looking back, it was Yang Dong, panting, who had chased after them.
The young man's face was tanned dark by the sun, and when he smiled, he revealed a set of bright white teeth, making him look exceptionally energetic.
"Brother Yang, is something the matter?" Li Xiaotao stopped in her tracks.
"No...it's nothing."
Yang Dong scratched the back of his head, his eyes darting around, not daring to look directly at Li Xiaotao, but instead kept glancing at Li Weimin.
"I just... I just wanted to ask, is this guy who came with you... is he your brother?"
Li Weimin was taken aback by his gaze.
Li Xiaotao burst out laughing.
How could she not see through the little boy's ulterior motives?
She reached out and took Li Weimin's arm, resting her head on his shoulder in an intimate and natural gesture.
"He's not my brother."
Li Xiaotao looked at Yang Dong with a smile, deliberately drawing out her words, "He is my man, Li Weimin."
"what……"
Yang Dong's dark red face instantly turned as red as a pig's liver, and the light in his eyes dimmed instantly.
He opened his mouth, and after a long pause, he managed to stammer out, "Oh...oh, it's brother-in-law, hehe, hello brother-in-law."
Li Weimin was a little confused by being called "brother-in-law," but he still nodded honestly and said, "Hello."
"Alright, Brother Yang, we'll head back now. We'll need your help again the day after tomorrow." Li Xiaotao patted Li Weimin's arm, signaling him to leave.
"Okay...okay, Sister Peach, take care. Brother-in-law, take care."
Yang Dong stood there, watching the two push their bicycles further and further away, their intimate manner making him feel as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him.
Only after everyone had disappeared from sight did Xu Yuecheng stroll out of the courtyard and slap Yang Dong on the back.
"What, you've got your eye on her?"
Yang Dong was startled. When he turned around and saw that it was Xu Yuecheng, his face turned even redder. He stammered, "No...no, Captain Xu, please don't talk nonsense."
"Virtue".
Xu Yuecheng took out a cigarette from his pocket and offered one to Yang Dong. "What a pity, you were too late. If you had met her a couple of years earlier, you might have had a chance."
Yang Dong took the cigarette, lit it dejectedly, took a puff, and coughed from the choking: "I just feel... Sister Taozi is not like those women in the village, she... she has a certain spirit..."
"That's called ambition."
Xu Yuecheng looked at the distant sky and said meaningfully, "A woman like that is impossible for most men to handle. Look at her husband, he's honest and simple, clearly a henpecked husband. That's called one thing subduing another."
He patted Yang Dong on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Alright, stop thinking about it. These days, all the good cabbages are eaten by pigs. You should focus on driving, earn more money, and find a capable wife like Taozi in the future. The next one will be even better!"