Chapter 48: What Are They Planning?

Chapter 48: What Are They Planning?

“Mom! What era do you think this is?”

Fang Aiguo immediately took offense. “What old-fashioned nonsense are you talking about? Those days of speculation and profiteering are long gone! We even run our own shop now.”

Huang Shuifeng lowered her voice and said, “The real issue is that you’re making that money too easily! Isn’t Chen Jianghai deceiving you? What if something goes wrong and he pushes you out?”

“Impossible!”

Fang Aiguo bristled at the remark, speaking angrily, “When I collect the appliances, Brother Hai always hands the money directly to me. How could he possibly deceive me?”

Huang Shuifeng frowned, uncertain, “That money seems to come too quickly, doesn’t it?”

“Mom, if I don’t make money, you complain. Now that I’m making a lot, you still complain? You’re really hard to please!”

Fang Aiguo was a bit frustrated.

Huang Shuifeng was suddenly speechless, realizing it might actually be true.

She forced a smile and then gave Fang Aiguo a sharp glare, putting on a stern face. “Mom’s just worried about you!”

“Mom, stop worrying about things that don’t concern you. Just wait for me to make a fortune!”

Fang Aiguo pursed his lips in exasperation, then plugged in the power and casually connected the external antenna.

Soon, the television screen flickered to life, still showing some static.

Fang Aiguo adjusted the antenna slightly, and the picture cleared up quickly.

Seeing the TV working well, Fang Aiguo took out a sign and hung it next to the screen. Bold letters stood out on it:

“Used black-and-white TV for sale, negotiable price!”

After hanging the sign, Fang Aiguo turned and said, “Mom, if anyone asks, write down their name and address. I’ll go see them tomorrow.”

“Huh? Where are you going?”

Huang Shuifeng asked, puzzled.

Fang Aiguo smiled, “I’m going to find the seller. Sitting around waiting isn’t my style.”

“Then why turn on the TV? That’s just wasting electricity!”

Huang Shuifeng moved to switch off the TV.

Fang Aiguo quickly stopped her and patiently explained, “Mom, Brother Hai said this is a promotional tactic; we can’t turn it off.”

“Promotion? What kind of promotion?” Huang Shuifeng didn’t quite understand.

Fang Aiguo didn’t know how to explain it to his mother, so he just said firmly, “Mom, that’s none of your concern. If you’re worried about the electricity bill, I’ll pay it at the end of the month.”

Without waiting for more from his mother, Fang Aiguo hopped on his bike and left.

After nine o’clock, Chen Jianghai arrived at the warehouse unhurriedly.

Taking advantage of the free time now to rest, because once things got busy, he might not even have time to rest.

Health was the foundation of revolution; Chen Jianghai didn’t want to be middle-aged and constantly running to hospitals, relying on medicine to survive.

Just as he reached the warehouse entrance, Chen Jianghai saw two men lurking there, acting suspiciously—obviously no good.

Seeing this, Chen Jianghai's heart tightened.

He had been working like a madman these days, and it seemed someone was now keeping an eye on him.

Who were these two? What were they planning?

Chen Jianghai had no idea.

So he didn’t rush forward but hid and observed quietly.

He noticed one of the men looked somewhat familiar, like he’d seen him somewhere before.

Right! He slapped his forehead—this was the man who had been watching the warehouse last night!

So these people had been targeting this place for some time; the man from before had been scouting it out.

If Chen Jianghai hadn’t seen that man yesterday, he might not have taken this matter seriously today.

Yet he remained calm and didn’t confront them, instead turning and walking away.

Better to not be stolen from than to be constantly watched by thieves.

He needed a helper now, someone to protect and support his venture.

At that moment, a person quickly came to mind.

Zhao Changgui, a 25-year-old veteran with only one underage sister at home.

Years ago, when Zhao Changgui’s parents passed away, they left behind his little sister.

For her sake, Zhao Changgui gave up his military career and retired early; the siblings depended on each other.

In his past life, Zhao Changgui knew nothing but muscles from the army.

After discharge, he did manual labor just to barely keep the household afloat.

When his sister was in high school, tragedy struck—a gang of thugs violated her.

In the end, Zhao Changgui’s sister chose to end her own life.

After arranging her funeral, Zhao Changgui went after those thugs alone.

What exactly happened next, Chen Jianghai didn’t know.

But the aftermath was so terrifying it became a notorious local case.

As for why Chen Jianghai sought out Zhao Changgui, it was mainly because they were friends.

If told to others, no one would believe it.

Strangely enough, Chen Jianghai was one of the few friends Zhao Changgui had.

They became friends for a simple reason—the sister.

Once, Zhao Changgui’s sister was hit by a car, and Chen Jianghai had rushed her to the hospital in time.

Since then, the two had become friends.

To Zhao Changgui, Chen Jianghai had saved his sister’s life—a great kindness.

But as the saying goes, great kindness needs no thanks; Zhao Changgui only kept that gratitude in his heart.

They didn’t talk much; after all, they had little prior connection and very different personalities—hardly any common ground.

Following the memory, Chen Jianghai soon found Zhao Changgui’s home.

To be honest, it was too easy to find.

A somewhat dilapidated mud house appeared before Chen Jianghai.

Looking at it, he worried that a strong wind might cause it to collapse.

Chen Jianghai stepped forward and knocked on the door with measured force.

Soon, hurried footsteps sounded inside, and the door opened.

“Hey, Brother Jianghai, what are you doing here?”

The door opened to reveal a delicate-looking girl of about fourteen or fifteen, fair-skinned and quite pretty, greeting Chen Jianghai with some surprise.

She was Zhao Changgui’s sister, Zhao Yuxi.

Chen Jianghai patted her head and asked with a smile, “Is your brother home?”

“Yeah!”

Zhao Yuxi nodded and called inside, “Brother, Brother Jianghai is here to see you.”

Then she looked back at Chen Jianghai and warmly invited, “Brother Jianghai, come in quickly?”

“No need, I’m here to ask your brother for a favor,” Chen Jianghai smiled and shook his head.

“Brother Chen, what’s the matter?”

A tall, burly, muscular man stepped out of the room, wearing a tank top that showed off his impressive muscles, somewhat intimidating to behold.

Zhao Yuxi kept looking at Chen Jianghai, her eyes sparkling with an indescribable expression.

It was the kind of glow a girl’s eyes have when looking at someone she admires.

However, Chen Jianghai’s thoughts were elsewhere; she was just a young girl, so he naturally paid her no mind.

Even if he noticed, it wouldn’t matter, because his heart belonged to only one person: his wife, Lin Wanqiu.

Chen Jianghai glanced at Zhao Yuxi once more, then said to Zhao Changgui, “Changgui, let’s talk while we walk.”

Zhao Changgui hesitated for a moment. “Brother Chen, what’s this about? How long will it take?”

(End of chapter)