Chapter 55: Reward Money

Chapter 55: Chapter 55: Reward Money

"Second Brother, your wife is pregnant. What makes you think you’re going?" Mother Su shot Second Brother Su a glare.

Second Brother Su rested a hand on his wife’s waist and they exchanged a look. The couple knew the opportunity to take care of his sister wouldn’t be theirs this time.

"I’ll go!"

In the end, Third Brother Su, Su Jue, won the opportunity.

"Dad, Mom, Big Brother, Sister-in-law, Second Brother, Second Sister-in-law, I’ll take Wanwan’s university acceptance letter to her while I’m at it. If something happens to it while it’s here at home, we’ll regret it when it’s too late."

After what had just happened with Zheng Zhizhi, the Su family was indeed on edge.

Father Su especially nodded in agreement. "That’s right. There won’t be any of this messy business in the military."

Mother Su couldn’t help but mutter, "It’s just the Zheng family acting like they’ve lost their minds, making trouble for us. Now that they’ve been sent to jail and taught a lesson, they probably won’t dare pull any more stunts."

The members of the Su family all nodded, filled with righteous indignation.

Aunt Zhang, sitting to the side, gave a sheepish smile. ’If the Zheng family are shit-stirrers, does that make my Zhang family the shit?’

"Third Brother, go to the base and take good care of Wanwan. Buy the best ticket to the Capital. This is the money and the ration tickets from the county and city awards. Take it all to Wanwan and tell her not to worry about spending it. If this isn’t enough, we’ll figure out a way to get her more." Mother Su deliberately handed the money to him in front of Aunt Zhang.

Su Jue nodded and, just as calculatingly, counted the money in front of Aunt Zhang. He counted out eighty yuan.

There were also some grain tickets and meat tickets.

Aunt Zhang couldn’t help but say with envy, "It really pays to be educated these days. You never have to worry about money."

Aunt Zhang knew perfectly well that the Su family was putting on a show of support for Su Wan.

Besides, the entire production brigade knew the amount of the reward money from the higher-ups. The Su family hadn’t taken a single cent, giving it all to Su Wan.

This made Aunt Zhang even more cautious. She had heard before that the Su family treated their daughter well, but she’d assumed it just meant they weren’t as partial to sons as other families. She never imagined they truly doted on Su Wan this much.

"My Xiao Yun is also at the base taking care of Wanwan. Su Jue, after you get there, just order her around as you please. It’s her duty to do things for Wanwan." Aunt Zhang humbled herself completely, basically selling out Zhang Yun in the process.

She was already practically an indentured servant for Su Wan, and now, she had become an indentured servant for the entire Su family.

Far away at the Lu Family’s residence on the military base, Zhang Yun, who was trying to figure out how to get some crucian carp soup to the constantly busy Su Wan, suddenly sneezed. She had a bad feeling.

When Su Wan received Su Jue’s call and learned he was coming, she was naturally delighted.

"Third Brother, did you get a ticket? If not, I can buy one for you from my end."

"No need. I had a friend snag one for me. Just relax and wait for me to get there."

Su Jue acted very much like a protective older brother, trying his best not to let his sister worry about anything.

Su Wan was busy with her research, so she hurriedly hung up the phone without asking any more questions.

The Su family saw Su Jue off at the train station. He boarded by himself with three large bags of luggage and a standing-room-only ticket.

He squatted near the train’s lavatory, his gaze casually sweeping over every passenger who came to use the restroom.

After observing until about noon, Su Jue found his target: a middle-aged man wearing leather shoes.

"Hey, big bro, want to buy some steamed buns or eggs? Freshly made at home, no tickets needed."

"Really, no tickets?" the middle-aged man asked, pleasantly surprised.

Su Jue nodded. "That’s right. Want to buy some?"

"Sure, I’ll take some."

Once he had his first customer, the rest of his sales went much more smoothly.

Su Jue was carrying a lot of luggage, which naturally drew attention. On top of that, he was openly selling food, so it wasn’t long before someone reported him to a train attendant.

An attendant in a green work uniform came over.

Su Jue didn’t even wait for the man to ask. He took out a private business permit and showed it to him. "Comrade, I’m a registered individual household. I’m permitted to conduct business. There are no rules against selling things on the train. I’m doing everything by the book."

Su Jue’s opening statement left the attendant speechless. He had all his documents in order, and the letter of introduction from his production brigade even stated he was heading to a military base.

The attendant was a demobilized soldier himself and asked curiously, "Are you a military family member too?"

"That’s right. My brother-in-law is in the military." Su Jue didn’t mention Lu Zhengchuan’s rank. He approved of Lu Zhengchuan mainly because he had a good job, which meant he wouldn’t have to worry about his sister living a hard life in the future.

But as for coasting on Lu Zhengchuan’s influence, he had his own pride and wasn’t willing to do that.

"Alright, but you need to be more discreet. Don’t have too many people coming to me about it," the attendant warned him.

Su Jue knew he was alluding to the trouble caused by people’s jealousy.

He immediately nodded in agreement. As soon as the attendant left, Su Jue blended into the crowd and passed by a few people with shifty eyes. He whispered a few words in their ears, and their faces turned pale with fright.

The men were both guilty and furious. Though resentful, they could only bottle it up, and they clutched their luggage even tighter.

What Su Jue said was simple: "My buddies make their living on these trains. You don’t want them to take an interest in you, do you?"

Those few passengers all had luggage. Regardless of its value, none of them wanted to be targeted by train pickpockets, so of course, they didn’t dare to bother Su Jue again.

Su Jue was on the train for three days, and in that time, he sold all the goods from his three large bags.

The first day, he sold cooked steamed buns and eggs.

The second day, he sold roasted nuts and other mountain goods.

The third day, he sold dresses and skirts homemade by his sisters-in-law.

By the time the train was nearing its destination, Su Jue had a thick wad of cash on him.

That night, before dawn, Su Jue felt someone bump into him. He opened his eyes just in time to see an agile figure taking off and running toward the front of the train car.

Su Jue casually felt his waist. The spot that had been bulging was now flat.

Su Jue couldn’t help but sneer. ’A pickpocket actually dared to target me? Do they really think I’ve been getting by on nothing all these years?’

He stood up, his expression dark, and discreetly followed the fleeting figure.

The pickpockets were quite clever; they were working as a team. The small guy had silently passed off the stolen goods midway and was now trying to keep Su Jue’s attention on him.

Su Jue discreetly bumped into the accomplice, leaving a chalk mark on the man’s sleeve.

He continued following the small guy.

The small guy realized he couldn’t shake Su Jue, so he had to find other accomplices to help get rid of him.

More and more people ended up with chalk marks on their sleeves.

Su Jue saw that he had chased the man all the way to the sleeper car. The small guy grabbed an attendant and complained, pointing at Su Jue, "Comrade, that man is following me."

Su Jue pursed his lips and simply turned and walked away.

The small guy was startled, but seeing that Su Jue was no longer giving chase, he breathed a sigh of relief.

But when he had finished placating the attendant and regrouped with his accomplices, he heard one of them complain, "Xiao Sun, what’s wrong with you? You spend all this time stealing and come back with a bunch of newspapers? Have you gotten this stupid, kid? Don’t you have any judgment at all?"

"What? Newspapers? Shit, I was played."

Xiao Sun stomped his foot angrily. The group of accomplices simply shifted their attention, setting their sights on a well-dressed female comrade.

Su Jue hadn’t planned on meddling in other people’s business, but who could he blame but these pickpockets for offending him first?

"Hey, kid. You think you can just walk away after lifting that comrade’s wallet?" Su Jue reached out and grabbed Xiao Sun’s wrist.