Chapter 84: The Iron Rice Bowl

Chapter 84: Chapter 84: The Iron Rice Bowl

’If my older brother could get this job, he could live in the provincial capital of Yang Province with his wife and kids.’

’If he missed Mom and Dad, he worked in transportation, so it wouldn’t be hard to come back to the village. He could earn money, his kids would have better schooling, and he wouldn’t have to do farm work in the village anymore.’

Su Wan was tempted, but she didn’t say anything right away.

Instead, she picked up her soy milk and took a sip.

Lu Zhengchuan took the letter of introduction and glanced at it. "Mr. Liu, you even went to the factory director to get this stamped?"

He raised his eyebrows slightly. "You work fast."

Liu Guosen quickly shook his head. "No, no, Battalion Commander Lu, you misunderstand. This was actually a reward the factory gave me that I never used. Besides, for us in transportation, this route can sometimes be dangerous. The factory is well aware of this, so naturally, they compensate us drivers."

"Not to mention, my trip this time was specifically to verify the dangers on this road. It was an intentional arrangement by the factory."

"To be honest, the factory also gave me a mission: to resolve the danger on this road and contact the Public Security Bureau. I’ve reported it before, but without evidence, the police couldn’t do anything about those people."

"If you hadn’t decisively driven over with the police to save me this time, Battalion Commander Lu, we wouldn’t have caught those criminals. You even solved the roadside robbery problem once and for all. From now on, our factory’s employees won’t have to worry about being ambushed and hurt while transporting goods."

"When you add all these things up, on top of you saving my life, this little bit I’m offering hardly seems like enough."

Although Su Wan didn’t know how much money was in the envelope, she knew... to the village folk, a stable job in the city was incredibly valuable.

She still didn’t speak.

’It’s obvious that Mr. Liu isn’t just trying to repay a debt of gratitude.’

’Maybe he wants to build a connection with Lu Zhengchuan.’

’In any case, this doesn’t have much to do with me anymore.’

Su Wan calmly continued eating her breakfast, unhurried, making it clear that this matter had nothing to do with her.

Lu Zhengchuan would occasionally place a steamed bun and some pickles on her plate.

Su Wan found pickles quite appetizing these days.

Liu Shu was secretly watching her from the side. When Su Wan looked over, he broke into a well-behaved smile.

Su Wan reached out and ruffled his hair. "Focus on your food. Be good."

"Okay, Sister."

Liu Shu obediently picked up his chopsticks and ate. Su Wan couldn’t help but touch her own belly; seeing Liu Shu made her appreciate the joy of raising a child.

Lu Zhengchuan took it all in, his gaze softening as he looked at Su Wan’s abdomen. He finally answered Liu Guosen, "Mr. Liu, I understand your gratitude, but forget about the letter of introduction. Take the money back, too."

Hearing this, Liu Guosen grew anxious.

Lu Zhengchuan placed a hand on the table, stopping him from saying more. "As for how to show your gratitude and handle this, you can discuss it with your factory and make the offer in the factory’s name."

The moment Liu Guosen heard this, he understood.

’This man is willing to accept what he deserves, but he won’t do it through private channels.’

’It also shows he’s not greedy.’

"No problem. I was being presumptuous." Liu Guosen put on a smile and took the items back.

However, he then handed Su Wan two boxes of nutritional powder and twenty tins of clam oil cream.

"Ms. Su Wan, please accept these. I’m very grateful for your kindness toward Liu Shu. I heard you’re pregnant, so you can have this nutritional powder."

"And this clam oil cream—it’s from the damaged shipment, but these tins are still intact and usable. Please don’t look down on them."

Seeing that they were indeed inexpensive items, Su Wan nodded and accepted them.

"Thank you. You’re too kind, Mr. Liu."

Liu Guosen smiled and waved his hand, indicating they weren’t valuable.

After breakfast, Liu Guosen left with Liu Shu. He had accomplished his goal in seeking them out this morning.

Liu Guosen went to contact his factory directly. The more polite Lu Zhengchuan and Su Wan were, the more determined he was to handle this matter properly. Besides, since he had resolved the issue so smoothly, the factory leadership would surely reward him. He wasn’t a fool.

Not long after they left,

Su Wan put down her bowl and chopsticks, finally full and satisfied.

She turned to Lu Zhengchuan and said, "I made eighty yuan from selling the pottery bowls yesterday. Here’s forty. You can send it to Xiao Yun. After all, she was the one who fired them."

Lu Zhengchuan saw the four ten-yuan bills and frowned immediately. "She’s been staying in the family compound for days, relying on you for room and board. Why should you give her a cut? She’s lucky she didn’t have to pay you for learning how to make pottery."

’Wow, and I thought splitting it fifty-fifty was already pretty bold of me.’

’I was even worried Lu Zhengchuan would take issue with it.’

’I never expected him to be even more brazen about it. Not only did he think she shouldn’t get a cent, but he also thought Zhang Yun should be paying me tuition!’

"Are you really her cousin?" Su Wan asked, her expression unreadable.

Seeing her suspicious look, Lu Zhengchuan grinned. "I’m just telling the truth. I already talked to my uncle and aunt about it, so don’t worry."

To be honest, Su Wan wasn’t reassured at all.

After all, the misunderstanding back in the village was something she couldn’t easily forget.

She just felt that when it came to mediating family relationships, Lu Zhengchuan was completely unreliable.

"We’re still sending this forty yuan back."

Su Wan now had five hundred yuan in savings, which was more than enough to live in the Capital for half a year.

Besides, she would have other opportunities to make money. She’d figure everything out once she got to the Capital.

Seeing her insistence, Lu Zhengchuan reluctantly agreed.

"Should we go buy the goods now?" Lu Zhengchuan asked her.

"Mhm, let’s go, we can pick some things out." Su Wan had brought about three hundred yuan with her from the family compound this time. She planned to spend it all on goods that she could resell when they went to the Capital. By doing so, she could probably make eighty to a hundred yuan. It was a bit of a hassle, but since Lu Zhengchuan would be responsible for the luggage, the venture was still doable.

Su Wan led Lu Zhengchuan straight to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy plastic sandals, dacron fabric, and Pu’er tea, which was cheap in the Southwest but fetched a high price in the Capital.

Su Wan had a list sent by Su Jue with the prices of various goods in the Capital.

She just needed to buy things with a good price difference.

"This should be enough. I’ll put them in the car first." Lu Zhengchuan picked up the purchased goods.

Xiao Li was helping by driving the car, which was parked outside the cooperative.

He managed the entire process without needing Su Wan’s help, easily loading all the heavy goods into the car.

"Let’s go to Songshan Road now," Su Wan said. She thought the things there had more variety and were quite cheap. There were also a lot of local specialties that would probably sell well in the Capital. After all, the average salary in the Capital was higher than in the Southwest, and people were more willing to spend money.

"Alright. Get in the car, Wanwan."

Lu Zhengchuan helped Su Wan into the back seat. Just as Xiao Li was about to drive, He Rong appeared. He smelled of blood—who knew what he’d just been doing. He plopped into the passenger seat and said, "Drive. Take me to the guest house for a shower in a bit."