Chapter 92: Doing Business

Chapter 92: Chapter 92: Doing Business

Zhang Shun and Wei Hong felt as if a great mountain had suddenly appeared before them, blocking their view of the beautiful woman.

Lu Zhengchuan’s gaze was particularly intimidating, hitting them with the same oppressive feeling as facing a high-ranking official.

The two of them were instantly reminded of the saying that soldiers are not to be trifled with.

Zhang Shun smiled and took two steps back. "Ah, so you’re the big bro’s brother-in-law. Hello, Brother Lu."

Wei Hong dutifully followed suit and greeted him.

Seeing how Lu Zhengchuan had intimidated his two followers in the blink of an eye, Su Jue pursed his lips.

"Zheng Chuan, we have a lot of luggage. Let’s hold off on the chatter for now. We need to get everything out of the train station and onto the pedicab."

Lu Zhengchuan’s demeanor toward Su Jue shifted instantly. He reined in his dangerous aura and smiled warmly. "Got it, Third Brother."

"Wanwan, you go with Third Brother. I’ll get someone to come in and help with the luggage."

"Okay." Su Wan hadn’t seen Su Jue in a while and had a lot to talk to him about.

They walked out side by side. Seeing that her third brother hadn’t lost any weight and was wearing a new, neater set of clothes without any patches, Su Wan smiled in relief. "Third Brother, it looks like you’ve really been making money. You’re finally willing to buy yourself some new clothes."

"I had someone source these clothes cheaply from the south. They sell well in the Capital, but the transportation is a real pain. It’s a good month if I can even make one trip down south. The main problem is the limit on how much luggage you can carry. After factoring in all the costs and time, I make about thirty yuan a month selling clothes."

Su Wan had done all sorts of money-making ventures with Su Jue back in their home county.

"It seems selling clothes is pretty profitable, but you’re running into issues with transportation and policy. If a single shipment is too small, you could try to rent a truck, or even buy a cheap one. I could figure out how to learn to modify trucks."

"The only problem is policy. Even though they’re allowing a free economy, they still don’t approve of speculative reselling," Su Wan added, having clearly thought about it in detail.

Su Jue nodded, clearly having looked into these issues as well. "Even a scrapped truck isn’t cheap. I’ve asked around—the absolute minimum is a thousand yuan. And that truck would still need money for replacement parts. The cost is just too high."

"The speculative reselling issue is easy to solve. I could just rent a place and open a proper shop, or partner with the supply and marketing cooperative. As long as I can negotiate a deal, it would be a legitimate, compliant business, not speculative reselling."

Su Jue had only dared to get into this business because he had done his research beforehand.

"Besides, if I had a truck, I wouldn’t just sell clothes. I could directly sell electronics and plastic goods, which are in high demand but short supply."

Su Wan nodded. After a moment’s thought, she said, "In that case, Third Brother, you keep looking for a scrapped truck. I’ll figure out a way to pull together the thousand yuan."

’Once I sell this batch of goods, and add the reward money from the military and the city district, plus the household money from Lu Zhengchuan and what I earned selling those ceramic bowls... after deducting this month’s expenses, I can probably pull together about seven hundred yuan.’

’As for the remaining three hundred... once the compensation from the Zheng Family comes through, that should cover another hundred or so.’

’That leaves just over a hundred yuan. Maybe I can earn the rest by doing some small business on the side.’

While Su Wan was still lost in thought about how to raise the money for Su Jue, he reached out and patted her head. The coldness of his hand snapped her back to reality.

"Wanwan, I’m your older brother. How could I possibly take your money? Besides, you’re pregnant. You’ll have plenty of your own expenses to worry about."

"Even though your husband is good to you now, if you’re always giving money back to our family, he’s bound to feel uncomfortable after a while. And if he forces himself to keep quiet about it, it will become a thorn in your relationship."

"I’m not foolish enough to risk your lifelong happiness over such a small amount of money."

Su Jue’s voice was gentle, but it couldn’t hide his underlying confidence.

"Besides, with your third brother’s abilities, it’s just a matter of making money a bit more slowly. I’ve already made it to the Capital; do you really think I’m afraid I won’t be able to earn enough?"

Su Wan didn’t doubt his words.

She knew her third brother was the best at making money in the family.

She relented. "Alright then. I’ll just wait for you, Third Brother, to strike it rich and take me along for the ride."

Only then did Su Jue look pleased.

"Big Bro, the stuff is loaded, but the pedicab is full. We’ll need another one to get everything out of here. Can you and Su Wan wait here for us?" Zhang Shun was waiting by the pedicab outside the train station. When he saw the two of them emerge, he quickly waved them over.

Su Jue led Su Wan over and said casually, "Shunzi and I will take this load back to the rented courtyard first. Ah Hong will stay here with Wanwan and my brother-in-law and wait for us to come back."

Su Jue glanced around but didn’t see Lu Zhengchuan. "Where’s Zheng Chuan?"

"Mr. Lu said he went to find the person who’s picking him up. He told me to wait here."

Zhang Shun scratched his head as he explained where Lu Zhengchuan had gone.

Su Jue was puzzled. "Wanwan, your husband arranged for someone to pick you up?"

"I don’t know."

"Isn’t he with the Southwest Military Region? I’m surprised he knows people in the Capital."

"They’re probably his comrades from the army." Su Wan wasn’t surprised that Lu Zhengchuan had connections. Ever since he had explained things to her, she had the feeling his network spanned the entire military.

"Let’s wait then."

"Wanwan, come and sit down for a bit." Su Jue took a cloth cushion he had prepared earlier from the pedicab, placed it on the side, and let Su Wan sit down to rest.

Su Wan didn’t stand on ceremony. Her belly was getting bigger, and standing for long periods was becoming a strain.

Su Wan rested for a little while, and then Wei Hong returned, piling the rest of the goods next to the pedicab.

Just as Zhang Shun finished explaining Su Jue’s plan to Wei Hong, a military vehicle pulled up in front of them.

"Whoa, what a cool car."

"That’s a military jeep."

The envy was practically pouring from Wei Hong’s and Zhang Shun’s eyes. What man doesn’t love cars? Even the ever-composed Su Jue stared at the BJ212, but his fiery gaze instantly cooled when he remembered that, in China, a vehicle like this was generally reserved for regiment-level commanders.

A vehicle like this wasn’t just a matter of price; you needed status and position to be able to ride in one.

’Since he wasn’t in the military, it meant he wouldn’t be able to own a vehicle like this for decades, if ever.’

"Wanwan." Lu Zhengchuan opened the front passenger door and stepped out. Following him was a young military officer with a buzz cut. He had a wild, unruly look about him, like someone you shouldn’t cross. He stood at least six-foot-one, and in his military boots, he was nearly six-foot-three.

Standing next to Lu Zhengchuan, their builds were equally matched, both muscular and powerful. But this man’s presence was so intense it actually made Lu Zhengchuan seem somewhat gentle by comparison.

"Qi Hao, this is my wife, Comrade Su Wan." Lu Zhengchuan led the man over and made the introductions to Su Wan. "This is a comrade from my military academy days, Qi Hao, Mr. Qi."

"Hello, Mr. Qi." Su Wan was slightly worried he wouldn’t be polite to her; after all, Qi Hao’s appearance suggested he wasn’t someone to be trifled with.

Qi Hao’s gaze did indeed land on Su Wan first. It traveled from her exceptionally gentle face down to her slightly protruding pregnant belly. Then, he suddenly reached out, took her hand, and asked, "I hear you’re a student at Jing University, sister-in-law?"