"Sorry, Brother Leopard, we finished work late today and there were people watching us, so it wasn't easy for us to come out."

Zhou Han didn't dare tell Brother Leopard that someone might be following them on the road. Brother Leopard was an extremely cautious person, and he would back down at the slightest sign of trouble.

"Be earlier next time, or we'll find someone else." Zhou Han could only nod repeatedly.

The smuggled goods were assembled in the mountains and then transported down to the foot of the mountain. Brother Leopard suddenly lifted the tarpaulin, revealing 10 brand-new bicycles hidden in the mountain valley. The forest was dark, and the moonlight reflected off the bicycles.

Brother Leopard is cunning and has multiple burrows; he doesn't even intend to let anyone know about this temporary storage location.

“Let’s push the car into the bushes over there. Be quick, they’ll be here soon.”

There were three of them this time. They didn't dare to use flashlights, so they could only carefully push the car over in the moonlight. After several trips, they finally finished pushing it over.

They covered the mosquito net again, broke off a lot of branches and threw them aside. The three of them squatted on a high place and fed the mosquitoes for a long time. Finally, they heard some movement in the distance.

"Cuckoo"

"Coo coo coo coo"

It took Leopard Brother several calls before they finally gave the signal. Soon, four or five people quietly slipped over. The two sides had done business together several times and were already familiar with each other, so there was no need for further conversation. Leopard Brother directly lifted the tarpaulin, and the man gasped when he saw the bicycle.

"My goodness, this brand is even better than what's sold in department stores."

"Nonsense, why would we bring in bad stuff?"

Bicycle tickets are hard to get now. A bicycle costs at least 120 yuan plus the ticket, and on the black market, you can get one for 180 or 190 yuan without a ticket.

"Brother, let's not beat around the bush, what's your price?"

"One hundred and sixty."

The group of people who had "hissed" over looked at each other and finally agreed. Even at 160, they could still make a lot of money.

After taking the money, Brother Leopard left with Zhou Han and the other man. He didn't care how the people there transported the goods out; once the goods were sold, it was none of his business.

"This is for you." The three of them walked in the dark for a long time in the woods, and the path became less convenient from there.

They could earn 60 yuan per vehicle, and this trip earned them nearly 600 yuan. However, since many people were involved in this matter, not all of the money went into Brother Leopard's pocket.

The original agreement was to pay 20 yuan per trip, but tonight 10 vehicles came out at once, and Brother Leopard gave each of them 30 yuan.

"Brother, this is too much."

30 yuan. Nowadays, many workers only earn 20 yuan a month. They earned a month's wages tonight, and it happens more than once a month.

If it's really that profitable, others must be making even more.

"We're all on the same side, so don't be shy. If you follow me, you're sure to get some benefits."

After giving the money, Brother Leopard quickly left, as he needed to go back and distribute the money to the others.

"Lin Zi, I'll be going now."

Once Brother Leopard left, the remaining person didn't linger and quickly left in another direction. Zhou Han didn't tell them his real name, always referring to him as Lin Zi.

He was very excited when he saw the 30 yuan. Although he had sold radios for more than 1,000 yuan before, that business had ended.

This 30 yuan shows that Brother Leopard's business is still going strong and on a large scale. As long as he keeps going, he will definitely earn more and more in the future.

Once I've earned enough money, I might be able to buy a house in the village. If there's an opportunity to return to the city, I can also make arrangements if I have the money.

Zhou Han pocketed the money and hurried towards Yanghe Village under the moonlight. He walked on the main road below, where there was almost no one around at this hour.

He hadn't gone far when he heard the sound of a car behind him, so he quickly ran up the mountain.

It was a jeep with its high beams on; it must have belonged to the military.

The only downside to Yanghe Village is that it's too close to the military region. Because of this, Brother Leopard was initially reluctant to let him join the group, and told him to be extra careful every time he went back, so as not to be targeted.

Zhou Han returned to the village with a heavy heart. He had already found out which household in Yanghe Village kept dogs before returning to the educated youth settlement after carefully avoiding them.

He didn't lock the wooden gate to the yard when he left. After carefully pushing it open, he found a figure standing in the yard.

"What did you do outside?"

When Lin Haiping got up in the middle of the night, he found that Zhou Han was not there again. How could his movements not be kept from the people in the dormitory? He just didn't know what he was doing outside. If he did something, wouldn't it implicate everyone?

Lin Haiping thought that as the person in charge of the educated youth settlement, he had to take care of this matter, so he simply stood in the courtyard and waited for Zhou Han to return.

"It's nothing, I just can't sleep, so I'm going out for a walk."

"..."

Lin Haiping wondered if the word "idiot" was etched on his forehead, since Zhou Han was so blatantly ignoring him.

"We're all former educated youth, so I want to remind you not to get involved in any shady relationships."

Everyone knows that Zhou Han has a girlfriend and helps her with chores every day. Many of the female educated youths envy Bai Rongjun.

Now Zhou Han was speechless. He didn't want to talk to Lin Haiping and went straight back to his dormitory.

Living in a dormitory is not good; others can easily find out what he's doing, so he has to be even more careful.

People who taste the sweetness of making quick money won't easily let go, especially since Zhou Han was determined to give Bai Rongjun a good life.

She was like a flower forcibly transplanted here, gradually withering and slowly losing her vitality.

Zhou Han was reluctant to part with it.

He wasn't unaware that someone had spotted him going out at night, but he could only comfort himself that it was okay, as long as Brother Leopard's affair wasn't discovered, no one would connect it to him.

"I want to work in a textile factory."

The next morning, Bai Rongjun excitedly walked up to Zhou Han and pulled him aside to talk. She said that if they could both get jobs in the textile factory, they wouldn't have to work in the fields anymore.

Zhou Han also hoped to get into the textile factory, but he knew it wouldn't be that easy. Not to mention that most of the textile factory recruited workers in the family compound, the rest had to be recruited from the nearby communes. How could they possibly give them many spots for educated youth?

"We'll see if there will be a recruitment exam later."

Bai Rongjun sighed. She only found out that Song Qing was actually a textile factory worker from the villagers' discussions. If it weren't for what happened before, she might have been able to ask her for information.

She now has to work three work points every morning, gritting her teeth and turning over the soil in the field. After a while, she noticed that some older women were looking at her strangely.

She noticed that when she looked over, the older women's eyes held even more pity and unspoken emotions.

"Bai Zhiqing, people still have to rely on themselves. Why don't you hurry up and stand up for yourself?"

Bai Rongjun was a little confused. She knew that those older women didn't like her, thought she wasn't good at her job and were jealous that she did less work. She had tried her best not to get close to them, but they started talking about her again.

That's how it is in the village; every move you make is under the watchful eyes of others.

With the prospect of working in a textile factory as her hope, she grew even more disgusted with life in the village, longing only to pass the exam and leave.