Chapter 84 Chapter 84 Fangfang, the clever little girl.
At the beginning of the year, He Shengli came to the county with his brother-in-law Lin Nanhe to learn how to drive. The two worked hard together and encouraged each other, and passed all the exams and finished their studies in about the same time. Then they took their brother-in-law to join the fleet of their distant relative He Dawu.
Their family's relationship with Brother Da Wu is already five generations deep, so it can only be said that they have a little relationship, but not much.
However, He Shengli's father once saved He Dawu's life. A few years ago, when he was still a teenager, he went to the river to catch fish. Halfway through swimming, he accidentally got a leg cramp and almost drowned. It was He's father who noticed the movement and jumped into the water to pull him ashore.
He Dawu is a bit of a gangster. To put it nicely, he is a man of chivalry. Otherwise, he would not have been able to build a large-scale fleet from scratch.
You have to know that transport is still a high-risk job these days. It's okay to drive around the province, as you are more or less from the same hometown and can be flexible. But if you switch to long-distance routes, they don't care who you are and won't listen to your nonsense. Some poor villagers set up roadblocks and rob people openly. It's useless to call the police. If they don't change their ways, they will be arrested and imprisoned for two years at most. After being released, they can go back to their old business. Anyway, it's a business with no capital, so they can make a living for two years, so they don't lose money.
The fact that He Dawu could make it in such an environment shows that he has all the skills and temperament. He is ruthless, but he is also generous when necessary. For example, the drivers who followed him in the early days of the team were his good brothers. Over the years, they all bought cars and houses in the county, and their wives and children were all settled well.
On the contrary, He Dawu, the boss, only bought a yard in the city at the beginning, cleaned it up a bit, and brought his wife, children and parents to live in the city. Later, he invested all the money he earned in the fleet. His family still lives in the slightly dilapidated courtyard, and he didn't even bother to repair the house in his hometown that his parents missed, but he bought one big truck after another worth tens of thousands of yuan.
It was not until this year that he realized that he could no longer manage the expansion of the fleet, so he stopped planning to buy more trucks and vans. After calculating the surplus at the end of the year, he found that the money he earned this year was enough to buy a shop on the street and let his wife and parents run some small business to give them something to do to pass the time.
The remaining money is just enough to buy a van worth 200,000 yuan.
According to He Dawu's previous thoughts, the first thing he would do when he had enough money would be to fulfill his parents' wish and build the most luxurious and beautiful villa in his hometown so that his fellow villagers would come to his house three times a day to praise his parents.
But in the past few months, He Shengli brought his brother-in-law to work for him.
He Dawu is a man who believes in revenge and repayment of favors. He is not afraid of fighting to the death with the road thugs who dare to rob him, but he never forgets those who have done him a favor, such as his father who saved his life when he was a child, even after he became rich. The first thing he does when he returns to the village during the holidays is to bring good wine and cigarettes to have a drink with Uncle He.
He also wanted to repay more, but the other party didn't need it.
The He family is a first-class family in their village. When He's father was a child, he followed the young master of a landlord to read some books. He could write and count. During the commune period, he was elected as the accountant of the brigade. Later, the brigade was disbanded and the village branch was established. He also held a position in it, which was not big or small. He used to receive a salary, but now he receives a pension. The amount is not much, but it is enough for the monthly expenses of a rural family. Life is very comfortable.
What's more, He Shengli has an older brother who is an officer in the army and married the daughter of a leader. He is in the prime of his life and committed to defending the motherland. It is basically impossible for him to retire and return home in the short term. As the eldest son, he has been unable to take care of his parents all year round. Brother He can only send money home as compensation.
He Shengli's sister was also very promising. She went to high school. Brother He first used his connections to find her a temporary job in the unit, and later introduced his comrades who had retired and returned to their hometown to his sister. Then, with the joint efforts of her parents' and her in-laws' families, He Xiaogu's temporary job was successfully converted to a regular job, and she got the iron rice bowl that He's father had been looking forward to.
The He family was afraid of causing any bad influence on their boss who was in the army, so the whole family kept a low profile and lived in a blue brick and tile house. They did not envy the two-story villas of some wealthy families at all.
However, no matter how low-key they are, those who are really close to them know more or less about their background. For example, He Dawu has always known that Uncle He has no shortage of financial and material rewards from him.
Not only has he failed to truly repay his gratitude over the years, but he has also owed more favors. Sometimes when he encounters business troubles and cannot solve them no matter how hard he tries, he can only turn to Uncle He for help. Uncle He only needs to make a phone call, whether to his eldest son or his youngest son-in-law, and he can easily resolve what seems like a huge problem to him.
He Dawu had mixed feelings about this, half helpless and half relieved. Finally, with the mentality of not worrying about too many debts, he developed the habit of bringing good wine to have a drink with Uncle He whenever he returned to the village.
The old man likes this.
As for repaying a favor, take your time, there will always be a chance.
Now he finally got the opportunity he had been waiting for.
To be honest, it was faster than He Dawu expected, but it was not surprising.
As an outsider, he sees the situation of the He family more clearly than He's father.
There are three children in their family. The eldest son is recognized as promising. He has fought in the battlefield and made military achievements. He is a well-known hero. The youngest daughter also has a stable job in the city. Her husband is the second in command of a unit and is out of the category of ordinary people. Only the second son has been staying in the village to farm from beginning to end. Even his wife and son can only be farmers. The villagers praise He's father for having a filial son in front of him, but they often dislike He Shengli behind his back, thinking that he is useless and cannot compare with his older brothers and sisters, so he just stays with his parents and relies on them for support.
But He Dawu knew that He Shengli was not that kind of person. Over the years, whenever he came to visit Uncle He for a drink, He Shengli would accompany him. The three of them would open up and talk about the external situation and some business matters that did not need to be kept secret. He Shengli could always keep up with his topics. He Dawu knew that He Shengli had more ideas and abilities than many people in the village. He farmed in his hometown and learned to drive a tractor and do simple repairs by his own thinking. With the help of Uncle He's previous relationship, he successfully took over the village's tractors and found extra income for himself.
He stayed in the village all the time, ultimately it was He's father's request.
They let their eldest son, who they had high hopes for, go to the army to fight, and sent their well-behaved and caring younger daughter to work in the city with a stable job, while keeping their obedient and filial second son by their side to fulfill his filial duty. This is probably the unique survival wisdom of their older generation, which is similar to the saying that all eggs should not be put in one basket.
Uncle He didn't need to say this little thought explicitly. He Dawu could see it clearly by looking at the fact that they found a wife for He Shengli who was also kind and filial, and not the kind of person who was picky and overbearing. Uncle He really had no other expectations for his second son. He just hoped that he would be by his side and be filial to his parents, while also allowing his elder brother and younger sister to serve the people without any worries.
Anyway, their family is not short of money. If the eldest and youngest sons develop well in their careers in the future, his sacrifice will not be in vain.
He Dawu can understand this idea, but does not agree with it.
After all, the old man is old and has lived in the village all his life. To put it bluntly, his thoughts and vision are out of date. Today's society is increasingly focused on money. To describe the current social atmosphere in one sentence, those who make missiles are not as good as those who sell tea eggs.
So, no matter how successful and respected Brother He and Sister He are at their workplaces, what does that have to do with He Shengli, who farms back home? Will they abuse their power for personal gain, or will they even use their own wages and benefits to compensate them?
Neither of them can do that. The final result will only be the sacrifice of He Shengli and his wife, which will be of no benefit to them and may even delay their child's educational development.
To put it bluntly, when Uncle He and his wife passed away, He Shengli would probably only have face left between him and his older brother and younger sister, who had stable jobs. They were no longer from the same class, so how much affection could they have for each other?
He Dawu could see that Uncle He was very proud of his eldest son, but he was actually closer and more satisfied with his second son, He Shengli. After all, he was the only son who was around to take care of the old man. The old man sincerely hoped that the second son's family would live well, and he was full of love for the second son's only son. Perhaps it was the old ideas and a little bit of selfishness that made him always keep the second son by his side.
Similarly, He Dawu did not want the old man he respected and was grateful for to regret this when he was old. After seeing that He Shengli was interested in his work, he would talk more about his work every time, trying to influence He Shengli subtly and make him make up his mind to take this step even if he could not convince the stubborn old man.
However, in He Dawu's plan, this day will probably not come true until many years later. He Shengli is a bit smart, but unfortunately he is too filial, even a little foolishly filial. It will be a long process for him to go against the old man's wishes.
As a result, plans cannot keep up with changes. A promising brother suddenly appeared in He Shengli's wife's family. He made a lot of money by doing business in a big city. The first thing he did when he returned home was to support his younger brother financially and manpower to learn to drive and become a driver. This completely encouraged or stimulated He Shengli. After all, when he came up with this idea, his third brother-in-law had not yet started to make a fortune. Now even the brother-in-law who he almost watched grow up is going to be ahead of him. Isn't he anxious?
The second son of the He family, who was considered honest and kind by his fellow villagers, rebelled against his grandfather's arrangements for the first time when he was thirty years old.
He's father was very concerned about his reputation and didn't let outsiders know about it, but in fact, this matter caused quite a big stir among the He family and relatives and friends. Even He Dawu came to persuade them several times. In addition, with the support of his in-laws who were happy to see it happen, the face-conscious old man had no choice but to bow his head. He said that he would not care about the second son in the future, but in fact, he paid all his training fees in one go.
He had heard that the Lin family had to rely on the support of their other son to send their youngest son to learn driving, and he was using the savings he had saved for his coffin over the years, and did not touch a penny of his children's filial piety.
In the end, he won this round.
He Shengli accurately grasped the old man's desire to win and was able to fulfill his wish many years ahead of schedule. He cherished this opportunity very much. While studying hard, he also did not forget to keep an eye on his brother-in-law Lin Nanhe.
After joining He Dawu's racing team, he became more and more comfortable. He Dawu, his relative and boss, was visibly close to him. His brothers, who were veterans of the racing team, probably knew the relationship between the two families and also took good care of He Shengli.
Newcomers need to drive with the master at the beginning, but with the master's generous teaching, He Shengli got the hang of it quickly and the working atmosphere was very good. Even Lin Nanhe became interested and successfully integrated into the team.
The two of them received care not only in their work, but also in their lives.
The uncle and aunt rented a house together when they were learning to drive. Later, when they started working, they moved to a house closer to their workplace, which happened to be not far from the yard He Dawu bought. So as long as they finished work early or did not go home during the holidays, He Dawu's parents would always warmly invite them to their home for dinner.
At first, the old man came to the house in person, but later he didn’t care about it anymore and just sent He Dawu’s eldest son to run errands.
He Shengli and Lin Nanhe were not polite either. They would go when they were called. At most, they would bring some fruit and milk that both the elderly and children could eat from time to time.
After a few interactions, the two sides became completely familiar with each other. They talked about everything at He Dawu's house. Apart from work, they talked the most about the Lin Nanjiang family who did business in Shenzhen.
Lin Nanjiang and Liu Suqin are not only the most successful people around them in the past two years, but their process of becoming rich is also very inspiring. There is no luck involved, no technical content, and no reliance on background or connections. They are purely hard work and have made their fortunes step by step. This is very suitable for ordinary people to learn from.
Therefore, relatives and friends around them also like to discuss them the most. From the fact that the couple bought a house and a shop as soon as they made money and did not touch the house in their hometown at all, to the fact that Liu Suqin would rather let her parents take care of the weaned child this year while she went out to work, etc., all of these things have to be discussed and studied over and over again.
Most people don't quite understand what they do, but some have gradually proved the correctness of this decision. For example, Liu Suqin gave up the comfortable life of a boss's wife and went out to work on her own. At first, in the eyes of the villagers, she was seen as someone who was forcing herself to work hard. But later, when they learned that she could earn one thousand or two thousand a month, and her salary was even increasing, those who were murmuring stopped talking. With jobs in big cities making so much money, they couldn't sit still at home.
Often when something is confirmed, people will feel that whatever the other party does is reasonable. He Dawu's parents were hesitant and went to discuss with their son. Even Lin Nanjiang and his wife, who had seen the world in Shenzhen and had enough money to buy a house in the city, did not plan to return to their hometown to build a house first. Does this mean that there is no need to rush this matter?
It just so happened that He Dawu's wife also admired Liu Suqin, and she approached him to ask if she could do something outside. They were all bosses, and their own cash flow might not be as good as Liu Suqin's. Houses in big cities often cost 100,000 or 200,000 yuan. The couple bought a house and a shop there, and Liu Suqin insisted on going out to work, earning a salary that could support half of the family. This performance made He Dawu's wife envious, and she suddenly wanted to do something too. Even if she couldn't make a lot of money, she could make a little money to buy clothes for herself and take the children to see the outside world during the holidays.
He Dawu combined the demands of his parents and daughter-in-law and came up with a good idea to buy a shop for them to do business and pass the time.
If the business doesn't work out or is too tiring, you can sell it at any time and become a landlord without losing out.
It just so happened that Lin Nanjiang's family also bought a shop, which meant that this method was feasible, and the plan was passed unanimously.
He Dawu had made some connections in the county over the years, so he immediately took action. Just a few days after He Shengli and his family returned home for the holiday, their boss had already quickly bought two adjacent shops. He Dawu happened to be in a good position, and the price was right, so he bought both. With the remaining money, he bought a spacious and comfortable van, completed all the paperwork, and drove back to the village with his family to celebrate the New Year before the Little New Year.
When he returned to the village, it was the same old routine. After settling down at home, He Dawu couldn't help but bring two bottles of Moutai to drink with his father. He's mother and daughter-in-law Lin Erjie had also prepared a table of sumptuous snacks for him.
This year, He Dawu became He Shengli's boss, and the side dishes also improved. There were cold dishes, hot dishes, braised meat, peanuts and everything else. He Dawu dragged He's father out for a drink, while He Shengli set his eyes on his newly bought van.
Even though it was a van, it was the first of its kind in their village. The villagers, both adults and children, had been studying it for an entire afternoon. He Shengli, the novice driver, was even more itchy. After three rounds of drinks, they talked about the car and then about Lin Nanjiang's family who were returning by train the next day.
His tuition for the driver's license test was paid by his old father, and his mother-in-law privately subsidized him a few hundred yuan for rent. Lin Nanjiang and his wife had nothing to do with this matter on the surface, but while He Shengli was grateful to both parents, he did not forget Lin Nanjiang who brought about this series of changes. He was also grateful to the young couple in his heart, but the other party came back later this year than last year, and had not returned for a long time, leaving him with nowhere to put his gratitude.
When He Shengli saw He Dawu driving his new car back to the village, his first reaction was that he had arrived just in time!
He and his wife have been worried these past two days. Lin Nanjiang and his group will take the train to the county at midnight tomorrow, and on the day of the Chinese New Year. They don't know if there will be a van for them after they get off the train. If they can't get a van, they will have to find a guesthouse in the county to stay for one night. They have to bring a whole family of elderly and children, and so much luggage. Just thinking about it makes them feel bad.
But they didn't have a car, so even if they wanted to pick them up at the station, they had no way to do so. The couple could only worry about them. He Dawu's new car was an eye-opener for He Shengli, and it provided a solution.
But precisely because it was a new car and the owner had only driven it a few times, he felt embarrassed to ask to borrow it.
It is not realistic to let He Dawu drive to the station to pick up people himself. If it were other car owners, He Shengli could still try to spend money, but he knew their boss well. He made a net profit of 200,000 to 300,000 yuan a year. Would others care about these 200 yuan?
Neither of the two options worked, and He Shengli was torn between these two until the evening. After drinking, he finally opened up and brought up the topic briefly while drunk.
He Dawu was also very generous. After hearing this, he stuffed the car keys into his hands without saying a word and told him to just drive to pick up the person tomorrow.
Unable to refuse the boss's kindness, He Shengli quickly took the car keys and then poured wine for the two of them with a smile.
The second half was basically He Dawu and He's father toasting. In order not to delay the important work of the next day, He Shengli was only responsible for pouring wine and supporting the guests. As expected, there was no worry of hangover today. He got up and ate soberly. He also took the time to visit his father-in-law's house to find out which train Lin Nanjiang and the others took, the arrival time, etc. Then he had dinner early before dark and drove to the train station to squat.
He Shengli waited at the train station for three or four hours and finally saw his third brother-in-law. He was so excited that he almost burst into tears.
Of course, he didn't go into such detail. He simply said he borrowed his boss's car to pick someone up. Then, turning his gaze to Liu Suqin and her family, he greeted them warmly, "Is this Uncle Liu, Aunt Liu, and your brothers and sisters? You must have been tired after a long day of riding in the car! I'll drop off Nanjiang's family of three first, and then I'll take you back to the village. It's more convenient that way."
Qian Juxiang and the others naturally didn't care about the order. They were already overjoyed that their son-in-law's brother-in-law had offered to lend them his car to pick them up. He was even willing to take them all the way home, so what else could they ask for? Qian Juxiang took the lead, pulling the old man along to thank He Shengli. The two sides chatted enthusiastically, each carrying their luggage as they went to find a car. Qian Juxiang had already found out He Shengli's son's name, age, and academic performance. Liu Suqin and Lin Nanjiang were unable to get a word in.
It wasn't until they followed He Shengli to a shiny new van that Lin Nanjiang found his chance. He nudged him with his elbow and said half-jokingly, half-seriously, "Are you borrowing your boss's new car? Brother-in-law, you're really doing me a disservice."
"No, no, it's because you're so well-connected. Dawu only agreed to lend me the car when he heard I was coming to pick you up." He Shengli opened the trunk and unloaded the luggage, giving examples to prove how much the boss's family appreciated their judgment. Lin Nanjiang was so excited that his tail was about to curl up. Liu Suqin quickly brought the subject back, "Even if we're all relatives, it doesn't make sense to borrow someone's new car for free. Brother-in-law, please fill up the tank on the way back after dropping them off. Just tell Nanjiang the money."
She actually wanted to give her second brother-in-law some hard work pay, but he definitely wouldn't accept it. He might even feel that they were estranged. Liu Suqin silently swallowed the last sentence.
Luckily, Lin Nanjiang had considered this and nodded with a smile, "Right, just fill up the tank. I happened to get two packs of soft Zhonghua cigarettes from a friend when I came back this time to give to our dad. Brother-in-law, you can take one back later and share it with your boss."
He Shengli did not refuse their offer to refuel, but he refused to accept their good cigarettes that cost hundreds of yuan a pack.
Lin Nanjiang put his arm around his brother-in-law's shoulder and said with a grin, "Even if you don't smoke, our uncle likes it, so don't be polite to me."
The two men were in the guest room, and their luggage was stuffed into the trunk. With the help of her mother, Liu Suqin found the snakeskin bag containing cigarettes and took out a fully packed cigarette from it. She handed it to Lin Nanjiang and put it on the steering wheel without saying anything. She pushed He Shengli into the car and said, "Come on, let's get ready to drive, brother-in-law. Let's go home early."
Hearing her father's voice, Xiao Fangfang, who was lying on her grandfather's shoulder boredly, immediately stood up and happily echoed, "Drive the car!"
"Yes, let's drive the car. Fangfang, come here. Dad will hold you and sit in the front. Let's watch how my second uncle drives."
The little fellow then clapped his hands and called out to his second uncle, calling him "Great Uncle" all the time, which made He Shengli smile widely. For the first time, he said in a hushed voice, "Xiao Fangfang, do you still remember your second uncle? Brother Lei Lei from your second uncle's family loves you the most. He even wanted to bring you home last year."
Xiao Fangfang blinked her clever eyes and repeated, "Brother Leilei, can you take a ride?"
He Shengli thought the little girl wanted to ride in the car with her brother, until Lin Nanjiang tapped her nose in annoyance and said, "You're really promising. Just to ride in the car every day, you're going to live with Brother Lei Lei. Don't you want Mom and Dad anymore?"
Second uncle: ...
Is he so smart at such a young age?
It turned out that little Fangfang was even smarter and had already learned the essence of everything her mother wanted. Her clever big eyes rolled around again and she shouted, "Mom and Dad, together!"
Finally, he added “take a car” to emphasize.
It can be seen that everything else is just passing clouds, and riding in a car is Xiao Fangfang's true love.
He Shengli now understood what the kid meant and smiled, "Okay, okay, you really are a smart little guy."
The little clever boy sat in the passenger seat, kicking up his little feet and smiling innocently.
Unfortunately, no matter how clever she was, she could not outsmart the cunning adults. After the car had been driving for more than ten minutes, Lin Nanjiang saw that the child was a little sleepy, so he deliberately stroked her back and easily coaxed the little one to sleep. When the car entered the village, he covered her ears in advance to prevent her from being woken up by the enthusiastic grandparents, and asked Lin's mother to take her to the room as soon as possible.
When Xiao Fangfang slept until dawn, the car she had been longing for had already driven away, and Xiao Fangfang was surrounded by her enthusiastic brothers and sisters. She followed them around the village playing games and parkour, and she didn't even think about her favorite big car.
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