"Honey... Honey, what are you thinking about? You were so engrossed in your thoughts that you didn't hear me when I called you several times."
Seeing her husband lost in thought, Aunt Yan couldn't help but question him.
"Oh! I wasn't thinking about anything. Come on, let's go inside and talk."
Once he realized what was happening, Yan Bugui casually uttered this remark and turned to go inside.
Seeing this, Aunt Yan shook her head and quickly followed. After the two entered the house, she finally couldn't hold back anymore.
"No, I need to air out the quilts. Why can't you just say what's wrong? Why do you have to come inside?"
"Don't rush, be careful, walls may be listening. I have something to ask you."
Yan Bugui gestured for his wife to sit down first, and then he asked.
"Honey, have you noticed anything unusual about He Daqing lately?"
"What happened to He Daqing?"
Aunt Yan tried hard to recall, but it seemed there was no problem. Then she shook her head.
"Honestly, He Daqing is either never around, or he's locked up and messing around with something. He's always carrying around that big sack. Especially last night, his whole family didn't come back until late. Didn't you notice anything strange?"
After Yan Bugui's reminder, Aunt Yan realized that what he said seemed to make sense.
"But what business is it of ours what their family's affairs are?"
"Ouch!"
Yan Bugui sighed deeply, shaking his head at his wife's stupidity.
"Don't you understand what I mean? He Daqing is definitely speculating and making a fortune outside, keeping a low profile."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Yan finally realized what was happening and immediately asked a question.
"Honey, you mean you want to report him?"
"No, no, no!" Yan Bugui quickly explained, "Why would I report him? Wouldn't it be better for him to take me away and make a fortune!"
Upon hearing this, Aunt Yan's eyes lit up, but then she shook her head.
"Boss, that He Daqing is a scoundrel, why would he help you make money?"
"Don't worry about it, I have a brilliant plan."
As Yan Bugui spoke, he revealed a confident expression, as if he had He Daqing completely under his control.
Thinking about how he would soon become rich, he couldn't help but hum a selection from the Peking Opera "The Empty City Stratagem".
Seeing that her husband seemed to have everything under control, Aunt Yan stopped asking questions and happily carried the quilt outside.
In the following days, Yan Bugui kept a close eye on He Daqing's every move, and finally, his efforts paid off when he discovered something amiss.
This old man even knew exactly what his family sold.
Having obtained the clue, Yan Bugui couldn't wait any longer and decided to confront He Daqing immediately to avoid delaying his path to wealth.
That evening, He Daqing had sold all his melon seeds and popcorn early in the morning. He had just ridden his bike back to the door when Yan Bugui stopped him.
Seeing this, He Daqing didn't suspect anything and instead greeted him politely.
"It's Lao Yan! It's terribly cold today, so I won't chat with you any longer. See you later."
"etc."
Yan Bugui grabbed the handlebars and said in a low voice.
"Old He, I won't play games with you. You know what you've done, and I'm not one to gossip."
As you know, I haven't been working for a while. Perhaps you could help me out? I don't think that's an unreasonable request, is it?
Hearing that Yan Bugui had exposed his secret on the spot, He Daqing was immediately startled.
If it weren't for the inappropriate situation, he would have loved to strangle that old dog.
However, He Daqing is also a seasoned strategist and won't easily back down.
"Old Yan, what are you talking about? I don't understand. If you have nothing else to say, I need to go home. I don't have time to waste here arguing with you. Move aside."
The two have now fallen out, so He Daqing no longer holds back and speaks in an unusually cold tone.
"Yeah?"
Yan Bugui was thick-skinned; he just smiled faintly and didn't care at all.
"Old He, you don't need to keep people at arm's length. Maybe this person is getting old and their memory is not so good. Let me help you remember. Sunflower seeds and popcorn, you should be familiar with them, right?"
"If you really don't remember, then surely you'd remember the Red Flag Cinema and the Victory Cinema, which your family went to every night?"
"Old Man Yan, were you following me?" He Daqing was furious.
At the same time, I was also secretly blaming myself for being too careless.
This courtyard is full of demons and monsters, why didn't he take precautions?
"No, no, no," Yan Bugui quickly explained, not wanting to strain the relationship.
"Old He, this was just an accident. I didn't mean anything by it. I just wanted you to mentor me. You won't lose anything, right?"
Hearing Yan Bugui's words, He Daqing's expression softened slightly, but he still had a question.
"Old Yan, I'm curious, since you know everything, why are you still watching me? Just do it yourself, no one's stopping you."
"Hehehe!" Yan Bugui rubbed his hands awkwardly. "Old He, to be honest, I don't know how to roast melon seeds or make popcorn!"
In fact, Yan Bugui had secretly tried it these past few days, but it didn't work at all. Either it was burnt or the taste was off.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths to threaten He Daqing, since that guy was a scoundrel and he needed to prevent him from retaliating.
"So what are you going to do?"
Hearing He Daqing's tone soften, Yan Bugui blurted out without hesitation.
"It's very simple, Lao He. I'll take care of buying the raw materials, and you just need to cook them for me."
"Hehe!" He Daqing was completely speechless.
This old man is really playing a clever game, trying to get something for nothing.
But in order to keep him calm, He Daqing did not rush to refuse, but said he would think about it first.
"Okay, Lao He, I'll wait for your good news."
Yan Bugui didn't want to push people too hard, and besides, it was indeed cold outside, so after he finished speaking, the two went into the courtyard.
Back home, He Daqing remembered Yan Bugui's threat and had no good solutions for the time being, so he could only wait and see.
Soon after, Sha Zhu and his wife returned. They had brought a lot of goods tonight, so they came back a little later.
"Dad, everything's sold out. Look, the money's all here!" Sha Zhu said, taking out the money, and the couple counted it.
He Daqing saw the couple counting their money, which should have been a happy occasion, but he couldn't feel happy at all.
"Zhu Zi, Xiu Xiu, don't go selling tomorrow."
"Why?" The couple were happily counting their money when they heard this and stopped.
"Sigh!" He Daqing sighed deeply.
Then he recounted in detail how Yan Bugui had threatened him.
After he finished speaking, Sha Zhu immediately got angry and stood up to confront Yan Bugui, but He Daqing grabbed him.
"Sit down! You're such a grown man, why are you still so impulsive?"
"Dad, such a good business, are we just going to turn it down?" Sha Zhu was very unconvinced.
If he hadn't done it before, he wouldn't have stopped, but now that he's tasted the sweetness of success, how could he bear to stop?
"Let's wait and see! I'll go and find out what's going on in the next couple of days. If it works out, we'll continue; if not, then we'll part ways."
He Daqing has made up his mind; he will go to see Sun Zhengguo tomorrow.
Because only high-ranking leaders like these would know the specific policies.
...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com