After speaking, the other person glanced at Lu Yuan, and was somewhat surprised when he saw Lu Yuan.
"Brother, is he the Factory Director Lu you mentioned? He looks so young! And he seems to be living a good life! Is he a rich man?"
Chen Ke nodded and said, "I don't know if he has money or not, but he's very capable! You two talk! I'll take some people to buy some things!"
Chen Ming waved to Lu Yuan, then pointed to the vegetable market in the distance and said to Chen Ke, "This area is no longer under our jurisdiction. You must be careful; the people there are not to be trifled with. It's best to avoid any conflict, otherwise we really can't help you!"
"Huh? Why? You can't control them either? Then what are you doing here guarding them?"
"Sigh! It's really frustrating. These people have vegetables, but they don't want us to get involved. So even when we go to buy vegetables, we have to follow their rules. Otherwise, they might turn on us or even shut down the market! But it's not a big problem, as long as we pay their prices. It's just that the things are a bit expensive!"
Chen Ke sighed and led Sun Zhe and the others toward the market, while Lu Yuan quietly took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.
The other person's eyes lit up when they saw the cigarettes in Lu Yuan's pocket.
"Wow, bro, you actually managed to get your hands on cigarettes! Looks like you've stockpiled a lot of good stuff! By the way, what brings you here?"
Lu Yuan looked around and saw that many soldiers had a hint of envy in their eyes when they saw the cigarette in Chen Ming's hand. Although these soldiers were supported by the government, it was very difficult to get cigarettes in this post-apocalyptic world.
So Lu Yuan took out two packs of cigarettes from his pocket again and walked over.
"Thank you all for your hard work. This is just a small token of my appreciation!"
After saying that, he handed them two packs of cigarettes, which they quickly took with a smile on their faces.
"Thanks, bro! By the way, if you encounter any bullying or extortion in there, let us know and we'll deal with them!"
As he spoke, the other person opened the cigarettes and distributed them to everyone.
Chen Ming, with cigarettes tucked into his pocket, pulled Lu Yuan aside and whispered, "Brother, do you have any more cigarettes? I can trade you something for one!"
Soldiers are different from others. They are around the same age as him and never beat around the bush. Lu Yuan likes to communicate with them. After all, he doesn't like having to guess what the other person is thinking when they talk, and he worries about accidentally saying something wrong.
Lu Yuan laughed. He was just wondering how to bring it up, but the other party had already brought it up. He had been thinking about how to bring it up when he came here. After all, the things they were guarding were controlled items, and taking them out would definitely be against the rules. It would be bad if the other party disagreed and put him on the list of people under close observation.
"Of course I have some! I don't smoke much, so I've saved quite a few. How many do you want?"
The other person stroked their chin, thought for a moment, and then held up one finger, saying, "A whole case!"
Lu Yuan was stunned. He didn't expect the other party to be so greedy, asking for a whole case right off the bat. He had bought two cases of various cigarettes to satisfy his nicotine cravings, and he had gone to many tobacco and liquor stores to buy them. The other party was asking for half of his stock.
However, Lu Yuan did not intend to give them so much right away. Things had to be done little by little. It would be troublesome if he exposed too much and attracted their attention. Although he was not worried that these soldiers would have any ideas about him, there was no guarantee that his information would be leaked and that others would have their eyes on him.
“Um…you’re asking for too many. I don’t have that many. I can only give you ten at most,” Lu Yuan said after thinking for a moment.
The other party was immediately disappointed, but still nodded and said, "Sigh! Alright, ten it is!"
"By the way, what do you need? I can get you some things—food, compressed biscuits, water, daily necessities, gasoline, and basically everything else I have!"
However, Lu Yuan shook his head.
"Is there anything else? I don't really need these things! I want to get some self-defense items. After all, in these chaotic times, it's really troublesome not having something to protect yourself!"
After speaking, Lu Yuan glanced at the gun in the other person's hand without leaving a trace.
The other person immediately clutched his gun, glanced warily at Lu Yuan, and whispered, "What are you thinking! This won't do! This is against discipline!"
Lu Yuan sighed and said, "Alright! Never mind then. Oh, and consider this pack of cigarettes a token of our friendship. I'm heading over now!"
As he spoke, Lu Yuan took out the last pack of cigarettes from his pocket, handed it to the other person, and turned to leave.
The other person took the cigarette, clearly going through a fierce internal struggle. Lu Yuan had already slowly walked away, but he didn't walk too fast; instead, he slowed his pace and silently counted in his mind.
One, two, three... nine.
Just as he was counting to nine, Chen Ming suddenly called out to him.
Chen Ming looked troubled but also had an unbearable craving for cigarettes. He took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag.
"Wait a minute, I think this isn't entirely impossible, but you have to give me some time. After all, this is something that's strictly regulated!"
Lu Yuan was overjoyed. He hadn't held out much hope when he came, since guns are dangerous and controlled items, and if they fell into the hands of civilians, the impact would be enormous.
But to my surprise, the other party actually relented and agreed to consider it.
"Of course, I know this is not a simple matter. I can wait, you can rest assured. I only use it for self-defense, and I will absolutely not use it for anything else!"
"Hmm, you don't seem like that kind of person. So, how about this, give me ten more cartons of cigarettes, and make sure to bribe the higher-ups and lower-ups. Besides, I have so many brothers, these cigarettes are simply not enough to go around!"
"Of course! No problem!"
Lu Yuan nodded happily in agreement.
At this moment, the other party suddenly squinted at Lu Yuan's waist and said, "Hide the thing well. Although it's chaotic now, it's best not to take this thing out casually!"
Following the other person's gaze, Lu Yuan looked at his waist and saw a small section of the black gun handle sticking out. He immediately shoved the gun back in awkwardly.
After saying goodbye to Chen Ming, Lu Yuan quickly ran towards the market.
The entire market reeked of a foul stench, and the ground was littered with excrement. Covering his mouth and nose with his sleeve, Lu Yuan cautiously surveyed the market.
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