"Meet here again at seven o'clock tomorrow morning."
Su Jianguo announced.
"Let's start building the greenhouse frame!"
The workers received their money and went home happily.
Su Jianguo and Su Jianjun stayed behind and carefully inspected the site again.
"Brother, at this rate, we can finish building the framework for all six greenhouses in a week."
Su Jianjun said excitedly.
Once the remaining four tons of plastic arrive, it can be used immediately for covering.
Su Jianguo nodded.
"Once all ten greenhouses are in operation, our 'Su Ji Vegetable Shop' will be able to establish a firm foothold in Beijing."
...
The next morning.
As dawn broke, Su Jianguo arrived at the greenhouse construction site, wearing a cotton-padded coat.
The construction site started work on time in the morning.
"Old Zhang, make sure the foundation here is tamped down a bit more!"
Su Jianguo squatted down and used his palm to measure the depth of the newly laid foundation.
"The greenhouse frame must be sturdy enough to withstand strong winds and heavy snow."
The workers were working very hard, and the sound of shovels hitting the earth broke the tranquility of the village.
Su Jianguo rolled up his sleeves and personally demonstrated how to use hemp rope to calibrate the foundation.
"Brother Jianguo, what do you think of this piece of wood?"
Wu Ermai carried over a piece of fir wood as thick as a bowl.
Just as Su Jianguo was about to speak, the urgent "putt-putt" sound of a tractor suddenly came from afar.
Su Jianjun's tractor charged into the construction site like a raging bull, kicking up clouds of dust.
"Brother! Something's happened!"
Su Jianjun practically jumped out of the car.
He rushed to Su Jianguo and said in a trembling voice.
"Someone's come to the shop...the shop's been robbed!"
Su Jianguo's heart tightened, but he didn't show it on his face.
He calmly patted his younger brother on the shoulder.
"Don't rush, tell me slowly."
He turned and shouted to the workers.
"Keep going, everyone, I'll be right back!"
As the tractor turned around, Su Jianguo noticed that there was still half a basket of tomatoes left to be unloaded in the truck bed.
"What exactly happened?"
As soon as the tractor drove onto the dirt road, Su Jianguo couldn't wait to ask.
The cold wind howled past his ears, forcing him to raise his voice.
Su Jianjun's hands gripping the steering wheel showed prominent veins.
"This morning, after I finished delivering the vegetables, I was just about to head back to the village when I saw three hooligans blocking the shop entrance!"
He slammed his fist on the steering wheel.
"That blond-haired guy who's the ringleader insists the cucumbers he bought yesterday were rotten, and that they put his brother in the hospital!"
"fart!"
Su Jianguo couldn't help but swear.
"Our vegetables were picked no more than six hours ago, how could they possibly rot?"
"They just want to extort money from you!"
Su Jianjun's eyes turned red.
"That blond-haired guy pulled out half a moldy cucumber and insisted it was from our store. I could tell at a glance it was a switcheroo. The mold was all grown on it; it'd been sitting there for at least a week!"
Su Jianguo narrowed his eyes slightly.
At this time, there are a large number of idle people in Beijing, which has led to the emergence of many petty thugs.
These people make a living by stealing chickens and dogs and extorting money.
Clearly, they've been targeted because their business is doing well.
"I wanted to grab a weapon and beat someone up, but my sister-in-law absolutely wouldn't let me..."
Su Jianjun's voice suddenly lowered, tinged with frustration.
"When those thugs saw that we didn't dare to do anything, they just lay down and rolled around in front of the shop, yelling that they needed 500 yuan for medical expenses."
Su Jianguo squinted.
Five hundred yuan?
These thugs really dare to speak up.
He suddenly let out a cold laugh.
"They've come to collect protection money because they see our business is doing well."
"Brother, how about I find a few comrades..."
Su Jianjun was interrupted before he could finish speaking.
"no!"
Su Jianguo said firmly.
"Your sister-in-law did the right thing. These thugs are just waiting for you to make a move; they'll end up in the hospital and extort money from us!"
Soon, the tractor entered Beijing.
The Dongdan Market was already bustling with people, but the area in front of "Su Ji Vegetable Shop" was strangely empty.
Three thuggish-looking young men were blocking the shop entrance. The leader, a blond-haired man, was even sitting on the ground with a cigarette in his mouth, while the other two were also lying down in front of the shop.
"Build the nation!"
When Wang Xiulan saw her husband return, tears streamed down her face.
She clutched the money box tightly in her arms, very excited.
"They're trying to rob us..."
"Oh, the main character has arrived?"
Yellow Hair stood up casually and deliberately flicked his cigarette butt into the arranged vegetable basket.
"Your rotten vegetables gave my brother a stomachache. How are you going to compensate me?"
Su Jianguo glanced around.
Among the onlookers were sympathetic stall owners, customers looking on with amusement, and many more whispering amongst themselves.
He was all too familiar with this scene; in his past life, countless self-employed individuals had been driven to ruin by such methods.
Su Jianguo did not confront the three thugs directly.
Since we're doing business, we should strive for harmony and mutual benefit.
Just deal with them publicly for now, and settle accounts with them behind their backs later.
Su Jianguo took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and forced a polite smile onto his face.
"Brother, let's talk this out. In business, we believe in making money through harmony. How about this..."
He turned and walked towards Wang Xiulan, taking the money box from her trembling hands.
The box was neatly filled with the change he had just received that day. Su Jianguo counted out two ten-yuan bills and then took out a few more one-yuan bills to make a total of thirty yuan.
"This is just a small token, consider it an invitation to tea for the brothers."
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