The village chief was unsure of Yan Xiaoqiang's intentions: "Qiangzi, tell me properly, what's going on?"
Yan Xiaoqiang shook his head. Ai Dang and his elder brother had repeatedly told him not to talk nonsense, so he couldn't say, "Uncle Village Chief, I just feel a little tired, and it's not good for me to keep holding the title of 'Little Pig Raising Expert' all the time."
The village chief picked up his pipe, lit it, and started smoking. The Yan family must have received some news, which is why they stopped raising pigs. But he was always going to town and hadn't heard anything about a ban on raising pigs.
When I delivered the pigs today, they even praised me, saying that the title of "Little Pig Farmer" for this year still belongs to Mushroom Village, no doubt about it.
Sigh, Qiangzi is probably really tired. So many years have passed, and the pressure must be immense. Oh well, maybe he should just raise the child himself.
The pig-raising business was settled. Yan Xiaoqiang returned home and washed the pigsty thoroughly, sprinkling several layers of lime powder until he could no longer smell the pig odor.
Cuihua, Xuemei, and Tang Xiaoling were busy in the kitchen. They had to render pork fat, marinate pork, make rice cakes, steam buns, prepare dumpling dough, and wash and cut many other dishes. There was so much to do.
Yan Xiaonan, along with Liu Jin and Wu Jinban, were also busy cleaning the yard, tidying up, feeding the chickens and collecting eggs, and building a snowman.
Yan Xiaoqiang went to the field to help set up the greenhouse, while Yan Dongnan and Xinan climbed onto the roof to sweep snow. Clumps of snow fell down, eliciting cheers from Liujin and Wujinban. Even Zhongzi ran laps with them. Grandma Yan stood at the door of the main room, looking at the gate, wondering when Beinan would come back.
Hong Kong Island, North South, Mao Tou, and Tie Ge stood by the sea for a long time before finally waiting for Big Circle Boy to arrive. Big Circle Boy, with a cigarette in his mouth, looked them over from head to toe and nodded in satisfaction.
"Are you willing to come with me? But let me make this clear from the start: if we mainlanders want to make a name for ourselves, we need guts. Are you up to the task?"
Brother Tie stood in front: "A man shouldn't ask if it's okay or not. Just tell me, how do you do it?"
"Hey fellow countrymen from the Northeast, my surname is Qin, the Qin of Qin Shi Huang. I have the surname of Qin Shi Huang, but not the fate of Qin Shi Huang. You can just call me Old Qin."
"Me, Lao Tie, Bei Nan, Mao Tou," Tie Ge introduced, pointing to Bei Nan and Mao Tou.
"Let's go to Chinatown. Are you hungry? I'll treat you to a meal as a welcome back dinner."
The three of them followed Lao Qin for about half an hour until they arrived at Chinatown.
Four bowls of char siu rice, a soup, and a pot of boiled vegetables made up for dinner. The group from the north and south were starving, and they wolfed down their food. Before long, the plates were clean, and they didn't even need to wash their bowls.
Then Lao Qin led them to a narrow, dark house: "I'll stay here. If you don't mind, you can squeeze in here. I'll take you to a mahjong parlor tomorrow."
Without saying a word, the three of them found a corner and sat down. Maotou and Beinan fell asleep against the wall, but Laotie was wide awake. In an unfamiliar city, in an unfamiliar place, and with unfamiliar people, they had to be on their guard.
In the middle of the night, Bei Nan woke up and told Lao Tie to go to sleep. Lao Tie was so tired that he started snoring soon after. The snoring woke Mao Tou up. He opened his eyes and looked around, but it was pitch black and he couldn't see anything.
All they could do was close their eyes and rest, thinking about how to get through tomorrow. Bei Nan was also thinking about this issue, and even considered whether to sell a gold bar to cover living expenses.
The next day at dawn, Lao Qin got up and took the three of them to a food stall at the street corner for breakfast. Then he took them to the entrance of a mahjong parlor and said as he opened the door, "I own this mahjong parlor, but I can't keep it running by myself. If you can keep it running, once I get my money back, we'll split the profits equally."
The old man nodded and went inside for a look around. The place was quite large, with a house of more than 30 square meters divided into four rooms. Each room had three or four mahjong tables. If it were full, there would be 15 mahjong tables and 60 people. This was indeed a good idea to make money.
"Old Qin, how much capital did you use?" Lao Tie asked.
"The rent is 3,000 yuan a month, the deposit is 3,000 yuan, utilities are 200 yuan a month, the mahjong set, table, and chairs were bought for 2,000 yuan, and the thermos, cups, and such cost 300 yuan. I can't remember the rest," Old Qin said.
"How much do you have to pay to play mahjong?" Lao Tie asked again.
"It depends on how big they are. We don't open in the morning, but we have two sessions in the afternoon and evening. Once each table is full, you have to ask. If it's a minimum of 100 yuan, you get 10 yuan per person; if it's a minimum of 1000 yuan, you get 100 yuan per person," Old Qin said.
Bei Nan was startled. This was a quick way to make money; no wonder Lao Qin couldn't keep it.
"Old Qin, are you managing this all by yourself?" Bei Nan asked, puzzled.
“There were originally three of them, and the money was pooled together by the three of them. But those two cowards got scared away and I couldn’t stop them, so I came out to look for them yesterday. You two don’t look like cowards, so I looked for you.”
The group from the north and south understood. After calculating, they realized that it cost a total of 8,500 yuan, of which 3,000 yuan was a deposit and not included in the cost, so that was 5,500 yuan. They should be able to raise that amount of capital quickly. The three of them looked at each other, nodded, and agreed to do it.
“Right now I’ll provide you with three meals a day and lodging. Once we’ve recouped our investment, we’ll split the profits equally. After that, you’ll have to find your own places to stay and eat,” Old Qin said.
This guy was honest. The three from the north and south began to trust Lao Qin. The four of them went about their own business, some boiling water, some sweeping, some dusting, and some tidying up. They cooperated quite well.
After lunch, men and women, young and old, who had been playing mahjong began to come over. Bei Nan observed carefully and found that most of the people who came had already found their partners. He sat down and said something in Cantonese to Lao Qin, something like "a door, a thousand doors".
Old Qin explained that a door costs 100 yuan, and he charged 40 yuan. A thousand doors would cost 1,000 yuan, and he charged 400 yuan. However, most of the time it was the price of a door. He could earn between 1,000 and 2,000 yuan a day from two sessions.
Mao Tou clicked his tongue in amazement, saying this was much faster than making money on the black market, but Lao Tie shook his head, saying that high-profit projects always come with high risks. He suggested that he go outside tomorrow morning to see if there was anything he could use for self-defense.
Bei Nan nodded. "Old Tie has the most social experience. You can't go wrong listening to him."
The first day's income was good, and the second session brought in 2,300 yuan. At this rate, they would have income in three more days at most. Lao Tie borrowed 2,000 yuan from Lao Qin, saying he needed to buy some weapons for self-defense. Lao Qin took the money without hesitation and pointed out a way for Lao Tie.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
