As darkness fell, the production team's trumpet finally sounded again, signaling the end of work, and faint cheers could be heard. This also woke Zhang Guoqing, who had been sleeping soundly.
He opened his eyes and looked at the darkness behind the curtains, then got off the kang in the dark. As soon as he walked out of the room, he saw a smiling face in the living room.
"Awake? Were you woken by the loudspeaker?"
Zhang Guoqing took the towel from the washbasin rack and shook his head. "I just woke up. Why don't you come and lie down with me for a while? Where's our son?"
"Just now Xizi and the others came over, and he was worried that they would wake you up, so he took them to the old courtyard." Zhou Jiao said with a smile. As for lying down with him for a while? Hehe~
Zhang Guoqing washed his face and saw the food on the kang table. "I'm not hungry at all now. I'll put it away and eat it on the way." After saying this, he thought about it and asked, "Have you eaten yet?"
Zhou Jiao smiled and nodded.
"Then let's go talk to our son and leave?"
"No need. I told Ping'an to leave right away so that Xizi and the others wouldn't want to follow me back to the county. He told you not to forget what you promised him."
Zhang Guoqing smiled and said, "This little thing."
"Xizi said that Dad was dragged to the cafeteria by Third Uncle and his men to eat, so I gave Mom ten pounds of sorghum stew and two packets of snacks. They should be eating by now."
"That's perfect, it saves us a trip. Shall we set off?"
"Well, go early and come back early."
The couple took the flashlight and walked not far out of the village. Zhang Guoqing asked Zhou Jiao to take out the cart so that he could pull her along, but Zhou Jiao declined.
Do you really think you can be treated like an ox just because you're strong? In the darkness, Zhou Jiao rolled her eyes at him.
Unfortunately, no matter how heartbroken he was, he couldn't escape the reality. Halfway through the journey, Zhang Guoqing couldn't stand it anymore and picked her up and ran away. They walked slowly to the county town until daybreak.
"I'll carry it on my back. Isn't that enough?"
Seeing that the person in his arms was anxious, Zhang Guoqing joked, "You carry her? Can you carry her?" As he said that, he actually put her down and carried her on his back again.
"Will anyone see us?"
Zhang Guoqing said disapprovingly, "It's pitch dark, who knows who it is? Don't make a sound, no one will know. I'll run faster, otherwise Uncle Dashan might fall asleep and he'll be able to speak."
Zhang Guoqing really showed his ability at this moment, running towards the county town at a very fast speed. Fortunately, he didn't meet many people along the way, otherwise the enthusiastic villagers would think something serious had happened and rush to the hospital.
When they were almost at the county town, Zhou Jiao got off his back and said enviously, "You're amazing. You can carry a living person like me without even taking a breath."
"Tsk~ That depends on who I'm carrying. If it were someone else, I'd have collapsed from exhaustion. But when you're on my back, smelling that familiar scent, my adrenaline levels are skyrocketing. I'm as excited as if I were on drugs."
Zhou Jiao quickly pulled him, "Keep your voice down."
Zhang Guoqing patted her head speechlessly. How could such a cowardly woman do such a thing as touching several carriages?
Zhou Jiao was alone in the county restaurant, chatting with the old master. Before half an hour had passed, Zhang Guoqing had already driven slowly by in a military truck.
Seeing this, Zhou Jiao quickly got up, said goodbye to the master, walked to the intersection and climbed into the car.
"Why so fast? What did Uncle Dashan say?"
Zhang Guoqing smiled when she asked, "Don't worry. Take a breath first. Uncle Dashan gave me the keys without a second thought when he saw me borrowing his car. Before he left, he even said he'd get some benefits for the company if it was convenient, and I'd go to the finance office to get the money reimbursed later."
"Where's the invoice?"
"I can handle this. You want to?"
Zhou Jiao hesitated for a moment and shook her head, "It's too conspicuous and it's easy for people to use it against you."
"That's right. There's no need to make such a fuss. Uncle Dashan was just saying it casually. If he really meant it, he wouldn't say it like that."
He cleared his throat and imitated Zhao Dashan: "Xiaowu, help uncle get some that and that. This is him."
Zhou Jiao glanced at him sideways, "You've done a pretty good job. You're being disrespectful, young man. You actually dared to test me."
"Wife, you misunderstood. How dare I?" Zhang Guoqing winked at her. "Drive a little further and remember to remind me to get the license plate."
Zhou Jiao knew he was deliberately changing the subject. What nonsense! If the two of them were to show up at the black market so openly, they'd be incredibly bold.
This time when he arrived in the neighboring city, for safety reasons, Zhang Guoqing drove his car to find the middle-aged snakehead from last time. Sure enough, the other party could really eat ten tons of coal.
Zhang Guoqing left it a little suspenseful, saying he'd trade one truckload first and then see how much coal there was. Although he hadn't seen how much coal was in the space, he could still roughly estimate it based on Zhou Jiao's description.
Before collecting coal, she first collected a full wagon of flour. Furthermore, she said that when collecting coal, the space couldn't hold much, so she just filled it with whatever she could. Adding the other miscellaneous items and a small car, the remaining space could only take up less than 20 tons.
His vague statement was based on the idea of filling the truck to its maximum capacity. Once the five-ton truck reached its destination, if he added another two or three tons, perhaps all the coal could be cleared tonight.
After this deal, this black market will never be visited again. If you are not careful and get caught, you will definitely end up eating peanuts.
After the two parties reached an agreement, Zhang Guoqing drove a car and took three people from the other party who were carrying two sacks of cash to find Zhou Jiao.
Inside the car, Zhang Guoqing glanced at the calm and composed middle-aged man and felt a deep admiration for him. He didn't notice his two younger brothers wiping their sweat nervously.
This also made him determined to sell all the coal this time and never have any contact with the other party again. Such people are desperate people who hang their heads on their belts.
Driving, Zhang Guoqing thought about what he'd heard them whispering about in the underground tunnel while they were raising money, and smiled to himself. If there had been even a hint of malice in their words, he would have slipped away long ago. It seemed he was truly inferior to them in terms of courage.
After meeting up with Zhou Jiao, Zhang Guoqing and the other three checked the goods, then drove the car with the middle-aged man in the direction specified by the other party.
Zhou Jiao, who was riding in the truck, followed closely behind them. Seeing them walk straight into an abandoned yard, she looked around and breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing Zhang Guoqing's composure, she suppressed her doubts. While she wasn't worried about him cheating, it would be better to have less trouble. Most importantly, her space was too full to fit the truck. If the truck broke down, it would be a huge problem.
Zhang Guoqing got out of the car first and gestured to Zhou Jiao in the back.
Zhou Jiao nodded in understanding, got off the train, reached inside the carriage, and began to add coal to the back. She only stopped when the shed was about to burst.
Weigh and settle the payment.
The first deal of the night was complete. Both parties breathed a sigh of relief. The amount was quite large, and everyone was happy that it could be transferred smoothly.
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