Chapter 21 The Twenty-First Day of Not Running Away The Twenty-First Day of Not Running Away...
Chen Bozheng couldn't borrow a truck from a friend this time. Trucks are in high demand, and usually, without connections, you can't even hire a driver.
Fortunately, there are plenty of tricycles near the train station. Although tricycles deliver goods slowly, they are cheap. You just have to be careful and follow the tricycle driver.
After all, these tricycle drivers are all strangers. If someone were to drive away with their vehicle and take the goods, the losses would be enormous.
By the end of July, everyone was exhausted and covered in sweat.
The fat man wiped the sweat from his brow as he carried the goods and said to Chen Bozheng, "Brother Zheng, it would be great if we had our own truck someday. Lao Xun and his gang are so unfair. We asked them in advance if we wanted to borrow the truck, and they agreed, but they only told us yesterday that the truck had gone on a long-distance trip."
"Say less and hurry up and finish unloading." Chen Bo was unloading the goods from the tricycle, then calculated the bill for the drivers and asked them for a little extra money.
Lin Qingfeng called over two children to help watch the goods at the door. Just as he was about to go in and call someone to come out and lend a hand, he bumped into a stick.
He bumped right into the stick, and when he looked up and saw it was him, he exclaimed, "Hey, it's you, Stick! You're back from Grandma's house!"
The stick responded.
His gaze shifted from Lin Qingfeng to Chen Bozheng, and he timidly called out "Brother Zheng."
"Is there something you need?" Chen Bo asked, raising his hand to wipe away sweat.
Wen Chan, Liu Yan, and the others arrived at this moment. When Gunzi saw them, his eyes flickered, and he stammered, "It's nothing." Then he left.
Wen Chan glanced at him, her eyes questioning Chen Bozheng.
Chen Bo shrugged.
Boss Ye sent over 50,000 worth of goods first. Liu Yan discussed it with Chen Bozheng and others and decided to wholesale a portion of them first. She knew many people in Xiushui Street. Although they were in the same industry, Liu Yan was good at interpersonal relationships and had good connections. The news was only released the next day, and many people came to wholesale the next day.
After discussing it, everyone agreed that the wholesale price would be five yuan lower than the retail price. This way, although they would earn relatively less, they would get paid quickly and be able to sell the clothes as soon as possible without having to hold onto inventory.
Chen Bozheng made arrangements: he and Wen Chan would be in charge of wholesale at home, while Liu Yan and the others would be responsible for selling goods at Xiushui Street and advertising the area so that other businesses would know where to source their products.
"Hey, this is the third time your friend has been loitering around the door today." Wen Chan counted the money, put it in the bag, glanced at the door, and nudged Chen Bozheng, who had just finished packing.
Chen Bo turned his head and met the stick's gaze.
A look of embarrassment crossed Gunzi's face. Chen Bo straightened up. "Gunzi, come in."
Gunzi strode in, carrying a bag of fruit. "Brother Zheng, you and your wife are here. I came back from my grandma's place and brought some fruit. They're all homegrown, big white pears and apples, and they're so sweet."
Chen Bo took the things from the stick's hand. "Why go to such lengths? You came all this way, why bring fruit? Sit down, there's no one here right now, let me treat you to tea."
"No need, it wouldn't be good to delay your business." Stick said, but he sat down.
Chen Bo went into the room and found a tea set, which he had bought in Shenzhen, and the tea was just ordinary broken tea.
"Have some tea." Chen Bozheng brewed the tea and handed a cup to Gunzi. After Wen Chan sat down, she reached for the tea, but Chen Bozheng stopped her without saying a word. He said to Wen Chan, "Take a cup, I'll pour you some water."
"Sister-in-law, don't you drink tea?" Gunzi made conversation. "This tea is quite good, it must be expensive."
Chen Bo watched Wen Chan go to get a cup before turning his gaze away. "Just regular tea, one yuan per pound."
Stick paused for a moment, then laughed and joked, "Brother, that's not right of you. You guys are making so much money now, why are you still so stingy? Besides, there are so many people coming and going here every day, so many guests. It would be good to buy some good tea to entertain them. Good tea isn't expensive, a few dozen yuan a pound is fine."
Chen Bozheng didn't take it seriously. He was busy entertaining guests, and he didn't have time for that.
However, there's no need to say these things to the stick.
"We'll talk about it another time. What brings you here? Just say it. There are no outsiders here."
Wen Chan brought over a cup, and Chen Bo was adding water for her.
Stick put down his teacup, gripped the chair, and glanced at Wen Chan again and again. Wen Chan sat to the side as if nothing had happened.
She wasn't oblivious to the other person's intention to make her tactfully step aside.
But on what grounds?
"Brother Zheng, I... I need your help. My family is really short of money right now." Seeing that Wen Chan was pretending to be deaf and dumb and refused to back down, Gunzi had no choice but to bite the bullet and speak up.
Chen Bozheng hummed in agreement. "How much money do you need? I don't have much, but I can lend you a few hundred. You don't need to rush to pay it back; you can pay it back another time."
Wen Chan understood that this so-called loan was no different from a gift; it was just to make others look better.
"A few hundred yuan?" Gunzi was stunned. A hint of resentment appeared on his face. "Brother Zheng, your business here is so booming. You're bringing in goods back and forth every day. You're making money like water. Isn't a few hundred yuan a bit too little?"
"To tell you the truth, I want to start a small business, but I don't have much money. My wife scolds me every day for being useless, unlike you guys who are so capable."
Wen Chan took a sip of water.
She leaned back, seemingly not saying a word, but in reality, her ears were already perked up, waiting to see how Chen Bozheng would deal with the stick.
To be honest, Stick is a really interesting guy.
They ran away beforehand, which is understandable, but not long after they returned, Gunzi said he was going to go back to his maternal grandmother's house and would be gone for more than half a month. Now he suddenly showed up at the door, actually to borrow the capital for his business.
Moreover, it's obvious that they say they're borrowing, but they're actually asking for it back.
“Hey stick, let me tell you something. Don’t be fooled by how lively things are here. We’re just making a living through hard work. The garment factories are taking the lion’s share.” Chen Bo sighed. “And look at all this stock we have, all our money is tied up in it.”
As Chen Bozheng spoke, Gunzi's expression grew increasingly grim. He chuckled awkwardly and said, "Brother Zheng, you're joking with me. You guys don't have any money. I heard you spent several hundred just to hire people to transport the goods here."
Chen Bo knew that Gunzi had seen him take out money yesterday.
He wasn't in a hurry. "Look, we have such high expenses, of course we're short of money. We have to pay for shipping, moving goods, and everything else."
Stick's face showed resentment, and he couldn't help but say, "When you guys went to Shenzhen, I went with you!"
Wen Chan raised an eyebrow slightly.
That's getting to the point.
To put it bluntly, the reason Gunzi came to the door was simply because he felt he owed him that much money.
Chen Bozheng placed his hands on his knees, his face calm. "It's true that you went, but put your hand on your heart and tell me, did we mistreat you in Shenzhen?"
The stick suddenly became mute.
Even if he's shameless, he really can't say where he suffered a loss in Shenzhen.
Chen Bo was kind and honest. Knowing that he had pneumothorax and couldn't do any heavy work, he just told him to go and follow Lao Song. Whatever Lao Song ate, he ate; wherever he lived, he lived.
It's fair to say that while Chen Bozheng and his friends were feeding mosquitoes in their bungalows in Shenzhen, Gunzi and Lao Song were enjoying themselves in a boudoir.
The reason he was leaving was because he was afraid of being implicated and burdened with debts.
Chen Bozheng also paid for the travel expenses.
“I understand that you want to do business. A real man should support his family. Here’s the deal: I can’t give you much money, but I’ll give you a batch of goods. You can take them and sell them. Your price will be two yuan less than other wholesalers. I won’t ask for payment upfront. You can pay me back when you make a profit, okay?”
Seeing the embarrassed expression on Gunzi's face, Chen Bo slowly and methodically offered his solution.
Stick looked at the goods on the ground, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Will these clothes sell well?"
“Why are they hard to sell? You and your wife can just find a lively place to sell them. If you can’t sell them, you can bring the clothes back to us. It’s the same thing.”
Chen Bo was very amiable.
Stick had an idea. "Then I'll go back and discuss it with my wife."
He got up and left without even exchanging a word of greeting or thanks.
Wen Chan glanced at Chen Bozheng and shook her head.
Chen Bo looked at her: "Why are you shaking your head?"
Wen Chan shrugged. "It's nothing. I just think you've had a tough time."
Chen Bo was pouring out the tea he had left over from drinking with the stick. The other person had only taken a sip of the tea he had brewed. "Isn't this how business and life are? Where do you find so many smooth sailing opportunities?"
"But you, you wouldn't mind if I did you a favor by giving the stick a hand, would you?"
Wen Chan said, "I'm not stupid. They live in the same courtyard as us, so close by. If we don't give them some sweet treats, what if they have a brain fart and do something sneaky?"
Putting everything else aside, Gunzi doesn't seem like a magnanimous or easy-going person at all.
Anyone with a shred of self-respect wouldn't do something like coming over to ask for favors without contributing anything themselves.
It's right to give these kinds of people a little money to get rid of them, but you can't give them money directly. If you do, it will never end.
Lin Qingfeng and the others agreed with Chen Bozheng's arrangement after they learned about it.
Lin Qingfeng was furious and gritted his teeth, cursing, "I've known since I was a kid that he's no good. If there hadn't been no one else around, I wouldn't have asked him to come along."
"Let's keep these things to ourselves. Don't say them in front of him, and don't treat him any differently. Just treat him the same as everyone else," Chen Bozheng said. "We don't want to give him something and then let slip something, which could offend him."
Chen Bozheng truly understands people's hearts.
Lin Qingfeng and the others were convinced by him and agreed.
When the couple came to pick up their goods, no one said a bad word. Instead, the couple asked around, inquiring about where there were more people to set up their stall.
Liu Yan was both annoyed and amused, but with the intention of seeing things through to the end, she pointed out the location to them.
The clothing sales business gradually got on track, and everyone wasn't as tired as they had been at the beginning.
That afternoon, Wen Chan had just returned from outside when she noticed that Chen Bozheng was nowhere to be seen.
Liu Yan, on the other hand, was helping Lin's mother pour the mung bean soup she had prepared.
"Xiao Wen, you're back just in time, the mung bean soup is ready." Liu Yan greeted Wen Chan.
Wen Chan hummed in agreement, looked around, and asked, "Where's Chen Bozheng?"
"He just went to Grandma Liu's house to help her fix her door," Liu Yan said. "Grandma Liu's house is in the northwest corner of our backyard."
Wen Chan said, "Then I'll go find him. Aunt Lin, get a basin, I'll bring some over to Grandma Liu too."
Lin's mother agreed.
Wen Chan carried the mung bean soup over, humming a little tune. Just as she reached the northwest corner, she heard Chen Bozheng's voice.
His voice, like him, was steady and powerful.
"Grandma Liu, if you don't want to replace this door, I'll find you a replacement."
Wen Chan walked over and saw Chen Bozheng wearing a t-shirt, carrying a door that he had taken off. The door was obviously not light, and Chen Bozheng's forehead was covered in sweat.
Grandma Liu, with her full head of white hair and dressed neatly in a diagonal-fronted, wide-sleeved shirt, was over eighty years old. Upon hearing this, she said with difficulty, "This door must be expensive. Oh, Xiao Zheng, your wife is here."
Chen Bo was putting the door down and leaning against the wall when he heard this. He looked in the direction that Grandma Liu was pointing.
Wen Chan walked over and greeted Grandma Liu, "Aunt Lin made mung bean soup. Grandma Liu, I brought you a bowl. Please try it and see if it tastes good."
As she said this, her eyes swept over the muscles on Chen Bozheng's arm.
For some reason, Chen Bo felt that her gaze was like a feather, and when she swept over him, he felt a ticklish sensation in his heart.
"You're so kind. My family just made some steamed buns this morning, please take them home." Grandma Liu took the basin and said to Chen Bozheng, "Xiaozheng, is this door really unusable?"
Chen Bozheng said, "Grandma Liu, don't worry. The door I replaced for you is free. A friend of mine moved to a new house and if they really needed to replace the doors and windows, they would have to pay someone to help them move things if something was lost. I just asked him for a door. It's no big deal, and it saves him trouble."
Grandma Liu was skeptical. "Really? I heard that timber isn't cheap these days?"
Chen Bo smiled and gestured with his chin towards Wen Chan, "If you don't believe me, ask my wife. My wife wouldn't conspire with me to lie, would she?"
Grandma Liu looked over at Wen Chan.
Wen Chan smiled and said, "Yes, there is such a thing. We had arranged to go over and help someone with their plastering in a while. If we have any leftover putty, we can bring it over and help you with the plastering, how about that?"
Grandma Liu quickly waved her hand: "No, we only need one door. We can't take more, or people will gossip."
Wen Chan and Chen Bozheng teamed up to fool Grandma Liu, and the two of them took two steamed buns and went back.
Chen Bo handed a steamed bun to Wen Chan, saying, "Grandma Liu makes vegetarian steamed buns, they taste good, you should try them."
Wen Chan took the door and teased, "Chen Bozheng, you're something else! I didn't expect you to be such a kind person, giving someone a door for free and then lying that it was someone else's unwanted one."
Chen Bozheng wasn't ashamed at all. "What kind of good Samaritan? It's just a neighbor helping out. The old lady lives alone, and that door has been chewed up by bugs for a long time. If it's not replaced soon, it might fall on someone when she opens it next time."
He said this without any hint of showing off, as if doing such a thing was a matter of course.
Wen Chan glanced at him, then munched on a cabbage and mushroom bun. The bun looked ordinary, but it tasted really good.
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