Chapter 70
Zhou Jiani opened her eyes and was about to move when she heard Liu Tong's hurried, low voice: "Xiao Zhou, don't make a sound. We've been hit by a carjacking. The driver in front is negotiating. Lie down and try not to show your head."
Zhou Jiani touched the arc baton and pepper spray in her pocket and smoothed them down.
Liu Tong and Zhang Laosi also followed the driver's instructions and tried to keep their heads low so as not to cause trouble.
Comrade Shi had just quietly gotten off the car and came over to warn them that as long as those people didn't try to hijack the car, they should not move and try not to make any noise to avoid any complications.
Truck drivers have been driving trucks for many years and have experience. They know how to deal with the situation and don't need to take action unless it is absolutely necessary.
And looking at Comrade Shi's expression, he doesn't seem nervous at all.
Zhou Jiani was half lying down, listening to the movement in front of her. She could hear people shouting in front of her, but she couldn't quite understand what they were saying.
Someone shouted, "We don't cause trouble, but we're definitely not afraid of it. Let's have a fight and see who gets the most deaths."
Judging from the distance of the sound, it seemed like someone on their side was shouting.
Then came the sound of several guns being loaded, coming not only from the car in front, but also from the car behind.
There was a commotion ahead, accompanied by a mix of curses and a few boastful shouts.
Zhou Jiani's heart was in her throat. She quietly opened the lid of the spray bottle, touched the position of the nozzle, adjusted the direction, and secretly touched the position of the arc stick switch, ready to deal with it.
I should have eaten some dumplings on the bus earlier, for good luck.
Zhang Laosi and Liu Tong were also sweating. Zhang Laosi held his pipe and Liu Tong held a jujube wood stick, watching the two sides of the car vigilantly, fearing that someone would climb up in the dark.
Zhang Laosi continued in a low voice, "If they dare to crawl, we'll beat them to death. Hit them one by one, don't hold back. The more ruthless we are, the more scared they will be, and they won't dare to show their fangs and claws."
Liu Tong nodded and pricked up his ears to listen to the noise.
Fortunately, Liu Tong didn't get a chance to show his skills, and the car started to move slowly.
But Liu Tong saw the barrel of a gun sticking out of the window of their car. He squinted his eyes and looked back. The car behind him was doing the same thing.
When they passed by the estimated location of the robbers, the three of them did not show their heads and half-lay in the car.
The car gradually picked up speed, and after driving a distance, Shi Daan leaned out of the car and said loudly, "It's okay, you guys take a nap." He then said, "Are you scared?"
Liu Tong touched his forehead and shook it out of the car, splashing a few drops of sweat. He smiled and said, "It's not easy for you."
Shi Daan said loudly: "First, I'm used to it, and second, I absolutely cannot be a coward."
You also have to have the real ability to scare those people.
The shot just now grazed the scalp of one of the robbers, and the robber fell to his knees immediately.
It was either a coincidence or a show of strength. I told them clearly that whoever dared to come forward again would be hit on the arms and legs, and I would hit them wherever I pointed.
Liu Tong wasn't sleepy at all. Zhang Laosi didn't want to sleep either. He didn't dare to light a cigarette, so he just put a handful of tobacco under his nose and sniffed it. He said to Zhou Jiani, "Comrade Xiao Zhou, you should get some more sleep."
Zhou Jiani checked her watch in the light of the car behind her. It was a little after two in the morning. She took a sip of water from her kettle and said, "It's still early. Let's all take a nap."
Liu Tongdao: "You go to sleep, Comrade Xiao Zhou. Uncle Si and I probably can't close our eyes. Don't worry about us. When we were watering the fields before, we were afraid that someone would sabotage us, so we didn't sleep all night. Don't worry, you sleep well, we'll watch over you."
Unable to persuade them, Zhou Jiani closed her eyes again.
Fortunately, there were no more problems until we arrived at the provincial capital.
It was getting light.
The convoy stopped to rest. Zhang Laosi and Liu Tong got out of the car and gathered with the drivers to smoke and chat about what happened last night.
Zhang Lihai came to see Zhou Jiani and found that she was in good condition. She was woken up in the middle of the night but didn't scream or anything. She was still quite stable.
He asked, "Were you scared last night?"
Zhou Jiani drank a sip of cold water to moisten her throat and refresh herself. She raised her hand to her neck and said with a smile, "I'm a little worried, but knowing that you all have weapons and some of you are veterans, I feel at ease and not particularly scared."
Zhang Lihai still gave her a thumbs up, thinking that the female comrade was courageous and not bad.
Zhou Jiani asked him about the people who blocked his way last night, "Are they from the nearby village?"
Zhang Lihai nodded and said helplessly, "It's all because of poverty."
It was even worse at the beginning. Some people would jump on the truck while it was moving, and drag it down as long as they could get their hands on the cargo, no matter what it was.
They approached the local village, but no one admitted it, so they understood.
After a head-on confrontation with them, those people knew they were really going to kill us, so they became much more restrained.
They are just restraining themselves and will not stop. They are also hoping to pick up bargains, just in case they come across one.
After everyone has rested and adjusted, they get back on the bus and go straight to their respective handover units, or go directly to the transport team to unload the goods.
Zhou Jiani followed Zhang Lihai's car to the First Textile Factory to deliver the goods.
It is a sister unit of the Second Spinning Mill, but Zhou Jiani is not familiar with this place.
Zhang Laosi had dozed off for a bit in the first half of the night. Liu Tong hadn't slept all night, so he wasn't sleepy either. He looked curiously at the provincial state-owned factory in front of him and asked Zhou Jiani, "Don't you have a textile factory?"
"My parents work at the Second Spinning Mill."
“Which factory is larger?”
Zhou Jiani smiled and said, "Of course the first factory is bigger. It has 10,000 employees. The second factory only has 6,000 or 7,000 employees!"
Zhang Laosi said, "Not small anymore."
He also stared hard with his eyes, examining it carefully, so that he could talk about it when he got back.
Both of them looked very energetic at this moment.
When leaving Factory 1 and heading towards the First Department Store, he was looking both ways, afraid of missing something.
When they were almost at the First Department Store, Liu Tong pointed and said, "Isn't that the four-story building of the First Department Store? My goodness, the captain has told me that dozens of times."
Zhang Laosi also looked excited, grinning, "Finally, I've seen this department store in the provincial capital." He added, "I heard you can buy scraps of cloth and handkerchiefs here for free?"
Zhou Jiani smiled helplessly and said, "There's a chance that someone will host this event, but last time we waited in line for half a day and it was all in vain. The tickets were sold out before it was our turn."
There were queues today as well, but not as many as last time. Zhou Jiani didn't get out of the car. She poked her head out to look around, accurately finding the notice next to the gate. After a careful look, she said, "Oh, shoes and sheets going to the Shanghai market today..."
It seemed like there was something else, but the car had already passed by and she didn't see it clearly.
Liu Tong was scratching his head and asked, "Can we catch up?"
Zhou Jiani laughed: "That's hard to say."
It is not known whether they can catch up with the sales, but they have caught up with the unloading of goods in front, and the goods unloaded are from the Shanghai market.
Liu Tong and Zhang Laosi got out of the car and took a look, but didn't dare to talk to anyone, especially when they heard the people who were receiving the goods shouting. They were a little scared and came back.
This time they waited a long time, an hour and a half before it was their turn.
While waiting, everyone ate some dry food and drank some cold water, which was considered breakfast.
When they arrived, the receiver took one look at the goods they brought and didn't give them any disapproval. Instead, he greeted them cheerfully, "Oh, it's you! Your woven goods are selling really well. Last time, those dozens of baskets didn't even last two days."
Zhou Jiani smiled and said, "I know. I called and urged them."
The person who was counting the goods laughed and said, "These probably won't last a few days. You'll have to send more."
Zhou Jiani smiled and said, "I'll continue to expand the scale when I get back."
Zhang Lihai backed the car and Zhou Jiani followed him in to take over, count the items and get the list.
While they were busy, Zhou Jiani asked, "Were the goods just unloaded all from Shanghai?"
"That's right. It took almost two months for the sheets and shoes from Shanghai and the blankets from Nanjing to arrive." The woman doing the ordering laughed. "If you want shoes, we can still find a way to get you a pair. But forget about the sheets. Our tellers can't even get them."
Zhou Jiani didn't plan to take it. Seeing that Liu Tong and the other man were staring at the batch of goods being unloaded in front of them, she asked on their behalf.
After I went out, I told the two of them about it, and they waved their hands in disappointment.
It doesn’t matter whether I buy shoes or not, I just want to buy a bed sheet.
But it sounds pretty bad.
Zhou Jiani smiled and said, "Be patient. When our village's woven products are sold to Shanghai, we can buy them directly from the place of production."
Liu Tong knew Zhou Jiani was trying to comfort them, so he didn't take it seriously. He said, "Don't worry about that unrealistic thing. Go to the provincial capital more often in the future. If you catch any, please bring us a few."
This time, all the orders for the First Department Store were handed in, and only twenty items were allocated to the Second Department Store, plus two storage stools, which the three of them had to carry themselves. After they were done, they would take the bus. Zhang Lihai and the others would leave first, and the bill would be settled with the village later.
"Let's go to the First Department Store, take the money, and then go to the Second Department Store."
After Zhang Laosi and his men entered the city, they relied entirely on Zhou Jiani's command.
Before entering through the main entrance, Zhang Laosi took a few steps back, looked up at the door of the department store carefully, and then he stepped forward to follow.
By this time, the line had become very long. It was obvious that even if they lined up, they might not be able to buy it.
After entering the mall, the two men were a little dazzled. In addition to the numerous counters, even the light bulbs above their heads looked new.
Liu Tongdao: "This light tube is really bright."
Zhang Laosi looked up and asked Zhou Jiani with a look of pain on his face, "How much electricity does it consume to leave it on like this in broad daylight?"
Zhou Jiani smiled and said, "It's a state-owned shopping mall after all, and it's quite large. It would be too dark without the lights on."
Zhang Laosi nodded to show his understanding, but still felt distressed.
Of course, he really couldn't spend his money, but he kept muttering, "After all, this is the city. There are only a few households in our village who have electric wires installed."
They still use kerosene lamps.
Liu Tong also said: "That's right, no wonder everyone wants to go into the city, it's just good."
Zhou Jiani first took them to the north building to collect the payment for the goods. Zhang Laosi did not go up with them. He followed them this time just to broaden his horizons. To put it bluntly, the village treated him preferentially. In the future, he would not have to deal with the leaders of the department store, so he would not join in the fun.
He squatted down to smoke, and looked at the basket and storage stool.
Zhou Jiani only moved one sample up.
Section Chief Wang is waiting for the people from the Qianjin Brigade to arrive.
He knew that the basket was easy to sell last time, but he didn't expect it to be so popular. It barely lasted a day and a half before all the baskets were left.
Seeing Zhou Jiani come in, Section Chief Wang warmly went over to shake her hand and said, "Comrade Zhou, I've already submitted your application for passing the assessment. Is that sincere enough?"
That means that they reported it in advance without waiting to see how the goods would sell, which gave them great recognition.
Zhou Jiani quickly smiled and said, "That's very sincere. Thank you so much."
After introducing him and Liu Tong, she patted the storage stool she had brought with her and said with a smile, "We've also brought new products this time, and they're also a token of our sincerity from the Forward Brigade. Chief Wang, take a look?"
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