Bai Xiaoyue clung to Yan Ci, whimpering and refusing to let go.
Yan Ci smiled and said, "Wife, you stay home and take care of the staff and get the procedures in order."
"You can start working on the fabric you've already bought. I'll be back around dinner time."
The couple cuddled for a long time before Yan Ci finally calmed his wife down.
Early the next morning, Ye Jianguo set off with Bai Wenyi, Yan Ci, and Wang Weiguo.
Bai Wenyi's friend was a young man who arrived in a truck.
The man who came was named Lin Xiao. He was tall with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes. He always had a smile on his face and would offer cigarettes to anyone he met. He was very enthusiastic.
The meat had been weighed in advance, and it was loaded directly when the truck arrived.
Yan Ci felt that being able to borrow a truck and have connections to exchange for cloth meant he was someone of importance.
I don't know where Wenyi made his friends.
Lin Xiao drove, seemingly very familiar with the road, and the group arrived at Ying City without any problems.
He found the textile factory with ease, gave the security guard a pack of cigarettes, and the security guard ran inside. A short while later, a leader came out.
Lin Xiao should know this person. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he handed over the letter of introduction. The two negotiated for a long time, and the leader looked at the meat in the car and nodded in agreement.
The leader said to the group, "I'll take you to the warehouse to see the fabric."
They drove the car into the factory area and parked it. Yan Ci said to Bai Wenyi:
"You go to the warehouse with the captain, and Weiguo and I will stay here to watch the vehicles."
Ye Jianguo disagreed: "Yan Ci, you and Wenyi go together, Weiguo and I will stay."
Yan Ci did not refuse, and the group followed the leader into the warehouse.
The leader introduced the fabrics to the group, explaining the price of each type.
At this moment, Bai Wenyi regretted not bringing a female comrade who knew about fabrics, since none of the men knew anything about fabrics.
Lin Xiao knew they were buying cloth to make clothes for the villagers, so he spoke directly to the leader:
"Brother Wang, just get something cheap and practical. People in the village don't care much about what they wear."
Leader Wang pointed to a pile of fabric in the corner and said, "That's the cheapest, with a few minor flaws, but I can sell it at a low price."
Lin Xiao went up and looked through it a few times, then said to Bai Wenyi, "Brother Wen, I think it's fine."
Because the price was cheap, they exchanged a lot more fabric and loaded it onto the car.
Yan Ci pulled the leader surnamed Wang aside and asked, "May I buy a bolt of cloth privately?"
The leader asked him, "Which one do you want to buy?"
Yan Ci brought over a piece of fine cotton cloth with a white background and blue floral patterns, and handed it to the leader to see. The leader nodded.
Yan Ci spent 16 yuan to buy a bolt of cloth for his wife, and he was very happy.
The five men loaded the car, ate lunch in the camp, and hurried back.
Bai Wenyi was very happy that he had successfully exchanged the cloth.
He chatted with Ye Jianguo about trivial matters in the village, while Yan Ci squinted his eyes to rest.
Wang Weiguo was very curious about the truck and sat in the passenger seat to observe Lin Xiao driving.
Suddenly, Lin Xiao cursed, "Damn it."
Yan Ci suddenly opened his eyes.
Bai Wenyi asked Lin Xiao, "What's wrong?"
Wang Weiguo frowned and said, "There's a row of stones in the middle of the road."
Bai Wenyi wanted to get out of the car, but Lin Xiao quickly said, "Don't be impulsive, we've encountered highway robbers."
Bai Wenyi felt as if he were facing a formidable enemy and dared not make a move.
Yan Ci peeked outside and saw the winding mountain road, narrow and indeed suitable for highway robbery.
Ye Jianguo frowned and asked, "Then what should we do?"
Lin Xiao said, "I'll go down and take a look."
Yan Ci quickly said, "It's dangerous for one person to go down alone, let's go down together!"
Lin Xiao took out several steel pipes, each about the thickness of a finger and about 50 centimeters long, from under his seat and handed them to everyone: "Take these for self-defense."
After the group got off the bus, a crowd of people gathered around them from a distance.
Ye Jianguo and Bai Wenyi were dumbfounded.
What does this mean? Dressed in rags, carrying a hoe and a stick, robbing people? Are all robbers this poor?
Lin Xiao said to the group, "They're all farmers who want to make some money for the New Year."
Lin Xiao took a pack of cigarettes and threw it to those people:
"Heroes, we are just farmers from the village, passing by. Please be kind enough to help us."
A leader among them came out and said, "Either leave the money or leave the goods. You choose."
Ye Jianguo stepped forward, bowed, and smiled obsequiously.
"Fellow villager, we really are buying things for the production brigade, and we don't have any money on us. Please do us a favor and let us leave."
The group wouldn't listen; they stood in front of a row of stones, clearly not allowing anyone to pass.
Lin Xiao threw away his cigarette: "I've been all over the country and seen all sorts of things. You think you can get money out of me? No way."
After saying that, he picked up the steel pipe and rushed forward. The others behind him, fearing that he would get hurt, quickly followed.
A chaotic brawl ensued, followed by Lin Xiao's cry of "Ouch!"
Yan Ci felt that this would not work; his side had fewer people and was outnumbered.
He seized the opportunity, grabbed the leader from the crowd, put his arm around his neck, and retreated back to his own side, letting everyone move closer to the car.
Once everyone was huddled together, Yan Ci said fiercely to the group:
"Move the stone away right now, or I'll take his life."
Lin Xiao shouted, "They injured my leg, break this man's leg first."
The group of people were stunned and stood still. They were just a mob, and now that their leader had been arrested, they didn't know what to do.
Yan Ci kicked the person in his arms, and the person quickly said, "Move, move, move right away."
He then shouted to the group, "Move the stones away quickly!"
Those people were like puppets receiving instructions, and soon they moved the stone to the side of the road.
Yan Ci let everyone get on the carriage first before he carried the man onto the carriage himself.
After the car had driven about 200 meters and there were no obstacles ahead, Yan Ci told Lin Xiao to slow down and then threw the man out of the car.
Lin Xiao drove a few more kilometers and stopped the car. Wang Weiguo asked, "What's wrong?"
Lin Xiao was sweating profusely. He turned to Bai Wenyi and said, "Brother Wen, my legs hurt. I can't drive."
Bai Wenyi exclaimed, "Lin Xiao, you're injured? Why didn't you say so sooner?"
Lin Xiao said, "It hurts a bit, so I can't drive for the time being."
Bai Wenyi was dumbfounded: "What are we going to do? We only know how to drive tractors, we've never driven a vehicle like this before!"
Lin Xiao thought for a moment and said, "Then let me rest for a while before we go."
Yan Ci glanced at the sky. He had already wasted a lot of time. If he rested any longer, he wouldn't get back until midnight, and his wife would be worried sick.
He said to Lin Xiao, "You rest, I'll give it a try."
Bai Wenyi asked, "Yan Ci, can you play it?"
Ye Jianguo also looked at Yan Ci with eager eyes.
Yan Ci nodded, then said to Lin Xiao, "Tell me about it."
He studied it for a while. He used to drive big trucks, but he had never driven this kind of old-fashioned vehicle before.
After figuring it out, he started the engine, shifted gears, and sped back to the village with the group.
They first drove to the brigade headquarters to unload the fabric.
Lin Xiao was injured and unable to go home, so he stayed at Bai Wenyi's house for the night.
Bai Wenyi secretly invited Grandpa Cui to his home to examine Lin Xiao's leg injury.
After examining Lin Xiao, Grandpa Cui said that he was fine, with only a minor bone fracture. He applied medicine and bandaged him up, and told him to rest well.
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