Chapter 22: Transporting Goods

Tang Hua squinted at her, his eyes full of suspicion.
“What kind of goods?”

Bai Ruoqiao took a small cloth bag out of her pocket and pulled out a brand-new watch still covered with a thin protective film.

Seeing the watch, Tang Hua suddenly stood up.

Even the young man beside him widened his eyes, his gaze shining bright.

The watch Bai Ruoqiao showed was a first-class Citizen watch.

Currently, with ration coupons, it cost 185 yuan at the department store.

Tang Hua’s breathing suddenly grew heavy; he reached out to take the watch but she dodged him.

He looked up at her.

Bai Ruoqiao put the watch back into the cloth bag, lifted her eyelids, and challenged,
“Dare to take it or not?”

Tang Hua turned, pulled out a cigarette, didn’t light it, just held it in his mouth, and took a deep drag.

“How much goods do you have?”

Bai Ruoqiao made a hand gesture — a secret code only insiders would understand.

One thousand…

Tang Hua clenched his fist loosely.

The young man beside him flushed red in the face, his breathing growing heavier.

They were just about to head south again.

There were many wealthy people down south, so these goods would definitely sell well there.

Without ration coupons, each watch could sell for over 200 yuan.

Even with a 30% cut, that was 60,000 yuan!

A huge deal!

Over the years, the transport team had dealt with a lot of goods on the side, but the profit had never been this high.

He glanced at Hua Ge, hoping he would quickly agree.

Tang Hua chewed on the cigarette end, silent for a long moment, then said,
“This kind of hard goods is risky to sell, very risky.”

He said this while narrowing his eyes, looking at her as if he wouldn’t accept unless forced.

But Bai Ruoqiao just lifted her eyelids and glanced at him, then stuffed the cloth bag back into her pocket and turned to leave.

Tang Hua was stunned; his muscles immediately tensed.

He didn’t expect this woman to just walk off like that—wasn’t bargaining supposed to happen first?

He immediately gave the young man a look.

The young man understood, rushed forward to block her,
“Wait a—”

The next moment, without seeing how she moved, he felt a sudden pain in his neck, his body went numb briefly, then the world spun.

In Tang Hua’s vision, he only saw a man weighing over a hundred kilos being lifted single-handedly and thrown over the shoulder.

He didn’t even notice his cigarette falling from his mouth.

Bai Ruoqiao stepped on the young man’s back, drew a small dagger from her sleeve, twirled it between her fingers, and with a grim smile looked at Tang Hua,
“Well? Still want to force me to stay?”

Tang Hua was shocked by the killing intent and ferocity in her eyes, quickly laughing awkwardly,
“Everything is negotiable. If you’re not satisfied, you can raise your price. Why leave without a word?”

Bai Ruoqiao sneered coldly,
“If you’re not sincere, why waste my breath?”

Tang Hua choked,
“Then what about 40%?”

“30/70 is 30/70, Boss Tang. Being too greedy might cost you your life. My brothers risk a lot getting these goods. We do this with brains, not to lose money blindly. This is our capital, not a charity.”

With that, she turned to leave again.

Tang Hua, sweating profusely, shouted,
“Fine, 30/70 it is. I’ll take the goods. When will you bring them?”

He now truly believed she wasn’t a spy. No soldier would have such a strong outlaw vibe.

Bai Ruoqiao glanced at him coldly and said,
“I’ll deliver them later.”

Then she strode toward the courtyard gate.

Just as Bai Ruoqiao’s hand reached to latch the door, she turned back and glanced once more at Tang Hua and the young man getting up.

“Boss Tang, you don’t seem like someone who follows rules well. But people who work the streets to earn a living—at least they should stick to some rules. Otherwise, one day you might never see the sun again.”

With that, she opened the door and left without looking back.

The young man rubbed up to Tang Hua and whispered,
“Hua Ge, should we—”

He made a trailing gesture with his hand, suggesting they follow her.

But Tang Hua smacked the back of his head.

“What the hell do you want? Didn’t you just hear what she said? How many lives do you have? Stay far away from these kinds of knife-edge risks. They’re tough as nails; we can’t afford to provoke them.”

The young man rubbed his head awkwardly,
“But Hua Ge, you still agreed, right?”

Tang Hua gave him a cold glare,
“If someone brings money to your door and you don’t take it, you’re a fool. Go shut the door!”

This kind of hard goods would pay off more than all their hard work over the past few years.

Not taking it would be stupid. As for the risk—after doing black market trade for so long, what’s there to be afraid of?

No wonder these knife-edge risks know how to handle such hard goods.

Though Tang Hua was envious, he didn’t dare to covet.

The young man shut the door and ran back, excited,
“Do we need to tell Fourth Bro? He just got out of the army. Should he join us?”

“That’s obvious. Of course we have to tell him. If we don’t, you’ll be the scapegoat. But Fourth Bro has his own work, so find a way to send him the message later.”

“And what if Fourth Bro refuses?”

That was a real problem. Tang Hua rubbed his bald head.

With Fourth Bro’s cautious nature, he might really say no.

But he wouldn’t ignore it either. Over the years, their risks had been avoided and money made thanks to Fourth Bro’s planning.

You could say without Fourth Bro, they wouldn’t be where they are now.

“Just tell him first. We’ll see then. That person looked really anxious. If we miss this chance, who knows if we’ll get another.”

“Okay, I’m going now.” The young man nodded and hurried out pushing his bike while holding his waist.

“Hey, Xiao Zhi, wait a moment.” Tang Hua called out, then went back inside and came out with a bulging urea sack.

“Take this too. Tell Fourth Bro it’s from me for his wife and nephew.”

The young man looked at the sack, puzzled,
“Hua Ge, what’s this for? I’ll get beaten up. Fourth Bro won’t even let us have any contact with his wife.”

“It’s not about contact. You just give the stuff to Fourth Bro so he can take it back. Dumbass.”

The young man finally understood and nodded hurriedly,
“Oh, oh, I got it. Should I go now?”

“Get lost!” Tang Hua shook his head and grumbled as he closed the door.

Liu Zhigao rode his bike to the Nanyang team.

He asked around for directions and went straight to Zhao Sihai’s home.

At first, he found no one there.

Eventually, someone helped him call Zhao Sihai back.

When Zhao Sihai saw him, his face darkened.

Seeing Zhao Sihai’s expression, Liu Zhigao quickly said,
“Fourth Bro, Hua Ge sent me. There’s something important to tell you.”

Zhao Sihai frowned even deeper, gave a ‘shut up’ look, then walked quickly to unlock the door.

Once the door opened, Liu Zhigao quickly wheeled his bike inside and followed.

“Fourth Bro, so this is where you live, huh? So small, why’s there nothing here?”

Zhao Sihai’s face stayed cold,
“What do you want? Spit it out.”

Liu Zhigao’s nerves tightened immediately. He scratched his head and quickly explained everything.

Seeing Fourth Bro’s frown didn’t ease, he added,
“Hua Ge says this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. If we miss it, who knows if we’ll get another.”

He definitely hoped to land this deal. Who would say no to money?

Though he was only a small fry, the final decision was still in the hands of the two bosses.

Moreover, he knew Hua Ge would listen to Fourth Bro, so he hoped Fourth Bro would agree.