Chapter 23: One’s Own People Don’t Recognize Their Own

Zhao Sihai furrowed his brow and thought for a moment, then nodded in the uneasy gaze of Liu Zhigao.

“It’s too late for me to object now. Next time, remember to tell me first. Let’s proceed with this order for now, but be careful.”

“Got it, Fourth Bro. Don’t worry, we’re always very cautious.”

Hearing Zhao Sihai’s words, Liu Zhigao’s face lit up, and his heart finally settled.

Feeling relieved, his tone relaxed considerably.

“Fourth Bro, do you think that woman is one of those”—he made a hand gesture for ‘inside theft.’

At this point, inside theft was more serious than smuggling.

Smuggling from abroad was a skill.

But inside theft meant stealing state property—you could get shot for that.

Zhao Sihai shook his head,
“Based on your description, probably not. But I haven’t met her, so I can’t be sure. Next time you see her, call me. Also, try to avoid contact with people like that in the future, and don’t accept orders lightly.”

“Understood.” Liu Zhigao nodded seriously. They had just been blinded by the profits behind the scenes.

Now that he thought about it, it really was quite dangerous.

But people die for money; he thought poverty was even scarier.

At worst, they’d do this order and stop.

Then he asked again,
“Oh, Fourth Bro, Hua Ge said you have your own work. Why don’t you join the transport team? With your driving skills and repair abilities, it’d be no problem.”

Zhao Sihai shook his head,
“I have my own plans.”

Liu Zhigao could only sigh with regret,
“Alright then.”

Zhao Sihai stood up and hurried Liu Zhigao out, worried Bai Ruoqiao might suddenly return,
“If you have nothing else, go quickly.”

“Okay, okay. Oh, right, this is a gift from Hua Ge for your wife and nephew.” Liu Zhigao hurriedly took down the urea sack.

Zhao Sihai frowned but still took it.

Only then did Liu Zhigao push his bike out the door, said goodbye, and left.

After watching Liu Zhigao leave, Zhao Sihai stood for a long while and let out a heavy sigh.

He thought maybe it was time to end the resale business.

Now that he was back in his hometown, if he continued, it might be noticed by Qiao Qiao (Bai Ruoqiao).

He was afraid she would look down on him or even leave him.

That was the original reason he agreed to cooperate on this order.

After all, this order alone was worth several months’ income; even if he stopped afterward, it’d be enough to live on.

He exhaled deeply, turned, put the sack behind the door, and locked it again.

—

At the supply and marketing cooperative, Bai Ruoqiao left the yard, confirming no one was following her.

She turned through several alleys before heading to the supply cooperative.

She bought a black handbag and came out again, circling back around to the large yard gate.

Just as she knocked, the gate opened.

Tang Hua was standing there, obviously waiting for her.

“Hurry in.” Tang Hua hurriedly invited her inside, eyes glued to the handbag, shining with greed.

Bai Ruoqiao walked in and handed the bag over after entering the house.

“All the goods are here. Check them.”

“Alright.” Tang Hua didn’t hesitate and immediately poured out the watches from the bag.

Seeing so many brand-new Citizen watches, his facial muscles twitched uncontrollably.

He took a deep breath and began counting them one by one.

After confirming the count was correct, he exhaled and stood up, nodding with a smile.

Bai Ruoqiao raised an eyelid slightly and calmly asked,
“When’s the earliest you can take them?”

“We’ll be going south soon. If nothing goes wrong, we should be back in about ten days.”

Bai Ruoqiao seemed a little dissatisfied.

Tang Hua, fearing she might change her mind, hurried to explain,
“It takes time to sell them, plus we’re transporting for the higher-ups, so the timing is set by them.”

Bai Ruoqiao glanced sideways at him,
“Fine. I’ll come back in ten days. The goods will be handed over to you then. Don’t think about doing anything funny, or even if you run overseas, we’ll find you.”

Having said this, she turned and left.

She wasn’t worried about the goods being stolen.

This was a gamble.

If they lost, the worst was losing some goods; if they won, they would have a steady channel for future sales.

After leaving, Bai Ruoqiao circled around once more before returning to the public restroom. She changed her clothes and appearance back and waited a while before coming out.

Afterward, she went to the deposit point, picked up her bike, and left.

By the time she returned to the village, the basket on the bike was already heavy.

But since it was covered with a cloth, no one could tell what was inside.

Lin Qianqian had just returned from sending a letter and saw this scene. She covered her swollen cheek with her hand, her gaze sharp and poisonous.

She ground her teeth fiercely,
“Zhao Ruoqiao, let’s see how long you can stay proud.”

When she returned, Zhao Sihai was also carrying two racks over one meter tall.

“Back already.” Seeing her, Zhao Sihai’s previously stern face immediately brightened into a smile.

Bai Ruoqiao looked at the racks in surprise,
“So soon?”

“These racks are relatively simple; the cabinets will take longer.”

Bai Ruoqiao nodded, quickly parked her bike, and went to unlock the door.

Zhao Sihai carried the racks inside first.

After putting them down, he ran out to help push the bike inside, took off the basket, and began moving the goods.

He didn’t even ask what was in the basket.

Bai Ruoqiao didn’t mention it either.

While tidying, she noticed a urea sack by the racks and asked curiously,
“What’s this?”

Zhao Sihai stuck his head out from the kitchen and casually said,
“My old friend heard I was back and came by to take a look. This is what he gave you and An An.”

Bai Ruoqiao was surprised,
“Where is he?”

“He left.”

Bai Ruoqiao was speechless,
“Why didn’t you let him stay for a meal? He came all the way here.”

“His wife just gave birth, and he was out buying things. He needs to rush back now.” Zhao Sihai said as he rolled dough.

“Oh.” Bai Ruoqiao nodded,
“I’ll prepare some gifts to send to him when I get a chance.”

“Okay. How about noodles for lunch?”

Bai Ruoqiao agreed while taking things out of the bag,
“Sure, make extra and send some to Aunt Fang’s place.”

There were quite a few things in the urea sack:

Two cans of malted milk powder, two cans of infant formula, and a large bag of dried seafood—

dried shrimp, dried scallops, dried kelp, dried fish, and the like.

There was even a bottle of Maotai liquor and a large cigar.

She raised an eyebrow—Zhao Sihai’s friend was quite something.

After lunch, the two got busy with their tasks again.

Zhao Sihai went back to the carpenter to make cabinets, and Bai Ruoqiao began organizing things.

They worked until around three in the afternoon.

Cheng Yueya, Fang Meizi, Liu Meili, and Zhang Caihua (who was Fang Hongjun’s wife) all came early to help.

This time, they only invited the younger generation, mostly close friends or people with some prestige in the village, each family inviting one or two good acquaintances among the juniors.

When they entered the kitchen and saw so much meat and vegetables on the table, they were all surprised.

There was about thirty jin (~15 kg) of pork alone, plus two chickens and one fish.

“Ruoqiao, aren’t you overdoing it a bit?”

Zhang Caihua wasn’t very familiar with Bai Ruoqiao and hesitated before speaking but couldn’t help feeling that it was a bit excessive.

Bai Ruoqiao was too wasteful—it must be a huge waste of ration tickets.

They had thought the 300 jin of ration tickets would last a long time, but now it seemed it would all be used up quickly.

Liu Meili was less concerned with ration tickets and frowned.

“Qiao Qiao, you’re buying too much. Everyone just eats casually. You’ll have a long life ahead, so you need to be thrifty.”

Bai Ruoqiao didn’t mind, smiling,
“I know, this is a one-time thing. Since I’m hosting, naturally I want everyone to eat well. Hai Ge feels the same.”

“Alright, as long as you’ve thought it through. Let’s start then.”

Liu Meili nodded; she was practical and immediately rolled up her sleeves and started eating.