Chapter 24: Under My Protection

“A hundred years and you only came up with a thousand? Doctor?

Brother, let’s go, he’s broke. Even if he had money, he’s a fake doctor, probably a quack.”

Leng You was about to jump off the bench when Xiang Wentian steadily caught and held her in his arms.

“Who says I can’t come up with a thousand? Who says I’m not a doctor? Go ask around, in the entire Bei’an region, who doesn’t know my name, Sun Tuozi? I… uh…”

Sun Tuozi was so angry his head was buzzing, and only after he spoke did he realize something was wrong.

“A thousand, deal!” Leng You wanted to slam the table, but since Xiang Wentian was holding her, she could only wave her small fist.

“De…deal?” Sun Tuozi was dumbfounded.

“Great! It’s good to do business with straightforward people, no unnecessary trouble.

Doctor Sun. Let’s do the exchange then!”

Hu Liu seemed more excited than both parties involved.

Sun Tuozi, in a daze, somehow pulled out a bundle of banknotes from his waist. Hu Liu carefully wrapped the ginseng and tucked it into his arms, then his men escorted him back.

“Brother, I’m sorry! We agreed on fifteen hundred, I talked too much and sold it for five hundred less, don’t be angry.”

Just as Hu Liu handed the bundle of banknotes to Xiang Wentian, Leng You suddenly spoke in a soft voice.

“Ah?” Hu Liu’s hand, which was about to retract, stopped.

The price of one thousand yuan was far beyond his imagination.

“Such a complete, top-grade ginseng, if you meet a wealthy person who wants to give a gift or needs it urgently, don’t say five thousand, eight thousand wouldn’t be a problem.

If you don’t meet such a buyer, even if he sells the ginseng separately during his usual clinic visits, the price can increase five to ten times or more.”

Leng You, with a child’s straightforwardness, gave Hu Liu a detailed explanation.

“Ah? My god! It can sell for that much?” Hu Liu had a new world opened up to him.

“This is for you.” Xiang Wentian took ten bills from the bundle and placed them on the table in front of Hu Liu.

“Ah? What’s this for? No, no, no, I can’t accept this, absolutely not.” Hu Liu’s exclamations continued for the umpteenth time today because of Xiang Wentian’s action.

He was tired of living to dare to take a bribe from this big shot; if Xing Da found out, he’d be killed.

“This has nothing to do with Xing Da, take it!” Xiang Wentian seemed to have seen through Hu Liu’s thoughts, his tone  brooking no argument.

“Take it! We’ll be cooperating often in the future, and besides, you guys need to eat, right?” Leng You also chimed in, her sincerity making it impossible to refuse.

“This… alright! Then I thank you two young friends. If you need anything in the future, just come to me, anything Hu Liu can do, I won’t hesitate.” Hu Liu didn’t expect these two young children to be so generous, immediately patting his chest in assurance.

Seeing Xiang Wentian carrying Leng You about to leave, Hu Liu enthusiastically offered them a meal, which Leng You and Xiang Wentian naturally refused. Hu Liu’s men quickly brought out a large bag and stuffed it into Leng You’s arms.

“What’s this?” Leng You refused to accept it.

“Just some snacks and fruits, they’re not worth much. I know you don’t lack these, but this is a token of my appreciation, please don’t mind accepting it from two young friends.”

Although Hu Liu was full of rascality, he was also a very righteous person. Leng You and Xiang Wentian were frank and generous to him, so he naturally couldn’t be too stingy.

 “Thank you, Uncle Hu Liu!” Seeing that Xiang Wentian had no objections, Leng You readily accepted the bag.

“Hey! No thanks, no thanks, don’t be polite with Uncle, come again often!” The word “Uncle” directly melted the old father’s heart of Hu Liu. This was a feeling that his four sons who spent all day fixing roofs had never given him.

His hand itched, and he wanted to take off his shoes and spank a few brats.

“Uncle Liu, it’s snowing so hard, come inside!” Seeing Leng You and Xiang Wentian’s figures were about to disappear, Hu Liu was still standing at the gate, dazed, and his subordinate cautiously spoke.

“These kids from wealthy families really have presence, unlike that old fox Sun Tuozi, damn, he really knows how to act. If it weren’t for the little girl’s reminder, I would have been fooled by that old guy.”

Hu Liu spat fiercely, his face full of ferocity.

“Although the ginseng was sold for five hundred less, those two kids still gave you a hundred as a kickback. Look at that Sun Tuozi, he earned so much and pretended to be crazy, taking advantage and acting innocent, humph!

Uncle Liu, are you going to let that Sun Tuozi off the hook so easily?”

His subordinate was indignant.

“How could I? Heh… No one in Bei’an County has ever dared to treat Hu Liu like a fool.

Old boy, you’re going to pay for this!

Oh… right, tell everyone, those two kids are under my, Hu Liu’s, protection. If anyone dares to trouble them, they’re messing with me, Hu Liu.”

The horizontal lines on Hu Liu’s face stretched, his eyes full of fierce light.

“Yes, Uncle Liu!” The subordinate’s back stiffened, and he immediately turned and ran out.

…

Leng You and Xiang Wentian continued down the alley after leaving Hu Liu’s place.

“Need rice?” Only twenty or thirty meters away, a middle-aged man approached, cautiously looking around. After confirming that there were only Leng You and Xiang Wentian, two small children, he dared to speak softly.

It was still the late 1970s, although the movement had ended, individual buying and selling was still not allowed; it was a crime of speculation.

Despite this, some bold and resourceful people seized the opportunity to secretly sell some scarce and necessary goods for people’s lives, mainly rice, flour, oil, etc.

“How much per jin?” Leng You asked.

“There’s 0.11 yuan, and 0.13 yuan, this is indica rice; the best is 0.21 yuan, it’s Xiaozhan rice. Which one do you want?” The man concluded from experience that children sent to buy things would generally choose the cheapest one, and the quantity would be small.

“We want a hundred pounds.”

“We want the 0.21 yuan one.”

Xiang Wentian and Leng You spoke at the same time.

“A hundred pounds? And the 0.21 yuan one?” The man was shocked; no one had ever made such a large purchase.

Mainly because city people wouldn’t buy this much at once, and country people couldn’t afford this much at once.

“Will it be cheaper to buy this much?” Leng You spoke again.

Actually, she was also shocked by the number Xiang Wentian had said, because they still needed to buy other things, and she also needed to be carried.

“Okay, okay, I’ll give you 0.2 yuan.” The man readily lowered the price.

“Good!” Leng You expressed satisfaction.

Her clear memory from her previous life indicated that the market price of this Xiaozhan rice was 0.205 yuan.

“I’ll go get it for you.” The man remained vigilant, not wanting Leng You to know his address.

“Pay you first, we’ll come back later to get it.” Xiang Wentian took out the money.

“Here…” Leng You was half a beat slower than Xiang Wentian, so she put the money back, thinking she would return it later.