Chapter 57: Making Money, Making Money!

Today, Sha Zhu went on a blind date, so the canteen dishes were all cooked by Ma Hua. They could hardly be called delicious—just mediocre at best.

After sharing a delightful lunch with his beloved Xiaoyu, Chen Liang strolled off to find Old Lu.

“Old Lu, my wife needs to take half a day off. What paperwork do you need?” He hadn’t even stepped inside, but his voice carried through the open door.

Old Lu hastily shoved something into his drawer, his face a picture of impatience. “No paperwork! Just get out, hurry up and go!”

“I saw that. What treasure are you hiding?” Ever since Chen Liang had managed to wrangle a piece of precious sandalwood from him, he was keen on anything Old Lu possessed; after all, the price was nothing but a few cigarettes and some liquor—a small favor for Chen Liang, who had plenty.

“Even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand. Go play with your incense,” Old Lu sneered, full of disdain.

“Hey, old man, if I don’t know, you can just explain it to me!” Chen Liang feigned innocence. In his past life, he’d been obsessed with agarwood, but antique art left him completely baffled.

“Shen Zhou—ever heard of him?” Seeing Chen Liang lingering, Old Lu reluctantly took an ancient painting out of his drawer.

Chen Liang took one look and immediately lost interest, shaking his head. “Never heard of him! Keep it for your own enjoyment. I’m off!”

“Hey! Shut the door for me!”

Together with his wife Xiaoyu, Chen Liang fetched a gunny sack meant for storing firearms from the gatekeeper and headed straight to the military outpost on the city outskirts where his senior sister was stationed.

Watching the valiant female soldier on duty at the gate, Xiaoyu couldn’t help but gaze at her with admiration. After parking the car, Chen Liang led Xiaoyu to register at the entrance.

At the time, the social standing of soldiers was truly high.

First, he took out the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle. Such things had to be declared up front; otherwise, being found in possession during a search would lead to serious misunderstandings.

“Hello, comrade, I’m looking for Tong Weiguo.”

Because Chen Liang arrived carrying a gun, the sentries at the gate immediately fixed their eyes on him. They must have thought he was either brave or insane, daring to bring a firearm to a military camp.

His senior sister was the company commander of the famous Red Detachment of Women in Rabbit Country. Don’t be fooled by their gender—these women fought every bit as fiercely as the men.

“Hello, may I ask why you’re looking for Commander Tong?”

“I’m her little brother. Just tell her Chen Liang is here—she’ll know.”

“All right, please wait a moment.” The sentry picked up the phone and notified his senior sister.

Soon, she rushed over, and before anything else, she scolded him thoroughly, “You’re getting bold, aren’t you, swaggering around with a gun? Where did you get it?”

“Wait, senior sister, let me explain…” Chen Liang quickly pulled her aside and told her about how Xiaoyu had been followed.

“Senior sister, you have to help me with this! If anything happens, I’ll have nowhere to turn!”

“Enough with the pitiful act. Xiaoyu, come here!” After beckoning Xiaoyu over, she asked, “Tell me honestly, do you really feel like someone has been following you?”

Xiaoyu nodded shyly. She hadn’t thought much of it herself, but Chen Liang had made such a fuss.

“Alright, come on in. Xiaoyu, I’ll teach you how to shoot. Next time anyone dares to follow you—shoot them! This is lawlessness!” Senior sister had someone bring over a box of ammunition, then told Chen Liang to entertain himself while she personally coached Xiaoyu at the shooting range.

Chen Liang was ecstatic. Left to his own devices, he indulged in firing the rifle—single shots, three-shot bursts, and finally full auto—satisfying his craving.

Meanwhile, under senior sister’s guidance, Xiaoyu progressed from blindly firing with her eyes shut to hitting exactly where she aimed.

After dinner with senior sister, they packed the Type 56 into the gunny sack and headed home.

That night, after making sure Xiaoyu was sound asleep, Chen Liang held her in his arms until after midnight, then suddenly opened his eyes.

Carefully, he moved and tucked the sleeping Xiaoyu into the supermarket, then silently dressed. He no longer underestimated Xiaoyu—even a slight movement would wake her. Her vigilance was on another level compared to before, when she’d sleep through till dawn.

Quiet as a shadow, he slipped out of the village, meeting up with Cao Da Wu at the alleyway.

He patted Cao Da Wu, who was dressed all in black. “Get in the car, let’s go!”

They reached the first trading spot. Cao Da Wu jumped off the backseat of the bicycle. Chen Liang stopped, flicked his right thumb, and sent a 7.62mm bullet flying over—the one he’d secretly kept from the shooting range earlier.

Cao Da Wu caught it, nodded to Chen Liang, then put on his mask and entered.

Chen Liang watched him vanish from sight, then stowed the bicycle in the supermarket. Agile as a monkey, he scaled the wall, took out the semi-automatic rifle, and followed behind Cao Da Wu.

Not only were Chen Liang and his group nervous, but the buyers were also uneasy—first time doing business, and both sides were wary as wolves.

Cao Da Wu entered to find several men inside, making his heart skip a beat, but he forced himself to stay calm and proceeded with the exchange.

As agreed, Cao Da Wu collected the money first, counted it, and then signaled with his flashlight—three circles in the sky.

Once Chen Liang confirmed his safety, he quietly withdrew to a secluded corner, produced three large bamboo baskets, and filled them with rice and flour.

After tallying the goods, Chen Liang signaled twice with his flashlight, then hid in the shadows.

Soon, Cao Da Wu brought the buyers over. Once everything checked out, Cao Da Wu, deliberately disguising his voice, said, “Money and goods are settled. Till next time!”

Only after Cao Da Wu had gone did the buyers speak. “Boss, you’re just letting him walk away like that?”

Their leader shook his head. “He’s not someone we can afford to provoke. Look at this rice—not a grain of sand, and the flour’s pure, without a trace of husk. This is top-grade food! Their methods are incredible. We should treat them like gods of fortune from now on.”

There was something the leader didn’t say aloud—Cao Da Wu had been holding a bullet, a clear warning to behave, as their side was armed.

He marveled inwardly, “A dragon has crossed the river—I wonder whose patron saint he is.”

On the way back, Cao Da Wu was dizzy with excitement. He grabbed Chen Liang, unable to believe it. “Liang, did we just make a sale?”

Handing the money over, Chen Liang glanced at it and tucked it into his satchel.

Just a thousand jin of rice and five hundred jin of flour; at market price—thirty-six cents per jin for rice, fifty-four for flour—subtracting two cents per jin, it barely came to a bit over six hundred yuan.