Early the next morning, Ge Xiaotian took two muscular guys with him to buy meat.
Unfortunately, the girl from yesterday wasn’t there. Instead, there was a burly, bearded butcher who looked like Li Kui from the Water Margin.
His intriguing smile was particularly creepy.
“You’re Xiaotian? You’re here so early?”
Huh???
Are we close friends?
Ge Xiaotian thought for a moment, realized he didn’t know the guy, quickly paid 500 bucks, had the muscular guys carry 100 pounds of pork, and left as if fleeing the scene.
With 500 portions of food plus yesterday’s 130, they had a total of 630 portions!
Money, here I come!
With great excitement, Ge Xiaotian found a secluded spot to build a town center and summoned 63 tender, pink, muscular guys, expanding his team to 76 people.
The system farmers were not mindless NPCs. They had learned how to find work yesterday, so there was no need to arrange anything. The newcomers, guided by the veterans, headed to the brick kiln, sandlot, cement factory…
If I can’t find work in these places, I’ll just wander around aimlessly, trying to make money if possible, and if I can’t, it’s no big deal. I’ll just think of it as exploring the map.
And so, Ge Xiaotian hurried back to Ge Village, entering the village’s only convenience store.
He needed to find out about his life after graduating from junior high school, or else he would be living in constant fear.
“Da Mao!”
“Huh? Second Brother is here!”
Da Mao, full name Ge Maomao, is the eldest son of the third uncle in the family.
The two are the same age, but Ge Maomao dropped out of school even earlier, returning home to manage the store after finishing primary school.
“Yep! Give me a bottle of Unnamed!”
Ge Xiaotian said as he walked to the counter, grabbed a stool, and tore open a bag of peanuts on his own, keeping a wary eye on the store’s entrance.
If his father barged in later, he’d be able to slip out through the back door in no time.
“Why are you drinking so early?” Da Mao opened a beer and handed it over. “Did Big Uncle lose his temper again yesterday? Sounded like quite a commotion!”
No kidding, all the chicken and duck feed was gone, it would be strange if Comrade Ge Feng didn’t get angry.
Ge Xiaotian gulped down the beer, “Tell me, have I been a troublemaker in these past few years?”
“Um?” Da Mao paused for a moment, then grinned mischievously, “You kinda have!”
Ge Xiaotian pulled out fifty yuan and put it on the counter, took a pack of ‘One Pen’ cigarettes from behind the cigarette cabinet, opened it and handed one to Da Mao:
“Here, my treat today! Tell me what Second Brother has been up to these past few years, so I can reflect on it!”
“What treat? Half of this store belongs to you!” Da Mao rolled his eyes and lit the cigarette.
“No way, this store was left to Third Uncle by Grandpa!”
“Did you forget?” Da Mao exclaimed in surprise, “Two years ago, Ge Fengzi came to collect money by force, and you stabbed him twice on the spot, snatched his purse, and gave it to my dad, saying you wanted to invest. Then half of this store became yours!”
Huh???
Was that me?
Am I that fierce?
Ge Fengzi!
That’s not a real madman, but a fierce fighter!
His real name is Ge Dalong, nicknamed Brother Long, the village bully with a notorious reputation in the countryside.
In his past life, Ge Xiaotian would always take a detour when he saw him, but in this life, he actually stabbed him?
As far as he could remember, during the 2005 crackdown, more than a dozen guns were found in this guy’s house alone!
Ge Xiaotian rubbed his bewildered forehead.
Sure enough, the nameless liquor is even better than the famous ones, one bottle equals two, not only does it go straight to the head but also to the legs… My legs are getting a bit wobbly!
“Speaking of which, Ge Crazy is such a wimp. He used to be such a bold fellow, but after recovering from his injury, he’s been hiding for almost three years and doesn’t dare to go home. He left his newlywed wife alone for just half a month, tsk tsk…”
After saying that, Big Hair grinned maliciously, “Hey, Second Brother, how’s the taste?”
“What taste?” Ge Little Sky opened another bottle of Nameless liquor, took a couple of sips, and smacked his lips, “This liquor is not bad, but the peanuts are a bit damp!”
“Tsk!” Big Hair looked at him with disdain, “Don’t pretend I didn’t see it, you’ve been sneaking around to his house quite a bit these past two years!”
“???”
Ge Little Sky was bewildered, “Whose house?”
“Are you really playing dumb with me? Qi Feifei’s house!”
Boom!
Ge Little Sky almost fell head-first to the ground.
Mmp, are you kidding me?!
Ge Crazy’s wife?
The college student who was used as collateral by the gambler?
“But with you covering her, none of the bachelors around here dare to mess with her; otherwise, she would have suffered a lot these past few years!” Big Hair ignored Ge Little Sky’s strange behavior and continued.
••••••
After putting the fifty yuan in his pocket, Ge Little Sky walked out of the small shop, facing the scorching sun, only to feel a chilly breeze behind him.
It turns out; I’m the real ruffian!
After graduating from junior high school, he stole chickens and dogs, fought, and harassed… well, a half-widowed young wife…
Known as Ge Second Stare, he’s fearless in fights… even Ge Crazy is no match.
No wonder his father said he was a troublemaker. It turns out that the money at home was either used to treat the victims or to bribe relationships; otherwise, he would have been in jail long ago.
“Phew!”
Exhaling a heavy breath of alcohol, Ge Little Sky was about to leave when he inadvertently caught sight of a figure carrying a hoe in the distance, sneaking along the wall. Suddenly, he shuddered and turned to run straight towards the three-forked village.
“Little bunny, get back here!”
“Dad, don’t chase me!”
“Stop, we’ll talk about the family matters later. The day after tomorrow, your Fourth Uncle is building a house, so get over there and help!”
“Got it!”
“Ugh…”
With three bottles of beer in his stomach, Ge Xiaotian almost threw up while running. When he could no longer see his father’s figure, he leaned against a utility pole and spat out a mouthful of white foam.
“Damn, this is unbearable!”
Helping to build a house?
In rural areas, it’s customary to ask relatives and neighbors for help when building a house.
There’s no pay, but they provide three meals a day, with wine, meat, and cigarettes.
It’s generally hard to refuse, otherwise, it would be too awkward when you see them in the future.
Ge Xiaotian pondered as he walked back to San Cha Village.
Building a house could be put on hold for now. The priority was to take care of the strong men’s food, clothing, shelter, and transportation.
Now that there were more people, it was a bit inappropriate to continue eating at the lamb soup restaurant.
So, Ge Xiaotian began running wildly around the streets.
He found a store that dealt with funerals and weddings, rented twenty sets of benches, square tables, and three large iron pots, and agreed to pick them up and pay in the evening.
After half a day of negotiation with the shady landlord, they agreed on fifteen rooms and a small courtyard in the back for 300 yuan per month, to be settled at the end of the month.
He went to a steamed bun shop and ordered a hundred jin (50 kg) of steamed buns.
He then went to a pickles shop and bought ten yuan worth of large salted vegetable lumps.
After finishing his errands, Ge Xiaotian entered the only Internet cafe in the village.
It was shabby and simple, with only nine old-fashioned computers.
There weren’t many people inside, three young men were playing Half-Life, and two girls were chatting on OICQ…
“Damn, I need to register a few accounts!”
He found a computer, asked the owner to dial-up for Internet access, and paid 15 yuan for two hours.
Starting with an 8, a 5, and a 2, he ended up with a nice 6666…
Nice!
Ge Xiaotian changed computers four times, regardless of their quality, and recorded all the registered numbers…
He then installed Photoshop and CAD software, but sadly, it wasn’t as powerful or user-friendly as the future version. Picking up the notebook he brought from the grocery store, he began to write and draw…
Ge Xiaotian added another two hours of Internet time…
By evening, the strong men returned, bringing in 2,600 yuan.
Nineteen of them didn’t find work today!
Actually, they could have gone further, but the few villages thirty miles away were too time-consuming without a vehicle.
Moreover, Ge Xiaotian had already figured out his next move.
Chapter 3: Construction Site!
Carrying a thick stack of cash and accompanied by a group of strong men, Ge Xiaotian went to settle the bill. They moved the long benches, square tables, and big black pots to the backyard of the shady inn. The group of people drank boiled water, ate steamed buns, and pickled vegetables.
“Everything will be fine!”
While chatting with the strong men, Ge Xiaotian bought a few packs of poker cards and taught them how to play “Gou Ji.” After that, he left the shady inn and headed straight to Uncle Si’s house.
“The bright future starts tonight!”
“Go for it, Ge Xiaotian!”
————
