SWDnovel Chapter 168 Feeling sorry for the man, he's just waiting to be unlucky for the rest of his life
Chapter 168 Feeling sorry for the man, he's just waiting to be unlucky for the rest of his life
These words are more effective than anything else.
Niu Guihua's swear words, which were about to spill out, were stuck in her throat, making her face turn red and her neck bulge.
Is it marked? Or is it not being collected?
That's real money!
She stole a glance at Qin Rushan in the driver's seat. The man didn't even look at her. His hand, which was resting on the outside of the car window, was tapping the metal sheet intermittently, a sound of his patience running out.
Niu Guihua's heart skipped a beat.
This wicked person is truly capable of such actions.
"Fine! Fine! You outnumber us, you're bullying an orphan and a widow!"
Niu Guihua spat a mouthful of phlegm onto the ground, then grabbed Li Dabao, who was still standing there dumbfounded. "What are you looking at! Are you dead? Hurry up and go back to the melon pile! Are you waiting for money to fall from the sky?"
She slunk away, cursing and swearing, not forgetting to give the dark-faced man a vicious glare as she passed, muttering under her breath, "A bunch of poor bastards, just you wait, you'll be begging me for money someday!"
Although she was stubborn, she was walking very fast, as if afraid that if she was a step too late, Li Xiaotao would really cross out her name.
With this obstacle gone, the scene immediately became quiet.
"Next! Team One, Wang Defa!" Li Weimin shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Here it comes!"
Li Weimin set up the large hook scale that had been calibrated long ago, Li Dalin was in charge of recording the data, and several strong laborers were responsible for carrying the baskets.
"Team One, Li Ergou's house, 500 jin! Pass!"
"Team Two, Aunt Zhang's house, 460 jin! Pass!"
Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out in the crowd.
"What's going on? Why are you returning my melons?" a man in a tattered vest shouted. He was none other than Li Laizi, the village's scoundrel.
Li Xiaotao pushed through the crowd and saw her second sister-in-law, Yu Min, who was in charge of inspecting the goods, standing with her hands on her hips, arguing with Li Laizi.
"You have the nerve to ask why? Look at yourself!"
Yu Min kicked over Li Laizi's basket, and several bright green watermelons rolled out, two of which cracked on the spot.
Upon closer inspection, everyone saw that the melon flesh was whitish and the seeds were shriveled, clearly indicating that it was an unripe melon.
"Li Laizi, you heartless bastard!"
Yu Min pointed her finger at him and yelled, "Taozi told me countless times yesterday that we only wanted ripe melons! And you, just to make up the weight, smuggled in this stuff that even pigs wouldn't eat? Are you trying to ruin the reputation of our whole village?"
Li Laizi retorted, "How is it not ripe? It'll turn red in a couple of days, won't it? Anyway, if we take it to the city, we'll sell it to strangers. Whether they can eat it or not is none of my business!"
Upon hearing this, the expressions of the surrounding villagers changed.
Qin Rushan stood by the car, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, coldly watching the scene without saying a word.
He was watching to see how Li Xiaotao would handle the situation.
If he can't even handle something like this, then this business partner isn't worth his time.
Without saying a word, Li Xiaotao bent down, picked up half a piece of raw melon, and slammed it onto Li Laizi's foot with a "smack".
"You..." Li Laizi was about to lash out when he met Li Xiaotao's eyes, which were so cold they were like ice crystals.
"Weimin, cross his name off the ledger."
Li Xiaotao said coldly, "This time, Li Laizi's family will not accept a single melon."
"Why?!" Li Laizi was furious and tried to rush forward, but was stopped by several burly men with unfriendly eyes.
"Because I found this car, and I set the rules!"
Li Xiaotao took a step forward, "Anyone who dares to act like him, ruining their conscience and damaging the transport team's reputation for a dollar or two, is ruining the livelihood of the entire village! Every single one of them, get out of here!"
This tactic of making an example of someone to scare others was quite brilliant.
The villagers who had initially been plotting to stuff clods of dirt or unripe melons into the bottom of the basket were now terrified and quickly uncovered the trickery when no one was looking.
Qin Rushan exhaled a smoke ring, a smile playing on his lips.
This woman has the makings of someone who can do great things.
They follow the rules, but they can be ruthless.
With this incident, the subsequent inspection and loading went surprisingly smoothly.
In less than two hours, the cargo beds of three Jiefang trucks were completely filled.
Twenty-two thousand kilograms of watermelons, resembling small green mountains, are about to be transported to the provincial capital.
"Check, please!" Li Xiaotao clapped her hands.
Qin Rushan gave Yang Dong a wink.
Yang Dong chuckled, pulled an old black leather bag out of the driver's seat, and unzipped it with a "rip".
At that moment, the sunlight shone directly into the bag.
A neatly bundled "Great Unity" dazzled everyone's eyes.
One thousand three hundred and twenty yuan.
In an era when one cent could buy two pieces of fruit candy, this was a huge sum of money.
In front of the entire village, Qin Rushan handed the money to Li Youtian.
Li Youtian held the burning hot money, his hands trembling.
"Fellow villagers! The money has arrived!" Li Youtian shouted, his voice cracking.
Cheers resounded through the sky.
The three Jiefang trucks were already fully loaded, with large green watermelons piled up to the top of the truck beds, covered with thick canvas tarpaulins and tightly bound with thick hemp ropes.
That was the hope of the whole village, and also the first heavy punch Li Xiaotao delivered to Zhan Laosan's face.
"Boom boom—"
In the lead truck, Yang Dong leaned half his body out of the driver's seat and shouted to the tall figure below, "Brother Qin! The goods are all stacked up, the tarpaulin is all secured! The water tank is just full, are we leaving now?"
Qin Rushan stood in front of the car, his feet on a broken brick, his black work pants making his legs look long and strong.
"What's the rush?"
Qin Rushan took a drag of his cigarette, exhaled a smoke ring, and looked past the front of the car, landing on the couple not far away.
Li Xiaotao tucked the account book into her bosom and walked towards Qin Rushan.
Before she could speak, Qin Rushan spoke first, raising his chin towards Li Weimin.
"Who's that kid? Your man?" Qin Rushan asked, his tone carrying a casual scrutiny.
Li Xiaotao was stunned for a moment, then looked in the direction he was pointing and saw Li Weimin's sweaty back.
She withdrew her gaze, her eyes revealing no concealment, and replied bluntly, "That's my man, Li Weimin."
"Your man?" Qin Rushan's thick eyebrows twitched suddenly.
He paused, a hint of surprise in his eyes, as if he had heard something unusual.
He looked Li Xiaotao up and down again.
This woman was a wild and untamed leopard, daring to go head-to-head with the village bully Zhan Laosan, and daring to negotiate a deal worth several thousand yuan with Qin Rushan without any investment. Her eyes revealed undisguised ambition and sharpness.
Let's take another look at Li Weimin.
Qin Rushan noticed this when they were loading the truck earlier. The kid was a good worker and worked really hard, but he was timid and submissive, like a soft dough ball with no temper.
In front of Li Xiaotao, he was completely obedient and dared not utter a single harsh word.
"What? Doesn't seem like it?" Li Xiaotao stood up, brushing the dust off her pants. "Is Captain Qin looking down on my man?"
Qin Rushan threw the cigarette butt on the ground and crushed it out with the tip of his shiny leather shoe, making a "sizzling" sound.
"That's a bit unexpected."
Qin Rushan didn't mince words, "A wild woman like you, I figured I'd have to find someone who could keep you in check. But I ended up with a pushover."
If a man heard that, he would have already punched her.
But Li Weimin on the other side seemed to have noticed the commotion and looked up.
Seeing Qin Rushan's menacing aura, he shrank back and quickly lowered his head to continue sweeping the floor.
"Being soft has its advantages."
Li Xiaotao wasn't angry. Instead, she readily admitted, "She's obedient, easy to manage, and doesn't cause me any trouble. I need someone like this to protect my home front when I'm out there fighting. If I were to find a big tiger like Captain Qin, there wouldn't be enough room for two tigers on one mountain, and how could we possibly live together?"
These words were barbed, but they were also a tacit compliment to Qin Rushan.
Upon hearing this, Qin Rushan suddenly burst into laughter.
"Interesting, fucking interesting!"
The huge weight on his heart was finally lifted.
Although he was discussing business with Li Xiaotao, he still felt a bit uneasy.
He had previously wondered if his wife, Li Xianglian, who had suffered in the village, might have some feelings for Li Weimin, who seemed somewhat educated.
After all, Li Weimin was fair-skinned and looked like a caring person.
Looking at him now, he's just a spineless coward!
He was treated like a grandson by this woman; he had no manly spirit whatsoever.
His Xianglian is made of gentle water. If she were to follow a man like that, wouldn't she suffer a lifetime of humiliation?
Only a tough guy like Qin Rushan could protect Xianglian and provide her with a safe haven.
Li Weimin poses no threat to him whatsoever.
"Great! You picked a good man!"
Qin Rushan nodded, his gaze towards Li Weimin now carrying a hint of amusement.
He turned his head and looked at Li Xiaotao, unusually adding a comment, which was the twisted logic of someone who had "been there, done that".
"Little sister, since he's your man, let me give you a piece of advice."
Qin Rushan dusted off his hands, his tone both stern and arrogant.
"Men are just inherently masochistic."
"Don't be too good to him, don't be soft-hearted. Hit him when he needs to, scold him when he needs to. If you feel sorry for a man, you're doomed for the rest of your life."
When he said this, he completely forgot how he used to pamper Li Xianglian at home.
This is double standards.
In his eyes, other men were just animals that needed to be disciplined, but he was the only good man who loved his wife dearly.
Li Xiaotao was stunned by this theory, and then her eyes lit up as if she had found a kindred spirit.
"Captain Qin's words are insightful! I'll remember them!"
Li Xiaotao clasped her hands in a fist salute to him, "If he dares to act recklessly, I guarantee I'll teach him a lesson he won't forget!"
"Hahaha! That's spicy!"
Qin Rushan was even more satisfied.
The fiercer the woman is, the safer his wife will be.
"I'm gone."
Qin Rushan waved his hand, no longer uttering any more words.
He grabbed the door handle of the truck cab with one hand, and the tall man, who was over 1.8 meters tall, nimbly jumped up and sat steadily in the passenger seat.
With a "bang," the heavy iron door slammed shut.
Yang Dong stepped on the gas.
"drop--!"
The air horn let out a long blast, like a bugle call to charge.
Three Jiefang trucks, loaded with watermelons and hope, roared out of Lijiacun, kicking up clouds of yellow dust, and sped off towards the provincial capital.
Only when the car's rear end was no longer visible did Li Weimin dare to straighten up, wipe the sweat from his forehead, and move closer to Li Xiaotao.
"Honey, what did that scoundrel say to you just now? He looked really fierce in his eyes. Was he trying to lower the price?" Li Weimin asked, still shaken.
Li Xiaotao watched the departing convoy, a glint of ambition flashing in her eyes.
"It's nothing."
She turned around, looked at her husband, and remembered what Qin Rushan had just said. Suddenly, she grinned and lightly patted Li Weimin's face twice.
"It taught me how to 'cherish' a man."
Looking at his wife's chilling smile, Li Weimin felt a chill run down his spine for no apparent reason, and his legs involuntarily twitched.
"Um... honey, I'll go home and cook right away! I'll boil some water for you to wash your feet tonight!"