novelraw Chapter 335 - 332: You Are the Most Beautiful
Chapter 335 - 332: You Are the Most Beautiful
"Just smelling it, you know it’s delicious," Liu Da said with a laugh. "If you have land for chilis, isn’t planting a Sichuan pepper tree easy? Next time, I’ll bring you some Sichuan peppercorns and some green Sichuan peppercorns. I guarantee you’ll be able to eat authentic mapo tofu even here in Yangcheng City."
Old Zhang nodded repeatedly. "That’s right. I was even planning on making my own chili bean paste!"
The three of them chatted and laughed as they walked toward Old Zhang’s sidecar motorcycle, which was parked nearby.
When they arrived at Old Zhang’s warehouse, he led the two into the courtyard, telling them that a lot of smuggled goods had been seized before the new year and that they were guaranteed to be satisfied with this batch.
After going inside and sitting down, Liu Da said to him, "Old Zhang, we’re old friends now. I’d like to ask you for a favor. We’ll make it worth your while once it’s done."
Having done business a few times, Old Zhang had gotten to know them a little. He looked at the two and nodded readily. "Go ahead and ask. As long as it’s something I can help with, I won’t hesitate."
Liu Da smiled. "We want to buy some property in Yangcheng City. Preferably government-owned housing, so there won’t be any disputes after the purchase."
"And here I was wondering what it could be!" Old Zhang slapped his chest. "Leave it to me. I’ll go ask around for you as soon as I get back."
Li Xiangyang and Liu Da cupped their fists. "Thanks. The moment we thought about buying property, we thought of asking you for help."
"Hey, no need to be so polite with me." Old Zhang looked at them. "How long are you two planning to stay?"
Liu Da laughed. "Buying a house isn’t something that can be done in a day or two. We’ll stay a couple more days. If there’s no news, we’ll head back and wait for you to find a suitable place, then we’ll rush back over."
Li Xiangyang recalled what Lin Lan had said. "Brother Zhang, it doesn’t matter if the location is a bit remote."
Old Zhang nodded. "Okay. If you’re fine with something a little remote, it should be a bit easier."
Liu Da cupped his fists again. "We’ll leave the housing matter to you, brother. Let’s go check out the goods first."
"You’re too kind!" Old Zhang returned the gesture and led the two to the warehouse. "This time, we have a batch of goods seized from a Japanese smuggling ship. There are water heaters and color TVs."
"I’ll tell you what, those unethical bastards really make some good stuff. I kept one of the water heaters for my own house. You plug it in, and you have hot water anytime. It’s so much more convenient for showering and washing your feet."
Li Xiangyang and Liu Da both thought that sounded great.
Liu Da said, "Awesome! The old tank-style water heater I have at home is such a pain. You have to heat the water in advance every time. I’m going to replace it when I get back."
The two followed Old Zhang for a look around the storeroom and agreed that the goods were high quality this time, and there was plenty of stock.
Liu Da claimed the big-ticket items: motorcycles, color TVs, refrigerators... Li Xiangyang stuck to watches, cassette recorders, and some small home appliances, along with ten water heaters. Liu Da took the rest.
Li Xiangyang planned to install one of the ten water heaters in the bakery, one in the Yucai Road house, one each at Yang Dingbang’s and Xu Dong’s places, and one in the house in Lexing.
After inspecting the goods, the three of them drove back to the guest house to wait for Biaozi and his men to come pick everything up.
Old Zhang went off to look for a house for them, while Li Xiangyang and Liu Da went to the night market to source more inventory.
Li Xiangyang noticed that there were more wholesale stalls this year than before, with a lot of new, quality goods.
This time, he was focusing on spring and autumn clothing. He went to a stall he’d used before and picked up suits, trousers, wool sweaters, T-shirts, jackets, and trench coats.
The stall owner helped pack and bundle the goods, and Li Xiangyang continued his sweep of the market.
When he came to a newly opened wholesale stall, Li Xiangyang noticed that the owner’s women’s trousers were a good style. The bell-bottoms’ cuffs weren’t ridiculously wide like the ones at other stalls that looked like floor mops.
This stall’s cuffs were smaller. The legs flared out gradually from the knee, making the wearer’s legs look even longer and slimmer than straight-leg pants would.
The stall owner repeatedly praised his good eye, saying that his pants had been selling well ever since the market reopened on the eighth day of the new year. Wholesalers from other regions were all ordering from him, and the factory had to run a night shift every day.
Li Xiangyang picked out two styles and gave the quantities to the owner, who quickly called for a young woman to go get the stock from the back.
Li Xiangyang continued browsing when Liu Da suddenly nudged him. "Xiangyang, that woman we ran into the other day when we got off the bus is sourcing goods at the next stall over."
Li Xiangyang turned his head for a glance and saw Xu Huan and that man buying wool sweaters at the next stall. He whispered, "I’m swamped. Why bother with her?" With that, he went back to picking out goods.
Liu Da nudged him again. "Too late, she saw you."
Xu Huan greeted him with practiced familiarity, "Boss Li, you’re sourcing goods here too?" She felt a little uneasy, remembering how she’d called the Civil Militia post that afternoon to look for Shen Hao, only for them to tell her he had been fired.
Li Xiangyang didn’t even spare her a glance and continued to browse.
Liu Da also pretended not to hear.
Seeing Li Xiangyang ignore her, Xu Huan walked over, looked at the pants on the stall, and sneered with a look of disgust. "So tacky. A country bumpkin will always be a country bumpkin."
The man with her glanced at Li Xiangyang and Liu Da, then said with a thick, put-on accent, "Huanhuan, it’s getting late. Let’s go!"
Xu Huan went up and linked her arm with his, saying coyly, "Brother Qian Kun, didn’t you say you’d bring me to Yangcheng City to look around and set me up with a shop? The clothes here are much cheaper than in East Market. We’re guaranteed to make a profit if we stock up."
Qian Kun put his arm around her and smiled. "We just got here. Let’s have some fun for a couple of days first!"
Xu Huan shot Li Xiangyang a smug look, then left with her arm linked through Qian Kun’s.
Liu Da watched them go and shook his head repeatedly. He said to Li Xiangyang, "That guy doesn’t look like a good person. That Xu girl is going to be in for it."
Li Xiangyang glanced back at the arm-in-arm couple. "Why are you so worried? Can’t you see she’s having a great time?"
Liu Da looked at Li Xiangyang. "I don’t think she’ll be happy for long."
"Whether it’s bitter or sweet, it’s her own choice." Li Xiangyang finished picking out the styles and had the owner pack up his order.
Meanwhile, Qian Kun had taken Xu Huan to a restaurant. He ordered food and drinks, and the two sat across from each other, eating and drinking.
Qian Kun poured Xu Huan a glass of alcohol and watched her with a smile. "Huanhuan, who was that guy just now?"
Xu Huan said with annoyance, "A butcher who opened two shops in East Market. It’s the same one where you bought me clothes before the new year."
Qian Kun remembered that when they went to buy clothes that day, the staff in the shop were so busy they could barely keep up. He glanced at Xu Huan. "His business is doing well! And he’s a handsome guy."
"Let’s not talk about him, it’s a buzzkill!" Xu Huan took a couple of bites of food, then looked at Qian Kun softly. "Brother Qian Kun, you saw it yourself that day, how booming the business in that shop was."
"You just saw them sourcing their goods—they were taking them by the bundle. Since we’re already here, we should get our stock sorted out early. We still have to find a storefront when we get back to East Market!"
Qian Kun smiled and nodded, raising his glass. "Alright. Come on, let’s have a drink first. We’ll get a good night’s sleep tonight, and tomorrow we’ll go source our goods."
Seeing Qian Kun agree so readily, Xu Huan happily raised her glass, clinked it against his, and downed it in one gulp.
Qian Kun watched her drink it, then poured her another glass. He raised his own, looking at her with a lecherous gaze. "Huanhuan, you’re the most beautiful, most elegant girl I’ve ever met. It’s my honor to be able to date you. Thank you for giving me this chance."