Chapter 22: Reluctance to Leave Parents Means Missing Out on the Fat Sheep

These were things that neither the county nor the city folks could even imagine. Population movement wasn’t something to be taken lightly. Even after thirty or forty years, many people had never considered leaving their hometown for a different life. Yet Wei Dong felt an urgent desire to move away, at least to let his parents live a better life elsewhere. Now that he was already among the ten-thousand-yuan earners, how could he let his parents continue their night shifts? That would be sheer madness.

More importantly, Wei Dong was already quite familiar with the industrial district across the southern bank, and new ideas had begun to form in his mind. He didn’t even pamper Er Feng as a woman; all three bought the cheapest fifth-class scattered seats. Of course, spending a night on the deck in December’s biting wind was unrealistic. So, after boarding, they took reed mats and wool blankets, spreading them out in the public interior passageways to sleep. Near the engine room, though the roar and vibration were deafening, the heat was certainly warm.

Many passengers with beds strolled about with an air of superiority, slippers on their feet, glancing at the three young people leaning against the cabin wall as if they were beggars or vagrants. Yet, even so, Er Feng sat cross-legged on the mat, gazing at her man with adoration, as if she were in a golden palace, only lacking two ladies-in-waiting behind her to fan her. Wei Dong secretly enjoyed this and couldn’t be bothered to explain.

As for Gou Dan, cutting some pig’s head meat at the pier was his greatest expectation every time he boarded a ship, and he shared his experience with Er Feng: "There’ll be spicy noodles tonight, only twenty-five cents!" She couldn’t be bothered to look at him: "Go away! Don’t bother Dongwa and me. Can’t you sit farther off?" Then she turned with a smile to her man: "Do you want some water? I brought money and saw soda at that shop over there." She couldn’t help but secretly swallow a mouthful herself.

Wei Dong finally whispered to her, "Actually, almost everyone on this ship has less money than we do. But remember, we earn by enduring hardship and saving every penny. How we spend the money after we earn it is one thing, but in the process, we must be frugal. Otherwise, no matter how much we make, it’ll all be squandered. We must remember that only by being diligent and frugal can we make money."

This was the wisdom of someone who started with cured meat and became a millionaire. Forty years later, he remained a major taxpayer, while You Qili had wandered through life, rising and falling, and it was said those two hundred-plus apartments never came into his hands. The consequence of spending forty years on one thing versus one year on forty things was evident. Wei Dong felt he could choose.

Gou Dan decided to crawl away; by afternoon, he was already staring fixedly at the bag of meat and liquor, wondering when he could finally eat and drink. It was unbearable. Better to sleep for a while—he always alternated wakefulness with Wei Dong.

Er Feng, however, clearly took his words to heart, nodding slowly. Wei Dong urged her to go explore, but she shook her head, preferring to nestle beside him, gazing up at the passing crowd. She attracted plenty of curious looks. She had dressed up carefully that morning; her floral cotton jacket accentuated her youthful, elastic face, her shiny thick braid lay across her chest, and her dense bangs were tied with a red ribbon.

No matter how you looked at her, she was a lovely rural bride. Some of the men who worked on the boats didn’t bother to hide their desire to flirt from above. But Er Feng focused only on tidying her brand-new cloth shoes, then took out a pair she had made herself from her basket, kneeling to put them on her man.

Wei Dong was resting with his eyes closed, but opened them to take the shoes: "You have great skill, but I won’t wear them. There are cheaper, more durable sports shoes and leather shoes, Li Er Feng…" Hearing her full name made Er Feng nervous, wanting to jump up and escape, but she resisted, sitting still as if the surrounding noise and bustle faded away.

Wei Dong harbored no grudge against this girl, motioning for her to sit beside him and lean against the wall: "Look at the world outside—it’s so vast. Ever since I sent my father out for treatment and saw the world, I never wanted to go back to being a farmer. Sooner or later, everyone will rush to do business; this golden period is the time to make money. So I really have no intention of getting married and settling down. I want to earn a fortune and make all these people who look down on us eat their words. But you’re different. For women, missing these years means getting old. You can learn this trade, and I guarantee you’ll be wealthy for life."

Girls thought differently; Er Feng was silent for a while and then asked, "Do you want to marry that city teacher?" Wei Dong shook his head decisively: "They look down on us country folks deep down." He added, "Since ancient times, farmers have never wronged the ruling class… Huang Yanpei said that." It was one of the maxims You Qili wrote in his little booklet, which Wei Dong often leafed through to anticipate the tycoon’s thoughts.

Now he remained in the city, staying at the tax office compound, waiting to see when You Qili would be released and what moves he would make; it didn’t conflict with his cured meat or titanium ingot business. So having Er Feng, who was more proactive, as an assistant was far better than Gou Dan, who was now snoring away.

For Er Feng, though, this was the longest time they’d spent together in half a year. They took turns eating spicy noodles in the evening, went to the flush toilets, and Wei Dong coaxed her into taking a hot shower, returning with her face flushed like a peach blossom. She lay behind her man, unable to sleep, and even tried to sneak her arm around his waist, only to be threatened by Wei Dong that he’d move elsewhere, so she pouted and withdrew. All in all, she spent nearly half the night awake.

When they arrived at the landing stage under the Jiangzhou barge in the morning, she nearly stumbled in a daze. Wei Dong quickly grabbed her, while Gou Dan, carrying the heaviest basket, expertly rushed toward the nearby ferry dock—no need to climb up to the city center during the winter dry season.

Leaning against the railing of the ferry by the turbulent river, they mostly watched the vast waters. Er Feng nearly got seasick, but still clung tightly to her man's clothes throughout, kicking Gou Dan away when he tried to get close.

Disembarking on the southern bank, they had to climb a steep stone stairway. The two strong young men could help carry her basket, but the sides were lined with all sorts of breakfast shops and snack stalls, all of which Gou Dan knew by heart. After ten trips, Zi Xiaowei had explored all the factories in the area, while Gou Dan remembered only the restaurants.

So, they feasted: soy milk, fried dough sticks, steamed buns, scallion pancakes, fried glutinous rice cakes, pearl meatballs, white cakes—he bought whatever Gou Dan rated highly for Er Feng to try, and if she didn’t like it, the two lads polished them off.

Jiangzhou was known as the city of fog, especially thick in winter. After traversing the stone stairs, Er Feng puffed her cheeks and looked back, barely able to make out the distant city across the thick mist and the bustling activity at the riverside below. She was awestruck.

Later, as they walked through the streets, she finally spoke: "This really is the big world you talked about." Wei Dong smiled, "This is nothing—follow this river and you can reach Shanghai."

Gou Dan, on the other side, said offhandedly, "Huh? We could make a raft and float to Shanghai. Why spend money on a train?" Wei Dong was suddenly struck—right, there were steamers to Shanghai from here, why not take a boat with cargo to Jiangsu and Zhejiang? It’s a bit slower, but you can carry more.

So, when they arrived at the nameless non-ferrous metal factory’s storefront, Wei Dong tried asking, "How’s your sales these past two months?" The woman knitting wool looked troubled: "Aside from the government still buying some things, nothing else sells. Young man, will you sell again? Before Spring Festival, sell another batch, and we can give out a little New Year bonus."

A factory of a thousand people could issue ten yuan bonuses for the holiday—that was something. Such was the misery of third-tier factories. Wei Dong couldn’t understand—don’t you send people out to find buyers and check market prices? He thought simply—where would you ask? Google or Baidu? Taobao or JD?

He tried, "But I can’t afford a ton, can I pay half up front?" The woman was surprised: "You have enough money? Seven or eight thousand to hand over?" Wei Dong had Er Feng and Gou Dan squat behind the flower bed, and quickly put on a smile: "It’s all borrowed from friends for business…" He pointed at the floral cotton jacket in the distance, making them seem like a team.

The woman twirled her knitting needle through her hair, "You could bring buyers here and we’d deliver the goods ourselves. We’d give you a bonus." She didn’t sound confident; at most it happened once, but if it became a long-term supply, there’d be no share.

Wei Dong had it figured out: "If I can bring them, that would be good. My college friend doesn’t say where he resells it—nowadays college kids are all into business, so most of the money was borrowed from him." That perfectly closed the topic; later, when prices became transparent, he’d have nothing to fear.

The woman chatted, "Do you have any collateral? Any street housing? If you’re a city resident and bring your household registration, you might try… Rural folks really have no way." Wei Dong steeled himself and offered his best plan: "How about I use my parents as collateral?" The woman burst out laughing, nearly poking herself: "Your parents? Are you that desperate?"

Wei Dong tried, "Most of your storefront is empty. Rent a part to us, register a family business to sell cured meat or my mom’s cold dishes and braised meats, and pay you some rent each month. That way, we won’t run off." Surprisingly, the woman said, "This place was originally approved as a labor service agency and can sell foodstuffs. We ran at a loss for a while before setting up the new sales department. I’ll call the manager and ask."

Wei Dong, now practiced, took a piece of cured meat from his basket and set it down: "Here’s our newly smoked meat—please try it. We’ll go sell some, then come back to hear from you. If we can sell one or two tons, we’ll have a great New Year." The woman was already happily cranking the phone handle—she was delighted. She didn’t want to stay there any longer, either.