Around 6:30 the next morning, the peaceful village was suddenly filled with the rumble of engines.
Curious villagers poked their heads out upon hearing the noise.
They saw two tractors driving up the road one after the other, finally stopping at the roadside below the Lin household.
“Looks like Lin Heng is selling his sanghuang.”
“Just how many jin of sanghuang do you think he has?”
“Let’s go take a look and find out.”
Quite a few villagers gathered at the Lin family gate early that morning.
Hearing the sound of the tractors, Lin Heng stepped out, glanced at the growing crowd, and went down to greet Wang Zhou and the other man.
“Have you two eaten? If not, co in and grab a bite,” Lin Heng asked with a smile.
“We’ve eaten, no need to trouble you,” the older driver said, waving his hand.
Wang Zhou also shook his head. “No need, let’s hurry and load the sanghuang. It’s a long trip into the city.”
“All right then, thanks in advance.”
Lin Heng brought them into the courtyard to help with the loading. He had just finished breakfast himself.
A little while later, Lin’s father and older brother ca to help. With five grown n working together, they managed to load all the sanghuang onto the trucks in no ti.
The tractor trailers were fairly large, but even so, they had to be piled high and tied down with rope to barely fit everything in.
“This isn’t just a thousand-plus jin—it’s got to be two thousand!”
“My god, how much is all that worth?”
Seeing so much product, the villagers were left speechless. All they could do was feel… jealous. So very jealous.
“Lin Hai, you better stick close to your cousin from now on, got it?” Lin Heng’s third aunt, Li Xue, barked at her son.
“Li Xue, didn’t you used to look down on my second nephew?” joked Lin Heng’s third uncle, Lin Xutao. Now that his nephew was doing well, he felt like he could hold his head higher at ho.
“Yeah, Mom, you didn’t even like my cousin before,” Lin Hai chid in.
“Oh, shut up. That was then, this is now. Things change, don’t they?” Li Xue replied coldly.
Ever since sanghuang prices had skyrocketed, she’d wanted to co by Lin Heng’s place to “catch up” a few tis, but her husband always stopped her, saying it’d seem too opportunistic.
She did feel a little regret—she’d been too snobbish before. Good thing her husband had better judgnt and had always treated Lin Heng well.
“Wait a bit, I’ll grab a few things and be right back.”
Once everything was loaded, Lin Heng turned to Wang Zhou and the other driver.
“Big Bro, co with ,” Lin Heng said to his elder brother.
“Sure.” Lin Yue nodded without hesitation. With so much cargo, it was good to have soone else along just in case.
Lin Heng went back inside and grabbed his household registration book, ID card, and passbook.
He wasn’t bringing anyone else—not because he didn’t want to, but because there just wasn’t room. He planned to bring his wife and daughter into town for so fun once everything at the Acquisition Station was settled. For now, it just wasn’t convenient.
“I’m heading out, hon.”
After grabbing his things, Lin Heng waved goodbye.
Xiaoxia was still sound asleep, so she wasn’t clinging to him.
“Be safe,” Xiulan said, nodding as she saw him off to the road.
“Alright, let’s go.”
Lin Heng and his brother each climbed into a tractor. With more rumbling and puffs of black smoke, the two tractors disappeared from view.
Tractors weren’t fast—barely 20 kiloters an hour—so by the ti they reached the state-run procurent store in Taibai City, it was already past 1 p.m.
The noise of the tractors quickly caught the attention of the buyers inside.
“What’s going on?”
Jin Fuqiang happened to be there today. He was no longer just a section manager—he had been promoted to director of the purchasing office of the entire sub-company. Now, he oversaw all purchasing operations, not just this small store.
“Director, two tractors just pulled up outside. Looks like soone’s here to sell sothing,” soone quickly reported.
While they were still discussing, Lin Heng and his brother walked in.
The new supervisor approached and asked, “Did you park those tractors outside?”
“Yes, they’re loaded with sanghuang. I brought them here to sell,” Lin Heng replied with a nod. Seeing the new face, he imdiately guessed that Jin Fuqiang had likely been promoted.
That matched his mories from his previous life—around this ti, Jin had moved up. Four years later, he would go on to start his own dicinal herb purchasing company.
“All sanghuang?” The supervisor’s expression shifted slightly. That much sanghuang… how much money would that be?
“Is forr Manager Jin here? I know him,” Lin Heng asked.
“He’s here. Wait a mont,” the new supervisor replied with a nod.
“Oh, and what’s your na?”
“Lin Heng,” he said with a slight smile.
The new supervisor went into the office and told Jin Fuqiang, “Director, soone nad Lin Heng is outside. He says he’s brought two tractor loads of sanghuang to sell, and that he knows you.”
“Lin Heng? Two tractors of sanghuang?!”
Jin Fuqiang’s eyes widened in shock.
If that was true, this Lin Heng wasn’t soone ordinary.
“Let’s go, I want to see for myself.” Without hesitation, he got up and headed out.
“Director Jin, long ti no see—and congratulations on your promotion!” Lin Heng quickly approached to greet him.
He’d already asked the other buyers and learned about Jin’s promotion.
“Haha, thanks! It really is you, Lin Heng.” Jin Fuqiang laughed heartily.
Then he asked, “I heard you brought two tractors full of sanghuang? That true?”
Lin Heng smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I collected a batch over the past few days.”
“Wow, that’s so sharp foresight you’ve got there.” Jin’s tone beca noticeably warr.
Internally, he was deeply impressed. To gather so much during the low-price period—this wasn’t just luck. It was either vision or connections.
This was a huge difference from just talking big the last ti they t. Real action said a lot more about a person’s capabilities. Jin now saw Lin Heng in a whole new light.
He never expected this guy to turn his situation around so fast and rise above his class. Definitely soone worth getting to know.
“Just dumb luck, really,” Lin Heng said modestly.
“That’s no dumb luck.”
Jin shook his head, then turned to the supervisor. “Open the back gate and let the tractors in. I’ll handle this purchase personally.”
“Lin Heng, co this way,” he added with a smile. He was clearly eager to talk more.
“Sure.” Lin Heng nodded.
He motioned to his brother to guide the tractors in.
Soon, both vehicles were inside the Acquisition Station.
Bag after bag of sanghuang was unloaded, opened, inspected, and dumped into large barrels for weighing.
While supervising the process, Jin and Lin Heng chatted.
The price of sanghuang at the town level was 3.5 yuan per jin; here in the city, it was 4 yuan.
Lin Heng was a little surprised. He had thought Liu Qicheng in the town could offer 3.5, so he expected the city price to be 5. Turns out it was just 4.
After weighing, the total was 2,058 jin, selling for a total of 8,232 yuan.
Once the paperwork was done, they went to the credit union to deposit the money. Lin Heng’s passbook balance increased by 8,232 yuan.
Taxes and fees were all handled by the Acquisition Station—this was the net amount after tax.
Adding in the 1,000 he already had, Lin Heng now had 9,232 yuan in total.
If it weren’t for the fish pond project, with the hundred or two still on Xiulan at ho, Lin Heng would’ve easily been a ten-thousand-yuan household by now.
Staring at the numbers on his passbook, Lin Heng could barely contain his excitent.
He imdiately withdrew five hundred yuan and tucked it into his pocket, then arranged to et Jin Fuqiang for lunch to discuss opening a Acquisition Station in town.
In the end, the matter was settled over a al. He coordinated everything with Jin Fuqiang.
Since Jin Fuqiang also needed the performance trics, their discussion went smoothly.
Lin Heng just needed to register as a self-employed business owner and sign a procurent agreent with Jin Fuqiang.
The policies had recently changed, and opening a Acquisition Station was no longer as troubleso as before.
Since Lin Heng had enough startup capital and didn’t need any financial help from Jin Fuqiang, the whole thing was pretty easy to arrange.
It only cost him about fifty yuan for the al.
What Lin Heng didn’t know was that Jin Fuqiang actually ant to show goodwill—he thought Lin Heng had so impressive connections and had high hopes for him.
Once everything was settled, Lin Heng went to the Bureau of Industry and Comrce to fill out an application and find out what procedures were required.
After that, he returned to et up with his eldest brother Wang Zhou and the others, who were waiting for him at the Acquisition Station.
“You’re done?” Lin Yue asked quickly when he saw Lin Heng return.
“More or less. I’ll need to co back in a few days to take care of so other paperwork.” Lin Heng spread his hands helplessly—getting licenses was such a pain.
“What kind of paperwork?” Lin Yue asked curiously.
“A Acquisition Station. I’m planning to open one in Huangtan Town. Everything’s been negotiated. I just need to get all the docunts in place and we’ll be good to go.”
Lin Heng let out a breath—no point hiding it now.
“A Acquisition Station!” Lin Yue’s eyes widened. His little brother had pulled off sothing huge without making a sound.
“Yeah. I’ve got the money and the capital now. Opening a Acquisition Station is perfectly reasonable.”
Lin Heng shrugged.
“You just couldn’t take how shady Liu Qicheng is, could you?” Lin Yue laughed.
“That’s part of it. But mostly because this is actually a good business.”
“Lin Heng, the job you ntioned earlier—was that working at the Acquisition Station?” Wang Zhou asked in surprise.
“Yep. Think it over and let
know your answer soon.” Lin Heng gave him a glance.
“Still need anyone else, Boss Lin? I can do anything.” The driver uncle next to him laughed. He was honestly envious.
Just a month ago, he’d looked down on Lin Heng, and now he was hoping Lin Heng would take him in. He couldn’t help but feel a little bitter inside.
Lin Heng gave him a look and shook his head. “Not right now. Maybe later.”
“Alright! If you do, please keep
in mind,” the driver uncle said quickly.
“Little bro, we heading straight back?” Lin Yue asked.
Lin Heng shook his head. “In a bit. Since we’re already in town, there’s still a bunch of stuff I need to buy.”
In this era, tractors were allowed into the city, so they definitely weren’t going back empty.
“Got it!” The group nodded, started up the tractor, and followed Lin Heng to shop.
Lin Heng knew Taibai City like the back of his hand. He led them first to a quickli factory and bought 1,000 jin of quickli.
They’d be digging a fish pond soon anyway, and as long as it stayed dry, the li wouldn’t spoil.
Next, he bought two rolls of thick plastic sheeting, five plastic pipes each 30 centiters in diater, and 100 ters each of thick and thin hoses.
He also picked up thermoters, reagents for testing water quality, and various materials.
Finally, he bought a diesel chainsaw.
That was enough for now—the rest could wait.
“Spending money like water,” Lin Heng sighed. All this cost him nearly five hundred yuan.
A good diesel chainsaw alone had cost him a hundred. The reagents and testing tools ca to nearly another hundred. The rest added up to over two hundred.
“Totally crazy,” Lin Yue shook his head, feeling the pain just watching.
“My heart hurts just looking at it,” said the driver uncle.
If he had that much money, he’d just put it in the bank and live off the interest—forget working.
Lin Heng laughed. “If you don’t spend money, what’s the point of making it?”
If you’re too scared to spend, how will you ever earn more?
“Still more to buy?” Wang Zhou asked.
“Yeah.” Lin Heng nodded.
He had the tractor stop in an alley, then went into the departnt store alone. If his big brother saw him spend more, he’d definitely start nagging again.
“Boss, how much for this watch?” Lin Heng pointed to a silver n’s watch in the display case.
“Ninety-eight yuan,” the pretty salesgirl behind the counter replied with a friendly smile. She showed no sign of looking down on him.
Even though Lin Heng wasn’t dressed well, he was good-looking, and he spoke with confidence.
“What about this ladies’ watch?” Lin Heng pointed to a gold-colored won’s watch.
“That one is 109 yuan,” the salesgirl answered.
“How long do these watches last?” Lin Heng asked again.
“More than two years before you need to replace the battery,” she said, her smile growing warr. Lin Heng sounded like he really ant to buy.
“How about 180 yuan for both?” Lin Heng looked at her.
“I’m afraid not, sir. These are Diamond-brand watches. I’ll give you the lowest price—200 yuan.”
Afraid to upset Lin Heng, she made sure to sound sincere. Anyone buying two watches at once was a big custor. And he was so handso, her eyes were practically sparkling.
“Alright, two hundred it is. Wrap them up for .” Lin Heng smiled at her.
He wasn’t surprised by her reaction—watches were luxury goods in this era.
For urban won, the four essentials for marriage were a watch, sewing machine, radio, and bicycle.
Buying two watches at once? That was definitely a rich guy move.
If Lin Heng wanted, it’d be easy for him to ask this pretty salesgirl out for a fling.
“Sir, here are your watches, all packed. Please take a look.”
She boxed them up, showed them to him, and smiled sweetly.
“Alright.” Lin Heng checked the contents, nodded, and put the watches in a bag before heading to the clothing section.
Without a watch, it was really inconvenient not being able to check the ti. He’d been wanting one for ages but never had the money.
The salesgirl looked after him as he left, a bit envious. She wondered which lucky woman would marry this handso, wealthy young man.
Then Lin Heng headed to the children’s clothing section and bought two outfits, a pair of cloth shoes, and a pair of sandals for Xiaoxia.
Unlike the cheap market where he’d taken Xiulan and Father Lin last ti, where many clothes didn’t even have tags, the mall clothes were all brand new and of much better quality.
Of course, the prices were higher—cheapest was three or four yuan, while the expensive ones went for ten or more.
Even city folk couldn’t afford many of these in a year.
He spent twenty yuan on Xiaoxia’s clothes and shoes, then moved on to the won’s section.
He already knew Xiulan’s sizes from the last ti he bought her clothes, so buying without her wouldn’t be a problem.
If he brought her here, she’d never agree to spend so much. Better to buy first and show her later.
He bought her a fall outfit: a goose-yellow turtleneck sweater, a khaki won’s overcoat, fleece-lined flared jeans, and a pair of black flat leather shoes.
He also got her a sumr set: a white blouse, a knee-length floral skirt, white stockings, and a pair of sandals.
White stockings, like flared pants, were trendy in the city during this ti.
Lin Heng preferred black ones, but unfortunately, they didn’t have any.
As he passed by the lingerie store, Lin Heng also bought a white set for his wife. Looking at the clothes he had picked out for her, he figured he’d spent about sixty-five yuan in total.
Lin Heng bought himself a set of autumn clothes and two pairs of shoes—one pair of sneakers and one pair of sandals—spending forty-two yuan. He didn’t like leather shoes, so he didn’t get any.
Then he bought a set of clothes and a pair of sneakers for each of his parents and his younger sister Caiyun, which added up to seventy-five yuan.
Lastly, he got a pair of shoes and a jacket for his big brother Lin Yue. As for his sister-in-law and nephew, he just bought so snacks and a few stationery items. Since he and his big brother had already split households, it wouldn’t be appropriate to go overboard.
He also bought so toys for Xiaoxia, like a cloth doll and a few picture books.
All in all, he ended up spending almost five hundred yuan.
When Lin Heng ca out carrying two big bags full of items, Lin Yue was stunned. “Bro, why did you buy so much stuff? That must’ve cost a fortune!”
Not just them—even passersby on the street had been doing double takes, full of envy.
“It wasn’t that much, just about five hundred,” Lin Heng said with a grin. “Co help
load it into the big sack.”
“Five hundred yuan?!” Lin Yue’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
“That’s not much?!” Wang Zhou and the driver uncle both gaped and sucked in a breath.
They could understand spending money on quickli and other supplies, but dropping five hundred on clothes like this—they didn’t even know what to say. Too extravagant.
“Let’s go, ti to head ho,” Lin Heng said with a smile. He had spent over eleven hundred today, but he felt good about it. It was money well spent.
On the way back, Lin Heng put on the wristwatch. Now he didn’t need to look at the sun’s position to guess the ti.
Sitting next to him on the tractor, Wang Zhou glanced at the shiny silver watch and couldn’t help but ask enviously, “Does a wristwatch tell ti just like a clock?”
He had only ever seen bosses wearing watches from afar and never had the chance to look at one up close.
“Of course, it’s the sa—hour hand, minute hand, second hand. Works just like a clock,” Lin Heng replied with a laugh.
Wristwatches were really rare in the countryside—so families didn’t even have a wall clock, let alone a watch.
“It looks so nice,” Wang Zhou said with longing. He was already dreaming of buying one for himself once he had so money.
It was past 6 PM when the tractor finally made its slow way back to Hongfeng Village.
Curious villagers gathered near the Lin house to watch the excitent. Father Lin, Mother Lin, Xiulan, and the others all ca out to greet them.
“Why’d you buy so much stuff? That must’ve cost a lot,” Father Lin said, frowning as he looked at the pile of goods on the tractor.
“Son, be honest with us. How much did all this cost?” Mother Lin asked, looking at Lin Heng.
“Not much, just the essentials. Help
carry it all back, will you?” Lin Heng replied with a shake of his head. He wasn’t about to say the actual amount—it might just make the two elders faint on the spot.
What was on the tractor could practically build a brick house.
As the family carried everything back ho, they inevitably drew envious glances from the other villagers.
“So many clothes and shoes!”
“Not just a lot—the packaging alone shows they’re high-end stuff.”
“I bet all these clothes cost at least two to three hundred,” Yang Xiaotao said.
“No way, I think it’s more like a hundred,” Old Yang shook his head.
“You really don’t know anything. Just that pair of sneakers sticking out costs at least eight yuan. Altogether, it’s definitely over two hundred, right, Lin Heng?” Liu Lan said, showing off her ‘vast’ knowledge.
Lin Heng just smiled and said nothing. You could really tell how poverty limited the villagers’ imaginations.
“Is that a diesel chainsaw? That must be over a hundred by itself!”
“Lin Heng, how much did you end up spending on this trip?”
Every new thing they spotted left the villagers even more shocked and envious.
If envy and jealousy could turn into water, the entire Hongfeng Village would’ve been flooded by now.
The won who used to look down on the poor Lin family were now full of regret, dreaming at night of marrying into a life like Lin Heng’s.
When they woke up, all they could do was sigh—and curse their own husbands for being useless.
(End of Chapter)
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