Trafford's Trading Club

615: Chapter 28: Da Zhe 615: Chapter 28: Da Zhe Luo Qiu’s hometown is not a place that can be directly reached by plane.

When he was young and followed his parents back home to pay their respects to ancestors, they’d take a bus after a flight and switch to a small town shuttle bus.

But now the high-speed railway has been built here, although the town shuttle buses still run.

They set off in the early morning, and by the time they finally got off the bus, it was already past four in the afternoon.

Although buying a direct ticket from the club could avoid such a long journey, Boss Luo still chose to travel in the usual way, just this once.

At the town’s bus station, the person who came to pick up Luo Qiu was his cousin.

Since they had always lived separately and met rarely, Luo Qiu had little impression of this cousin, but remembered he was three years older and named Luo Zheng.

His cousin’s family also had an eldest daughter, who was probably around thirty-five years old.

“Oh, speaking of it, it’s really been years since we brothers last met!

I remember the last time I saw you was three…

four years ago?

Back then you were not yet as tall as my shoulder, and now look how big you’ve grown.

You’re in college, right?”

Luo Zheng was an efficient young man who ran a small wholesale business by himself—the van he drove to pick up Luo Qiu was the same one he used for hauling goods.

He was quite enthusiastic, possibly due to the same age.

“A lot has changed here.” Luo Qiu looked at the road outside.

Luo Zheng’s driving speed rivaled that of Ren Ziling’s, and the wind that blew in carried a mixed scent of soil and fertilizer.

“The country has developed up to here already.” Luo Zheng smiled a satisfied smile at his current life.

He was likely one of the beneficiaries of this national development.

“By the way, do you want to eat something?

I have some spicy sticks, want some?” Luo Zheng flashed a big yellow-toothed grin, even more warmly.

“Just got off the bus, I don’t feel like eating.” Luo Qiu shook his head.

Luo Zheng paused, then said, “Luo Qiu, are you feeling carsick?

How about a break?

There’s a small store up ahead; I’ll grab you a bottle of water.

Wait here!”

With that, Luo Zheng stopped the van abruptly, rushed into a roadside shop, and came back with a whole case of bottled water in no time.

This made Luo Qiu help him pull open the van’s door.

“Hold on, there are three more boxes.”

“Buying so much at once?” Luo Qiu asked curiously.

Luo Zheng laughed heartily, “It’s on sale, so I bought more because it looked cheap.

Besides, it’s convenient to have it for the workers.

Save where you can, right?

Wait a second, I’ll be quick!”

“Let me give you a hand.”

“No need, no need, just a small matter.” Luo Zheng kept smiling, seemingly silly, with his eyes curved like the eyes of guppies looking up from a clear stream, “This kind of heavy work is not something students are accustomed to.”

“Not that fragile.” Luo Qiu just smiled slightly.

But still polite…

Whether it was Luo Zheng or himself, they remained polite.

When relatives from afar return, that’s probably how it feels, right?

However, Boss Luo really liked Luo Zheng’s guppy-like eyes.

After setting off again, Luo Zheng started talking about everyday topics, giving Luo Qiu a general impression of the people and affairs in his hometown.

“This isn’t the road to the hospital, is it?” Luo Qiu looked at the road signs curiously and asked.

Luo Zheng sighed, “The old folks refuse to stay in the hospital, saying it costs too much, and insisted on coming home.

It’s really not that bad; with the policy, there’s long been public healthcare.

But no matter what we say, she won’t believe it, and kept nagging, so we brought her back…

Hold on, I’ve got a call.”

Luo Qiu nodded.

“…Brother-in-law, I’m picking someone up, this…

Alright, hold on, I’ll take a detour to you.” After hanging up the call, Luo Zheng looked at Luo Qiu and said, “Bro, I need to make a detour.”

“The brother-in-law you mentioned is?” Luo Qiu suddenly asked.

“Just my sister’s ex-husband.

Oh, it’s normal if you don’t remember, because they divorced long ago…” Luo Zheng said casually, “By the way, if you’re tired, take a nap?

There’s a pillow in the backseat; it’s really comfortable!”

“Alright, I’ll rest a bit.”

…

Luo Qiu closed his eyes on the back seat.

After a while, Luo Zheng’s car stopped by the roadside.

Luo Zheng glanced at Luo Qiu through the rearview mirror, seeing that his eyes were still closed, he unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car.

A man in his thirties was waiting by the side of the road, holding quite a few items.

“Luo Zheng!” the man called as soon as he saw Luo Zheng stepping out.

But Luo Zheng quickly walked over and pulled the man a bit further away.

The man glanced at the van knowingly and asked, “Is there someone in the car?”

“A guest, he’s sleeping, best not to wake him.” Luo Zheng nodded, “I said you shouldn’t keep buying things to bring over; I know your situation, don’t waste your money like that, keep some for yourself.”

“It’s nothing, just some nutrients for the elderly, a little gesture of goodwill, just accept it.” The man tried hard, “Zheng, just say it was from a friend.”

“Hey brother-in-law, really, you shouldn’t have.

You’ve brought so much over the past few days, we can’t finish it.”

“The stuff…

I’ll just leave it here.

I’ve got to get to work, so I’ll be off!” The man quickly put the things down on the road and ran off.

“Sis…” Luo Zheng watched the man walk away, shook his head, looked at the pile of things on the ground, and helplessly carried them into the car.

But just as he opened the car door, he saw that Luo Qiu had already come back to his senses.

Luo Zheng froze, awkwardly smiled, and lowered his head to stuff the things into the back seat.

On the way home, Luo Zheng started talking about this man.

The man’s name was Wei Dazhe, a troublemaker who wasted his youth hanging out with the wrong crowd, living a muddled life.

“Honestly, I don’t even know how my sister saw anything in Da Zhe back then.” Luo Zheng shook his head, “When they got together, it caused a big uproar in the family.

We thought he’d settle down after getting married, but it turned into one troubling incident after another.”

“Troubling?”

“Yeah…” Luo Zheng shook his head, “I’ll be straight with you, my former brother-in-law here is a frequent jailbird.

Over the years, he’s been in and out five times, treating prison like home.

Just a few years ago, he was released, and I heard he got into trouble again recently, got locked up for a few days.

Now you get it?”

Boss Luo nodded.

Luo Zheng continued driving, “Actually, it’s good they divorced early; otherwise, my sister would still be living a hard life.”

“How’s our cousin doing now?”

“Oh, she remarried,” Luo Zheng chuckled, “Her new husband is a middle school teacher, a good guy.

You’ll probably meet him these days.

I’ll introduce you.”

“Let’s visit Grandma first,” Luo Qiu softly said, “Later, I need to tidy up the old house and stay there for a few days.”

“It’s been years since anyone lived in that house,” Luo Zheng shook his head, “How long will that take you?

Just stay with me tonight!

Your brother here built a new house a few years back, there’s room for you.”

Luo Qiu said, “I can’t just come back and ignore my old house.”

“You’ve got a point.

Alright then, no pressure.”

Luo Zheng kept smiling, “Let’s go home.

The old lady will surely light up when she sees you.

You wouldn’t believe it, she’s been reminiscing more about the past, about our childhood…”

…

…

A lot of capital started pouring into the town, and the rapid pace of development wasn’t quite in sync with the town’s capacity, but undeniably, this capital brought in many business opportunities and created more jobs.

For instance, there was a significant demand for construction workers.

Wei Dazhe climbed over a wall, tied a jacket around himself, donned a safety helmet, and hurriedly picked up two buckets of water.

“Wei Dazhe!”

Someone suddenly shouted from behind Wei Dazhe, it was one of the foremen from the construction project.

“Foreman, what’s up?” Wei Dazhe turned around, putting down the buckets.

The foreman angrily said, “Wei Dazhe, are you here to work or not?

Where the hell did you vanish to just now?”

Wei Dazhe replied, “I had a bit of an upset stomach, had to take a quick break.”

The foreman sneered, “A break?

I think you were slacking off!

Someone saw you sneaking out just now!

I clearly saw you climbing over the wall when you came in, and you’re actually trying to lie to me?

You’re always like this, being dishonest, right?

Always full of lies, huh?”

Wei Dazhe panicked, “I’m sorry, foreman, I had an urgent matter, really!

I promise it won’t happen again.”

The foreman shook his head, pointing his finger, “Wei Dazhe, I know what you’re up to.

If we weren’t short of people, I’d be the one hauling bricks instead of hiring a transient like you!

Listen up, behave yourself and stop sneaking around, or no other sites around here will hire you!

For today’s slacking off, eighty bucks knocked off!”

“Foreman, I just stepped out…”

“Do you want to keep working here or not?”

“Yes, yes…

foreman,” Wei Dazhe nodded, “I understand, it won’t happen again, I promise.”

“Get to work!” the foreman shouted.

Wei Dazhe silently picked up the buckets and walked away.

All around was a clamor of noise, hammering, and rising dust.