In 1992, a small village owner became the richest man in the village by owning a car.

Chapter 233 A minivan that my third uncle helped me find?

The year ended after everyone had a gathering.

Next, we'll start preparing for the Chinese New Year, which falls at the end of this month.

So this can be considered the last gathering with a relatively full group of people before the new year.

After taking his younger sister, Han Jingfan, and his own child home, Yu Dawei rested at home for another night and left after having breakfast the next day.

After arriving at the factory, Yu Dawei continued to debug the road roller when there were no field rescue missions. According to his plan, by next spring, the performance of the machine will not only reach the level of normal operation, but the driver will also feel that the operation is smooth and avoid damage to the machine due to operation errors.

Yu Dawei has considered all the potential problems that might arise with the road roller. Now all he needs is a driver. However, there are still two months until next spring, so he's not in a particular hurry and will take his time.

As the year draws to a close, there are more and more wilderness rescue jobs. Yu Dawei and Xiao Agui spent several days eating and sleeping in towns outside the city. For various reasons, they would always encounter some very strange car owners who would break their cars on the road.

What recently left Yu Dawei speechless was that a private car was driving from Youcheng towards Suishi. On the way, it crossed a river. Most bus drivers would also cross the river in winter to save a lot of time, which is considered a shortcut.

But this guy must have been blessed with good fortune. Others drove past without any problems, but when he drove past, his car fell right into the hole, and he almost couldn't get out.

When Dawei arrived, the car had already been lifted out of the river by a crane. However, the entire car was not only submerged in water, but also completely frozen inside and out due to the cold weather.

The car owner was clueless and didn't know that it was cold enough to wipe off the water stains. In the end, all they could do was find a tow truck to take the car that had fallen into the water to Fanfan Repair Shop for repairs.

On this day, when Yu Dawei brought Xiao Agui back, he found that there was another van in the yard. All in all, there were at least fifteen vehicles in the yard, whether they were under repair or not. This does not include Yu Dawei's two excavators and one road roller.

Back in the courtyard, one of the yellow vans caught Yu Dawei's attention.

The overall appearance of the car is similar to the van owned by Brother Zhang Shuangxi that I saw in the oil city before, except that this van is more dilapidated and the rearview mirrors on both sides are long gone. I don't know how the owner has been driving this car all these years.

"Boss, you're finally back! Your third uncle has been waiting for you in the little house." When Old Ji saw Yu Dawei return, he immediately put down his work and jumped off the excavator tracks. "By the way, this truck was brought over by my third uncle."

"Did your third uncle bring this over?" Yu Dawei raised an eyebrow and glanced at the yellow van again. The surrounding area was covered in exposed rust. The van had six seats, but all the seats were broken, and the foam inside some of the seats was even exposed.

Could it be that my third uncle has come to ask me to fix his car?

Yu Dawei didn't think much of it and let Lao Ji continue with his work. He then took Xiao Agui and went inside through the door, lifting the curtain.

Since Yu Dawei's people moved in, the little house has become quite warm during the day, perhaps because of the presence of people. Even without burning much firewood, it is still very cozy.

As Yu Dawei stepped in, his gaze met that of his third uncle, who was turning around to look at him.

Next to my third uncle sat another person, wearing a thick black cotton-padded coat with a military overcoat over it, holding a white tea mug in both hands and sipping tea.

The two of them were sitting around the stove, with the small wooden stools that Yu Dawei and Fu Zi often used to sit and rest on.

The stool was usually a bit dirty because of car repairs, but neither of them seemed to care.

"Third Uncle, what brings you here?" Yu Dawei smiled and walked towards the two of them. "And this is..."

“A fellow villager from Minquan, Zheng Sanpao. He’s been in Harbin all along, working in construction, doing waterproofing on buildings, and also modifying water and electricity.” Uncle San didn’t get up, but took a sip of tea from his cup. “The two people you hired are pretty good. They’ve been working for a while now, and except when they’re cold, they come inside to warm up, they never slack off while working outside.”

“I trust them quite a bit.” Yu Dawei nodded politely to Zheng Sanpao, then grabbed a small stool from beside the stove and plopped down on it. “I’ve been out doing rescue work with Xiao Agui for a while now, and Lao Ji and Fu Zi have been handling most of the work at the factory.”

"Hmm." Third Uncle nodded slightly. "I know it's very inconvenient for you to do wilderness rescue right now. It just so happens that Zheng Sanpao has a wrecked minivan, so I took the liberty of bringing it over for you to take a look. If you like it, you can keep it. If not, this guy is planning to sell it to a junk collector."

“Yes, yes, this car wasn’t originally mine. It belonged to one of my former bosses. He was one of the first people to buy it after Dafeng entered the market.” Zheng Sanpao, with his square face, quickly chimed in when his third uncle mentioned his car, glancing outside. “This car is one I watched my former boss build from scratch. Now he’s a big brand in waterproofing in Harbin, quite successful.” “A few years ago, when he no longer needed to do the waterproofing himself, he gave me this car.” Zheng Sanpao clicked his tongue against his lips, saying somewhat helplessly, “I didn’t know how to drive at all back then. The car was fine when I first got it, but it got worse and worse after a few years, and I eventually drove it to the point of scrapping it.”

“But after gaining driving experience, I switched to a pickup truck, and this truck has been sitting in my old village ever since.” Zheng Sanpao frowned and thought for a moment. “It’s been about three years. The engine and transmission were already a bit problematic, and after sitting there for so long, they all broke down. If my third brother hadn’t brought this up with me, I was planning to sell it for scrap next year.”

After learning the whole story, Yu Dawei couldn't help but feel a little touched. It all came down to his third uncle. Last time, after drinking in Yujiatun, he had only intended to chat casually, but his third uncle had taken his request for a rescue vehicle to heart.

The fact that the van was already totaled was not a problem for Dawei and Fanfan's repair shop. With Boss Liang's connections, getting a four-cylinder engine was no problem. Dawei even had the idea of ​​making some major modifications to the scrapped van.

Little Agui, who was standing to the side, had no interest in the conversation. He simply picked up the kettle sitting on the stove and quietly poured water for the three of them.

"Boss Xiao, if you're interested in this car, just name your price. I'm telling you right now, with Third Brother here, I definitely won't ask for too much." Zheng Sanpao hadn't felt the heat when he was drinking tea earlier, but he must have gotten too excited talking to himself. He took off his overcoat, revealing a black coat over his cotton-padded jacket.

Although he and Hou Wanshan came together, Hou Wanshan drove his own SUV, while he sat in a wrecked Daihatsu minivan, controlling the minivan all the way to the town.

Despite wearing so many layers, Zheng Sanpao was still shivering from the cold and rested in the small room for a long time before recovering.

It was really cold inside that old van. Back then, at least the engine could start and the heater worked, but now it's nothing at all.

Upon hearing this, Yu Dawei first smiled, then glanced at his third uncle unintentionally, who gave him a subtle "kill him to death" look in return.

"Uh, three hundred yuan?" Yu Dawei felt a little embarrassed when he said the price.

"How much?" Zheng Sanpao was stunned for a moment, then his eyebrows furrowed in an instant. "Third Brother, why don't we go back?"

Third Uncle rolled his eyes at Yu Dawei, then quickly turned to comfort him, "He was just teasing you. He said five hundred."

Zheng Sanpao: "..."

So you two are just kidding me, aren't you?

"No, brother, you've been in the construction business for so many years. Even if this car is terrible, you can't just sell it for a few hundred dollars!" Zheng Sanpao was truly on the verge of tears. He never expected that Hou Wanshan was actually helping his nephew buy a car and was not at all hesitant to haggle over the price.

He thought that since Hou Wanshan was helping him sell cars, he should be able to squeeze in some profits himself, after all, that's Hou Wanshan's usual way of doing things. But today he's really learned something new.

However, he also felt a pang of envy; Hou Wanshan was truly exceptional in his treatment of his juniors.

"Alright, 1,800, you can take this old, beat-up car for 1,800. I already have a car, and if it needs fixing, it can do any kind of work." Zheng Sanpao thought for a moment before offering a reasonable price.

However, Dawei was the first to object to this price. This piece of junk, apart from the shell, needs to be replaced inside and out. He's selling it to me for 1,800? Zheng Sanpao is absolutely dreaming!

"Hehe." Yu Dawei didn't say anything, but raised his head, a smile appearing on his lips as he stared at Zheng Sanpao.

Third Uncle remained silent, sipping his tea with his head down. Judging from Dawei's expression just now, he knew that he didn't need to worry about the bargaining.

This little guy isn't as simple-minded as he seems. Zheng Sanpao's little schemes were completely exposed in front of Dawei.

"Whether it's okay or not, Boss Xiao, give me a straight answer." Zheng Sanpao was a man who had seen a lot in the world, so he was naturally not intimidated by Yu Dawei's insightful eyes.

Today, Zheng Sanpao absolutely will not sell this old, dilapidated car for less than a thousand yuan. This car must weigh at least five hundred kilograms. With iron priced at six mao and five jin on the market, it would sell for at least six hundred and fifty yuan.

He can't possibly sell it for less than this price of iron.

(End of this chapter)