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

Chapter 425 Big changes

Not long after Yu Dawei finished speaking, a woman came out of the house; it was Xu Guiling's sister-in-law.

It was almost noon, and Xu Guiling was wearing a blue and white polka-dot apron, holding a spoon with an aluminum handle in her hand.

Not only is the handle made of aluminum, but the entire spoon is made of aluminum.

This type of aluminum wok became popular in the 1950s and 60s and has been used ever since, while most people in the city have now switched to iron ladles.

But rural people are careful with their money and are reluctant to throw things away. Besides, aluminum woks don't break even after years of use, so they've just kept using them.

However, it's said that this kind of thing is bad for the human body over time. Yu Dawei was also poisoned by all sorts of rumors that "aluminum is toxic" in his previous life.

"Dawei? Oh my god! When did you get back? Your brother Liang has been talking about you these past few days." Xu Guiling's eyes lit up when she saw Yu Dawei, and she quickly walked to the gate of the courtyard and opened it.

Some men, even if they're not your own, are like beautiful women on the street—you can still find them pleasing to the eye.

"Sister-in-law, is Brother Liang there? I went to his shop but didn't see him. And Brother Duan's scrap metal recycling station seems to be closed too. What's going on?" Yu Dawei asked, puzzled.

"Let's talk inside." Xu Guiling looked up at the neighbors around her and sure enough, she saw an old lady in the yard next door who was ostensibly picking scallions, but was actually bending over and eavesdropping without moving.

"Oh, okay." Yu Dawei followed his sister-in-law's gaze and saw the old lady in the next yard. He shook his head and smiled wryly, then pointed to the water bag above the toilet. "Sister-in-law, if you're using this at home, I suggest you ask Lao Liang to build a small room specifically for bathing, about the size of a bathroom. That would be more convenient."

Xu Guiling nodded upon hearing this. Taking a bath with a water bag was indeed more convenient, but it was inconvenient when going to the toilet, as everything was wet.

The two entered the house one after the other. As soon as Yu Dawei stepped inside, he smelled the aroma of food. Boss Liang's youngest son was writing on the kang (a heated brick bed). When he saw that it was Uncle Dawei, he looked up and greeted him happily without any shyness.

After all, there's always something delicious to eat whenever I go to Uncle Dawei's place; seeing Uncle Dawei is like seeing something delicious.

Yu Dawei reached out and touched the child's head, then sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) waiting for his sister-in-law's reply.

"Sigh, your Brother Liang and Brother Duan are probably at the flour mill right now." Xu Guiling poured a glass of cold water and went to Yu Dawei's side before finding a stool to sit by the window.

"What's going on?" Yu Dawei picked up his water glass, looked up, and asked in surprise.

He clearly remembered that before leaving, he specifically instructed Boss Liang to persuade Old Duan not to do anything rash and take over the flour mill.

"Ugh, those two worriers." Xu Guiling's tigress-like nature came out as she gritted her teeth and said, "The town's flour mill is going out of business. A few days ago, these two got the news, and after confirming it, Lao Duan was the first to get restless. He went to the flour mill with several wealthy people to negotiate with that Director Yu."

"Anyway, it's just a matter of how much money to buy it." Xu Guiling recalled the uproar caused by the acquisition of the flour mill in the town and couldn't help but sigh. "In the days you were away, the people in the town went crazy trying to buy the flour mill. Many people surrounded the gate every day, and there were also people from other places."

“They come from other towns, counties, cities, all sorts of places.”

Yu Dawei frowned even more: "Is it okay for the flour mill to publicize itself like this? Won't it affect the image of our town? Besides, even if the flour mill is selling, it can't be at cabbage prices, so why are there so many people?"

"Who knows? Anyway, your Brother Duan and Brother Liang were quiet for a couple of days. I thought that was the end of it. Whoever acquired the flour mill had nothing to do with us ordinary folks."

Yu Dawei sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and the more he listened, the more suspicious he became. He looked at the other person with a hint of doubt in his voice and asked, "Sister-in-law, could these two have conspired to take over the flour mill?"

"Sigh, you guessed right. But my husband only lent the money to Lao Duan because I didn't agree." Xu Guiling shook her head helplessly. "Lao Duan is determined to acquire the flour mill. He not only sold the scrap metal recycling station, but I heard he also borrowed a lot of money."

"Your brother Liang couldn't sell the parts for a while, so he simply returned them all, which brought in a lot of money. He lent 150,000 yuan to Lao Duan." Xu Guiling said with some emotion, "Dawei, tell me, that flour mill went bankrupt because it couldn't keep going. How could it possibly be put back into business by someone else?"

"Old Duan and his wife, and even their whole family, didn't think this through. They seemed quite happy about acquiring the flour mill." Xu Guiling shook her head helplessly again as she said this. "My husband, Lao Liang, hasn't had much to do lately, so he's been hanging out with Old Duan."

"Because we borrowed a lot of money, Old Duan was quite generous and directly gave our family some shares. Anyway, we didn't understand what that meant. Old Liang said that we could get some money every year without doing anything. It sounded like interest, but longer-lasting."

Only now did Yu Dawei understand that after all that effort during the day, Boss Liang still couldn't persuade Duan Dahai.

With the flour mill now completely under the control of these two local tyrants, or more precisely, Brother Duan, it is now entirely in their hands.

"No, I have to go to the flour mill!" Yu Dawei couldn't sit still any longer.

The memory of the flour mill explosion in his past life kept replaying in Yu Dawei's mind. If things were to turn out like that in the future, Yu Dawei would feel incredibly guilty. Not only did he not know this person, but this person had also helped him in many ways, and they even shared drinks together occasionally.

Yu Dawei exchanged a few simple pleasantries with Sister-in-law Xu Guiling, then turned around, drove off in his little red car.

We headed straight for the flour mill.

The flour mill is located in the northeast of the town, right next to the market.

Many vendors like to set up their stalls near the high walls of the flour mill. On the one hand, the midday sun gets increasingly glaring and hot, and on the other hand, in winter, the flour mill's walls, which are over three meters high, can block the wind.

Yu Dawei arrived at the main gate of the flour mill. Outside the gate was a large silver sheet metal wall, and next to it was a small door less than a person's height, both of which were closed at the moment.

Yu Dawei got out of the car and first tried to push it, but found that neither the main door nor the small door could be opened. He then had to knock on it forcefully.

After a long time, no one answered the door. Helpless, Yu Dawei used all his strength to knock twice more. Only then did he hear an old man's voice from inside.

"Coming, coming!" The old man's footsteps came from afar, and it sounded like he was running out barefoot.

The old man opened the small door and looked up to see a burly man, as big as a small mountain, staring at him with a serious expression.

The old man was startled, thinking it was some thug, and subconsciously swallowed: "May I ask who you are looking for?"

"Duan Dahai and Liang Hongwei, are they here? I'm looking for them." Yu Dawei didn't give the old man a friendly look.

Firstly, it's because that bastard Lao Liang is too unreliable. He agreed to something without hesitation before, but now not only have I not been able to dissuade him, he's actually invested in it.

Secondly, the old man seemed deaf, knocking several times but not opening the door. Anyone would be angry in that situation, especially since Yu Dawei was under the blazing sun.

"Director Duan? Well, you'll have to wait a moment. Director Duan is busy right now. I'll go tell him." The old man was afraid of getting into trouble, so he quickly slammed the door shut and ran into the courtyard.

Yu Dawei's lips twitched. This old man was really shrewd. He couldn't continue standing in the sun, so he turned around and found a big tree, where he stood in the shade and waited.

While waiting, I glanced at the empty market not far to my right.

Today isn't market day, so the open spaces on the road are just a few bricks, tiles, and stones. Occasionally, you can see wooden planks hidden in some corner, which are used when setting up stalls.

On market days, people from all the surrounding villages and hamlets come over, and the place quickly becomes a crowded place.

Yu Dawei mentally estimated that there must be at least 500 people, and there were even more stalls set up along the wall a little further north. Counting from both sides, there were definitely nearly a thousand people.

If the flour mill explosion from my past life were to happen again, it wouldn't be so bad if it happened on a day other than a market day. But if it happened on a market day, damn it! That would be a major accident! Who knows how many people would die.

"No, no!" Yu Dawei stood there with his arms crossed. He was thinking that if Brother Duan and the others hadn't paid yet and hadn't reached the point of signing the contract, he would have to try to stop them again.

If the contract is signed and all the procedures are completed, Yu Dawei should also persuade Brother Duan to sell the flour mill if necessary.

Perhaps if someone else were to run the flour mill, with a different mindset, the accident could be avoided.

However, judging from the current situation, the chances of Brother Duan not signing the contract are very small.

"Sigh!" Yu Dawei sighed, and then blamed everything on Boss Liang, "That good-for-nothing guy."

As they were talking, a large iron gate not far away opened, revealing a gap more than a meter wide in the middle, and then two people walked out from inside.

One of them was Duan Dahai, wearing a blue and white striped T-shirt, leather shoes and dress pants. His hair was also a little longer than before his buzz cut. His whole image and temperament had changed drastically. He was just missing the black leather bag under his arm to transform into a nouveau riche boss.

Next to him was a short, stout man wearing a light blue short-sleeved shirt. His hairstyle, trousers, and leather shoes were similar to Brother Duan's.

Yu Dawei stepped forward and stared blankly at the two men: "Hey, what's wrong with you two? You got cocky after acquiring a small flour mill?"

(End of this chapter)