Sha Zhu's Rebirth in the Courtyard: Starting with Hitting Someone in the Head

Chapter 308 Explosive Speculation

Xiao Dang returned to the west wing of the front yard, where Yan Jiekuang was squatting on the threshold smoking. Seeing Xiao Dang return, he asked, "How was it? Does your family know anyone at the Beixinqiao sanitation station?"

Xiao Dang shook his head, went inside, and sat down. "Mom said the Liu family has connections with the sanitation department now, they're rich and powerful, so competing head-on isn't going to work. Instead of throwing money into a price war, we should try to find our own way in."

Her voice was calm and unhurried, "Mom is furious. You asked me to borrow money from Ma Qiang; you have ulterior motives. You know that yourself. My brother even told me to divorce you."

Yan Jiekuang blushed and explained, "I didn't. Xiao Dang, don't listen to your mother. I just couldn't bring myself to ask, and I was thinking of having you borrow it, but Ma Qiang thought it would be difficult to refuse you since you're a woman. I admit I was wrong, I'll go myself."

He stubbed out his cigarette, stood up, and went inside.

Yan Jiedi tidied up the account books. "Brother, my sister-in-law is right. Let's find connections first. Once we have vehicles and goods, we can start making money."

Yan Jiekuang sat down at the table, scratching his head in thought. After a long while, he finally spoke: "Alright. Let's find some connections first. You two can keep an eye on the recycling center."

The next morning, Yan Jiekuang set off on his tricycle. He first went to the Beixinqiao Sanitation Station and asked several people, who said they didn't sell any recyclables to individual recycling stations.

He then went to the farthest sanitation stations, Hepingli, Jianguomen, and Dongzhimen. Wherever he went, he tried every means to ask someone to pass on a message, find an official he could talk to, invite him out to a restaurant, and serve him the best food and wine.

Either you get rejected as soon as you open your mouth, or you reluctantly sit down for a meal, being polite at the table, but then nothing more happens.

Afterwards, the situation wasn't much better at the Chaoyangmen, Dongsi, and Jingshan locations. It took considerable effort to find the head of the sanitation department and the person in charge of the stations through connections. Food and drinks were provided, and money was spent. Only after several rounds of negotiation did they discover that each location had already been occupied.

In many sanitation stations, relatives of the station chief and deputy chief are involved in the recycling business, unwilling to let the profits flow out. The section chiefs below have limited authority and cannot make decisions; even if they want to help, they dare not touch the interests of those above them.

With each meal spent, expenses flowed out like water, but no connections were made, and all the money went down the drain.

Yan Jiekuang was seething with anger. There was only one sanitation station left in Dongcheng District: Andingmen Sanitation Station.

Having learned his lesson from the previous series of losses, he dared not rashly host a banquet this time. Instead, he wandered around several sanitation stations under the sanitation department, chatting and offering cigarettes to the sanitation workers, slowly inquiring about the internal personnel matters, and learned that the head of the department was a newcomer.

Yan Jiekuang felt that this time there was a chance, so he asked a section chief to act as an intermediary to deliver the message and test the other party's attitude.

Once the intermediary relayed the message that the director was willing to meet up, Yan Jiekuang immediately booked a private room at a restaurant near the Drum Tower.

The banquet didn't start with business discussions; instead, they chatted about everyday street gossip and the difficulties of waste collection. After a few rounds of drinks, they slowly revealed their desire to buy the waste from the station, promising monthly settlements.

Dinner ended, and it was completely dark. Karaoke bars started becoming popular in the 1990s, with small cubicles furnished with televisions and videotapes, where people would select a few Hong Kong and Taiwanese songs. The noisy background music made the distance between people feel much closer.

After several days of social engagements, the director nodded: "There are three cleaning stations below Andingmen, handling a large amount of waste. They come to collect it every morning before dawn; you know the rules."

Yan Jiekuang picked up his wine glass, tilted his head back, and downed it in one gulp.

After the initial joy, worries arose. Where was the car? Where was the money? A used van would cost at least ten thousand yuan, plus working capital and the kickback to Director Sun, it would be at least fifteen thousand. He wondered if Ma Qiang would lend it to him.

Yan Jiekuang rode his tricycle home, and Xiao Dang and Yan Jiedi sat inside waiting for him.

"Jie Kuang, did you agree this time?" Xiao Dang stood up.

Yan Jiekuang nodded with a smile.

Xiao Dang's face lit up with joy: "That's great!"

Yan Jiekuang sat down and took a few sips of tea. "That's good. The only problem now is that I'm afraid Ma Qiang won't lend me the money."

Jie Di comforted him, "Brother, why don't you try first? If Ma Qiang disagrees, then borrow from Ma Hua and Xu Damao. Everyone in our compound is wealthy."

Yan Jiekuang stood up. "I'll go ask right now." Fueled by alcohol, he knocked on the door of the east wing across the street.

"Jie Kuang, come in and sit down."

Yan Jiekuang didn't go inside, but stood by the door: "Brother Ma Qiang, I want to borrow some money from you."

"How much do you want to borrow?"

"Fifteen thousand."

Ma Qiang glanced at him: "Found a way?"

"Andingmen Sanitation Station, with three cleaning stations below it, is a large sanitation station."

After listening, Ma Qiang turned and went inside. He came out less than two minutes later, carrying a bag of money, which he placed on the table: "Twenty thousand. Interest will be calculated at the bank's fixed deposit rate. Don't rush to pay it back. Once you find a way, work hard."

Yan Jiekuang came in and stood in front of the table. Looking at the bag of money, he swallowed hard and said, "Brother Ma Qiang, I... I thank you. I don't know what to say. If you need any help with chores at home in the future, just let me know."

"Alright. I understand what you mean. Write an IOU." Ma Qiang pushed the money in front of him. "Take the money."

Yan Jiekuang left an IOU, took the money, and went out, feeling as if the dark night sky had become much brighter.

At the end of May, a slightly worn yellow bread van was parked in a wide space at the intersection of Guosheng Hutong and Baochao Hutong. Sanitation workers rode several garbage collection tricycles to load the waste onto the van, even tying bundles of cardboard to the roof.

Yan Jiekuang hired a driver for 400 yuan a month. He would make one trip every day at 3 a.m. After deducting all expenses, he made a net profit of more than 6,000 yuan in the first month.

With money in hand, he raised the purchase price of scrap metal by two cents. Seeing that the price was higher than Liu's, the old men and women who sold scrap metal were all willing to sell to Yan's family.

The news reached the Liu family.

"Brother, Yan Jiekuang's prices have gone up again. Now all the loose goods are going to him."

Liu Guangtian paused, his hand stilling the books. "Did he find connections?"

"I heard it's Andingmen, with three sanitation stations below it, much bigger than our Jiaodaokou."

"Brother," Liu Guangfu sat down next to him, "why don't we carry it too?"

"I'm not going to lift it anymore." Liu Guangtian's voice was very soft, high-pitched and thin. "If we lift it any further, our colleagues will have something to say."

"What should we do then?"

Liu Guangtian was silent for a moment, then said, "I have a way. Don't worry about it."

This is the inter-departmental side.

Xu Damao entered through the moon gate, poured himself some tea, and sat down.

"My dear in-law, Yan Jiekuang has made a move, through connections at the Andingmen Sanitation Station."

He Yuzhu picked up his teacup and took a sip, "Pretty fast."

"I asked Liu Guangfu, and he said Liu Guangtian has a way," Xu Damao said in a low voice. "What kind of way could that effeminate Liu Guangtian possibly have? Is he going to sell his ass or something?"

He Yuzhu spat out his tea, coughed a few times, and slapped Xu Damao on the back. "Silly Mao, what you said is actually quite possible. Liu Guangtian is cut out to be a rabbit. Otherwise, how could he have gotten the job at Jiaodaokou Sanitation Station when he had no money or connections?"

Xu Damao shuddered. "Brother Zhu, you're really perceptive. This is disgusting. We sent people to follow and catch them in the act of adultery—does that count as adultery?"

"No rush, this is just speculation. Let's see how Liu Guangtian deals with the Yan family first. If he can shut down the Yan family's sanitation business, then he'll definitely be a rabbit."