CHAPTER 866: CHAPTER 588: GIVE ME BACK MY MONEY

Thumb-sized hailstones kept pouring down.

"The heavens really are like a child’s face, changeable at a whim. With this hail, who knows what will happen to the crops in the fields?" In the countryside, food is life, and every household relies on farming, dependent on the weather.

Hail is the most feared; wherever it lands, the crops there are doomed.

"How could a good day suddenly bring hail?" Su Peng was also puzzled, "This hasn’t happened for many years, has it?"

"That’s right, weather like this is rare, didn’t expect it to happen today." The eldest sister sighed lightly.

Fortunately, it didn’t last long, after a short while, the hail stopped.

But the rain continued, bean-sized raindrops poured down non-stop.

"Old Uncle Zhang just fertilized his field, hoping some crops would survive, but today’s hail wasted half a day’s effort."

"Not necessarily." Xiaofeng looked at the scattered hailstones on the ground, indicating they weren’t dense, "As long as the seedlings weren’t hit directly, there should be no problem."

"Judging by this rain not looking to stop, flooding might occur again."

...

A young man drove away in a truck, humming a song along the way.

The good price for the family’s peppers was all thanks to him; just thinking about selling this truckload in the other province, his status would rise, and he felt great.

The price was much higher than the factory’s; their family certainly wasn’t foolish enough to sell at such a low price when there’s a higher one available.

Though the factory’s price wasn’t low, it was based on local market conditions, but compared to other provinces, theirs surely offered better prices.

People always strive for better, an age-old truth.

The sky suddenly turned dark; he glanced up, thinking heavy rain was imminent.

No villages were nearby, he wanted to find a place to park and shelter from rain but found none; he parked the truck aside and took an oiled paper to cover the pepper bags at the back.

Though not afraid of rain, moisture in the bags would spoil the peppers over time.

Just as he got out the oiled paper, the sky unleashed a torrential downpour, accompanied by hard objects falling—plunk, plunk, plunk—the sound of hail hitting the truck’s body was piercing.

He was shocked, damn, caught in a hailstorm.

His head was repeatedly hit by hail, painful enough to leave the goods and rush into the cab.

Sitting inside, he glanced at the goods behind, a single thought in his mind, gone, these peppers struck by hail won’t sell, even if they do, certainly losing more than half.

Damn it, this blind heaven, no better time to hail but now.

If only he could sell this truck first.

If he couldn’t make money, his dad would regret it deeply; fine, it’s like this, whatever happens, happens.

When heaven is against you, how can mere mortals resist?

After a nap in the truck, he woke to find the rain outside had finally stopped.

He dashed to check the half truckload of peppers.

Opening one bag, he saw the peppers outside were all mashed, only the ones in the middle were intact.

These peppers would require picking through for half a day before the buyer would accept them; the young man thought for a moment and decided to return home.

Back home, his dad opened the pepper bags to find many were broken or smashed.

These peppers, left overnight, would be spoiled tomorrow, producing a foul smell affecting other good peppers.

"Sigh, hoping to earn more, only for us to lose so much, the field’s seedlings likely have no yield either." After hail, it’s fortunate they aren’t dead; expecting the rest of the harvest is surely hopeless.

"Indeed, should’ve supplied the factory entirely," Auntie lamented.

"Business requires risks," the young man snorted, "Nothing worth grieving over."

...

After the rain stopped, Xiaofeng and Su Peng hit the road again.

The journey was much harder as they were worried if Uncle Zhang’s seedlings were damaged. Xiaofeng returned home and asked Su Peng to make a call to check.

The other side sounded delighted: "Strangely enough, the hailstones barely hit any seedlings, most are still intact; as long as there’s no more rain, they should be fine."

Thinking the hail would crush their newly found hope, they didn’t expect matters weren’t as dire as imagined; the seedlings magically dodged the hailstones, standing unaffected in the fields like before.

Su Peng hung up and smiled at Xiaofeng: "Uncle said it’s fine, the hail didn’t hit many seedlings, as long as there’s no flood, they should yield."

"Glad to hear, but this hail must’ve affected our other bases too, procurement needs boosting." Natural disasters inevitably impact yield.

"Hmm, I’ll figure something out."

...

Lan Zhihui entered the club cautiously, headed upstairs, and found the office where his sister was, opened the door, and saw no one inside, he found a spot to hide secretly.

He needed to see what his sister was doing here, whether she was involved in anything bad.

Grandma said, if his sister’s into bad acts, she should no longer be manager and return home.

He believed his sister wouldn’t do bad things, but knowing how society is filled with bad people, even if she doesn’t wish to, she might encounter them.

Many things were uncertain.

Hence, he must find out what his sister was doing here, and if there were any bad people around.

Not long after he hid, the office door opened again.

Lan Shuixian came in wearing high heels, followed by a man.

"Fairy Sister, we’ve done as you instructed."

"Well done. Here’s your reward." Lan Shuixian took out a stack of cash from the drawer and handed it to the man.

"You’ve got style, Fairy Sister." The man accepted the money, smiling at Lan Shuixian: "Sis, when’s the next batch?"

"Waiting for notification, don’t worry, you’ll be informed." She paused, her eyes sharp on the man: "Working for me, you know my rules."

"Of course, rest assured, our mouths are tight, nothing will be revealed that shouldn’t be seen or said."

"Good." Lan Shuixian’s lips curled with coldness: "Rest assured, if your work is good, I’ll speak well for you with Grandpa."

"Thank you, Fairy Sister."

Saying that, the man left, but through the rear door, not the entrance he came from.

Lan Shuixian sat on the chair, lit a cigarette, her phone rang, she answered intuitively.

"Grandpa." Lan Shuixian’s tone respectful.

"Did everything go smoothly this time?"

"Everything’s smooth."

"Lately the Gu Family has been focusing on the 319 case, which, for us, might not be a bad thing."

Lan Shuixian softly acknowledged.

"There’s another batch arriving the day after tomorrow, make sure they’re alert, this batch is crucial." A husky voice came through.

"Grandpa, are you planning a major operation?"

"When it’s time to act, one should act, or miss the chance."

"Grandpa speaks true."

"You’re sharp; I’m assured trusting you. Rest assured, once it’s done, you won’t be short-changed."

"I certainly trust Grandpa."

Hanging up, Lan Shuixian went out again.

Lan Zhihui hid behind the screen, fearing making any sound.

At this moment, his little brain couldn’t process any further.

Was Sis discussing business?

Reflecting on this, Sis is indeed working hard.

To negotiate deals one must be courteous.

Thinking of this, Lan Zhihui felt bad doubting his sister; with her hard work, family should be understanding.

Seeing the office vacant, he snuck out of the office.

Leaving the club, Lan Zhihui looked at the sky, decided to buy some buns to take home.

After buying buns and walking a short distance, several vagrant youths appeared out of nowhere, wordlessly taking away his buns.

Not only did they take his buns, they also wanted his money.

"Stop it, stop it." Lan Zhihui was restrained, unable to move, watching helplessly as his money and buns were snatched.

The older vagrant youth kicked Lan Zhihui a few times before leaving: "Kid, be smarter next time."

Lan Zhihui grabbed the youth’s leg fiercely, saying, "Give back my money, it’s my sister’s hard-earned money, return it."

"You looking for trouble." The bigger vagrant youth said, readying his other foot against him.

"Return my money, take the buns." Not wanting the buns, but must get the money back.

"Dream on."

"Hit him." The others returned, seeing Lan Zhihui clinging to the leader’s leg, provoking.

"Asking for death."

Punches rained down like raindrops on Lan Zhihui’s head, though he clung to the leg, shouting, "Give back my money, give back my money."