Chapter 14: The Banquet and Zhang Hai

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Yu Family Village had only two production teams, totaling fewer than two hundred households. The first team was certainly under the village chief’s influence, with a larger population; otherwise, they wouldn’t be so dominant. The second team, where Yu Yang lived, was located in the northwest of the village. It had fewer people, mostly elderly widows, the weak, or those who had returned from elsewhere.

Now, with the expansion of the makeshift plastic greenhouses, they had recruited a few junior high school graduates and a dozen or so returning bricklayers from the second team. Sixth Uncle went to order large tractor trailers and brought along ten unlicensed drivers. Many others who had gone out to work had not returned yet.

In reality, the second team had very little labor left, barely enough to recruit a few young wives and a dozen older women. Therefore, Yu Yang did not reject people from the village chief’s side and immediately hired ten honest, trouble-free men, along with their wives. Among them was the village chief’s second cousin.

With sufficient manpower, work naturally began. Strong men first entered the eastern section of the plastic greenhouse to plant bean sprouts. Female workers learned how to trim the sprouts outside, while male workers donned gloves to clean out the manure. When the strong men moved to the central section, the female workers moved into the eastern section to harvest and pack the sprouts. Male workers lined up to transport them outside and helped vegetable vendors load the trucks. When strong men entered the western section, female workers moved to the central section, male workers continued transporting, and the older men spread manure in the eastern section.

This way, efficiency increased three to fourfold, and the queue of waiting vegetable vendors visibly shortened. Unfortunately, the plastic greenhouse on the northern wasteland was not yet completed, so they only managed one round of work before stopping.

Still, the male and female workers, as well as the old men who cleaned manure, each earned a wage of ten yuan. Everyone was delighted.

As noon approached, Yu Yang bought three pigs and dozens of chickens from the village, and hired a master cook who had just finished a funeral in Ten Mile Camp, renting tables, chairs, and cooking utensils. Then, he converted the hastily built earth kiln on the northern wasteland into a clay stove, moved the tables and chairs into the newly built plastic greenhouse, and held the feast on the spot.

Surprisingly, this makeshift plastic greenhouse was indeed very practical. Outside, light snow drifted, but inside, it was warm and cozy. Especially with over a hundred people, plus children just out of school, the atmosphere was lively beyond description.

At that moment, the respected but usually uninvolved old party branch secretary from the village called Yu Yang over. “Village Chief, arrange for two people to hang this banner up.”

Yu Yang knew he had been mistaken for someone else again but still had his elder brother take the banner and unfold it.

“Warm hospitality at Yu Family Village, welcoming guests from all corners!”

“Fine words, beautiful calligraphy!”

“Hang it up!”

Afterward, Yu Yang thought of the vegetable vendors still waiting in line and invited them to join the feast. He also didn’t forget to arrange for a few people to watch the vehicles, so nothing would be stolen after the meal.

The old branch secretary cheerfully found a seat. “It’s been a long time since it’s been this lively.”

Indeed, the first and second teams had been at odds for years, never mingling even during weddings or funerals. Sitting together like this was unprecedented.

...

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During the feast.

“San Yuan, have you noticed that our bean sprouts taste much better than those grown in summer?”

“Really?”

Yu Yang had previously tasted Aunt Six’s stir-fried bean sprouts, which were exceptionally delicious. But ever since his rebirth, everything tasted better to him, including steamed buns, meat-filled flatbread, and mutton soup. He thought it was because this era had no industrial pollution or genetic alterations. After drinking with Sixth Uncle, he hadn’t given it much thought. Now, upon closer tasting...

Indeed, although they didn’t have the town center, their base was still a kind of agricultural hub. How could the bean sprouts produced there taste bad?

After pondering, Yu Yang felt even more confident about their bean sprouts conquering large supermarkets. He immediately raised his glass and called for everyone to drink it all at once.

After some eating and drinking, Sixth Uncle and his men returned, driving five tractors. Each had two trailers, and the cabs were fitted with small cabins. They looked capable of running on highways.

But these days, most agricultural machines weren’t registered, and the drivers had no licenses; even if they could run, they wouldn’t be allowed on the highway.

After a while, Sixth Uncle parked the vehicles, walked into the plastic greenhouse, pulled out a brown leather bag, and took out what appeared to be half a brick.

No, it was a giant old-style mobile phone.

Yu Yang was puzzled. “Shouldn’t you have bought a smartphone?”

“Smartphones are too small. Holding this feels more impressive.”

“I’m always out and about; I can’t just carry a brick around all the time.”

“Master Zhao, who often follows you, carries one.”

“He’s not a bodyguard.”

“San Yuan, now that we have money and Ten Mile Camp is so chaotic, I’m going to Shaolin Temple to recruit a few professionals for you.”

“Forget it.”

No matter how professional, they couldn’t beat strong men.

Yu Yang took the giant phone, glanced at the number, and sent his younger cousin to the small Western-style building to use a loudspeaker to announce to the vegetable vendors. From now on, anyone who needed a large order could call ahead. Small orders weren’t worth the call—they wouldn’t even cover the phone bill.

Then Yu Yang called Sixth Uncle.

“Fill all ten trailers tonight. You and the drivers go to the county’s agricultural wholesale market and see how much we can sell.”

“Leave it to me, Uncle. You can rest assured.”

At that moment...

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Yu Yang’s elder cousin, who had been serving the dishes, whispered in his ear, “Brother San Yuan, just now Zhang Hai came by with over ten brothers and several dogs, heading north.”

“Zhang Hai?!”

...

Zhang Hai was a notorious “big shot” in Ten Mile Camp. In Hong Kong or gangster films, he’d be called a boss or a kingpin. He had fought in the South Vietnam battlefield early on as a scout, killing many enemies. After retiring, he chose to work independently and received a substantial resettlement payment.

When he returned to his hometown in Ten Mile Camp, to make a living, Zhang Hai started a private lending business. Because he was tough and loyal, he won over many idle men and ruffians, and with some comrades joining him, his business grew larger and larger. Eventually, he became a respected figure in many nearby villages and even the county town, earning deference from several local bosses.

Of course, Zhang Hai never thought of himself as a gangster; he was a genuine farmer. Whenever there were weddings or funerals in the village, he would take the lead without asking for a cent, just to earn a good reputation. He also contributed a great deal to local security and maintenance of the western highway. At least along the Ten Mile Camp stretch, there were no robbers.

However, recently, sellers of bean sprouts in several surrounding townships had been complaining about frequent highway accidents. Especially the night before last, some reckless person robbed a vehicle on the highway, causing a bus to overturn.

This shamed Zhang Hai, so he deployed over ten brothers and brought several hunting dogs to stake out the highway, hoping to catch the culprit.

Unexpectedly, the highway, where sometimes not a single vehicle passed for ten minutes, suddenly saw three semi-trailers coming through.

Then the lead vehicle braked sharply upon seeing the crowd, and the following vehicles skidded on the snow and crashed into each other.

What to do?

They had to run. They weren’t part of the highway patrol.

...

“Zhang Hai?!”

Yu Yang stood up and walked to the edge of the plastic greenhouse, looking toward the snowy north. “Maybe they went chasing rabbits.”

Old Yu had once borrowed fifty thousand yuan from Zhang Hai to build a brick kiln. After deducting the upfront interest and adding compound interest, following the customary repayment rule, Yu Yang had directly paid sixty thousand yuan.

Although the interest was high, it was owed money, so there was no dispute between them.

Suddenly, the sound of sirens came from the direction of the provincial road.

Yu Yang climbed onto a table to look out and immediately saw a scene unlike anything he had ever witnessed in these times: police cars, road enforcement vehicles, military trucks...