Chapter 15: The Misunderstanding

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Yu Yang ignored Zhang Hai and sat down to continue eating. He also took the opportunity to discuss renting a warehouse in the county with Sixth Uncle. Unexpectedly, a series of police sirens suddenly echoed from the direction of the provincial highway. Yu Yang hurriedly climbed onto the table to look out and was immediately struck by a sight unlike anything he had seen in recent years.

Police cars, road administration vehicles, military trucks… a grand procession numbering no fewer than twenty vehicles.

“Goodness, what kind of trouble have they gotten into?” Yu Yang murmured in amazement, about to jump down from the table when he saw Zhang Hai hurriedly dart into a plastic greenhouse, followed by a dozen men and several hunting dogs.

The men, young and old, who had been enjoying the feast in Yu’s village, now relied solely on bean sprouts for sustenance. Seeing the intruders were clearly hostile, they ignored the honored guests, picking up stools or brandishing kitchen knives. Even the respected old party secretary lifted his old Hanyang rifle.

Zhang Hai forced a sheepish smile, clasped his fists in greeting, and beckoned Yu Yang to come out and talk.

“Brother Yu…”

“Boss Zhang, I’ve already paid the money. If you come knocking again, it’ll be asking for trouble, won’t it?”

“It’s a misunderstanding, it’s like this…” Zhang Hai explained the chain of events on the highway. “I originally planned to go back and check on the driver, see if he was okay, but the police arrived too quickly. Judging by their numbers, they’re planning a serious crackdown. If I go back, I’ll definitely be arrested.”

“We all know each other well. If something like this happens to you, coming to me won’t help.”

“The semi-trailer on the highway was carrying nothing but bean sprouts. I heard you have a few outsiders here delivering bean sprouts, maybe you know them.”

“So you’re saying I should have my people talk to the semi-trailer driver, tell him we didn’t see you guys—that it was just slippery roads and snow that caused the accident?”

“Exactly. I’ll cover the losses on the semi-trailer.” Zhang Hai’s eyes were full of hope.

There was no other choice. The police had indeed arrived very quickly with a formidable force. If caught, they might be taken north for a firing squad without any inquiry.

Yu Yang knew his own business well—these burly men were not bean sprout delivery drivers.

Just as he was about to tell Zhang Hai to hide out for a few days, his younger cousin, who was broadcasting numbers through a loudspeaker at the small Western-style building, hurriedly entered the greenhouse, supporting a bleeding figure.

“Brother Sanyuan, Boss Han’s convoy has had an accident.”

“Hm?” Yu Yang looked toward the injured man—none other than Old Han, the vegetable vendor who had given him a soft Huaxia fish and hauled away 200 baskets of bean sprouts just yesterday.

Old Han lifted his head and, seeing Zhang Hai and the dozen young men with hunting dogs nearby, was slightly stunned. “Is that you?”

Zhang Hai was taken aback. “You’re the semi-trailer driver?”

Yu Yang didn’t trust Zhang Hai and gestured at Old Han. “What happened?”

“I hired a team of trucks from a brick kiln to deliver 200 baskets of bean sprouts to Quanpu yesterday. You know, everyone in Quanpu village is in the trailer business. One of the bosses, seeing how profitable bean sprouts are, put up three trailers and partnered with us to haul these 200 baskets to the capital.

“But when we got to our area, a group with dogs was standing by the road. I thought they were highway robbers, so I didn’t stop. But I was so nervous, plus the roads were slippery, and since I hadn’t driven a semi-trailer in a long time, I was a bit rusty. I gunned the engine, the trailer skidded, and the truck behind couldn’t brake in time—they crashed into each other.

“As soon as I stopped, I grabbed my phone and jumped out of the cab, calling the police and coming to our village for help.”

Zhang Hai clasped his fists again. “Brother, I really didn’t mean any harm. I was trying to catch highway robbers. If I’d seen the accident, I wouldn’t have run away—I would have gone up to help.”

At the end, he added, “Don’t worry, all losses will be on me, including medical expenses. I’ll even give 20,000 yuan to calm everyone down.”

Old Han didn’t respond, instead looking toward Yu Yang. Yu Yang glanced at Zhang Hai. Zhang Hai clasped his fists once more. “Brother Yu, make a guarantee, and once this is over…”

Before he could finish speaking, police sirens sounded from the village.

Soon, a group of green-uniformed, fully armed men surged into the alley.

Yu Yang patted Old Han’s shoulder. “Who else was in the vehicle?”

“Me and my brother-in-law. When the crash happened, he was sleeping. When I jumped out, he was probably still asleep.”

“We’re all on the same side. Just pretend you didn’t see Zhang Hai and the others. Later, priority supply of 1,000 baskets will go to you.”

“If we’re all on the same side, there’s no need to haggle over conditions.”

Old Han shouted, “Brother Yu, my truck flipped. Go check on the others. You know how they’re doing.”

At that moment, the chief of the Shiliying police station arrived at the greenhouse entrance, accompanied by a county military officer, several traffic police officers, road administration officials, and green-uniformed highway management personnel.

The Shiliying chief had already started writing reports after the first bean sprout delivery truck overturned. Since these deliveries were headed for the capital, every accident—from bean sprout trucks to buses, and even all 64 men claiming to have overturned—raised alarms.

The chief had recognized the gravity of the situation and made many calls for backup. Today, reinforcements had finally arrived, just in time to catch the crash site.

Seeing Yu Yang and the others, the chief was the first to speak.

“This injured comrade, you must be the semi-trailer driver from the highway?”

“Yes, the truck flipped, and I came down to seek help.”

“Do you need to go to the hospital for treatment?”

“No, just some scrapes.”

“Good. I’ll take up a bit of your time. Can you explain how the semi-trailer flipped?”

“I was driving, and it just flipped.”

“Were there any road bullies or robbers?”

“No. If there were, all three of my bean sprout trucks would have been robbed.”

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The chief sighed in relief and motioned that his questioning was done.

One of the highway management leaders spoke up, “Could you explain in detail how the accident happened?”

“I saw there was an uphill ahead, so I pressed the accelerator early. But the trailer skidded, and the truck behind couldn’t brake in time, so they crashed.”

“But this is flat land, no slopes here.”

“Maybe because of the snow, it looked like an incline to me. Or maybe my eyes were playing tricks.”

“Anything else unusual?”

“No, just don’t know how things are inside the truck.”

“All five people left inside the truck are fine; one of them was even still sleeping.”

During the conversation, a highway management clerk pulled out a construction blueprint.

“Reporting to leadership, the contract for section 385 was awarded to Dong Jian’s road and bridge company. During delivery, some specifications didn’t meet requirements, especially this bridge opening. The higher-ups demanded eight pillars be installed to form a bridge to facilitate future expansion of the provincial highway, but to save trouble, it was built like this instead.”

“So you’re suggesting that a problem with the bridge opening caused the roadbed to sink, creating a slope?”

“Hard to say. We need to investigate... but even if the roadbed sank, it wouldn’t cause so many accidents.”

“There haven’t been many, just a few vegetable delivery trucks.” The highway management leader clearly didn’t want to escalate the matter.

However, the road administration leader shook his head.

“Yes, not many accidents. But they’re delivering bean sprouts—especially in the dead of winter, supplying big supermarkets like Walmart, Metro, and RT-Mart in the capital.

“If a leader’s family member runs to the supermarket a few times and can’t get any bean sprouts, and they complain at dinner, the leader might take notice—and then the problem becomes serious.”

Everyone was stunned, then quickly realized the seriousness of the situation.

The road administration leader said, “Alright, first, arrest Dong Jian, the contractor for section 385.”

“Sir, Dong Jian’s father is with the city construction bureau…”

“I’ll coordinate with them. Dong Jian won’t be harmed, but someone has to be held accountable.”

At the end, the road administration leader sighed.

“This highway accident has almost become a catchphrase among vegetable vendors. I don’t even know which scoundrel started this.”

The county military officer, who had been silent all along, looked around the greenhouse curiously after the discussion ended.

“What’s being grown here?”

“Reporting, Commander, bean sprouts.”

“Bean sprouts?” The group, just finished talking, echoed in unison.

The Shiliying chief seized the chance to explain, “It’s like this: the first truck delivering bean sprouts to Walmart in the capital just flipped over while driving.”

Yu Yang nodded and called over his eldest and second brothers.

“Just those two,” he said.

The chief patted the eldest brother on the shoulder.

“The truck was dismantled, the vegetables were taken, and no one dared return home. So they stayed here, started planting bean sprouts in greenhouses, hoping to make money before going back.”

The road administration leader was overjoyed, grasping the eldest brother’s hand.

“You definitely should go back. There’s a semi-trailer on the highway with almost no damage, loaded full of bean sprouts. You’re leaving now!”

Eldest Brother: “???”

“Make sure they’re delivered to Walmart!”

“……”

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