Chapter 78: What You Think Isn’t Important!

Liu Erdan put down the tea mug in his hand and looked at Hou San, asking, “San’er, you knew about this too?”

“I knew, I knew. It’s just as Brother Dong said.”

Hou San nodded repeatedly. They had already discussed this on the way back. No matter who asked, this would be their story.

Even though Liu Erdan was his own brother-in-law, he wouldn’t tell the truth.

His Brother Dong had reminded him several times on the way. They were making money by relying on an information barrier. Once outsiders figured out the whole story, they wouldn’t be able to make money anymore.

Well, he still hadn’t figured out what “information barrier” meant.

Liu Erdan gave a thumbs-up and praised, “Dongzi, you’ve really brought honor to us Beijing men with this! Don’t worry, next month I’ll arrange a good shift for you and Hou San.”

“Team Leader, there’s no need for now. The doctor at Tongrentang said this medicine needs to be taken for three consecutive months.”

Li Xiangdong refused Liu Erdan’s kind offer. From July to October was the prime time for trading crickets.

How could one month be enough?

He had to run this route for at least these three months first!

Liu Erdan stood up, walked over to Li Xiangdong, and patted his shoulder very hard. “Righteous! Dongzi, what you’ve done is truly righteous!”

“Team Leader, please don’t praise me like that.”

Li Xiangdong was already feeling a little guilty. It seemed the secrecy level for their cricket trading business needed to be raised. Liu Erdan and Wang Dahai must not find out.

“What’s wrong with praising you a little? I was even thinking of reporting this to the leadership!”

Liu Erdan was now more and more satisfied with Li Xiangdong. He had good character, didn’t care about money, and most importantly, he was one of their own.

He had to be nurtured well. Maybe in the future, his own position as team leader would be passed on to Li Xiangdong.

“Hehe.”

Li Xiangdong forced a smile. He felt like he was about to have a stomach cramp. This absolutely could not be reported. He really couldn’t handle it!

Just as he was about to break down and confess, Liu Erdan suddenly sighed.

“Ai, what a pity. The starting point of this matter is not easy to publicize. In the end, this is just a matter between you young friends. Otherwise, with the incident from a few days ago, you would definitely have received a commendation from the section.”

Seeing that Li Xiangdong’s expression wasn’t good, he comforted, “Dongzi, don’t be too discouraged. I’ll find some time to have a good chat with my father-in-law about this and see if we can publicize it for you from another angle.”

“No need, Team Leader! Please don’t!”

Li Xiangdong shook his head repeatedly. He wasn’t Hou San. He didn’t care about commendations. Right now, he just wanted to dispel Liu Erdan’s idea.

“Team Leader, I just started working in our section. It’s not good to be too high-profile. Besides, this matter is ultimately my friend’s private family affair. It wouldn’t sound good if it got out.”

Hearing this, Liu Erdan frowned. He had indeed overlooked this. They could protect a nail that sticks out, but doing so would indeed give outsiders the impression that he was stepping on his friend to get ahead.

Although the matter didn’t work out, it wasn’t without other gains.

At the very least, Liu Erdan felt that he had discovered other shining points in Li Xiangdong.

For example, being steady and acting with integrity…

“Good man! Dongzi, you’re very good. No wonder my father-in-law entrusted Hou San to you.”

Hou San, who had been silent on the side, heard this and asked with a puzzled look, “Brother-in-law, is that what my dad said? I remember my dad said he wanted me to take care of Brother Dong? Why do I feel that’s not right?”

“Hmm, is that so?”

Liu Erdan was still feeling sorry for Li Xiangdong. Hearing Hou San’s words without thinking, he blurted out, “What you think isn’t important…”

Hou San: “…”

Li Xiangdong: “…”

“Ai~ no!”

Liu Erdan reacted as soon as the words left his mouth, realizing he had accidentally spoken his mind. He quickly tried to backtrack, “San’er, what your brother-in-law means is, what you’re thinking isn’t important. You and Dongzi are partners, it’s the same whoever takes care of whom.”

“Oh~”

Hou San rubbed his nose, “I thought you looked down on me, brother-in-law.”

“No, no, San’er, don’t overthink it. You’re the apple of our old Hou family’s eye.”

“Me, your second brother-in-law, and your two sisters, who doesn’t dote on you from the bottom of their hearts? You’re a smart kid, you definitely know that what your brother-in-law is saying is from the heart.”

Liu Erdan was now saying whatever sounded nice. His wife’s nails were a bit long, and she had a special love for twisting the soft flesh on his body. He was afraid that because of his slip of the tongue just now, he would have another fight with his wife when he got home.

It was too much of a loss…

Hearing these words, Hou San blushed and said shyly, “Brother-in-law, Brother Dong is still here. Why are you saying what’s in your heart? It’s so embarrassing.”

Li Xiangdong: “…”

“Ahem~”

Liu Erdan changed the subject, “Let’s talk business. You two just got back from Tianjin. You should be resting. But you two also agreed to take over the Shandong route for Uncle Hai and Erguaizi, so you’ll have to work back-to-back.”

“The train leaves at six tomorrow morning. You two come early. You can’t be late.”

Liu Erdan then told the two the return time and some precautions for the road.

“Alright, if there’s nothing else, you can go home. I still have some things to do, so I won’t accompany you two.”

After Liu Erdan left, Li Xiangdong said to Hou San, “You stay here for a bit. I’m going to see if Ah Zhe is back.”

Without waiting for Hou San’s reply, he pushed the door open and went out.

“Usually not paying attention to ideological education, not grasping the construction of the group branch, not listening to the radio, not reading the newspaper, not improving personal quality and cultivation, no wonder they could do such a shameful thing…”

Standing outside the crew team’s office, Li Xiangdong heard the voice from inside. He had intended to push the door open and call for someone, but he turned and walked back.

“Hou San, the crew team is having a small meeting. When Ah Zhe comes over, tell him to send 5 packages of my share of the dough twists to my home.”

“As for the rest, let him decide for himself. He’ll know what I mean. I’m going to check the price of crickets in our Beijing now.”

He was taking over for Wang Dahai and Erguaizi to go to Shandong tomorrow. Time was tight, and Li Xiangdong felt it was necessary to scout the path now.

“I know, Brother Dong.”

Hou San put down his legs, which were propped up on the desk, stood up, and looked at Li Xiangdong. He had never been exposed to these things before, and his face was full of curiosity and anticipation. “Do you need me to go with you?”

“No need for now. Your task now is to help me pass the message to Ah Zhe.”

Worried that Hou San would overthink it, Li Xiangdong explained, “I’m just going to check the market now. When we start trading, I’ll definitely let you come along.”

He then started to change his clothes and took out a flashlight from his locker.

The train was at six tomorrow morning, which meant he had to get up at four. It would be dark outside, so he would definitely need a flashlight.

Li Xiangdong quickly walked to the station square, got on a bus, and headed straight for the White Pagoda Temple in Fuchengmen.