Chapter 13#

In the early 90s in China, highways were still the stuff of dreams. Except for the pitiful 300-kilometer Shenyang-Dalian Expressway, the only one in the country, most drivers had no concept of “two-way four-lane” roads. Complex road conditions, disrepair, and poor connections between provincial and national roads were the real situation facing long-distance transport. Therefore, in this era, anyone with the means preferred to take the train for long trips rather than bump their butts on cement and asphalt roads.

Just after passing a section of provincial road, the scarred man let out a long sigh of relief. Even avoiding most of the unpaved country roads, this journey was not pleasant. Every time they passed a pothole or a bridge, he couldn’t help but turn his head to look back, hoping that the ropes tying the goods were strong enough to secure those precious electrical appliances. This was a sunny day. If they were unlucky enough to encounter the rainy season, the canopy and tarpaulin would be a bigger test, and the anxiety would be more than ordinary.

But fortunately, the driver this time was really good. Glancing at the young man beside him, the scarred man was finally a little convinced. Starting from the early morning, they had driven for nearly ten hours. Except for one meal and one refueling stop, they hadn’t rested for more than a few minutes. With such high-intensity driving, this kid didn’t complain at all, and even the expression on his face didn’t change much. He didn’t know whether to say he was honest or glad that he hadn’t been made slick by society yet. You know, in these years, being a driver was a popular iron rice bowl. People were too busy pampering them, and no one dared to make trouble for the masters driving expensive cars worth tens of thousands of yuan.

Looking at the road signs on the side of the road, they were almost at the border of Chenzhou, which should be their first delivery point.

“Xiao Chen, turn right at the next intersection, we should be there.”

He didn’t say where they were going, and Chen Yuanming didn’t care. He followed the other’s instructions and drove onto a relatively flat dirt road. About 20 minutes later, a small village appeared in front of them.

“The third house west of the village entrance, stop outside the door.”

The playful expression on the way slowly faded, and the scarred man sat up straight, paying attention to the surrounding situation. Since they were doing smuggling trade, they had to be extra careful about the handover of goods. This was not the smuggling paradise of Zhuhai. The further inland they went, the greater the crackdown on reselling. Both parties to the delivery had to avoid densely populated large and medium-sized cities, and also ensure that the receiving location was not too remote. Both sides had reliable people present to prevent someone from being too greedy and swallowing everything. In their small network, Chenzhou was just an appetizer.

A few minutes later, the truck stopped outside a small courtyard. The scarred man jumped out of the car and knocked on the door panel with a rhythmic beat. With a creak, the door opened. A head popped out from inside. It was a round-headed boy, estimated to be less than 12 years old. He looked left and right before opening the gate. The scarred man waved to Chen Yuanming, and the big truck slowly drove into the courtyard.

This small courtyard was even smaller than the one where they loaded the goods. There was only a simple shed on the side of the courtyard, not even a warehouse. After parking the truck, the scarred man didn’t greet Chen Yuanming to unload the goods, but called him down from the car, put his arm around his shoulder, and dragged him all the way to the side room in the north of the courtyard.

This was a temporary brick house, only ten square meters in size. The furnishings in the room were quite simple: a small round table, a wooden bed, and a few toiletries. At this time, there was a bowl of steaming rice on the dining table, and two hot dishes, one meat and one vegetable. They were probably kept warm in the pot and were still steaming. The scarred man pressed Chen Yuanming onto the stool, smiled and pointed to the thermos bottle by the table, “Eat first! Only plain water today. We have to continue driving tomorrow, so no alcohol for now.”

“I don’t drink.” Looking at the only pair of chopsticks and bowl on the table, Chen Yuanming replied lightly and sat down to eat. After ten hours of continuous driving, his nerves were extremely tense. Coupled with the cold rice at noon that even a dog would despise, he was really exhausted now. A hot meal was the best thing.

Seeing Chen Yuanming’s calm attitude, the scarred man grinned and patted the boy’s shoulder. Not curious, not talkative, not meddling—there was no partner more worry-free than this.

“I’ll go out and do something first. If you’re tired later, just go to sleep.” The scarred man pointed to the simple bed on the side again. “I won’t be back tonight. We’ll hit the road at 7 tomorrow morning.”

Chen Yuanming’s mouth was full of food, looking like he was starving, but he just nodded to show he heard. The scarred man smiled slightly, patted the other’s shoulder again, turned and walked out the door.

When the scarred man’s figure disappeared outside the door, Chen Yuanming slowed down his chewing speed, narrowed his eyes slightly, and scanned the entire room. It was still early, probably only 5 or 6 o’clock, but the room was quite dim. The only window was under the beam, only a foot wide, and didn’t let in much light. The door faced the courtyard wall, making it impossible to spy on anything in the courtyard. Along the way, Chen Yuanming had also chatted with the scarred man intermittently. Although this man seemed chatty and liked to brag, he never spoke carelessly about truly important matters. He had carefully probed a few times but found no clues.

However, after two days of observation, this smuggling gang was quite different from what he had heard from the Fujianese man in his previous life. In his vague impression, now was not the golden time for smuggling TVs. The consumption tax reform on TV sales in the late 1980s, and the upcoming abolition of the dual-track price system and the liberalization of the market economy in the early 1990s, had plunged the once-thriving TV resale industry into a trough. He remembered reading a relevant introduction in a book in his previous life, telling the story of a well-known entrepreneur who wanted to make a fortune by reselling TVs but ended up losing his shirt. Presumably, in these two years, the TV-related industry would undergo major changes.

At this time, the Ma Lei brothers only had three trucks in total. Like their trip, the truck was only loaded with 200 or 300 color TVs and dozens of audio sets, all Japanese-made. Even if calculated at the highest profit, each unit would only bring in a few hundred yuan. If a truckload of goods was sold smoothly, the maximum profit would be no more than 100,000 yuan. He heard that the return trip would also be a color TV business, but it would be a well-known domestic brand, making a difference through the dual-track system and evading TV taxes. A round trip like this would bring in a profit of 200,000 to 300,000 yuan.

However, smuggling and reselling both required costs. Bribing people, building connections, and paving the way—a large amount of money would be invested in maintaining interpersonal relationships. Doing this year after year, earning four or five million a year would be no problem. But in this place where money could be made like crazy and the southeast coast was full of wealthy upstarts, they were far from being “somebody.” In two years, the TV industry would decline, and it would be even harder to get rich. This was not like the powerful guys in the north who traded with Russia and could eat this bowl of rice for a long time. The competition in the south was so fierce that it was not easy to get ahead.

But in the mouth of that Fujianese foreman, these two were quite capable. Until they were imprisoned in 1996, their business had expanded to Nanjing. Because the business was too big, a small fry like him had the chance to slip through the net and not be implicated in the case.

Following the scarred man all the way today, Chen Yuanming found that their business was far from that scale. There could be two reasons: first, they had just started and hadn’t found the real way to make money; second, the real business was not exposed on the surface, and the Fujianese man was just a peripheral small fry who could only see the surface. As Chen Yuanming thought, it might be a combination of both.

But… swallowing the food in his mouth, he withdrew his gaze and smiled self-deprecatingly. No matter what business they were doing, not contacting or going deep was the best choice for him. Now this Zhuhai city was just a stepping stone for him to start. If he used too much force and fell into the water, the loss would outweigh the gain. It was better to focus on his own plan.

Having figured this out, Chen Yuanming didn’t delay. After finishing dinner, he threw himself on the bed. Sleepiness came quickly this time. Maybe he was numb from driving during the day, and even nightmares didn’t come to find him. He slept smoothly until dawn.

Early the next morning, when he got up from the bed, the smell of food wafted in from outside. Walking out of the room, he saw a small table set up in the courtyard. The scarred man was holding his forehead with a painful expression, bickering with the boy beside him. Seeing Chen Yuanming come out, he wailed.

“Hurry up and eat! I threw up twice yesterday after being forced to drink. Look at this unlucky child causing trouble…” He waved his hand at the child like shooing a fly. “Get lost! Or I’ll tell your dad to beat you!”

Although he looked like he had a hangover, the man looked calm, as if nothing had happened last night. It was obvious that a section of the cargo on the truck in the distance was missing, presumably transported away directly at night. Chen Yuanming glanced at it and withdrew his gaze, nodded, sat down and started eating.

Half an hour later, the blue new Jiefang truck drove out of this small courtyard and headed for the next location.

They stopped twice more on the way. One time was in a small village like this, and the other time they simply slept in the car for a night. After tossing and turning until the third day, they finally arrived at the terminal of this trip, Wuhan City. At this time, the goods on the car were almost gone. They didn’t stop in a remote small village as usual, but chose to stay in a hotel on the outskirts of Wuhan.

“Ah Ming, you stay here for two days and have a good rest. I’ll go to the city to get some goods first, and we’ll hit the road again when the goods are ready.” After getting along day and night for a few days, the scarred man had already changed his address. At this time, he greeted him extremely appropriately, “You can go out and play if you want. Here is your overtime pay for the trip. Take it and have fun first. You’re young, don’t always stay cooped up in the room.”

Two hundred yuan was stuffed into his pocket. The scarred man winked at Chen Yuanming, shook the car keys, and swaggered out of the hotel. With no one to accompany him and no extra tasks, Chen Yuanming exhaled. It was time to go out for a stroll.