Chapter Fifty-two

  "Twenty thousand catties of salt?" Looking at the list given to him by Ji Hongru, Sun Erdou's eyes widened, "Just this one item, it'll take over a dozen carts. Others can tell at a glance that this isn't something an ordinary person would want. Who still has the guts to do something like this now? If caught, they'll be beheaded!"

  "This isn't something that needs to be done in one day, I'm giving you a month's time, as long as it's all taken care of before the wheat harvest, that should be fine, right!" Xiao Ming smiled slyly at Sun Er Gou, "A country in trouble needs good generals, Brother Sun! You're always saying how capable you are, this is a great opportunity to prove your abilities! By the way, this mountain stronghold doesn't even have an official appointment letter, are you still just the deputy commander of the logistics company?"

  "This, of course, is still up to the master, you said so, right!" Sun Erdou's heart was racing, and he quickly found Wang Jindong to help him out.

  "Still? I don't remember at all! Why don't you go ahead and do it, and I'll think about it later." Wang Jinlong scratched his head, as if he didn't know what was going on.

  Sun Ergou was at a loss, and with a bitter face said: "Two bosses, can't I go? But let's talk about the ugly things first. In this situation, the price is definitely not good, it's probably just coarse salt grains. Even if we bring them back, they might only be used to make pickled vegetables. Do you still want them?"

  "Want! Pickled vegetables can also work!" Xiao Ming suddenly remembered another function of pickled mustard greens: anti-inflammatory! When he was a child in the countryside, there were mosquito bites and whatnot, they all used that rub, although at the time it was considered quite luxurious.

  "Alright! But how about the payment?" Sun Erdou still had the guts to haggle over the price, after all, he was doing this on his own.

  "Big smoke, big scars, and some more big smoke, you're really good at this!" Xiao Ming laughed.

  "This is a matter of two different households, salt merchants and tobacco merchants are two different things, direct exchange may not work!"

  "That's your problem, figure it out yourself!" Xiao Ming stood up and walked to Sun Er Gou, patted his shoulder and sighed: "Er Gou, I feel sorry for you! But this matter can only be handled by you, if Ma Liu and the others go, they will definitely mess it up! Be careful, your wife is pregnant, you can't afford to have an accident! After this matter is settled, I and Big Brother will go to your house to apologize to your wife!"

  Sun Ergou's face flushed with excitement, and he stood up straight, saying loudly: "How can I say this? My Ergouzi has become what it is today, all thanks to the two masters' kindness. How could I not be grateful?! Now that the Sun family has a good reputation, my parents in heaven must also be secretly delighted. Besides, no matter what, I have to let my children know that their father is a real man! This matter is left to me, if it's not done well, you can take my head!"

  "We don't want your dog head, and we don't have time to coax children. You should take care of yourself and not force it!" Xiao Ming smiled and turned around, ordering Shan Wazi, "Go tell Ma Liu to bring people to fully cooperate with Sun Lianchang. If anything goes wrong, tell him not to come back!"

  Sun Erdou and Shan Wawa left, Wang Jindong was not without worry: "Brother, Erdou made sense, nowadays those who do this kind of thing have their heads tucked in their pants, besides Erdou hasn't been in contact with those people for many years, nothing will happen, right?"

  "Big brother, don't worry, Sun Er Gou won't go find those people from before, he must have gone to join the guerrilla army!" Xiao Ming smiled, "This guerrilla army has always been on good terms with the Japanese, they don't interfere with each other. However, this time they might get punished, after all, last time they blocked a shot for us, they will definitely raise their price! Moreover, their commander is not a thrifty person, he's the kind of person who would dig up his own ancestors' graves for money, I'm afraid he'll see an opportunity and harm Sun Er Gou!"

  "What can we do? We can't just sit back and watch them take risks, can we?"

  "Alright, let's have the Sichuan army stay and guard Hulu Valley, while the third battalion will escort them along the way!" Xiao Ming said after some thought.

  "Sixzi, help your brother up. Ah, look at my waist and legs..." Sun Erdou seized the opportunity, of course, he wouldn't let Ma Liu off easily.

  "Alright, Master Dog! You just sit tight, we're off!" Ma Liu helped Sun Er Gou onto the horse-drawn carriage.

  "Hmm, not bad, still the two masters' heartache, just this small matter, and they're serving you! Liu Zi, follow your brother and do a good job, there's benefits for you, see which girl you like, and I'll ask your sister-in-law to talk to her for you!" Sun Er Gou's carriage was simply renovated with the addition of a backrest and armrests, leaning against it, he looked exactly like a coachman.

  "It's all thanks to your support! Dog Master, which way shall we go?"

  "Out of the gourd valley, go to Lin City to find the guerrilla army!" Sun Er Gou raised his hand lazily and said. He thought about it for half a day, this matter still had to be handled by the guerrilla army, finding others would easily lead to trouble.

  The head of the military supplies department heard that Sun Erdou had come to see him, and he hastily came out to greet him. From a distance, he called out: "Ah, Brother Sun, long time no see! What wind has blown you here!" The people of Feihu Fort were generous with their money, and this time it was undoubtedly the god of wealth coming to their door!

  "Haha, old brother has recently become rich." Sun Erdou laughed and said, "Brother, I only visit the Temple of Three Treasures when there's something going on! If there's good news, let me know!"

  At a glance at the list, the section chief's forehead also sweated: "Brother Sun, this is not a small number, I have to ask for instructions from the army commander! However, what are you preparing to trade with?"

  "Great smoke! With these two moves, can't Brother still get a bit more?" Sun Erdou leaned in close to the long-eared one's ear, "Of course, I also won't forget your kindness, brother!"

  "Alright, alright, you sit for a while first, I'll go ask the higher-ups now!" The quartermaster's eyes sparkled with a smile as he bustled off.

  The time was not long, and the director turned back again, smiling at Sun Erdou: "Okay, the military commander agreed. However, Brother Sun, you know that in this situation now, many things are priceless, and the price is..."

  "Old brother, you're not thinking of taking advantage of me, are you? After all these years of friendship, I, Old Sun, have never taken advantage of you! This little thought won't escape Sun Er Gou's notice, and he's already prepared to take the hit, but even if he loses out, it has to be in a fair fight."

  "Brother Sun, don't be too serious. How could we possibly overcharge you? It's just that things are not easy to get these days! You know, the Japanese army attacked our base recently and we had a messy battle with them. They're still holding a grudge against us. The Japanese are keeping a close eye on us now." The director looked around cautiously before continuing in a low voice: "Besides, you guys made a big profit from the last operation in Shanxi City, didn't you? That opium must have come from there. Our commander is a bit jealous... Ah, brother, I'm also having a hard time!"

  "Then let's just forget I came, big brother. Another day, I'll treat you to a drink, I'm off!" With that, Sun Erdou stood up and left.

  "Hey, hey, Brother Sun, slow down!" The director hastily stopped Sun Erdou, "You misunderstood my meaning! I'm saying, can't we first get the goods and then handle it afterwards? We'll directly hand over the goods to you, and make up for any shortage or excess. After all, this amount is too large, what do you think?"

  "Then let's just say goodbye! I can't make decisions on this matter, and the master of the house won't agree either. I'll go check out other houses instead. With a pig head in hand, it shouldn't be hard to find another temple entrance!" Sun Er Gou pretended to leave.

  "Alright, Old Sun, I've taken on this task, but the price is fixed, so don't try to haggle. After all, I'm taking the risk here!" With that, the director scribbled a few lines on the list and handed it over to Sun Erdog.

  Sun Ergou took a look and said, "Old brother, you're taking advantage of the situation! We're bandits, but you guys are even more ruthless than us! Alright, considering our past relationship, I'll let it go this time. However, you have to make sure everything is complete, don't leave me in a difficult position, or else I won't know how to explain it to the boss when I get back!"

  "Don't worry about this, they are all top-notch goods. Once the goods are ready, I'll personally deliver them to you. How's that, isn't it a good deal?"

  "That's a good attitude, if your brother is willing to condescend, I will definitely show my appreciation! See you later!" But in his heart, Sun Erdou was cursing: "You little brat, you're probably selling things from your own unit!"

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, in just a few days, the head of the military supplies department arrived at Flying Tiger Fort with a large convoy. After the handover was completed, Sun Er Gou handed over 30 kilograms of opium to the director and said very sincerely: "Old brother, this is for you, it's just a small token of our appreciation!" He also took out several antiques, "This is for your military commander when you return, it's a little something from our family, hoping that in the future we can take care of each other, after all, we are all Chinese people!"

  The head of the military supplies department, Qian En Wan Xie, patted his chest and said: "Old Sun, please rest assured that from now on we are like brothers. If there's anything in this territory, just speak up and we'll take care of it!" Sun Er Gou almost spat it out, but still politely sent him off.

  What was thought to be a troublesome matter was settled in no time, and Ma Liu and the others were full of admiration. However, Sun Er Gou couldn't muster up any excitement because this time they spent more than twice the usual price, and who knows how the master will deal with himself.

  Who would have thought that Xiao Ming was not convinced, laughing and saying: "Money is not something to be eaten or drunk, maybe in the future there will be money but no place to spend it!" As he patted Sun Er Gou's shoulder, "Well done! Deputy Commander Sun, I'll give you another task."

  Sun Ergou's heart was filled with joy, and he stood up straight, saying loudly: "Master, just give the order, whatever it is!"

  "Go home and take good care of your wife!"

  Now that the supplies have been purchased, Wang Jinlong asked what to do next. Xiao Ming thought for a moment and said: "Grain! The wheat harvest is about to begin, but this year is different from previous years. After Old Mu Village left, these Japanese are really not particular! I heard that Liu's big courtyard was occupied by the Japanese, I think there will be trouble collecting grain this time!"

  "The Japanese have occupied the Liu family's compound? What are we going to do? We can't let those little Japanese get away with it!" Wang Jinlong widened his eyes, "Or else, we'll take the initiative and destroy their stronghold for them?"

  "No, it's too early to make a move, we might attract the attention of the Japanese. Block the road and we won't even get a single grain of food! Let's keep them for now and have Old Cat and the others go scout out the situation first!"

  The Night Cat went for a few days and came back to report: "The Japanese army drove Liu Dainai to live in the ancestral hall, occupied the Liu family's big yard, usually with one class of Japanese troops and one row of puppet troops stationed there. However, over the past two days, there have been signs of reinforcements, seemingly wanting to use the Liu family's big yard as a base for grain collection."

  "Is that thing still there?" Xiao Ming suddenly asked.

  "It should still be there, I secretly asked Liu Dainai and she said the Japanese army didn't look for her, it seems it hasn't been exposed yet!"

  "Alright, this time the grain requisition, no, it's a grain grab, all depends on it!"