CHAPTER 434: CHAPTER 434 TREASURE DIGGER

Zhao Guangran felt that the sky has been so blue lately, and his mood so good.

It’s not just because he did well in the school finals this time, just hitting the score Zhao Xuran required. More importantly, Zhao Guangran suddenly discovered that he had become popular again.

In the past, Zhao Guangran worried that no little friends would come to play with him, but now he’s troubled about whom to hang out with.

Gong Ruini yawned and slowly climbed up, unsurprised to see Zhao Guangran sitting on the kang with a worried look, "You’re not going out yet."

Today really is a rare day; usually, Gong Ruini would see Zhao Guangran only by nightfall.

What, you mean lunch? Please, when they go out, they never fret about lunch. Ice fishing on the river, and after catching fish, they grill them straight away. At the very least, grab some corn from home, and then you can roast corn. Essentially, recently Zhao Guangran has been living as leisurely as it gets.

"I’m not going out today. Sigh, I’m just too popular; even having fish every day gets boring." Zhao Guangran proudly declared his popularity, making it hard to decide who to go out with, so he might as well rest today.

Gong Ruini looked at Zhao Guangran’s smug face, feeling as if he was flaunting it to her, as if saying she was not sociable enough; otherwise, why wouldn’t anyone call her out to play?

Staring at the boastful Zhao Guangran, Gong Ruini really wanted to say, why are you even showing off? In future, you’d just be a managerial level, but I’m someone who devises big strategies, at least at the general manager level.

People of different classes needn’t get upset over such trivial matters.

Zhao Xuran came in from outside. Although the household’s main pillars were gone, the business still had to be run. Fresh chives were cut, and Cai Ming went with Dazhu to deliver the goods.

Later, this business would be Dazhu’s, so it’s essential to get him familiar. Whether he can maintain this relationship depends on Dazhu himself.

Gong Tao worried that Dazhu was too honest and might not keep the relationship, but Gong Ruini felt Dazhu doing this business was good. So what if he’s honest? Those sophisticated people have met many who are slick. They may appreciate someone earnest like Dazhu.

Besides, they just supply some food, not big items. Gong Ruini felt there wouldn’t be any problems.

If it weren’t about fostering a good relationship for potential cooperation about using military factory vehicles for transportation, this business’s continuation wouldn’t even be considered.

"Brother Xu Ran, do you think it would be possible, after September, to get some new rice when it’s harvested?" Gong Ruini thought Northeast rice was especially fragrant, and selling it in Beijing should be no problem.

What Gong Ruini lamented was the absence of land distribution to households; otherwise, they could have marketed grain extensively in Beijing. Fortunately, Brother Dazhu was diligent; knowing where Zhao Gang used to farm, he found ways to get grain seeds, planning to plant on the mountain after spring begins.

As for the grains, Zhao Gang and Dazhu agreed on purchasing at the black market price in the city, but Dazhu disagreed. Gong Ruini didn’t inquire about the final price. She knew that she needn’t worry about running out of rice in Beijing, nor quality rice.

Yet these grains could be for personal consumption, but not enough for business, and that’s Gong Ruini’s concern.

Acquiring new rice is challenging. Zhao Xuran knew that even telling Li Jian Country wouldn’t necessarily get his consent. It’s not about money; it’s about the current policy where grains can’t be sold to private individuals on a whim.

"Forget it, I’ll ask Erya if her family could sell us some rice." Gong Ruini suddenly thought of someone, maybe solving this problem a bit through them.

Erya’s family? Would they have rice? Zhao Xuran only knew Erya’s family had a lot of members, and the brigade’s ration was just enough to eat. How could they sell any?

"They might have some privately cultivated land." Gong Ruini wasn’t going to mention it, but after some thought, decided to speak up.

It’s not surprising for Erya’s family to have some privately cultivated land on the mountain. The Northeast is mountainous, especially the Red Flag Brigade, advantageously situated though remote. People were reluctant to come here, but it’s not far from neighboring villages if you hike over the mountains. Moreover, where there are many mountains, there are many animals; if one cultivates land under the radar, a family’s food supply can be secured.

Why was no one excited, wondered Gong Ruini. Such significant news, how come Zhao Xuran and others didn’t react?

Zhao Guangran thought his sister was unusually naïve, "Many families in the village have private land."

What, really? Gong Ruini’s mouth gaped; if many village families had private land, why did Zhao Gang hide his grain so thoroughly? Even going to the mountain to plant grain was done cautiously. If it were like that, there’s no need for such caution; everyone’s guilty to some extent anyway.

"That’s because their land is limited, and we were undergoing reeducation." Zhao Xuran signaled Zhao Guangran not to take it too far.

It was understandable that Gong Ruini didn’t know these things; her brother didn’t need to mock her.

Oh, that’s why, Gong Ruini realized. But since many people did it, why didn’t they continue planting? Otherwise, sell nationwide grain tickets or take it to Beijing.

"Why didn’t we continue planting grain later, only growing some corn? Apart from not having the energy, we later realized someone was loitering around." Zhao Xuran explained why they stopped growing rice later.

Really? Someone was watching them. Gong Ruini was shocked, "Is that possible?"

Calculating the time, that was before they fell out with the villagers. They should’ve continued to get along, but didn’t expect someone was investigating them, leaving Gong Ruini astonished.

Wait, if there was such behavior back then, shouldn’t they have stopped the herbal planting sooner?

Gong Ruini was genuinely puzzled.

"Because they didn’t find any issues. Maybe they were treasure hunting." Zhao Xuran wasn’t very clear either about those days’ events.

Treasure hunting? At this point, Gong Ruini remembered once getting a supposed treasure map, feeling thrilled, only to find it wasn’t so. She had been needlessly excited.

She found a bit of treasure, but not enough to meet her expectations. Yet hearing Zhao Xuran now, Gong Ruini was stunned, "What, were there people frequently lurking around back then?"

What Gong Ruini pondered was, could those people have been early treasure hunters, which explained their presence there.