Back to 1978: Getting rich starts with treasure hunting

At this time, Lin Mei, who everyone was looking for, was lying on a cart, letting the donkey cart pull her along the mountain road.

When they reached the mouth of a valley, they saw two dark-faced men standing in front of them, and the donkey cart slowly stopped.

Two dark-faced men walked quickly to the donkey cart, glanced at the woman lying on the cart, and whispered to each other, as if they were discussing something.

The square-faced woman jumped off the donkey cart and asked with a smile, "How is it? Are you satisfied with the goods this time?"

One of the dark-faced men nodded, took out a stack of bills from his pocket and handed it to her: "My two brothers have borrowed from all our relatives, and this is the only amount we can borrow. If you think it's okay, we will carry the person back."

The square-faced aunt's face changed slightly. She took the stack of bills from the rough hands, counted them briefly, and sighed, "The price is a bit low, but I'm too lazy to argue with you. This time it's just a chance to steal. Otherwise, you wouldn't want such a beautiful woman at this price."

"Remember, keep an eye on her when you get back." The square-faced woman glanced at the unconscious Lin Mei and waved her hand, "Hurry and carry her away."

It's not easy to come in this deep mountain. But it's safe to sell goods.

The arable land area in the mountains is limited, and a village is often scattered on various hilltops. Poverty and inconvenient transportation have also led to the women here marrying out. No one is willing to marry women from outside, so adult bachelors have become a problem.

The dark-faced man looked very happy. He carried the woman on the cart and returned the same way.

Looking at the figure gradually disappearing on the mountain road, the driver, Old Jiang, turned around and asked, "Didn't you retire from the underworld? Why are you doing the job of a brothel owner again?"

The square-faced woman sighed, "I'm used to doing this kind of work. I'm a little short of money recently, and I happened to meet this simple-minded country girl. How could I not do this job if it's convenient for me?"

Just enough pocket money to buy needles and thread.

"Aren't you afraid of being discovered? If something goes wrong, wouldn't all the suffering you've endured over the past few decades be in vain?"

"Who would suspect us if they found out that we have a legitimate identity and a legitimate job? Besides, the woman would have to run away before anything happened. Besides, even if she ran away, would she be able to find me in such a huge crowd?"

Old Jiang looked at the square-faced aunt who seemed to be so powerful and fearless, shook his head and said nothing more. He had no objection to doing a business occasionally to supplement the family income.

......

After Lin Wei closed the breakfast stall and washed the dishes, it was only when the three of them returned home that they heard that Lin Mei had come to the provincial capital, but there was no news of her.

"She came here by train the day before yesterday, but how come she hasn't been seen today? Could she have gotten off the train when she arrived at the station?"

Wang Suzhen thought this was very likely. "Whether she got off the train at the station or not will be known after the police investigate. Don't worry. A living person can't just disappear for no reason."

Lin Wei finished a glass of water, put down the glass and said, "How about I go out and look for it?"

Lin Shu rubbed his brows and said, "Just sit down. You are unfamiliar with the provincial capital. Where are you going to find someone? Gu Jiu has already gone to the police station in front of the train station to report the case. Wait for his news."

Liu Xiao'e's frown was so tight that it could kill a mosquito. Thinking of the difficult sister-in-law at home, she complained, "It's your second aunt who is incompetent. If Lin Mei wanted to come from her hometown, she should have sent us a telegram to let us know. Now, she came here without saying anything, and she's gone missing!"

Wang Suzhen comforted her: "Mother-in-law, don't worry, we will find the person."

"Mother-in-law, I'm not in a hurry. I'm just feeling suffocated and very uncomfortable." Liu Xiao'e didn't know whether she was more worried or more irritated. Anyway, she felt extremely upset.

Lin Shu didn't want Liu Xiao'e to get anxious about Lin Mei's matter, so he changed the subject and said, "Brother, sister-in-law, how is your breakfast business today?"

Speaking of business, Lin Wei's mood improved a little, "Business is pretty good. We have been busy for several hours."

He Caiyun took off the green canvas bag on her body and said with a smile, "Let's count and keep the account at the same time."

The extra noodles were 25 cents a bowl, and they sold more than 200 bowls on the first day, making a little over 56 yuan. The cost was probably less than 20 yuan, which means they made more than 36 yuan on the first day of setting up the stall.

The second day's business was better than the first, and we made more than forty-three dollars.

Maybe it was because of the warm-up in the previous two days that the surrounding residents all knew about the breakfast stall in front of the hotel, so the business today was particularly hot.

"I don't know how many bowls I sold today. All the stir-fried dishes I prepared earlier were used up. Later, I fried a pot of stir-fried pork with peppers, which was also sold out. I also cooked a lot of boiled pork noodles."

Lin Wei thought about it and made a rough estimate, "I guess we sold more than 400 bowls today. There were ten tables, and they were basically not empty all morning."

Two people were cooking the noodles, and one was collecting money and cleaning the table. It can be said that they were very busy.

Everyone counted the money, deducted the costs and excluded personal salaries, and they earned about 70 yuan today.

Seventy yuan is equivalent to the daily income of a county store in the beginning.

I earn 70 yuan a day, and I'd rather not take that temporary job at the county power supply station that pays less than 30 yuan a month.

Wang Suzhen knew that setting up a stall could make money, because Gu Youhui made his fortune by setting up a stall, but the feeling was different when she actually faced the pile of small bills.

At this moment, she truly felt how quickly she could make money by doing business.

At this moment, she was thinking whether she should ask her daughters-in-law to quit their jobs and set up stalls. Why would they still need to work when they could make so much money?

Of course, this idea was just a thought for her, and she would never interfere in her daughter-in-law's life.

Lin Shu was very satisfied with the gradually increasing profits and asked with a smile: "Brother, how do you feel about setting up the stall for three days? Do you have any ideas?"

Lin Wei pushed the money in front of He Caiyun and asked her to put it in the canvas bag. After listening to Lin Shu's question, he chuckled and said, "I earned 150 yuan in three days, which is equivalent to my savings as a temporary worker for a year. Do you think I have any ideas? Anyway, I don't want to do the temporary job at the power supply station anymore."

"Working in the power supply station is a very respectable job for rural people. But it is also hard-earned money. Think about the time I was erecting electric poles in the mountains during the hot summer last year. I was soaked in the heat and received a meager salary of more than 20 yuan. Now when I think about it, I feel like I was a fool last year. I gave up the profitable business and went to the mountains to work as a laborer."

Even if his salary increases to 50 this year, he will not go. He wants to stay in the provincial capital and make money by making breakfast.

Wang Suzhen glanced at Lin Wei's dark skin, needless to say it was caused by tanning while working outside.

She did not despise the Lin family for being from the countryside. Instead, she admired their hard-working and striving spirit.

"Nephew, if you don't want to go back to work, why don't you start a breakfast business in the provincial capital?"

Lin Wei nodded: "That's exactly what I meant."

Wang Suzhen glanced at the baby lying in the cradle and said with a smile: "Since you plan to stay in the provincial capital, I will give you a suggestion."

"What suggestions do you have, aunt?" Lin Wei said modestly.

Wang Suzhen smiled and said, "If I remember correctly, there are a few shops next to Youhui's restaurant. Why don't you rent one or two shops, connect them together, and open a breakfast shop."

"This is a good idea, but if we open a breakfast shop next to the hotel, will it affect Youhui's business?" Lin Wei felt that Youhui had been helping him so much, and if he opened a breakfast shop next to him, it would be like stealing his business.

After all, once the breakfast shop opens, he can't just do breakfast. He will also open the shop to sell noodles at noon and in the evening.

Lin Wei felt that it had some impact on Gu Youhui's restaurant business.

"What impact does this have? Youhui's business and your breakfast shop's business are not on the same level. They can be said to be complementary."

Although Wang Suzhen has never done business, she has lived for decades and her life experience is there.

He explained to him in detail about Gu Youhui's restaurant, its main business scope, and that his customer base was mainly upper-class guests with purchasing power.

To put it simply and crudely, it is the difference between a hotel and a box restaurant.

The customer groups are different, so there is no question of competing for business or not.

After this explanation, Lin Wei understood instantly, "Opening a breakfast shop is good, but I can't close my breakfast stall for now."

What he didn't say was that he didn't know how much it would cost to rent a storefront. They didn't have much money with them when they came to the provincial capital, and he wanted to set up a stall to earn enough money to open a store, and then open a store, step by step.

Lin Shu probably understood his concerns. "Brother, we can't delay renting the storefront. What if someone smart discovers the business opportunity in your area and rents the storefront before you? Then you will be in a very passive position. It is better to rent the storefront first and hire someone to renovate it. You can still set up your breakfast stall."

"This..." Lin Wei hesitated for a while, then nodded: "Okay, you can do as you said, but is the storefront in the provincial capital expensive?"

Seeing her son's expression, Liu Xiao'e knew that he didn't have much money and was not confident. "If you are short of money for renting a storefront, I still have some money here."

Lin Shu said, "You don't have to pay for it, mom. I have some money here. Just borrow it from me first, and it won't be too late to pay it back when you make money."

After solving the problem in his heart, Lin Wei said gratefully: "Okay, I won't be polite to you. We will pay you back as soon as we make money."

Wang Suzhen watched the family discuss things together and nodded with satisfaction. This is how a family should be.

Difficulties are only temporary. As long as the whole family works hard and pulls together, this family will prosper one day.

After the matter was settled, everyone felt much better. As for Lin Mei, about whom there was still no news, for the eldest wife of the Lin family, they could only do their best and leave the rest to fate.

In the evening, Gu Jiu, who had been out all day trying to find out news, came back. Facing his mother-in-law's hopeful eyes, he coughed twice and said, "Ahem... The police station searched all day and found nothing. We asked the staff on duty at the station that day, but they had no impression of Lin Mei's clothes. Neither did the staff at the exit."

Therefore, in an era without surveillance, trying to find a missing person is basically like looking for a needle in a haystack.

"Have other police stations in the provincial capital not received any reports of crimes or women seeking help?" Lin Shu asked.

Gu Jiu shook his head: "They called to check, and there was no case related to Lin Mei."

Lin Mei disappeared, and the Gu family used their connections to investigate for a day but found no clues.

The next day, Gu Jiu picked up Jie Chunlei, who had arrived overnight, at the train station.

Gu Jiu took the luggage from his hand and said, "Let's go. I have booked a room for you at a guesthouse near the train station."

Xie Chunlei looked at the tall and straight man walking in front of him, pursed his lips and quickly followed him, "Is there any news about Lin Mei?"

Gu Jiu glanced at the man who was not much different in height from him, with a complicated expression: "No, he's missing."

"Missing?" Xie Chunlei looked dazed for a moment. How could it have come to such a point that he disappeared just because of a miscarriage during rice planting?

Gu Jiu looked at the distraught man and felt sympathy for him for a second. He still couldn't understand why this man broke off the engagement with Lin Shu and married Lin Mei?

Is it that Lin Mei is prettier and better than Lin Shu, or is it that Lin Mei's family conditions are better than Lin Shu's?

Obviously, it is neither, just because Lin Shu is Lin Shu and Lin Mei is Lin Mei. Just because Jie's mother does not accept Lin Shu.

"I came to the train station as soon as I received your call yesterday and reported the case to the police station in front of the station. I have been investigating for a whole day from yesterday to today, but I haven't found any clues. I suspect that Lin Mei didn't get off at the provincial capital station at all, and maybe she went too far?"

"Even if she went too far, she could have taken the bus back. Going back would have taken at most a day, but now it's been four days and there's still no news. She might have gone missing."

There are many possibilities for disappearance, maybe they were abducted, maybe they were...

Xie Chunlei nodded, and with a stern expression, he followed him into the railway station guesthouse. After entering the room, Gu Jiu told him in detail all the news he had heard that day.

As for what to do next, let Xie Chunlei decide for himself.

Later, Gu Jiu accompanied him to the police station again and learned about the situation from the police station.

The two of them stood on the curb, and Gu Jiu said to Jie Chunlei, "My mother-in-law and my eldest brother-in-law are both in the provincial capital. Do you want to go to their house for dinner together?"

After hearing this, Xie Chunlei instinctively wanted to refuse, but the real-life relationships prevented him from saying no.

"Tomorrow, I want to ask around today to see if I can get any news about Mei Zi. I'll go over to see my aunt and the others at noon tomorrow."

"I heard that, Lin...your wife has given birth?"

Gu Jiu smiled and nodded, "Yes, one is a boy and the other is a girl. They will be full-mooned in two days."

"Congratulations!"

Xie Chunlei said congratulations on the surface, but who could understand the bitterness in his heart?

"Thank you."

Afterwards, Gu Jiu introduced the surrounding situation to him and asked around for information so that he would have a rough idea in his mind. "I also notified my brothers yesterday. They will help keep an eye out and notify me if they find any trace of Lin Mei."

"Okay, thank you for your concern." Xie Chunlei hesitated for a moment and said, "Don't tell my father-in-law and mother-in-law yet. I will explain the situation to them when I get back."

He was mainly worried that Liu Xiao'e would not be able to hold back her anger and call the county town to tell them about the situation. He really couldn't imagine what his unreasonable mother-in-law would do.

Gu Jiu nodded. He didn't want to get involved in other people's family affairs, so he agreed without hesitation.

What Xie Chunlei was worried about was that Li Xiu would find out the news and cause trouble for Xie's mother.