Starting out as a drug dealer in 1988

Perhaps seeing Wei Chunlan's worry, Zhao Wenhao hurried forward to comfort her.

"Mom, you've never been out of our town, so you don't know what's going on outside. Society is changing so quickly these days, you can't look at things the same way you did before. In short, I won't do anything illegal."

Wei Chunlan was still skeptical. She asked uncertainly, "Are you really okay? Isn't this speculation?"

"Hurry up and keep the money. I'll go pay back the money I owed them later. I promised them 7.2 yuan per kilogram, so that's the price." Zhao Wenhao stuffed the money into Wei Chunlan's hand again. "I know what's important when I do things. You can rest assured."

Wei Chunlan basically wandered around the village all year round. Even in town, she rarely went there. How could she know what the current policies were?

However, being able to pay off the debt did give her some comfort. Every time she saw those numbers in the little notebook at home, it felt like a sharp sword piercing her heart.

"Okay, I'll go right away." Wei Chunlan put the money away and prepared to go and pay it back now.

"Wait a moment." Zhao Wenhao suddenly stopped her, "I'll go over and take the money from my second uncle's house myself. I have something to tell him."

Wei Chunlan took out the money again, took out some of it, and handed it over. "Will you continue to collect it after this?"

"Yes, of course!" Zhao Wenhao took the stack of banknotes and stuffed it into his trouser pocket. "But the price needs to be adjusted. I guess there aren't many honeysuckle flowers left in our village. We must go to other villages to buy them."

Wei Chunlan thought about it and it seemed to be true.

For an average family, having ten kilograms of food at home is considered a lot, and some families have already sent it to the purchasing point in town.

Zhaojia Island is not small, but it is not big either, with only more than a hundred households.

More than 100 kilograms have been collected so far, and it is estimated that the total inventory of the entire village will not be much.

"If someone asks you, just tell them that you still need to charge more, and the price will be higher. I'll tell you the specific price after I think it over. Anyway, I plan to rest at home for two days, so I have enough time."

Zhao Wenhao had indeed been feeling a bit exhausted during this period. Working non-stop would tire anyone out. Furthermore, Zhao Wenhao was already quite frail, and if he didn't rest for a couple of days, he was worried he wouldn't be able to handle it.

Wei Chunlan saw everything, and of course she felt sorry for her son. So when she heard him say he was planning to rest for two days, she happily agreed, even considering going to town to buy some fat to give to her son.

Wei Chunlan happily left with the money in her pocket. Zhao Wenhao fetched a basin of water from the well, wiped himself thoroughly, changed into clean clothes, and then went to his second uncle Zhao Aimin's house.

"Second aunt is at home, where is my second uncle?"

At Zhao Aimin's house, Zhou Li was sitting in the main room, bored and fanning herself with a palm-leaf fan in one hand and eating melon seeds with the other. When she saw Zhao Wenhao coming in, she didn't even raise her eyelids, continuing to fan herself leisurely.

Zhao Wenhao knew that Zhou Li was angry that Zhao Aimin had secretly sold her honeysuckle to him on credit, so she looked at him unhappily.

He was slightly embarrassed, but he didn't mean to blame her. After all, his uncle had already lent him a lot of money, and then he bought him nearly 7 kilograms of honeysuckle on credit. It would be strange if his usually stingy aunt didn't get angry.

"Second Aunt, this is 65 yuan. It's the money I paid for the honeysuckle on credit." Zhao Wenhao quickly took out the cash from his pocket and handed it over.

When she saw that there was money, Zhou Li immediately put down the fan in her hand and stood up with a "whoosh".

"Hey, we're family, why are you being so polite? If it's inconvenient, you can use it first."

Although she said this, her hands did not stop moving. Zhou Li naturally took the bills and counted them.

It was not until this time that she realized that her honeysuckle was not worth so much.

She had dried and weighed the honeysuckle flowers herself, totaling 13.8 jin (approximately 7 catties), less than 48.3 kg. According to the town's purchase price, it should have been 10 yuan. How could it have suddenly increased by more than yuan?

"Wenhao, it seems like there are too many."

Zhao Wenhao waved his hand and said directly and confidently: "It's not much. We are family. If you have more honeysuckle in the future, I will give it to you at this price. But, Second Aunt, you must not tell anyone."

Zhou Li certainly couldn't refuse the money that was handed to her. She didn't refuse the kindness either, and directly put the money in her pocket. She immediately grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds with a smile on her face and said, "Hurry up and sit down. Your second uncle is out doing something. He probably won't be back for a while."

Since Zhao Aimin was not there, Zhao Wenhao did not want to stay any longer. Instead, he told Zhou Li that after his uncle came back, he would come to see him to discuss something.

When Zhao Wenhao returned home, Zhao Aiguo had come back from somewhere and was rummaging through his backpack.

"What are you flipping through?" Zhao Wenhao couldn't help but frown and stepped forward to stop him.

Zhao Aiguo didn't care at all, but asked, "Where are the cigarettes you promised me? We agreed on this before we left."

Alas, it is so unlucky to meet such a father.

Zhao Wenhao couldn't help but sigh.

"Wait in my room." After saying that, he went back to the room, took out a pack of Hongmei cigarettes from under the pillow and handed it over.

Zhao Aiguo was obviously stunned, and then he was happy.

They had agreed on two packs, but now they had only one, so of course he was happy. As a result, he also began to like his son a little better.

Zhao Wenhao didn't want to pay attention to him and went back to his room to rest.

After returning from Yangzhou, he barely slept a wink. After all, he had so much cash on him, which was the capital he had used to start his business. How could he dare to close his eyes?

Not only did he not rest, but even when he sat, he kept his hands in his pockets, and there was always a screwdriver in his pocket.

When he finally lay down on the bed, he couldn't fall asleep no matter what. The reason was simple: it was too hot.

Our adobe house was like a steamer, with only one small window facing south, making the entire room airtight. As for the electric fan, what a joke. If a light bulb could be considered an appliance, it was the only one in the house.

Alas, there is still a long way to go!

If possible, Zhao Wenhao hopes to earn enough money next year to demolish his house and rebuild it.

There were three rooms, one of which served as a living room, another as Zhao Aiguo's bedroom, and the remaining room was used by the three children.

Especially since Zhao Wenhao was already nineteen, an adult. And Zhao Wenjing was two years older, already twenty-one. Being in the same room together was bound to cause a lot of inconvenience.

There were two beds in one room, separated only by a curtain. Zhao Wenhao's room was close to the window, so there was a slight breeze when he slept at night.

Zhao Wenjing and Zhao Wenxia slept in the same bed near the back wall of the inner room.

In such a hot summer, you can imagine how it feels.

At least in the past few times when he slept at home, Zhao Wenhao often heard the two sisters tossing and turning, unable to sleep, and fanning them desperately with a palm-leaf fan.