Ultimate Village Doctor

Chapter Thirty

"Chairman, why did you raise the price? Wasn't 300 per jin perfectly fine? To ask for an additional 200 per jin just for priority supply is too expensive." After seeing Long Xiaoshan off, Su Wan was puzzled. As she had a good relationship with Shangguan Baihe, she asked her directly.

Instead of directly answering, Shangguan Baihe said, "Little Wan, what do you think of Long Xiaoshan as a person?"

"He seems like a decent person, fairly just and quite honest, but it feels like he's aiming too high." Su Wan recalled her few encounters with Long Xiaoshan and said.

"No," Shangguan Baihe shook her head. "He is a very ambitious man, and also a very capable one. You have misunderstood him."

"What?" Su Wan didn't understand why Shangguan Baihe would give such a high appraisal.

"Him, ambition? Capability? I feel like he's just a farmer. Of course, he must be more capable than an average farmer to be able to raise such big shrimp."

Shangguan Baihe smiled faintly, a gleam flashing through her eyes as she said, "Let's wait and see."

After bidding farewell to Shangguan Baihe, Long Xiaoshan went to see his sister. Long Xiaoling was now interning in the hotel's office. Su Wan had given her a thousand yuan as an internship salary. Although it wasn't high, it was already quite good for an intern, especially since Long Xiaoling was only sixteen years old and couldn't really do much.

Long Xiaoshan left five hundred yuan for Long Xiaoling.

This time, he left behind all the shrimp he brought, each shrimp averaging one jin and two liang, which meant they could sell for around 600 yuan each. Just the shrimp Long Xiaoshan brought this time were worth more than ten thousand yuan. Shangguan Baihe generously gave twenty thousand yuan as a deposit and arranged for someone to come to Longyang Village the next day to pick up the rest of the big shrimp.

After checking on Long Xiaoling, Long Xiaoshan first went to the mobile company and bought a domestic phone that cost several hundred yuan—one couldn't do business without a phone.

Then he rushed to the town to buy some cement and waterproofing materials, and also purchased a pack of cigarettes, hiring a three-wheeler to transport everything back to the village.

The vehicle arrived at his home.

Long Xiaoshan began unloading the goods while Couple Long Dashan, seeing this, came out to help carry the cement down.

After setting the cement down and paying the vehicle fare, he walked back home.

Long Xiaoshan took out a pack of cigarettes from the bag and placed them on the table, saying, "Dad, I bought these for you."

Long Dashan was a heavy smoker. Seeing the cigarettes Long Xiaoshan had brought back, his eyes lit up, "Double Happiness, this is a good brand of cigarettes, only available at banquets."

"Xiaoshan, are you burning money now, spending it like this?" He Xiangyue chided aloud.

Long Dashan also suddenly thought about it and felt concerned, "That must be seventy or eighty yuan a pack, right? Why waste the money? Little Xiaoshan, you take it back and return it."

Long Xiaoshan smiled and said, "Dad, don't smoke those poor-quality, self-rolled cigarettes anymore. They're bad for your health, and I have money."

Long Xiaoshan pulled out two thick stacks of red banknotes from his bag.

Seeing this, Couple Long Dashan's eyes bulged, and He Xiangyue, nervously said, "Little Xiaoshan, where did you get so much money? You didn't do anything bad, did you?"

Ever since Long Xiaoshan had been jailed, He Xiangyue had been afraid he might end up inside again.

"Mom, what are you thinking about? This is the money I made from selling shrimp today. I've already made a deal. This is twenty thousand yuan as a deposit. I've spent a bit, so it should be around eighteen thousand left," said Long Xiaoshan.

"What? You haven't even sold them all yet, and they gave you twenty thousand yuan as a deposit?" Though Couple Long Dashan had never seen so much money all at once, despite owing over thirty thousand yuan in debt, it was something they had borrowed over many instances.

"Why would I lie to you? Don't worry, they will come to get the shrimp tomorrow, and by then, there will be even more money," Long Xiaoshan said.

Couple Long Dashan finally believed him, and He Xiangyue carefully put away the money, saying, "We can't spend recklessly just because we have money—our debts haven't been paid off yet."

Long Xiaoshan chuckled. He didn't tell them how much the shrimp would sell for, fearing it might frighten his parents.

Seeing the money,

Couple Long Dashan became very energized.

That very day, the family of three was busy until midnight, cementing the dug-out, five-meter square pool and waterproofing it.

The next day, before dawn had broken, Long Xiaoshan, full of energy after eating a Spirit Shrimp and a plate of Spirit Vegetables, went to the mountain stream to catch shrimp fry.

The mountain stream had the largest number of shrimp fry.

Long Xiaoshan quickly netted a full bucket, containing thousands of shrimp fry and over a hundred small fish.

It was already past nine when he got home.

Long Xiaoshan placed the shrimp fry into the newly built pond. Since the pond was much larger than the tanks, he poured three drops of Spiritual Liquid from the Jade Purifying Bottle into it, emptying the bottle instantly.

Once that was settled, Long Xiaoshan's phone rang.

On the other end was the Lily Hotel's delivery truck driver, calling to coordinate the pickup of the shrimp.

"Right, the mountain roads are tricky, drive slowly, I'll meet you at the village entrance," he said.

Long Xiaoshan stood waiting at the village entrance and, after about half an hour, a pickup truck rattling its way forward finally arrived, recognizable by the Lily Hotel logo. He waved his hand to flag it down.

A middle-aged driver poked his head out of the truck and asked, "Are you Long Xiaoshan?"

"Yes, that's me," Long Xiaoshan replied.

The middle-aged driver complained, "Damn, these roads are just too tough. My truck's got high clearance, but it bottomed out several times, and I almost rolled down the hillside."

"I'm really sorry, master, have a cigarette to relax," Long Xiaoshan apologized, offering the driver a smoke, well aware that Longyang Village lacked proper roads, with only rugged mountain paths making it a difficult drive.

"Alright, let's get moving with the cargo. You're quite something, lad, managing to do business with our grand hotel all the way out here in this backwater," said the driver after complaining a bit, striking up a conversation with Long Xiaoshan as he accepted the cigarette.

"It's just a small business," Long Xiaoshan replied as he opened the passenger door, climbed in, and directed the driver back to his house.

Just as they entered the village, a Mitsubishi SUV came driving toward them head-on.

Because the road was so narrow, both vehicles nearly scraped against each other.

"Hey, not bad for your village. This SUV must be worth 300,000 if it's a penny," remarked Elder He, the talkative truck driver, with a smile.

Long Xiaoshan saw that Long Fakui, the village head, was in the SUV, with Ergouzi seated beside him.

Long Fakui was quite surprised to see Long Xiaoshan in the pickup. As their vehicles nearly brushed past each other, Long Fakui's eyes narrowed upon glimpsing the white painted letters on the side of the pickup.

Long Xiaoshan, already on bad terms with Long Fakui, couldn't be bothered with him, and the two vehicles passed by each other.

Ergouzi spat out contemptuously, "What's so special about him having a ride? It's just a rickety old pickup. Look at this, village chief, your car is worth at least three of those clunkers. This real leather feels so comfy." Ergouzi was indulgingly stroking the seat back, as if it was a woman's back.

Long Fakui, on the other hand, muttered to himself, "Lily Hotel."

Those six letters were inscribed on the pickup—it belonged to the Lily Hotel, the largest one in the county. Although Long Fakui had some money, it was nothing compared to the Lily Hotel. How did Long Xiaoshan end up riding in a Lily Hotel vehicle? Had he found a job there?

Hmph!

"The kid has some luck. A former labor camp prisoner, and he's found a job at a major county hotel so quickly," Long Fakui thought, irritated.

If Long Xiaoshan was really working in the county, it would be hard for him to mess with the kid any longer.

The pickup truck quickly arrived back at Long Xiaoshan's house, drawing the attention of many neighbors. In the village, apart from the village chief's car, having a motorcycle meant wealth. Though the pickup wasn't a luxury car, it still caught attention.

Couple Long Dashan hurried to welcome Elder He, the driver, while Long Xiaoshan ran to the backyard, picked up the large tank, and carried it out to the front.

Elder He, sipping tea, nearly spit it out.

Long Xiaoshan had actually lifted the tank by himself.

Setting down his cup, Elder He went over to the tank and recoiled in shock. It was full of large shrimp, water and all—perhaps over two hundred pounds worth.

Looking at the lean Long Xiaoshan, Elder He felt a shiver down his spine. He had been a soldier and knew even in the military, people with such strength were rare. This young man was not to be underestimated.