Buying ships and machines are all short of money

  Congratulations to everyone for the new spring and happy New Year, may you make a fortune in the year of the tiger!

  ……

  Zhang Biao was hit and stumbled, almost falling over. Bei Xiaoshuai didn't let up, grabbing his arm that still had a plaster cast on it from behind and pulling out an axe, saying: "You're not honest until you see blood."

  "Brother, don't hit me, I'm telling the truth!" Zhang Biao knelt on the ground, covering his head and shouting like a slaughtered pig.

  "Speak! Where did the cavalry go?" Bei Xiaoshuai asked Zhang Biao with an axe pointed at his head.

  "These two cars are indeed mine, I bought them second-hand from someone last year for 12,000 yuan. They were like this when I bought them." Zhang Biao said with a sad face.

  "Still talking nonsense!" Bai Xiaoshuai raised his axe.

  "Wait a minute, Xiao Shuai, let him speak." Liu Ziguang, who was smoking on the side, suddenly intervened to stop Bei Xiaoshuai's action.

  "Thank you, brother." Zhang Biao cast a grateful glance and continued: "Usually, those who do earthwork business don't use their own cars. The wear and tear is too great, and the traffic police, urban management, and road administration all check strictly. Everyone rents cars and works at night. Originally, there were seven or eight cars working with me, but after I got into trouble, they all ran away."

  Liu Ziguo nodded and said: "Alright, let's talk about this later. You usually pull the soil to which construction site? Introduce me to whatever relationship you have."

  Zhang Biao replied with a sorrowful face: "What's the big deal, it's just taking people to block the construction site gate, forcing them to give us work. If we encounter someone tough, let them beat us up. If we're lucky and meet a softie, we'll make some small money."

  This is actually true, what Zhang Biao said. Bricklaying doesn't have much technical content, it's purely an industry monopolized by the underworld. Whoever has more power gets more work, there are no tricks to share. Zhang Biao is just a small-time hoodlum from the urban-rural fringe who has managed to get involved in playing mahjong, he shouldn't have any solid connections.

  "You say these two cars are yours, where are the keys?" Liu Ziguang asked again.

  "I have them with me all the time." Zhang Biao rummaged through his pocket and handed two keys to Liu Ziguang.

  Liu Ziguang casually tossed it to Bei Xiaoshuai: "Go up and try it out, can you hit it?"

  Bei Xiaoshuai crawled into the driver's cab, inserted the key and started the engine. The machine roared for a long time before finally making some noise, but another car couldn't start no matter what.

  "It's been a while since it moved, and the battery has run out of power." Zhang explained nervously.

  "Zhang Biao, I'll take these two cars first. If I find out you're playing tricks on me, I'll cut off one of your legs directly. Get lost!"

  Liu Ziguang spoke up, and Zhang Biao was like a prisoner who had just been pardoned. He scrambled to his feet and ran off. Bei Xiaoshuai jumped down from the car and gazed at Zhang Biao's fleeing figure, saying: "Are these two cars enough?"

  "Enough, our advantage lies not in vehicles, but in goods sources." Liu Ziguang said confidently.

  Call Ma Chao to come over, and bring a car battery for trucks. After installing it and connecting the wires, it actually started. Ma Chao then gave a rough inspection of the vehicle's condition and made an evaluation: "It's been used too harshly, its lifespan has long since ended, but it can still barely run. It's okay for short-distance transportation, but it will definitely break down on long-distance trips."

  "It's a short trip anyway, it's still a car." Liu Ziguang was very satisfied, smiling and admiring his spoils.

  ……

  After that, Wang Zhijun returned to his hometown to handle the sand field's contract procedures. Liu Ziguang contacted buyers in the city. At this time, the real estate market was booming. Several small districts in the city were under construction, and more than a dozen large and small construction sites were being prepared. Liu Ziguang printed a box of business cards, claiming to be the marketing manager of Nantaihe Sand Development Co., Ltd., carrying a stack of samples to ask people if they wanted river sand.

  The quality of river sand in Daheshan Township, Nantai County is well-known far and wide. The water quality of the Dashe River is clear and transparent, without industrial pollution, with low mud content, hard texture, bright color, and is a high-quality building material. In the raw materials market, it is very popular, and project managers from various construction units have expressed that they want as much as they can get, the price is negotiable, and the market price is acceptable, with a price of 100 yuan per cubic meter on site.

  One cubic meter is one hundred yuan! The river sand resources in Zhuwang Village are estimated to be around 150 million cubic meters, and they increase by 500,000 cubic meters every year at a rate of 50,000 cubic meters per year. What a huge wealth it is!

  Those two broken trucks were driven to Ma Chao's garage, where they were refurbished, the engine was washed and cleaned, the oil circuit and electrical circuit were overhauled, the glass was polished, and a new coat of paint was applied. After being repaired, they no longer looked like scrap metal.

  Liu Ziguang has now gained some fame on the road, and Ma Chao's position in the factory is also increasing day by day. From a car washer to a maintenance master, taking leave is just a matter of saying it.

  After Wang Zhijun's procedures for the sand field are completed, rent a few more cement ships, load them with river sand from Dashah River to Huaijiang, take the waterway to Jiangbei City, and then use cars for short-distance transportation. Send it to each construction site, get on the scale and get paid, after that, money is rolling in, houses, luxury cars, everything is available, life is so good!

  With a satisfied thought, Liu Ziguang rode his bicycle back home. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw his neighbors gathered in front of their door, admiring and complimenting them. A huge cardboard box was torn open and thrown aside, with a 52-inch LCD TV placed in the center. His parents stood beside it, beaming with joy, saying repeatedly that this was a gift bought by their son with his bonus to show filial piety.

  The son won the Good Citizen Award and also received a bonus from the headquarters, which added up to 10,000 yuan. Ah, 10,000 yuan! Even if the old mother worked as a cleaner for a whole year, she wouldn't have earned this amount. How could it not make the two elderly happy?

  When Liu Ziguang returned, the neighbors all praised him for being promising and asked when the TV show they filmed last time would be aired. Liu Ziguang politely chatted with the neighbors and offered them cigarettes to smoke.

  "Little Guang, it's going to get cold soon, you should add some heating equipment at home. Your parents' health isn't good, they can't afford to catch a chill." The speaker was Deng Yunfeng, an old neighbor in the courtyard, ten years older than Liu Ziguang, and an electrician at the Red Flag Machinery Factory.

  "Yeah, I've been thinking about it. Once I get paid, I'll go buy a big air conditioner, at least 50,000 yuan." Liu Ziguang said.

  "That won't do, the electrical wiring in our compound was laid out in the 1980s and has long since aged, it's barely enough to power a light bulb or TV, using a microwave oven is already a struggle, let alone a 50-inch cabinet, if we're not careful, we might even end up burning down the circuit." Deng Yunfeng really knows his stuff as an electrician.

  "What can be done about it?" Liu Ziguang asked.

  "It's easy, just a bit of trouble. You buy a bundle of six square meters of wire, I'll help you thread it, and then replace the meter with a new one that can handle any appliance."

  "That's great, thank you first, Brother Deng."

  They carried the large LCD TV into the house, and my parents both exclaimed that it was too big and they weren't used to it, it felt like being in a movie theater. But despite what they said, they were secretly delighted. The old TV was covered with a cloth and put away, waiting for when we move into a bigger house and can use it in the bedroom.

  At dinner time, Father earnestly advised Liu Ziguang: "Xiaoguang, now that you have a good income, you can't spend money recklessly. You still need to buy a house and get married. Every penny saved is a penny earned. This TV is your filial piety, I won't say anything about it with your mom, but what's the point of buying an air conditioner? It consumes electricity and doesn't warm up, far worse than a honeycomb coal stove."

  "Come on, now the house prices are rising so fiercely. In our nearby Hongqi community, those old houses from 1996, each square meter is over 4,000 yuan already. If you buy a new house in the future, even if it's a small one, it'll cost at least 5 or 6 million. Your dad and I have been frugal for years, saving money just for your marriage. Listen to your dad, don't make reckless purchases."

  Liu Ziguang smiled and said: "Alright, I'll be more careful with money from now on."

  His father was very satisfied with his son's attitude and asked again: "How is your relationship with Xiaofang? Xiaofang is a good kid, you can't bully her."

  "Mother chimed in: "If you can decide, then hurry up and decide. Once we pass this village, there won't be that store anymore. Your father and I..."

  "Can wait to hold her grandson."

  Liu Ziguang said: "This matter can't be rushed, the other party's nurse is only this old this year, not even enough to reach the legal marriage age."

  "Ah", Dad and Mom looked at each other in surprise, they didn't expect Fang Mei to be so young, the age gap between them was so big, would her family agree?

  ……

  The next morning, Wang Zhijun called from the countryside and said that the procedures were almost done, and the flat-bottomed boat had also been contacted. However, Zhu Lao'er's family had sold the dredging boat, river sand dryer, and other necessary machines to fight a lawsuit, and the technical workers had also been disbanded. If they wanted to start again, it would take another sum of money.

  Getting married and buying a house requires money, improving the living conditions for my parents requires money, giving living expenses to Bei Xiao Shuai and others requires money, repairing cars and buying gasoline requires money, Wang Zhi Jun's family building a house requires money, Mao Hai's wife got cancer and needs chemotherapy every day which also requires money, now the sand field is also purchasing equipment which requires money.

  Liu Ziguang was filled with emotion, calculating how much cash he had left. He had 120,000 yuan from Zhang Biao and Pangzi, 100,000 yuan from selling Ma Liu's horse, and his own salary and bonuses, which added up to around 2 million yuan. However, half of it was spent on building Wang Zhi's house, 60,000 yuan was spent on treating Mao Hai's mother's illness, and the rest was used to pay for his brothers' medical expenses, drinking and entertaining them, repairing vehicles, and buying home appliances. After rummaging through his pockets, he only had a few hundred yuan left.

  Although the business is still operating, with some income every day, it's just a drop in the bucket and can't be of much use. Renting dredgers, buying equipment and machinery, renting transport ships, mud-headed trucks, and workers' wages are all huge expenses.

  Thinking of these things, Liu Ziguang felt a headache.

  Money! Money! Money! Without this thing, nothing can be done.