Chapter 17: Making a Fortune

“Uncle Man, where is the grave-robbing gang, and where is the person who provided the tip? What’s the specific situation?” Seeing He Jiahuan’s anxious demeanor, he was clearly a conscientious and responsible comrade.

Tu Shan poked her head out from behind the old man. Seeing him drenched in sweat, she silently gave him a thumbs-up—he had truly checked himself out of the hospital.

To be out on a mission in the middle of the night while still injured—that was dedication.

“Captain He, good evening. Regarding the information I provided, have your people all arrived? If they’re ready, I’ll take you over there and explain the situation on the way.

Oh, right, there are at least forty of them, and they might have dangerous weapons, so you should be prepared.”

He Jiahuan looked at Tu Shan, surprised for a second.

Hearing the number of people, his brows knit tightly together: “Alright, Xu Zhi, you stay here, organize the team, get ready, and stand by.

Li Hao, you five, come with me to scout the situation first.”

“Yes, sir.”

Tu Shan led He Jiahuan and his men to the Rocky Valley, explaining the situation in detail along the way.

Of course, as for why the wolf pack had gone crazy, she left that to everyone’s imagination.

Upon arriving at the location, Tu Shan didn’t get too close, leaving the main stage to He Jiahuan.

He Jiahuan walked over to Lin Yong to check on him; Lin Yong had already passed out, hanging on by a single breath.

He used the medical supplies he brought to perform basic first aid.

Since he wasn’t going to die immediately, he handed him over to one of his teammates to be taken to the hospital first.

The valley was very quiet now; the wolves hadn’t left, and no one had come out from inside.

He Jiahuan surveyed the scene and confirmed that Tu Shan hadn’t guessed wrong—this was a large tomb, and these people inside were grave robbers.

More importantly, they were the key to a case they were currently investigating.

If his analysis was correct, these people were planning to transport the goods tonight, which explained why there were so many of them.

The tomb had been mostly hollowed out by them.

He Jiahuan ordered Li Hao to go back and reorganize the men to arrange for the arrests.

“Comrade Tu, it’s not safe here. You should head back first.”

Tu Shan raised an eyebrow. As an ordinary citizen, it was indeed inappropriate for her to stay at the scene of an operation.

She glanced at the wolf pack sleeping at the cave entrance and silently withdrew her exotic energy. She didn’t lead the wolves away; He Jiahuan should have his own ways of dealing with them.

With that thought, Tu Shan left readily.

After all this tossing and turning, it was already past four o’clock when she reached home. She pulled her hand back from the courtyard gate and decided not to go inside after all.

She walked to the foot of the mountain and used two peanuts from her pocket to stimulate the growth of the goods the gatekeeper uncle wanted.

Two hundred catties of peanuts—she took her time, spending about twenty minutes.

Since she was already at it, she figured she might as well make more, so she produced another seven or eight hundred catties.

With so much cargo, Tu Shan felt a bit helpless.

She could carry it all at once, but others might not be able to accept that; they would definitely think she was a monster, and it wouldn’t be good if she got caught and shot.

Therefore, she needed tools.

She remembered that Auntie Wang had a wheelbarrow, so she decided to borrow it.

Tu Shan snuck back to the small courtyard, carried the wheelbarrow out of the utility shed, and climbed over the wall without alerting anyone.

The wheelbarrow wasn’t big, so Tu Shan had to build upward, spending over ten minutes tying everything down with vines.

The cargo was stacked two meters high.

Short and small, Tu Shan walked behind it; even if she raised her hand, she probably wouldn’t be able to see her fingertips.

It was past five o’clock when Tu Shan pushed the wobbling wheelbarrow toward the black market.

It was that same dark-skinned boy guarding the gate.

Seeing the joy on his face, Tu Shan had reason to suspect he had been waiting for her on purpose.

After thinking about it, she pulled out a bunch of grapes for him: “Is this okay?”

The boy grinned so wide his eyes disappeared: “Yes, yes, yes.”

If this bunch of grapes were sold, it would fetch two or three yuan; how could it not be okay?

Tu Shan pushed the wheelbarrow, which was taller than she was, to find Yang Jiajiang.

Yang Jiajiang was a diligent man and was already receiving guests.

The person who had arrived before her was a skilled hunter. He was very tall and sturdy, visually over 1.9 meters, with a full beard that made it hard to see his features.

Under his linen jacket, his muscles were bulging, and he carried some injuries.

He had hunted a large wild boar, which must have taken quite a bit of effort.

He was also a hardworking man; the money he earned was blood and sweat.

The two had already finished their transaction. When the big man saw a wheelbarrow moving on its own coming through the door, his eyes filled with curiosity. He quickly tucked his money and tickets into his pocket to hide them, tilting his head to look curiously behind the wheelbarrow.

When he saw Tu Shan, who was only as tall as his armpit, he was so shocked his eyeballs almost fell out.

Even if it were a cart of straw, it wasn’t something a little girl this small could push.

Truly impressive.

Tu Shan grinned, baring a mouthful of white teeth, and returned the big man’s smile.

The big man’s brow twitched, and he ran away quickly, looking as if he had seen a ghost.

Tu Shan:??? What was that about? Was she that scary?

With her whole face covered, only her mouth was visible—in the dim light, could it not be scary?

“Third Sister, please, come in quickly,” Yang Jiajiang welcomed her enthusiastically. He tried to take the wheelbarrow but almost threw out his back, so he silently stepped aside.

Tu Shan felt nothing but disdain. A grown man, so weak—he must be the one on the bottom.

Tu Shan parked the cart and began moving the items off.

Yang Jiajiang quickly called over a few subordinates to help.

The subordinates lifted one bag of grain between two people, grimacing with effort, while Tu Shan lifted one in each hand with ease.

Everyone felt quite awkward.

Yang Jiajiang asked with a smile: “Third Sister, are you trading all of these?”

Tu Shan emptied the cart and then started rearranging things back onto it: “The loaches aren’t for trade, the pheasants and rabbits aren’t for trade, keep five bunches of grapes, keep two hundred and fifty catties of peanuts. Oh, right, do you accept green vegetables?”

Yang Jiajiang watched Tu Shan move things around and, hearing this, glanced into the vegetable bag. He didn’t know how she did it, but even in the bag, they hadn’t wilted; they were still very green and looked fresh and delicious: “We accept them.”

“Alright then, I won’t keep the greens. For the rapeseed, are you selling the seeds or pressing them into oil to sell?”

Yang Jiajiang grabbed a handful of rapeseed; every grain was plump and shiny: “Pressing them into oil to sell is more cost-effective.”

“That’s perfect. Leave me half a catty of oil when the time comes. Let me tell you, normal rapeseed has an oil yield of three to four taels, but my rapeseed has an oil yield of six to seven taels—more than double the normal amount, and it’s more fragrant and delicious.” That meant for every catty of seeds, six or seven taels of oil.

Yang Jiajiang was a businessman; he knew the oil yield of rapeseed very well, and he had never seen one with six or seven taels.

He asked in surprise: “Really?”

Tu Shan huffed: “If it’s less than six taels, I’ll give you all these seeds for free.”

Yang Jiajiang believed her: “Alright, then I’ll pay you double the price of regular rapeseed.”

Tu Shan was happy: “Easy, easy. Not just the rapeseed; our peanuts also have double the oil yield of regular peanuts. There’s nothing from our place that isn’t top quality.”

Yang Jiajiang agreed with this point; he had already tasted the benefits of Tu Shan’s goods.

He had tried a “taste before you buy” strategy with the peanuts, and everyone who tasted them had nothing but praise and wanted to buy the whole lot.

However, he sold them in limited quantities, using hunger marketing to attract customers, increase the value of the goods, and build a reputation—he was a natural businessman.

“I didn’t press the previous batch of peanuts into oil, but I’ll press this whole batch to sell; it will definitely sell well.”

Tu Shan waved her hand dismissively. How Yang Jiajiang made money and how much he earned was his own skill; she wasn’t jealous at all: “Just decide for yourself. Let’s settle up; still half cash and half tickets.”

Yang Jiajiang calculated a high price for Tu Shan. The grapes were considered a scarce commodity, and the quality was high, so he actually calculated them at one yuan per catty.

When he sold them, he would target the high-end market, so he wouldn’t lose money.

The peanuts and rapeseed were both calculated at double the price of the same category, and the small green vegetables were also at a high price. Usually, small greens were only a few cents a catty, or even a few catties for a cent, but Tu Shan’s were calculated at one dime per catty—definitely the king of green vegetables.

The rice, wheat, and potatoes, although not double the price of their counterparts, were still ten percent higher.

In total, it came to one thousand four hundred and ninety yuan. Tu Shan was stunned—God, she could finally retire.

Exchanging for half in tickets, Tu Shan clutched seven hundred and fifty yuan, grinning so wide her eyes disappeared.

Of course, even if she didn’t grin, you couldn’t see her eyes anyway.

Yang Jiajiang was happy too. He could earn this money back several times over. Sure enough, doing business was the right way to make money.

(End of chapter)