Volume 1, Chapter 11: Recruiting Partners for Big Profits

Qiao Yuan did not rush to purchase the supplies on her list after leaving the pawnshop. Given her increasingly frequent trips in and out of the village, relying on taxis was becoming inconvenient.

She headed to a car dealership. With the village being a place where everyone gossiped, she dared not buy a luxury car or a sports coupe. Instead, she spent over 200,000 yuan on an affordable, domestically produced SUV. Even then, she had to grit her teeth; although she now had plenty of money, she hadn't yet adjusted to her new financial status. Old habits die hard—after twenty years of living in poverty, that mindset was deeply ingrained.

Because the quantity of supplies Ning Jue requested was too vast, Qiao Yuan couldn't bring them back to the village without attracting unwanted attention. She found an agent and rented a 1,000-square-meter warehouse in the suburbs.

"Miss Qiao, what kind of business are you in? Why do you need such a large warehouse?" the agent asked, curious, noting that Qiao Yuan looked quite young, likely a recent college graduate.

"Oh, my family is in the scrap metal business. I just need a place to store some things," she replied.

The agent looked visibly disappointed, likely wondering if this nice warehouse would soon turn into a junkyard. However, Qiao Yuan offered a high price and transferred the full year's rent without blinking. The agent left, satisfied. Qiao Yuan carefully inspected the warehouse, and only after confirming there were no security cameras did she feel at ease and depart.

Driving her new car, Qiao Yuan arrived at the Su Shan Zhai restaurant in Nanyuan City. She wasn't a vegetarian, but she was meeting someone here to discuss business. After booking a private room, she made a call.

"Hey, old classmate, do you have some time? I'd like to treat you to a meal."

A hearty laugh erupted from the other end of the line. "Qiao Yuan? What made you think of me? I was just about to ask what you've been up to lately; you haven't even been to the class reunions."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Qiao Yuan sent the location. An hour later, a tall figure appeared at the door of the private room.

"Qiao Yuan, not bad! Did you strike it rich? You booked such a fancy place."

The man was Xu Lian, a college classmate of Qiao Yuan’s and one of the few friends she could truly talk to. He was dressed in a well-tailored gray casual suit, paired with white G-brand sneakers, giving him a stylish, business-elite aura. Xu Lian was somewhat tan, but he had sharp, defined features. He had been a star player on the school basketball team, boasting broad shoulders and a narrow waist—a great physique. However, the meticulous hair and gold-rimmed glasses caught Qiao Yuan off guard.

"I remember you didn't have bad eyesight. Why are you wearing glasses so soon after graduation?"

"Ha! I'm helping my dad with the business. He said wearing glasses makes me look more sophisticated." As he spoke, Xu Lian took them off, revealing two oval indentations on his nose. "Look, they're plain glass, no prescription. Hahahaha!"

Qiao Yuan handed him the menu. "I know you love vegetarian food. Order whatever you like, don't worry about the cost." She winked. "I have money now."

Xu Lian paused, then burst into laughter. "Since you said so, I won't hold back!" He took the menu and ordered eight dishes.

"Qiao Yuan, since you specifically invited me out, what's this really about?" Xu Lian asked curiously once the waiter had closed the door.

"I want to do business with you," Qiao Yuan said, getting straight to the point.

"You?" Xu Lian looked her up and down. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, but back in school, Qiao Yuan had relied on student loans for tuition and part-time jobs for living expenses. It had been less than a year since graduation; he couldn't imagine where she would have the capital to start a business.

"Don't worry, money is not an issue. I can pay you a deposit."

"Did you win the lottery or something?" Xu Lian leaned in and whispered.

Qiao Yuan laughed. "Sure, something like that."

She pulled out a purchase list—not the one Ning Jue had given her, but one she had compiled for Xu Lian to help with.

"So much?" Xu Lian’s reaction was identical to hers.

"That's why I need you; I can't manage this alone." Qiao Yuan picked up her phone, entered Xu Lian’s number into her payment app, and immediately transferred 200,000 yuan as a deposit.

Hearing the notification sound, Xu Lian checked his phone and finally believed that Qiao Yuan was serious.

"This is the deposit," Qiao Yuan said, pointing to the gasoline, diesel, and crossbows on the list. "Purchasing these items in such large quantities will attract attention from the authorities, so be careful."

"Hiss!" Xu Lian gasped. "You're telling me you need 10 tons of gasoline alone?"

Qiao Yuan nodded. "The buyer is a big spender. I know I don't have the capacity to handle this order on my own, which is why I'm pulling you in. Plus, these goods will be purchased long-term; we can make a lot of money together."

Just then, the waiter knocked to serve the dishes. Xu Lian quickly folded the paper and tucked it into his inner suit pocket.

It was Qiao Yuan's first time at a vegetarian restaurant. She initially thought eight dishes for two people were too many, but once the food arrived, she realized Xu Lian had actually been restrained. They ended up ordering four more dishes before they were full.

After the meal, Qiao Yuan gave Xu Lian the warehouse address and told him to store everything he bought there. Xu Lian left with the list; he disliked helping manage his family's supermarket, and if he could pull this off with Qiao Yuan, he would have the capital to start his own business in the future.

Qiao Yuan stayed in the room a bit longer to look up large hardware stores in Nanyuan City. Ning Jue’s list included not just diesel generators, but solar ones as well—things her small grocery store didn't carry.

By the afternoon at the Yusheng Hardware Wholesale Market, Qiao Yuan felt overwhelmed by the options. She ended up buying two of each type of generator. She had the owner ship them to the warehouse, and only after the staff left did she secretly store the generators in her spatial storage.

After a long day of running around, she finally had some results. Qiao Yuan returned to the village just at dusk. As soon as she drove into the village entrance, the elderly men and women sunning themselves in the small square and at the intersections began pointing at her car.

She parked at her courtyard gate and got out. A woman who usually loitered by her grocery store couldn't help but ask, "Qiao Yuan, did you strike it rich? You can afford such a big car?"

"It's really strange, isn't it? Her little shop hardly ever has any customers, so where did she get the money for a car?"

Qiao Yuan couldn't be bothered to explain. With these village gossips, no matter how watertight her story was, by tomorrow the whole village would be buzzing with rumors that she was being kept by some wealthy boss in the city. She ignored them and drove into her courtyard.

Among the women at the gate, one wearing a red floral cardigan stared at Qiao Yuan’s back and silently picked up her folding stool to leave.

***

On the west side of Yongle Village, there was a large compound covering two acres, where a three-story building was brightly lit.

"You saw her drive through the gate with your own eyes?" Chen Wei said, sucking on a cigarette and pouting.

"Not just me. The Liu family, the Zhang family, and the Wang family's women—we all saw it!" Shen Xiu took off her red cardigan and turned the air conditioning down by two degrees. She then vividly described how impressive and arrogant Qiao Yuan had looked today.

"That little brat! She has money to buy a car but no money to repair the ancestral hall!" Chen Wei threw the cigarette butt down and crushed it fiercely with his foot.

"I thought you were looking for Qiao Zhenyun? Why are you targeting that young girl?"

Chen Wei looked up and sneered. "Her parents are nowhere to be found, and her grandfather is living in the best nursing home in the city. The Qiao Zhenyun couple wouldn't be that generous. It has to be Qiao Yuan. So, tell me, if I don't ask her for the money, who else should I ask?"

Shen Xiu had a sudden realization. Her eyes rolled twice, and then a brilliant idea struck her. "Old man, we could... and then..."