Food: Selling Boxed Meals at a Construction Site

After business hours that afternoon, Xu An returned to Xu Family Village. He found Xu Guosheng fishing by the river and invited him to go look at some trucks.

Used trucks might be cheaper than new ones, but the market wasn’t exactly reputable. Some vehicles ended up on the used lot after being in accidents or for other undisclosed reasons.

Minor issues like scratches or fender benders were manageable, but the real fear was ending up with a flood-damaged truck or, even worse, one that had been in a fatal accident.

Once these vehicles were refurbished, only a seasoned expert intimately familiar with them could spot the difference.

Xu An certainly couldn’t, which was why he needed a veteran driver with ten years behind the wheel—Master Xu, Xu Guosheng—to help him appraise the selection.

To their surprise, the moment they stepped into the used car lot, they saw ten identical light trucks parked in a neat row in front of a single dealership.

It wasn’t just Xu An; even Xu Guosheng had never seen anything like it.

Normally, you’d be lucky to find three to five suitable vehicles after scouring the entire used car market. But today, they’d found ten right at the entrance without even having to search. It was incredible.

It was a real eye-opener.

After greeting the dealership’s owner, Xu Guosheng walked straight over to the row of light trucks and began meticulously inspecting them one by one.

Xu An pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, offered one to the owner, and lit it for him with a lighter before fiddling with an unlit one in his own hand.

"You’ve got some serious skills, boss. I can’t believe you managed to acquire so many light trucks in such good condition all at once. When I first saw them, I thought I’d come to the wrong place." Xu An gave the owner a thumbs-up. "Truly impressive!"

The dealership owner was clearly very proud of having acquired these ten trucks. Hearing Xu An praise his capabilities, his stern, deadpan expression broke, and his face lit up with a grin.

"Just a lucky coincidence, haha." Though he said it was luck, the smug look on his face grew even more pronounced. He leaned in, eager to show off. "You know where this batch of trucks came from?"

"Oh? From the way you say it, boss, they must have quite the backstory!" Xu An said, playing along perfectly.

"Haha, not exactly." The owner laughed and waved his hand dismissively. He tapped the ash from his cigarette before continuing, "This batch came from some unlucky bastard."

"Unlucky bastard?" This time, Xu An wasn’t faking it. He genuinely didn’t understand.

"Some boss heard from who-knows-where that he should get into marine aquaculture, and on a whim, he went out and bought ten of these light trucks! I mean, for that kind of work, you use big ships at sea and, at the very least, large semi-trucks on land. What good are these little things? You could make ten trips and still not haul as much as they do in one."

"Besides," the owner said, pointing at one of the trucks, "even if you push the load limit, its cargo capacity is less than a ton. And if you want to take it on the highway? Even worse. You can only carry six or seven hundred kilograms. Any more than that and they won’t even let you on the expressway."

Now Xu An understood. It was some rich, clueless fool who got a rush of blood to the head, didn’t do any market research, and just dove in headfirst, making a mess of things.

All Xu An could do was sigh. ’Must be nice to have money to burn!’

’Ten light trucks! Even if each one was only forty thousand, that’s four hundred thousand! A family without at least a few million in savings wouldn’t dare to be so reckless with their money.’

Just then, Xu Guosheng finished inspecting a few of the trucks and walked back over. He gave the owner a thumbs-up. "This is a great batch of vehicles, all high quality. You’ve got a good eye, boss."

"So? See one you like? I’ll go get the keys and let you take it for a spin." The owner took a deep drag from his cigarette before tossing the butt on the ground and stamping it out.

"We’ll try the first one in the row," Xu Guosheng said, pointing to the truck at the head of the line.

The owner nodded, turned, and went into the small office building. He rummaged through a desk drawer, pulled out a key, and handed it to Xu Guosheng.

Xu Guosheng took the key, started the engine, and drove two laps around the lot. After confirming there were no issues, he returned to the office. "Boss, what’s the deal on this truck?"

"The truck’s original price is around fifty thousand. You’ve seen the condition—it’s practically new. Look, I won’t overcharge you. Thirty thousand. I’ll cover all the transfer and registration fees, and I’ll handle all the paperwork I can for you. How’s that for a sincere offer?"

*Hiss!* ’Thirty thousand! That’s over budget!’

"Boss, we’re just trying to run a small business here. Any chance you could go a little lower?" Xu Guosheng began to play the sympathy card, patting Xu An on the back. "Look, this is my nephew. He’s a great student, but his family has fallen on hard times. Besides himself, he’s got to take care of a grandmother in her seventies who can barely get around, plus two little twin brothers barely over four years old."

"Sigh." Xu Guosheng heaved a long sigh. "The folks in our village wanted to help where we could, so we all pitched in and loaned him some money to start a hauling business to support his family."

"Boss, it’s not like we’re trying to be cheap or nickel-and-dime you. This is just all the money we have, so we have to save every bit we can. What do you say, can you knock a little off for us? Even three or five hundred would help."

Xu Guosheng’s speech actually seemed to sway the owner. After a moment’s thought, he offered to knock five hundred off the price.

It wasn’t a huge discount, but it was a good sign!

Afterward, Xu Guosheng unleashed his power of persuasion. He started shooting the breeze with the owner, and by the time they hit it off, they had their arms around each other’s shoulders, calling each other "brother." They even made plans to go fishing together sometime.

Xu An watched from the side, utterly dumbfounded. ’I definitely made the right call bringing Uncle Guosheng to help out today. The man’s a legend!’

In the end, Xu Guosheng only managed to haggle the price down by three thousand, but he secured an incredible deal for Xu An.

He would only have to pay twenty thousand today to drive the truck off the lot, with the remaining balance due in three days. Once the final payment was made, the owner would hand over the official license plates.

In the meantime, the owner would even provide them with a temporary plate.

At that moment, Xu An felt like picking up Uncle Guosheng and spinning him around in celebration.

When he had first heard the thirty-thousand price tag, Xu An’s plan was to ask the owner to hold the truck for three days while he scraped the rest of the money together.

That had been the most realistic and viable plan he could come up with.

He never, ever expected Uncle Guosheng to be such a miracle worker, not only knocking three thousand off the price but also arranging for him to drive the truck away today.

’Incredible!’

After signing the contract, making the down payment, and setting the date for the final payment, Xu An received the keys and the temporary plate. He was now a vehicle owner! His life was entering a new, glorious Chapter!

「Xu Family Village.」

When Xu Guosheng and Xu An drove the light truck back, they caused a huge stir in the village.

Buying a vehicle wasn’t such a rare event anymore, but what made everyone marvel was that this was *Xu An’s* truck!

Sunflower seeds, peanuts, and dried longans were brought out for everyone to share. The crowd snacked and clicked their tongues in amazement, periodically gathering around Granny Xu to shower Xu An with praise, which made the old woman’s face blossom into a wide smile.

Third Granny circled the truck once before turning and heading back into her house.

When she reemerged, she was holding three large rosettes freshly made from red cloth. She found Xu An and said, "You’ve got a new truck coming into the family; there has to be a little ceremony. We don’t need to do anything too elaborate. We’ll just tie these big red flowers to the front and light some firecrackers to celebrate. How does that sound?"

"Sounds great, Third Granny! We’ll do it just like you said."

Xu An took the red rosettes from Third Granny and, following her instructions, tied them to the truck’s grille and side-view mirrors. The little truck instantly took on a festive air, looking almost brand new.

He then found two strings of firecrackers and lit them in front of the truck.

The CRACKLE! POP! SIZZLE! of the firecrackers, the praise from the crowd, the giggles of the children playing, and the joyous laughter of his family all blended together into a beautiful symphony.

The celebration continued all the way until dinnertime, when the crowd slowly dispersed, leaving a carpet of sunflower seed and peanut shells in their wake.

Cleaning the yard, making dinner, eating, washing the dishes, giving Granny Xu a sponge bath, bathing Xu Kang and Xu Le, tucking the twins into bed, taking a shower himself...

After all that was done, Xu An finally had a moment to himself. He settled into his rocking chair as usual, propping his head on his arm while he scrolled through his phone.

BEEP BEEP BEEP—

A message notification chimed. Xu An opened it, and a chat window popped up. The message was from Lin Xu Yang; it was a web link.

He clicked the link and waited a good ten seconds before it redirected to a webpage. It was the local Hai City news station, currently broadcasting a report.

"Next up is a story on food safety. Many of you have likely heard about the food poisoning incident at the Zijing Garden construction site, but the cause has remained unclear. I’m here now to explain the details of what happened."

’Didn’t that happen last month? Why is it only making the news now? Talk about a delay.’

Then, a thought occurred to Xu An.

’Could it be that they finally found the culprit? Is that why it’s being reported now?’

Pushing the thought aside, Xu An continued to listen.

"The Zijing Garden food poisoning incident began when several construction workers suffered from vomiting and diarrhea after their meal. An investigation revealed that they had all eaten lunch from Jiajia Fast Food Restaurant. Law enforcement officials promptly investigated the establishment and discovered that the restaurant was using frozen meat that had been expired for over a year!"

"This raised another question: where did the fast-food restaurant get its frozen meat? Following the trail, law enforcement officials located a business named the Anxin Pet Food Processing Company. Publicly, this company processed near-expiry food into pet feed. But secretly, they were selling both near-expiry food and products expired for as long as two years to various restaurants."

"So where was this company getting its near-expiry and expired food? After more than half a month of round-the-clock surveillance, law enforcement officials finally found their lead. The source of these meat products was none other than Victory Supermarket!"

"Now, let’s take a look at some footage."

The image of the news anchor vanished from the screen, replaced by video footage.

It was a video of an arrest. Five people were being taken into custody, their faces heavily blurred to conceal their identities.

However, the builds and clothing of two of the individuals were identical to the two men Xu An had seen back in Beitun Town. Even the style of their ties was the same.

One was the owner of the Anxin Food Processing Company. The other was the Qiansheng Group employee he had seen meeting with the Anxin owner in Beitun Town.

’So my guess was right. The source of the expired and near-expiry food really was Qiansheng Group!’

The last time Lin Xu Yang had come over for a late-night drink, Xu An had a hunch this whole affair wouldn’t remain hidden until next year like it did in his past life. Still, he never expected it to be exposed a full eight months ahead of schedule.

’And so many greenhouse farmers just signed contracts with Victory Supermarket! They’ve already torn out their old crops to plant cauliflower!’