PCJ – Chapter 324 Reciprocity

“Director Zhao.” Zhang Youping had recognized Director Zhao long ago, but given the disheveled state he and his wife were in, he felt a bit embarrassed to greet him.

“Did you just return from Guangdong?” Zhao Jinyuan asked.

“Yes, exactly. At first, we weren’t sure when we’d return, so we didn’t book tickets in advance. Later, we couldn’t get any tickets. If it weren’t for Master Tang kindly giving us a ride back, we might have had to stay in Guangdong for the New Year.” Zhang Youping gave a wry smile.

“It’s getting late. How about this: I’ll take you to the station. Though I’m not sure if there are still buses at this hour.” Zhao Jinyuan furrowed his brow and quickly called over his driver, Chen Guangbin.

At this moment, Master Tang hurriedly returned the cigarette in his hand to Zhang Youping, saying, “Xiao Zhang, you keep this cigarette for yourself. It’s for your New Year celebration, I wouldn’t dare to take it.”

“How can that be?” Zhang Youping felt embarrassed to take back the cigarettes he had already given.

“Old Tang, since Youping is giving it to you, just take it. I won’t criticize you for that. You did a good job this time, but in the future, be more careful. Safety is the most important thing. Letting people sit in the cargo space on such a long journey—if something were to happen, it wouldn’t just be you who bears the responsibility, the factory would also suffer losses,” Zhao Jinyuan reminded Master Tang.

“Oh, I’ll definitely be more careful,” Master Tang said as he finally accepted the cigarette.

Chen Guangbin drove the car over and quickly got out to help Zhang Youping load his luggage into the trunk. Zhao Jinyuan also lent a hand.

“Director Zhao, I can do it myself. How can I let you do it?” Zhang Youping said, feeling embarrassed.

“Youping, if you think of me as your friend, just call me Brother Zhao. There’s no need to be so formal,” Zhao Jinyuan said with a smile.

“Then I’m honored, Brother Zhao,” said Zhang Youping, quickly adjusting his tone. His wife, Liu Qiaoye, also followed suit, calling him Brother Zhao.

“Come on, hop in the car. Tomorrow’s New Year’s Eve. You’d better hurry home. There’s a lot waiting for you at home,” Zhao Jinyuan said, knowing it wasn’t the time for pleasantries.

“We really appreciate it,” Zhang Youping said, understanding that if Zhao hadn’t offered to help, they wouldn’t have made it to the station in time.

There were many pedestrians on the street but not many vehicles. Public buses occasionally passed by. In no time, they arrived at the bus station.

“Master Chen, go check if there’s still a bus to Xintian. If possible, see if there’s one going to Gezhu Ping Town,” Zhao Jinyuan instructed.

Chen Guangbin quickly got out of the car and ran to inquire at the station.

“You two, don’t worry. If there aren’t any buses, I’ll have Master Chen drive you to Meizi’ao,” Zhao Jinyuan said, noticing the worried expressions on Zhang Youping and his wife.

“Oh no, Brother Zhao, thank you so much,” Zhang Youping said, expressing his gratitude.

Zhao Jinyuan became serious, “If you’re calling me brother, there’s no need for all this formal talk. When you get back, just have Jiaohua prepare some more dark tea for my factory. This tea is in such high demand that I can’t even supply it to my customers. Brother, you don’t need to keep running off to Guangdong. Helping Jiaohua expand the tea plantation here at home will be much more rewarding. Do you know how much that bamboo tube dark tea Jiaohua makes is worth on the black market? It’s going for six or seven hundred yuan per tube, sometimes even a thousand. People want it, but there’s none available. You’d be better off helping him with the tea business here at home.”

Zhang Youping nodded. His wife, Liu Qiaoye, chimed in, “I’ve made up my mind to stay home next year. I regretted going to Guangdong as soon as we got there. How could we leave our child, who’s not even eight, alone at home? What kind of parents do that? Even if we’re poor, as long as the family is together, we’ll be fine.”

“Exactly. You still need to make money though, to support your child’s education. But who says you can only make money in Guangdong? There’s plenty of land in Meizi’ao for tea plants. If you turned it all into dark tea, imagine how much you could make! Jiaohua’s tea won a gold medal at the Hunan Agricultural Fair last year, and another at the National Agriculture Expo. This year, we’re sending it to the International Agriculture Expo, and it’s likely to win another gold medal. That tea will be worth a fortune. You should get back and focus on tea,” Zhao Jinyuan said, continuing his efforts to persuade the couple.

Zhang Youping was deep in thought, while Liu Qiaoye was wondering what their son was doing at home.

A short while later, Chen Guangbin returned. “Director Zhao, there are no more buses to Xintian at this time.”

Zhao Jinyuan nodded, “Alright then, there’s no rush. Master Chen, take us to the factory guesthouse so my brother and sister-in-law can freshen up. Then we’ll head to the cafeteria for a meal. I bet they haven’t had a decent hot meal in days.”

“Got it,” Chen Guangbin quickly got into the car.

“Brother Zhao, you don’t have to go through all this trouble,” Zhang Youping said, unsure what to do since there were no buses.

“It’s no trouble at all. This is my territory. You’re not leaving hungry, I guarantee it. After dinner, Master Chen will drive you to Meizi’ao. And don’t worry about bothering him. Just make sure Jiaohua gives him a bamboo tube of dark tea in return,” Zhao Jinyuan laughed.

“Alright then,” said Chen Guangbin with a smile.

“You wouldn’t be foolish enough to trade a tube of dark tea for cigarettes, would you? I’m not doing that!” Chen Guangbin said, jokingly.

“I’ll make sure Jiaohua gives you each a tube,” Liu Qiaoye said.

“Sister-in-law, do you know how much money you just cost Jiaohua by asking for those tubes? That’s a couple thousand yuan!” Zhao Jinyuan laughed heartily.

“If I, as his mother, ask for a couple of tubes, he’ll have to hand them over, even if they’re worth ten thousand yuan,” Liu Qiaoye said with a smile.

“Exactly! That kid is so sharp. I once tried to trade him a box of White Rabbit candy for a tube of tea, and he refused! This time, I finally got the better of him,” Zhao Jinyuan said, laughing uncontrollably.

Zhang Youping was still confused, “Is Jiaohua’s bamboo tube dark tea really that good?”

Zhao Jinyuan was momentarily surprised but then smiled, “More than good. Let me tell you, the leaders of Zijiang City bring only this dark tea when visiting the provincial leaders. No other gifts are as effective as this tea. The amount Jiaohua produces is so limited that the city government has already claimed it all. There’s none left.”

Zhang Youping and his wife exchanged shocked looks.

When they reached the guesthouse, Zhao Jinyuan made sure the staff prepared hot water for the couple so they could shower and change into clean clothes. Once they had changed, they looked quite different—almost indistinguishable from city folks. Though Zhang Youping’s skin was tanned from working outdoors, he carried himself with more confidence than when he was a farmer in Meizi’ao. Liu Qiaoye had changed even more; her skin was fairer, her face rounder, and her style more fashionable, making her look like a professional city woman.

“Come on, dinner’s ready,” Zhao Jinyuan said, slightly surprised by their transformation, but quickly ushering them to the dining hall.

“Since you’ll still have to drive later, let’s skip the drinks. We’ll have plenty of opportunities to share a proper drink in the future,” Zhao Jinyuan said.

“Agreed, agreed. I wonder if Jiaohua has any wild boar meat this year. If so, I’ll have Master Chen bring some over,” Zhang Youping said.

“He’s raising dozens of wild boars now, but he treats them like treasures. I doubt he’ll want to slaughter any. Once you’ve tasted wild boar, regular pork just doesn’t have the same flavor,” Zhao Jinyuan said, recalling how he once tried to buy a wild boar from Jiaohua but failed. Though the wild boars were costly to keep, they had helped improve the quality of the soil in Jiaohua’s tea garden, so Jiaohua wasn’t keen on slaughtering them.

Chen Guangbin then returned with a plastic bag filled with high-end cigarettes, liquor, and candy.

“Brother, sister-in-law, I’ve got a ton of this stuff at home. Help me out and take some back with you,” Zhao Jinyuan said as he handed them the bag.

“No, no, Brother Zhao, you’ve already helped us so much, how can we take more?” Zhang Youping quickly refused.

“Don’t be so formal. If you respect me as your brother, then take it without saying anything. You’re even planning to get me some tea from Jiaohua, so why not accept this small favor in return? Chen, back me up here,” Zhao Jinyuan asked his driver to chime in.

“I wouldn’t dare speak out of turn, but our factory’s tea sells so well that people from other companies come here with gifts just to try to get some. We’ve all gotten plenty of stuff from them. These items, while nice, can still be bought with money. But Jiaohua’s dark tea, that’s priceless,” Chen Guangbin said with a smile.