RYEY – Chapter 137 News About the Workers-Peasants-Soldiers University

The sound of a bullet being chambered jolted Boss Chen awake. He’d played with guns before, especially these crude, homemade ones. Don’t be fooled by how rough they looked—one shot could blow a wild boar to death.

“What… what do you want?”

Boss Chen’s voice trembled. The Skinny Monkey saw his chance, his eyes flashing as he darted behind Li Huan. That ruined any chance for Boss Chen to grab him as a hostage.

“Boss Li, what are you…”

Li Huan didn’t speak. He just took a few steps closer, pressing the muzzle of the crude gun right against Boss Chen’s forehead.

Sweat instantly broke out across Boss Chen’s brow. From Li Huan’s eyes, he could tell—if he dared make a wrong move, this man would really pull the trigger.

The burly men who had been about to attack all froze. They were just there to work for Boss Chen for money, but if things turned into killing… that wasn’t what they’d signed up for.

“Money. Or return the goods.”

“Money, money…”

Of course money. If he sold off those supplies, he’d make at least three thousand yuan. If he returned them, he’d get nothing.

“Skinny Monkey, search him.”

Li Huan wasn’t about to let Boss Chen act rashly. Skinny Monkey carefully reached into the army coat Boss Chen wore. Inside the inner pockets were wads of cash.

“Count out five thousand. Not a cent more, not a cent less.”

Skinny Monkey nodded, but after counting everything, there was only about 3,300 yuan.

“Brother Huan, it’s short. But he’s got ration tickets too, probably worth another five or six hundred.”

“Go to the van and bring out the milk powder, liquor, and cigarettes.”

Boss Chen’s eyes narrowed. He’d already calculated earlier—just those three items alone were worth over two thousand. He admitted defeat. He never expected this bookish-looking man to be so ruthless. He’d misjudged.

Skinny Monkey was still scared. After all, there were four burly men, and if they attacked, Brother Huan might not win. But seeing Brother Huan so confident suddenly reminded him of Cheng Qiao.

He hadn’t interacted much with her, but she always gave off an unfathomable feeling. Could it be…?

Thinking this, Skinny Monkey straightened his back, rushed to the van, and brought out all the liquor, cigarettes, and milk powder.

The burly men looked at Boss Chen. If he gave the order, they would grab the skinny brat immediately. But Boss Chen kept silent. They glanced at each other, then wordlessly got in the van.

Boss Chen, still facing inside, heard the engine roar to life. He wanted to turn around but couldn’t—there was still a gun pressed to his forehead. He looked at Li Huan with pleading eyes.

Li Huan sneered and stepped back. Boss Chen quickly turned, clutching his chest. Damn it! This was infuriating.

He shot Li Huan one last glance, then left without a word. This time, he’d lost both money and goods, but he’d be back.

“Brother Huan, you’re amazing. I was scared to death.”

“Here, 3,300. Take the 300 or so in change. Leave the ration tickets with me.”

“No, Brother Huan. I can’t take a single cent. I didn’t dig into Boss Chen’s background clearly enough, and almost cost you 5,000 yuan.”

“But we didn’t lose anything, did we? Take it. Without you, I couldn’t have pulled this off alone.”

Skinny Monkey nodded. With Brother Huan, there was no need for pretentious politeness—he’d just get mad if you refused too much. He took the money and left, deciding to go find Qiu Min. Today had scared him half to death.

“Wife, you can come out now.”

Cheng Qiao stepped out and swept all the supplies back into her space. The two returned to the west courtyard of their compound. Li Huan handed her the crude gun.

“Wife, good thing you thought of this. Otherwise, we would’ve lost out today.”

Cheng Qiao nodded and explained she’d been busy in her space too—communicating with the red-headed viper. Her plan was for the snake to bite Boss Chen, Li Huan and Skinny Monkey to handle two of the men, and she’d take care of the other two.

“How would you take care of them?”

“Look at this.”

Li Huan reached out, but she dodged nimbly. It was a potent anesthetic powder, something she’d carefully concocted from an old recipe book Uncle Ye Jun gave her.

Its effect was no joke. Remember the deer caught in Li Huan’s trap? It hadn’t died—it was still struggling. She’d secretly sprinkled some powder on it. The little deer’s eyes had closed, and it was out cold.

“This is powerful anesthetic powder. I can’t let you have it.”

Li Huan’s eyes lit up. His wife was amazing. She’d only been studying medicine under Uncle Ye for such a short time, and she could already make something from a prescription.

“Qiao, give me just a little, so I can carry it for self-defense.”

“There’s no antidote. If you accidentally get downwind or touch it yourself, who knows how long you’d be asleep.”

“You… you mean even you don’t know how long?”

“I don’t. That deer fell unconscious, then I put it into my magical storage. Inside, time is frozen. Now that it’s out… I don’t know when it’ll wake.”

“The deer isn’t dead?”

“No, just unconscious.”

Li Huan silently lit a candle for those burly men in his heart. They had just tossed all the supplies into the van, unknowing. If the deer woke up and panicked, all those goods—especially the jars of oil and baskets of eggs…

“Here, 3,000 yuan and these ration tickets. I’ll exchange them at the black market for nationwide tickets and send them to Father. Qiao, hungry? Let’s go to the state-owned restaurant today.”

“Okay. And let’s stop by the supply and marketing co-op for some pastries and clam oil. Lele gets hungry when doing homework at night.”

“Qiao, buy more malted milk powder too. I see your belly’s grown again. You need to keep your nutrition up.”

Cheng Qiao nodded. They locked up, then drove their ox cart toward the state-owned restaurant. When Fat Sister saw them, her smile was so wide her eyes nearly disappeared.

“Cheng Qiao, order a few extra dishes today. Tomorrow I won’t be here anymore.”

“Why? Don’t tell me you’re getting married?”

“What nonsense. Come here, I’ll tell you. I’m going to study at the Workers-Peasants-Soldiers University!”

“Really? That’s wonderful. Congratulations, Fat Sister. Here, take this for the road.”

Cheng Qiao pulled out a big bag of liquor-filled chocolates from her pocket. Her grocery store stocked them by the barrel, so she didn’t mind at all.

“Wow, thanks, Cheng Qiao! I love these.”

“Good, as long as you like them. I’ll order more dishes today anyway. I brought lunchboxes.”

“Alright, I’ll help you order. Two spicy chicken dices, two sauerkraut pork rib soups, two braised big bones, two chicken-and-mushroom stews, two braised pork dishes, two bowls of rice, ten big meat buns, and two bowls of pork dumplings.”

“How much, with tickets?”

“Nineteen yuan and twenty-eight cents, plus three jin of meat coupons and three jin four liang of grain coupons.”

Cheng Qiao quickly pulled out money and tickets, while Li Huan helped with the lunchboxes. At least ten would be needed today.