Chapter 70: Insisting on Getting in the Car? Then Lend a Hand While You're At It!

Receiving Li Junsheng's call, Qin Yong immediately arranged for the truck convoy to head to the machinery factory.

Li Junsheng was waiting for him at the gate, and the two met outside before Li Junsheng, armed with the proof issued by Section Chief Zhou, led Qin Yong and several trucks into the factory.

Qin Yong drove his truck to the warehouse, confirmed with Li Junsheng what needed to be moved, and then set to work, burying himself in the task. Though he was the team leader, he carried no airs—working harder than any of his truck-driving brothers.

Li Junsheng thought to himself that he’d made the right choice in asking Qin Yong to haul goods; not only did he take care of the transport, he pitched in with loading and unloading, sparing Li Junsheng the trouble of finding extra hands.

As Li Junsheng pondered, he suddenly felt uneasy, as if someone were watching him. Turning his head, he spotted a young boy sitting in the passenger seat of Qin Yong’s truck, gazing at Li Junsheng with curiosity, a handful of marbles clutched in his little fist.

Unable to help himself, Li Junsheng asked Qin Yong, who was passing by, “Captain Qin, why is there a child here? Did you take out the truck’s keys? Otherwise, it’s not very safe.”

Qin Yong had just loaded a box of scrap onto the truck and replied with a smile, “I took out the keys, so there’s no danger. That’s my son—no one’s at home to look after him, so I have to bring him along.”

“What about his mother, grandparents?” Li Junsheng asked, curiosity piqued.

Qin Yong gave a bitter smile and quietly shared his story. Born an orphan, Qin Yong’s wife had been ill and had passed away, leaving him alone with their son. He had to be both father and mother, and fearing his son might be bullied, he never sought a stepmother for him.

Hearing this, Li Junsheng felt a mixture of admiration and reassurance; Qin Yong seemed reliable. Still, he wondered how such a man could be acquainted with someone like Chen Dazhu, so he took the opportunity to ask about their relationship.

“What’s your connection to Chen Dazhu? Aren’t you two familiar?”

Qin Yong shook his head, “I barely know your friend. We just met a couple days ago. He came to find me, saying you needed a team to haul goods, and then he brought you to meet me.”

Li Junsheng finally felt at ease. As long as Qin Yong wasn’t in league with Chen Dazhu, all was well.

“Good, stick with me and work hard. I guarantee you and your boy will live well.”

Qin Yong grinned honestly. With only his son left, his sole wish was for the boy to have a good life.

With their combined efforts, the trucks were soon loaded with scrap from the machinery factory.

Li Junsheng took the passenger seat in Qin Yong’s truck, preparing to head to the agricultural machinery factory.

Just as they were about to leave, Chen Dazhu appeared out of nowhere, waving them down.

“Old Li, where are you all headed? Why didn’t you tell me you were asking Xiao Qin to haul goods? Off to see your team leader now, aren’t you? Bring me along!”

As he spoke, Chen Dazhu tried to climb into the truck. Li Junsheng opened the door and got out, spinning a tale: “I just had bad luck and missed our team leader, but I found the deputy. He told me to hurry and use whatever team I could to send this batch of goods to the countryside’s agricultural machinery factory. It all happened so fast, I haven’t had time to notify you. Once this batch is delivered, I’ll let you know. Wait for good news from me.”

Chen Dazhu snickered inwardly; he had no intention of leaving. Li Junsheng was probably trying to keep him at arm’s length and steal the credit for assembling the team. Who knew if he was really meeting the team leader? Chen Dazhu decided he must stick to Li Junsheng and not let him meet the leader alone.

He said with a silver tongue, “So urgent? Then I’ll go with you. I’ve nothing else to do, and I can help out.”

Li Junsheng replied, “We have enough hands, and you’re not cut out for this kind of labor.”

Chen Dazhu feigned offense, “Old Li, what’s that supposed to mean? Looking down on me? I tell you, when I put my mind to it, I’m as good as anyone. Just watch!”

Chen Dazhu insisted on joining, and seeing he couldn’t dissuade him, Li Junsheng let him come along. He suspected Chen Dazhu thought he was going to meet Old Dao behind his back, but since he wasn’t, it made no difference whether Chen Dazhu tagged along.

Qin Yong’s convoy, carrying Li Junsheng and Chen Dazhu, soon arrived at the Dongfanghong Agricultural Machinery Factory in town.

The trucks parked inside, and Qin Yong led the way, helping unload the goods into the workshop Li Junsheng had leased.

Li Junsheng encouraged Chen Dazhu to help with unloading, “Old Chen, thanks for your effort. Join Qin Yong and the others in unloading. Since you insisted on coming, show some diligence—when we meet our team leader, I’ll put in a good word for you and help you make a good impression.”

“Ah? All right, I’ll help unload too!”

Though he’d only been boasting, Chen Dazhu had never done manual labor before and wasn’t suited to the task, but now he had no choice but to tough it out.

Watching Chen Dazhu struggle with the unloading, Li Junsheng secretly chuckled.

Taking advantage of Chen Dazhu’s distraction, Li Junsheng slipped away to see Fang Youcai. He handed over the spare parts he’d found, allowing Fang Youcai to replace the worn components on the equipment.

Fang Youcai was delighted, and Li Junsheng took the opportunity to make an awkward request: to keep his leasing of the workshop at the agricultural machinery factory confidential. Fang Youcai agreed without hesitation.

Exhausted from unloading, Chen Dazhu realized after some time that Li Junsheng had vanished. Furious, he cursed; Li Junsheng had become a hands-off boss, leaving him to do all the work. If Li Junsheng wasn’t unloading, neither would he.

Once he’d caught his breath, curiosity got the better of Chen Dazhu; he wanted to find out more about these goods. Why was the machinery factory sending their goods to the agricultural machinery factory? What was the connection between the two?

With this in mind, Chen Dazhu entered the workshop to investigate. There were few people inside, just Qin Yong and his men, and an old worker keeping watch.

Chen Dazhu went over and handed the old man a cigarette. “Brother, why does our agricultural machinery factory need so much stuff from the machinery factory? Looks like it’s all scrap.”

The old worker took the cigarette, but had no answers. “I don’t know. Our leaders decide what’s needed; their plans are their own.”

“Who’s your leader?”

“Not sure. Recently, the workshop changed leadership, but we haven’t seen the new boss yet.”

Chen Dazhu was speechless—how could someone not even know their own leader? Clearly, the old man didn’t want to talk.

Just as Chen Dazhu was thinking this, Li Junsheng’s voice sounded behind him.

“Old Chen, what are you doing here?”