The Happy Farmer Wanderer-Chapter 151 The Kong Family of Sanhe Town_1

As expected, Li Qing received nearly ten pounds less of young leaves today than yesterday.

It seems that the Wenguan Trees in the mountains have been almost completely stripped by the people from several villages in Shanglin Village.

With money to be made, everyone is highly motivated.

Now, nearly every household in these villages of Shanglin Village has the whole family pitching in.

But the amount of leaves being harvested has dwindled.

When Li Qing and Gao Li got home, three women were busily working outside in the courtyard.

Han Mei was busy collecting Wenguan Leaves from nearby villagers who were delivering them from time to time.

Tian Yue’e and Yang Xuelan, on the other hand, were wholly devoted to sorting and then sun-drying the Wenguan Leaves.

Yang Xuelan’s eyes met Li Qing’s for a moment, then she hurriedly turned her head away.

After finally coming together last night, her gaze now held many unspoken tender feelings.

"Qingzi, that Li from Sifang Village said he would deliver the Wenguan Leaves after lunch,"

Han Mei walked over, "He has over a hundred pounds of them, and they are semi-dry."

"But he didn’t separate the young leaves from the mature leaves; he picked them all together. I gather from what he said that he didn’t initially know we were buying the young and mature leaves separately."

The mention of a hundred pounds made Li Qing’s eyes light up, and he couldn’t help but be overjoyed, "I didn’t expect him to be such a capable boss. However, since he didn’t separate the young from the mature leaves, we can only purchase them at the price of mature leaves."

Han Mei sweetly smiled and explained, "He’s not some boss, he’s the village chief of Sifang Village."

"When he collected those hundred plus pounds of Wenguan Leaves, he didn’t pay a penny, it’s the collective effort of the villagers. The money will be distributed to the villagers based on the counted amount after the sales."

"I asked him carefully about everything we need to know this morning. I think we can confidently proceed with the purchase."

Li Qing chuckled, "Sister-in-law, there’s really no need to be so cautious."

"It’s everyone’s business we’re doing, as long as the goods are fine, we take them all."

Han Mei nodded and brushed a lock of hair from her temple, "But getting to know more about the situation is always right. It can also help us avoid some unnecessary trouble."

Li Qing nodded his head in agreement.

Although he felt there was no need to be overly cautious.

Being careful in everything can’t be too wrong.

Not long after Li Qing, Han Mei, and Tian Yue’e had finished their lunch, the Sifang Village Chief called.

"Qingzi, go to the entrance of the village to meet someone; he has arrived," Han Mei said after hanging up, "I’ll send his phone number to your cellphone. If you can’t find him, give him a call."

"Alright," Li Qing said as he wiped his mouth with a napkin and stretched lazily before heading out.

The noon sun in the height of summer was scorching.

Wearing flip-flops, Li Qing made his way to the main road at the village entrance.

After waiting less than ten minutes in the shade of a tree, he saw a three-wheeler turn off the national road.

Li Qing wasn’t sure if this was the Village Chief Li of Sifang Village, so he waved from a distance.

The three-wheeler stopped beside Li Qing.

A middle-aged man with a typical square face and tanned skin poked his head out from the window of the vehicle.

"What’s up, kiddo?"

"Are you Village Chief Li?" Li Qing called out.

"Ah, that’s me. Are you Boss Li?" Village Chief Li with the square face asked with a laugh.

Li Qing nodded, "Just fiddling around, not really a boss. Let’s head to my place for some water and rest first then."

"Sounds good, Boss Li, hop on," Village Chief Li called out.

Li Qing had just opened the car door, ready to get in, when suddenly another double-cab pickup truck drove down from the national road.

There were people cursing something from the truck.

"Li Yumin, you donkey-fucking piece of shit, you stand right there!"

"Stop right there!"

"Son of a bitch, why the hell are you running?"

Li Qing looked at Village Chief Li, "This can’t possibly be... looking for you, can it?"

Village Chief Li’s face turned bitter, "A bunch of ruffians, I didn’t expect they would actually chase us here."

"What’s going on here?" Li Qing asked.

By then, the double-cab had already stopped behind the tricycle.

Two youngsters and an old man jumped down from the truck.

Village Chief Li sighed in resignation and said to Li Qing, "Boss Li, they’ve come to our village to collect Wenguan Leaves."

Li Qing scoffed, "Is doing business so domineering nowadays? Trade is free; if you want to sell to someone, that’s your business, none of theirs. Never mind them, come with me."

"Who the fuck are you?" a young man who had gotten down from the double-cab shouted at Li Qing.

"Me? I collect leaves, putting it broadly, we’re somewhat in the same line of work," Li Qing said nonchalantly.

"Fellow tradesman? Who the fuck is a fellow tradesman with you? This is between us and Li Yumin; mind your own damn business, lest you attract trouble you can’t shake off!" The young man, with his eyebrows raised, cursed disdainfully.

"Qingzi, Qingzi, come here!"

From the small shop owned by Auntie Caili nearby, Ding Shengwang from the same village suddenly waved his hand and shouted a few times at Li Qing.

"Village Chief Li, wait here for a moment."

Li Qing, a bit puzzled, told Li Yumin and then walked over to the small shop.

"Uncle Ding, what’s up?" Li Qing asked.

"Do you know who that old man from the double-cab is?" Ding Shengwang said with a wary look on his face.

Li Qing shook his head; the man just looked like a regular old man.

But Ding Shengwang definitely wouldn’t say it for no reason; that man must be someone with some status.

"Old Kong the Third from the town!" Ding Shengwang uttered each word with emphasis, his face grave.

As soon as the name was mentioned, Li Qing’s face also turned ugly.

He didn’t know Old Kong the Third personally, but he had heard the name countless times. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

A real bully in the town.

"Qingzi, is that tricycle bringing you a shipment?" Auntie Caili asked anxiously from the side.

Li Qing nodded, "From Sifang Village, I just made contact with them today."

"Listen to your uncle’s advice; don’t mess with Old Kong the Third. The older the bastard gets, the bolder and more ruthless he becomes," Ding Shengwang advised, "If they want to fight over it, just let it go quickly, even if it means earning less money; it’s not worth attracting that bad luck."

Li Qing hesitated internally.

He could easily make two or three thousand from the over a hundred pounds of mixed large and tender Wenguan Leaves.

To just hand it over to someone else, Li Qing really felt somewhat unwilling.

Now, he was someone who at least had some backing; he just didn’t know if Lü Zong could handle this Old Kong the Third.

"Let me make a phone call first."

Li Qing glanced at Old Kong the Third and Li Yumin, who were not far away, apparently in the midst of a heated argument, and stepped aside to dial Lü Zong’s number.