Chapter 210: I Don't Believe It Can Earn Money

Firecracker sounds in Hu Tong Li rose sporadically.

Guo Tuzi saw so many children playing in Hu Tong and a gentle smile appeared on his face again.

After returning the money to Lu Cheng, he was about to leave.

"Guo Dage, wait a moment."

While Guo Tuzi was puzzled, after a short while Lu Cheng came out, balancing a half‑bottle of wine and a plate of leftover peanuts.

There was only this half‑bottle left at home; just now Master and the others, four of us, drank one and a half bottles.

If Mother hadn't stopped me, worried that Xu Erye would have to travel at night, that half‑bottle would have been finished.

"Lu San'er, what's this?"

"Guo Dage, I won't invite you into my house; let's sit at the doorway and have a drink together."

Whether it was the last time Guo Tuzi helped with a fight or this time returning the money, Lu Cheng knew he was a person with a strong sense of pride.

If I really called him into the house for wine, I'd fear he'd think, "It's the New Year and I didn't bring any gifts," and feel embarrassed to go inside.

There was a step at the courtyard gate; after Lu Cheng sat down, he placed the half‑bottle of wine and the peanuts on the ground.

"Guo Dage, are you being picky?"

To persuade someone with such strong pride, I used this provocation; indeed Guo Tuzi hesitated a moment, then sat down.

"Drinking here is quite nice," Guo Tuzi murmured, watching the children setting off firecrackers in Hu Tong, feeling more comfortable than watching any opera while drinking.

"Here, Guo Dage," Lu Cheng handed over a cup of wine; Guo Tuzi took it and tipped his head back to drink it down.

Lu Cheng was startled: "Guo Dage, at your drinking pace, this half‑bottle won't be enough; let's drink and chat together."

Guo Tuzi also realized he was drinking too fast and showed an apologetic expression.

"Uncle," Qing'er ran from Hu Tong into Lu Cheng's arms: "Look, I found a small firecracker."

Lu Cheng pinched her cheek: "Hmm, great, have a peanut; pick up more. Tomorrow Uncle will take you to set off firecrackers, go play, but don't run too far…"

"Hmm, I know."

Qing'er skipped away to play again, and Lu Cheng looked on with a happy face.

It would be nice if Qing'er could stay in the Capital City, but sister‑in‑law would surely be reluctant to let her go.

"Lu San'er, I heard her call you uncle? Isn't she your child?"

"Oh, she's my older brother's child; we brought her to the Capital City for the New Year, and in a few days we'll send her back."

Lu Cheng really didn't want Qing'er to leave, so he hoped the year would pass more slowly.

Guo Tuzi nodded after hearing that, picked up a peanut and put it in his mouth, then drank another cup of wine.

While pouring wine, Lu Cheng casually asked, "Guo Dage, I see you're still riding a cart for work; I still don't know what you do, and you don't even get a holiday on New Year's Eve."

"Sigh, it's not a proper job; I just find odd jobs—deliver coal in winter, and when the weather warms, help people unload cargo."

For Guo Tuzi, there is no such thing as a holiday; he earns as much as he can.

"How much can you earn doing odd jobs?"

Guo Tuzi wiped his mouth: "Not much; when there's a lot of odd work, I can make about eight mao per piece; when there's little, only three or two mao, enough to save a bit for meals."

Indeed it's only enough for meals; after daily expenses, there's hardly any money left all year, and being able to eat is already good, let alone paying for his wife's medical treatment.

Lu Cheng tossed a peanut into his mouth: "So Guo Dage, you never thought of finding a stable job?"

Guo Tuzi shook his head: "It doesn't matter; I can't go through the back door, can't get into a factory, the Street Office does assign manual work—gluing matchboxes, gluing envelopes—but I'm impatient, so I can't do that kind of delicate, women‑type work."

Guo Tuzi's words were rather funny, and Lu Cheng couldn't help but laugh.

Guo Tuzi didn't mind: "Go ahead and laugh; I can't compare to you. I'm just a big brute, have no culture, and this life is a born poverty disease."

Seeing the other mock himself, Lu Cheng stopped laughing: "Guo Dage, you don't have to say that; no one is born with a poverty disease—days are earned through struggle. I think you wouldn't want to give up on paying for sister‑in‑law's treatment, would you?"

"Of course I don't want to, but right now there's truly no good way; I can't actually go robbing, can I?"

Lu Cheng quickly waved his hand: "Don't entertain that thought any longer. Even if you could rob and pay for sister‑in‑law's treatment, once she's cured and knows the money came from a dirty source, will she be at ease?"

Guo Tuzi sighed and nodded: "You're right. That day at the bathhouse, I acted on a sudden impulse; luckily you helped me brake the car."

In fact that day, Guo Tuzi really was about to get his Handgun; perhaps the world would now have another bandit.

A person veers onto a wrong path often in a single thought.

Lu Cheng raised his cup and clinked it with Guo Tuzi: "Guo Dage, let me tell you about a livelihood. It can earn money—at least several times what you now make, even more than those workers—but I don't know if you're willing to do it."

Guo Tuzi held his cup in his hand, staring blankly; he even thought Lu Cheng was joking—how could such a money‑making livelihood exist?

"If you're not joking, then I have no reason not to do it; I've even thought about robbery, what else am I unwilling to do?"

Lu Cheng nodded slightly: "Alright, the livelihood I'm talking about is picking up trash."

"Picking up trash?" Guo Tuzi laughed and shook his head; he had thought Lu Cheng would mention some grand occupation, but it turned out to be just picking up trash.

What kind of money‑making livelihood is that? Guo Tuzi half‑hoped in vain.

"Not to hide it from you, even when you come to my house today, I usually pick up some of the trash people discard; it can indeed be taken to a scrap recycling station and sold for a couple of coins."

"But you should know, every household knows that's treasure; they'd rather keep it piled inside their homes than throw it away easily."

"That makes sense; right now resources are already scarce. When something at home breaks, we repair it, and if it truly can't be fixed, we temporarily keep it, accumulating until we can sell it for money."

"Guo Dage, the trash‑picking I'm talking about isn't wandering the streets; that way you obviously can't collect much."

Guo Tuzi looked up, a bewildered expression on his face: "Then where should I pick up?"

"East Suburb Landfill."

"East Suburb Landfill?" Guo Tuzi replied dismissively: "What kind of scrap can be found there?"

Lu Cheng laughed: "Guo Dage, don't look down on that place; you know it hosts many Blind Drifters from other regions."

"Of course I know that; I've heard they can't be driven away, like a guerrilla force. Send them back once, and a few days later they sneak back. Even if you lock them up for a few days, it doesn't help."

After a few times, as long as those Blind Drifters stay out of the city, the Joint Defense Squad just turns a blind eye, since they wouldn't go out with guns to shoot them.

"Exactly, they can't get enough to eat or stay warm there; they eat the wind and sleep exposed, without even a decent place to live. So why is that landfill so good?"

Leaving the warm kang of his hometown unslept, he insists on coming here to sleep— is it just because they want to be a little nearer the Imperial City, to soak up the imperial aura?

When Lu Cheng said that, Guo Tuzi fell silent; those Blind Drifters certainly aren't after any imperial aura.

"You mean they're there just to pick up trash? But how much could they sell it for, that would make it worth them leaving home?"

"Heh, how much it sells for, I don't know, but I know they're definitely making a fortune in secret."

Guo Tuzi frowned: "Is it really that wicked? How could I not believe it?"