Chapter 230: Made Some Money

He brought cigarettes and alcohol for Xu Erye; that's Lu Cheng's habit, basically going once every month.

He even thought about finding a spouse for his Master.

For example, Wang Big Aunt in the courtyard would be quite suitable; she could become a daughter‑in‑law and even get a small house.

Such a good thing, yet every time he brings it up, the Master kicks him out.

He does have good intentions, but the old man somehow takes that goodwill as donkey liver and lungs.

After leaving the Master, he turned into another alley and arrived at Guo Tuzi's house.

The front gate was wide open; Guo Tuzi's wife was sitting on a small stool, cradling a pillow, muttering "little rice dumpling" under her breath.

Compared with his last visit, Guo Tuzi's courtyard was messier, with even more piled junk.

"Brother Guo," Lu Cheng entered, and Guo Tuzi, who was sorting the junk on the tricycle, turned around.

"Lu San'er, you're back, have a seat; I'll pour you some water."

"No need to trouble yourself, Brother Guo; I'm not thirsty. I heard the kids from Hu Tong say you were looking for me, that you're coming to see the Master today, so I just passed by."

"Ah, nothing much, just wanted to treat you to a meal."

Seeing Guo Tuzi's excited demeanor and his offer to treat him, Lu Cheng guessed that it was probably because he had made money scavenging junk.

He lifted the junk off the tricycle; the top layer was paper cartons and torn newspapers, worthless, but underneath lay scrap iron and copper, and judging by the weight it seemed to be several jin.

Just that pile on the tricycle could fetch about two or three yuan.

Lu Cheng clapped his hands: "Brother Guo, is this what you've saved up over a few days?"

"A few days?" Guo Tuzi sat up straight: "This was scraped out in a single day yesterday."

"Scraped out in one day?" Lu Cheng was somewhat surprised: "Then you must have earned two or three yuan in that day."

Looking at it that way, a month's earnings are actually quite a lot, comparable to the wages of a fourth‑ or fifth‑level worker.

But Guo Tuzi smiled.

"Two or three yuan? Hehe, that's when luck is bad."

Lu Cheng heard that and thought, could it be even more than that?

"Then, what about when luck is good?"

At that moment Guo Tuzi didn't answer right away; instead, as if afraid of being overheard, he first peeked out of the alley, then shut the gate.

Seeing Guo Tuzi's cautious demeanor, Lu Cheng burst out laughing.

Guo Tuzi was a bit embarrassed: "Brother, don't make fun of me. I'm truly used to being poor, never having earned that much. Now I understand why the richer people become stingy—they're afraid of being remembered by others."

"Haha, Brother Guo, you pick up trash and have even figured out some grand life philosophy. So, how much money have you actually earned?"

Lu Cheng was extremely curious at that moment.

Guo Tuzi would certainly keep it hidden from others—after all, the fewer who know, the better—but with Lu Cheng, he had no reason to conceal it.

If Lu Cheng hadn't given him that tip, he wouldn't have today.

"Brother, to be honest, when luck is good I can find purple copper; in a day I can sell it for a Great Unity. I calculated that at this rate, I could earn over a hundred yuan a month."

No wonder Guo Tuzi is so cautious; previously he took odd jobs all month, worrying about days without work and having to 'drink the northwest wind,' and could only earn a dozen or so yuan a month.

No matter how frugal he was, there was no money left.

Now he could earn over a hundred a month; how could he not be excited? Even an eighth‑level factory worker makes that much, and he could wake up laughing from his dreams every night.

It was Lu Cheng's words that helped him earn so much; Guo Tuzi is a righteous man, and to thank Lu Cheng he had to treat him to a meal, so these past few days he kept going to that Hu Tong to see if Lu Cheng had returned.

"Brother, tell me, what do you want to eat today? Even if you want dragon meat, I'll find a way to get it for you."

Bringing dragon meat is a bit exaggerated, but it shows Guo Tuzi's intention at that moment.

"Then I won't be polite; at noon the two of us will go eat the marinated boiled dish. I just had breakfast with my sister, but she refused to eat, so I couldn't finish it either."

Guo Tuzi laughed: "Don't be too courteous; from now on I'll cover your drinking money. Whenever you want a drink, just come find me."

It's clear that Guo Tuzi is a sincere person; he doesn't like owing others, but in this case he ends up owing, because there's no way to repay.

With money, he can have his wife see a doctor; once she's healthy, they can have children. Such a favor can't be repaid just by a few meals or a few bottles of wine.

Guo Tuzi sighed: "That day I stole your handgun, I really stole the right one."

The remark left Lu Cheng stunned; how could stealing something seem so honorable?

Guo Tuzi laughed heartily and explained: "Otherwise, how could I have met you? You're my God of Wealth!"

So that's what it meant! Lu Cheng teased: "Seeing how much you earn, I even want to start picking junk with you."

"Hey, brother, don't make jokes like that. I'm not like you; you have a respectable job with limitless prospects. I'm dirty, smelly, and utterly unappreciated."

Guo Tuzi's words stem from the current social climate, where workers hold high status.

It's not just people like him who make a living scavenging; even collective units are looked down upon.

When families look for a partner, they prioritize workers with a secure 'iron rice bowl.'

"It's fine, Brother Guo, don't think that way. As long as we don't steal or rob, we're not inferior. First, get your sister‑in‑law's illness treated; that's the most important thing."

Those words made Guo Tuzi's eyes instantly turn red.

Now people shout slogans of equality, but how many truly achieve that mindset?

Lu Cheng comes from such a good family and has such a good job, yet he can look up to him; Guo Tuzi was so moved he couldn't speak.

During lunch, while the two went to eat the marinated boiled dish, Lu Cheng finally realized how chaotic the East Suburb Landfill was.

At first, following Lu Cheng's suggestion, Guo Tuzi went with two people, but on the first day they were beaten back.

But Guo Tuzi wasn't the one to take a loss; the next day he brought five people over and gave that group a good lesson.

Anyway, those people were outsider Blind Drifters, so there was no worry they'd call the police; they'd just be sent back.

He thought a single fight would secure his footing, but it wasn't that simple.

That landfill turned out to be divided among several groups; normally everyone coexisted peacefully, each responsible for their own area.

But the "cake" was that big, and Guo Tuzi's sudden entry would inevitably mean the original people would get a smaller slice.

So those people united and tried to drive Guo Tuzi out.

Guo Tuzi wasn't scared at all; he went straight with more than thirty people and fought those people several times.

Later, after several groups saw that Guo Tuzi wasn't easy to bully and that they couldn't keep fighting every day, they simply agreed to carve out a piece of land for Guo Tuzi.

Guo Tuzi and his few companions could only pick up trash in that area and were not allowed to cross the boundary.

When things reached this point, Guo Tuzi could earn a decent amount of money each month; in theory that should be enough, but the Guo Tuzi who was already making big money still wanted to earn more.

"Hey brother, not to hide it from you, there's a guy nicknamed Pi Jiu Ping inside; among the several zones, the area he occupies is the best, and you can often pick up purple copper…"

Guo Tuzi said, taking a sip of wine, "I want to take my men and deal with him, then seize his piece of land. Ideally we could occupy it all and drive them all away. What do you think?"

If that happens, Guo Tuzi can't even imagine how much money he would make once the entire junkyard belongs to him.