Chapter 35: I can make your business legal

Hmm...

That's quite reasonable.

Li Jiaci nodded and said.

Hearing that,

The woman instantly got excited and asked, "How much do you want, boss?"

"Just as you said!"

Li Jiaci said, "First, give me a hundred stalks."

"Okay, okay..."

The woman kept agreeing, then went to get the goods.

"Brother!"

"We didn't come to buy timber, did we?"

Li Yihu asked, puzzled, "Why buy so much mountain ginseng all at once?"

Li Jiaci glanced at him: "Do you see anyone selling timber around here?"

Li Yihu looked left and right, shook his head, and said, "No!"

"Then that settles it."

Li Jiaci whispered, "Bei Bang is isolated from news; they still don't know that domestic timber prices have risen."

"They still think that even if they hauled the timber over, they couldn't sell it, and even if they could sell it, they'd still have to pay taxes—it's simply not worth it."

"Oh..."

Li Yihu scratched his head: "But what does that have to do with buying old mountain ginseng?"

Li Jiaci was about to speak.

The stall holder then came back carrying a wooden crate.

"Boss!"

"Your hundred stalks of mountain ginseng."

"All intact, mostly fifteen to thirty years old."

"Good!"

Li Jiaci lowered his head to look at the mountain ginseng.

He then took a cloth bag from Zhao Chen's hand and opened it in front of the female stall holder.

When she saw that the cloth bag actually contained bundles of hundred-yuan bills, the woman's eyes widened and her throat involuntarily twitched.

"You really are a big boss."

"You actually carry that much cash when you go out."

"It's business."

"Of course you need to bring more money."

Li Jiaci chuckled, then casually counted out eighty bills and handed them to the stall holder: "Count them, then check their authenticity."

"Okay, okay."

The stall holder smiled, took the money, then held it up to the sunlight to examine it.

After confirming it was genuine,

only then did the stall holder push the wooden crate of mountain ginseng toward Li Jiaci.

"Thank you, boss."

"If you need more mountain ginseng in the future, come find me here—I'll always be here."

"Hmm."

Li Jiaci nodded, then led a few people, bent over, and pretended to count the mountain ginseng.

"Brother!"

"You haven't finished speaking yet."

Li Yihu crouched down and asked in a low voice, "What are we buying all this old mountain ginseng for?"

"Shh!"

Li Jiaci winked at him, then gestured for him to look toward the stall holder.

Just as Li Yihu turned his head, he suddenly saw a man in a black Zhongshan suit approach the female stall holder's side.

The female stall holder immediately tidied the bills Li Jiaci had given her, then respectfully presented them with both hands to the man.

Seeing this scene,

Li Yihu couldn't help but be stunned.

"This..."

Zhao Chen asked, bewildered, "Why did she hand over the money?"

"Bei Bang is different from our country; they prioritize the collective."

"All the vendors you see now are Bei Bang government personnel, and all the money they earn belongs to the Bei Bang government."

Li Jiaci said, "The person coming to collect the money is their leader; whenever a stall's income reaches a certain amount, he comes to collect it."

After saying that,

he didn't add anything else.

He immediately stood up and walked toward the man in the Zhongshan suit.

Upon seeing this scene,

How could Li Yihu and the others still not understand what was going on?

His purpose in buying ginseng from that female vendor was obviously to lure this person out.

Wait!

Li Jiaci quickly ran up to the man in a Zhongshan suit and blocked his path.

The surrounding vendors, seeing this, immediately turned their gaze toward him.

Even a male vendor instinctively moved his hand toward his waist.

Li Jiaci was no stranger to the world.

Who wouldn't know that this is the motion of a soldier drawing his gun?

But he also knew that, at this moment, on Huaguo territory, border military police could not possibly have them bring guns; they were merely making an instinctive gesture.

Don't misunderstand!

Li Jiaci looked at the equally wary man and said, "I'm a businessman; I stopped you also to discuss business with you."

The man frowned and asked in broken Chinese, "What business?"

Li Jiaci tilted his head, leaned in, and whispered, "Of course it's the timber business you've been doing; although your business is illegal, I can make it legal for you—and it will earn you more than before."

The man's brow furrowed even deeper.

How about we change locations to continue talking?

Li Jiaci leaned close to the man and asked, "This place is probably not convenient for talking."

The man glanced left and right.

At this moment, the surrounding shops were all watching them.

The man turned his head, stared at Li Jiaci for a while, then said, "Come with me."

Li Jiaci didn't hesitate either; he greeted Li Yihu and the others, then followed the man's steps.

The man led Li Jiaci and the others through the market, taking many twists and turns.

Finally, he led the few people into a narrow hutong and walked to its innermost end.

Seeing the man stop.

Li Jiaci also followed up.

Before he could speak, the man suddenly turned, swiftly slammed Li Jiaci against the wall, and, in the same motion, pulled out a folding knife and pressed it to his throat.

Damn!

What the hell are you doing?

Li Yihu and the others immediately moved forward to help.

At that moment, several more people in black Zhongshan suits walked in from outside the hutong.

Each of them had a hostile look and held weapons such as wooden sticks or steel pipes.

Seeing this scene.

Several people were startled.

But don't forget, they're all gangsters from the streets.

They had seen such scenes countless times before; it was only a brief panic before they reacted quickly.

Zhao Chen and Zhang Chuqiang quickly turned around and assumed defensive stances.

Li Yihu, meanwhile, continued walking toward Li Jiaci, preparing to rescue him first.

At that moment as well.

Li Jiaci suddenly raised his hand to stop Li Yihu: "Yihu, don't move!"

Brother...

Li Yihu's eyes filled with anxiety.

Li Jiaci ignored him, keeping his gaze fixed on the man's face.

Even with the folding knife at his throat, his face showed not a trace of panic.

I came here sincerely to discuss business with you.

Li Jiaci pointed at the knife pressed to his own throat and said, "Are people from your country always like this toward their business partners?"

The black-clothed man narrowed his eyes: "How did you know about those things?"

What things?

Li Jiaci raised an eyebrow and asked, "Your smuggling of timber into Huaguo?"

The man said nothing.

But from his expression.

Li Jiaci must have guessed correctly.

Timber that ends up on the market must always have a source.

Li Jiaci said calmly: "So, as long as you inquire a little, you'll know about such matters."