Chapter 40

Lin Qiangsheng's ticket-scalping business started off with a bang. Perhaps because of his past life, he was bolder. Or perhaps it was because everything went smoothly after his rebirth. From the very beginning, Lin Qiangsheng's cloth ticket trading was carried out on a grand scale, truly making a splash.

Regarding how to do it, Lin Qiangsheng planned from the start to take advantage of the situation before the ticket scalpers formed a large scale and before the government figured out what was happening. He intended to make a big profit and then run, never planning to do this long-term. Making money was good, but life was still very important!

Lin Qiangsheng had been scalping cloth tickets for more than two months and gradually gained a significant reputation in their factory area. Anyone who lacked cloth tickets and urgently needed them would surely be told, "Need cloth tickets? Find Qiangsheng! Need to buy cloth? Find Qiangsheng!"

Even in the large vehicle factory area to the east, people knew Lin Qiangsheng's name. They called him "Lin the Cloth King."

The so-called vehicle factory was a large state-owned enterprise that produced train cars and chassis. The factory had over 3,000 employees, and the number of employee families exceeded 20,000, making it a giant factory with its own railway and dock.

In Lin Qiangsheng's memory, every large and medium-sized city had such a vehicle factory.

Now, Lin Qiangsheng had truly become a small boss selling cloth. After nearly a month of ticket scalping, he was no longer satisfied with the limited supply of cloth tickets in the Hongqi Commune. He relied on his sister Lin Xiang and encouraged the son of the Hongqi Commune chairman, He Zhengguo, who was his future brother-in-law, to buy cloth tickets from surrounding communes and rural areas.

Lin Qiangsheng, on the other hand, found some employee families in the city and bought cloth from the major stores in town. By doing this, he managed to acquire a large amount of cloth. He secretly opened a small cloth store near the southwest corner of the dormitory area of the vehicle factory, close to the crossroads.

The reason it was secret was that Lin Qiangsheng didn't even dare to put up a sign. He only used a small blackboard inside the door, with the words "Qiangsheng Cloth" written in chalk!

Even so, Lin Qiangsheng considered himself very bold and daring! In this era, in the provincial capital of the inland region, who would dare to open a cloth store like him? This was because he was the son of the factory director of the vehicle manufacturing plant, and no one in this area dared to provoke him. The "white coats" (police) couldn't touch him either, as the vehicle factory had its own security system, which was much more powerful than the police. The security department of the vehicle factory wouldn't dare to cause trouble for the director's son! After a period of low profile, Lin Qiangsheng suddenly realized that he had become a "second-generation official"!

In the past, uncles and aunts, as well as neighbors, would smile and joke with him. But since his father Lin Xiangrong became the factory director, Lin Qiangsheng vaguely felt that people's attitudes towards his family were slowly changing!

This made Lin Qiangsheng truly feel that he had drawn a line with his past life. In this life, he was living differently!

This was quite a change!

During the summer vacation, Lin Qiangsheng, in his small store, felt the coldness of the world.

"Qiangsheng, I've put this piece of polyester cloth here. Aunt Zhao will come for two feet of it later; she's been asking for a long time!" Zou Shu, who was around 20 years old, said to Lin Qiangsheng as she held the cloth.

Zou Shu was Zou Xue's sister, who had just returned from the countryside and missed the large recruitment drive at the factory last year. She had been a rural youth for five years and had been working for Lin Qiangsheng for over a month, but she still hadn't fully adjusted. She was still as energetic and straightforward as she was in the countryside.

Lin Qiangsheng looked at Zou Shu and smiled. At that moment, Zou Shu didn't look like she was holding cloth but rather a hoe. He said with a smile, "Aunt Zhao is making her own clothes?"

His tone suggested that he was quite familiar with Aunt Zhao. In fact, since Lin Qiangsheng's small cloth store opened, the surrounding women and grandmothers gradually turned it into a leisure spot. They often came to browse, almost every time they had a spare moment, because Lin Qiangsheng didn't require cloth tickets. Although the cloth was a bit more expensive, he really didn't require tickets! For the surrounding residents, the opening of this small store was truly a welcome change.

Zou Shu nodded with a smile, "Yes! Usually, Aunt Zhao would hesitate to buy even an inch of cloth, but last night she finally told me to get two feet for her!"

Lin Qiangsheng said with a smile, "That's great! Polyester is indeed cool to wear! Hehe..." He subtly glanced at Zou Shu's full figure and swallowed his saliva.

Although Lin Qiangsheng's body was only 15 years old, who would have thought he had the heart of an old man! In Lin Qiangsheng's view, old men all had a "dirty old man" heart!

Zou Shu herself was not unattractive and was extremely fair and plump. When she first returned to the city, she was tanned and yellow, making it hard to tell. Now, after staying in the store and not being exposed to the sun, she had become much fairer. She wore a polyester shirt and long pants from the store, which clung to her body, making her figure very noticeable. Plus, she had a well-built body from her time in the countryside.

Zou Shu saw Lin Qiangsheng's gaze, gave him a dirty look, and turned around, humming a folk song as she placed the cloth on the counter.

Lin Qiangsheng leaned back in his chair, put his feet up, and thought to himself: Being a boss and having a girl work for you is truly a beautiful thing!

In the evening, Aunt Zhao indeed came. She entered the store, pulled Zou Shu aside, and handed her the money.

Aunt Zhao said to Zou Shu with a smile, "Shu, this is all the money I have. Can you get me two feet of cloth?"

Zou Shu looked at the money, which was more than 3 yuan, and nodded with a smile, whispering, "Yes, Aunt Zhao, I'll get the cloth for you. I've kept the color and style you wanted."

Aunt Zhao was delighted, "Good, good!"

Lin Qiangsheng, while dealing with the women and grandmothers, had to prevent them from touching things randomly and had to measure and sell the cloth and collect the money. He was very busy for a while.

Around 9:00 PM, when the store closed, Lin Qiangsheng, looking at Zou Shu's happy figure, said tiredly, "Zou Shu, should we hire someone else?"

Zou Shu said, "Why hire someone else? If you really want to, you can have my sister Zou Xue come to help after work."

Lin Qiangsheng said, "I've already asked Zou Xue, but she's still hesitant and feels embarrassed to come."

Zou Shu quickly moved the remaining cloth to Lin Qiangsheng's jeep. After they got in the car, she looked around and said with a smile, "It's really nice! I can never get enough of your car. Having a car is really convenient! Only high-ranking officials have cars, and you already have one!"

Lin Qiangsheng looked at Zou Shu and said with a smile, "Is that so? I'll let you drive it sometime. This car is really powerful and has great off-road capabilities. It can easily handle rough terrain, and it's very durable!"

Just as Lin Qiangsheng was about to say more, Zou Shu punched him.

Zou Shu gave him a dirty look, shook her fair and tender fist, and said fiercely, "Don't talk nonsense with me, or I'll hit you!"

Lin Qiangsheng said, "Is there any justice in the world? I was just telling you about the car's performance!" Zou Shu huffed and said, "I'm from the countryside. Do you think I can't tell when you're talking nonsense? People in the countryside talk even more crudely than you, and you're not even close!" Lin Qiangsheng didn't dare to provoke this young woman, as she was full of youthful energy! He drove Zou Shu home and parked the jeep in front of her house.

Mother Xu Hongmei had already gone to bed early. Father Lin Xiangrong was still awake, writing documents at the kitchen table.

Lin Qiangsheng opened the door and walked into the kitchen, glanced at what his father was writing, and said with a smile, "Dad, you're still studying so late?"

Lin Xiangrong looked at Lin Qiangsheng, then continued writing, saying, "I've left some food in the pot for you. Eat it while it's hot. I'll write for a bit longer."

Lin Qiangsheng nodded, opened the pot, and saw that his mother had cooked a pot of bone soup. He moved a small stool to the stove, served himself a bowl, and savored a mouthful.

The bones had been cooked for over three hours and were thoroughly tender. Each bite of meat was incredibly flavorful! Lin Qiangsheng enjoyed it so much that he slurped and sucked, leaving no bone marrow behind.

The sound of Lin Qiangsheng gnawing on the bones made it impossible for Lin Xiangrong to concentrate on his studies. He turned around and said, "You're always up to no good, busy with your cloth business. What's going on? And you come home so late every day!"

Lin Qiangsheng looked at his father and asked, puzzled, "What am I doing? What good things should I be doing?"

Lin Xiangrong, frustrated, said, "Cars! You don't study cars or contribute more to the factory. What are you doing, busy with all sorts of nonsense?"

Lin Qiangsheng walked to the table and looked at the materials his father was studying: "Automobile Structure and Principles" and "Practice is the Sole Criterion for Testing Truth."

Lin Qiangsheng laughed and said to his father, "Not bad, theory combined with practice. With theory and direction, you should study hard! I'll focus on practice!"

Lin Qiangsheng, smiling, started to wash his face and hummed, "In 1978, a great man opened a store in the south..."

Lin Xiangrong, seeing his son laugh and sing, thought to himself, "What's wrong with this son? Is he crazy?!"

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