Volume One, Chapter Fourteen: The Power of the People

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Upon hearing this, Lu Yang quickly jumped down. Both feet landed on the front bumper, hands gripping the handles on the engine, relying on his weight to descend. The driver struggled to steady the vehicle, reversing a few meters before finally coming to a stop. He hadn’t expected Lu Yang, who appeared so refined, to be knowledgeable about such matters.

“Young man, thank you! Lao Zhang, hurry over!”

An old man shuffled over slowly; he was much heavier than Lu Yang, providing better counterweight. At last, the tractor stopped tipping upward. However, with so many people onboard today, thick black smoke billowed from the tractor, yet it still couldn’t make it uphill. The driver looked toward Lu Yang. “Young fellows, you’re young and light. If you three get off and walk this stretch, then get back on after the slope, would that be alright? I’ll give each of you five cents off.”

Lu Yongchun, now somewhat well-off and having exerted himself earlier, felt a bit reluctant but said nothing. He followed the rules—no matter what happened, they obeyed Lu Yang, the village chief. Lu Yang was indifferent and understood the driver’s predicament. In this era, those who rode such tractors were often capable individuals and his regular customers. Since the three of them were new passengers and young, they were naturally the driver’s best option.

“Alright.”

The three got off, and the tractor slowly began to climb, but it had to pause frequently like a person catching their breath. Finally, when they reached a flat stretch midway, the driver stopped, fetched a bucket, and scooped water from a nearby mountain ditch to refill the nearly dry radiator.

Lu Yongchun glanced back, feeling somewhat relieved. “This junk of a vehicle moves slower than walking; what a waste of money.” It seemed the tractor was poorly maintained. He wondered if the township would sell it off cheaply.

Being a graduate from a top university in 1999 and serving as a village official was not unusual. But to achieve what Lu Yang had was no easy feat. As the only college graduate in the village at the time, the first thing he earned the villagers’ trust for was repairing the village’s rotary tiller. He was well versed in maintaining agricultural machinery. Problems caused by neglect seemed serious but could be fixed with proper cleaning, making the tractor run like new again.

“Lu Yang! You finally came!”

Suddenly, a voice called out as four figures emerged from the woods. Lu Yang snapped back to attention and saw Wang Youfu accompanied by three others, blocking the road ahead.

“Wang Youfu, what the hell do you want?”

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Lu Yongchun reacted quickest, picking up a stone from the ground, clutching it tightly, and standing in front of Lu Yang.

“Village chief, step back. We’ll handle this!”

Though Lu Yongguo wasn’t as burly as Lu Yongchun, with no way out now, he would never allow anyone to harm Lu Yang.

Across from them, Wang Youfu sneered, “What for? You breached the contract first and stole my business later.”

“You really think I, Wang Youfu, am some saint who wouldn’t dare touch you country bumpkins? Brothers, get him!”

His three companions immediately rolled up their sleeves; one even brandished a spring-loaded knife, swaggering forward.

Lu Yang remained calm, thinking to himself that Wang Youfu had plenty of money but no fortune—everything he did ended up backfiring. He chuckled, “Wang Youfu, are you sure you want to fight?”

With three on three, the odds were not favorable. Seeing Lu Yang so composed, Wang Youfu stepped forward as well.

“What’s wrong? Scared? If so, just stick to what we agreed: sell your wild game to me!”

Lu Yongchun gripped his stone tighter and interrupted, “You wish! You pay so little and still try to cheat us? Why would we sell to you?”

Wang Youfu laughed harshly, “Fine! You asked for this!”

Just as Wang Youfu prepared to charge and, with his large frame, squash Lu Yang to teach him a lesson, a roaring sound erupted.

“Young man, move aside! I’ll deal with these highway robbers!”

A furious man in his forties, eyes blazing with righteousness, made a quick gear-shifting gesture and charged at them.

“Run!”

Wang Youfu was furious but no match for this iron fellow, especially since there was a whole vehicle full of people behind him. He shouted and rolled on the ground, but his three companions rolled away even faster.

The tractor barreled forward without obstruction. Wang Youfu dodged, but the black smoke billowed with a thunderous roar, covering him entirely in soot, leaving only his eyes gleaming.

Everyone burst into laughter. The three underlings didn’t want to laugh either, but Wang Youfu’s appearance was too ridiculous. Fat, short, blackened, and ugly, and with so many people laughing nearby.

“Hahaha!”

One person couldn’t hold back, and the other two joined in.

“Stop laughing, damn it!”

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The key point was, in this era, business was a contest of who was bigger and tougher. Wang Youfu started this mess, so he had to bear the consequences. Even if it came to the police station, they would be the ones at a loss.

Wang Youfu could only glare hatefully at Lu Yang. “Lu Yang, you brat!”

Lu Yang interrupted calmly, “Wang Youfu, enough! We’re all in business—peace brings profit.”

“Let’s call it even today and owe each other nothing in the future! But if you keep playing dirty, I’ll let you feel the power of the people.”

Though Wang Youfu had a few men, it was clear from earlier that they weren’t truly loyal to him. Meanwhile, Lu Yang’s side had only two people but were ready to die for him, backed by an entire team and even the whole village.

This time, he didn’t even bother with harsh words.

“Fine! If it’s business, we’ll see who runs it better!”

“Let’s see, I’m not scared of you!”

Lu Yongguo replied for Lu Yang, sounding confident, but secretly unsure. After all, Wang Youfu was the county canteen’s procurement officer, backed by the government, while they didn’t even have the old village chief’s support.

“Village chief, can we really beat Wang Youfu?”

Lu Yang didn’t take the opposition seriously. What procurement officer? What government backing? Now it was all nonsense.

What remained were simply commercial competition tactics. In this era, domestic commerce was still in its infancy. Not to mention Wang Youfu, there was hardly anyone who could match Lu Yang’s marketing skills.

“Don’t worry, we control the supply, with no middlemen—they won’t stand a chance.”

Back in the village, Lu Yang delivered cloth to the shop and sold tobacco to a merchant, earning 50 yuan directly. The driver was a good fellow and, needing to collect grain in the village, dropped them off at the junction of Team Nine.

As Lu Yang headed toward Team Three, he asked Lu Yongchun, “Lu Erwa, if someone only weaves mats without making reed strips, how many days would it take to weave a whole bed?”