The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead
Chapter 207 - 200: The Convenience of the Repair Station

Chapter 207: Chapter 200: The Convenience of the Repair Station

By around eight o’clock, they reached the small town that Gao Da had mentioned.

From a distance, they could see low tile-roofed houses. The town had a single wide main street, a key traffic junction connected to the national road network.

At the entrance, there was a parking spot for car maintenance, water, and fuel refueling.

Water was free, but maintenance required introduction letters from drivers from various places and proof from their units.

Lu Jingqiu hadn’t expected that this was a maintenance point specially set up by the authorities.

Next to the gas station was a state-owned restaurant.

Gao Da parked the car at the gas station, and by then, Yang Mingchao had also woken up.

Both men got out and took Lu Jingqiu to a row of sinks next to the toilets to wash up.

Lu Jingqiu roughly understood that this gas station was quite large and even had a small hostel.

At the moment, about a dozen vehicles were parked inside, and there were several stalls, selling steamed buns and cakes, and others offering cigarettes and betel nuts.

Some drivers gathered in small groups, apparently discussing the goods on their trucks. She saw one driver take out a bundle of cotton, and after looking it over, a few others came up and said something.

Lu Jingqiu looked at the truck loaded with cotton. The cotton was quite fluffy, but it could be compressed, so it was possible to carry extra goods while fulfilling the team’s tasks.

"Second cousin, are they trading cotton there?"

Seeing Yang Mingchao approaching, Lu Jingqiu pointed in that direction and asked.

"Yes, many drivers here carry different goods and often trade with each other, buying and selling. You might think there’s no buying and selling allowed outside, but it’s different here. Once you’re inside, the station allows it, as long as the quantities aren’t too large. Qiuqiu, you can look around here to see if there’s anything you need. You might find something to take back."

Lu Jingqiu mockingly said, "Second cousin, I only have about ten yuan on me."

Yang Mingchao looked surprised, "Where’s your money? Did you lose it?"

Lu Jingqiu shook her head: "I bought a house."

"You didn’t spend several thousand on that shabby place, did you?"

Second cousin had hit the nail on the head, what was she to do, she didn’t want to start the morning with criticism.

She looked to Gao Da for help. Gao Da smiled and pulled Yang Mingchao aside, saying, "You take our sister to eat, I’ll keep an eye on the car. Hey, have you noticed that the female comrades these days are pretty powerful? Xia Lin is, and so is Qiuqiu."

Yang Mingchao raised an eyebrow, "Don’t compare my sister to your sister-in-law; your sister-in-law is scheming, my sister is just too naive."

Gao Da thought about how Xia Lin refused to sell the sheepskin, insisting on processing it herself and handling the sales.

He had no choice, even though it brought in more money than working for Wei Jincheng, but it was also troublesome. He had to pay for labor when finding someone to work, and he had to be strict about the quality. Ruining one item meant losing over ten yuan, and he had even bought a few sewing machines; after making the goods, he still had to contact the buyers himself.

When he came here, he had only sold a little over a hundred pieces, and some weren’t finished yet.

The key was that in his West City, snowfall in winter was rare, and they didn’t need heavy cotton-padded jackets and trousers like those in the northeast.

Selling over a hundred pieces had already been a challenge.

Some time ago, Xia Lin had suggested that he sell the clothes to the military and let her father talk to the logistics chief.

Gao Da flatly refused, not only because of what kind of person he was, even if that was fine, but also because the military didn’t need them anymore.

They had been unwilling to buy them when needed, but now offering to sell at such high prices was clearly a way for his father to seek personal gain.

If his dad did that, wouldn’t it be like letting the army people see a joke?

Just because he couldn’t sell his clothes, he shouldn’t let the justice he’d upheld for most of his life be ruined.

Jingqiu was also curious about this way of trading. She didn’t lack anything now and wasn’t really in need of buying.

But Second Cousin still gave her a hundred yuan. Jingqiu refused, "Second Cousin, I don’t want to buy anything."

"Take it, we have to travel for more than a week. Who knows, you might find something nice on the road and want to buy it, just consider it spending money from Second Brother."

Just like that, he handed out what was several months’ salary for an ordinary family. Jingqiu was touched but didn’t really use the money to buy anything.

She honestly followed Second Cousin to the neighboring state-owned restaurant, buying a serving of preserved egg and lean pork congee, two serves of chicken strip soup, and shengjian bao.

No wonder Fourth Brother Gao said the food here was delicious. The preserved egg and lean pork congee and the chicken strip soup really did taste good, not to mention the shengjian bao, which were filled with big chunks of meat and sizzling with oil.

They directly packed up three servings and went back to the station to eat together.

Fourth Brother Gao asked her if it was delicious.

Jingqiu nodded repeatedly, "The shengjian bao here really are good." She had eaten shengjian bao in her previous life too. "Second Cousin, Fourth Brother Gao, although you often get to eat local delicacies on the road, it must be hard work. After a few days, you hardly get any sleep, not to mention changing clothes or washing up — no wonder Second Cousin always looks like he’s escaped a famine when he returns."

Mingchao laughed, "That’s because I don’t want to fuss over it. It’s better to be a bit rugged outside."

Gao Da, who was sitting beside them, laughed out loud, recalling something funny, almost spraying out his food, "Haha, Qiuqiu, let me tell you a funny story about your Second Cousin."

Jingqiu perked up and asked eagerly, "What story?"

Gao Da said, "The year before last, we were running a trip from West City to the south, and back then we’d just started driving not long ago. As young guys, naturally we were very concerned with our image, and no matter where we went, we’d get ourselves cleaned up after waking up. You know how handsome your Second Cousin is. One rainy day, we couldn’t continue our journey and passed through a village, so we had to ask for shelter at the village chief’s house. Guess what happened."

Jingqiu’s eyes brightened, "Don’t tell me the village chief’s daughter took a liking to my Second Cousin."

Gao Da exclaimed in surprise, "You’re quite the guesser."

Jingqiu laughed, isn’t that how these stories usually go? She was about to praise herself when Gao Da added, "But it wasn’t the village chief’s daughter, it was her sister, and she was already..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Mingchao pulled him back, interrupting, "What nonsense are you talking about? If you dare to carry on, I’ll spill your secrets."

Hearing this, Gao Da didn’t dare continue and immediately clammed up, but Jingqiu, who had only heard half the story, was itching with curiosity, pressing on, "Fourth Brother Gao, how old is the village chief?"

Gao Da glanced at Mingchao and quickly signalled a four to her.

Jingqiu exclaimed, "The village chief is forty?" Then his sister must also be in her thirties at least.

As if knowing some scandalous piece of information, Jingqiu looked towards Second Cousin.

Mingchao knew she’d start imagining all kinds of nonsense, so he tapped her with his chopsticks and said, "What’s with that look?" After speaking, he glared at Gao Da, "It’s all your fault, talking nonsense."

Gao Da protested innocently, "I could have explained it properly, but you wouldn’t let me."

Jingqiu, still not giving up, said, "Right, right, explain it properly. Fourth Brother Gao, what happened with that woman and my Second Cousin in the end?"

Just after she asked, Mingchao dragged her away, "Nothing happened, you little nut, what on earth is always going through your head? Tell me, has that Nanzhou kid led you astray?"

"Second Cousin, I’m more likely the one to lead him astray than the other way around. I’ve not even finished my shengjian bao yet."

"Forget about eating, I’m punishing you by not letting you eat today."

"No, please, I’ve rarely come across something so delicious."