My Courtyard Shelter

Chapter 27: Backfiring

Before he knew it, the calamitous month of February had finally passed, and March began. On the first day of March, a country across the ocean successfully launched a weather satellite into space, reportedly to assess the impact of a Sun superflark on Earth’s atmosphere. This was the first satellite launched by humanity after the superflare, and it was currently the only satellite in orbit. As is well known, the superflare’s destructive power against electrical equipment was immense—so great that it obliterated all man-made devices in space in one fell swoop. From space stations to satellites, nothing was spared—not a single one escaped unscathed. On March 2, Daxia and the European Union followed suit, launching their own weather satellites as well; there seemed to be a high degree of coordination among the major powers. Early that morning, everyone was having breakfast in the Siheyuan courtyard. Suddenly, a familiar melody drifted in through the window—an old song was playing. “Ah, give me a cup of the water of forgetfulness, so I may spend a night without tears. Let all my sincere feelings be battered by wind and rain, The love I’ve given cannot be taken back. Give me a cup of the water of forgetfulness, so I may live a lifetime free from sorrow…” Xu Dong called out toward the kitchen, “Mom, the water truck is here. Should we go get some water today?” The water truck was a new addition this month, introduced primarily to supply water to residents. After more than ten days of heavy usage, the vast majority of households in the city were facing a water crisis. Never mind water for flushing the toilet—there wasn’t even enough drinking water. “No need. We still have some left from yesterday.” “Got it!” Xu Dong had gone to get the water yesterday as well. He slipped the driver a bag of apples and two packs of good cigarettes, and on his way back, the driver secretly set aside a full two large buckets of water for him. Although they had a water tank at home and the water in it hadn’t run out, it had been half a month since it was filled, so the water quality was surely no longer fresh; it was best to use it for non-drinking purposes. As for drinking water, the water from the water truck was still the safest option. After breakfast, the next stop was the convenience store. As noon approached, Xu’s dad finally met the big client he’d been eagerly awaiting. The man arrived in a luxury car—he was definitely someone important. The major client’s name was Li Chao; he was in his fifties and described himself as a businessman. He was extremely sociable and quickly struck up a friendly rapport with Xu’s dad. Xu Dong watched from the sidelines, feeling nervous—it seemed the visitor wasn’t there with good intentions! “Brother Xu, I’ve come specifically to see you—I heard you sell meat here?” Xu’s father looked proud. “That’s right. I’m the only one selling meat on these few streets around here—though it’s not fresh meat, but air-dried and salted cuts.” “That’s exactly what I’m looking for—though fresh meat would be even better, of course.” Li Chao waved his hand dismissively, speaking nonchalantly. Mr. Xu nodded and pointed to the sign by the door. “Brother Li, the prices are all listed right here. They’ve been posted for a long time—I certainly haven’t jacked them up on the spot.” Li Chao took a closer look and couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth a few times—sure enough, the prices were outrageously high. “Can I haggle? I’m buying in bulk.” Before Xu’s father could answer, Xu Dong beat him to it: “We’re a small business—no haggling allowed!” Mr. Xu, of course, couldn’t contradict his son, so he had no choice but to “explain” with a straight face: “Brother Li, to be honest with you, these dried goods are all authentic local products. They contain no preservatives whatsoever—only the finest, genuine ingredients. If it weren’t for the strong market demand, I wouldn’t even want to part with them.” Li Chao set down the air-dried chicken he was holding and nodded in understanding—though what he was really thinking, only he knew. “All right, these really are top-notch goods. I won’t haggle over the price.” Mr. Xu breathed a sigh of relief, while Xu Dong felt the exact opposite—his heart suddenly tightened. “Brother Li, how much would you like to buy?” Mr. Xu asked with a smile. Instead of answering, Li Chao asked, “Brother Xu, shouldn’t the question be, ‘How much can you sell it for?’ ” “You want to buy the whole lot?” Mr. Xu asked in surprise. “Why not?” Li Chao furrowed his brow. Mr. Xu was overjoyed and hurriedly ushered this cash cow… er… I mean, this big client, to a seat by the cash register. “Brother Li, I have quite a lot of stock here. Are you sure you want to buy it all?” “Of course I’m sure. Go ahead—how much stock do you have in total?” Mr. Xu quickly pulled a notebook out of his pocket, filled with sales data from the past few days. After some quick calculations, Mr. Xu announced the final figures: “We have 558 pieces of air-dried meat left, and quite a bit of salted pork—about 1,700 jin.” “Alright, I’ll take it all,” Li Chao said magnanimously. Xu Dong’s heart was breaking—this was all the fruit of his labor. Now he could only watch helplessly as the deal went through, because he couldn’t find a single reason to object. He couldn’t very well throw a tantrum—that wasn’t his style. Xu’s dad was over the moon and quickly calculated the total amount: “Brother Li, that comes to 600,068 yuan. I’ll round down the change—just give me 600,000.” Mr. Xu paused for a moment before asking, “Brother Li, would you like to recalculate it yourself?” “No need, Brother Xu—you got it exactly right!” Li Chao was a businessman with a keen eye for numbers; in fact, he’d already calculated the total in his head. “All right, so how would you like to pay…?” Mr. Xu asked. Xu Dong’s eyes lit up; he sensed an opportunity and interjected again: “We only accept cash—nothing else.” But he never expected that Big Boss Li had also come prepared. “Rest assured, I’ve brought plenty of cash in my car—600,000 isn’t a big sum,” Li Chao said casually. “Then there’s no problem! Brother Li, when will you come to pick up the goods? We’ll exchange cash for goods on the spot—that way, neither of us takes any risks.” Xu’s father wanted to close the deal as soon as possible to avoid any complications that might arise if he delayed. After all, power would be restored to the city in a few days, and by then, market conditions would be anyone’s guess. Li Chao thought for a moment and replied, “How about we meet at 5:00 p. m.? Give me your address, and I’ll come over in person to complete the transaction.” “Great, it’s a deal,” Mr. Xu said cheerfully, then quickly jotted down a note with the address of the Siheyuan. Li Chao took the note and took his leave; Xu’s father personally escorted him to his car. Once Li “Fat Sheep’s” luxury car had driven away, Xu’s father could no longer contain himself; he was so excited he didn’t know what to do with himself. At that moment, Xu Dong felt both angry and relieved. Needless to say, his anger stemmed from Mr. Xu’s wasteful spending; As for the relief, it stemmed from the fact that the plastic vacuum-sealed bags in the underground warehouse were black and light-proof, making it impossible to tell what was inside from the outside. Otherwise, the meat products inside would certainly have spoiled, and the loss would have been enormous. Before long, it was 5:00 p. m. , but for Xu’s dad, Xu’s mom, and Yang Lina, the time had dragged on like an eternity. Fortunately, Li Chao didn’t go back on his word after all; he personally drove up in his small truck, and the three of them breathed a huge sigh of relief. Six hundred thousand—it’s a sure thing!