I See through Everything

Chapter 258: Chapter 140: Hope

Lin Taishun gave an awkward laugh.

Lin Talley looked puzzled. "By the way, can you really grow durians here in Magong? How come I’ve never heard of it before?"

"I don’t know either. But that Boss Jiang invested so much money... It’s not just Magong that has a Durian Plantation. Red Grass Town and Gongping Town have them too. All told, it’s over fifty thousand mu. It doesn’t seem like a scam."

"Fifty thousand mu? The Jiang family is that rich?"

Lin Taishun looked at him as if he were a country bumpkin. "Boss Jiang is on his way to becoming the richest man in Shanmei. In a few years, he’ll probably surpass Lin Weihua."

"I’ve only heard rumors. Brother Shun, tell me about it. I’m really curious about the Hailufeng Company."

"Why are we just standing around?"

"Hahaha, my bad. Ke’s Mashed Fish Porridge, my treat."

"Wait a sec, I’m going to buy a bag of ice."

Lin Taishun quickly went to an ice shop across from the seafood market, bought a bag of crushed ice, and poured it into the bag of Spanish mackerel.

Then he drove his three-wheeled vehicle to the entrance of Ke’s Mashed Fish Porridge, which wasn’t far.

Before he even got out, Lin Taishun shouted, "Ma Yu Old, two bowls of mashed fish porridge and a plate of vegetable pastries!"

"I know, find a seat yourselves." The owner of the porridge shop, Ma Yu Old, who only had a small tuft of hair left on his head, turned on two burners. He placed two small pots on the flames, ladled in two large scoops of pre-cooked congee base, and started making the porridge.

A moment later, Lin Talley also walked in.

"Ma Yu Old, don’t let your hair fall into the porridge!" Lin Talley joked.

"You, a big shot from Hong Kong, still coming to my roadside stall to eat? Aren’t you afraid of losing face?" Ma Yu Old bantered back in Cantonese, adding a dozen or so pieces of eel and a handful of small sea shrimp to the boiling congee base.

"Hahaha..."

The other locals in the shop also started laughing.

After all, Magong Town was tiny, with just over ten thousand people in total. Everyone knew everyone else’s business.

Another middle-aged man with a dark-skinned face, who knew Lin Talley, asked from the next table while eating, "Terry, when did you get back?"

"Last night."

"Where’s your wife? How come I don’t see her? You two are usually joined at the hip, aren’t you?" the dark-skinned man teased.

"Her friends dragged her into the city for morning tea." Lin Talley poured himself a cup of mango leaf tea. "Black Charcoal Head, are you still working on a boat?"

"Not anymore. There’s been no catch in the coastal waters these past few years, and my little boat can’t go out to the open sea. I’m hauling goods for the Hailufeng Company now," Black Charcoal Head replied with a smile.

"It’s already past seven. Don’t you have to work?"

Black Charcoal Head took a sip of his porridge. "Still early."

"How much does your company pay you a month?"

"4,500."

"That’s pretty good!"

Lin Taishun, who was drinking tea, quickly interjected, "Don’t let Black Charcoal Head fool you. That 4,500 is just his base salary. He also gets the five insurances and one housing fund, overtime pay, and all sorts of subsidies. Plus, there are stock dividends at the end of the year. I say, Black Charcoal Head, how much did you get in dividends?"

"There are dividends, too?"

"Not much! Just over two thousand," Black Charcoal Head said, waving his hand dismissively.

Lin Talley grew even more curious. "Your company gives you stocks?"

"They’re stocks that only pay dividends. I think they’re called... virtual stocks, or something," Black Charcoal Head said casually.

"That’s still amazing. The old hometown has developed so fast these past few years!" Lin Talley exclaimed again.

The owner, Ma Yu Old, brought over two large bowls of mashed fish and fresh shrimp porridge, setting them on the Lin brothers’ table. He then deftly grabbed a plate of vegetable pastries from a stainless steel steamer.

Suddenly, four pickup trucks pulled over on the side of the road not far away.

A line of text was stenciled on the truck doors: Jianfang Hydropower Engineering Contracting Company.

Lin Talley, who had just taken a bite of mashed fish, glanced at the pickup trucks and asked his third brother, "We have a hydropower project here?"

"It’s the one the Hailufeng Company invested in, over at Baisha Fu in South Lake," Lin Taishun said while eating.

Ma Yu Old placed a plate of vegetable pastries in front of the two of them, then sat down at the next table to drink tea.

"Ma Yu Old, your business is looking slow!" Lin Talley teased again, looking around the shop, which only had two tables of customers.

A slight smile touched the corners of Ma Yu Old’s mouth. "Is that so?"

Black Charcoal Head casually pulled out a napkin and wiped his mouth. "Terry, don’t underestimate this old guy. He sold a self-built house to our company, and both of his sons work for the company now. One of them is already a team leader."

"Ma Yu Old, you were just waiting for me to say that, weren’t you?" Lin Talley realized his old friends in Magong Town had all struck it rich, one by one.

"Just making a living."

Just as he was about to say something, Lin Talley suddenly saw a familiar figure flash by the pier on a small electric scooter.

"Isn’t that Yongqiang?"

Lin Taishun turned his head and looked closely. "It really is. What’s he doing here?"

At that moment, Lin Yongqiang, who was riding away on his electric scooter, didn’t notice his two uncles. A bag of Ginseng Fruit was hanging from the front of his scooter’s footboard, obviously just purchased from the Hailufeng Specialty Store.

Lin Yongqiang rode his electric scooter toward the town’s health clinic.

Carrying the bag of Ginseng Fruit, he arrived at the door of a hospital room in the clinic and knocked.

"Brother Qiang, why did you buy something? And such expensive fruit, too." In the hospital bed was a girl with a cast on her lower leg. She had dark, tanned skin and looked to be about twenty-two or twenty-three.

Lin Yongqiang grinned and placed the Ginseng Fruit on the bedside table. "It’s fine. What’s money for if not to be spent?"

"Thank you, Brother Qiang," the girl said softly, a bit shyly. Fortunately, her wheat-colored, sun-and-wind-kissed complexion hid her bashful blush.

"Xiaoman, just focus on getting better. You broke a bone, after all. Don’t be in such a hurry to go back to the construction site." Lin Yongqiang poured her a cup of hot water.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!