Fang Bai left Daguangyou Solid Recycling Company and found a nearby hotel to check in.
He used to be poor, so staying in unsanitary inns was out of necessity, and he dared not use the toiletries provided.
If the sheets and blankets were not clean, lying on them would make him uncomfortable all over.
Now that he was no longer short on money, he found a hotel with better hygiene conditions.
In those years, hotels were not numerous, and their prices were not cheap; some hotels were not even open to the public.
The next morning at eight o'clock,
Fang Bai went to Guoyun Transport Team to rent a car, still at the old price of 500 yuan. He found Zhang Guoping, the driver from last time, who happened to not be out on a trip.
After completing the vehicle rental procedures, the two drove to the porter hiring ground to recruit porters.
Half-day work cost 4 yuan, which was cheaper than last time. Fang Bai hired four people and included lunch.
Driving to Daguangyou Solid Recycling Company, Fang Bai settled the remaining payment, bought the motorcycles and some refurbished parts he had picked out yesterday afternoon, and had the porters load the goods onto the truck.
Then he went to Yaming Electronics Recycling Company, where he had bought televisions last time, and followed the old routine of selecting used televisions.
After more than three hours, Fang Bai selected five hundred televisions, of which four hundred were color TVs.
The total cost was approximately 21,000 yuan.
Payment, loading, and half an hour later, the loading was complete.
It was also twelve noon. After Fang Bai settled the porters' wages, he treated the porters and the driver to lunch.
After lunch, they rested for a while, then Fang Bai and the driver set off for Wen City.
Normally, they would arrive in Wen City by four o'clock in the afternoon.
Fang Bai had been busy all afternoon and had not taken a nap; he was both sleepy and exhausted. Sitting in the passenger seat, he fell asleep shortly after the car started.
In a daze, he didn't know how long the car had been driving. Fang Bai woke up and found the car had stopped.
"Brother Zhang, where are we now?"
"Yandang Mountain, Zhongzhuang Village, halfway there." Zhang Guoping frowned and said, "Boss Fang, I just heard a 'pop' sound. The tire might have been punctured; it feels different when driving. I'll go down and check."
Upon hearing this, Fang Bai felt a bad premonition, as if a dark cloud was hanging over him. His expression was serious: "Okay, I'll get out and take a look too."
He checked the time; it was past two o'clock.
The weather in Jiangnan Province in late October was mild; winter arrived relatively late.
The surroundings were all mountains, with a few scattered farmhouses at the foot of the mountains.
They were traveling on National Highway 104, but this section of the road had some potholes and was not very easy to drive on; there were not many vehicles on the road.
The two unbuckled their seatbelts, opened the car doors, and got out. They walked around the car, and the driver found that a tire on the rear axle was flat. Upon closer inspection, he discovered it had been punctured by an irregularly shaped triangular nail.
Fang Bai used his Golden Finger to check and detected that the tire had been punctured.
Truck tires are relatively thick; normally, even if a nail punctures them, they wouldn't be pierced through. However, this nail was quite large and happened to penetrate through the chevron gap of the tire, directly puncturing the inner tube.
Seeing this situation, he frowned. This return trip was too unlucky.
The surroundings were rural, and the nearest town was still several kilometers away.
Fortunately, the rear axle had dual tires. With one tire punctured, and given their slow driving speed, the car would not overturn.
Otherwise, if the car really overturned, the televisions in Fang Bai's car would be ruined, resulting in heavy losses.
Zhang Guoping checked the surroundings and found another nail thrown by the roadside about ten meters ahead. He picked it up and threw it into a pile of weeds by the roadside, his eyes revealing a furious flame, and he directly cursed:
"Damn it, these scumbags, deliberately placing nails. How ugly is their behavior, f*** them..."
Fang Bai heard the driver cursing. Having lived for decades in his previous life, he quickly understood what the driver was talking about.
Deliberately placing iron nails, and triangular ones at that, which easily puncture car tires, then charging for tire repair?
If it were just one nail, it would be hard to determine if it was intentional, but two nails, and triangular ones, clearly indicated a trap set for truck drivers.
Zhang Guoping walked a bit further and only returned after not finding any more nails.
Fang Bai handed him a cigarette, telling him to calm down.
Zhang Guoping fumbled in his pocket, took out matches to light the cigarette, exhaled a puff of smoke, and continued to curse.
Fang Bai was also a bit annoyed, but he was accustomed to facing challenges and was more composed. He calmly asked Zhang Guoping: "Can we fix it?"
"No, we can't. We don't have all the tools. It would be easier if we had a convoy with us.
I don't even have a spare tire. After using the original spare, I didn't put a new one on. Who would have thought something like this would happen, damn it.
I heard from colleagues that people intentionally place nails on this road, who knew it would puncture my car, damn it." Zhang Guoping grumbled. He ran short distances and didn't think much about it, so he didn't bring all his tools.
Besides, there's only a small jack in the car. With so much heavy cargo, how can we lift it?
Even if we could change it, there's no spare tire. We can only repair the puncture.
Fortunately, it was punctured on the tread. If it were on the sidewall, we would have to replace the whole tire.
What a bunch of bastards!
"It seems we can only find those scoundrels to fix it."
"Yes, it's their territory. Our car got punctured, so we can only accept our bad luck. It just depends on how greedy they are.
This is already considered good; they didn't directly stop the car and rob us. In remote areas, you really can't say what might happen. Without a convoy, you wouldn't dare to drive there, damn it, what bad luck.
Damn it, I'd rather they stop the car and demand a toll."
"Should we drive slowly to a repair shop or call someone to come fix it?"
"The cargo is heavy, and the road ahead isn't very good. This is a single rear axle. If it were a dual rear axle, or if the inner tire was punctured, I would just drive to the next repair shop and not let those bastards earn money.
But now it's the outermost tire that's punctured, and the two sides are unbalanced. It's better to be safe."
"Okay, then I'll guard the car. You go find someone to fix it. I still have a pack of cigarettes here, take it. When you're out, endure what you can." Fang Bai threw an unopened pack of cigarettes to the driver. The driver took it without politeness, perhaps it would be useful, and at the same time, Fang Bai reminded him not to cause trouble.
"Alright then, you stay in the car."
After the driver finished speaking, he walked forward, cursing.
Fang Bai watched the driver's retreating figure, deep in thought.
He didn't want to take risks. Even after living for decades longer, the driver had driven for many years and was more experienced in dealing with such matters than he was.
If the driver said he wanted to cause trouble, Fang Bai would definitely not let him go.
This wasn't his territory; he couldn't outplay them. Fang Bai had been reborn, and he didn't want to mess around.
If he were gone, Qin Shuyu and his family would be the ones to suffer in this life.
Transportation was not safe in this era; in some places, the local customs were quite aggressive, and stopping vehicles to collect tolls was not uncommon.
Gold was everywhere, but the public security environment was not very good.
Every step Fang Bai took now required attention to these matters. He would rather earn less money than encounter gangsters.
Of course, if someone provoked him, he would also be ruthless when necessary.
Half an hour later, Fang Bai still hadn't seen Zhang Guoping return, and he began to worry.
Don't let anything happen, that would be troublesome.
Another ten minutes passed, and he still hadn't seen him return. Fang Bai's brows furrowed even more.
"Damn it, he wasn't kidnapped for his organs, was he?"
He was just speaking casually. Organ harvesting might not happen, but conflicts might.
But before leaving, the driver said he wouldn't cause trouble, even if he was cursing under his breath.
Thinking this, Fang Bai became even more worried.
Brother Zhang, you need to stay calm and not fight. I still have goods in this car.