Rebirth: My Dear Little Wife Is So Scheming

Chapter 312 - 312 312 Plainclothes

?Chapter 312: Chapter 312: Plainclothes Chapter 312: Chapter 312: Plainclothes An Zhiyuan and his two companions were sitting in the car, which had been driving for already two hours, all through mountain roads. They had a reconnaissance report from before, indicating that their current geographic location was near Luanshan. Following this road seemed to lead to a coal mine, as suggested by the huge sign of the coal mine they could see.

An Zhiyuan asked the driver to stop the car.

A coal mine?

The three men jumped out of the car, “If we continue ahead, the terrain becomes open, with nothing to hide us, and they’ll easily spot us. We’ll hide right here; the rest is up to you three. Our 20 men will stay in this forest, ready to back you up anytime we get your signal,” the deputy captain instructed An Zhiyuan.

An Zhiyuan nodded, and the three of them immediately started shuffling their feet, staggering along the path. Soon, they saw the sign for Luanshan Coal Mine in the distance, along with the pervasive coal dust.

Before they got close, several coal-hauling trucks came driving by. The three men hurriedly pressed themselves against the side of the road. In their panic, they clumped together, nearly tumbling into the ditch by the roadside, looking like startled quails.

“Bro Han, what are those country bumpkins doing?” Dahe, the driver, laughed triumphantly, because when he passed them, he had deliberately honked the horn, scaring the three men nearly to the point of falling, which looked incredibly funny, making him laugh uncontrollably.

Bro Han glanced at the three men, and seeing their attire and bowed heads, felt a stirring of suspicion. What would bring people to this desolate area?

Normally, other than coal buyers, it was extremely unlikely for anyone to come this way, which was very strange.

“Stop the truck, get out with me and take a look!”

Bro Han was very cautious. Their operation had stood undisturbed for so many years! Apart from having backings protecting them, their prudence was also a factor. They caused small disturbances that would never draw attention to the underhanded business happening here. Otherwise, there would be more than just their small coal kiln under the name of Luanshan Coal Mine; this area was full of privately contracted coal mines, each acting as king of their own hill.

The big truck stopped! Bro Han jumped out of the truck! Behind him followed Dahe and Shuisheng, two burly guys. The three of them approached the three anxious men by the roadside.

“What are you doing here?” Bro Han asked.

He examined the three men up close. They were young and sturdy, with solidly built bodies and skin tanned dark by the sun – clearly depicting those who worked in the fields year-round.

An Zhiyuan answered in a thick dialect, feigning the naive tone of a local rural worker, “Big brother, sorry, we three were heading to the city to find work. We’d agreed on a job, but then they dropped us off by the roadside and told us to wait. But one of my brothers got a stomachache, and we went to take a crap. When we got back, we couldn’t find anyone. So we wanted to ask around where our employer was and saw some activity here, so we came over.”

Bro Han took a look at An Zhiyuan, “Hey, you seem to be the leader, huh?”

An Zhiyuan laughed naively, “Big brother, what leader is there to be? I just have the most strength in the village. Anyone who doesn’t respect me, I beat them up, so I’m brave, and they listen to me. Otherwise, I’d have to knock their teeth out. That’s why they heed my words.”

While he laughed, his mouth full of big yellow teeth and the smell of not having brushed them assailed Bro Han’s nostrils, causing him to wrinkle his brow.

It was the result of chewing a tetracycline tablet combined with the stench of stinky tofu; in fact, even An Zhiyuan himself was overwhelmed by the smell, but for authenticity’s sake, it had to be done.

There were many small coal mines nearby, with people always looking to bring back workers. It was quite possible that these men had been left behind by someone they worked for. It seemed they might land a bargain here – after all, three strong laborers were available.

They looked like they came from a rural area and knew nothing about the world, but possessed a fair amount of strength.

“Are you here to work?”

An Zhiyuan and his two companions nodded while the other two young men cowered behind An Zhiyuan at Bro Han’s scanning gaze, looking utterly inexperienced.

Bro Han felt reassured.

“Yes, big brother! We just can’t find our employer, what should we do?” He pretended to be flustered and anxious, and it looked quite real.

Bro Han laughed, and so did Dahe and Shuisheng.

“Don’t worry, you guys are in luck; our big brother here is the boss.” Dahe pointed to Han Ge, clearly the biggest shot around here.

An Zhiyuan’s face lit up with delight, and after fumbling in his pocket for a while, he managed to fish out a wrinkled, newspaper-rolled cigarette and handed it over to Han Ge.

“Boss! Boss! We can do anything, just keep us on, please!”

Without taking a walk inside, how could they know what the situation was.

Han Ge smiled and shook his head, pushing away those big hands, and took a filter cigarette out of his own pocket to give to An Zhiyuan. An Zhiyuan accepted it with a grin, too reluctant to smoke it right away; he just clipped it behind his ear and bootlickingly said,
“Boss, we’re all good workers, just look at us, fit as fiddles. Bricks, heavy lifting, we can handle it all. You definitely won’t regret using us.”

Han Ge nodded, “Alright then, Shuisheng, take them inside, we’re heading out to make a delivery!” He instructed Shuisheng, who nodded and gestured with a wave of his hand, “Come on! Follow me.”

Full of gratitude towards Han Ge, An Zhiyuan and the other two hurriedly followed Shuisheng.

Dahe almost died laughing, “A trio of dumb pheasants!”

Han Ge glared at him, “Quit the chatter, they haven’t gone far yet! Hurry up and get in the car.”

Dahe scrambled to open the car door, “Han Ge, I was wrong, my darn mouth. Looks like we’re off to a good start today, things are bound to go well. The boss is definitely going to reward you later.”

Han Ge settled into the driver’s seat and sighed, “What we do in the end is against heaven and reason. I just hope that heaven doesn’t visit these sins upon our children and grandchildren!”

Dahe didn’t care, “To hell with it, I’m the type whose whole family doesn’t starve as long as I eat. My parents are long gone, if heaven wants to get back at me, let it.”

Han Ge fell silent.

People with different principles don’t work well together.

Following Shuisheng, An Zhiyuan and the other two made their way inside. An Zhiyuan surveyed their surroundings discreetly. The place looked heavily guarded, with many men armed with sticks and even fierce dogs; it was obvious these were enforcers just by looking at them. But why would a coal mine need to maintain a group of enforcers like this?

Running into Lao Hutou leading He Wei and carrying vegetables, Shuisheng escorted the trio straight into the scene. They bought groceries weekly, and the two of them would be busy for a while.

“Lao Hutou, I haven’t had my meal yet. Make me a bowl of noodles later, throw in a couple of eggs, I’m starving!” Shuisheng hadn’t managed to catch breakfast that morning.

He Wei caught sight of An Zhiyuan, and in such shock, he dropped a whole basket of cabbage to the ground.

He Wei hurriedly squatted down to pick up the cabbages.

A cabbage struck Shuisheng’s foot, angering him. He kicked He Wei in the back, sending him sprawling with a face-plant, “You blind or something, boy? Got a death wish? If it weren’t for Han Ge looking out for you, you’d be dead already. Get back to work!”

He Wei quickly got up, “Sorry! So sorry.”

Lao Hutou laughed and tried to make peace, “Shuisheng bro, he skipped breakfast, that’s why his hands are weak. There’s still a lot to carry. How about asking these new guys to lend a hand moving things inside? While they’re at it, I can start cooking your noodles. By the time they’re done, your meal will be ready too, won’t delay your business at all!”

Shuisheng took a look at the full cart of vegetables and grains, thought for a bit, realizing it would really be who knows when before Lao Hutou and He Wei finished on their own. Right, the three newcomers couldn’t go down the mines for now and had nothing else to do. He immediately turned around, “You three, help with moving the stuff. Work hard, got it?”

Now that they were inside the Luanshan Coal Mine, there was no thinking about getting out.