Chapter 52：Heading to the Countryside to Buy Apples

Initially, Bai Lu wanted to pick up Sha Sha from school. However, these two fellows were at odds with each other, so he had no choice but to call Sha Sha and inform her to go back home directly for a meal.

He went into the kitchen to prepare the meal first, and let Gao Yuan bring it home.

Gao Yuan did not want to bother with Tong An Quan, so he was pleased to leave. Before he left, he said, "I will come back at 1pm, to bring you to the plantations."

When He San Qing saw that there was a lot of food, he did not want to stay in the restaurant as well. He chased him outside and said, "Bring me along."

After a while, the restaurant started operations. Seeing how Tong An Quan was dejected and unmotivated, Bai Lu felt a little helpless. He thought, "The movies and books would always say that women are like tigers, but yet, this guy dared to provoke the beast?"

"However, the books would also write that in this life, who would never have experienced a heartbreak? As it keeps happening, one would get used to it. It is the price of growing up."

"Hmm, the author is really brutal! He keeps bullshitting all the time!"

After lunch, he sent Sha Sha to school and instructed her, "When your school finishes, and if I am not around to pick you up, then you should hurry up and go home. Do not go anywhere?"

Sha Sha sighed and said, "I have been walking home by myself since primary school for more than nine years. Why is it that when I am older now, I am becoming a porcelain doll instead?"

Bai Lu seriously said, "These are two separate matters. Go on then." After he finished speaking, he turned around and went back to the restaurant.

Watching Bai Lu walking further and further away, Sha Sha revealed a smile. She thought, "It is much more fortunate to have someone that cares about me than none at all."

After he returned to the restaurant, Tong An Quan was still seating at the corner in a daze. He San Qing and Gao Yuan were already waiting for him in the car. Bai Lu said to Tong An Quan, "If you have nowhere else to go, then you can wait here and guard the shop for me."

Tong An Quan made a sound of approval. Bai Lu left the restaurant and went with Gao Yuan to the apple plantation.

Da Ping District was in the Southwestern direction. It was not too far away from the forest park that Bai Lu last visited when he was digging for the treasure in the mountains.

After they left the city, the two sports cars ramped up their velocity and cruised forward along the wide tar road. 

Looking at the speedometer, Bai Lu saw that the speed of the vehicle exceeded 100kmph and he said, "Are you rushing for your life?"

Gao Yuan kept quiet. Bai Lu's phone rang, and it was He San Qing, who said, "Ask Gao Yuan to drive faster. Why is he so slow?"

"Idiot," Bai Lu said, and he hung up the phone. He rolled down the windows and extended his head outside of the car. He shouted at the red sports car behind, "Drive slower!"

"You are the idiot. Why are you shouting out of the vehicle when you already have a telephone?"

"I like it." Bai Lu pulled his head back into the car.

With a top speed of 100-120kmph, they drove for almost an hour before reaching a village that was bordered by the mountains on one side and water on the other. The village was cluttered with souvenir shops and a few touristic establishments like beautiful villas and such.

Right when they parked the car, a few villagers immediately surrounded them and said, "Do you want to stay in a hotel? Come to mine. It is cheap and affordable..."

Gao Yuan got off the vehicle, and he said, "I am looking for the village chief."

When they heard that he was looking for the village chief, they realized that he was not a tourist, so the crowd started dispersing. There was a middle-aged man who pointed at a three-story apartment in the village and said, "That's where the village chief stays."

Gao Yuan said thanks and drove into the village.

The three-story apartment was more than 60 meters long and 40 meters wide with grey walls and grey bricks. It looked magnificent. In front of the apartment was a little public square, and behind the apartment was a huge courtyard. To the side of the apartment stood a large door that led to the backyard.

"Such a gigantic apartment belongs to the village chief?" He San Qing said, as he walked over after parking his car, "that's the perk of being the local tyrant."

Even though it was the apartment of the village chief, but it was also used as a touristic establishment like the other villagers. The first floor of the apartment was used as a restaurant and the second floor was the accommodation. Some people would sporadically walk in and out in a hurry.

The surname of the village chief was Gu. He was more than 50 years old and had a muscular look. He saw the red sports car parked outside the apartment, so he knew that they were rich folks. With a smile on his face, he walked out and said, "Please come in. Come in. You made the right decision to choose our hotel. This place has the best decor, and the restaurant serves the most amazing dishes. May I ask how long would you three gentlemen like to stay here?"

Gao Yuan said, "I am looking for Village Chief Gu."

Village Chief Gu was stunned, and he asked, "Who are you?"

"Zhang Gui recommended me to come here."

"Ah, you are here to buy apples right? Wait a while, I will inform them first, then I will bring you guys over there." He ran into the room and said a few words. Then he came out and said, "Take my car instead. The plantation is a little far from here, and the sports car would be unsuitable for the journey."

He San Qing said yes, and he joined Village Chief Gu in the same vehicle. They led the way while Bai Lu and Gao Yuan followed behind with the Black Santana.

After they left the village, they headed west and turned into a side-road. They drove for about five to six minutes before they arrived at a large fruit plantation. Rows of fruit trees were hanging with seemingly reddish or greenish fruits that drooped heavily; It looked very satisfying. Occasionally, there were wild bees that were dancing around. They buzzed busily around the fruit trees which made the fruits exuberate a vibrant vitality.

Village Chief Gu stepped out of the vehicle and said, "From this patch, all the way until that mountain, there are six fruit plantations in total. Let's wander around first, and we can discuss after you have chosen your ideal plantation."

Gao Yuan shook his head and said, "I am not going. You can just bring him in." He pushed Bai Lu forward.

He San Qing said, "I am not going too. It's better to wait here."

Thus, Village Chief Gu escorted Bai Lu into the plantation.

Now, it was October, so it was the perfect time for harvesting the fruits. A few of the plantations had workers who were harvesting the fruits and vehicles were parked at the side of the road. It seemed like the apples in these plantations were good enough that there were no worries about selling.

During the entire journey, the air was fresh, and the apples were rosy. Bai Lu felt comfortable when he looked at it. He said, "Not bad, not bad indeed."

Village Chief Gu smiled and said, "Exactly. Our apples are renowned for its quality. Buyers would pay the deposit in spring and harvest in fall. They would all bring their own vehicles and workers so we would not have to do anything. To be honest with you, we have already sold off all the apples. But since you have come here, we could share a little bit with it. However, you cannot buy too many of it as we might be liable for a lawsuit."

The apples were massively red. Anyone who gazed upon it would be filled with appetite. Village Chief Gu said, "According to me, that plantation in front has good quality apples. How many do you need?"

When Village Chief Gu received a call from the area, he was told that someone of higher authority would be here to buy some apples. Since he knew that he was unable to reject this request, he made the decision to hurry up and settle this issue.

As the two of them walked into the plantation, Bai Lu plucked an apple and dusted away the dirt. With a sound "Kacha," he bit into the apple, and the juices flowed out from the corner of his lips.

Bai Lu nodded his head while he was chewing the apple. With a muffled voice, he said, "Not bad."

"Of course it is not bad. The fruits here were not grown with chemical pesticides or growth hormones, and even the fertilizers were used sparingly. If you came here in spring, the entire forest would be swarming with bees; It looks magnificent."

Bai Lu swallowed the apple in his mouth and said, "Can I have 1.5 tonnes of apples?"

Village Chief Gu shook his head and said, "That's too much. You can't have so much. How many apples can one plot of land produce? We used scientific management techniques to ensure the quality of the apples, so each plot of land would only have less than 40 apple trees. Reduce the amount please."

Bai Lu contemplated and said, "Half a tonne?" Gao Yuan's vehicle could fit up to 350-400kg of apples, while He San Qing's car could fit up to 150-200kg of apples so they could haul it all in one trip.

Village Chief Gu hesitated for a while, but nodded his head and said, "Deal, but the selling price would have to be higher than the apple harvesters. Otherwise, I would have nothing to explain."

Bai Lu nodded his head. Village Chief Gu called the owner of the plantation. In half an hour, the owner brought a dozen woven sacks over and started negotiating the price immediately. "For others who are here to harvest, the wholesale price would be $5, but I will sell it to you at $5.50. Each woven sack could fill up to 50kg..." The wholesale price of these apples would be even more expensive than the retail price in supermarkets.

Bai Lu said, "Please help to get a few workers. I would pay them $100 each for their labor."

"It's just half a tonne of apples, why would there be a need to hire workers? Just pay me the money, and I would settle it for you in 20minutes," The owner said.

Bai Lu said, "Deal. Two cars are parked outside of the plantations. One of them is a red sports car. Just deliver the apples over there."

"Ok, sure." The owner went to harvest the apples.

Village Chief Gu asked Bai Lu, "Do you still need anything else?"

"Thank you, Village Chief. Sorry for the inconvenience."

Naturally, the village chief would answer that there was no inconvenience. When the two of them returned to the road, Gao Yuan asked, "Have you purchased it?"

Bai Lu said, "Purchased."

Gao Yuan retrieved a stack of cigarettes. Surprisingly, it was plain cigarettes, without any markings or branding. He tossed it over to the village chief and said, "Thanks."

Gao Yuan did not explain further; He sat in his vehicle and waited. He San Qing smiled, and he said, "You don't want to open up a pack and try it?"

Village Chief Gu chuckled and said, "No rush, no rush." He made the decision to investigate further after going back.

After half an hour, the apples were loaded on the vehicles. He San Qing sighed and said, "Oh, Aston. Drag apples. Could you not defile my vehicle like this?"

"Aston Drag Apples? That sounds like a pretty good name for a car. It would sound even cooler if you remove the apples from the name," Gao Yuan said, and he started the engine of his vehicle and drove away first.

The Black Santana stored five sacks in the back seat and three more sacks in the car boot. He San Qing's sports car stored the remaining two sacks. The three of them returned from this rewarding journey.

They did not return to the restaurant, but instead, they parked at a small district outside of the 2nd Ring, with a garage in front. Bai Lu stepped out of the car and got to work. He shifted all 10 sacks of the apples inside. Then he went to buy the equipment to brew the alcohol.

According to Gao Yuan, he would have just bought a few large stainless steel barrels, but Bai Lu declined. He purchased more than 10 large vats that were used to marinate pickle vegetables from Northeastern China. It infuriated Gao Yuan, who said, "The value of these bunch of trashy equipment was not even as expensive as the price of petrol for the entire journey."

It was not because the vats were too cheap, but it was because they simply could not find anyplace that sold it. They had to drive back and forth between the Eastern and Western City. Then, they hired a lorry, which also costed quite a large sum of money.

After they bought the vats, Bai Lu looked at the time and decided to go back to the restaurant first. Tomorrow, he would come back to work on the rest.

Gao Yuan had already lost his patience, as he could not wait for all these errands to finish. He threw the keys of the garage to Bai Lu, and said, "Remember this place so you can come back here by yourself." As he finished speaking, he thought for a while and said, "No, wait. I am reserving a table for tomorrow. You better stay back at the restaurant to prepare the meals properly."

"I do not accept reservations," Bai Lu said, and he asked, "Which one of you two will be sending me back?"

He San Qing contemplated seriously for a long while, and he said, "It's strange. Why is that, ever since I have met you, the number of dinner parties that I am invited to have reduced greatly?"

Gao Yuan did not even bother to respond. He just hopped into his vehicle immediately and started the engine. With a whooshing sound, his car was nowhere to be found.

Bai Lu frantically jumped into He San Qing's sports car, and said, "Like the unyielding bamboo that etches onto the ravenous cliffs of a green mountain, even if you beat me to death, I would never move away from this position." 

He San Qing burst into laughter and said, "Surprisingly, you are into poetry. Even though it is not original, but I like it." He drove Bai Lu back to the restaurant.

At the entrance of the restaurant, many people had already started queueing up a long time ago. There were also many familiar faces, like Tong An Quan's colleagues in the same department, the foodies from the website Food in the Northern City, and even a few residents along this street, who came for the commotion.

As they saw Bai Lu, they all greeted him passionately.

Bai Lu casually said, "It's good to see all of you here. However, those that might not get to eat a meal here, please do not blame me."

Right when he wanted to enter the restaurant, he saw that there was a pair of big, round eyes that were staring at him intensely through the glass door.

"Oh my God, why is the empress dowager here again?" Bai Lu thought, and he opened the door begrudgingly. He said, "Police Sister, why are you here again?"

"Haven't I explained it to you already? There should not be so many people gathering outside the restaurant. Do you have any idea how dangerous it could be? Next time, you must pay more attention to this issue! And, have you obtained the temporary residence permit? If you still do not have it by tomorrow, I will have to deport you," Sun Min said.

The literal translation to He San Qing's first name would be green mountain. Play on words of an ancient Chinese poem as well.