Free Web NovelChapter 431: Chapter 431: Having a Warehouse
By the next evening, it was already dark when they finally arrived in Vessaria. It was June, so the temperature was already climbing. After spending two days and one night on the train, they were all starting to smell, and the sticky feeling was unbearable.
"I’ll go find a handcart," Goldie Thorne said, about to head off. There were bound to be some near the station.
It would be impossible to carry five large bags of fabric on their own; a handcart would make things much easier.
"Don’t bother."
Adrian Hawthorne stopped Goldie Thorne. He had called Winston Lowell the day before and told him to wait at the station. He should be here soon.
"There he is! Let’s get a move on!"
Winston Lowell came running over excitedly with two of his guys, pushing a handcart. Adrian Hawthorne waved at them, and the three of them picked up their pace. When they saw the large bags and small boxes on the ground, they grew even more delighted.
’Anything brought from the south was guaranteed to be good stuff. That meant they could earn even more money. How could they not be thrilled?’
"Boss, what goodies did you bring?" Winston Lowell asked curiously. He felt no shame in calling a kid several years his junior ’Boss.’ The way he saw it, the most capable person should lead. Adrian Hawthorne might be young, but he could help him make money, and for that, Winston was more than willing to call him Boss.
"We’ll talk when we get back!"
Adrian Hawthorne had the three men load the bags onto the handcart. The train station was full of sketchy characters, and they were too conspicuous just standing there. In the short time they’d been waiting, several people had already come over to eye them and their cargo. It would be a huge problem if they attracted the patrol team. That was precisely why he had timed their arrival for the evening; it was far less conspicuous.
Winston Lowell got the picture. He helped heave the large bags onto the cart, and the group departed in a hurry.
"We’re going to my place," Adrian Hawthorne said. "From now on, it’ll be our warehouse. It needs at least two people guarding it at all times."
Winston Lowell and his two men exchanged delighted glances. ’They were setting up a warehouse already! This meant the boss’s business was getting bigger and bigger. As his underlings, they’d get to share in the good fortune. Maybe they could even earn a hundred or so yuan a month!’
Currently, even the lowest earner in their crew made over twenty yuan a month. A capable man like Winston Lowell could easily pull in fifty or sixty yuan a month—more than a government official’s salary. As a result, Winston’s status at home had been steadily rising. Even his old man didn’t dare to yell at him anymore. Such was the allure of cold, hard cash.
’If he could start earning a hundred yuan a month,’ Winston thought, ’I might even become the one calling the shots at home.’ He also planned to follow Adrian Hawthorne’s example and buy a house in the city. Once government policies loosened up a bit, he’d have his mom open a small sundry shop. She wouldn’t have to stay up all night gluing cardboard boxes anymore. Gluing boxes paid next to nothing, and the late nights were ruining her eyesight.
"So, Boss, what’s the treasure?"
Once they reached a more secluded street, Winston Lowell couldn’t resist asking again. He was dying of curiosity; the five bags were so big and heavy, they had to be filled with something good.
Adrian Hawthorne just smiled without answering, simply telling them to push the cart faster. This only made Winston Lowell’s curiosity burn even brighter, and he pushed the handcart with renewed speed.
Finally, they arrived. The place wasn’t far from the train station, just a couple of streets away. Adrian Hawthorne had thought of this when he bought the house, deliberately choosing a property near the station for convenience. The house itself wasn’t small; it had three successive courtyards and was kept very clean. The lane it was on was called Four-Eye Well Lane because it contained four wells, which had originally been designated for washing clothes, washing vegetables, and drinking water. Now that everyone had running water, however, the wells were mostly used for laundry and washing produce.
Once everything was unloaded and the doors and windows were shut tight, Adrian Hawthorne finally opened one of the bags. At the sight of the vibrant, brand-new fabric inside, Winston Lowell and his two men could only stare, their eyes wide. It took them a long moment to snap out of their daze, and they were so overjoyed they could barely form a coherent sentence.
"B-Boss... are all f-five bags full of fabric?"
