Chapter 004: As Magnificent as a Legend

Summer is the season when turtles are most active. They often crawl along soil rich in humus to forage, though their pace is slow. Wang Qiang dared not disturb the turtle, afraid it would dash back into the water.

When a turtle spots a person or hears footsteps and doesn’t have time to escape into the water, it usually runs into the grass to hide. Clearly, even though Wang Qiang hadn’t startled it, the turtle’s beady eyes had already spotted him. In its fright, unable to flee to the water, it scrambled into the reeds with its four little legs.

Seeing it about to escape, Wang Qiang couldn’t hold back and hurried after it. In the blink of an eye, the turtle vanished. He was frustrated, annoyed at himself for not acting more swiftly, watching helplessly as hundreds of yuan slipped away.

He thought of just picking up his bucket of crawfish and leaving, but couldn’t resign himself. Instead, he crouched down, gently feeling the ground with his hand. In his previous life, once he had a bit of money, he occasionally bought farmed turtles to try them out, always preparing them himself, so he knew what they felt like—similar to a rubber shoe.

Of course, searching blindly by hand risked getting bitten, but Wang Qiang cared little now. Hundreds of yuan—such a sum was a fortune in these times, when an ordinary worker’s wage was only three hundred.

A single turtle was worth two-thirds more than a worker’s monthly salary. What did a bite matter?

Wang Qiang kept feeling around among the reeds. Something hard—not it, probably just a stone. Something too soft—likely decayed wood. Bit by bit, he explored, until finally his hand touched something with a texture neither soft nor hard, much like a rubber shoe. If he wasn’t mistaken, it must be the turtle.

He calmed himself—no rush. Wang Qiang knew not to grab impulsively, otherwise the turtle would certainly bite. He quickly pinned the turtle with his foot, then bent down, slid his hand beneath its body, found the hollow behind its hind leg, and pinched it firmly with his thumb and forefinger. Only then did he lift his foot and pick up the turtle. If he hadn’t done it this way, he would almost certainly have been bitten.

It was quite heavy. Because he held it by the hind leg hollow, the turtle had already withdrawn its head. Soon he’d have to carry two buckets of crawfish as well, so he couldn’t keep this posture.

Wang Qiang picked up a small branch from the ground, released his grip, and offered the branch to the turtle. As expected, the creature stretched out its head and bit down hard, refusing to let go.

At last, he had captured it.

Since returning to this era, Wang Qiang’s face showed a smile for the first time.

...

Carrying two heavy buckets of crawfish was no easy task.

Fortunately, the market wasn’t far. The sun was high; it was about ten o’clock, and the rush at the market had already passed.

Wang Qiang wasn’t in a hurry. He set the buckets at the entrance of the market, placed the turtle beside him, and crouched by the wall. He didn’t shout, just called out to passersby, asking if they wanted to buy crawfish, or to those dressed well, if they wanted to buy a turtle.

But all the responses were indifferent.

After more than ten minutes, he had nothing to show for his effort.

As the crowd at the market dwindled, he grew anxious.

Suddenly, a Santana stopped nearby. From it emerged a rotund bald man, holding a bulky mobile phone like a brick.

There was a joke in later years: the rich drove a Santana and carried a brick-sized phone. But in this era, it wasn’t a joke—it was reality. In a time when the average monthly wage was three hundred, owning a mobile worth ten or twenty thousand, and a Santana costing over two hundred thousand, was unimaginable.

Wang Qiang hurried to call out, “Boss, want to buy a turtle? Just caught from the river, fresh as can be.” As he spoke, he lifted the turtle to show the fat man.

The fat man looked at him in surprise, pointed at himself, “Me?”

Wang Qiang’s face broke into a broad smile. He flattered, “Of course, ordinary folks in the countryside can’t afford turtle. Only big bosses like you can.”

The fat man chuckled, “Do you know who I am? Just calling me ‘boss’?”

Several women buying vegetables nearby glanced over, smiling but saying nothing.

“No, I don’t,” Wang Qiang answered honestly.

“To tell the truth, I’m poorer than you.” The fat man shook his head and started to walk into the market.

Wang Qiang couldn’t let such a wealthy customer slip away. He joked, “Come on, I’m just a poor student—how could I compare with you, boss?”

“You’re quite the talker,” the fat man paused, interested, and turned. “You don’t believe me?”

Wang Qiang shook his head. Honestly, he really didn’t.

The fat man shrugged, “If I tell you my name, you’ll believe it. I’m Lu Dahai.”

Lu Dahai?

Owner of the Jin Gong Machinery Factory?

The name was legendary to Wang Qiang, or rather, no one in Minqiang Town was unfamiliar with it. In twenty years, this Boss Lu would support half the families in Minqiang Town. Back then, he was a legend, a listed company owner with assets over two billion. Sadly, Wang Qiang had never met the legendary man in person, and today, unexpectedly, he encountered him at the market.

A billionaire twenty years from now, and now he claimed to be poorer than Wang Qiang? If it were someone else, Wang Qiang might have thought it was a boast, but coming from Lu Dahai, he believed it.

At this moment, Lu Dahai had just borrowed a large sum to take over Jin Gong Machinery Factory, and was facing debts of hundreds of thousands. Wasn’t he indeed poorer than penniless Wang Qiang?

But if he let this customer slip away, who knew if anyone else would pay such a sum for a turtle in this rural town. Wang Qiang hesitated, then, almost involuntarily, said, “If I give you an idea for your factory, will you buy the turtle?”

Lu Dahai was taken aback, then burst out laughing, “You have an idea for me?”

Wang Qiang nodded confidently. He knew Jin Gong Machinery Factory well, though he hadn’t worked there, he’d heard plenty of rumors, including one about Lu Dahai’s rise to fortune. He didn’t know if it was true, but if he didn’t try, the turtle would only end up on his own table.

“Fine, let’s hear it. If your idea’s good, I’ll buy your turtle.” Whether out of desperation or curiosity, Lu Dahai agreed to listen.

This was his one chance. Wang Qiang didn’t want to miss it and probed, “Jin Gong Machinery Factory still makes grinding tools, right?”

Lu Dahai grunted, saying nothing.

Wang Qiang gathered courage, “To be honest, that business is a loss. I advise you to switch trades as soon as possible.”

“Hmm?” Lu Dahai frowned, not pleased.

Wang Qiang took a deep breath, “As far as I know, Japanese abrasive companies entered the Chinese market years ago. Why do you think Jin Gong Machinery Factory, a state-owned enterprise, sold to you at a discount? Because the losses were too severe—you didn’t get a bargain, you got a hot potato.”

Lu Dahai lowered his head in silence. Though the young man’s words were unpleasant, they were true. Japanese super-hard abrasives were superior in quality and price to domestic suppliers. Not just Jin Gong Machinery Factory—even the big state-owned abrasive companies in Shanghai were being squeezed by the Japanese. As the saying goes, backwardness invites humiliation, and this was the reality of the domestic abrasive market.

Seeing Lu Dahai silent, Wang Qiang could only watch, the money slipping into someone else’s pocket, and if he didn’t want to buy, Wang Qiang couldn’t force him.

“So…” Lu Dahai looked up, hesitated, “What do you think Jin Gong Machinery Factory should switch to?” He found himself amused—this young man was at most twenty, what advice could he offer?

But Wang Qiang did have a good idea. “Make metallic carding cloth.”

Lu Dahai was puzzled, “Metallic carding cloth? What’s that?”

Wang Qiang didn’t know much either, but Jin Gong Machinery Factory’s fame in Minqiang Town meant he’d heard bits and pieces. “Metallic carding cloth is a covering for machines, with needles or teeth on its surface, used in spinning—an essential machine part.”

Lu Dahai asked again, “Can that make me money?”

Whether others could earn from carding cloth, Wang Qiang didn’t know, but Boss Lu surely could. Jin Gong Machinery Factory became a listed company precisely by switching to metallic carding cloth. “Definitely. Textile industries worldwide need it. What you don’t know is that there are only two major companies making metallic carding cloth worldwide, in Germany and France. No one else has noticed this industry. If you get into it, you’ll make money.”

This was the sort of thing workers at Jin Gong Machinery Factory bragged about in later years, and Wang Qiang had heard it many times.

Lu Dahai’s eyes lit up, “Really?”

Wang Qiang replied, “Go investigate, and you’ll see.”

Lu Dahai thought it reasonable. He abandoned the market trip, turned and headed for his Santana.

Wang Qiang smiled bitterly—he’d given his idea, but still hadn’t sold the turtle.

Unexpectedly, Lu Dahai opened his car door, rummaged inside for a moment, then hurried back, asking, “How much for your turtle?”