Chapter 35: Racing Towards a Happy Future

Everyone present widened their eyes in astonishment at Li Xian's new look.

The Xingfu 250 motorcycle, a model produced by Shanghai Bicycle Factory as a replica of the Czech JA250, was once quite popular before the 1990s. Although by 1992, the Xingfu 250 had gradually lost its competitiveness due to its outdated 1950s two-stroke engine, it was still considered a rare item in the forestry areas!

This machine might look cheap, but it was definitely not cheap to use. It was a certified gas guzzler, something an ordinary household could hardly afford.

Li Xian was planning to expand his renovation business to other forest areas, but there were no buses connecting these areas. For instance, if he wanted to travel from Bajiu Forest to Qiwulin Forest, he would first need to take a bus to the forestry bureau and then transfer to another bus to get to Qiwulin. 

This was too inconvenient and a waste of time.

Given this situation, Li Xian indeed needed a means of transportation. When he happened to see this motorcycle at a dealership, which had been damaged during transportation and later repaired, he decided to purchase it.

When Li Xian parked his motorcycle beside the foundation, the surrounding people immediately gathered around, touching it and eagerly asking about the price.

Seeing the envious looks from everyone, Li Xian felt... that in this era, showing off was ridiculously easy.

He didn't even feel any joy from it, just... hmm...

With this in mind, he intentionally straightened his back, and his belt, with a shiny silver chain, fell out conspicuously.

"A pager!"

Wang Lao Wu among the crowd exclaimed and rushed over to Li Xian's side, lifting his blue tracksuit. When he saw the black Motorola pager inside, the guy let out a sharp cry.

"Brother Xian, you've struck it rich with both a motorcycle and a pager!"

In an era with limited productivity, a big motorcycle and a small pager were already the hallmarks of wealth.

Although the forest area was small, every winter, many people who were called "bosses," but were actually middlemen, would come to the mountains to deal in lumber.

Among them were some big bosses from the South, known for their lavish spending and grand demeanor. Their straight postures and the pagers on their waists left a deep impression on Wang Lao Wu, who was in charge of loading timber in the forest during the winter.

Subconsciously, he believed that having a pager was a symbol of wealth.

In fact, it wasn't just Wang Lao Wu who thought this way.

In the eyes of everyone present, anyone who could afford to wear something on their waist that cost as much as two years of living expenses for an ordinary family was undoubtedly a big player.

Seeing Li Xian with these two new gadgets, the way everyone looked at him changed. Even the sturdy men recruited by Wang Qinghe unconsciously showed a hint of restraint on their faces.

Wow,

Li Xian, the second son, had become a boss!

The commotion also drew the attention of Zou Ni, who was cooking, and Li You, who had just returned from the nursery.

Seeing his son riding a big motorcycle and wearing a pager, Li You's face immediately darkened.

He pushed through the crowd and walked up to Li Xian. "What kind of nonsense is this? How much did all this cost?"

Seeing that his honest father was feeling distressed, Li Xian grinned and said, "Dad, you don't understand. These are tools for making money, bought to earn more money."

Li You was momentarily speechless.

"Buying the motorcycle is fine; it'll be convenient for going down the mountain. But how is that little black box going to make money? Just more pointless spending..."

Thinking that all the money spent had come from his son's earnings, he grumbled, turned around, and left with his hands behind his back.

Li Xian hadn't expected that two items, which would be considered extremely low-end in later years, would bring him so much pleasure.

As a knowledgeable and forward-thinking young man who had traveled back in time, he felt he was starting to slip.

This mindset of wanting to flaunt wealth and show off was dangerous.

After soaking in everyone's envious gazes for a good half an hour, Li Xian reluctantly gathered everyone together to discuss business.

Wang Qinghe had recruited a total of 42 people. Including the six Wang brothers and four additional tilers, the team had grown to 52 members.

Li Xian divided them into ten groups. The Wang brothers and the four tilers were appointed as group leaders, while Wang Qinghe was appointed as the "Construction Team Leader of Bajiu Forest," responsible for coordinating the ten groups and arranging transportation.

After finalizing the organizational structure, Li Xian announced the wages; a daily base salary of five yuan, plus a commission based on the amount of work completed. A construction team would earn an additional fifty yuan after finishing one house.

This greatly motivated everyone.

The tilers had already explained the basics of tiling to the group. Although it required some skill and patience, it wasn't particularly strenuous work. If a five-person team worked efficiently, they could complete two houses in a day.

This meant that in a single day, they could earn 25 yuan in wages!

How much did they earn in a day hauling logs in the forest during winter?

Seeing the excited looks on everyone's faces, Li Xian dropped another bombshell: the group leaders would receive an additional 20 yuan daily.

Seeing the Wang brothers and the four tilers flush with excitement, Li Xian reminded them that this money wasn't just given out for free. He laid out the rules sternly: after each project, he would conduct an inspection, and if the work wasn't done well or if there was any wastage of cement or tiles, there would be deductions.

If the homeowner was dissatisfied and complained, they wouldn't receive a single penny.

Faced with Li Xian's stern rules, everyone naturally pounded their chests in assurance; for 40 yuan a day, they were willing to work hard and efficiently, even if it meant being whipped every day!

Seeing this, Li Xian was relieved.

He wasn't worried about anything else; his main concern was that these men might cut corners to earn more money. His reputation wasn't even established yet—he didn't want to stumble right at the start.

Of the 12 orders from Bajiu Forest, Li Xian assigned four teams to handle them, while the remaining teams were temporarily left without assignments.

Hearing this distribution, Wang Qinghe scratched his head and asked, "Xianzi, you've given these four teams all twelve orders, but what about the rest? They don't have any work."

Li Xian chuckled, tapping the photos on the table, "No work? Brother Wang, tomorrow I'll go out for a tour. When I return, I'm worried you won't be able to finish all the work in the next month!"

…

The next morning, Li Xian rode out of the forest on his Xingfu 250. The cool, fresh air of September's morning, with its faint earthy scent, was especially refreshing.

Last night, he had already planned his route;

There were four forest areas between Bajiu Forest and the Forestry Bureau: Dongfeng, Bayi, Hongqi, and Wulin Forest. Among them, Hongqi Forest was located at the center of the entire Bangye Forestry Bureau area.

So today's route was crucial in determining whether he could successfully expand his tile and renovation business.

With Li Xian's small ambitions riding along, the Xingfu 250 sped down the road.

By late morning, Li Xian had already covered Dongfeng.

Dongfeng and Bajiu were not far apart, so many people in both areas were related. Additionally, since Bajiu Forest supplied saplings to the surrounding areas, Li You, as a nursery technician, often visited these places. When Li Xian introduced himself as Li You's son, things went smoothly.

However, since it wasn't his own territory, and despite the fact that the newlyweds were satisfied with the photos, they still had reservations because they hadn't seen the actual work.

So, Li Xian used his motorcycle to bring one of the couples back to Bajiu Forest. After they saw Wang Feng's newly polished house, they immediately placed an order.

Once the first order was in place, the rest would naturally follow.

Li Xian believed that once one house in Dongfeng was tiled, the other business would come naturally.

He quickly had Wang Qinghe arrange for a team to bring the tiles to Dongfeng and gave him his pager number, instructing him to prominently display it in the new house.

Originally, Li Xian had planned to visit all three forest areas in one day, but that wasn't realistic.

The situation at the other two forest areas over the next two days was similar; people always wanted to see the actual results of the renovation.

Finally, the Xingfu 250 proved that Li Xian's purchase was indeed a rational decision. The motorcycle was heavily utilized, with Li Xian constantly running back and forth between the various forest areas, visibly getting tanner.

But all the back-and-forth hustle paid off.

After three full days of running around between the forest areas, the market for his renovation business was completely opened up!