Guns?
Hearing that word, Tang Wen shuddered all over. It was already '96; the gun ban should have started by now, shouldn't it?
But thinking carefully, the order was issued in the middle of the year. It was only early July now, so the documents probably hadn't even been rolled out locally yet.
But even if the prohibition order was issued, achieving a nationwide gun ban in reality wouldn't happen until close to the 2010s. Twenty years later, there were still Villagers voluntarily turning in Maxim guns and Mortars.
The reason why the fierce Fishermen along the Coastal Area had such a bad reputation was also because the weapons in their hands were generally more powerful.
Most families inland only had one or two homemade guns, but here, getting a Type 56 rifle or a Shotgun was as easy as playing a game. After all, those who made a living off the sea didn't only encounter easy targets.
If it was just within the Nearshore, it would be fine, but some audacious Ocean-going Fishing Boats even dared to fish Offshore of the Island Nation and Luzon. If they were discovered by foreign Fishermen, they could only rely on their own abilities.
Since they had the necessary gear, the issue of Transportation Safety was initially resolved.
Moreover, since Tang Wen could send people to escort the delivery, he naturally wasn't worried about not receiving the Final Payment.
"That's great, Xiao Tang, when can you have the Truck depart?"
Wu Lao Er was also overjoyed and somewhat impatient.
"Trust me, it can depart as soon as the Deposit is paid, but my Truck and the escort personnel will cost extra."
Since the Contract didn't stipulate delivery, Tang Wen certainly wouldn't provide this service for free.
"No problem, how about I give you one thousand yuan per trip? I'll cover the Gasoline and meals, I guarantee I won't treat those two brothers poorly!
Old Chen, wait for me to take you back to get the money later, I'll leave as soon as possible!"
"What's the rush? I was planning to go check out Xiao Tang's Factory anyway!"
Chen Yonggui wasn't very interested in reselling Diesel Engines; he cared more about the Village having another Factory for development, which was why he was so enthusiastic about Tang Wen.
After all, young people nowadays were all thinking of going to Shenzhen in the South to work; too few were staying in the Village.
However, Tang Wen felt uneasy because the location of the previous Shipbuilding workshop was already remote, and even after the Upgrade, few Villagers visited. If the Village Chief suddenly saw a Shipyard pop up, it would be too alarming.
Thinking that he must erect Iron Skin siding on the outer wall to cover it up later, Tang Wen quickly made an excuse:
"Village Chief, my place is currently a huge construction site, dirty and messy, so you shouldn't come. I'll personally invite you over in a few days when I have time.
Also, don't drive your car over later; I'll have a Truck take Old Wu back to the Town."
"This... alright then, Xiao Tang, you must make sure the Factory really gets going well."
Chen Yonggui didn't insist, only offering a few more words of encouragement.
Tang Wen then gave orders to the Shipyard Workers who had come with him, and soon the sound of a Truck was heard coming from the end of the road.
Trucks were a rare sight in those days, so the two men and the other Villagers craned their necks, wanting to see what was going on.
When Tang Wen's Truck finally entered their Field of View, the Village Chief's eyes widened:
"Is that... a Jiefang truck?"
With its protruding Engine hood and extremely retro Appearance, only the Jiefang truck from the time of the Founding of the Nation looked like that. But the Jiefang had been out of production for so long; who still drove that thing now?
But when the Shipyard Workers drove it closer, people realized it wasn't quite the familiar Jiefang truck.
The common Jiefang truck usually had a single axle in the rear, totaling six wheels.
But this large truck was different; it had two axles under the rear bed, totaling ten tires.
Some Villagers looked closer and realized something was wrong, then shouted:
"Isn't that the truck from the movies! That's a Ten-wheel truck, the kind the USA people drive."
As this person spoke, others also gradually noticed that it seemed to be true, resembling the military trucks of Old America in war films, mainly because the ten-wheel feature was very obvious.
In fact, it was true. Due to the Technology Level of the Shipyard, this Truck was actually the CCKW353 model transport truck launched by General Motors in 1939, with a rated load capacity of 2.5 Ten Thousand Tons, though overloading it by double wasn't an issue. Thus, it was the Main Force transport truck for the Allied Forces in World War II, and quite a few were captured after the founding of the nation.
But the Technology Level of this thing was indeed quite Lag Behind. The GMC270 model 4.4-liter 6-cylinder Gasoline Engine it was equipped with could only provide 104 Horsepower.
In contrast, the red Santana 2000 belonging to the Duty-free trade Commissioner Zheng Hai, with only a 1.8-liter 4-cylinder AJR Gasoline Engine, produced 100 Horsepower—nearly the same as the GMC270, which had more than double its displacement and two extra cylinders.
The CCKW353 was simply too ancient; even if it was brand new, it couldn't hide the aura of obsolescence covering its entire body.
Chen Yonggui was also dumbfounded looking at this thing. He had only seen one when he was young, and now they were almost extinct; those still running had been used for decades at least.
"Xiao Tang, where did you dig this out from, some scrap heap? Can it even run?"
"This... don't worry, it just has high Fuel Consumption. I bought it cheap because it's an old vehicle."
"Is that so? But the paint looks quite new."
"..."
Tang Wen could only feign ignorance again. Fortunately, no one complained; having a vehicle was impressive enough in those days; even Tractors weren't one per household.
Wu Lao Er was quite satisfied with the imposing Appearance of the Ten-wheel truck. He squeezed into the driver's seat and took out half a pack of Hongmei cigarettes to get friendly:
"Which part of the country are you two brothers from? Where did you work before?"
Tang Shi Qi, in the driver's seat, took the cigarette, lit it, and said calmly:
"I am from the North, previously in Minsk."
"Minsk?"
Wu Lao Er felt that didn't sound like it was Domestic, so he asked:
"Then what size Fishing Boats did you build in Minsk?"
"The smallest were a few hundred tons; some large ones were even Ten Thousand Tons."
"Ten Thousand Tons! Good heavens, are you planning to fish all the way to the Antarctic!"
Wu Lao Er wanted to try to get closer, but Tang Shi Qi and Tang Shi Ba refused to say more. He could only squeeze into the seat and start talking about transportation matters instead.
Since the two weren't very responsive and were Outsiders, Wu Lao Er tried to scare them by deliberately exaggerating:
"You don't know about those road bandits. In year XX, seven or eight people with ten guns—they dared to rob even XX! Several passing travelers and Drivers had a terrible time. I heard..."
Tang Shi Qi and Tang Shi Ba showed no expression, but they took these words to heart.
...
In the evening, Tang Shi Qi returned to the Shipyard with the Deposit given by Wu Lao Er and then reported to Tang Wen about the cases of car bandits and highwaymen Wu Lao Er had told him about.
It involved gunfights with dozens of guns, or blowing up vehicles with Explosives on bad roads, and even an entire Village collectively engaging in a side business, leaving Outsiders with no chance to call for help.
According to Tang Shi Qi's description, taking a long trip felt like entering a den of bandits, full of wild outlaws everywhere.
"What, is Public Order that bad?!"
Tang Wen had only seen snippets about this era in Later Generations, but he didn't know it was this chaotic.
But with the information gap and the influence of marketing accounts from his previous life, he had to seriously consider it.
He was counting on opening up the external Market. If people were robbing Trains at this time, robbing roads probably wasn't a big deal either. If handled poorly, it would truly be a Trouble.
After hearing Tang Shi Qi's opinion, Tang Wen decided he needed to slightly strengthen his own defense capabilities.