Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The moment I entered the yard of Peng You’s company, I saw the truck transporting the Buddha Body.

Because statues like this were far too massive, and certain stretches of road had height restrictions, they were difficult to transport in one piece. In most cases, they were assembled only after reaching the destination.

The Buddha Body had also been divided into upper and lower halves. Both were covered in red cloth and placed squarely on the truck.

When transporting a Buddha statue, you couldn’t bind it down with chains or anything of the sort. You could only secure it with anti-slip mats and impact-absorbing foam, so one truck was packed to the brim.

Red cloth decorations had been hung on the outside of the vehicle as well, and the body of the truck had clearly been washed clean.

“Brother Long, take a look. Are we missing anything? If we are, I’ll go make it up. We’ll do it exactly like we discussed before. I’ll cover the costs, and the payment will all go to you.”

The instant Wang Cheng heard that, he refused to accept it.

“Why? This is my truck! Why should all the money go to him?”

With that, he rushed forward, trying to climb into the truck first.

Unfortunately, although he was fairly tall, he was still more than half a head shorter than me. I grabbed him by the back of his collar and hauled him right back down.

“Get the hell out of my way! This truck is mine. Since when did it become yours?”

Peng You rolled up his sleeves, looking like he was about to start throwing punches, but I held him back.

“Enough.” I looked at Wang Cheng, who still looked far from convinced.

“You were already on the road earlier. Why are you suddenly asking for more money out of nowhere? If you weren’t satisfied with the commission, why didn’t you say so before you set out?”

“I didn’t know before.”

Wang Cheng actually sounded wronged. “We’re all relatives. My mom even told him to look after me. But the commission he gives other people is several times what he gives me. He just wants me to work for free. Isn’t that bullying me?”

“Bullshit! You’ve only been learning for half a year. Haven’t I treated you well enough already?” Peng You was so angry his face turned red.

I frowned. “Who told you your commission was lower than everyone else’s? For this run, you leave in the morning and arrive at night. You even get an hour’s rest at noon. And you’re the only one in the truck, aren’t you?”

“Someone told me at the service area at noon!”

Wang Cheng spoke with righteous indignation. “I heard it in the restroom. That person said my commission was the lowest, that I was working for nothing. If it were him, he would’ve quit long ago!”

As soon as he said that, everyone present froze.

Old Zhang stammered for a long while before saying, “You… you… are you stupid?

“People in a service area come from all over the place. How would they know our company’s commission rates?

“Even if it was someone in the same line of work, they wouldn’t know that clearly. Who exactly said it? Did you see his face?”

“I didn’t.” Wang Cheng clearly didn’t think anything was wrong with that.

“I was using the restroom, and that person happened to be in the stall next to me. When he spoke to me, his voice sounded like it was right beside my ear. I heard him very clearly.”

Old Zhang’s face went white at once, and he didn’t dare ask any more questions.

Someone beside them guessed, “Could it have been Dashun? Weren’t the two of them together?”

“You think he wouldn’t recognize Dashun’s voice? Besides, why would Dashun make up nonsense like that for no reason?” another person immediately retorted.

Peng You hesitated, then looked at me and asked tentatively, “Brother Long, how about I contact the temple again and see if we can delay it by two days?”

I shook my head. “I’ll go home, take a shower, and leave tonight. Dashun is still in the hospital. He keeps worrying about the Buddha Head. I need to go take a look.”

“Then won’t the whole trip be at night?” Hearing that, Peng You became even more hesitant.

“When delivering a Buddha, there’s no need to fear traveling at night. Just light two yellow silk lanterns.”

I raised my head and looked at the Buddha Body on the truck. “Besides, a human life is at stake. The Buddha will protect me.”