Reborn back to 1984

Chapter 5

There is a car repair booth near the school, which was set up by a retired old worker.Zhang Xiuqing followed her memory and found a stall at the three-fork intersection ahead, but unfortunately, there were no old wheels with steel rims on the stall.

The second stop is the farmers market.At that time, County J had a small population and an underdeveloped economy. There was only one vegetable market in the entire county. Compared with other streets, there were many shops here, and the flow of people was relatively large. In order to attract customers, many shops put things at the door of the shop. It makes the already narrow passage more and more congested.

The vegetable market was dirty, and the air was filled with the smell of meat, rotten fish and shrimp, rotten vegetables and fruits, and other indescribable smells, which were particularly smoky.After walking in, you need to keep an eye on your feet, otherwise, if you are not careful, it is easy to step on the garbage thrown by the vendors

Zhang Xiuqing looked carefully while walking cautiously.At this time, there were no out-of-season vegetables and fruits, and all the stalls sold seasonal items. The vegetables were mainly loofah, cucumber, long beans, and eggplants, and the fruits were mainly peaches, watermelons, and pears, which were basically locally produced.The stalls selling fish and meat are at the innermost, next to those selling chickens, ducks and geese.

"Brother, let me ask you, if I want to set up a stall here, how much rent will I have to pay every month?" When economic interests are not involved, such as asking for directions, it is better to ask the elderly. If it is involved, it is better to ask young people of the opposite sex.

Zhang Xiuqing looked around and walked straight to a stall selling fish. The stall owner was a young man in his 20s. He looked like an honest man. He was not impatient because Zhang Xiuqing didn't patronize his business. On the contrary, he knew everything and said everything. Jin: "...it depends on the entrance of the city. The monthly rent for fixed booths ranges from more than ten yuan to hundreds of yuan; the fee for temporary booths is lower, only [-] cents per day, but the entrance of the city is not very good; if you want to save money For some money, you can set up a stall by the bridge, but be careful, if you are caught, all your belongings will be confiscated.”

Zhang Xiuqing thanked him sincerely. The young man blushed slightly and asked, "Do you want to set up a stall? What are you going to sell?"

Zhang Xiuqing smiled wryly and said: "I want to set up a stall, but I don't have the capital, and I haven't thought about what to sell. I'll inquire about the situation today and discuss it with my family when I go back. It's not certain."

The young man said "Oh", scratched his head, and wanted to say something comforting, but his mouth was so clumsy that he couldn't utter a single word.When Zhang Xiuqing turned to leave, an old lady who sold eggs came over with a gossipy face: "That girl just now is really handsome, is she your girlfriend?"

The young man's black face turned red immediately, and he waved his hands again and again: "No, no, I don't know her."

"Hey, you're telling a lie. You tell people so much without knowing you. Who are you lying to?"

"I'm not lying. I really don't know that girl. Besides, I'm married and my child is one year old."

"Ah? You already have a mother-in-law, and you dare to blatantly hook up with other young girls? Do you want to be Chen Shimei because of how much money you have in your pocket?"

"Who wants to be Chen Shimei? Nothing, grandma, please keep your voice down, it's not good to be misunderstood..."

"What's wrong? If you haven't done anything wrong, you won't be afraid of being heard."

Young man: "..." Facing everyone's blaming gazes, he wanted to cry, and decided that he would never talk to women again. It was really scary, woo woo...

Zhang Xiuqing walked out of the farmer's market, and soon found a car repair shop nearby. There were a few bicycle tires with steel rims in the shop, but unfortunately they were damaged, the steel rims were seriously deformed, and the steel wires were rusted. More than half of it can only be sold as scrap iron, and there is no way to use it as waste.

Afterwards, Zhang Xiuqing went to several places, but couldn't find any suitable ones. She couldn't help but feel a little anxious, and the disappointment could not be concealed on her beautiful face.She didn't expect that in such a dignified county, she couldn't even buy an old wheel, and she was so depressed that she wanted to scratch the wall.

The weather was extremely hot, there was no wind, and the leaves were all motionless. Zhang Xiuqing was tired and thirsty, and the noise was so dry that it was about to smoke.When she got near the hospital, she couldn't walk any longer, so she found a shaded place by the river and sat down, took off her straw hat, and fanned it vigorously.

At that time, there was no bottled mineral water on the market, and there was nowhere to buy it if I wanted to drink it.The grocery store does sell soft drinks, the best-selling one is orange flavor, and it costs [-] cents a bottle. After drinking, the empty glass bottles can be recycled, and one can be sold for about [-] cents.

In this era when living standards are generally low, only children from rich families can afford to drink orange soda, and children from poor families are only greedy.Zhang Xiuqing lived to be 49 years old in her previous life and drank a lot of drinks. Even if she is very thirsty now, she is unwilling to spend so much money to buy a bottle to try.

At a distance of about ten steps, an old lady with gray hair was selling water. She was sitting on a small bench, and a small table was placed in front of her, on which were placed four transparent glasses, each of which contained It is full of sugar water and has different flavors, such as sour plum, red bean, and mint... At first glance, it is colorful and very attractive.In order to prevent flies and dust, the mouth of the cup is covered with glass sheets. Whenever someone passes by, the old lady will yell: "Water is sold, five cents a glass..."

Zhang Xiuqing drank this sugar water in her previous life. Because of the saccharin, it was very sweet at first taste, but after a careful aftertaste, she would feel a little bit of bitterness in the sweetness.It's not easy for the elderly to make some money. Zhang Xiuqing wants to start a business, but she's used to drinking mineral water, and she doesn't want to drink these saccharine waters unless she's too thirsty.

There is a department store at the intersection, and several people are queuing up to buy sour plum soup. This is the latest spray-type frozen drink on the market. It can only be seen in larger stores. There are two flavors, sour plum and orange. Taste, priced at a dime a cup.Although the price is twice as expensive as ordinary drinks, there are many people who buy them, and they have to queue up during holidays. Unfortunately, the sanitation is not up to standard. There are only five or six glasses in the store. After the customer in front drinks it, the salesperson takes it. The cups are used directly by the next customer without being washed, let alone sterilized.

No one has any objections to this phenomenon, because people at this time are not very hygienic, and there are no disposable cups to buy on the market, and many people have become accustomed to it.Zhang Xiuqing washes her hands frequently at home, and some people still can't stand it, and secretly ridiculed her for wanting to be a city person and wanting to be crazy.

"Ah, I want to buy popsicles, Ah, I want to buy popsicles..." There was the sound of hawking from a distance, and the sound of "pop, pop, pop..." After a while, a popsicle seller appeared in front of him.This is a middle-aged man in his forties. He is dark and thin. He wears a washed white shirt and a pair of patched trousers. Because of the hot weather, the trouser legs are rolled up to the knees. He was wearing a pair of wind sandals on his feet, and he was pushing a bicycle in his hand. On the back seat of the car was a rectangular wooden box with popsicles in it.

In the hot summer, popsicles are undoubtedly the children's favorite.At that time, refrigerators were not yet popular, and many people had to go outside to buy food if they wanted to eat. Some people saw the business opportunity, went to the wholesale department to buy popsicles, and then went to the street to sell them.

Selling popsicles is a laborious job, selling all day, the noise must be unbearable, so many people prepared tools-a piece of wood the size of soap, similar in shape to ancient gavels, grasped it in their hands and gently patted the wooden box , "Pa, pa..." The sound spread far away.

In the countryside, you can often see people selling popsicles. Sometimes there are several times a day, and some people are happy and others are worried, some are happy and some are crying.Wherever these popsicle sellers went, there were the cries of children one after another.

There is a child next door to Zhang Xiuqing’s house, who is only six years old this year. Once the popsicle seller comes, he will cry. The grandparents love their grandchildren and hate these people so much that they often conflict with them: “Our family is poor. , can’t afford popsicles, don’t come to our place in the future, go sell them elsewhere!”

People in this era are generally honest and timid, but they are more courageous in daring to come out to do business, and they are more articulate. They responded on the spot: "Your family can't afford it. Others can afford it. You don't care where I sell it."

"Do you think I want to meddle in my own business? Isn't it because every time you come here, you make my child cry and you hate it. Be more conscious in the future and don't pass by our house."

"Oh, that's ridiculous. This road belongs to the public, not yours. I come and go whenever I want, no one can control me."

"I'll tell you carefully, why are you so unreasonable?"

"It's so ridiculous. Ask the neighbor next door who is being unreasonable."

"You are unreasonable. I won't quarrel with you. Anyway, I have already told you that if you walk in front of my house next time, I will let the dog bite people, and kill them."

"Then let me tell you, which dog dares to bite me, I will kick it to death."

"If you dare to kick my dog ​​to death, I will report to the police station and arrest you to sue."

"If I go in for a lawsuit, my family of more than a dozen people will eat your house and live in your house. What will you do?"

There are several fights like this a day, and each fight will always attract countless people watching the excitement.Relatively speaking, people in southern Jiangsu have a milder personality. When encountering things that are too angry, they will quarrel at most, and rarely fight. The situation of "no word, draw swords" will hardly happen. .

"Father, I want to eat popsicles!" A seven or eight-year-old boy broke free from his parents' hands and rushed to the popsicle seller.

The boy's father trotted over, grabbed the boy, and asked, "How do you sell popsicles?"

The middle-aged man stopped his bicycle, grabbed the wooden block, and hit the wooden box hard, while answering: "Red bean popsicles cost [-] cents, and cream ice cream costs [-] cents."

(End of this chapter)