When I came here, I felt nervous and confused, but also a little bit anticipating and excited. When I left, I was left with only excitement.
Looking at the scenery along the way in the city, everyone's eyes were not enough to see it all. Of course, the daytime cannot compare to the night. The buildings are so tall that they can't even count how many floors there are. They all want to ask the tractor to stop so that they can count them.
There are bicycles traveling everywhere on the streets, people in bright and beautiful clothes, and vendors coming and going hawking their food. They all look different, full of vigor and vitality, and full of longing and hope for their future life.
At this time, they also began to think, if they had money to buy a shop or a house, could they stay in the city and become city dwellers
This is not a county town, this is a city.
They couldn't help but feel moved. If Adong bought a house, wouldn't that mean he would become a city dweller and a wealthy man
There were some subtle changes in everyone's hearts. They felt that Ye Yaodong was already superior to them. Although they were not optimistic about the shop, they still bought a property.
If I move to the city in the future, I won’t have to smell the fishy smell anymore, and I won’t have to feel the salty sea breeze anymore. I can wear something bright and beautiful every day when I go out…
It was only a few minutes' walk, but everyone's thoughts had already turned over a thousand times, and their ideas were no longer the same as before. They just wanted to stay in the small fishing village for one day and have enough food to eat.
Which man doesn’t have an ideal in his heart? The reason they didn’t have ideas before was because their vision and life limited them.
Until we passed through the city center, the surrounding houses returned to low height. Now everyone came to their senses and realized that the city didn't seem to be full of high-rise buildings.
This low-rise residential area is similar to those in their cities and towns, but it is better than the stone houses in their village.
"These city people live such a good life, and their clothes are so beautiful..."
"They don't have to work, and they can eat commercial grain."
"What a great reincarnation! How come one person is so different from another? I wish we could eat commercial grain someday."
"This seems to be quite difficult. You need to register as a resident in the city and have a commercial grain household registration."
"Hey~ Can Adong eat commercial grain?"
"No," Ye Yaodong said affirmatively, "This is a shop, not a house. You can't settle here, and you don't have a grain certificate."
"That's a pity. I should have bought a house earlier."
The Wenzhou real estate speculation group will have to wait for many years. Wouldn't it be a waste of money to buy a house so early? Besides, this is a city, not Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou. Today is just a coincidence, so I'll just buy a shop for the time being.
"You should work hard and earn more money, then you can buy a house in the city, eat commercial grain, and become rich. Anyway, the money is in your hands, so it won't be a loss if you buy a house there."
“How many years will it take to earn that?”
“You’ll earn more and more.”
…
There was a typhoon and rain the night before yesterday, and it was cloudy all day yesterday. The roads were still not dry, and the tractors drove along without raising any dust. No one had to eat dirt, and the conversation was more exciting.
If this happened on a sunny day, the bumpy ride back home would not only make me covered in dust, but I would also have to pick a lot of booger out of my nose.
The tractor was moving unsteadily, and from time to time it would meet people walking or pushing carts on the mountain road. Everyone would just look at them with envy and then lower their heads and walk on their own.
Now I am really hardworking and can walk a lot! A pair of Jiefang shoes can take you all over the world.
When they were almost at the village, they calculated the fare in advance and decided that it would be two yuan per person for a round trip, which they paid directly when they got off the bus.
When Ye Yaodong set out, Lin Xiuqing put a few dollars in his cloth bag. Now that he has returned home, after owing 350 yuan in foreign debt, he still has more than 6 yuan in his pocket.
He touched his clinking pockets and looked at his wife who ran out to the door and happily greeted him after hearing the sound of the tractor. He smiled guiltily.
The others looked at him complacently, patted him on the shoulder, silently lit a candle for him, and then went to greet their wives and children.
"Dad~"
"Third Uncle~"
"Uncle-in-law~"
A bunch of children came running over to greet him, with a bunch of pendants on their legs.
"Dad~Mom said this morning that you were away on a long trip. Did you make a lot of money? Did you buy us something delicious?"
"Uncle-in-law, how come you're back so soon? Isn't it time for someone to go on a long trip for several days? How come you're back so soon? It's not even a day yet."
"Yes, Uncle San, why are you back so early?"
A group of children were chattering away, talking to each other. Normally, he would feel a headache, but at this time, he didn't feel it at all. It was good to delay some time!
"I went there to do something, not to have fun. I came back after I was done. I didn't wander around or buy anything."
Looking at their disappointed faces, he rummaged through the cloth bag in front of him. He did not eat the canned food and rice cakes that Ah Qing had brought him at night. He only ate an egg while strolling around after selling the goods.
"Take these two and share them."
"Wow wow wow ~ Another canned food to eat."
“And sweet rice cakes…”
Everyone's faces instantly changed from cloudy to bright, and they became excited again. This time they didn't surround him anymore, but ran away with their things in their hands.
Lin Xiuqing also came out to greet him with a smile, "You're back quite early. It's not even noon yet. I thought you wouldn't be back until the evening."
"Well, I'll be back when I sell out."
Although Lin Xiuqing knew that they were all sold out when he came back empty-handed, she was still surprised to hear him say that. "They're all sold out so quickly? How much did they sell for?"
"Ahem, a total of 150 yuan and 88 cents, 36 cents for the big one and 28 cents for the small one."
"So many!" Lin Xiuqing was pleasantly surprised. "This morning, I heard from my eldest and second sisters-in-law that the prices outside the dock dropped again last night. They said there were too many and they couldn't take them all away. When they were selling, the big ones were only 26 cents, and the small ones were only 20 cents. The last 30 or 40 households seemed to have dropped the price again, only 20 cents regardless of size. They said they had too many empty shells mixed in, and the big and small ones were mixed together."
"ah?"
"Fortunately you sent it to the city. I didn't expect the price difference to be so big. My eldest and second sisters-in-law said in the morning that if they had known earlier, they would have gone to the city with you."
Ye Yaodong was thankful. "If I had known earlier, I would have known that money can't buy anything. It's also because the villagers are messing around and disrupting the market. If they were honest and picked carefully, the price wouldn't have dropped so much. It's almost cut in half."
"Who knows?"
At this time, Ye Yaopeng and Ye Yaohua also came over.
Ye Yaopeng asked curiously: "Why are you back so early?"
“I’ll be back once I’m done selling.”
"How's the wholesale market in the city? Did you get a good price?"
"The big one is thirty-six cents, and the small one is thirty-two cents."
"ah?"
Both brothers frowned, thinking it wouldn't make much of a difference. It would cost travel money, it would be a hassle, it was far away, and they were unfamiliar with the place, so they didn't feel confident. The line at the dock was almost half full, so they were relatively conservative.
Now he felt like he had suffered a huge loss. A difference of one cent meant a difference of ten dollars for 100 kilograms. All together they weighed about 300 kilograms, big and small. That meant a difference of more than half a month's wages. He had only been out for half a day, and he came back before noon.
Both of them wanted to beat their chests and stamp their feet.
Ye Yaodong comforted her, "It's okay. We'll learn this lesson next time. If we have a lot of goods next time, we'll deliver them ourselves."
“Alas, who knew the market price was so good?”
"Then will the other goods at our dock be more expensive if they are put in the wholesale market?"
"Well, it will be higher, that's for sure. People have to make money too."
He didn't say how much higher it was, so as not to cause hatred.
Seeing that they were still standing at the door, Lin Xiuqing quickly reminded them, "Let Ah Dong go in and rest first. He hasn't slept all night and has come a long way by car. Let him rest for a while."
"Yes, yes, yes. Go in and get some sleep first. We'll talk later."
Actually, he wasn't tired...
But it feels good to have his wife always around him, asking about his well-being.
"Are you tired? You've been sitting in the car for several hours? You must be exhausted..."
"Are you hungry? It's not time for dinner yet, and I haven't cooked the meal yet. I'll make you a bowl of noodles first!"
"Why didn't you eat the canned food and rice cakes I packed for you? Why did you bring them back? They're not heavy!"
Ye Yaodong sat at the dining table in the main room, watching her busying around, asking questions all the time.
"There are so many people here. I feel embarrassed to let them watch me eat so much. If I share with them, they won't eat much. Our own children haven't eaten enough yet. Besides, I'm not hungry. I can eat an egg to fill my stomach and it will be daybreak soon. There are also buns for sale at the entrance of the market."
"That's good. Don't starve yourself when you go out."
"Well... Ah Qing... let me tell you something..."
"Dongzi?"
The old lady didn't know where she came back from. She just walked into the room slowly and saw Ye Yaodong sitting there. She hurriedly walked forward excitedly and touched his arm.
"When did Dongzi come back? You came back pretty soon. I thought you would be back in the evening or afternoon. If I had known, I would not have gone out and waited at home. This is your first time traveling far away."
"Are you tired from the car ride? Did you eat well outside? Are you hungry?"
"You haven't slept the whole night, and you have dark circles under your eyes. Is your wife cooking noodles? Then eat later and go to sleep..."
As soon as the old lady saw him, she kept asking questions and didn't give him a chance to speak.
"I'm not tired, and it's not far. I still..."
"How can you not be tired? Who can't stand a whole night without sleep? And you have to take a long bus ride back and forth. Don't take it lightly just because you are young. After you are full, go to sleep. Your health is important."
"What a pity, the chickens and ducks at home are too young, otherwise I would kill one for you. Those ducks have had a great time these days, eating fish and shrimps on the beach every day. I'll catch a few more next year..."
We have to catch a few more, otherwise there won’t be enough for the old lady to kill.
Other people’s old ladies only think about killing chickens and ducks during the New Year and other festivals, but his old lady would kill chickens and ducks whenever she felt he was tired, and she didn’t feel any pity at all.
"Where have you come from? Sit down and talk! The ground is not dry yet, it's wet everywhere. Where have you been? Aren't you afraid of slipping?"
"Alas, the typhoon just passed, and I was worried about your brother Hong and his family. It was too wet yesterday, so I thought of going over to take a look today. I don't know how badly the house is leaking, and whether anyone has fixed it."
Ye Yaodong did not comment. A grandson is still a grandson, and it is normal to feel sorry for him.
"Don't worry, my uncle is watching over there."
"Well, Qing, remember to fry two poached eggs on top."
"I know." Lin Xiuqing had just fried two poached eggs.
"I'll go light a fire for you."
"Go listen to the radio or recite some sutras. You are not needed."
"I can't sit still. You have to let me do something."
The old lady sat in front of the stove again, and asked him what the city was like while she was lighting the fire. Was it lively