After closing his eyes and thinking for a long time, Ma Qiu suddenly felt the speed of the rickshaw slowing down, and he suddenly became wary.
This big rickshaw puller must not be the most cunning kind of person. He will deliberately extend the time and earn more fare... But he is not a rookie anymore. He has seen a lot. Don't even think about earning an extra copper coin from him. After all, that was the cost of treating the beautiful lady to dinner... When Ma Qiu opened his eyes, he was about to urge the rickshaw driver to hurry up.
But the moment he opened his eyes, he couldn't help but be stunned.
I saw that the rickshaw driver did not deliberately slow down, but the broad street suddenly became crowded. Hundreds of people, attracted by unknown reasons, blocked the way and became obstacles. The rickshaw driver had to slow down to avoid them.
When the rickshaw puller pulled the cart and walked forward for hundreds of meters, accompanied by the faint sound of vendors selling goods, Ma Qiu suddenly understood something and couldn't help but pat his forehead.
"Today is... the day when the Atlanta City Material Exchange Conference begins..." Ma Qiu couldn't help but said.
Yes, today is the beginning of the material exchange conference.
Ma Qiu knew about the material exchange conference.
Because the city of Atlanta has been developing commerce and trade and produces all kinds of novel goods, similar conferences are held every once in a while, attracting businessmen and speculators from all over the mainland.
The Material Exchange Conference was held in June. Last year was the first one, and this year is the second one. Ma Qiu knew about this, but because he had been staying in school recently, he didn't pay attention, which led to the current bad situation.
"This material exchange conference is held at the right time..." Ma Qiu exhaled.
"Actually, it started yesterday." The tall rickshaw puller corrected him without looking back, complaining a little, "Originally, I thought you were in a hurry, and I wanted to pull you from the first Take the Seventh Avenue. Although there is a section of road construction there, the delay will not last long.
Or, take a slight detour and take the Ninth Avenue, but you refuse, so you have to take the Eighth Avenue, and you have to use an hourglass to collect the fare. Then I have no choice but to drag you over. "
Ma Qiu: "..." After hearing what the rickshaw driver said, he already wanted to slap himself in the heart.
But that was too shameless after all, so he kept his face and did nothing, acting indifferently, as if he didn't really care about the material exchange conference.
"It's nothing like a material exchange conference... But aren't material exchange conferences held at designated venues? Why are people flocking to Eighth Avenue?"
"What else could it be because of the large number of people? I heard from some guys pulling carts that the scale of this year's material exchange conference was much larger than last year, and the prescribed venue was not enough. Some stalls were lined up on Eighth Avenue. , so it’s best to avoid it when pulling the cart..." the rickshaw driver said.
After a pause, he stopped the car in front of a group of people. The rickshaw driver wiped his sweat with the towel on his neck and said to Ma Qiu: "Look, guest, it will definitely become more and more difficult to walk as you go forward. It's expensive." It shouldn't be short. If you feel like you can't wait any longer, we can turn around now and follow the alley near the bakery and then turn onto Seventh Avenue."
If this is really the case, why don't you admit that he was wrong from the beginning... Ma Qiu pursed his lips hard, waved his hand, and said to the rickshaw driver: "No need, just keep walking forward."
"The fare..."
"Same as I said before...according to the hourglass!"
"Okay, please sit down." The rickshaw driver said these words, suddenly pulled up the car and ran forward, struggling to open the way in the crowded crowd.
"Give me a moment, please give me a moment..."
…
It took almost half as long as expected, and Ma Qiu finally arrived at Dongcheng Carriage Station.
After getting off the bus at the entrance of Dongcheng Coach Station, Ma Qiu, with a darkened face, saw the rickshaw driver and took off the hanging hourglass.
His fingers slowly slid over the scale marked by the hourglass, and the rickshaw driver counted seriously: "One square, two squares, three squares... Eleven squares, twelve squares, twelve and a half squares."
After counting, the rickshaw driver lowered his head, looked down at Ma Chu, and said with a bright smile: "Guest, look, there are a total of twelve and a half squares of sand. This is a big business for you. Thank you for taking care of me. I will remove half a square for you - then you Just give me twelve copper coins."
No need to thank you, I can give you thirteen copper coins... The muscles on Ma Qiu's face twisted slightly, but in the end he did not say such elegant words. He just said dryly: "I know."
After finishing speaking, he took out his money bag, carefully counted twelve copper coins, and handed them to the rickshaw driver.
"Thank you. I will wait at the gate of Atlanta School if I have nothing to do. You can call me again next time you have a chance. I will give you half the time to go." said the big rickshaw driver, collected the money, and pulled the empty The car left quickly.
My money! He actually spent four more copper coins... One in twenty-fifth chance to treat a beautiful lady to dinner... Ma Qiu couldn't help but lament in his heart, but he didn't feel sad for too long, remembering what the business was.
A few seconds later, he took a deep breath, adjusted his mentality, and walked into the carriage station.
Because he had set off early in order to avoid being unexpectedly late, he was still able to make it in time after delaying the material exchange meeting on the way.
After walking into the carriage station, Ma Qiu walked towards the pergola standing by the wall very familiarly. After waiting for a few minutes, he saw a four-wheeled carriage driving in. The departure and arrival points of the carriage were written on the carriage: Anka City→Atlanta.
The carriage was pulled by two tall horses. Due to the hot weather, their coats were wet with sweat, and the bells hanging around their necks rang loudly.
"Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling... ding!"
As the ringing of the bell disappeared, the carriage stopped, a long bench was placed, and a dozen people stepped out of the steamer-like carriage on the bench.
Ma Qiu watched carefully, and his eyes lit up when he saw the last person getting off the car.
I saw that the person was a girl with beautiful long golden hair and green eyes, like gems. There was a little sweat on her face, and her bangs were wet, but she looked even more delicate. In addition, the other party was wearing a blue plaid shirt with an Atlanta School badge on his chest.
After Ma Qiu saw it, he immediately knew that the person he was waiting for had arrived.
She looks even more beautiful than in the profile photo... Ma Qiu couldn't help but sigh, but he was very serious and didn't show any lustful look. He was very clear about the boundaries between work and life and entertainment.
Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward and walked one meter away from the other party. Ma Qiu stopped, stretched out his hand, and said hello with a smile: "Hello, school girl, welcome to Atlanta."