1987 My Era

Chapter 14, Xiao Han

Seven or eight minutes later, the tractor stopped at Shimen Station.

Zhang Zhiyong shouted loudly: "The ones from Shangwan Village are 40 cents each, and the ones from Xincun are 20 cents..."

Someone asked: "How much is the bus from Hengban Bridge?"

Zhang Zhiyong said, "Uncle Zou, I'll charge you three cents."

Mr. Zou took advantage of his seniority to bargain: "Last time I took your father's car, it was only 20 cents, but you've raised the price to 30 cents. Are you trying to rob me?"

Zhang Zhiyong said straightforwardly: "Uncle, two cents is two cents. You are old, I won't argue with you."

After successfully bargaining for ten cents, Uncle Zou took out two Mao bills from his pocket and paid the money.

Li Heng unloaded the rice and asked Zhang Zhiyong: "Why are you driving today? Where is your father?"

Zhang Zhiyong smiled as he collected the money and said, "My two uncles and my uncle-in-law are here, and their husband is playing cards with them, so they let me come out to earn a living."

Li Heng asked: "All the money we earn today belongs to you?"

Zhang Zhiyong smacked his lips and said proudly: "Of course, it's a must. If you don't give me money, I'll be useless. I might as well just stay at home and play."

Tian Run'e handed over a dollar to pay for the fare.

Zhang Zhiyong jumped back suddenly and yelled, "Aunt, you are making a fuss, are you trying to embarrass me to death?
Li Heng and I are brothers who share the same trousers. Believe it or not, if I dare to take your money now, he will beat me to death when he turns around. "

Tian Run'e tried to stuff money into Zhang Zhiyong's pocket several times, but Zhang Zhiyong refused to take it, so the matter ended up in nothing.

When everyone in the car had left, Li Heng took advantage of his mother's inattention and said to Zhang Zhiyong in a low voice, "I need to go to the post office to mail something. Can you lend me 10 yuan?"

Afraid of being seen by Comrade Tian Run'e, Zhang Zhiyong turned his back tacitly, without counting, and quickly gave him a stack of bills, and pointed in the direction of the street on the left:
"There's a new noodle shop next door. Let me tell you, the proprietress is a widow. She has big breasts, a nice butt, and a nice dick. Come find me after you finish selling rice and let's go eat together."

Li Heng subconsciously asked, "Is it called Chunjie Noodle House?"

Zhang Zhiyong blurted out: "Fuck you! How do you know? You've been there? Why didn't you take me with you for such a good thing?"

Li Heng answered immediately: "No, I remembered it from hearing your dad bragging to others."

Zhang Zhiyong almost jumped up: "Oh my god! That old man wanted to steal my milk?"

Li Heng laughed out loud, he didn't expect that this fool hit the nail on the head. According to his memories from his previous life, wasn't this Sister Chun his father's secret mistress?

The largest storefront in the town is the supply and marketing cooperative, and the one with the loudest loudspeaker always sells rat poison. As it approaches eight o'clock, more and more people gather in the market, and it gradually becomes lively.

These days, farmers' markets are not standardized and most of the people selling there sell clothes, shoes and socks.

There is a special place for selling rice, next to the agricultural machinery station. Every time there is a market, sellers and buyers will appear here without an appointment.

This was not the first time that Tian Run'e had sold rice. She was very familiar with the place. She looked around the crowd and quickly found an open space.

I saw her sweeping the large pieces of garbage on the ground aside with her right foot, swiftly laying a piece of plastic, and then asking her son to neatly stack the four bags of rice in a row, and then opening the bags and folding them into circles, so that buyers passing by could see the quality of their rice at first glance.

There were only a few customers buying rice at this time, but at a glance, there were no less than 20 shops selling rice, and more people were coming in with rice.

Because of the heavy rain, the mother and son arrived a little late and did not occupy the most advantageous position. Tian Run'e walked around secretly, and the worry on her face became even more intense.

Li Heng asked quietly: "Mom, is the rice quality of other families very good?"

Tian Run'e was afraid of being overheard, so she moved closer and said, "There are several families whose rice is brighter than ours."

Under the same origin, the quality of rice is generally determined by its variety, processing precision and freshness.

For example, indica and japonica rice differ in taste and stickiness.

Indica rice is finer and has independent and full grains when heated, while japonica rice is more viscous and suitable for making soup, porridge and glutinous rice. The processing precision of rice is an important factor in determining its quality. Rice with high processing precision has better indicators such as whiteness, integrity and impurity content.

As for freshness, let's not talk about it, it's just what it means. New rice is generally white and shiny, with a fresh aroma, while old rice becomes darker in color, less sticky, and loses its original aroma.

Li Heng believes that his own rice variety is one of the best on the market. It has a glutinous texture, is very fragrant, and has a sweet taste.

But after hearing what my mother said, I suddenly became unsure and sneaked out to gather information. It turned out to be true. The overall quality of rice from three or four companies was better than theirs.

The quality is good, but the key is that the quantity is so large. This is simply leaving no way for people to survive.

Tian Run'e made up her mind and said, "Let's try selling it at 1.9 cents first. If it still doesn't sell out by noon, we'll try lowering the price."

Li Heng asked: "Mom, how much did you sell per kilogram in the past?"

Tian Xiaoe shook her head: "It's hard to say the price, it changes all the time. When it's in high demand, it can be sold for 20 cents per pound, and sometimes 16 cents."

Hearing this, Li Heng fell silent.

To be honest, he never expected this price. It was really beyond his expectation that 100 kilograms of rice could only be sold for more than 10 yuan. No wonder few people in rural areas are willing to farm in later generations.

Given the current market conditions, unless we achieve scale, if we rely on small-scale farming, we will have a hard time even providing food and clothing for our family, let alone achieving a well-off life.

He rubbed his brows and cursed himself in his heart, "Damn it, I was so arrogant these days that I even looked down on the royalties of a few dollars or tens of dollars and only wanted the big ones."

It seems that this way of thinking needs to be changed. No matter how small a mosquito is, it is still meat. How difficult is it for Comrade Tian Run'e to earn a few dollars?
How hard is it?

My second sister was forced to resort to crooked means for 20 yuan.

He slapped his forehead again. Damn it, how could he be so picky now? He had to grab both the big and the small.

With a plan in mind, Li Heng was thinking about what novel to write next while accompanying his mother to sell rice.

As expected, quite a number of people gathered around those few stores, and only those customers who could not afford the expensive rice went around comparing prices and bargaining.

Two hours passed by.
His own business hadn't opened yet, and seeing his mother trying hard to attract others with little effect, Li Heng became a little anxious and felt very upset.

"Mom, I need to go to the bathroom for a while."

Li Heng's feet were numb from squatting, and it was true that he went to the toilet, and it was also true that he took the opportunity to slip away to the post office to mail his manuscript.

Tian Run'e's mind was now completely focused on selling rice, so she agreed with a vague response.

Just as Li Heng stood up, stomped his feet and prepared to leave, two women suddenly came to the stall.

To be precise, they are a mother and daughter who look somewhat similar.

The older one, who was about 40 years old, wore a long woolen coat with snowflakes, had her hair done in big waves, and wore light makeup. She exuded a trendy aura that was out of tune with the times. Her name was Wei Shiman.

The young girl has a delicate oval face, with clear features, her hair is gently tied up, her face is white and translucent like fine porcelain, her eyebrows are thin, her eyes are almond-shaped, and she is thin and elegant. She wears a blue plaid windbreaker with a light red scarf and a pair of red sneakers.

It's simple yet looks stunning.

She was tall, at least 165cm tall, with a smooth waist. At this moment, her left hand was on her mother's arm, her right hand was in the pocket of her windbreaker, and she was looking at Li Heng in surprise with her back to the light.

"Li Heng, why are you here?"

"Xiao Han."

The two said almost in unison.

ps: I’m testing the waters today. I’m feeling a bit nervous in March, so please take some time to read this.

(End of this chapter)