My wife and I are both time travelers.

Chapter 30 Advance
After selling all the chickens, Zhou Jiye packed up his things and cleaned up his stall.

I sold sixteen hens in just half a day today, so the market potential seems huge. If business is like today every day, selling twenty chickens a day shouldn't be a problem. That means I can earn at least twenty yuan a day, which is almost the same as selling tea eggs.

As Zhou Jiye pondered, he considered how many chickens he would need to collect tomorrow. Collecting a few more wouldn't be impossible, but he simply couldn't carry them all back. His bicycle had a limited carrying capacity; twenty chickens plus some eggs would be his maximum transport limit.

"Thanks, bro!"

Seeing that Zhou Jiye was packing up his stall, Lao Wen quickly came over to help clean up, and even offered him a cigarette while smiling and thanking him.

He lit a cigarette with the lighter that was offered to him, saying, "It's just a small thing, why be so polite? We'll be here every day from now on, we'll see each other all the time, let's all get along well."

"Generous!" Old Wen gave a thumbs-up and praised, "If you ever need any help in the future, just let me know. I've decided to be your friend!"

"Hehe, sure! I'll definitely not hesitate to ask for your help if I need it in the future. Thanks in advance, Brother Wen."

"Of course, of course, hahaha!"

Old Wen smiled happily and quickly helped Zhou Jiye clean up the stall. He even helped carry the empty chicken coop onto Zhou Jiye's bicycle rack.

After the two finished their cigarettes, Zhou Jiye saw that it was almost time, said goodbye, and left. He needed to go back and rest; he had gotten up so early today and was a little tired. He planned to take a two-hour nap at home in the afternoon, as he still needed to cook dinner for Lin Ying after waking up.

After waving goodbye to Lao Wen, Zhou Jiye rode his bike towards his nearby home. He hadn't gone far when he saw the old woman picking up vegetable leaves walking slowly ahead of him.

The old woman has a back disability and walks very slowly, inching forward step by step. I saw her leave when I was selling chickens, but I didn't expect that nearly twenty minutes had passed before she finally reached the west exit of the market.

Zhou Jiye felt a pang of unease as his gaze fell upon the old woman. He rode his bicycle a few meters past her before stopping and turning back to look at her.

The old woman looked quite old, with mostly white hair and very little black hair. Because she was bent over, Zhou Jiye couldn't see her face clearly.

"Grandma, where do you live? Why don't you ride in my car and I'll push you home?" Zhou Jiye, moved by compassion, called out to the old woman.

This old woman isn't in good health, and her family situation is probably poor too; otherwise, she wouldn't be at her age picking up vegetable scraps at the market. Walking slowly like this, she can't even cover a few miles in an hour. If she lived further away, wouldn't it take her a long time to get home?

Since I have nothing to do right now and I have a bicycle, I might as well do a good deed and let the old lady ride on my bike and push her home.

Zhou Jiye asked, but the old woman seemed not to hear him at all, and continued to move forward little by little in the same position.

"Grandma! Grandma!"

Zhou Jiye wondered if the old woman had a hearing problem. He raised his voice and called out twice more. This time, the old woman looked up at Zhou Jiye with slight surprise.

"Young man, are you calling me?" the old woman asked in a low voice.

"Yes, Grandma," Zhou Jiye said. "Your legs aren't very strong, and I can tell you're having trouble walking. Where do you live? I have a bicycle here; would you like to ride with me and I'll take you home?"

The old woman was a little surprised. She tilted her head slightly to look at Zhou Jiye, then shook her head and said, "No need, no need. I don't live far away. It's not a long walk. Thank you, young comrade. It's no trouble at all."

As she spoke, the old woman kept her head down, carrying her vegetable basket as she slowly walked back the way she came. Seeing this, Zhou Jiye didn't press her. He rarely showed kindness, but he wasn't a pushover. Since she didn't want help, he wouldn't rush to help her. After greeting the old woman, Zhou Jiye pushed off with his foot and rode his bicycle towards the alleyway not far ahead.

Days passed by, and half a month went by in the blink of an eye.

As Zhou Jiye's business of selling old hens at the vegetable market gradually got on track, his daily routine of going to the countryside to collect old hens and eggs and then returning home gradually took shape.

Undeterred by wind or rain, Zhou Jiye would ride his bicycle to the suburbs in the early morning. Since he had changed his method of collecting old hens and eggs from door to door to centralized purchasing, it had saved him a lot of time. A round trip took only three hours, and with his familiarity with the surrounding production brigades, he was becoming increasingly adept at the task.

I can usually get back before eight o'clock, just in time for the market to open its stalls each day.

Zhou Jiye's stall gradually became famous for selling old hens at the market every day. This was because the old hens he sold were authentic, and he was honest and straightforward in his business dealings, unlike some people who would stuff chaff into the chicken's belly or inject water into the chicken with a syringe to increase its weight.

Although times have changed, most Shanghainese men are not short of money. As long as the goods are good, the weight is fair, and the business is honest, they are willing to buy even if the price is slightly higher. Moreover, customers who have bought his old hen are very satisfied, and many of them become repeat customers. That's how his reputation was built up slowly. Over time, everyone knew that around eight o'clock every day, there was a nice-talking, honest young man from Northwest China selling authentic old hen at the market.

As word spread, the number of people in need gradually increased. Over time, since Zhou Jiye only sold about twenty old hens a day, they would sell out if people arrived late. As a result, sometimes people would be waiting for him long before he even set up his stall.

The business was on track, and the income gradually stabilized.

Now, Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying sell old hens and tea eggs respectively, and they can earn more than 600 yuan a month, which together easily exceeds 1,000 yuan.

According to Zhou Jiye's original plan, he intended to collect more old hens to sell. Even if his bicycle couldn't carry too many at once, he could always make another trip in the afternoon if necessary.

However, Lin Ying rejected this idea, saying it wasn't necessary. Supplying around twenty hens a day was just right; the market was only so big, and more would be counterproductive. Furthermore, controlling the quantity was more suitable for a scarcity marketing strategy—good things become less special when there's too much of them. Besides, running around twice a day would be too strenuous, and her body wouldn't be able to handle it in the long run; there was no need to do it that way.

Zhou Jiye readily accepted Lin Ying's advice, so he only spent about half a day setting up his stall each day. After noon, he could go home for a nap, and then go to Lin Ying's place to prepare dinner. In this way, he wasn't too tired.

I'm happy when business is going well.

These days, Zhou Jiye and Lao Wen's relationship has become increasingly familiar, and their cooperation has become more seamless. As for Cao Ping from the management office, needless to say, with Zhou Jiye's occasional "feeding" of good cigarettes and alcohol, their friendship has also grown stronger, and with this relationship, he is doing very well in the vegetable market.

As their regular life continued, Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying gradually earned more money, which made them very happy.

As for the old woman picking up vegetable leaves in the market, Zhou Jiye saw her almost every day. The old woman would arrive at the market around nine o'clock every day, and then slowly pick through the vegetable leaves in the pile of garbage before slowly walking back.

Every time Zhou Jiye saw the old woman, he would greet her. Sometimes, when he met her on his way home, he would ask her if she wanted him to push her home, just like the first time. Although the old woman always refused Zhou Jiye's offer, over time her tone became less aloof and she spoke politely, but she never troubled Zhou Jiye once.

That day, Zhou Jiye took a nap at home after noon as usual, and after waking up in the afternoon, he went downstairs to arrange dinner.

To be honest, Zhou Jiye, who rarely cooked before, has actually picked up some skills these days. Although his cooking isn't as delicious as Lin Ying's, it's passable. As time goes by, he's become more proficient at it. In Shanghai parlance, he's now officially joined the ranks of "housewife" (shopping, cleaning, and cooking), making him a qualified Shanghai man.

Dinner was pretty much the same as usual: I made some vegetables, stir-fried a half-meat dish, and then cooked rice.

Zhou Jiye first packed Lin Ying's food, ate it himself at home, and then left with the teacup containing the food.

It's not far from home to the movie theater, only a ten or twenty-minute walk. Plus, he had to help Lin Ying pack up her stall and push the cart back later, so Zhou Jiye always walked there in the evenings.

It's getting hotter every day now, and Shanghai in June is beginning to enter the early summer season. Zhou Jiye walked briskly, and the evening breeze was much cooler than during the day, which felt very comfortable on his body.

Upon arriving near the cinema, Zhou Jiye immediately noticed the bustling crowd at the cinema entrance; for some reason, there were significantly more people there than usual today.

Squeezing through the crowd, Zhou Jiye went straight to Lin Ying's tea egg stall near the ticket office, only to find that Lin Ying had already packed up her stall and was sitting there waiting for him, looking utterly bored.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Zhou Jiye's heart sank, and he rushed over to ask anxiously.

"Something happened? Nothing happened!"

"Why did you close up shop if nothing happened?"

Lin Ying laughed: "Sold out! The tea eggs and dried tofu are completely sold out. What else can we do but close the shop?"

"Sold out? So early?"

Zhou Jiye was taken aback. It was only a little before six o'clock. Lin Ying usually sold until after 7:30 pm, which was more than an hour and a half before she usually closed. What was going on today? She was selling so fast.
"Hey! Didn't you see how crowded the movie theater is today? It's been bustling since noon, and even more people came in the afternoon, all to watch the movie. With so many people, the tickets sell out quickly. They were all sold out half an hour ago. If I hadn't made an appointment to bring you food and was worried about missing it on the way, I would have just gone home."

"Oh, I see..." Zhou Jiye breathed a sigh of relief. He thought something had gone wrong, after all, he had never seen business so good before.

(End of this chapter)