My wife and I are both time travelers.

Chapter 60 Changes
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The arrival of 1980 seemed no different from 1979, and ordinary people did not immediately feel much change.

In reality, many changes occurred gradually and unintentionally. As the 1980s approached, the atmosphere of openness became stronger, and more and more people set up stalls on the streets and alleys.

On the first Sunday after New Year's Day, a groundbreaking film was released at the cinema: a science fiction movie called "Death Ray on Coral Island".

This is the first time in the country that a science fiction movie has been brought to the big screen.

When people talk about the most famous movies after the reform and opening up, "Romance on Lushan Mountain" is an absolutely unavoidable topic.

Because the storyline of "Romance on Lushan Mountain" reflects the clash between the closed mainland opening its doors to the world and the advanced overseas Chinese thought and culture, coupled with the eternal theme of love as the main thread, and the earth-shattering kiss in the movie, it has been talked about by countless people.

In fact, the movie "Death Ray on Coral Island" appeared earlier than "Romance on Lushan Mountain". Moreover, both the visuals and the plot of the movie showcased the scenery overseas. In particular, early in the movie, Zhao Mengna, played by the station chief's wife who later appeared in "Lurking", completely embodied the image of an overseas Chinese. She was fashionable and open-minded, and the scenes of her passionately embracing and kissing her lover in the plot seemed particularly natural.

Perhaps it's because this movie is made so much like a foreign film that both the location shooting and the plot make people forget that it's a completely domestic film, thus causing them to overlook these details.

Even so, this film, like a pebble thrown into a pond, created ripples and became a classic.

Thanks to the release of this movie, and with New Year's Day just past and the Spring Festival just a month away, Lin Ying's tea egg stall near the movie theater was doing very well. She earned quite a bit in a week, and Lin Ying was all smiles every day.

The same was true for Zhou Jiye. As the Spring Festival approached, his business was also doing very well. In the two weeks after New Year's Day, he was able to sell nearly thirty old hens every day. The three thousand yuan they had spent on household registration a few days ago had gradually been earned back, and they were now much more financially secure.

February arrived in the blink of an eye, and with the Spring Festival just two weeks away, the vegetable market became even busier. Logically, Zhou Jiye should have been happy about this bustling atmosphere, but these past few days he hadn't felt any joy.

Because on the first day of February, several new stalls suddenly appeared in the market. These stalls not only sold vegetables and other goods, but also new stalls selling old hens and even ducks, just like his.

The newly appeared stall immediately posed a threat to Zhou Jiye. You see, he was the only stall selling old hens in the market before. In addition, the state-run stalls required receipts for chickens and ducks, and their products were not as good as Zhou Jiye's. Relying on the reputation he had built up over the past six months, Zhou Jiye was very successful in the market. He never had to worry about selling the old hens he brought every day. When business was good, he would sell out in less than two hours after setting up his stall.

But starting in February, competitors appeared in the market, with three or four similar stalls appearing all at once. These stalls sold old hens just like his, and what was worse, their hens were not only sourced from the suburbs, but they were also cheaper than his. Although the price difference was small, only a few cents, it gradually diverted Zhou Jiye's customers to other stalls, putting him under immense pressure.

Like today, Zhou Jiye, who usually closes his stall around 10 o'clock or 11 o'clock at the latest, still had two old hens unsold by nearly 11:30. Looking at the old hens in the cage and at the other chicken stalls not far away, Zhou Jiye felt very depressed.

"What? Still not sold out today?" Old Wen's voice rang out from the side. He had come to the side at some point and, while asking the question, handed Zhou Jiye a cigarette.

"Hehe, now several other businesses have come to take over this unique business, what do you think?" Zhou Jiye took a cigarette, lit it with Lao Wen's light, and said helplessly as he smoked.

"There's nothing we can do about it. Didn't you see how many more people started setting up stalls at the market after New Year's Day and at the end of last month? Not to mention you, even my business has been a bit worse. Suddenly, several people have appeared out of nowhere, selling eels and stuff like me." Old Wen shook his head with a wry smile, nudging Zhou Jiye with his elbow and gesturing for him to look to the left.

Following Lao Wen's gesture, Zhou Jiye nodded slightly. Lao Wen was right; they had all encountered new competitors. Originally, there were only a few of them running private stalls in the market, and they had all agreed to sell different things: some sold vegetables, some sold seafood, some sold grains, and Zhou Jiye sold old hens.

Since the products are different, there is no competition in business. You sell yours and I sell mine, and we keep to ourselves and live in peace. When we meet, we are polite, greet each other with smiles, offer each other a cigarette and chat for a while. It's a harmonious situation.

But things are different now. Suddenly, twice as many stalls have appeared, and they sell all sorts of things. Not only are there stalls selling old hens like Zhou Jiye's, but even Lao Wen's stall selling eels and eel shreds has increased by two. Competition has suddenly formed. If it were just fair competition, it wouldn't be a problem, but the new stall owners deliberately lowered their prices to grab business. Although the price difference wasn't large, just a few cents made a huge difference and greatly affected Zhou Jiye and Lao Wen's original business.

"This can't go on," Zhou Jiye frowned. "Today, a regular customer told me that my old hens were three cents more expensive than others', and insisted that I lower the price. I refused, and the customer just left and went to buy another one." "You're right!" Old Wen said with a wry smile. "Suddenly, there are so many more people haggling. Things that used to sell easily are suddenly not so easy to sell. Today, we've sold less in half a day than we usually do in an hour and a half. How can this continue?"

At this point, he looked around and leaned closer to Zhou Jiye, saying, "Why don't you go find Cao Ping? Send him some gifts privately and put in a good word for him, tell him not to allow these people to set up stalls in the market, and tell them all to get out! As long as these people aren't here, our business will definitely improve."

"Brother Wen, you think too highly of me. Even if I could do it, Brother Cao would never listen to me."

"What do you mean...?"

"You think I haven't inquired?" Zhou Jiye said softly to Lao Wen, "I went to the management office to inquire the day before yesterday. In addition to the regular management fees, these people are able to set up stalls here by giving them benefits in private. What kind of person is Cao Ping? Others may not know, but do you, Brother Wen, not know after being here for so long? Do you think he would spit out what's in his pocket? It's a joke."

"If we go and talk to him about these things, wouldn't that be the same as ruining his source of income? As the saying goes, cutting off someone's source of income is like killing their parents. If we bring that up, he'll definitely turn on us. In the end, we'll be the ones who suffer the most instead of the ones who succeed in stealing the chicken."

"What should I do?"

Old Wen was worried. If things continued like this, business would become increasingly difficult, especially since these new guys lacked sportsmanship. They were earning their money through hard work, and if they followed suit and lowered prices, their profits would decrease.

Moreover, Lao Wen felt that lowering prices was not the solution, because if he lowered his prices, others could also lower theirs, and if everyone lowered their prices, how could they do business?
Besides, Lao Wen's business is the same as Zhou Jiye's; they are both middlemen, buying these things from the countryside and then transporting them to the market to sell, making a profit from the price difference. But the new stall owners are clearly local rural people. They have an advantage in the countryside; it's convenient for them to buy things, and even catching eels in the river is a risk-free business, requiring only a little time and effort.

Competing with them on price is like an old man hanging himself to death.

The two stared at each other, speechless for a moment, unsure of what to do.

If this situation continues to worsen, it will become increasingly difficult to do business. In the end, we might end up earning less in a day than we used to in just a few days. How can anyone survive like that?
The thought of the consequences filled them with worry, but they had no good solutions. They could only shake their heads and sigh, hoping that the appearance of these stalls was only temporary. They hoped that once the New Year was over and spring arrived, and the countryside was busy with farming, these people would stop appearing and the situation would improve.

Around noon, Zhou Jiye still had one old hen left to sell. Because he needed to rush back to prepare lunch for Fang Manxia, ​​he couldn't stay at the market to sell the chicken before heading back.

So, he said goodbye to Lao Wen, cleaned up his stall, and went home. After getting home, he prepared lunch and ate with Fang Manxia. In the afternoon, when Fang Manxia went upstairs for her usual nap, Zhou Jiye felt very restless. He couldn't stay at home and decided to go out and head to the movie theater.

"Hey, why are you here so early today?" Lin Ying was selling tea eggs at the movie theater as usual when she suddenly saw Zhou Jiye arrive and asked curiously.

"The old lady is taking a nap, and I had nothing to do at home, so I came over to keep you company." Zhou Jiye forced a smile, reached behind the cart and took out a small stool, then plopped down next to Lin Ying.

Lin Ying tilted her head and looked Zhou Jiye up and down. She noticed that Zhou Jiye's expression was different from usual, so she couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong? You don't look well."

"Sigh..." Zhou Jiye sighed dejectedly, took out a cigarette and lit it, then told Lin Ying about the situation at the vegetable market over the past two days.

After saying that, Zhou Jiye said, "If this situation is only temporary, it's okay. But if it continues like this, it will be difficult to do business. What used to be a half-day's worth of goods now takes most of the day. If this continues, we might not even be able to sell them all in a day."

"That's not all, price is also a problem. If I lower my price, others will lower theirs too, wouldn't that be a price war? It's a small matter if I don't make any money and work for nothing, but what if I lose money? It's not just me, even Lao Wen's side is worried. Can you help me figure out how to solve this problem?"

(End of this chapter)