Traveling through 70's wine

It took Wen Qing two days and two nights on the train to reach Pingjing.

Pingjing University of Technology is located in the western suburbs of Pingjing. She took two buses to get from the train station to the school. There were still 10 days before the start of school and the school had not yet started registration.

The campus guard told her that it was not yet time to report, so she could not live in the school dormitory. Wen Qing had to find a place to stay by herself and wait for school to start.

Most of her luggage was in the space, with only a large backpack outside. Wen Qing walked along the main road outside the school and looked around. There was a Xinhua Bookstore on the east side of the school. She went in and bought a map of Pingjing and found that the famous flea market was not far from the school.

She first found a guesthouse, took out her admission letter, and booked a room. It was just after the Lantern Festival, so there were not many people staying in the hotel, and she was the only one in the four-person room.

Wen Qing asked the aunt at the guesthouse where there was a bathhouse nearby. The aunt said enthusiastically: "Girl, go east 50 meters and then south 100 meters and there is a bathhouse. It opens at 3 pm every day."

Wen Qing thanked her and looked up at the clock in the lobby, which showed that it was already past 2 o'clock. She went into the house, packed her luggage, took out the bedding, clothes, and washbasin and placed them in the house. Finally, she walked out of the guesthouse with a change of clothes and toiletries.

After experiencing the bathhouse in the capital, Wen Qing dried her hair and had dinner, then went to bed early.

She had been tense all the way, and now she could finally rest in peace.

When she woke up, it was already noon the next day. She got up and found that someone else had moved into her room.

There were two women, one about 40 years old and the other about 20 years old. The older woman was wearing a long woolen coat and the younger woman was wearing a cotton coat with a red background and blue flowers. Both of them behaved elegantly and were obviously city people.

The two were mother and daughter. The daughter looked disdainful when she saw Wen Qing wearing a patched cotton coat made of coarse cloth, while the mother greeted Wen Qing as if nothing had happened. The two walked out of the room without even looking at each other.

Wen Qing greeted the aunt in the lobby, "Auntie Lu, there are two people in my room. Where are they from?"

At this time, you need a letter of introduction to stay in a guesthouse, so it is easy to get the guest's information.

As expected, Aunt Lu said, "He came from Jiangnan Province to visit relatives."

"Oh, thank you, Auntie." Wen Qing ignored the two people and found a restaurant to eat.

Wen Qing had nothing to do in the afternoon, so she planned to walk around. She heard from others that Pingjing is a place where the east is rich and the west is noble, the south is poor and the north is humble. The Xicheng District where the school is located should belong to the category of the noble west.

Wen Qing took the map and headed towards Shenjiayuan in East City.

Shenjiayuan Flea Market is the largest second-hand goods trading place in Pingjing City. It has clothing appraisal shops, pawn shops, and trust stores. It is not early for Wen Qing to go to Shenjiayuan, but only a few state-owned stores are open.

Wen Qing walked into a store called Deyong. On the wall opposite the store was a banner that read "Develop the economy and ensure supply". There were some old clocks, jade articles, and cameras in the glass cabinets. On the shelves against the wall were various old clothes, both thin and thick, as well as quilts, blankets, porcelain, wooden boxes and other things.

There were not many people in the store. Wen Qing consulted the salesperson in the store and found out that these things were sold on behalf of others. Although the things were old, everyone's income was not high and the things here did not require tickets, so there were still people coming to buy things.

Wen Qing looked at the items on the counter and pointed at a women's watch. "Can I take this watch out and have a look?"

The saleswoman opened the counter, took out the women's watch and placed it on the glass table.

Wen Qing picked it up and looked at it carefully. It was a Plum Blossom watch. The surface glass had turned a little yellow due to age, and there were some scratches on the strap, but overall it was well preserved.

Wen Qing: "Does this watch work properly? Is the time accurate?"

The saleswoman called over a bespectacled old man, who picked up the watch, gently turned the spring, put it to his ear and listened, watching the hands "tattoo" and said, "This watch can be used, be gentle when winding it."

"how much is it?"

The old craftsman pushed his glasses on the tip of his nose and said, "This watch cost 240 yuan when it was new, but now it only costs 80 yuan on consignment."

Wen Qing said: "Can you help clean it?"

The old master looked at her and said, "Okay, the cleaning fee is 5 yuan."

"Ok."

The old master took the watch aside, took out the tools, opened the watch cover, gently wiped the dial and watch cover with medicine, then opened the back cover, cleaned the surface of the movement with gasoline, and finally wiped it dry with a white towel, assembled it, and handed it to Wen Qing.

Wen Qing watched his movements as smooth as flowing water and very skillful, and she couldn't help but admire him.

When he took the watch in his hand, he saw that the watch was almost as smooth as new, and even the scratches on the strap and dial were not very noticeable. He said gratefully, "Thank you, master." He handed him 85 yuan, and the master handed it to the female salesperson.

Wen Qing immediately put on the watch, said to the two of them, "Goodbye," and walked out of the store.

If you carefully select things in the store, you can find a lot of good things, so Wen Qing is not in a hurry.

She wandered around Pingjing City for several days, leaving early and returning late, and also had to find an opportunity to plant the new season's crops in the space. She didn't notice when the mother and daughter left.

She also wants to buy a house. She now has 11 yuan, enough to buy a courtyard house.

On weekends, Wen Qing went out at 4 o'clock in the morning with a big bag on her back. She was going to the "ghost market".

Normally there are no private transactions in Shenjiayuan. Only the weekend "ghost market" is a tradition that has continued for hundreds of years. Although it was stopped for a period of time during the most strict years, when there was a shortage of food and clothing, there were always people who had to sell their own things in order to buy some food to fill their stomachs.

Wen Qing entered Shenjiayuan and saw some people standing or squatting in the shadowy figures on the side of the alley. There were some things on the ground in front of them. The passers-by did not speak, but just squatted down to look at the things, and then both sides quietly bargained to make the deal.

Wen Qing observed for a moment and saw some things on a stall not far away, which seemed to be porcelain. She walked over to take a look and saw several porcelain bowls and plates placed on the stall made of old sheets, and four pieces of ancient jade on one side.

Wen Qing gestured, asking if she could pick it up and look at it. The stall owner nodded, and Wen Qing picked up a piece of jade. It was a white jade plaque with a thick patina, and it was engraved with a fish leaping over the dragon gate. Wen Qing asked the stall owner, "How much?"

The stall owner gestured silently, and Wen Qing shook her head to bargain. The stall owner still shook his head. Wen Qing put down the ancient jade, picked up a porcelain plate on the stall and looked at it. It was a white-bottomed red-glazed flower and bird plate. Turning it over, there was a circle on the bottom of the plate that read "Made in the Kangxi Period of the Qing Dynasty."

Wen Qing saw the bright colors of the porcelain plate and the vivid flower and bird paintings, so she asked, "How much is this porcelain plate?"

The stall owner gestured and Wen Qing bargained. She had picked up a box on Pudu Mountain a few years ago. There were several porcelain pieces in it. She often admired them. This piece of porcelain gave her the same feeling as those porcelain pieces.

After several rounds, Wen Qing bought the porcelain plate for 100 yuan. As for the others, although there were inscriptions on the bottom, she felt they were very ordinary. The stall owner also sold her the ancient jade for 80 yuan.

In the 70s, 80 yuan was also a worker's two-month income, so the price was not low.

Wen Qing slowly visited other stalls. There were more than ten stalls selling antiques, as well as stalls selling vegetables and grains, radios and watches, old bicycles, cloth, and cotton.

When it was getting light, Wen Qing bought a mother-of-pearl mahogany lacquer box and a white porcelain brush washer. She bought four items at the ghost market this time and spent 310 yuan.

When she reached the area selling grains and vegetables, she put down her backpack, took out a bag of rice and a bag of flour and placed them on the ground. The sellers here were generally farmers from the suburbs of Pingjing.

Wen Qing only brought 100 kilograms of flour and 50 kilograms of rice this time. The price was only 50% higher than that of the state-owned grain store, and no grain coupons were required. They were all sold out in a short while, and she only earned yuan in total.

Wen Qing carried his backpack and walked deep into the alley before dawn. He walked around a few times and took a bus back to the guesthouse.