Affection for Sidaogou during the Famine

"Zhao Zhao, let's go to the free market next! I heard that the small vendors brought in a lot of rare New Year goods from other places.

There are many commodities, including many special fruits from the south, as well as fish, shrimp, meat, peanuts, dates and other good things shipped from rural communes.

Oh, and there are people writing couplets on the spot! Haven’t you bought couplets for your family yet?

Let's go together and buy from whoever has the best calligraphy. I heard it's cheaper than the supply and marketing cooperative. You can pick whatever auspicious words you like!"

Han Zhaozhao was tempted! Not because the couplets were cheap, even if they were cheap, her family wouldn't need them this year!

It’s because she knows that next year, various sports will follow one after another, and next year’s Spring Festival will definitely not be a good one.

Perhaps this will be the most lively and peaceful Spring Festival in the next four or five years!

This is a rare opportunity, she wants to go and see it!

When I arrived at the nearest free market, I saw that, as expected, there were a lot of people buying and selling New Year's goods!

I can’t say that there were loud gongs and drums, but there were crowds of people and firecrackers were blasting!

Yes, there are actually several stalls selling firecrackers in this free market.

There were firecrackers, flute tendons, sky-piercing monkeys, small cannons, small cannons, big sizzling flowers, small fire whips, flash cannons, long and short, big and small, and all kinds of big fireworks...

You wouldn’t know until you count them that there are so many varieties of firecrackers these days!

Xiao Sanzi squeezed into the crowd in front of the stall and couldn't be pulled away. He insisted on watching the stall owner set off firecracker samples.

Some adults were shouting: Smokers, please stay away and don’t blow up the firecracker stall!

But in their hearts, they were secretly hoping that the business would fail!

Every year, the most exciting thing about this kind of annual market is the firecracker stalls.

Han Zhaozhao felt the situation was dangerous this year. Didn’t he see that there were several police officers from the police station watching nearby? The government was also afraid of any danger.

Some young people just want to watch the fun and are not afraid of trouble. Others come to the free market to attend the New Year fair, but they come to the free market to wait to see the firecracker stalls!

Unable to pull the third child, Han Zhaozhao didn't wait for him either. The boy only knew how to play around, so he couldn't buy anything today!

I walked forward passively following the crowd, feeling helpless.

Han Zhaozhao still couldn't change the habit she had developed in her previous life, and she kept walking on the right side. As she walked, she scanned the stalls on the roadside. Most of the vendors spread a tattered mat or tattered sack on the ground, and the goods they brought from home were neatly arranged for people to choose from.

Today's market is not divided into different areas. It can be seen that whoever comes early can grab a good spot.

Han Zhaozhao walked slowly along with the crowd, but his eyes were always looking to the right, trying to visit every stall.

Yes, she saw a stall selling spices!

Han Zhaozhao stepped out of the crowd and stood next to the stall. "Uncle, how much do you sell these spices for? Can you tell me more about them? How much are they?"

The uncle was in his fifties, wearing a torn cotton jacket and cotton trousers, and on his feet were cotton shoes made from blue twill that he made himself. It looked like he had worn them for several years, and there was a patch the size of a copper coin on the toes of both shoes.

But he was very neat and his hair and beard were neatly trimmed.

"Peppercorns are five cents per ounce, star anise is eight cents per ounce, cinnamon is five cents, bay leaves are ten cents per ounce, and pepper is also ten cents per ounce!"

Han Zhaozhao reached out and pinched them one by one to take a closer look. They were all dry and crisp, without any moisture at all.

Every spice was cleaned very neatly. There were no stems or seeds in the Sichuan peppercorns. The seeds of the aniseed were picked out cleanly. The peppercorns were also neatly picked. The product was as good as its owner!

"Uncle, your goods are good. I want to buy them sincerely. Can you give me a discount?"

"That's right! Your stuff is too expensive. I just asked that store and they only sell it for two cents per ounce!

You can sell it for half the price, if you want to sell it for half the price, I will buy it from you. I see you don’t have much to wear, it will be so cold here, the sooner you sell it, the sooner you can go home!"

Before he noticed, a woman in her thirties came out from beside Han Zhaozhao and started bargaining.

The salesman grabbed hold of his hands and disagreed, "No way! Two cents, I can't even get in!

I rushed to the city before dawn, suffering from cold and hunger. I couldn't make any money but would rather lose it!

Please move on. If there are people selling it for two cents, go there and buy it. I can’t sell it anyway.

I don’t bargain here!

Look at this stuff of mine. We old couple have winnowed, sifted and picked it out, and it took us a lot of time to tidy it up. It’s so clean!

I dare say that in the whole capital, you can't find anyone who is cleaner and cleaner than me."

The middle-aged woman grabbed a handful of peppercorns and refused to let go. "I'm bargaining for you because I want to help you with your business. You're not young anymore, how come you don't know what's good for you?"

Han Zhaozhao was speechless, thinking: Are you trying to bargain for the price or for the person? How can they sell it if you offer them such a low price?

It would be better to give it to you for free than to sell it to you! Even if they ask you for two cents, you still feel like they have made a lot of money from you.

Not only can you give them money as compensation for free, but you can also earn a good reputation for serving the people!

Really, what kind of person is this!

She bargained out of habit, just to try it out for the sake of psychological balance. It would be best if the price could be lowered a little, but if it couldn't be lowered at all, the item was actually worth the price.

They don't ask for a random price without any reason, so you have to be smart when bargaining when buying things!

It is said that the buyer is not as good as the seller!

In fact, if you ask her, it's not certain. It all depends on whether the seller is honest or not.

When an honest seller meets a cunning buyer, he will suffer losses. Otherwise, it is said that honest people often lose money in business!

Han Zhaozhao was impatient to argue with the uncle over these three or two cents. It was not easy. Anyway, she had the space as a backup, so she didn't need these few cents.

She bought all of the uncle's five kilograms of bay leaves, ten kilograms of cinnamon, and twenty kilograms of peppercorns.

She only bought two kilograms of peppercorns and five kilograms of star anise. She planted these two plants in her space, but the plants are still small and have not yet reached the stage of fruiting.

It’s Chinese New Year, and the family can stew meat, chicken, duck and fish openly, but seasoning is not acceptable.

"Girl, let me add some cardamom and amomum villosum. These two spices are indispensable for stewing meat. It's just right for New Year's Eve.

You called me uncle and bought me so many spices. Thank you, uncle. I will definitely be able to go home early today!"

Look, honest people can most intuitively understand who is good and who is bad, and their responses are also the most straightforward.

"Uncle, you still have cardamom and amomum villosum, why didn't I see them just now?

How many do you have? Weigh two kilograms of each for me! I can't accept it for free. You are so old, it's not easy to do small business. Just weigh enough for me!"

In the end, Han Zhaozhao bought more than 40 kilograms of various spices from the uncle, filling a large cloth bag. After weighing them, she found that it cost her more than 30 yuan!

Not only did it shock the middle-aged woman who was waiting to pick up a bargain nearby, but even the uncle selling the goods was a little frightened.

"Girl, you bought so many spices, how long will it take to eat them? Some varieties cannot be stored for a long time and will easily go bad and attract insects."

"It's okay, my second grandfather is a chef in a restaurant, I can deliver it to him and make a little profit from the difference!

It's just that I'm small and can't carry too much, otherwise, I can carry it all for you.

Uncle, see you later! Next time when I run out, I will buy more from you. Your spices are really good and of excellent quality!"

Before leaving, Han Zhaozhao gave people some advertising gifts, which made the uncle who wanted to tell her how to preserve it very happy.