Chapter 170 Early Scalpers [4000]

Zhang Laobie is an "ordinary" city dweller who has been pulling a tricycle all his life.

Emphasis on “ordinary”.

It's because he, a city guy, lives a mess of his life and is much more miserable than many country people.

At least there is land in the countryside where food can be grown.

As for Zhang Laobie, if he doesn't work for a day, his whole family will starve to death.

If we trace back the business of pulling tricycles, we have to go back to Zhang Laobie's father. Before and at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zhang Laobie's father was doing this business for a living.

At that time, he was called Ban Ye, and what he pulled was not a tricycle, but a cart.

Zhang Laobie took over his father's job, and used his father's life savings to replace the cart with the current three-wheeled vehicle.

To be honest, this is a legitimate business and it can easily support a family.

But in recent years, it has become extremely difficult.

With more and more laid-off workers, the tricycle industry has become a helpless choice for many laid-off workers to find re-employment because it does not require any technical skills and only requires a willingness to endure hardships.

Everyone crowded into the track.

However, the number of people who need to use tricycles has not increased, but has decreased, and their income has fallen sharply.

Three-wheeled vehicles are very popular nowadays.

It's a pity that Zhang Laobie, who has been riding a tricycle all his life, can't afford that big, fuel-consuming tricycle, and is about to be eliminated by this era.

Mr. Zhang has been very worried lately.

He has a teenage daughter who attends high school in the county and loves dancing, but recently she often looks depressed when she comes home.

He opened his mouth several times, wanting to say something to his father, but when the words came to his lips, he swallowed them back.

This made him wonder if his daughter was being bullied at school.

So he went to inquire secretly.

However, I found out that my daughter's class was preparing to choreograph a dance to commemorate the Army Day of our country, and they were going to perform the dance in front of all the teachers and students in the school.

Therefore, uniform clothing is required.

Of course, he also found out that the teacher didn't make it compulsory, but just said that if he wanted to join the dance team and perform on stage, he had to wear the team's uniform.

Later he went to inquire again, what kind of clothes were wanted?

The dance teacher did not hide it and said that they needed sailor shirts. This time, their dance team would perform a dance to play the role of a young navy.

Mr. Zhang was confused.

He didn't understand why, to play the role of a young sailor, he had to wear a sailor shirt of this model. Was there a connection?

He still remembered these three words.

Later he went to inquire again, and found out that this sailor shirt is not cheap. It costs 15 yuan a set in the state-owned shopping mall in the county. No wonder his daughter didn't dare to ask him for it.

I work hard on the tricycle all day. Sometimes when I'm lucky, I can earn 3 or 5 yuan a day. When I'm unlucky, I can't earn a single yuan. If it rains, I have to beat my children. I have nothing to do anyway, and I don't earn a penny. I just eat.

How can I save money by riding a tricycle and supporting a whole family?
It's impossible to save it, so he has been worried about it recently.

Zhang Lao Bie only has this one daughter. His wife died of complications after giving birth to this daughter. He also has a blind mother. Besides the blind mother, he only has this daughter who is in high school. She is his lifeblood. Moreover, his daughter is filial. She knows that he has no money. She likes dancing so much, but she would rather not go on stage than say anything to him as a father.

But the more this happened, the more Zhang Laobie felt that he had to fight for it.

These past few days, he has been working from morning till night, pedaling a tricycle until his heels are peeling. He tries to get as much work as possible, just to see if he can buy a sailor shirt for his daughter before the school dance team members are confirmed.

Yesterday, he was picking up a passenger as usual, passing by the busiest street in the county from the train station. He heard that a small commodity wholesale market was going to open there, but for an ordinary person like him, it would not be a part of his life at all. He thought to himself that he might not have the chance to go in and take a look in his lifetime.

As a result, just yesterday, he heard those three familiar words.

"What beautiful sailor suits! So many young girls and wives are wearing them. They are really extraordinary. Even a grown man like me is moved by them and can't help but want to buy one. Not bad, not bad. This small commodity wholesale market in Zhao County really has a set. No wonder the advertisements are even published in the provincial newspapers. I have to buy more of these sailor suits tomorrow. I'll buy this one from this store. It will definitely sell well. Tsk tsk tsk tsk..."

The guest behind him called out to Zhang Laobie and asked him to pedal slower and not ride too fast, as he wanted to watch for a while longer. He was going to sleep when he got to the hotel, as it was a rare opportunity to encounter such beautiful scenery.

So Zhang Laobie simply stopped.

He asked somewhat embarrassedly: "Can I ask, are the blue and white striped short-sleeved shirts those people are wearing called sailor shirts?"

"if not?"

The guests were not very patient when they were disturbed from enjoying the beautiful view.

When Zhang Lao Bie heard this answer, he was overjoyed: "Then, sir, can I just take you here? I won't charge you any money, you can take your time to look around, I have something urgent to go home for."

He remembered.

There was a time before, when he was passing by here to attract customers, someone in the market stuffed a flyer with him, saying that with this flyer, he could buy a set of clothes for two yuan when the market opened.

He thought it was just a lie at the time.

And even if it was true, he didn't have time to queue up. His daughter had to go to school and his blind mother couldn't go out.

Not knowing whether it was true or not, he didn't dare to gamble. Besides, even if it was true, who could guarantee that he could wear the clothes after buying them?
Zhang Laobie, who was used to being down-to-earth, didn't take it seriously at all. After taking the list, he put it in his pocket and went back to use it to wipe his mother's butt.

Now I hear that what I might be able to buy for two dollars tomorrow is actually a sailor shirt.

Although he was still skeptical, he decided to give it a try for the sake of his daughter.

The most urgent thing is to go home quickly and find the event flyer, so that my blind mother won’t use it as a butt tissue.

"Is it something wrong?"

"I asked you to stop for a while, but you gave up. Are people in Zhao County so angry?"

"Okay, it's only a few steps away from the hotel anyway, and I might as well take a look at the market first. Here, 5 cents. Don't give me the change. I won't cheat you, a tricycle rider."

The guests were not very happy.

He scolded Zhang Laobie, but still generously gave him the travel expenses.

Not short of money.

Zhang Lao Bie felt a little guilty and felt that he had brought shame to the people of Zhao County, so he promised to pick up the guest at the hotel early tomorrow morning and take him to the market to buy goods for free.

This calmed the guest down.

But Zhang Laobie rushed home in a hurry. Without having time to look for his mother, he went directly to the dry toilet and rummaged through the trash basket in the dry toilet, hoping that he would not find the event flyer in the trash basket.

What you fear will come true.

In that trash can, there were not only event flyers, but they were also torn into two pieces and used twice. I am used to being frugal!

He found it hard to accept it for a moment. Moreover, he was already panting as he pedaled the broken three-wheeled vehicle back home. His body swayed and he almost fell into the dry toilet.

It was his mother who heard the noise, came out from the corner and called him a few times. Only then did he come back to his senses.

"Bie'er, why are you back so early? Didn't you say you were going to run later today?"

As she spoke, his mother squatted down and touched a stone in her hand.

She was probably afraid that the person who came back was not her son Zhang Laobie, but a thief. Nowadays, even manure was stolen.

Zhang Lao Bie was still in shock and said quickly, "Mom, it's me, I'm back."

He was afraid that if he was any later, the stones in his parents' hands would hit him.

It doesn't matter if it hits your body, just don't hit your head.

But if it fell into the pit, it would be terrible. Not only would he lose his clothes, he would not be able to eat for several days. Even if he were to survive, he would probably be unlucky for a year.

"It's Turtle!"

"What are you doing hiding in the bathroom?"

The blind mother heard her son's voice and threw the stone away. She felt relieved, but at the same time she became curious.

Instead of riding a tricycle to earn money in broad daylight, he comes home to poop. Is it not allowed to poop outside?
Zhang Lao Bie smiled bitterly: "Mom, I came back for something."

How to do?
He wouldn't have to put the list together again, but it would be covered in shit. Even if he didn't find it disgusting, he still had to make people willing to buy it!
So he came forward to help his mother up, prepared to send the blind mother back to the house first, and then continued to ride his broken tricycle.

Try two more sets of clothes a day, save an extra 5 cents, save a little for yourself, break a steamed bun into two halves and eat them in two meals, save for ten days or half a month, and you can still afford that so-called "sailor shirt" clothes, so that your daughter will not be sad because of not being able to go on stage, and fight for her dignity.

"What's the matter?"

"Isn't it diarrhea?"

The blind mother touched her son's face and said with some distress: "Look, you've lost weight again. If it really doesn't work, just pull two less trips every day. I won't starve to death, and Xiaomei won't starve to death either. I know you feel sorry for her, but we are a poor family and we can't raise our daughter like a princess, understand? Son, we can't afford to raise her? If you work yourself to death, will she be able to live a good life?"

Zhang Lao Bie didn't dare to refute my mother: "Yes, yes, you are right, mother."

"Okay, take me back to the house. If you haven't pooped cleanly, I have a piece of paper here. It was sent by the street office. I'm blind and can't see it. You always use straw rope to wipe your butt, which will easily cause diarrhea. Use this to wipe your butt."

The blind old mother was carefully helped into the house by Zhang Laobie.

Then Zhang Laobie also saw the butt-wiping paper that his mother had told him about, which was sent by the street office.

He froze in place.

The feeling of regaining what he had lost made him shout out in surprise: "It... it is it... that is it."

It turns out that the street office also distributes flyers for this kind of activity, that’s great.

Zhang Laobie rushed over, picked up the event flyer, took a look at it in his hand, and found that it was exactly the same as the one he had last time.

Then he folded it carefully, put it in his pocket, and prepared to try it out tomorrow. At most, he would not do business for a morning and ride the tricycle less often, but if he could really buy the sailor shirt that his daughter was longing for, it would save a lot of money.

"what happened?"

His blind mother didn't understand.

"Nothing, mother. I just saw a mouse and I scared it away."

Zhang Laobie used nonsense to deal with his mother.

"Is the mouse fat? You too, didn't catch it, and scared it away. What a pity, it would be worth several ounces of meat. Son, we are a poor family, and it is a blessing to have a mouse at home, we must cherish it."

The good meat is gone.

His mother was a little unhappy. She swallowed secretly and drove him out.

For a moment, Zhang Laobie felt sad and upset.

It’s hard for his mother.

He had lived a good life. When my father was alive, our family didn't have a tricycle, only a cart. But there was a lot of work and few carts at that time, so we could still have meat every ten days or half a month.

But now, the carts have been retired and replaced by tricycles. Within a few years, the family can no longer afford meat and may not even be able to enjoy a meal once a month.

No wonder I was so hungry that I even wanted to eat mice.

He felt in his pocket.

This was 4 yuan, which he had saved from his frugal life over the past few days and from riding a tricycle for a living. It was still a lot less than what he needed to buy a sailor shirt in a big shopping mall.

If I could spend two dollars tomorrow, I would buy a set.

He also thought about it.

I will use the remaining money to buy some meat to treat my parents to a good meal at home.

With this thought in mind.

That night, Zhang Laobie couldn't sleep.

Early in the morning, with dark circles under his eyes, he rode his broken tricycle out of the door.

Prepare to grab a seat outside the market first.

It's too late.

I'm afraid there will be a long queue later.

My goodness, when we arrived, there was already a long queue outside the market.

No time to think.

Zhang Laobie got off the tricycle, locked it, and quickly found a team with fewer people and lined up first.

"Dude, are you here to buy clothes too?"

"Yes, it's so early in the morning. If it's not to buy cheap clothes, who would line up?"

"Can we have a negotiation?"

"What are you discussing?"

"After you go in and buy the clothes, can you sell them to me when you come out? I'll give you 2 yuan, or I'll add 5 cents, 2 yuan. You see, it won't take much time to buy and sell, and you'll make 6 cents. How good is that?"

Zhang Laobie has just lined up.

Another strange thing happened.

There were people who were actually willing to pay a high price to reserve the clothes that those people in the queue were going to buy later. And there were more than one or two of them. There were sneaky people like this in every row of the queue.

"I...I'm not selling it. I'm here to buy it for my daughter."

Zhang Lao Bie didn't wait long before he rejected one...

(End of this chapter)