Another night passed, and the boat rented by the He family appeared at the vegetable pier in Tianyang City, driven by a gasoline engine.
In the early morning light, the pier came back to life from the darkness and silence. There were already more than a dozen ships parked beside the pier for loading and unloading. The pier was connected to a vegetable market, and there were many adults and grandparents who came to pick up bargains in the morning, all coveting the freshness and bargains at this moment.
Inquiries and counter-offers were heard one after another, and the sounds of hawking were endless. But there was something missing from this accustomed sight. Many people looked eagerly towards the office door of the market management office and whispered in low voices.
The door had been violently broken open, and the lock was in ruins. Like the signboard at the management office, it was being laughed at and pointed at.
Because peppers are expensive in the market, Zhou Qingfeng grows a large number of peppers and sells them. I wonder if the dragon dung field has any special effects. The green peppers shipped by the He family are already considered a small brand. Many citizens come here to purchase them, even if the price is so expensive.
willing.
It's just that some adults still miss the dozens of baskets of "hodgepodge" that the He family first brought. Many people remember that cucumbers, radishes, eggplants, etc. are very juicy and delicious in any stir-fried dish.
When Old Man He went to pay the market tax, he listened carefully and inquired. In fact, there was no need to inquire at all. Many vegetable sellers took the initiative to spread the news - Director Tong from the management office was beaten last night.
"Oh, I was beaten so badly. My head is almost as swollen as a pig's head, and I can't see its original appearance at all."
"That guy must have offended someone. I don't know who beat him to paralysis."
"Are you beaten to paralysis? Well done. That bastard has only been the director for a year and has made this market a mess."
There was a lot of discussion in the market. As long as you walked around, someone would take the initiative to report it. Old man He still had plaster on his forehead. Hearing that Tong Erbao was beaten, he felt happy in his heart. Until he heard...
"My neighbor's second aunt's daughter-in-law and her brother are on duty at the Municipal People's Hospital. They said that Tong Erbao's spine was severed and that no one knew about the personnel at the hospital."
"Did it break? How cruel was the person who beat him? His family must be in trouble. Will the police care about this?"
"The police have been here a long time ago, and they also found the people who played mahjong with Tong Erbao last night. But those people said they didn't see clearly, and they definitely didn't want to cause trouble."
"He deserves it. This evil man will have his own misfortune. Even if he is beaten to death for the dirty things Tong Erbao usually does, he will not be unjust."
Old Man He was stunned for a moment after hearing this. He didn't know whether to be happy or worried. From what he could see in front of him, Tong Erbao entered the hospital and all his men ran away.
The market wharf is happier now that there is no one in the management office. Even the tax collectors are looking better, for fear of retaliation. But Zhou Qingfeng's peanuts are still stored at home, and he doesn't know who to sell them to - or retail them?
I don’t know if Zhou Qingfeng is willing to give it? After all, it’s more than 10,000 kilograms, and if it’s 30 to 70 cents, the old man himself wouldn’t be willing to do it. Thinking about how Zhou Qingfeng gave away 500 yuan, he felt that it was 19 cents.
All are acceptable.
After selling the vegetables, Old Man He was not in a hurry to go home. He walked around the vegetable market a few times and wanted to ask if there was any way to sell peanuts - the retail peanuts on the market are slightly more expensive than the wholesale ones, but they are also more expensive.
Not going anywhere.
Peanuts are about twice as expensive as rice, and the retail price at the wharf wet market is around 80 cents. Old Man He felt that if he was cheaper than 10 cents per pound, there might be a lot of people buying them.
One pound is ten cents cheaper, and one hundred pounds is ten yuan cheaper. Nowadays, the monthly income of employees in general units is around thirty or forty. This discount is not bad - the earliest supermarkets in China only gave a few cents discount on oil and salt.
It will allow the common people to cross the threshold.
More than 20 years later, the low-cost supermarket ‘Costco’ opened a store in Shanghai, triggering a wave of looting.
As he was wandering around thinking, Old Man He suddenly noticed someone pointing at him around him - the old man was immediately frightened and his hair stood up. He didn't know what was going on, he only knew that it must be something bad.
But when Old He was about to leave, the accountant who wanted to buy peanuts the day before yesterday ran out. The latter asked very gossipy and probingly: "Old He, did you ask someone to beat Tong Erbao?"
Old Man He was even more flustered, and quickly waved his hands and said: "No, no, I just sell vegetables, how could I get involved in this?"
"Seeing that you are panicking, there must be some evil spirit." The accountant aunt laughed as if she had already seen through it. She pointed at the plaster on Old Man He's forehead and said, "Who else could it be if it weren't you? It's a revenge of several hundred yuan. I don't believe you can bear it.
.”
Old Man He was so panicked that he almost lost his words, and his old face was turning pale due to the weather. If he had known this, he shouldn't have come to this vegetable market again - after all, the people in the vegetable market only knew his surname, He, but they didn't know who he was.
Where are you from?
But the accountant aunt waved her hand and said: "Don't be afraid, Tong Erbao has no background, he is just a bastard. When he meets someone more ruthless than him, he is just a loser. I just want to ask, can you still sell your peanuts?"
"
Still want to buy peanuts?
The old man's mood fluctuated like a storm, and he took a while to calm down. He was afraid of being traced, but also didn't want to give up on sales, so he finally placed an order for half a ton of peanuts with a small machinery factory in the city.
The accountant aunt also wanted to invite Old Man He to the machinery factory to make a white paper, but Old Man He refused to agree. The two sides argued for a long time and agreed that the transaction should be done at the wharf market and that the goods must be paid in cash. For this reason, Old Man He would rather make a discount on the price.
He had to sell vegetables and peanuts, and the transportation capacity was insufficient. Old man He simply rented an extra boat and let his son drive it. The first sale failed, and the second time he did not dare to transport more, which was only ten packs, for fear of another accident.
.
However, when the boat arrived at the vegetable market pier, the accountant who bought vegetables yesterday came over happily and said, "Old He, our factory can't get so much money at the moment, can we barter?"
Hearing that he couldn't get the money, Old Man He was so angry that he wanted to transport all the peanuts back. He asked: "You, a state-owned factory, can't afford 700 yuan to buy a thousand kilograms of peanuts?"
Now the accountant looked embarrassed and kept saying good things. She also said that her finished product was very good and had won honors such as "Excellent in the Province and Excellent in the Ministry".
It took a long time, but Old Man He still didn't agree. He said he would go back to find someone to discuss the matter, and then retail the peanuts in the vegetable market - perhaps because without the obstruction of the management office, more people came to buy vegetables.
I sold a pack a day.
Those that could not be sold could only be temporarily stored in a rented house in Tianyang City. After returning to Mawang Village, Old Man He told Zhou Qingfeng: "That machinery factory is also a liar, and they want to give them some 'car filters'"
Let's pay the bill. I don't even know what that thing is for?
In fact, we can still sell our peanuts if we leave them alone and sell them slowly, so we don’t have to worry about it at all. I won’t bother to pay attention to the accountant when she comes again.”
"Machinery factory?" Zhou Qingfeng knew that since the 1990s, many small factories in small cities in China have caused a lot of problems due to backward technology, outdated products, and poor quality. In the end, they dragged down banks and society, and almost brought down the country.
It was at that time that foreigners began to predict when China would collapse? The situation at that time was indeed not optimistic. A large number of capable elites were either fleeing or cheating, and the people's trust in the government continued to decline.
Zhou Qingfeng couldn't control the big problem, but he felt that he might be able to do something, so he asked Old Man He, "Didn't that machine factory dislike the fact that it had too many cups and towels? We exchanged them for peanuts and sold them in the countryside.
Make double money."
Ah... Old man He didn't expect that Zhou Qingfeng's thoughts would change so quickly? He shook his head with a grimace and said: "Our whole family is selling vegetables now, our two sons run on the waterway, and several daughters-in-law live in the city.
Helping with retail sales, even the old lady at home is busy cooking for the whole family. There is really no one left."
"Isn't there anyone who doesn't know how to hire someone?" Zhou Qingfeng didn't stop thinking, and continued: "The machinery factory, no matter how bad its level is, can still produce some simple machinery. Maybe it can do some other business. But don't go too far.
It’s too big and can easily pull on the egg, so wait and see first.”