Chapter 8: Educated Youth Abandoning Their Wives and Children

Ji Huaizhi's gaze fell on the clothes in the girl's hand: "I want to see women's clothing."

The man wearing the fisherman's hat understood: "Yes, you bought it for your girlfriend, right?"

The man put the sack he was holding aside, turned around and picked up another sack: "Look, this style is one of a kind. Your girlfriend will love you even more if you buy it."

Ji Huaizhi was amused by the man: "Do you have a coat? Let me see if you have one."

The man opened it and let Ji Huaizhi see for himself.

Ji Huaizhi chose a red duffle coat with brown fur trim around the edge, which looked both warm and stylish.

The man could tell at a glance that he had his eye on this item.

"This coat is beautiful, and you can even wear it to your wedding. I'll give you a discount, and it won't cost you any coupons—it's much cheaper than in department stores."

Ji Huaizhi: "How much did you sell it for?"

"One hundred and twenty yuan, fixed price!"

Ji Huaizhi sighed inwardly, "This price is way over budget."

He touched the clothes and found the quality to be quite good. The coats in the department store were more expensive than the ones he had; you really need to have money to buy them.

The man said awkwardly, "This dress is indeed expensive. To be honest, it's the only one I own, and I bought it for my wife. But when she heard how expensive it was, she scolded me and told me to sell it."

"But I'm just a street vendor dragging a sack around. People who buy things from me can't bear to spend so much money on a coat."

Ji Huaizhi understood, but he thought the clothes were indeed quite nice.

I remember this outfit should suit Chun Ya quite well.

"Where do you usually set up your stall?" Ji Huaizhi asked.

The man touched the brim of his hat: "It's nearby."

Ji Huaizhi nodded: "If I see you still have those clothes next time, I'll ask you to buy them for me."

The man didn't take it seriously, but he agreed with a smile.

However, Ji Huaizhi bought a white, fitted turtleneck sweater. At that time, sweaters were usually made by buying yarn and knitting them, but yarn coupons were still needed.

"By the way, brother, my name is Ji Huaizhi, and I'm a student at A City Normal University. Next time I have money, I'd like to buy two more of my own clothes. What's your name?"

"My name is Li Chao. If you want to buy clothes, just come to the entrance of Donghu Alley to find me."

This person hadn't expected the man in front of him to be a college student.

Li Chao instantly became much more respectful towards him.

~

When Chun Chun Ya received the items, she gave them all to her son.

"These are the things your dad bought for you, including the shoes. Try them on quickly."

Ji Xiaotian looked at the white sneakers and couldn't bring himself to say he didn't want them; it seemed like he was the only one of his kind in the village.

Chun Ya laughed at his awkward expression, but when she saw the white sweater, she was stunned. There were also two boxes of face cream next to it, which looked even more high-end than those from the supply and marketing cooperative.

He touched the clothes with tears welling up in his eyes; this was the first time he had ever bought something for himself.

She doesn't really have many opportunities to wear such a white dress.

~

After Ji Huaizhi prepared the schedule for the tutoring classes, he handed it over to Wang Youfa.

“Huaizhi, you’ve already finished next week’s watch. Aren’t you being a little too hasty?” Wang Youfa glanced at the watch.

Ji Huaizhi changed his clothes and prepared to go out: "I'm a bit busy later, so I'll finish this first. If there's anything, discuss it with Jiang Li. If you're unsure, come find me."

"Also, could you keep an eye out for a female teacher who majors in English?"

Wang Youfa asked in confusion, "English?"

Ji Huaizhi: "I looked into the junior and senior high school courses. Some schools now have one or two weeks of English classes a month, and some better schools even have them in elementary school. In the future, there will definitely be more and more emphasis on English grades."

"I'm leaving now, don't worry about me." She patted his shoulder and left the dormitory.

Ji Huaizhi used the excuse of buying clothes to get in touch with Li Chao.

I met a man who resold watches and electrical appliances.

Although the monthly salary from tutoring classes is not low, he still wants to earn more money for a rainy day.

"Huaizhi, why are you, a college student, doing this with us?" Li Chao couldn't understand.

"Others look down on us street vendors and individual business owners, but I didn't expect that you, a college student, would be interested in these things."

Ji Huaizhi chuckled: "Isn't it because the country is paying more and more attention to the economy now? It's true that things can't be done in the open right now, but it's only temporary. Look at those educated youth who returned to the city and went to the labor bureau to apply for jobs, what did the labor bureau say to them?"

"You could try starting a small business. The government is now supporting economic development by opening up more avenues for employment, revitalizing the economy, and implementing a policy that combines job placement by the labor department, voluntary organization for employment, and self-employment. And don't you know how much money you can make by setting up a stall?"

Li Chao chuckled and said, "I didn't understand a lot of what you said before, but I think you can say that setting up a stall can make just as much money as working as a factory worker."

"It's just that you're usually too busy. Otherwise, if you came with me to Guangzhou to get the goods, it would definitely be much cheaper than getting them from Lao Sun."

Ji Huaizhi knew this, of course, but he was too busy to get away.

"Thank you so much for getting in touch with Lao Sun. I'll treat you to a meal sometime when you're free."

Li Chao waved his hand: "Business has been good lately, so I can't bear to leave my stall. Come to my house for a meal and let me show you my wife's cooking."

Upon hearing this, Ji Huaizhi thought about sending something over later and said, "Okay."

Ji Huaizhi took a few watches from Brother Sun, intending to make some quick money.

When I got back to the dorm, I ran into Huang Dong, who was coming back from the library.

"Just got back from teaching the kids?" Huang Dong thought Ji Huaizhi was incredibly busy and hardworking.

"No, I met a friend I met today who just came to City A. He's self-employed, and he recently got a batch of goods and wants me to help him promote them." Ji Huaizhi thought of Huang Dong, who had been saying he wanted a watch.

"A self-employed friend? Your friend is quite bold. But I heard from my family that although being self-employed may not look good, you should be able to earn a lot of money these days."

Huang Dong was also a little curious: "What does your friend sell that you're promoting?"

Ji Huaizhi curled his lips: "We sell watches, electrical appliances, and clothing."

Upon hearing this, Huang Dong jumped down from the top bunk: "Your friend is amazing! You got this outfit from your friend, right?"

“Yes.” Ji Huaizhi said as if he had just remembered something, “I remember you wanted a watch, right? He left a few watches with me, would you like to take a look?”

Huang Donglai became interested: "Let me take a look."

Ji Huaizhi took out all three watches.

Huang Dong picked up the Citizen quartz watch: "This watch is alright, how much is it?"

Ji Huaizhi hung the clothes he had taken off by the bed: "This one is 168, a little more expensive than a digital watch."

Huang Dong nodded: "Indeed, but it looks quite nice." He then nudged Ji Huaizhi's arm: "Can your friend get Swiss watches?"

Ji Huaizhi raised an eyebrow: "I'll have to ask first, but I guess it should be possible."

Huang Dong grinned: "I knew you could definitely get it. I'll take this quartz watch. Could you also keep an eye out for Swiss watches for me? How about that?"

"Of course. To be honest, I get 20 yuan for every watch I help my friend sell. But you're my brother, so you'll give me 10 yuan less for these two watches."

Huang Dong knew, of course, that he would take a cut; after all, all he did besides teaching was make money, he was obsessed with money.

But I never expected him to say that to me.

This guy really treats me like a brother.

"How can that be? You have a family to support, no need." Huang Dong felt comfortable, but was too embarrassed to bargain.

"That's how it is, it's only because of you and me. If it were anyone else, I would still earn these twenty dollars."

Ji Huaizhi didn't give him a chance to speak and went to get hot water.

Seeing his response, Huang Dong had no choice but to agree: "If my friends need it, I'll have them contact you. I'll take this quartz watch first and pay you back later."

"OK."

He certainly earned more than twenty from this watch.

But you must say it nicely.

Huang Dong has good conditions; he talks about Swiss watches all the time. He might become a living advertisement.