Their presence was so great that the dozen or so military wives chatting and looking after their children in the square instantly gathered around, and those in the distance also came over.
In those days, a bicycle, including the ticket, would cost at least two hundred yuan.
Two hundred yuan!
This is no small amount; it's equivalent to two or three months' salary for the men in the family. Everyone here is usually very frugal, so who would be willing to spend that much money on a car?
Looking at the bicycle in front of them, everyone's eyes first lit up with envy. Then, many people's eyes changed, and a sour feeling almost overflowed.
In the crowd, a loud-voiced military wife squeezed to the front, pouting and speaking in a sarcastic tone.
"Hey, Deng Cuixiang, did you make a fortune selling pickles? Or did you learn bad habits from someone? You even bought a tricycle! You used to be so frugal!"
As soon as she said this, everyone around craned their necks, waiting to see Deng Cuixiang's reaction.
Deng Cuixiang patted the tricycle with a smile.
"Hey, don't even mention it! I haven't made any money yet, and it's all been invested! For example, to make selling pickles easier, I asked someone to buy some used goods from a car repair shop!"
"Second-hand?"
Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned for a moment, and then they all turned their attention to the tricycles.
Indeed, the car body was dusty, as if covered with a thick layer of dust. There were still mud spots on the tires that hadn't been washed off. The pedals were full of wear marks, and even the seats were dusty, with shiny edges.
The military wife, who had just been making sarcastic remarks, suddenly burst into laughter, covering her mouth and laughing nonstop.
"It's definitely secondhand! I see the seats are all worn smooth; I wonder how big the original owner's butt must have been to wear this down like this!"
These words made the surrounding military wives grin and burst into laughter, instantly easing the tense atmosphere.
A kind-hearted military wife squeezed in front of her and patted Deng Cuixiang on the shoulder.
"Oh dear, new bikes are so expensive! I'll just buy a used one, as long as it's rideable! I can fix it up and it'll still work perfectly!"
Some people were curious and came closer to ask.
"Cuixiang, Qiqi, how much did you pay for this secondhand item?"
Zhou Qiqi chuckled and brushed it off with a laugh.
"Not expensive at all, how expensive could this piece of junk be..."
After saying that, she turned to Mr. Chen and called out, "Alright, alright, Mr. Chen, can you help us ride the bike over there?"
As he spoke, he pointed towards the west playground, "The new car just arrived, let's go practice driving it."
The group followed the car toward the parade ground. The military wives who had gathered there dispersed in twos and threes when they realized there was no more excitement to be had.
After all, in this residential compound, although cars are precious, they are not the first of their kind, especially since this one is second-hand. Li Hongjuan had ridden one back before.
Once the novelty wore off, people stopped caring about it.
The first bicycle in the family compound belonged to Hu Chunxiao, who worked at the Materials Bureau.
Two years ago, she bought a bicycle, and when the news spread, the whole residential compound was abuzz with discussion.
At this moment, Hu Chunxiao heard that Deng Cuixiang and the others had bought a car and returned. He was so anxious that he couldn't even take care of the work he was doing and ran all the way to the playground.
She was panting heavily when she looked at the several "battle-damaged" vehicles in front of her, and her brows furrowed immediately.
"You bought it? I had something to do at home this morning and couldn't go with you. I heard you bought it secondhand? Did you get ripped off? No, I have to go find Xiao Li!"
With that, he turned to leave.
"Ah, no, no, no, it's not secondhand..."
Zhou Qiqi quickly grabbed her and explained what had happened.
"It's my fault. The phone signal was bad at the time, and I didn't explain things clearly to Xiao Li, which almost caused you to be scammed by Master Chen."
Hu Chunxiao stomped her feet in anger and said indignantly.
"Don't worry, I'll talk to Xiao Li right away and tell him not to let his relative do such a despicable thing again. His car repair stall is only able to operate because of Xiao Li's help, so he definitely won't dare to disobey Xiao Li!"
After saying that, Hu Chunxiao took Zhou Qiqi's hand and sighed.
"Qiqi, you're so clever! Not only did you get a new car at a cheap price, but you also came up with the idea of making it look old! You guys don't know, when I bought a new car a couple of years ago, I was talked about behind my back so much, it attracted so much attention..."
Recalling those days, she shook her head helplessly.
"When I first bought the car, I kept it at home for a long time, too afraid to ride it. Later, I slowly learned to ride it. But now I'm really good at it! I can ride both bicycles and tricycles. Let me teach you!"
"Okay!"
Zhou Qiqi told Zhouzhou to go home and draw first, while she started learning to drive with the others.
"Let's teach you how to ride a tricycle first! Tricycles are simple, nothing difficult, so don't worry."
Hu Chunxiao gave instructions with a smile, looking confident and assured.
She made Deng Cuixiang sit in the front and hold the handlebars, and then pressed Zhou Qiqi and Zhu Yingying to the sides of the truck bed.
"The first rule for learning to ride a tricycle is to put some weight in the cargo bed. Otherwise, if the front feels light and unstable, the handlebars will wobble when you pedal, and you'll easily panic."
Deng Cuixiang sat in front of the handlebars, feeling a little nervous. She gripped the handlebars tightly, and her palms were sweating.
Hu Chunxiao stood beside him, patiently providing guidance.
"Sister Cuixiang, straighten your back and sit up straight! Relax your shoulders, don't be so stiff. Put your feet on the pedals, look ahead, and then pedal hard!"
Deng Cuixiang took a deep breath and, as Hu Chunxiao instructed, pressed down hard on the pedal.
The car started moving slowly, and she was still a little at a loss. She wanted to push the car to go faster, but she didn't dare to push too hard, for fear of causing an accident.
"Keep pedaling! Don't let up! Your bike has three wheels, it's very stable, you won't fall over! Just keep pedaling steadily along this track."
Hu Chunxiao jogged a few steps after the car, encouraging it loudly.
Although Deng Cuixiang was nervous, she was quite strong. Following Hu Chunxiao's instructions, she rode forward.
Soon, the car arrived at the bend in the playground. In front of them stood a large white poplar tree, its trunk standing straight, as if testing Deng Cuixiang.
As Deng Cuixiang watched the tree getting closer and closer, she felt a little panicked and instinctively wanted to squeeze the brakes.
"Don't squeeze the brakes! Keep your foot steady on the pedals!"
Hu Chunxiao shouted at the top of her lungs from behind.
"When you turn, turn the handlebars in the direction you want to go, turn slowly, don't turn too fast! Yes, yes, then straighten the wheel, gently bring the bike back, don't let your body sway, keep your balance!"
Deng Cuixiang didn't have time to think much at the moment; her mind was blank, and she was completely following Hu Chunxiao's instructions.
And sure enough, it turned smoothly and then continued riding forward steadily.
"Sister Cuixiang, you're amazing! Take us for another ride!"
Zhou Qiqi and Zhu Yingying exchanged a glance and couldn't help but praise each other in unison.
Deng Cuixiang rode smoothly all the way, with a smile on her face.
The warm afternoon sun shone on the three of them, making them feel incredibly comfortable.
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