These days are the wheat harvest season, so there aren't many people at the supply and marketing cooperative. When Jiang Ci and Zhou Mingli arrived, there were only a few people looking at the goods.
The two of them had quite a few things to buy today, and the first thing they picked out was the bicycle they could buy with their bicycle voucher.
Zhou Lao Er got a permanent bicycle ticket, but it was too expensive. One bicycle cost more than 170 yuan, which almost took up half of their money.
Jiang Ci looked around and added Forever to her blacklist; she wouldn't buy that brand of bicycle at the moment.
Jiang Ci pulled Zhou Mingli and shook her head, "Can we exchange this bicycle ticket for another brand? And also exchange it for an extra twenty yuan?"
Zhou Mingli understood Jiang Ci's meaning, and he said in a low voice, "Wait here for me for a while."
Where to?
Zhou Mingli didn't say anything, took the bicycle ticket from Jiang Ci's hand, and rode away on his bicycle.
Jiang Ci guessed he had gone to the black market, so she didn't think much of it, carefully protected the tickets and money in her pocket, and waited at the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative.
There are textile factories, pickled mustard tuber processing plants, and stone quarries in Zhongmo Town. There are many workers and residents here.
Jiang Ci watched as the people in patched clothes hurried to and fro, clearly busy with something to do; none of them stood idly outside the supply and marketing cooperative like she did.
This made her seem very out of place.
There was a bookstore across from the supply and marketing cooperative. Jiang Ci thought for a moment, and since she had nothing else to do, she went into the bookstore to see if they had any high school books. If they were able to send one of their children to university next year, it would be a good opportunity.
There weren't many people in the bookstore. Jiang Ci glanced around and saw only two or three people reading books or looking at paper and pens.
One of them was a man wearing a polyester shirt and glasses. He looked to be in his forties or fifties, tall and thin, with a scholarly air about him. He was probably a teacher or principal.
Jiang Ci made a guess in her mind, and then continued walking into the store.
There aren't many books in high school, only Chinese, math, and politics.
Jiang Ci flipped through the pages and gained a basic understanding of the depth of high school education in this era.
Before they could look at much, a commotion suddenly broke out outside. The bookstore clerks and customers heard the noise, glanced outside, and their skin tightened instantly, a hint of fear appearing in their eyes.
It wasn't for any other reason than that the people who caused the riot had red armbands tied around their arms, and their arrogant demeanor was even more overbearing than that of the police officers from the Public Security Bureau!
What made the bookstore staff and customers even more panicked was that this group of people was heading towards the bookstore!
The sales clerk quickly came out, smiling apologetically, and said, "Our bookstore doesn't sell any banned books!"
"Who's looking for you! Or does your bookstore have something that's strictly prohibited or banned?!" The leader's voice was loud. "If you're honest, you'll have to confess. Otherwise, we'll investigate..."
The sales clerk's legs went weak.
Those wearing red armbands immediately burst into laughter.
Jiang Ci was standing deep inside the bookstore when she heard someone reading a book mutter under their breath, "These worthless bastards!"
The loud-voiced man at the head of the group glanced at the three or four people in the bookstore, a cruel smile on his face. "Shen Conghe, who is Shen Conghe!"
The man in the polyester shirt and glasses glanced at the group of people in red armbands, adjusted his glasses, and walked out. "That's me."
Shen Conghe asked calmly, "What do you want from me?"
The loud-voiced man couldn't stand Shen Conghe's calm demeanor. He walked up to him, strolled around him twice, and said, "You're the principal of the Textile Factory Middle School, right?"
When people in the bookstore heard this title, their gazes toward Shen Conghe changed. Intellectuals were the easiest targets for criticism and struggle in this era.
Shen Conghe nodded readily, "Yes."
He believed himself to be honest and upright, capable of withstanding investigation, and nothing to be afraid of.
The loud-voiced man nodded, a sinister smile on his face. "Someone reported you for distributing foreign language materials at school. We have an obligation to take you away for investigation!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Conghe was stunned for a moment. Before he could react, the man behind the loud-voiced man rushed forward, grabbed Shen Conghe's arm, and took him away.
This incredibly arrogant group came in a flurry and left in a grand procession. In less than five minutes, a promising middle school principal was taken away.
"Shen Conghe is the principal of the Textile Factory Middle School! He actually promoted that kind of stuff at the school! Isn't that poisoning the students?!"
"And he calls himself a teacher! The students at that school suffered terribly!"
"Serves him right for being paraded through the streets!"
"Oh no! My sister's husband's son is studying at the textile factory's middle school!"
"Hey, you'd better go and remind them!"
There were many voices outside, and many family members of textile factory workers were also rushing home to tell their relatives, or running back to pass on the news if their children were studying at that school.
Jiang Ci stood at the bookstore entrance, watching this scene unfold. She said nothing, but became even more cautious, placing the book she was holding back on the shelf.
...
Zhou Mingli found something to cover his face and started asking questions in the black market.
"Who wants a bicycle ticket?"
"Money alone won't do; you have to exchange it for a bicycle ticket from another brand."
He wasn't sure if he could get it, but as long as there was a market, someone would buy it.
Zhou Mingli asked as he walked.
He hadn't gone far when a man patted him on the shoulder. "Hey bro, got a permanent bicycle pass?"
"Yes." Zhou Mingli said succinctly. He silently took out a corner of a ticket from his pocket, then quickly pulled it back in.
The man easily saw what brand of bicycle was written on the ticket.
permanent!
BMW is every man's dream car! Ferrari is the ultimate sports car!
His eyes lit up immediately. He scratched his head and lowered his voice, "Brother, I have a Hongqi here. I'm getting married, and her family insists on a Yongjiu (Perpetual) license plate. My car isn't as good as Yongjiu, but it's not bad either. If you want to trade... how about we swap?"
Zhou Mingli's gaze shifted downwards, and the man quickly revealed a corner of his bicycle ticket.
red flag.
He recalled the price of the Hongqi bicycle he had just seen, did some mental calculation, and said, "One ticket plus twenty-five yuan."
A bitter look appeared in the man's eyes. Zhou Mingli said slowly, "Do you know how scarce Forever is? My family bought the car for my wife to ride. If my wife wasn't too short to ride a Forever, I wouldn't have bothered to take out the ticket to exchange it."
"If you're not in a hurry, you can ask around elsewhere. I'm not in a rush. Even if I need a ticket and thirty yuan, I can wait for someone to come and exchange it."
Zhou Mingli didn't seem to care much.
He was anxious, of course he was anxious! He had been waiting in the black market for three days without finding anyone selling permanent license plates. He finally found one, and the man was unwilling to let the ticket go to waste.
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