Chapter 79 has a lot of excuses.
April 18th was a Sunday, which was also the auspicious day for the reopening of the recreational ball stand that Yao Shula had rescheduled.
At 10:00 a.m., people who were at home preparing to do laundry and tidy up the house suddenly heard a series of firecracker sounds.
Everyone was stunned. Who would set off firecrackers out of the blue? It's not a holiday!
Is this a family celebrating a happy occasion?
That's not right. If someone in this neighborhood is having a wedding, they'll definitely know.
You either have to go watch the fun or contribute a gift.
But we haven't heard of any families having a wedding celebration these past two days!
As the sound of firecrackers rang out, many people went out of their homes to watch the excitement.
When everyone went outside to take a look, they found that it was firecrackers being set off at the entrance of the old Cao family's courtyard!
Upon closer inspection, wow! There really was quite a crowd gathered there!
They're all young people!
A square chess table was placed in front of the three newly built storefronts of the Cao family.
There is one chess table outside and two inside.
On the chessboard was a pile of flat, round chess pieces, and a stylish young man was bending over, hitting the pieces with a long cue stick.
Everyone took a second look at the young man.
Their hairstyles were neither as messy as theirs, nor as meticulously combed as those of the officials.
It looks a bit like... a hairstyle from Hong Kong and Taiwan.
The clothes she was wearing were also very fashionable denim flared pants, which are rarely seen by people.
He was wearing a pair of aviator sunglasses...
The young man opposite him was even more outrageous, with permed hair, a floral shirt, flared jeans, and pointed leather shoes.
Besides the two young men, there was also a young woman who looked like a movie star from a popular movie magazine, standing next to them with a golf club in her hand.
Her wavy hair was held in place by a black polka-dot headband, and she wore a purple suit and black leather shoes.
In everyone's eyes, these three are the epitome of chic.
A large crowd gathered around, watching the three play.
"What kind of ball is this?"
"I think it's called 'Kang Le Qiu'! Look, there's a sign over there that says how to play. It seems like whoever pockets nine pieces first wins!"
"Never seen this before! Where does this ball come from?!"
I've never seen it either.
However, I heard that many people in Shanghai enjoy playing this sport, and there have even been competitions held there!
"It's probably all young people who like to play this! You can tell at a glance that this is something young people like."
It's like those people who carry around radios and blast music at deafening volume—it's all youth stuff.
"You don't understand! There are newspapers from Shanghai over there!"
It's written in the newspapers; many retired cadres enjoy playing this ball game, and some even participate in competitions!
This isn't a sport only young people enjoy playing.
Young people and old people can both fight! Many young people can't even beat older people!
"Really? Then I'll go over and take a look!"
People from all over the world share the same idea: if others can do it, so can I!
Young people compare themselves to each other, and so do older people!
What? People in Shanghai like to play these games, and people in these small county towns below them know how to play them too.
Soon, Yao Shula's newly opened recreational ball stall was surrounded by people.
There were people watching Lei Jingwu, Gu Changqin, and Gu Xiaoman play ball.
There were people whispering about the rules on the wooden board that Yao Shula had made.
...
The game of Kang Le Qiu is very simple. Everyone watches Lei Jingwu and his three assistants demonstrate how to play the ball while referring to the rules on the wooden board.
It seems pretty simple!
There are only four bags in total. The chess pieces just need to go into the bags, but they have to go into the designated bags.
Also, there is one mother piece, and the rest are children pieces.
Pieces can go into the pocket, but mother pieces cannot...
The more people watched, the more interesting it became.
This is really different from those places that blast loud music in the street!
Playing this kind of ball requires skill!
Everyone watched as Lei Jingwu aimed at a piece, thinking he definitely wouldn't be able to get it into the bag, but the piece he shot out actually curved and came back into the bag...
So there are techniques involved in all of this!
No wonder those retired cadres all like playing this kind of recreational ball!
This requires thinking, calculation skills, and planning...
Everyone's interest was piqued immediately. Most of the older people watched from the sidelines, while the younger people were eager to try it out!
Besides Lei Jingwu, Gu Changqin, and Gu Xiaoman, who all clearly have exceptional fighting skills, Zhou Ping'an, the hidden accomplice, has also gotten the hang of it.
No one recognized Lei Jingwu or the others; they only knew that he was definitely not from Yun County, but came from Shanghai.
Judging from his attire and demeanor, he's probably a relative of some leader in the county.
They just happened to come by for a visit.
Everyone knows Zhou Ping'an.
Grandma Zhou's grandson served in the army and later joined the traffic police team; he's quite capable.
Once Zhou Ping'an got the hang of it, everyone immediately started asking questions all at once.
"Peace, is it fun?"
"It's fun! You should try it, play with me! It's not hard!"
"Don't worry, I'll pay for the game!" Zhou Ping'an immediately handed the golf club to the man.
Five cents for a game isn't much money for anyone.
Soon, Zhou Ping'an and the man were fighting back and forth.
...
There were fewer people around at lunchtime.
Lei Jingwu took Gu Changqin and Gu Xiaoman to a state-run restaurant for dinner.
There are still people playing pool at these three tables.
Yao Shula was in a good mood and smiled as she looked at the small blackboard in front of Xiao Tiantian.
Xiao Tiantian and Yao Shuli were in charge of keeping track of the accounts, calculating how many games were played on each table and how much money should be collected. They were more meticulous than anyone else in doing the calculations.
Seeing Yao Shula in a daze, Xiao Tiantian immediately went over to her.
"Big sister, guess how much money you made this morning?" Little Tian blinked his big eyes at Yao Shula.
Yao Shula immediately snapped back to reality.
"How much?"
"One dollar and eighty cents! We still haven't paid the money to the older brothers."
My brother and his friends played five rounds, they should pay me 25 cents, but they haven't paid me yet!
"I'll ask them for the money when they come back after they finish eating," Xiao Tiantian said earnestly.
Yao Shula was taken aback.
That's 1.8 yuan! That's quite a lot!
There will probably be even more people in the afternoon!
Roughly speaking, today's income should be no less than three yuan.
Three yuan a day, how much would it cost in a month?
Business might not be as good on non-Sundays, but I can definitely make a dollar or two a day.
Well, if you calculate it this way, you can earn more than you would working a regular job!
However... there seem to be quite a few shills among the young people who came today!
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