After the conversation, the couple's attention was drawn over following Li Hongjun's guidance.
Two foreign women with golden hair and slightly blue pupils came into view. Led by a Chinese woman dressed in a western suit, they were leisurely selecting clothes in front of Xu Haizhou's stall.
The three of them were talking animatedly. Except for the parties involved, no one could understand their language. Outsiders could only look at them with curiosity and amazement. Sometimes, when they caught the gaze of the two foreign women, they would quickly look away and pretend not to see them.
Qiao Lu put down what she was doing and took a few steps forward.
As she got closer, she found that they were speaking English, which she could understand perfectly.
"Hello, welcome to Purple Dragonfly, how can I help you?" Qiao Lu blurted out a hello and quickly switched the next sentence to Chinese.
She is just a rural woman who graduated from junior high school. How could she speak fluent English?
It was a close call. Fortunately, I reacted in time, otherwise I would have been exposed!
The Chinese woman next to the two foreign women was obviously a translator working with them. When she received Qiao Lu's question, she smiled politely and said, "Hello, these two are friends from the United States who are visiting China for cultural exchange. They think your skirt is very beautiful. How much is it?"
It turns out that I was attracted by their new autumn collection. What a discerning eye!
While smiling and about to introduce the prices to a few people, Xu Haizhou noticed that two foreign women were obsessed with the new autumn styles, especially their eyes frequently lingered on silk, and he secretly had an idea in his mind.
He said first, "Hello, this is our new autumn product from Purple Dragonfly. If you are afraid of the cold, you can pair it with black leggings. The silk at the waist of the skirt is a gift for the matching skirt. The pants and skirt are a set for 120 yuan. We give a discount to foreign friends. If you like it, take it for 100 yuan."
Qiao Lu and Li Hongjun looked at him in astonishment, with disbelief in their eyes!
Good fellow, the skirt was clearly sold for 32 yuan, but he tripled the price!
This is to fool the two foreigners who don't understand the market price!
Although one hundred yuan is two or three months' salary for Chinese residents these days, foreigners exchange RMB with US dollars, so one hundred yuan is just a drop in the bucket for them.
But the key is that the translator understands the Chinese market. What if he tells those two foreign women that Zi Qingting is a rip-off...
Sure enough, the female translator's gaze fell steadily on Xu Haizhou. After looking at him for a while, she lowered her head and translated for the two foreign women. After the translation, the two foreign women huddled together and whispered.
It didn't matter if they talked loudly, because no one could understand them anyway - except Qiao Lu.
After discussing for about a minute or two, he nodded as he spoke, and it seemed that he had no objection to the price, so he readily prepared to pay.
Seeing this, Xu Haizhou said: "If you have foreign exchange securities, I can give you another 20% discount."
Now, Qiao Lu, Li Hongjun, and the translator all looked at Xu Haizhou.
The corners of the woman's lips curled up slightly, and she looked relaxed.
She smiled at Xu Haizhou, and then translated the words verbatim to the two foreign women.
The two foreign women looked at each other, but nodded: "That's easy, just give him foreign exchange certificates, we have plenty of them here."
"Okay." The translator turned to Xu Haizhou and said, "They agree to trade in foreign exchange."
The habit of taking advantage is not only possessed by Chinese people. Foreigners also like to take advantage. It depends on Xu Haizhou and his wife to grasp the psychology of consumers.
"Red Army, pack up." He turned around and gave him an order.
Good guys, is it so easy to do business with foreigners? Li Hongjun packed the clothes for the two of them in a hurry. A skirt worth 80 yuan, a huge profit! A huge profit!
Later, under Xu Haizhou's enthusiastic introduction, the two foreign women placed orders for two more sets of trousers. Even the female translator couldn't resist and bought a set of new autumn clothes.
In just half an hour, the couple earned a total of four hundred and thirty yuan, which was a huge profit among huge profits!
After the three men left, Li Hongjun couldn't suppress his excitement and hummed softly, patting Xu Haizhou's shoulders wildly.
"Haizhou! I always thought I was a profiteer, but it turns out you are the biggest profiteer!" A set of clothes costs at least one hundred yuan, do you really think foreigners are "stupid and rich"?
Although it does seem to be the case...I hope more foreigners like this come here!
The three women continued to wander along the street and were soon lost in the crowded crowd.
Retracting his gaze, Xu Haizhou handed the foreign exchange bonds to Qiao Lu.
She took it, and although she didn't know what her man wanted the foreign exchange certificates for, she still lowered her head and began to count them.
Xu Haizhou lowered his head and glanced at Li Hongjun with a meaningful smile: "How many treasures did they steal from China? What's wrong with me cheating her out of a few hundred yuan?"
“Hahahaha——” Li Hongjun laughed loudly and slapped his thighs wildly: “Great, great! Trap! Trap him to death!”
After cheating on a foreign woman, Li Hongjun was as excited as a chicken in the afternoon, doing the work of two people. Qiao Lu teased him that in this state, he might not be able to rest at night as he was too excited.
Today Xu Haizhou finished work early and left with Qiao Lu at three o'clock. He did not go home or pick up his son from kindergarten. Instead, he drove her to Li Yu's house.
"Haizhou? You haven't been here for a long time." Li Yu was extremely surprised to see his good friend and quickly stepped aside to make room for him: "Come in and sit down. How are you doing recently?"
Different from the tube-shaped buildings of ordinary people, this is a suite with two bedrooms and a living room. It is very spacious and luxurious.
It was Qiao Lu's first time to visit Li Yu's house, and she couldn't help but take a few more glances into the house.
It’s exciting to think that in the future, their family of three will be able to live in a big house.
Glancing at his wife, Xu Haizhou smiled and replied, "It's fine. Business is good at home. I bought a house recently. I'll move in and treat you to a meal."
A true friend would never think that Xu Haizhou's words were bragging, but would just feel happy for his friends.
"Great, kid, you're so capable. Where did you buy it?" Patting him on the shoulder, Li Yu asked hurriedly.
In the kitchen, Miao Hui also looked towards the door curiously and pricked up her ears to listen to their conversation.
Xu Haizhou replied: "Nanhu Hometown."
Li Yu's eyes widened: "Okay, okay, that place is good, but it's a bit expensive. Why are you making so much money now?"
Xu Haizhou smiled implicitly and said, "It's OK. For the sake of my wife and children living comfortably, I just grit my teeth and save some money."
"You guys are awesome, awesome!" Li Yu kept patting him on the shoulder and praised him, "By the way, are you still in touch with Hou Caijun? The last time I saw him, he said he would stay at Xingkou in the future."
"Xing Kou?" Isn't that the provincial capital? It's not too far from Li'an, only about 40 kilometers away, but it won't be that convenient to see him in the future.
Li Yu: "Yeah, he said he met some buddies there and wanted to do it together."
After thinking for a while, Xu Haizhou smiled helplessly: "Let him do whatever he wants. He is just like that, a man who can't sit still. Do you want to find him?"
Otherwise why bring it up.
Li Yu shook his head: "No, I just asked casually, just to find out. You know, that person is mysterious all the time, I'm quite curious."
After a few pleasantries, Li Yu finally realized that he had not yet invited the person into the house.
He quickly turned aside and said, "Don't stand here and talk. Come on, come in."
Xu Haizhou waved his hand and smiled politely: "No, Brother Li, I have something to talk to you about."
"You never come to me for nothing. What's the matter?" Li Yu was not surprised at all when his good friend asked him for a favor.
In fact, the friendship between two people is built on the basis of you helping me and I helping you.
After rummaging through his pocket, Xu Haizhou handed him a neat stack of foreign exchange notes.
"Can you help me buy an electric rice cooker from the Friendship Store?" In those days, domestically produced electric rice cookers were not mass-produced and were very expensive, so it was not easy for ordinary people to buy them.
It just so happened that he had the opportunity to exchange foreign exchange bonds today, so Xu Haizhou wanted to ask Li Yu's connections to help him buy Taiwanese imports from the Overseas Chinese Friendship Store.
After taking the foreign exchange bonds and counting them, Li Yu couldn't help but be surprised: "Where did you get so many?"
"I met a few foreigners when selling clothes today, and I exchanged them with RMB." Xu Haizhou said.
Li Yu raised an eyebrow: "Sure, I think there will be a few left after buying the rice cooker. Is there anything else you want to buy?"
"Not at the moment, you can buy whatever you like." After saying that, he suddenly turned his head to look at Qiao Lu, put his arm around her shoulders and said with a smile: "Buy something that my wife can use."
"Okay, buy something nice for your wife!" Li Yu laughed twice, his eyes teasing, "It's a little late today, I'll find someone to help you tomorrow."
"Thank you first, big brother." He smiled and turned around to take Qiao Lu away.
Li Yu stopped him and said, "It's rare to see you. Why don't you stay for dinner? Miao Hui is cooking in the kitchen. It will be ready soon."
Xu Haizhou shook his head and refused: "No, I still have to pick up my son from school. I'll treat you another day!"
Li Yu didn't force it, and said with a smile: "Okay, be careful on the road!"
In the 1970s and 1980s, you needed foreign currency coupons to buy things in Friendship Stores, and if you were not an overseas Chinese or a foreign friend, you would not be allowed in.
There are all kinds of special merchandise, as well as many foreign products, such as rice cookers, air conditioners, refrigerators... everything you can think of. Ordinary people have never seen or even heard of many of these things, let alone seen them.
If it weren't for Tuoliyu, Xu Haizhou would not have had the opportunity to know so many rare electrical appliances. Later, he kept them in mind, thinking that one day he would get some to use at home.
After finishing their work, the couple felt refreshed and went to pick up their son from kindergarten. They came early today and were undoubtedly the first to arrive.
At four o'clock in the afternoon, Qiao An's little butt could no longer sit still, as if sitting on pins and needles, and he looked towards the window of the freshman class with full of expectation.
He was wondering, who would be the first one of his parents to pick him up today?
He must watch carefully and not make any mistakes!
Then, the next second, the faces of Qiao Lu and Xu Haizhou were reflected in the transparent glass.
ah!
It's dad and mom!
Today they are number one, definitely number one!
So today after school, I could hear Qiao An's excited voice like a little bird all the way home.
"Mom and Dad are number one!"
"An An is so happy today!"
"Mom, I love you. Dad, I love you too. I like you both!"
No beautiful words could come out of his rosy little mouth, but they were the most genuine emotions that Qiao An could express.
After returning home, I heated up the pan-fried buns I bought for lunch and gave them to Qiao An. He was so delicious that he jumped for joy.
"Okay, sit down and eat it obediently, as if you haven't eaten buns in hundreds of years."
The little boy spoke in a soft and adorable voice: "No, Mom, this is different. This is the bun you and Dad saved for me from noon to this afternoon. It is a bun with feelings!"
Phew—this kid can now use personification.
Leaning over, she kissed his little face lovingly.
While eating, Qiao An shook his head and shared with Qiao Lu the interesting stories of his day in kindergarten.
The next afternoon, after taking An An home, Xu Haizhou rode his bicycle away in a hurry.
Qiao An was confused: "Dad, do you have to work overtime today?"
Qiao Lu smiled and said, "No, Dad went out to get something, something great."
"What is it? Is it a toy?"
"No, you'll know when you get there."
As expected, Li Yu got the rice cooker, and there were still a few coupons left. Following Xu Haizhou's instructions, Li Yu bought a hair dryer for his wife, which was also imported.
There was also a duck with pickled mustard sauce. After receiving it, Xu Haizhou was shocked: "Duck with pickled mustard sauce? This kind of thing is also sold in overseas Chinese stores?"
So is the marinated duck produced in overseas Chinese stores tastier than the ones sold outside?
Li Yu couldn't help but laughed out loud: "What overseas Chinese store? I just passed by the duck a store and bought it for your son!"
Xu Haizhou couldn't help but laugh: "Thank you on behalf of my son!"
"Okay, go back now."
Xu Haizhou happily carried the rice cooker and hair dryer home, strolling along the way.
These days, each day is so fulfilling and happy.
Next, I'll make some more money and buy a refrigerator. Last year, I had a taste of Li Yu's father-in-law's ice watermelon, and he could never forget the refreshing taste.
If you have a little more money, you can buy an air conditioner. I heard that staying in an air-conditioned room in summer will feel like winter.
But that thing is ridiculously expensive. I heard it’s more expensive than buying a house…
Forget it, let’s talk about it later. Make money first and buy what you can. You can buy what you can’t afford later when you have money.
Little by little, it adds up to a lot, and that's the joy of saving money.
The more he thought about it, the happier he became. He accidentally lost his focus and forgot to press the bell when he turned a corner. When he turned around, he saw someone there and quickly braked.
“Sizzle—”
The rice cooker was firmly tied to the back seat and did not fall off. The hair dryer was placed in the basket in front of the bicycle, which was deep, and did not fall out either.
The duck, out of inertia, flew out of the basket.
He quickly stopped the car and picked up the duck. One step faster than him was a pair of rough and slightly yellow hands.
Pick it up and hand it to him.
"Thank you." Xu Haizhou took it and quickly dusted it off. He was glad that the oil paper was not opened, otherwise it would be terrible if dust got in.
"Xu Haizhou?"
The voice was familiar yet unfamiliar. Xu Haizhou was stunned and looked up.
In front of me was a middle-aged woman with a sallow and rough face. She was carrying a large bag on her shoulder and two small bags on her arms, which were bulging.
Looking at her sides, one of them was holding a small carrot. Behind her was a burly man in a coarse cloth shirt, also holding a baby in his arms.
The moment he saw her, Xu Haizhou froze completely, frowned, and said in a noncommittal way:
"Xiu Xiu?"