But after hearing this, Xia Ruqian became a little anxious and said hurriedly: "I don't really need these!"
Hearing her sister's clear laughter, Xia Ruqian realized that she had been tricked by her sister. She punched Xia Ruzheng several times in anger and said, "I will never talk to you again! You are so annoying!"
They were all jokes, Xia Ruzheng wouldn't take them seriously.
When I got to town, I usually went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy things. These days, they only accept things like grain coupons and cloth coupons, and the government no longer issues them; they're now collecting them. The economy is liberalizing, and I hear there are some self-employed individuals in the big cities. But in this era, self-employed individuals are frowned upon, being labeled speculators. This trend hasn't yet reached this somewhat remote area.
The two sisters bought some candies, new towels, soaps and other things, and also bought cigarettes for Xia Chunfu. Other people smoke roll-your-own cigarettes, which are made by buying tobacco and wrapping it in paper. Naturally, they don't taste as good as cigarettes. Xia Chunfu smokes cigarettes, but he also smokes roll-your-own cigarettes occasionally.
Of course the attitude of the people in the supply and marketing cooperative will not be very good. Working here is like having a stable job, and they think they are superior to others, so it is normal for them to be impatient when buying things.
Sometimes Xia Ruzheng feels helpless about this. The aunties selling vegetables in the New Century Vegetable Market all know how to provide good service, okay?
Because the people in the supply and marketing cooperative had a bad attitude, Xia Ruqian was naturally unhappy again.
Xia Ruzheng said, "Why are you getting angry with them? You're doing something that everyone can do, and you think you're unique. When the day comes when you're replaced, you won't know what to do!"
Xia Ruqian said: "Replacing someone is just changing someone else, and their attitude may not even be as good as the current one!"
Xia Ruzheng said, "You're thinking the wrong way. I think that in the future, everyone here will be able to do business, not just the supply and marketing cooperatives. In the future, if everyone has extra goods, they can sell them. Then, there will be people specializing in raising pigs, chickens, ducks, and vegetables, and there will be more and more things to buy. And their attitude will definitely be better than this. You can also compare prices and buy from whoever is cheaper and better."
Xia Ruqian's eyes widened when she heard this: "Are you serious? That's speculation, and the country doesn't allow it."
Xia Ruzheng couldn't help but laugh. It turned out that people's thoughts were easily bound. Some things were unreasonable, but because people were used to them, they seemed reasonable. When reasonable things came, people felt that they were unreasonable.
"Who said that? Didn't they say that all the land belonged to the state and that everyone worked on it together? Now, don't we all work on our own? Of course, it's the same with business."
Whether it was the people's communes, the supply and marketing cooperatives, or even systems like food coupons, they all emerged in response to historical demands and may have played an important role in social development, but that doesn't mean they will always work. Bad things should be discarded.
Xia Ruqian lowered her head and thought for a moment, her heart filled with wonder. She believed in her sister's foresight and found it a little unbelievable, but then her excitement returned. "Sister, you mean, whoever wants to open a shop can open one, and whoever wants to sell anything can sell anything? What if everyone has different prices? What if... what if they're shortchanged? What if they're selling inferior goods as good ones?"
Xia Ruqian was indeed a quick-witted person, and she immediately thought of many problems. The supply and marketing cooperative's attitude was not good, but the prices of goods were set by the government, so they couldn't just arbitrarily quote prices. Furthermore, they would weigh the goods fully, not using an eight-ounce scale to claim a pound. This was also the supply and marketing cooperative's advantage.
"This requires national management and regulation, and specialized departments to oversee it. For example, there will be price officials who will verify prices. If you sell at prices that are too high and cheat consumers, your store will be fined or even closed down!"
Xia Ruqian's heart surged with emotion after hearing what Xia Ruzheng said: "That would be perfect! I like it this way! This way, when I walk into a store, the owner will give me whatever I want. He won't look down on me just because I glanced at him twice. I can go into any store I want, and no one can control me!"
"That's it!" Xia Ruzheng responded.
Xia Ruqian jumped around for a while, then suddenly stopped and said, "Sister, if the country really allows it, do you think I can open a store?"
Xia Ruzheng knew that his sister was bold and opinionated. Business owners needed both brains and courage, so he wasn't surprised to hear her say that. "Of course, if you want to open a business, you can, regardless of whether you're a man or a woman, old or young. But you have to get a business license first."
Xia Ruqian asked again what a business license was, and Xia Ruzheng explained it to her again.
The two sisters were very interested in talking. Xia Ruqian had endless questions to ask. She must have already made up her mind to enter the business world.
A few men were walking towards them, and they looked like scoundrels. Xia Ruzheng instinctively disliked them. He held the bicycle with one hand and pulled Xia Ruqian with the other and wanted to walk past them.
Unexpectedly, one of the hooligans, smoking a cigarette, suddenly glared at the sisters' bicycles and said, "Oh my! Isn't this a permanent 28-bar bike? It's really rare!"
All of a sudden everyone's eyes turned to look at the bicycle with extremely eager eyes.
Cars in later generations are divided into brands and price ranges, and the same is true for bicycles of this era. Forever bicycles are undoubtedly the most popular among them, just like the status of Mercedes-Benz among private cars, although compared with bicycles in later generations, it is bulky and too tall.
Xia Ruqian immediately became defensive like a little lion: "What are you doing?!"
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