He Wan said, "Sir, this watch of yours is about twenty years old, isn't it? It's a foreign military watch, quite stylish, and well-preserved. Do you want grain, money, or coupons?"
How much can it be sold for?
"Two hundred yuan is the highest I can pay."
The old man didn't expect to make so much money. Someone else had bought it before, but only offered him fifty yuan, which he refused: "Comrade, I can exchange it for some grain and some coupons. Just give me the money for the rest."
"Okay, I have wheat flour, rice, and cornmeal here. What kind of coupons do you need?"
"I need 20 jin of wheat flour and 50 jin of cornmeal. Do you have any oil coupons? You can also give me some oil coupons and meat coupons."
"Grandpa, I have meat and oil here."
In the end, He Wan gave the old man twenty catties of wheat flour, fifty catties of cornmeal, a pot of oil, two catties of meat, a chicken, and a few tickets, and finally gave him one hundred and eighty yuan.
The old man was extremely grateful; he needed quite a few of these things. The young man only gave him twenty yuan in return.
Then, as if remembering something, he asked, "Young comrade, do you collect old items?"
He Wan was overjoyed and said, "Yes, sir, you have some?"
"No, I have an old friend whose family isn't doing well either. He lives up ahead. Wait for me, I'll take you there."
"good."
The old man put the things in the yard and gave them to his wife, then led He Wan into a hutong (alleyway). The first house in the hutong was a nice, large courtyard.
He Wan guessed that this must be a once very wealthy merchant who is now being suppressed and is having a hard time.
"Old He, are you home?"
What a coincidence, they both share the surname He.
"I'm here. Come in."
An elderly man in his fifties came out of the house and opened the door for them.
The old man saw him and asked, "How is your wife?"
The elderly man, who was already skin and bones but still very refined, sighed and said, "I'm lying down."
"Old He, this young comrade is a connoisseur. I just exchanged some of his things for grain. He's an honest man. If you have any old items, you can exchange them for some grain for your wife."
Old He glanced at He Wan, opened his mouth, and asked, "Do you have any food?"
Yes, yes.
"Then come in."
Seeing that he was no longer so stubborn, the old man said, "Old He, I'm going back now."
"Okay, Lao Wan, I'll come find you in a bit."
After Mr. Wan left, Mr. He said to He Wan, "Wait a moment, I'll go get it for you."
"good."
He Wan glanced around the courtyard. It was a large courtyard with three main rooms, a kitchen on each side, and a shed where firewood was stored.
When Grandpa He came out, he was holding a piece of brocade cloth. He carefully unfolded it and said, "This is a silver double-clasp bracelet with inlaid silk and top-quality Hetian jade. How much grain do you think I can exchange it for?"
He Wan took the jade bracelet. The workmanship was exquisite, and it was obviously an antique. She didn't know which era it came from.
"Grandpa, I'll give you three hundred yuan for this jade bracelet." These old items aren't worth much these days; they're only good enough to exchange for a dozen kilograms of grain.
Who told her to be He Wan? She couldn't bear to see these pitiful old people. Whenever she saw them, she was reminded of her grandmother.
When she was little, her grandmother told her the most about that difficult era and how hard it was. Although she wasn't a saint, she would help if she could.
Grandpa He finally understood what Old Wan meant by "honesty." In the past, he hadn't even traded his things for as much as Old Wan's watch. He never expected this young comrade to give him so much. He was still unsure and said, "Comrade, are you really giving me this much? Is this your first time out here? I, Old He, won't cheat you. Just give me twenty catties of grain."
He Wan rolled her eyes helplessly, thinking to herself that people in this era are too simple and honest. They even give her a lot of money and are afraid that she, a businessperson, will be taken advantage of.
"Uncle He, I think your stuff is really good. Don't worry, I know exactly how much I'm giving you. Uncle Wan just asked for grain, coupons, and money. Do you want all the grain, or..."
“Just like him…” After saying that, he added, “Comrade, are you really sure you want to give him three hundred yuan?”
He Wan nodded and took out a bag of flour, a bag of rice, a bag of cornmeal, a jar of oil, two catties of pork, a chicken, and a goose from the bamboo basket (actually from her spatial storage). She also gave him a bag of brown sugar. Upon hearing that his wife was still lying in bed and probably hungry, she also took out a bag of milk powder.
They also gave him a few tickets for everyday use, which came to a total of eighty yuan, and gave Grandpa He two hundred and twenty yuan.
When Grandpa He saw these things, his eyes instantly reddened. He turned his head and quickly wiped his eyes with his hand, afraid that He Wan would laugh at him.
He Wan felt sad too, so she quickly lowered her head, then smiled and said, "Uncle He, please keep these things safe. I'm going from street to street, and I might come back again."
"Alright, young comrade, what should I call you?"
He Wan smiled and said, "My surname is also He."
Grandpa He then smiled and said, "Oh, young comrade, this is quite a coincidence. We might even be from the same clan."
He Wan smiled, but she didn't tell Grandpa He which "He" she was.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
