Old Ding was holding the gong and smiling in a simple and honest manner, but Qian Qing knew that this guy had a unique way of thinking.

The first time I met Lao Ding, it was Zhou Hao who brought him here. Zhou Hao, who had just joined the factory that year, was unhappy when Lao Ding dragged him to dinner. The childhood friend who I hadn't seen for many years had dyed his hair yellow less than two years after the reform and opening up, and wore a large vest on his upper body and a pair of leather sandals on his feet. He didn't look like a serious person at all.

After getting drunk, Lao Ding bowed to Qian Qing on the spot.

"Sister-in-law, look at what's going on. I didn't prepare anything before I came here. How about I play a song for you?"

Before Zhou Hao could stop him, he took out a...

Suona.

Then he started playing it in the hotel as if no one was around.

Qian Qing: …

Zhou Hao had a hard time explaining: "...his family used to be a group of people who were responsible for funerals and weddings." [1]

Lao Ding is about the same age as Zhou Hao. They grew up together when they were young. Later, Zhou Hao went to the city to work as a worker, while Lao Ding inherited the family business after graduating from elementary school.

Some people think that Guizi is unlucky, but there is a local custom that finding a Guizi godfather for your child can ensure the child's safety. So even though Lao Ding is only in his early twenties, he is already the godfather of several children. No one in the village calls him Xiao Ding, they all call him Lao Ding.

Lao Ding was one of the first people to go out to seek a future. That year, with nothing but the clothes he wore and a head of yellow hair, and fifty yuan borrowed from Guan Zhou Hao, he plunged headfirst into the great wave of the times.

Although they had not seen each other for several years, they had exchanged gifts frequently. Old Ding saw that he was living a good life, so the gifts he sent to Zhou Hao became more and more expensive.

Perhaps because he had seen too many weddings and funerals, Old Ding had no problem ringing the bell in public.

Qian Qing looked at the people around her with surprised expressions and almost covered her face.

"Let's go. Let's find a place to stay first."

If Tian Xue were here, she would definitely be able to find a word to accurately describe it.

——Tainimashe is dead.

Old Ding asked a few people to pack up their things, and explained to Qian Qing: "Sister-in-law, you don't know, this place has been very messy these days, I was just worried that you couldn't find it."

A few of them died a while ago. They said they saw a woman at the station and tried to chat her up. When they couldn't get enough of her, they started to tear her apart, saying that she was their wife.

When people around heard this, no one cared. The young woman was taken away and could not be found.

If the family hadn't come to look for him, no one would have known that he was missing.

Lao Ding took the bag from Qian Qing and snatched another bag from Qian Yu. He led the two of them through the crowd with steady steps.

There are several police motorcycles parked near the train station. In the past few years, the police used bicycles when they went out to handle cases, and cars were rarely seen. It was only after the reform and opening up that they switched to motorcycles.

The big white iron block is a three-wheeled motorcycle modeled after the Soviet M72 three-wheeled motorcycle and the BMW R-71 military motorcycle. Although it is a copy, its performance is not bad.

Several police officers, wearing military green Type 83 police uniforms with gold button collars and two red stripes, stood at the edge of the square and watched people.

As they walked, Lao Ding introduced the place to her: "After someone was arrested a few days ago, they arranged for patrols here, but the two squares are a bit difficult to look at."

The provincial capital is much more lively than Y City. There are many high-rise buildings on the roadside, and the small businesses on the street are almost blocking the road.

There are stalls selling cakes, rice, tea eggs, cigarette stalls, and toy stalls.

Especially along the road next to the train, there is a constant shouting of snack vendors.

Lao Ding sent them to a guesthouse and then hurried out to buy them some food.

"I didn't ask you just now, sister-in-law, who is this?"

Qian Qing took Qian Yu and introduced them to each other: "This is my sister. She came to the provincial capital with me to purchase goods."

Old Ding immediately spoke glibly: "My sister, no wonder she is as beautiful as my sister-in-law."

After dinner, Lao Ding moved a stool and sat in front of them and asked, "Sister-in-law, what do you want to buy this time?"

"Let's take a look at them all. The main purpose is to understand the market in the provincial capital."

Lao Ding said what he knew seriously: "Then I will take you around tomorrow. The place to buy small things in the city is near No. 14 Middle School. There are all kinds of toys, snacks, pens and notebooks for children. Clothes are usually sold at the silver shop. There is a big market there, and they sell both retail and wholesale. If you want to get some electronic clocks and watches, you can look for them at the Provincial University. They sell in bulk, and all the goods are imported from the south."

Qian Qing had not expected that in just a few years, the provincial capital had made such great progress that there was even a classified market. Suddenly, another idea came to her mind and she asked him, "Is there a clothing factory in the provincial capital?"

Lao Ding waved his hand to dispel her idea: "As a self-employed person, it is impossible for us to buy goods directly from other people's factories. Unless it is a private factory opened by a self-employed person, but there are few private factories, so they have no trouble selling their products."

Qian Qing was thinking about something else. She usually listened to the radio, and she could sense some changes in the oil fields since the conference in August. In the past, state-owned factories did not wholesale to private companies, but maybe that had changed now?

****

Starting from the next day, Qian Qing dragged Qian Yu around everywhere, from small stalls to factories, and from factories to wholesale markets.

The crowd was bustling and huddled together. In the wholesale market, there were many people shouting at the top of their lungs while holding their bowls.

"The purchase price is 50 cents per pair, no less!"

"Hey, hey, hey, don't do that, it's made of acrylic!"

"The minimum order quantity is 100 pieces. If it's less than 100 pieces, don't ask!"

"Newly arrived cotton socks, new models from Pengcheng——"

…

Qian Yu was stunned, and felt as if a door was slowly opening in front of her.

Different from the day-to-day life in the countryside, the world here is bustling with activity. No matter whether it is the woman swearing loudly, the merchant carrying bags, or the laborer carrying unloaded goods, their faces are full of hope for the future life.

Qian Qing looked at each stall one by one. If she saw something she liked, she would stop and chat with the stall owner. She didn't say whether she wanted to buy or not, she just looked.

The peak season of summer has passed, and the autumn and winter clothing market is always quieter than in summer. Scarves and hats are the most sold items in the market.

The purchase price of a large fleece scarf is ten yuan. But there are still a lot of customers standing around to look at it, comparing and choosing patterns and styles.

The hat is just a Raider hat, at most the size is changed, but there are still a lot of people queuing up to choose one.

In the past few years, you had to queue up to buy a sheepskin hat, which cost one month's salary.

After the reform and opening up, sheepskin hats are no longer so difficult to buy. However, in this province, sheepskin is still a rare commodity. Although it is expensive, there are still merchants who buy it.

…

Qian Qing walked around, thinking that she could buy some of these things.

A large fleece scarf costs 20 or 30 yuan in the supply and marketing cooperative, so it will definitely be easy to sell. Lei Feng hats are not rare, and sheepskin wool may also have a market. She also saw a kind of earmuffs, but the difference is that they are all small sizes, probably children's sizes.

The two came out of the market and went to the place where small commodities were sold.

There weren't as many people around No. 14 Middle School as there were around the silver shop. The stalls were set up with stools propped up on a few wooden boards, on which were placed all kinds of samples.

There are small pieces of colored glass beads inside, small iron trains, and small cars with rubber bands...

There are also all kinds of food, big bags of colorful candies, hawthorn slices, bubble gum...

There are pens and notebooks, as well as several cute animal-shaped erasers, several cute rulers, and several brightly colored pencil cases.

The stall owner was inside the house, surrounded by a few people who were obviously there to purchase goods, and he was introducing the goods to people with great enthusiasm.

"Just soak it in hot water and you can eat it! Otherwise, you can crush it with your hands and it will taste like hotpot, crunchy!"

"A bag costs two dimes, and there are pictures inside. They will definitely sell well when we get home!"