Chapter 10: The bicycle is in hand. Yan Jiuru tried the bicycle and found no problem...
Chapter 10 Got the Bicycle
I'm going back tomorrow, so I have to bring something back home.
Now that I have some money, those defective cloths are nothing.
However, he had to go to the black market to exchange some tickets first.
Nowadays, it is impossible to buy things through formal channels without tickets.
But farmers are not covered by invoices. They can still grow their own food, but they have to make daily necessities and industrial products by hand using traditional methods or come up with their own methods.
Those who understand will understand!
Yan Jiuru returned to the room and used his spiritual sense to mark all the valuables left in the house to create a decoy so that no one could rob the house. Then he picked up the empty bag and went out.
***
"Going out?" The waitress on the day shift greeted warmly.
Yan Jiuru smiled brightly and asked her elder sister embarrassedly, "Sister, can we keep things here? I have to go back tomorrow and bring some things home. Those things in the house..."
"Well," the eldest sister understood and waved her hand, saying, "Don't worry. No one will enter that room until you come back. I'll take care of you. Go ahead, go ahead. You're so sensible."
It's so rare for a man to remember to bring things for his family.
The enthusiastic elder sister asked anxiously, "You need industrial coupons and tickets to buy things, don't you know?"
Yan Jiuru whispered, "I heard you can get it at that farmers' market. I was thinking of going there to try."
"Well, the farmers' market was the name from more than a decade ago. Now it's called the Second Grocery Store. Whoever told you that wasn't being honest."
The waitress looked at him sympathetically and said, "Don't ask strangers when you go out, or someone might report you."
The eldest sister already treated him as one of her own and taught him, "Someone is very bad. I'll tell you right away and report him. Listen to me. Go this way... and say this when you get there..."
"Yeah, okay."
Yan Jiuru nodded frequently, thinking that he would have to thank the waitress later, as she was really nice to him.
***
During the day, this black market is actually an open space in front of a small alley with many connections, behind the three bungalows of the Second Grocery Store.
From time to time, people came out from a small door, carrying baskets of vegetables. It was obvious that it was the back door of the grocery store.
People here are very alert. When they pass by, they whisper in a voice that only two people can hear: "Do you want some good white rice?"
"A big new fish."
"Red cloth, flowered cloth."
“Freshly steamed buns and steamed bread.”
Eggs and brown sugar
"Food coupons, industrial coupons"
Yan Jiuru finally heard a sound, and quickly joined in: "How do we change it?"
The other person exchanged glances, and the two walked to a wall facing the alley.
"Provincial local food coupons, one yuan for five kilograms. What kind of industrial coupons do you want?"
The food coupons were valid within this year. Yan Jiuru wanted to bring some snacks back, so he exchanged them for five yuan.
"Do you have a bicycle ticket?"
Wow, I didn't see that coming! The first move is a big one!
The man looked around and pulled out a handful of coupons and tickets from his pocket, "I think there's another one... I found it."
It was a ticket for a Forever brand heavy-duty bicycle, commonly known as the '28 heavy' model.
It suits him well.
"100 yuan a piece."
Yan Jiuru frowned. This price was almost as expensive as a bicycle.
Seeing him like this, the other party hurriedly said, "Brother, think about it, with this ticket, you can buy a bicycle in one go. Otherwise, you have to save up dozens of industrial coupons and then draw a ticket. You will have to wait a long time. If you are unlucky, you may not be able to draw a ticket for a whole year."
"You're lucky. The black market was busted a while ago, and a lot of tickets were confiscated and released to the market. Otherwise, they would be selling for 150 or 120 yuan each."
"Okay." It was a bit expensive, but unlike the people in the city who could collect coupons and buy them themselves, he could only spend money to save trouble.
Then he asked, "What other tickets are there?"
It's obvious that he has a lot of money. Most people would ask this question only after they have thought about what they want to buy.
"Come on, come on, pick one yourself, they are all long-lasting and effective."
Yan Jiuru then picked out a ticket for a sewing machine. He didn't buy the ticket yet but had it prepared. He also picked out a ticket for a watch and a ticket for a radio, making a total of three tickets.
The other party thought he was going to get married.
I specially found tickets for a blanket, satin quilt cover and pillowcase for him.
"How many shoe tickets do you need?" He had money now and wanted to buy new shoes for his younger siblings. Military-style rubber shoes didn't come in such small sizes.
It’s impossible for everyone to wear new shoes while the little ones just stare blankly, right?
If you don’t have money, don’t talk about it. But if you do have money, you can’t be stingy.
"Cotton coupons, cloth coupons..."
Among other things, Yan Jiuru also exchanged thirty industrial coupons, and spent quite a lot of money on these tickets and coupons.
I haven't bought anything yet.
From this perspective, a thousand yuan is not that disabling.
***
After exchanging these things, Yan Jiuru wandered around here for a while and found out that they also accepted small yellow croaker, at 9.5 yuan per gram, and the quality had to be tested.
Yan Jiuru knew that the goods he had were of the best quality and might be even more valuable in the future, so he was reluctant to exchange them.
Let’s see if there is any chance to find a bargain today.
Based on the principle of not missing anything, he scanned the area with his spiritual sense and then rushed to the recycling station.
Who says that everyone knows that if you can find something you can find at the recycling station, you will never find it again?
Look, didn’t he find two high-quality jade pendants and a pair of emerald jade bracelets in the interlayer of a broken kangqin?
Five gold leaves were also found in the interlayer of the drawer panel of a rosewood box that had been dismantled to leave only one drawer.
He doesn't even need to buy these junks. He can just take a look at them and put them away using his spiritual sense. No one will notice, and those who are staring at him won't be able to see a thing.
Just think of him as another person who failed in his attempt to pick up a bargain.
I explored along the way and even spent five industrial coupons to buy a set of household tools at a hardware store as a backup.
I went to three scrap yards in succession and got two gold cakes, some gold jewelry and several real estate deeds.
The purity of the gold cake was only about 90%, and it weighed 250g. Yan Jiuru processed it with his spiritual sense, divided it into small portions of 50g, and exchanged it for less than 500 yuan.
As for the rest, I don’t plan to move them in the short term.
Then he went straight to the county department store.
***
After seeing the simple shelves and limited merchandise in the supply and marketing cooperatives for so long, he couldn't help but look around carefully when he suddenly walked into a department store with a dazzling array of goods.
The First Department Store has only two floors. The first floor is for daily necessities, enamel basins, thermoses, various bowls, plates and porcelain, kettles, cosmetics, canned food, biscuits and pastries, tobacco, alcohol, sugar and tea, with a wide variety of items.
On one side of the second floor are bicycles, sewing machines, radios, watches, black and white TVs, cameras, as well as flashlights, scissors, kitchen knives, light bulbs and other hardware and electrical appliances; on the other side are various fabrics, ready-made clothes, blankets, shoes, bags, and other stationery.
Yan Jiuru went to look at bicycles first. He planned to buy one and take it back with the bus.
He first looked at the sample display area. There were only three bicycles in total, one was a women's Fei Ge brand 26 bicycle, a Phoenix brand 28 ordinary bicycle, and a Forever 28 large-bar bicycle, but it was not a heavy-duty one. The prices ranged from 150 yuan to 170 yuan.
"Comrade, does Forever Bicycle have a heavier model?" Yan Jiuru knocked on the counter, interrupting the waiter who was chatting.
A male waiter glanced at him and said, "Do you have a ticket?"
Yan Jiuru took out the bicycle ticket. The other party looked at it carefully for a long time before saying to another waiter beside him, "I'll go take a look."
Yan Jiuru waited for about ten minutes before the waiter came back.
"We have to get the goods from somewhere else, which will take more than an hour."
It’s fine to have it.
Yan Jiuru still asked: "A new car?"
The waiter laughed indignantly, "Why would I bother running up and down like this if it wasn't new? There were only three heavier models coming in, and they're more expensive than the others, so there's only one left."
You are lucky to be able to buy it in stock, whether it is new or old.
I can wait for an hour.
Yan Jiuru: "Then issue the tickets."
The waiter's expression softened. "Do you want a lock? And for two bucks more, do you want a pump, valve core, spokes, and spare inner tubes?"
There are no car repair shops these days, so if your car breaks down you have to find a way to fix it yourself, and it's best to bring some spare parts. The car manufacturers are very thoughtful.
"Bring a set of everything, and two inner tubes." If the damage is serious, just replace the inner tube directly.
Yan Jiuru felt that his tool kit was not bought in vain.
I paid the ticket and 180.8 yuan, and waited for the goods to be transferred with the invoice.
***
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Yan Jiuru bought a pair of small white shoes for his younger brother and sister and Chen Yin who were going to school. They cost 2 yuan a pair. This style had never been seen in the commune. It was simple and beautiful, and there were white shoes and pink shoes.
I also bought two pairs of small-sized, dirt-resistant Liberation shoes. They are very cheap, less than one dollar, but the quality is not very good and they are prone to peeling. But it is better than wearing straw sandals and going barefoot.
He walked around and bought things, and before he knew it, an hour had passed. His handbag was full, so he bought another canvas bag and carried a few more things in it.
"You are really generous. Let's go. The goods are here. Go and try them." The male waiter came over and interrupted him from continuing to buy.
Yan Jiuru followed him to the backyard, where a cart was parked. It had a dismantled wooden frame and a black bicycle inside.
The waiter used tools to dismantle the wooden frame and the protective cover of paper, thus freeing the bicycle.
After checking everything, it was handed to Yan Jiuru.
"Try it, if there's no problem you can ride it away."
Yan Jiuru had ridden his father-in-law's bicycle in the commune before, though he hadn't ridden it often, so at least he wasn't afraid. He took a long step, scrambled onto it, and after a few turns, he found his balance and slowly slid around the yard twice.
"Okay, but the handlebars are a bit tight and the seat is a bit low."
"This can all be adjusted." Today's waiters are all-rounders. They used tools to help adjust it and also applied some lubricating oil.
Yan Jiuru tried the bicycle and found no problems, so he went downstairs to buy a new sack, put everything he could into it, clamped it on the back seat of the bicycle, hung the bag on the handlebars, and rode back to the guesthouse.
***
When we returned to the guesthouse, it naturally caused another sensation. After all, a bicycle was a luxury item these days.
Yan Jiuru said modestly: "I didn't buy it when I got married, so I'll make up for it now that I have the chance."
That makes sense.
The discomfort in the hearts of those who were originally watching the fun was also relieved a lot.
Yan Jiuru locked his bicycle on the first floor, went back upstairs to pack his things, wrapped them with a piece of cloth, and put them all in a sack. This way, he only had to carry a shoulder bag in his hand and a backpack on his back, which felt much easier.
In the afternoon, Yan Jiuru went shopping at the Xinhua Bookstore and the hardware store, and then bought two boxes of cigarettes, two bottles of good wine and a few packs of snacks at the tobacco, alcohol and grocery store. He thought his bag was almost full, so he stopped.
He placed a pound of peach cakes on the waitress's table and said, "Sister, I'll be going home early tomorrow morning. Thank you for your care over the past two days.
If there's anything I can do to help, please send a message to the brigade."
After some refusals, the waitress had no choice but to accept it. Knowing that he was going back, she was a little reluctant to let him go.
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