Chapter 44 Going to Another Province, My Uncle is a Big Swindler
Upon arriving at the station, Gu Qinglang led the group to the area outside the station, where long-distance buses were calling out: "S7 o'clock to S City! Nobody's going yet, we're just a few people short, we'll leave as soon as we're full!"
Buses heading to G province don't pull into the station; they leave as soon as they're full. It's always been like this here. Gu Yin had seen it in her past life, but she didn't dare take it, fearing it might be an unlicensed taxi. You have to buy a ticket at the station.
Gu Qinglang bought four tickets. Gu Yin was already 1.4 meters tall, and anyone over 1.2 meters had to buy a ticket. The four tickets cost 1,000 yuan, which was quite expensive. In the year Gu Yin passed away in her previous life, the fare was 350 yuan, and the price hadn't increased much. However, there were high-speed trains back then, so fewer people took buses.
"This bus is double-decker, all sleeper berths, and there's a toilet at the back. I checked it out, and the cleanliness is acceptable. Would you like something to eat? I'll go buy some water and get it at the same time." Gu Qinglang handed the tickets to Gu Qingming, telling him to take the others onto the bus first.
"Buy some oranges, in case Ayin gets carsick later!" Gu Qingming instructed.
There are many vendors and fast food stalls next to the station. In a few years, this place will be demolished. There will be a luxurious hotel above the station. All the stalls nearby will be removed and replaced with shops, and the food will be much more expensive.
After boarding the train and finding their seats, the four seats were connected. In case Gu Yin and Gu Shu rolled over and fell off while sleeping, Gu Qingming specially gave them the lower bunk.
The car set off at 6:40. The journey was quiet all the way. They entered G Province around 1:00 a.m. The last leg of the journey was with a different driver. Gu Yin didn't expect that they wouldn't stop at the service areas and would be on the road all night. As a result, they arrived in S City at just over 5:00 a.m., before dawn.
After everyone got off the bus, the driver pointed to the station hall and said, "You can go inside and sit for a while, and leave when it gets light. If you want to stay in a hotel, you can come with us, but the hotels here are quite expensive. If you're willing to spend the money, then get on the bus."
People who had initially been excited about the hotel suddenly quieted down after hearing it was expensive.
Gu Yin knew this place. Taking a taxi from here to Electronic First Street was quite far, crossing two districts and taking about forty minutes. However, the current route should not be as convoluted as in later generations. In later generations, the subway was under construction every year, and many roads had to be detoured, causing a lot of delays.
Although there was no one at the station, the lights were still on. Gu Yin and her three companions found a bench and sat down. Winter in S City wasn't as cold as at home, so they were dressed warmly enough not to catch a cold.
"Eat something, we'll head over when it's light. There won't be time to eat then. We'll have to wait until we buy everything before we can eat!" Gu Qinglang took out the fruit, water, and bread he had bought earlier.
A man next to Gu Shu heard them talking in the local dialect and greeted them with a smile, "Are you also from Nan County?"
Gu Shu happened to be sitting next to him and nodded upon hearing this: "Yes, Uncle, are you too?"
The man smiled and nodded, took a bite of his bread, and said with a smile, "I could tell from your dialect that we're all in the same car. My surname is Huang. Although I'm also from Nanxian, I moved to the city a couple of years ago!"
Upon hearing this, Gu Yin bent her head and smiled, "So, Uncle Huang, are you here for work?"
Mr. Huang nodded and then shook his head: "Yes and no. I own a mobile phone store in the city. I came here to stock up for the Chinese New Year so I can make some extra money during the holiday!"
Hearing this, Gu Qinglang asked Gu Yin to switch places with him, and shook hands with Mr. Huang with a smile: "My surname is Gu, and I look a bit older than you. If you don't mind, you can call me Brother Gu."
Mr. Huang waved his hand: "What suggestions do you have? You've brought your child here, are you here to visit relatives?"
Gu Qinglang shook his head: "The kids just finished their exams and got good results, so I brought them out to have some fun. I heard that the electronics here are pretty good and cheap, so I was planning to buy them some. Brother Huang, you sell mobile phones, do you know about the electronics street around here?"
Mr. Huang patted his chest: "You've come to the right person! Every year when I travel back and forth to S City, I get my goods from the first electronics street! Let me tell you, there's a huge selection there! Not only is there a lot, but it's also cheap! Those trendy phones with brightly colored casings, I can get them here for two or three hundred each, but guess how much they sell for in the store? Seven or eight hundred!"
Gu Qinglang was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed, "That's outrageous! How much do radios and tape recorders cost?" They couldn't afford cell phones, and even if they could, they couldn't sell them in town. Besides, most people who buy cell phones prefer to buy them in stores; almost no one buys them from stalls.
"Those thumb-sized ones, the kind that can only receive radio broadcasts, cost ten yuan each if you don't know the person, but if you do, a bag costs 1,000 yuan, with five hundred to six hundred in it! I used to make my fortune with these, but people in the city don't use these anymore, they prefer cell phones! So I switched to selling cell phones."
Gu Yin stood up excitedly and said, "Uncle Huang, do you know anyone like that? I want to bring some radios back to school and sell them to my classmates cheaper! They're too expensive on the street. Only one or two classmates in our class have them, and everyone is very envious. Besides, our English isn't very good, so I want to buy a tape recorder to record what the teacher says in class and listen to it slowly when I get back to the dormitory!"
Gu Qingming had already gone outside to buy two packs of cigarettes. They didn't smoke, but they were worried they might need them when talking to the shopkeeper later. Hearing his niece say this, he handed an unopened pack to Mr. Huang: "Kids are like that. When they're anxious, they'll say anything. This child just participated in the city's English speech contest and won first prize. She's also the class monitor. Her class is in the experimental class, but her English has fallen far behind, and the teacher has scolded her a lot. Kids are responsible and competitive. During the competition, she made some friends, and everyone shared how they usually study English. As a result, when we listened, they all used..." "They've got all sorts of electronic tools! My niece is very talented, but talented people are so rare. As the old saying goes, diligence can make up for lack of talent! She was thinking that if her classmates had these teaching tools, wouldn't their scores improve a lot, and wouldn't they outperform many others in the high school entrance exam? This child can also write articles and has earned some royalties, so she wanted to buy one, but there are too many classmates, how can one person do it? These days, being able to study is already a blessing, where would the family find extra money to buy this radio or that tape recorder, right? So when she came, she was sad that she couldn't help her classmates, but now that she heard you say this, she's excited!"
Mr. Huang was completely bewildered by what he said. His mind was filled with thoughts of good grades but poverty, and the need for a tape recorder—the whole class needed one. After hearing Gu Qingming's words, he waved his hand dismissively: "What's the big deal? I'm going there anyway. Why don't you come with me? I'll introduce you to the boss. The young lady is doing a good deed! It's commendable. Sigh, speaking of which, my child, in elementary school, takes a tape recorder home every day after school and plays English tapes to learn. It gives me a headache! But there's nothing I can do; everyone in the city does it. If you don't, you'll be left behind! So, I understand. As parents, we can only support them!"
Gu Shu never knew his father could be so deceptive. After hearing his father's words, he felt so embarrassed that he couldn't help him.
Seeing that Mr. Huang had agreed, Gu Qingming immediately hugged him tightly, calling him "Brother Huang, Brother Huang." By daybreak, the two had already arranged to have a meal together when they got back!
Gu Yin was amazed. She never knew her uncle had this side to him! Because he lost his legs in his previous life, he had become very dull and gloomy. Gu Yin even suspected that if it weren't for the three of them, he might have followed his grandparents to the afterlife!
Although the three adults were having a lively conversation, they were still very vigilant when it came to being on guard.
After daybreak, they each hailed a car and then tacitly agreed to sit separately. Mr. Huang sat in one car, and the four members of the Gu family sat in another. Once in the car, Mr. Huang's car drove off first, and Gu Yin told the driver to follow. On the way, Gu Qinglang would occasionally ask the driver how much longer it would take to reach the first street of electronic electronics.
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