"One dollar and one cent." Lin Guoqing answered quickly.
Qi Caigen looked at him suspiciously, but still counted on his fingers again, and it took a long time before he finally came up with the same number.
"Have you ever been educated? How can you calculate so quickly?"
Lin Guoqing chuckled, "I went to primary school, and then worked for two years with a village literacy teacher. That teacher's father used to be an accountant."
Qi Caigen nodded. No wonder, with such a high level of mental arithmetic, those who didn’t know him would have thought he was some intellectual who had gone to the countryside!
"Uncle, I won't bargain with you anymore. Just take one dollar from me and round off the other cent."
Lin Guoqing quickly counted out a dollar and stuffed it into Qi Caigen's hand, ignoring Qi Caigen's silence. What did he mean by not bargaining with him? Who was the one who had just desperately pushed the price of chives and bean sprouts down to four cents a pound?
"If my wife comes tomorrow, it will probably be around my time. Do you come every night?"
Qi Caigen counted the stack of one-dollar bills three times before folding them and putting them in his waistband. He spoke incoherently, holding a cigarette butt in his mouth.
"I have to work during the day, so I can't stay up late every day. My wife and I take turns watching over here. My wife will come over tomorrow."
This just happened to coincide with the work of Lin Guoqing and his wife, and everyone took turns doing the work.
"Then let my wife come here directly tomorrow?" Lin Guoqing asked while standing at the entrance of the greenhouse.
"She knows the way?"
Lin Guoqing: ...He probably doesn’t know me, it’s so confusing here.
"Tell your wife to go to the corner where we met today tomorrow. If my wife hasn't arrived yet, ask her to wait."
"good!"
Lin Guoqing was panting as he walked to his hometown with a big backpack on his back. He was also holding a small basket in his left hand. The basket was not light at all. It was filled with spring bamboo shoots, as heavy as a half-year-old child.
In his left hand, he held not only a short hoe and a small beam scale, but also a small red cloth bag. The basket was too full to hold any more of the vegetables, and he was embarrassed to leave them in the basket for a long time, as he always felt that he would be sorry for the people who would come to buy vegetables from him.
He kept walking. A light rain started to fall, on and off, for a long time. Lin Guoqing didn't dare stop, so he kept pushing forward. Several times, he stood for a while, holding onto a tree with tired hands, afraid to sit down, fearing he'd lose the strength to get up.
It took almost two hours to reach the Guanqian Lane that Chen Chunhua mentioned.
Qi Caigen had an old pocket watch in his pocket. He glanced at the time when he left just now. It was just after twelve o'clock. It was probably less than two-thirty in the morning. Lin Guoqing thought he should find a place to sit and daydream for a while.
As soon as I turned into the alley, I found several people sitting along the corner of the wall, some with baskets beside them, some holding baskets in their arms.
There are light bulbs at the entrance and end of the alley, but not in the middle, so some people have lanterns next to them.
As soon as Lin Guoqing stepped into the alley, he felt what it meant to be "the center of attention". Although he counted only four or five people in total, he couldn't help but feel nervous and swallowed hard.
In fact, the people sitting there were also nervous. Didn't you see that their hands were on their belongings, and one of them even had his butt halfway up! He looked like he was ready to run away at any moment.
However, from the look of Lin Guoqing's clothes, it was obvious that he was from the same industry, so the alarm was instantly lifted. The man who was lifting his butt also sat back on the ground with a bang and let out a long sigh.
Lin Guoqing looked around and thought that he had come to the right place. He walked a few steps inside silently to see if he could find a cleaner place to sit down.
Finally, he sat not far from the big brother who had been lifting his butt and sitting down just now. He imitated them, put the backpack in front of him, and then sat there obediently with his hands around his legs.
No one spoke in the alley, it was extremely quiet. Lin Guoqing was carefully looking at the people around him, and everyone was also looking at him. In the end, the big brother next to him couldn't help it, moved his butt, and moved a little closer to him.
"Hey, brother?" The eldest brother called out softly to Lin Guoqing, leaning toward him. With a crew cut and dark blue overalls, he looked like a city dweller, and certainly one not to be trifled with.
Lin Guoqing also leaned towards him and responded politely, "Huh?"
"Where are you from?"
Everyone in the alley instantly focused their attention on Lin Guoqing, and even in the darkness they could see their shining big moves.
Lin Guoqing: “…” They were all sitting here, and everyone knew what was going on. It was so unreasonable, how could he dare to answer.
The eldest brother seemed to realize that his question was too stupid. He touched his head and said "Hi".
"I just want to ask you, what are you selling... no, what are you exchanging for?"
"Oh, some vegetables." Lin Guoqing tilted two baskets towards him and gave him the contents. "I grew them at home. I had some extra and wanted to avoid wasting them... so I brought them here to see if any friends needed them."
The last sentence is actually redundant. It has come to this point, how can it still be charity?
Speaking of food, the guy in overalls was quite interested. "What kind of food do you have?"
"Spring bamboo shoots, radishes, potatoes, green onions, celery, spinach, leeks, bean sprouts." Lin Guoqing quickly listed the contents of his basket and whispered, "Would you like some?"
My brother really wants to call me. It's just after the Waking of Insects. I want a plate of fried eggs with leeks or braised pork with spring bamboo shoots. That would definitely be a delicacy that can finish two bowls of rice! He looked at the box in front of him, thought for a while and said,
"Wait a minute, if I can sell some here and get the money, I'll ask you to buy some bamboo shoots to take back."
Lin Guoqing nodded and didn't ask what his elder brother was selling. Anyway, he would be able to see it when the transaction was completed.
The middle-aged woman who was sitting across from him with a basket on each side was moved by the rich variety of dishes. She felt her pockets and found that she had money, so she squatted down and walked over.
"Brother?" The woman squatted in front of Lin Guoqing's basket, "How are your carrots and potatoes selling?" She had a big family, and the rice and flour she got with the food coupons were not enough to eat, so she had to buy something to keep herself going.
"They're all five cents a pound." Lin Guoqing said in a low voice.
"Make it cheaper, four cents a pound, so I can buy more."
Lin Guoqing shook his head. "Sister, the radishes at the supply and marketing cooperative are 6.4 cents per pound. My prices are already much cheaper. Growing vegetables at home isn't easy. I walked for several hours to carry them here. I only earn money for my labor. I can't get any cheaper."
What Lin Guoqing said was true. Not only were the vegetables sold at a higher price than his, but he might not be able to get them during the off-season. However, they grew and sold them secretly, so they had to be cheaper than the ones sold at the cooperative in order for people to buy them.
Women are just used to bargaining. If it can be cheaper, that's the best. But just when she was about to ask Lin Guoqing to weigh a few pounds for her, her eyes suddenly turned.
"Do you want the soles of your shoes? I'll trade with you."
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