"Show me the snake."
Lin Guoqing brought the snake wrapped in red underwear to Lao Shi and opened it for him to see. Lao Shi didn't mind the dirtiness and reached out to pick it up and took a look. He frowned when he saw it.
"Hiss... How did you get chopped into pieces like this?" The snake's head and body were almost separated. The seven-inch part was bloody and messy, and its integrity was completely destroyed. You know, a whole snake skin is very valuable!
Lin Guoqing touched his head a little embarrassedly, "...I have never chopped a snake before. I was afraid that it would suddenly come back to life, so I chopped it a few more times with the hoe..." And that was it.
Lao Shi was a little speechless and put the snake back. "I guess you'll have to pay a lot for this. At most, 40 cents per pound."
40 cents a pound is fine! This snake is over a meter long, so it must weigh at least 7 or 8 pounds. If Lin Guoqing's big red underwear wasn't big enough, it would almost be unable to contain it!
As Lin Guoqing spoke, he wanted to weigh the snake's specific weight, but thinking that the scale would also be used to weigh vegetables, he didn't dare put it on.
Lao Shi weighed it and nodded, "It's still about seven or eight kilograms." Then he looked directly at Lin Guoqing and said, "Xiao Lin, do you believe me?"
Lin Guoqing nodded and said, "Believe it, but even if you don't believe it, you can't say you don't believe it in front of others."
"If you trust me, I'll give you 40 cents a pound for this snake. I have a place to sell it, and if people give more, I'll give you more. Of course," Lao Shi said frankly, "I will definitely make a profit from the difference. If I don't make much, I won't give you any more."
Lin Guoqing thought about it and it was a good idea. At least he didn’t have to look for a place to sell it. Even if the clinic could pay him three or four cents, he would still have to take the risk of having his work points deducted for being late for work in the morning. What a hassle!
"Brother Shi, I will definitely believe you!" He took some time to take down the tray on the beam scale, then adjusted the weight, and weighed the snake directly by hooking it with his underwear. It was seven pounds and nine ounces. Their estimate was really accurate.
Lao Shi immediately counted out three dollars and sixteen cents and gave them to Lin Guoqing, and asked him, "When will these underwear..."
Lin Guoqing blushed and waved his hands, "Just throw it away. Even if you bring it back, I wouldn't dare wear it!"
Lao Shi nodded and said, "Okay, I'll take care of it for you then."
He'd been busy buying and selling all night. Seeing him nonchalantly place the snake wrapped in red underwear on the bundle of bamboo shoots, Lin Guoqing sweatdropped.
"Brother Shi, you have so many options!"
Lin Guoqing made money again. He happily put the stack of banknotes into his pocket and couldn't help but say a few more flattering words.
"Hey, speculating! How can I do it without a way? But my business also depends on luck." Lao Shi smacked his lips. "You vegetable and cloth sellers are necessities of life, and you can open a business every day. I may not sell a single thing for several days, but I may also not open a business for three years and then make a living for three years after opening it."
He pointed to his box and said, "The one I used to buy bicycle tickets. Did you see it?"
Lin Guoqing nodded. There were 6 big unity cards, and he was not blind.
"I bought it for 48. Sold it to him for 60."
Lao Shi gestured with his fingers, leaving Lin Guoqing dumbfounded. Earning 12 yuan in one night? ? ?
When the village divided up the work throughout the year, he could only get less than 20 yuan. How could Lao Shi actually earn that much in one night??!!
He was shocked, truly shocked. Could this be what wealthy city dwellers were like? How could they make so much money from scalping?! He would definitely tell Chen Chunhua about this when he got home!
Lao Shi laughed at his country bumpkin's inexperienced look.
"Don't be surprised. I'm walking on the edge of a knife. If we both get caught, you'll just spend a few years in prison, but I'll definitely lose my head."
He had no other choice. His parents at home needed medicine, and relying on his meager salary, he couldn't even afford a month's worth of medicine!
Lin Guoqing wanted to ask a few more questions when two or three middle-aged women carrying baskets turned into their alley. One of them walked in the middle, looked to both sides, and finally squatted in front of Lin Guoqing.
"Spring bamboo shoots?"
Lin Guoqing quickly took the bamboo shoots out of the basket and showed them to her. "Mm, they're fresh. They were still buried in the soil three hours ago! Only five cents a pound!"
At the supply and marketing cooperative, bamboo shoots would have been sold for at least 70 or 80 cents, but Lin Guoqing's was a real bargain. The middle-aged woman didn't bother bargaining with him and simply picked out five or six.
While she was picking bamboo shoots, Lin Guoqing quickly put back the scale pan he had just taken down, then adjusted the weight and weighed the bamboo shoots for the woman.
"One jin and nine liang." Lin Guoqing held the scale to the woman's eyes and demonstrated it. Then he said, "Big sister, what else would you like? Potatoes, radishes, and green onions are five cents a jin, bean sprouts and leeks are seven cents a jin, and celery and spinach are eight cents. Hey, shredded spring bamboo shoots and celery together will look so delicious!"
The woman was amused by his babble, "You're a grown man, and you know how to cook?"
Lin Guoqing chuckled, "My wife made this before, and I thought it was delicious, so I made a note of it."
"Okay then, give me some more celery. Not too much, just a pound will be enough."
"Okay!" Lin Guoqing weighed the celery for her quickly.
"Look, it's exactly one jin and one liang. I'll give you the extra one liang at the bamboo shoot price. Just give me 18 cents."
The woman thought it was a good deal for her, so she paid the money readily, put the vegetables she bought into the basket and stood up.
When buying things here, speed is everything. After all, you never know when the seller/customer across from you will run away. If the other party refuses the bargaining once you mention it, you won't continue.
If you want to buy, just pay for it. If you don’t want to buy, just forget it and leave. It’s not that complicated.
After Lao Shi sold a bicycle ticket at the beginning, he just sat there motionless until most of the vegetables in Lin Guoqing's basket were sold. Only then did he sell a grain ticket. In his words, he only made enough money to buy bamboo shoots.
However, the bicycle ticket he received today is enough to support his family for half a month, which means his business is booming and he is making a lot of money.
Old Shi still had a watch on his wrist. Lin Guoqing asked the time and it was almost half past five. The village's workday was at eight, so it would take him more than an hour to get back. He couldn't possibly be on time and carry the basket back. It was almost time now.
He still had three bamboo shoots, two potatoes, and a handful of leeks left, so he figured he could eat them back home, so he didn't insist on selling them. He packed up his things, put them all in a large basket, said hello to Old Shi, and whispered goodbyes to Sister Zhang and Sister Li one by one. Old Wu's business was booming at the moment, so he was too busy to pay attention to him, so he just waved.
Carrying a bag of Mao Zedong's banknotes, he excitedly set out in the dark on the road back to the village.
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