In front of me is a busy street. Coachmen are waving their whips. Ladies in long skirts are carefully stepping over the small pool on the street with the help of the men beside them. Children wearing hats are running barefoot on the street, occasionally bumping into pedestrians, and then running to the alley to count their "trophies".
Apu stood there blankly with a bag full of "goods" on his back.
For the first time, he, who had never left the countryside, saw a real big town.
Not only Apu, but all the guys who came out with Apu were dumbfounded.
People passing by would occasionally look at them and then whisper to their companions, "A bunch of country bumpkins."
"It's a carriage!" Apu turned around excitedly and shouted to his companions.
The companions also stared blankly at the carriage not far away.
The carriage stopped by the roadside. The first person to get off was a young man in a top hat with a beautiful mustache. After getting off, he stretched out his hand towards the carriage. Soon, a white hand rested on the back of his hand. A woman in a long skirt and a veil on her head stepped off the carriage with a fan in one hand.
“So this is what the city is like…” A group of “country bumpkins” were enlightened and excited about everything they saw.
Even a pile of bird droppings on the ground seems to be more noble than the bird droppings in the countryside.
Fortunately, they still remembered what they were here for. Apu looked around and put the bag on his back to his chest - this was told to him by an employee in the supermarket. When walking outside, you can hang a backpack on your chest so that it is not easy to be stolen.
Apu thought that the backpack was a good thing. He had only known about cloth bags before. They were slung over one shoulder and placed low, so if they were stolen, no one would know. Moreover, this backpack was made of good and thick material, and could not be easily cut open by an ordinary blade.
It was because of the large number of thieves in big cities that Apu gritted his teeth and bought the backpack.
He emptied out all the money in his family to make this trip.
Fortunately, Mira supported him. If Mira hadn't spoken for him, his parents would not have agreed to let him go out to do business.
In the eyes of my parents, people in big cities are all bad people, thieves and liars.
But if he doesn't come out, when will he be able to earn enough money to buy a new house by farming?
He and Mira now live in his room, which can only fit a bed and no space for cabinets. Not to mention doing anything at night, the bed creaks when he turns over, so even though he is married now, he is still a virgin.
Mira was unwilling to go into the barn with him to do the work.
She said that if that happened, she would definitely feel sick when eating in the future.
Apu thought that he should make enough money to build the house first.
Most of the guys who came out with him this time were from the same village. The remaining few from different villages also had a good relationship with him. Their families were not too poor, and some of them could even read, but they only knew a few words.
"Let's find a hotel first," Apu said. "We can get together and have a separate room so our stuff won't be stolen."
Others agreed, saying that they had emptied their own homes to buy these goods, and if they were stolen, the family would not be able to afford even a handful of salt.
They walked along the street, asking people along the way for the location of the hotel, but no one was willing to pay attention to them.
There was even a man who looked particularly scruffy, with greasy hair that could be used to cook a dish, shouting at them: "Country bumpkins! Go back to the countryside!"
A group of young men clenched their fists. If Apu hadn't stopped them, they would have beaten the man up no matter what.
With no one to show them the way, they could only wander around the city like headless flies.
At this time, they realized the disadvantage of the big city. It was too big. Unlike the town where the supermarket was, it didn't take long to walk from one end to the other, but here they couldn't even walk to the end.
Fortunately, there were many of them and no one came to trouble them.
Occasionally, children would bump into them, but because they carried their bags in front of their chests, nothing was stolen.
It was almost dark when they finally found a shabby little hotel.
The hotel business is not good, the environment is not good, and the house is more dilapidated than the uninhabited houses in the countryside.
But because it was run-down, the boss didn’t kick these “country bumpkins” out. Because they paid for three days, he smiled at them and reminded them, “Don’t go out at night. It’s chaotic at night.”
Even if the boss didn't remind them, Apu and his friends wouldn't dare go out at night.
The bag contains all their belongings. They can throw away themselves, but they cannot throw away the goods.
The group entered the room. There was only one bed in the room, but they didn't care. They just swept the dust on the floor and sat on the floor. They could even lie directly on the floor to sleep.
Apu also sat cross-legged on the ground. He took out some bread and a bottle of water from his bag. This was his ration for the day.
"We can't set up a stall." A Pu said firmly, "I've seen that those stall owners are selling cheap things. If we set up a stall, no one will buy if we sell too expensively, and we won't be able to raise the price if we sell too cheaply."
The companions all agreed with Apu's words, but they also said worriedly: "But who can we sell it to?"
Someone said excitedly: "Those masters and ladies, I think they must be rich! They ride in carriages!"
"Ladies from noble families!" someone else said, "They will definitely like the crystal ball! And those jewelry!"
There was a brave young man who spent all his money on glass jewelry. Unlike natural jewelry, glass jewelry was more transparent, with no impurities visible to the naked eye. The designs were also novel and noble. At first glance, one could not think of anything other than expensiveness.
After listening to their chatter, A Pu just shook his head and said, "Forget about selling it to the ladies and wives."
Apu expressed his observations after entering the city: "I see they only go into the big stores."
There are not only street vendors in the city, but also specialized shops. It is the first time they have seen shops other than supermarkets.
Although they felt that these shops were pitifully small compared to supermarkets, this was a big city after all, so even a small roadside stall seemed novel to them.
"Sell it to those big stores?" The companions looked at each other and thought it was a good idea. For them, farmers from the countryside, it was simply a pipe dream to sell the things they had to rich people or nobles.
If I can sell it directly to the shop owners here, it doesn't matter if I make a little less money.
Apu nodded: "What price do you think is appropriate?"
They looked at each other, neither knowing what the appropriate price should be.
Someone whispered tentatively, "How about we earn two silver coins for each?"
Two silver coins are a lot! Many farmers can't even earn two silver coins in a year of farming.
The others were silent for a long time before someone spoke up: "Are two silver coins too much? One?"
They actually didn't spend much money on the way here, and they couldn't afford to buy cows or horses for transportation. They relied entirely on their legs and carried the goods on their backs. Apart from the cost of the goods, there was the labor cost. In their view, labor cost was not considered money. As long as the selling price was higher than the purchase price, it was pure profit.
Apu had dealt with the employees in the supermarket and even treated them to a meal and received some advice. He quickly said, "The supermarket is right there. Besides us, other people can also go there to buy goods. As long as we sell the goods this time, those merchants will soon know where our goods come from. Then we may not be able to make this money."
"So we have to take advantage of the fact that we are the only ones with these goods and sell them at a high price." Apu gritted his teeth, "We still have to earn a gold coin!"
One hundred silver coins can be exchanged for one gold coin. They have never seen a gold coin since they were young, and even their parents have never seen one.
His companions swallowed together and looked at Apu as if he was crazy.
A gold coin!
Now it only costs forty silver coins to build a big house.
And you don't earn one gold coin for all the goods combined, you earn one gold coin for each type of goods.
If it can be sold...
Then they will never have to worry about food and clothing in their lives and can live the life of aristocrats.
"Are city people so rich?" The red-haired boy with freckles on his face blushed. "If I can sell it, my family can buy a large piece of land!"
"Maybe I can get married, too."
Apu nodded firmly: "As long as you listen to me, there will be no problem!"
Normally in the countryside, they would finish work at dusk, go to bed early and get up early, but tonight they chatted for most of the night and only fell asleep when it was almost dawn.
The next morning, when it was still light, the nearby mountains and forests were still shrouded in fog. There were no pedestrians on the streets, and the shop assistants on the roadside had just started work. Apu and his group had already finished breakfast and walked onto the streets.
"Just look for big stores." Apu held the bag, "Let's be careful."
Although nearby residents either ignored or mocked them when they saw them, they were still very careful.
Apu was afraid of something going wrong, so he only brought out some "samples" and left someone in the hotel to look after the other goods.
Even if they are cheated by the store owner and their items are confiscated, they will not lose all their money.
Soon, they arrived at the door of a large store. The clerk had just opened the door and was sorting things inside.
A Pu looked across the street for a while and took a closer look. He found that the store only sold jewelry, including fans and jewelry. He had good eyesight and could see that the jewelry sold in the store was not as good as the ones they bought from the supermarket.
The jewels were all grey and lacked their sparkle.
This gave Apu a little more confidence. He took a deep breath and carefully went in with the things in his arms.
Apu encouraged himself. He had even been to a supermarket, so why would he be afraid of a small shop like this?
"What are you doing here?" The guy who was sorting the goods stood up straight. He stared at A Pu who came in with a bad look on his face. "This is not a place for you to come. Get out of here."
He made a driving gesture, but it was the motion of driving livestock.
"You!" The two companions behind Apu understood his gesture and wanted to rush over angrily.
It was Apu who stopped them. Apu smiled at the waiter and said, "We are here to sell good stuff. I wonder if your boss is here?"
The waiter sneered, "What can a bunch of country bumpkins sell? If it's a little thing made by your country girls or farm women, don't show it to the public. No one will want it even if you give it away for free."
"Can you speak?!" the red-haired boy shouted at him, "Why do you look down on others like that?!"
Apu growled, "Dro!"
The red-haired boy, Dro, could no longer listen to Apu's words. He angrily yelled, "We didn't eat your food, and we didn't use your food. Why do you look down on us?"
The guy looked at him and said sarcastically, "What's so great about you, you country bumpkin? I admire you so much."
Dro was panting like a bull, and if Apu hadn't held his arm tightly, he would have rushed over at this moment.
"Let's go." Apu didn't want to cause trouble, so he dragged De Luo out and said, "Let's go to another store and not sell them, okay?"
Dro was so angry that his eyes turned red. He was dragged out of the store. Standing on the street, Dro kicked a stone on the roadside.
"Country people, what's wrong with the countryside?!" Dro wiped his eyes with his hand, "Country people can't enter their store?! Can the floor of their store recognize people? Can it tell who is a city person and who is a country person?!"
Apu sighed, "What's there to be angry about? No one in this city looks up to us except country folk like us."
De Luo: "The people in the supermarket don't have that! They don't look down on us! It's such a big supermarket!"
De Luo said incoherently: "Every time I go there, even if I don't buy anything, they smile at me."
Apu patted De Luo's shoulder and said, "Get used to it sooner. This is not the countryside, and those stores are not supermarkets."
"We are not here to fight with them, we are here to do business."
"Even if you fight with him and beat him up, will he respect you?"
Apu thought of his wife at home: "It doesn't matter what they think, as long as we can make money."
“Money is the most important thing.”
De Luo took a deep breath, his eyes red and he nodded.
The three of them continued walking along the street. The store they just came across was already the largest store they had seen after walking three streets.
From the very beginning, Apu didn't consider small shops. Small shops certainly couldn't afford so much money. Only large shops could buy all their goods at once in order to have a monopoly.
After walking two more streets, they finally saw another big store, but this time there were already customers in the store.
They could only squat on the street and wait for the customers to leave before going in.
Apu didn't explain the reason to them, fearing that they would be angry again.
If customers don't buy anything because of these "country bumpkins", the waiters and the boss will definitely kick them out.
Apu squatted on the ground and wiped his face. He looked up at the passers-by who had already walked out of the house.
Those people looked at them with deep contempt.
Just because they are not city people, just because they are wearing clothes that farmers wear.
Apu rubbed his face.
Why is it that although they are all city dwellers, people in the supermarket never show such looks?
He felt a little homesick, but he couldn't say it.
He was the leader of this trip and he is the backbone. Anyone can back out, but he can't.
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