In the morning, Zhang Guoqing woke up as soon as his biological clock struck 11:00, but he didn't wake his wife. He first checked the time, closed his eyes, and sorted out the things he needed to arrange for the day.
After a while, he felt something unusual and said with a smile, "I woke up a long time ago, but seeing that you were tired, I wanted to let you sleep a little longer. Are you sure you still want to go to the morning market?"
Zhou Jiao rubbed her eyes, threw off the quilt, and stood up, laughing. "You scared me! I thought I overslept. Let's go! Grandma Jiang said that people are selling hairy crabs and knife fish at Baxian Bridge early in the morning. I want to see if there are any specialties that can't be found in the Northeast. After this year, even if I come here again, it will be difficult to buy them."
Last night, when he came back and saw she was exhausted and sleepy, Zhang Guoqing hadn't told her he'd heard the good news. He was afraid she'd be too excited to sleep. He'd just been teasing her.
"Since you weren't there yesterday afternoon, I've already arranged with the sampan boatman to help us buy it. He'll be waiting for us near the dock after 5:30."
Zhou Jiao squinted her eyes and looked at him, then said with a fake smile, "Okay. You're starting to tease me." After that, she stepped forward and stretched out her hand to tickle him, and only stopped when she saw that he was laughing so hard.
"Have you paid him? Maybe he'll run away without keeping his promise?"
Zhang Guoqing shook his head and whispered, "A helper in the Chinese restaurant introduced me to a boatman. I avoided that helper and told him to buy a large quantity of hairy crabs and river fish for me privately, as many as I could get." His eyes lit up with joy, so why would he run away?
The price was very cheap anyway, so I let him make some money so we wouldn't have to run around in an unfamiliar place. I didn't even ask for a deposit, saying I'd pay after I brought it over. He's a smart guy! He kept winking at me before he left to keep it a secret.
Zhou Jiao knew this guy was smart. She happily praised him vigorously, and seeing his smug look, she slowly said, "Then after meeting the boatman, will you accompany me to Huaihai Old Town?"
Zhang Guoqing immediately said with a bitter face: "Wife, daughter-in-law, baby, do you really want to go? Can you not go? Those things are useless if you buy them..." Before he finished speaking, he saw her covering her mouth and laughing. He was so angry that he jumped out of bed, picked her up and tickled her.
The couple played around for a while, then calmed down and started to discuss how to cover up. After they had discussed it, seeing that it was almost five o'clock, Zhang Guoqing pulled her up, washed her, handed the child to the aunt, and the two hurried out.
When they arrived at the agreed place, they saw two sampans of different sizes already docked at the shore before the time came. The boatmen waved excitedly when they saw Zhang Guoqing and his wife.
Zhang Guoqing pulled Zhou Jiao over and glanced at the woman and young man behind him, guessing they were a family. He smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work. Are you all ready? Show us the goods first."
Seeing the two of them coming empty-handed, the boatman hesitated and said, "Do you want my eldest son to take you to the restaurant?"
"Don't! If you send it over, everyone will know about it. There is a cart in front. You can just load and unload it from the boat later." Zhang Guoqing hurriedly stopped him.
The boatman took the two men aboard, only to find a boat full of sacks and bamboo baskets. Zhang Guoqing glanced at him a few times. He hadn't expected to encounter such a capable person.
The boatman opened a few sacks, revealing hairy crabs and prawns in bamboo baskets.
Seeing that everyone was fine, Zhang Guoqing nodded. He then followed the family to another small boat, which was also filled with supplies. In addition to hairy crabs, there were also many local specialties.
"They are all good. I see there are small pieces of paper on top. Is this the quantity? We haven't weighed them, so just tell me the total amount and calculate how much it is in total?" Zhang Guoqing said with a smile.
The boatman asked his son to take out the scale. "I have it here. Weigh it first and then calculate the price. I won't hide it from you. I will make a profit from the difference in price for each item. Except for the things we catch ourselves, I will add a cent or two to everything else."
Zhang Guoqing knew what he was talking about and stopped him, saying, "No need to weigh. Just give us a rough estimate of the total price. Let's settle the bill early so we can go back."
Zhou Jiao took the list from the boatman's son, looked at the handwriting, and smiled at them. She secretly sighed, no wonder this family had such quick wits to get in touch with the hotel's insiders. It seemed like a cultured person was essential at all times.
She didn't know whether the price they offered was high or low, but seeing that the family had righteous eyes and a shrewd demeanor, and their conversation was not petty, she nodded to Zhang Guoqing.
Zhang Guoqing took the list and, according to the total of 17.90 yuan, gave them 18 yuan. He knew it was all soaked in river water, so the weight might be off. But the list was filled with a dense pile of cents and cents, and if he really weighed it, he probably wouldn't be back until noon.
Even though he didn't know the local prices, he guessed that the family had to make enough money after all their hard work. But he didn't say it out loud. Sometimes, letting others make a little money also saved himself the trouble.
After paying them and helping them move the items off the boat, Zhang Guoqing let them go back. Seeing the family smiling from ear to ear as they returned to the boat, it must have seemed like they had made a killing.
Zhang Guoqing didn't have time to consider the pros and cons. He looked around to see if there was anything unusual. He quickly asked Zhou Jiao to put everything on the ground into the space, leaving a basket of hairy crabs to be repacked.
After packing up, he cleaned up the scene with a frown. When there were no traces left, he smiled, picked up the bamboo basket, and walked back with Zhou Jiao.
When the couple returned to the hotel, they sent the food to the Chinese restaurant kitchen and asked them to help steam it.
Old Mrs. Cheng looked behind them curiously and said, "Didn't you buy it? If not, then it's gone. Those old friends will definitely prepare some for us when we get on the bus."
Zhang Guoqing didn't say that they didn't go to Baxian Bridge today.
Zhou Jiao beside him shook her head and smiled, "I've already bought it. I'm worried it won't be fresh for a long time, so I left it at the restaurant and asked them to steam it for me to take home. Didn't they say at the banquet last night that we can't send it? Why do you need it again?"
"Knowing we're leaving this afternoon, they'll definitely come to see us off. If they refuse to listen, there's nothing we can do. We'll just eat out for lunch to avoid them coming over to bother us again."
As soon as Mrs. Cheng finished speaking, everyone in the room burst into laughter.
Last night's dinner was quite a hassle and we almost had a fight over paying.
Lin Lishan and Cheng Ruzhu had been missing for days. Last night, she privately told Zhang Guoqing and his wife that she was running out of money.
Finally, Zhou Jiao forced some money on her, but when she refused, they realized that she had more than 200 yuan on her. This made the couple wonder how much money she had brought this time.
You know, many things are very cheap nowadays, and I haven't seen her buy anything big. But when Lin Lishan listed the things she bought, Zhou Jiao was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
Both her mother and Cheng Ruzhu bought high-end items, especially her mother, who bought almost all of them for herself.
Would she dare wear high-end silk outside? She already had a phonograph, but she also bought a radio; would she dare keep it at home? She already had a watch; would Zhang Guoqing and her father have the nerve to show off with pocket watches? Four gold pens for the family—is this a family getaway? But she really wouldn't dare use them. Didn't you see she wouldn't buy anything from First Department Store except White Rabbit Milk Candy?
It was strange to see that she and Cheng Ruzhu hadn't gone out. "Mom, where are you and my aunt going today?"
"I was just about to look for you. You'll need to come with us somewhere later," Lin Lishan said, winking at her. She and Cheng Ruzhu had recently found the black market and had agreed to buy some fabric today. The other party looked like a seasoned capitalist, otherwise where would they get the inventory from?
Zhou Jiao saw that the situation was not good and looked towards Cheng Ruzhu. Seeing her nod and smile, she breathed a sigh of relief. With her aunt around, nothing could go wrong.
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