Chapter 19 Five-step Snake and Big Red Underpants
Lao Shi said that people usually start coming to buy things around 3:30. They are all people with regular jobs who have to work during the day and come to earn extra money at night. Those who buy things are actually also afraid of accepting or giving money when the sun rises.
As expected, Lin Guoqing estimated that he had been here for about an hour. During this time, several "colleagues" came, some carrying baskets or some carrying baskets. There was also one who seemed to be selling vegetables according to Lao Shi's introduction. Lin Guoqing secretly took note and planned to tell his wife that there was a strong competitor here.
Soon after, serious customers arrived. The first one was a young man wearing glasses, tall and thin, and very gentle. He kept covering his mouth and nose with a handkerchief, leaving only his eyes exposed, as if he didn't want to be recognized.
He turned into the alley and headed straight towards Lao Shi. "Is there one?"
"Yes!" Lao Shi opened the box and took out a bicycle ticket from it and showed it to him. There was a white background with blue patterns and a few big black words printed on it - Bicycle Ticket.
After the young man confirmed the authenticity of the ticket, he quickly took out a stack of Great Unity banknotes from his pocket and handed it over.
After handing over the money and the goods, he took the ticket and trotted back along the way he came. Lao Shi pointed at the six big unity notes, folded them happily and put them in his pocket, then sat back down and stretched his head towards Lin Guoqing.
"Xiao Lin, how much did you say your bamboo shoots cost per pound?"
"Five cents."
"Give me two...three...four pounds!"
Then he took out two dimes from his other pocket and handed them to Lin Guoqing. Lin Guoqing's eyes lit up when he received the money, and he quickly picked up the beam scale to weigh Lao Shi.
"Brother Shi, we get along well, and I won't try to trick you. I dug these bamboo shoots from the mountain. It didn't cost any money, but it took some effort. I'll give you an extra half pound." As he said that, he held the dozen or so slender spring bamboo shoots in front of Lao Shi.
Lao Shi was just feeling happy when he heard him say that he was giving him half a pound of bamboo shoots as a gift, but then he saw the bamboo shoots being placed in front of him and was stunned.
"...It's over, I didn't bring a basket..."
Lin Guoqing: ...
This is really a big problem. Nowadays, people who go shopping for vegetables will bring their own baskets, and even bring a bowl from home. They put vegetables in the basket, tofu or cooked food in the bowl, wrap meat in paper, string fish with straw, and use net bags for fruits.
Plastic bags are precious things. They are only given to you when you buy things in department stores. Otherwise, the things you buy may not be as expensive as the bags.
Lao Shi turned his head and caught a glimpse of the red cloth bag that Lin Guoqing placed on the other side, and pointed at it.
"Hey, Xiaolin, what's in that cloth bag of yours? When you've sold all your vegetables and have the things in your pocket, could you please lend me that red cloth? I'll return it to you tomorrow?"
Although the cloth doesn't look big, it can at least tie the bamboo shoots into a bundle so that they won't fall apart on his way back.
When Lin Guoqing saw him pointing at the red cloth bag, his old face suddenly turned red and he waved his hands at Lao Shi, "No, no, no, no, no, this won't work..."
"Tsk, if it's not possible, then it's not possible. Why are you stuttering?"
Even in the dark, Old Shi could see his embarrassment. He wasn't the type to force things, so he thought for a moment and ran over to Sister Li, spending a penny to buy two long, thin pieces of cloth. Finally, Lin Guoqing had tied up the bamboo shoots.
Lin Guoqing was still a little embarrassed and a little ashamed. He felt that he seemed to have overreacted just now. Would Lao Shi think he was stingy?
Thinking that Lao Shi had told him everything about the situation here, he was a newcomer, and when Chunhua came tomorrow, he wanted Lao Shi to take care of her, so he had to build a good relationship with her. So he whispered to Lao Shi,
"Brother Shi..."
"Um?"
"Well...I'm not stingy..."
Lao Shi placed the bundled bamboo shoots next to himself and waved his hand nonchalantly, "It's okay. If you're carrying something precious and can't give it to me, that's normal. There's no need to be embarrassed!"
"It's not... it's not a precious thing..."
Lao Shi was not a curious person, but seeing Lin Guoqing hesitating and wanting to say something but being embarrassed, he really got angry.
"What is that?"
Lin Guoqing: "...there's a five-step snake inside."
Lao Shi: “…”
Anyway, I've said it all, so I might as well say it, "The thing wrapped around the snake isn't some red cloth. It's a bright red pair of underwear my wife made for me two years ago, during my zodiac year."
Lao Shi: “…”
He didn't know whether to be surprised by the snake, the bright red underwear, or... Lin Guoqing's empty pants. It took him a long time to find his voice.
"...Why are you wrapping the snake in your underwear?"
Lin Guoqing: "I went up the mountain to dig bamboo shoots and saw the snake lying on the ground, motionless. I thought it might be worth some money, so I killed it with a hoe. But I only brought two baskets, one was already full of bamboo shoots, and the other was for vegetables. If I had put the snake in it, no one would have wanted the vegetables."
After thinking about it, he felt a little embarrassed and said sorry to Lao Shi.
"Brother Shi, I put the bamboo shoots in a small bag and put my underwear on top for a while, but it didn't last long, at most an hour. Later, I kept carrying it with my hands!"
Lao Shi: “…”
"Forget it, it's okay. I'll just rinse it twice more when I get home." He wiped his face and didn't really care. The bamboo shoots still had to be shelled anyway. What did it have to do with snakes and underwear after peeling off a few layers of shell?
"Where are you going to sell this snake?" Lao Shi asked again.
Lin Guoqing shook his head. "I don't know either. I just wanted to sell the vegetables as soon as possible, then go to the clinic and wait for it to open to see if they will accept them."
There is a traditional Chinese medicine clinic in the county. It is said that it was opened during the Ming Dynasty and has been passed down to the present day. Although it has long been nationalized, it is still run by the previous family.
After all, Chinese medicine is not something that can be learned by just anyone.
Lao Shi thought for a moment, then said, "If you go in so rashly, I don't think they'll give you much." Selling it to a Chinese medicine clinic is really not as good as selling it privately; the price is probably twice as much.
Lin Guoqing was stunned. There was such a thing. "Huh? How much is this snake worth?"
"Generally, if a five-step snake is of good quality, it can be sold for around 40 or 50 cents per pound. If you go to a clinic, they will probably sell it for less than 30 cents."
Lin Guoqing's eyes widened immediately. "40 to 50 cents per pound? That's so expensive? How much will it sell for?"
Lao Shi scoffed. "How can it be expensive? As long as they say it can save your life, people will still buy it for ten yuan per catty. And that's the price of a dead snake. If you can get a live one, you can probably sell it for ten or twenty yuan."
The most valuable thing about a snake is its venom. As long as the snake is alive and is carefully cared for, it can produce a steady supply of venom.
Lin Guoqing was moved for a second, but then he quickly shook his head. He was scared to death even when holding a dead snake, let alone a living one. He was not the type to do this for a living, so he decided not to think too much about it.
"Brother Shi, how can I sell this to make more money?"
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