Chapter 48: Eyes Light Up
The twenty-seventh day of the seventh lunar month.
At eight o'clock in the morning, after breakfast, Deng Shirong let his little daughter sit on the horizontal bar in front of the bicycle. Then he stepped forward on the bicycle pedal with his left foot, and as the bicycle rushed forward, he raised his right foot and stepped over from the back seat.
At this time, the eldest daughter Deng Yunzhen quickly caught up and sat sideways on the back seat of the bicycle quite nimbly.
A 28-meter-high truck carrying the father and his two daughters slowly headed towards Longtan Market.
To get from Naye Village to Longtan Market, you need to pass through Shuangwang Market and ride nearly ten kilometers of winding and uneven mountain roads to reach the county-level main road from Bobai to Longtan, and then ride more than ten kilometers to reach Longtan Market.
The county-level main road from Bobai to Longtan was completed in 1956.
Deng Gong once said, "If you want to get rich, build roads first." This is really a wise saying. Since the road from Bobai to Longtan was built, Longtan's business has become increasingly prosperous, the number of shops has gradually increased, and it has undergone a great change in just a few years.
Originally, Longtan Town had only two main streets in the shape of a "丁" character, one running east-west and about two meters wide, and the other running north-south, about two meters wide and less than 100 meters long. There were also two small streets with small houses on both sides and few shops.
The current Longtan Market has widened and extended the original streets, which together with the new streets form a wedge-shaped circular main street. There are a total of 8 streets, large and small. The number of people attending the market on each market day is as high as over 25,000. Compared with the less than 1,000 people attending the Shuangwang Market, the difference is really too big. The two are simply not in the same league.
When Deng Shirong and his daughter arrived at Longtan Market, although it was just a little after nine o'clock, there were already crowds of people.
Fortunately, there were no cars in the countryside at that time, and the number of trucks and buses was also very small. There might not be one passing by in half an hour. There were no motorcycles or electric vehicles. Except for a small number of bicycles, most people walked, so there was no traffic jam like in later generations.
Sisters Deng Yunzhen and Deng Yunzhu were visiting Longtan Market for the first time.
Deng Yunzhen was slightly better off. When she sent her younger brother Deng Yunheng to school a few days ago, she had at least been to Songshan Market. Songshan Market was also located on the county-level main road from Bobai to Longtan. Although its prosperity could not be compared with that of Longtan Market, there were more than 8,000 people attending the market every market day, and the market was not comparable to the tiny place of Shuangwang Market.
Therefore, Deng Yunzhen had more or less gained some experience, and was not surprised when she saw the more prosperous Longtan Market.
But Deng Yunzhu is different. She has only been to Shuangwang Market a few times in her life. She feels that there are enough people in Shuangwang Market and there are people everywhere she goes.
As a result, when she saw the prosperous scene of Longtan Market, she was stunned. It was not until now that she realized that there was such a big difference between one market town and another.
Seeing his little daughter's stunned look, Deng Shirong felt amused and a little sad. He reached out and touched her head, saying, "Among the nearby communes, Longtan Commune is indeed prosperous, but it is still far behind the big cities. When your second brother is admitted to university next year, I will take you brothers and sisters out to see the world when I send him to school."
Deng Yunzhu exclaimed: "Dad, are you telling the truth?"
Deng Yunzhen also showed surprise on her face. Going to a big city to see the world was something she had never dared to think about before. If she really had the opportunity to go out and see the world, she could at least stay in the village for three years when she came back.
Deng Shirong smiled and said, "Of course it's true, but it depends on your second brother to work hard and get into college."
Upon hearing this, the two sisters looked at each other at the same time and made a secret decision that when Yunheng (the second brother) came back, they would make sure he studied hard and never slack off. If he was admitted to university, they could follow him to the big city to see the world. If he failed, then everything would be in vain.
"Okay, let's not talk too much. I'll find a place to park the car first, and then we'll go for a good walk together."
After Deng Shirong finished speaking, he pushed his bicycle to a noodle stall and parked it. He said hello to the owner, then went shopping with his two daughters without any worries.
The rural people of this era are really simple and honest. Although there is absolutely no petty theft, no one dares to ride away valuable items like bicycles, even if they are left on the roadside without being locked.
Shopping is a girl's nature. Besides, it was the first time for Deng Yunzhen and her sister to come to Longtan Market. They found everything new and visited every street from beginning to end, even the ends of the streets.
Deng Shirong did not rush them. He followed them while observing the people coming and going. Although most of these people who came to the market were wearing patched clothes, they were in good spirits and their eyes were full of hope for the future.
Because there were so many people, it took the father and his two daughters an hour and a half to finish visiting all eight streets, big and small.
The weather is still quite hot. Deng Shirong wiped the sweat off his head with his sleeve and said, "Ah Zhen, Ah Zhu, we have almost finished shopping. Let's go have a bowl of noodles first, then buy some cloth and some snacks, and then we can go home."
Although it is not yet 11 o'clock, I have eaten early in the morning and had white porridge which is easy to digest. After riding the bike for more than an hour and walking on the street for an hour and a half, I am really hungry.
Deng Yunzhu nodded and smiled: "Then let's go eat noodles. I haven't eaten noodles for a long time. I feel greedy just thinking about it."
Although Deng Yunzhen had just eaten a large bowl of noodles at Songshan Market a few days ago, noodles really taste good and she would never get tired of it even if she ate it every day. Now that she hadn't eaten it for a few days, she was also a little craving for it.
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So, the father and his two daughters went straight back to the noodle stall where the bicycle was parked and ordered three bowls of noodles for twenty cents each.
In this era, noodles at 20 cents a bowl were already quite rich. Most people only ate noodles at 5 cents a bowl, and a few even only ate vegetarian noodles at 2 or 3 cents a bowl. Those who were willing to eat noodles at more than 10 cents were considered to be relatively well-off.
After three bowls of noodles topped with pork liver and lean meat were brought over, the father and his two daughters picked up their chopsticks and began to eat.
Just as Deng Shirong was sweating profusely while eating, a pleasant female voice came over: "Boss, cook three bowls of noodles, five cents each."
Deng Shirong looked in the direction of the voice and found three young girls of similar age standing in front of the noodle stall. They looked to be about eighteen or nineteen years old.
Among them, the girl standing on the left is the tallest, and looks to be about 1.63 meters tall, but unfortunately she has an ordinary appearance.
The girl standing on the right is the shortest, she looks only about 1.58 meters tall, but her appearance is still okay. If she knew how to put on makeup like the girls in later generations, she would probably get a lot of attention when she walks on the street.
The person standing in the middle made Deng Shirong's eyes light up instantly.
(End of this chapter)