It’s difficult to be a lady teacher.
She did draw a pattern, but it was more like lines than a pattern, like the current fashion.
The skirts worn by young women in the city are no longer popular with floral patterns, but with stripes and block patterns.
The picture drawn by the female teacher was also of this style. Erhua frowned. To be honest, it was not difficult, but he had never carved something like this before. He was afraid that it would be too simple and look like it took little effort, and the customer would not be satisfied.
Besides, there is a difference between what you think and what you actually make. Some customers may have a very beautiful idea in their head, but when it comes to making it, the result is disappointing.
The deposit has been given, but I'm afraid that when the time comes, there will be a lot of negotiations and changes, and it will definitely not be possible to complete it cleanly.
After dinner, Erhua helped clear the table. Before he could recover from his previous distress, another big trouble came knocking.
"Hey, Boss Lu, have you just finished your meal?"
Erhua looked towards the door when he heard the sound. Four fashionable young men with permed hair, jackets and bell-bottom pants came in staggering.
After seeing them, Erhua felt that it was unfair for everyone to call him a second-rate guy. The four people in front of him were worthy of the name.
However, people in the city don’t call them second-rate guys, they call them green-headed ghosts, which is the same as the current gangsters.
"Yes, yes, I just ate. What brings you here?"
Boss Lu smiled along and didn't seem too servile. After all, harmony is the most important thing in doing business, and welcoming customers with a smile is the rule.
"We came to take a look. We heard your business is doing well, so we'd like to take advantage of your good fortune."
The person who spoke was a long-faced young man with a red and shiny face and pustules all over his forehead. While he spoke, he looked at you with one eye and glanced somewhere else with the other.
Four words popped up in Erhua’s mind: Slant-eyed toad!
He was familiar with the place, so he picked a mahogany armchair and sat down, then pulled out a cigarette from his pocket. The short young man who followed him from the back door immediately came over and fiddled with a small box in his hand. He pressed it twice and a small ball of fire popped out.
It’s a new thing!
"Come, little brother, have some tea." Boss Lu went inside to get the teapot and cups, and poured them some tea attentively.
The long-faced young man waved his hand to indicate to leave it alone, then took two deep puffs of his cigarette, and it seemed as if his soul was sublimated as he puffed out clouds of smoke.
During the break, he placed his cigarette hand on the armrest of the armchair, and a little bit of cigarette ash floated down inadvertently, burning Erhua's heart.
I saw the cigarette in his hand burning closer and closer to the handle, and in a while it would burn a black spot.
Erhua already knew what they were here for. He looked at Boss Lu, who was also looking at him, meaning: Don't get excited, let me do it.
"When you open a business, you want good weather and good harvests. I'm very familiar with this street, and every family has to give me face. If you want to gain a foothold here, I can help you."
Boss Lu listened patiently, a smile on his face as he said, "Our shop is small, and we don't usually have many customers. We just make a living and don't cause any trouble."
"You old man are so unreasonable!" The short young man was quite direct and scolded, "I tell you, if you pay this amount every month, we will guarantee that the front of your shop will be clean." He opened one hand as he spoke.
This is a naked threat!
"Five dollars?" Erhua asked.
"You are sending away a beggar!" The short young man rushed up and grabbed Erhua's collar.
“Let go!”
"Let's talk it over nicely!"
"Let it go...you're a country bumpkin, you don't know the rules."
The long-faced man waved his hand and looked at Boss Lu, but his other eye was still looking at Erhua, which was quite creepy.
"Okay, let's stop here for today and come back tomorrow."
As they spoke, several people staggered out of the door.
"Brother, what are you going to do with these people?"
"What to do?"
"They want fifty!" Erhua gestured, feeling uneasy as he saw that the person who came had bad intentions.
"It's not fifty, add another zero!" Boss Lu was very calm. He had just poured a few cups of tea, but they didn't drink any. He picked up the cups and drank them all.
"Even if I give them 500, do you think everything will be fine? I'll give it to them this time, but they'll come back next time!"
"What should we do? Should we call the police?"
Boss Lu looked at Erhua's nervous expression, pulled him to sit down, and poured him a cup of tea to moisten his throat.
"Forget about calling the police. That long-faced young man's uncle works at the police station.
They are just a bunch of bad kids who cause trouble for their families. They probably have no money to spend, so they come here to ask for money.
Let's see what's going on first. They thought I, Old Lu, was new here, so they came to scare me. Hey, a bunch of kids! "
Hearing him say this, Erhua felt much more at ease. He checked it carefully again and fortunately there were no signs of burns on the armchair.
After closing the shop in the evening, Boss Lu took Erhua out to a restaurant. This was their habit. Every month, on the first night of Erhua's visit, they would have a good meal to welcome him back.
"Hey, brother, I haven't seen you for three weeks, and you look better and better."
After just two bites, Boss Lu's neck was covered in sweat and his chubby face became redder, as if it had been steamed in a steamer.
"Oh, what's good? Lately, I feel tired as soon as I wake up in the morning, I'm out of breath after walking a few steps, and I can't sleep well at night."
He picked up a piece of braised pork. The meat was cooked well, with rich oil and sauce, and crystal clear. He opened his mouth wide and swallowed it in one gulp.
"Then I have to advise you to be more restrained in that regard... If my sister-in-law knew..."
"This matter is known to heaven, earth, you and me, but your sister-in-law must not know. Besides, I haven't had sex for more than half a month." He glanced around and whispered in Erhua's ear, "Ahem, I don't know why, I can't get up!"
Erhua suppressed his laughter and said, "That's perfect. Cultivate your body and cultivate your character. Cultivate your body and cultivate your character."
The two ate and chatted, and before they knew it, it was late at night.
There were no street lights in the alley. Boss Lu walked in front and Erhua followed behind. It was quiet all around, with only the sound of their footsteps and Boss Lu's panting breathing.
They stayed in the attic of the shop at night. Erhua didn't come often, so they slept on the floor. Although Boss Lu invited him to squeeze into the bed several times, Erhua declined after seeing the white dandruff on the sheets.
When they crossed the alley and turned a corner, something suddenly fell from the sky and covered the heads of the two men, making it difficult to tell east from west for a moment.
Before Erhua could react, he was hit hard in the stomach. He bent over in pain and shouted, "Who! Brother! Brother!"
I only heard a "ouch" and then a "thump" sound of someone falling to the ground, and heavy and painful breathing came into my ears.
Erhua struggled to remove the thing on his head, but the other party hit him on the head twice again. He suddenly had a buzzing ringing in his ears and almost went to see his ancestor.
"Country people!"
"Bang bang" two more kicks.
"Idiot! Didn't I tell you to keep quiet?"
“…”
Taking advantage of the gap between the two people's conversation, Erhua suddenly stood up, rushed towards the direction where the sound came from, and swung his body hard to hit the man. In the chaos, his head seemed to hit the man's chest. Only "Ouch" was heard, followed by the sound of panicked escape.
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