An Jingzhi told his family about the salary offer again, and unsurprisingly, they all refused. He had no choice but to bring out his old excuse, and the An family, unable to persuade him, agreed. They figured they were family, and they wouldn't stand idly by when Jingzhi needed money.
The next day, after eating breakfast prepared by An's mother and grandmother, An Jingzhi went out with An Boyou, who was so excited that he didn't sleep all night. As soon as they arrived at the door, they found Fang Dagang who had been standing there waiting for a long time.
An Jingzhi asked with concern: "Brother Dagang, have you told my uncle and aunt?"
Fang Dagang nodded and said, "This is what my mother prepared for us to eat on the road." Fang Dagang lifted the cloth bag in his hand.
An Jingzhi and An Boyou took a closer look and saw that they were all large pancakes fried in oil. They were also sprinkled with chopped green onions and smelled very fragrant.
Aunt Zhang’s cooking skills are still as good as ever. Even though An Jingzhi had just had breakfast, he felt a little greedy again.
Facing the dark sky, the three of them were taken to the train station by Village Chief Fang in a bullock cart. "Then uncle will go back. Dagang and the other two will be left to you, Jingzhi."
Then he said to the somewhat excited Fang Dagang, "You little brat, even though Jingzhi is not as old as you, he knows more than you. When you go out, you must listen to Jingzhi and don't cause trouble for him, otherwise I will give you a good beating when I come back."
Fang Dagang, a tall man, was scolded by his father and became obedient. He said in a humming voice, "Don't worry, Dad. I remember what you and Mom said yesterday."
Only then did Village Chief Fang reluctantly drive the ox cart to buy things. It was not easy for him to go out, and he would bring back some things for the villagers who needed them every time.
Looking at his father walking away with a hunched back, Fang Dagang, a 22-year-old boy, felt a little sad. This was the first time he had left home and his parents since he was a child.
However, this sadness lasted until I got on the train and was replaced by nervousness and anticipation.
An Jingzhi was carrying a huge sum of money, several thousand yuan, all of which were the villagers' money. He and An Boyou consciously protected An Jingzhi in the middle.
An Jingzhi was cunning, and the three of them didn't bring any big things with them, so they squeezed onto the train without much effort while others were still not reacting.
After finding his seat, An Jingzhi closed his eyes and prepared to rest. It was only four o'clock when they left, and the sun hadn't even risen yet. An Boyou and Fang Dagang didn't have the same good attitude as him. They stared at everyone who passed by them, thinking everyone looked like a bad person.
It was already noon when An Jingzhi woke up. Although the two men's eyes were red, they were still in high spirits and found everything new to them.
"Come, eat. After you finish eating, you two can take a rest. I'll take a look at the things." An Jingzhi took out the whole grain steamed buns and eggs prepared for them by Grandma An and Mother An, as well as Grandma An's secret chili sauce.
I heard that this was the ancestral recipe passed down to Grandma An by her mother.
Fang Dagang also took out his own fried cakes. His father was the village chief and received a salary subsidy from the town. His living conditions were slightly better than those of ordinary villagers. Otherwise, he would not have been able to support two eldest sons, and raise them to be tall and strong.
The three of them took turns eating lunch. Grandma An's chili sauce was really delicious. Even the tasteless whole grain steamed buns with chili sauce could make An Jingzhi eat three of them, as well as two eggs and a pancake.
An Jingzhi felt a little uncomfortable after eating too fast. "Brother, go get some hot water up front. I'm choking because there's no water. If you don't know, ask the people in the car."
An Boyou responded and took An Jingzhi's water bottle. This green military water bottle was a reward from the town when he was admitted to university.
Since the reform and opening up, the country has placed great importance on talent. For a small, remote place to produce such a prestigious university student is a remarkable political achievement! What does this prove? It shows that he has made great contributions to education and values talent!
While An Boyou was coming back from fetching water, An Jingzhi refused a man who came to ask for chili sauce.
He also knew that Grandma An's chili sauce was incredibly fragrant. If he agreed to this man's request, wouldn't the others observing nearby come asking for more? By then, he wouldn't even have enough to eat himself. They still had two days of travel to go, and there were three of them.
After lunch and some water, the two of them began to feel sleepy. An Jingzhi had slept all morning and was no longer sleepy, so he took charge of guarding the things.
In order to save money, they bought seat tickets. After three days, the three young men who were originally full of energy became listless.
However, after leaving the train station, An Boyou and Fang Dagang regained their spirits, their eyes constantly looking around at the prosperity that was completely different from their small village.
Everyone I saw was dressed very fashionably, and I didn't see anyone with patched clothes.
An Jingzhi asked someone about a nearby hotel and took them both to check in.
The receptionist, a woman in her forties, glanced at the three of them and asked how many rooms they wanted. An Jingzhi had originally planned to book three rooms, but then he thought, three people can only make do with one room, so he decided to save as much as possible.
It was already evening when the three of them got off the train. They had no appetite at all, so after checking into a room, they squeezed together and slept for the night.
The next morning at 6 o'clock, An Jingzhi came back from outside and woke them up. After packing up and having breakfast, he took them straight to the wholesale market.
He went to buy breakfast early in the morning and also bought one for the front desk lady. An Jingzhi was good-looking and good at talking, so he took the initiative to show his affection. The lady was very impressed with him and not only told him where to buy cheap clothes and pants wholesale, but also told him a few shops that he should never go to because they would rip off strangers. After thanking her, An Jingzhi took his breakfast back to his room.
Many of the people that the old lady received in this area were people who wanted to come to the south to make a fortune and buy goods. As a local, she must be more familiar with the area than these outsiders.
As soon as An Jingzhi and the other two arrived last night, the old lady knew that they were here to purchase goods.
Of course, she wouldn't take the initiative to say much to ordinary people, but An Jingzhi was good at talking. She felt happy when he flattered her, and kept calling her "big sister". What a polite and good child.
Being happy, she naturally gave him more advice. He even brought her breakfast.
An Jingzhi followed the instructions of the hotel lady and came to the most prosperous wholesale market.
He didn't rush to buy anything, but instead spent a few hours walking around the market. This market has a wide variety of wholesale items. In addition to clothes, pants, shoes, there are also many electronic products, food and daily necessities.
An Boyou and Fang Dagang were dazzled and didn't know where to put their hands and feet.
They all felt that this trip was well worth it. They saw televisions, which were big items sold in stores in town, but here they were displayed in piles.
There was also a tape recorder for sale. I heard you could play whatever you wanted on it, just buy the tapes, and the songs on it were really good. They had never heard of it, but the tapes were quite expensive.
The people here were busy and hurried, many of them carrying large sacks in and out, and some were using carts to transport goods.
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