Agriculture Maniac

Chapter 2 Going to the market
The twelfth day of the tenth lunar month coincides with the big market in Shiliying Township.

"Tofu~~~"

"Cabbage is cheap now!"

"Radish, big radish fresh out of the ground!"

On the coal slag road filled with yellow dust, there were crowds of people and stalls close together.

The sounds of hawking, bargaining, chopping meat and bicycle bells are endless.

The eldest brother carried a woven basket and used brute force to push the crowd aside as he strode forward.

His ferocious appearance, comparable to that of Li Kui and Zhang Fei, made people dare not speak out and even stay away from him.

Yu Yang pretended not to know the other person and followed quietly behind, admiring his elder brother's mighty and domineering attitude while looking for an empty stall.

Fortunately, by noon, some farmers who had sold their vegetables had already put up bricks, packed up their stalls and left.

Yu Yang called his eldest brother to an open space near the restaurant. As soon as he put down the weaving basket, someone greeted him.

“Isn’t this Yu Yang?”

"Hey, Second Grandpa, let's go to the market!"

"Yeah, wow, where did you get the soybean seedlings from? We can't grow them here in the middle of winter."

Yu Yang had thought of a gimmick beforehand when he was on the road, and he casually said, "There was a car overturn on the west highway, and I happened to be collecting firewood below, so I saved the driver."

Dongshan, where Shiliying is located, likes to build roads.

To the west of Yujia Village, there is a newly completed highway that has been opened to traffic.

When it was first being built, the villagers were very happy, thinking that their hometown would be well connected.

The land acquisition went very smoothly, and some honest villagers also came to help with the roadbed construction.

Unexpectedly, after the highway was repaired, only a three-meter-high bridge tunnel was left.

Moreover, whenever it rains or blows, the bridge tunnel will be flooded to a depth of one meter.

Yu Yang continued: "The driver was rescued by me, and seeing that the trailer could not be repaired, he asked me to help sell the bean sprouts in order to express his gratitude to me and to recover his losses.

I tell you, these are called off-season vegetables, and they are sent to Walmart in Beijing for the officials to eat.”

The second uncle, as well as the people who saw Dou Miao gathering around to join in the fun, were all stunned by the fright.

One of the young wives asked curiously, "What do you mean I love horses?"

"Foreigners opened big supermarkets in Beijing. People in the city go there to buy things. There are also Metro, Carrefour and RT-Mart."

Yu Yang didn't want to dwell on this question, because he didn't know if there were any supermarkets like this in Beijing. "Anyway, these are the only good things. If you don't buy them today, they'll be gone in the future."

"How do you sell it?"

"See? Two palm-sized pieces for only two dollars."

"Two dollars? I might as well buy two steamed buns to satisfy my craving."

"You can buy rouzhuang steamed buns anytime. If you miss this good thing, you can only wait until summer."

Yu Yang said, holding up the green soybean sprouts, "When the Chinese New Year is approaching, there will always be a few relatives coming to our house. When we set up the feast, we throw a piece of lard into the pot, sprinkle some chopped green onions and red peppers, stir-fry for a while and add a few slices of garlic. Wow, this taste, this texture, especially in this winter when there is no green, what do you call it? This is called having face!"

"You hit the nail on the head." Second uncle took out the money on the spot.

Two dollars in 98 still had strong purchasing power.

You can buy two baskets of small meat buns, or four pounds of steamed buns.

Instead of being like in another time and space, where at most you can take a bus or buy two steamed buns.

But things are rare and valuable.

In winter, the green bean sprouts are really worth the price.

Yu Yang was not worried that people could not afford it. At most, he would take his elder brother to the town or even the county town to sell his products.

Of course, I must also collect the money from my second uncle.

Otherwise, it would be given away for nothing. Once the news spreads, everyone in the village will start nagging about it, and all the relatives will come together to ask for it.

After my second uncle left.

The owner of the restaurant next door who was watching the excitement squeezed out of the crowd and said, "Coincidentally, there are a few tables tonight. Give me ten yuan."

Yu Yang immediately picked out five large pieces and handed them to the other party.

Soon, the young wife who had asked Wal-Mart before opened her handkerchief and counted out two 1-yuan coins.

"My boyfriend is coming back from work in Northeast China tonight. I'll cook him a plate of this."

"That's a great relationship. I'm sure you'll have a big, fat baby next year."

"Give me one, too."

Yu Yang was busy for a while, but seeing that more and more people were watching, but fewer and fewer people wanted to buy, he simply asked his eldest brother to pick up the woven basket, go deeper into the market, find an open space near the mutton soup restaurant, and continue selling.

After a while, the owner of the mutton soup restaurant took a big bag back.

So again and again.

Pickle shop, donkey meat restaurant, corner building restaurant...

By the time we were halfway through the market, all four woven baskets were sold out.

Yu Yang found a nearby barber shop and looked at the watch. It was not yet two o'clock in the afternoon.

Then he rubbed his stomach which had been hungry for a day and lowered his head to count the money in the basket.

The bean sprouts covered the entire kang, about 6 square meters in size, and were torn into small squares of varying sizes, totaling 20 pieces.

Selling one piece for two yuan, the income is as high as three hundred.

"This is just the beginning!"

Yu Yang was so happy that he spent ten yuan to buy ten rouzhuang steamed buns, planning to eat half of them now and save the other half for dinner.

Unexpectedly, after walking a few steps, the food was eaten up by my eldest brother alone.

"Well, give me 50 yuan for a steamed bun with meat."

"It's made now. Please wait."

While waiting, Yu Yang ran to buy a few shoulder poles and looked for a dozen large woven baskets.

Bean sprouts are different from bean sprouts.

The bean sprouts are a mess, just throw them into the basket.

Bean sprouts cannot be pressed and must be placed in layers, otherwise they will not look good.

With these large woven baskets, I went back and asked my eldest brother to make some grates of different sizes with bamboo strips, and then stack them up layer by layer according to the height of the bean sprouts from the bottom of the woven baskets. This will make it convenient to take them out when I sell them.

"It's better to buy some plastic wrap. At least we can make sure that the buyer can store the bean sprouts in the cellar and take them out after three to five days to eat them."

Unfortunately, after wandering around for a long time, Yu Yang only found the plastic film to keep the cotton seedlings warm.

But this thing is poisonous and cannot preserve food.

"It seems I have to go to the county town when I have time."

Returning to the fried rouzhuang bun stall, 50 rouzhuang buns were already packed into two plastic bags. Yu Yang lowered his head and counted the money from the basket, "one, two, three..."

Just when I counted to 42, someone next to me greeted me.

"Sanyuan, come to the market."

Sanyuan is Yu Yang's nickname.

It is said that on the day he was born, a big monk came to beg for alms, and in order to please him, my grandfather gave him three kilograms of food coupons and three dollars in cash.

The big monk was delighted and said that the baby had a destiny with San You, so he named him Sanyuan.

When the grandfather heard what was said and saw the three yuan being handed over, he understood what was going on and gave his grandson "Sanyuan" as a nickname.

In another time and space, this name with a strong rural accent gradually became a memory as I grew older, went out to school, and stayed in the city to work on projects.

Hearing it again now, Yu Yang suddenly felt a little nervous.

He put down the banknotes in his hand and turned his head to take a look.

It turned out to be his own uncle, Yu Laoliu.

"Sixth Uncle, you haven't gone back yet?"

"Come on, how's your bean sprouts going?"

"It's OK. I guess it won't take long to pay off the debt."

"Is this true?" Uncle Six said, and then he saw two large bags of steamed buns with meat fillings, "Why did you buy so many?"

"We hired two technicians to soak the bean sprouts." Yu Yang patted his elder brother's shoulder, "We're having a welcoming party today."

“Do we need a technician to soak bean sprouts?”

“What is the most important thing in the 21st century?”

"What?"

"Talent!"

"???"

"gone."

Yu Laoliu watched Yu Yang leave, took a puff of his cigarette, his eyes a little blurry, and muttered: "Is soaking bean sprouts really that profitable?"

The wife of the boss of the Zhuangmo stall was kneading dough. She looked up when she heard him and asked, "Didn't you see his half basket of banknotes?"

"Based on my many years of experience, at least three hundred yuan." The owner of the Zhuangmo stall pouted.

The boss of the fried dough sticks next to him shook his head and said, "I saw that he was not selling bean sprouts, but green bean shoots, as big as two palms, and he sold them for two yuan. Wow, he made at least a thousand yuan that day."

"Wow!" the couple who run the steamed bun stall said in unison.

Yu Laoliu’s eyes widened instantly.

……

When we returned to Yujia Village, it was already three o'clock in the afternoon.

A few old men and women were sitting at the entrance of the village to bask in the sun.

The wheels of the car in the bank in the distance were still missing.

He also called the police and summoned two officers from the township police station.

One of them saw Yu Yang and came forward to ask, "What do you do?"

"His name is Yu Yang, nicknamed Sanyuan, and he is from our village." The second grandmother who was nearby responded while sewing a shoe sole.

"What about him?" The clerk pointed at the eldest brother Zhao Qian.

"I don't know." After saying this, the Second Mistress sighed, "Look at his figure, he is like a calf, and you can tell at a glance that he is an honest person."

Yu Yang was about to make up an identity when his elder brother spoke up: "My name is Zhao Qian, and I'm the food delivery guy."

The clerk was very curious, "Delivering food?"

"Yes, to Beijing Walmart."

“What Walmart?”

"Foreigners opened big supermarkets in Beijing. People in the city go there to buy things. There are also Metro, Carrefour and RT-Mart."

Yu Yang: “???”

Is this what they call learning and applying at the same time?

The officer was silent for a moment, "Why are you here?"

"Took the west highway and overturned."

"How did you do it?"

"I don't know. It flipped over while we were driving."

"Where's the car?"

"This car was relatively good, only four wheels were lost. My situation was a bit miserable. When I woke up after the car flipped over, the frame was gone."

The bank staff who stayed at the scene said in disbelief, "Is Shiliying so chaotic?"

The third grandfather, who was squatting in the corner smoking, nodded and said, "Isn't it true? At the junction of three provinces and four cities, people from neighboring provinces and cities often come here to commit crimes. They steal and run away, and no one can catch them. Otherwise, there would be no such saying."

"What are you talking about?"

"After entering the Shiliying camp, apart from the ambulance and cremation vehicles, no other vehicles were able to escape intact."

The bank staff was shocked, "Even a police car won't work?"

"Why do you think they came here to investigate the case without even riding a bicycle?"

The officer was a little embarrassed, "It's not that outrageous, the public security here is still very good."

He immediately changed the subject and continued to question his eldest brother Zhao Qian, "Do you have any ID?"

The latter pulled out a printed and handwritten ID card from his chest and said, "Yes."

The clerk finished checking, "Are you from Beihe?"

"Well, I have another colleague from Nanhu. We go back and forth to Beijing to deliver groceries together. We are currently living in Yu Yang's house."

"You and Yu Yang know each other?"

"I don't know him. He saved me after the car overturned."

The officer didn't ask why you didn't call the police, "What are your plans for the future?"

"The car was lost, and most of the food was stolen. We didn't dare to go back immediately. We could only take things one step at a time."

"Well, both of you should come to Shiliying Police Station as soon as possible to apply for a temporary residence permit."

"Okay officer."

Yu Yang looked at his elder brother who answered questions fluently, and recalled how silent he was when they first met. He suspected that his elder brother had gained more experience during this outing, so he immediately decided to take his second brother out for a walk tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)