The train driver in the courtyard

Chapter 479 Shopping, Bananas from the South
Early the next morning.

Zhou Ke knocked on the door.

Li Aiguo saw that it was only seven o'clock in the morning and felt that this guy actually wanted to have breakfast.

But who made him his milk brother!
Li Aiguo asked Zhou Ke to wait for a while, then went to the bathroom to wash his face and change into casual clothes.

If you are going shopping, you can't wear your railway uniform.

The two of them came to Aiqun Western Restaurant, ordered two steaks and started gnawing on them.

While eating, Zhou Ke said: "Shuxian is pregnant and needs to take supplements. I am patriotic. I heard that dried seafood is particularly cheap this year. I want to take some back to give to Huang Shuxian."

Li Aiguo picked up a napkin and wiped the corners of his mouth, "There are real things and fake things, good things and bad things. We two laymen can easily be fooled. Let's find a local to inquire about it after dinner."

As a time traveler, Li Aiguo has countless experiences of being defrauded.

There was once a beautiful old Burmese woman who called her "big brother" and invited her to travel and enjoy folk dances.

Li Aiguo is always wary of areas he is unfamiliar with.

"Brother Chen, I'm sorry you came to visit so rashly." Li Aiguo handed a net bag to Captain Chen.

“When people from outside Yangcheng buy dry goods, they usually go to dry goods stores. The prices are relatively expensive, but the quality is guaranteed.

Taking advantage of Captain Chen's opportunity to help his wife turn over, Li Aiguo looked at the furnishings in the house vaguely.

Zhou Ke nodded in agreement: "I've also heard that Lao Liu from our institute went on a business trip and bought back a box of isinglass. It's so precious that he shows it off in front of us all day long. Who knows what kind of fried pig it is? Skin."

Li Aiguo took Zhou Ke on a borrowed bicycle and went straight to the Yangcheng Public Security Bureau, only to learn that Captain Chen had made a great contribution and was given two days off.

Although as a family member, medical treatment does not cost money.

After Captain Chen's wife gave birth to his three sons, she suddenly fell seriously ill and collapsed on the bed.

"I'm a local and I'm familiar with everyone. I'll take you there to ensure you can buy the best and cheapest dry goods."

It is said that no one has a filial son before he is bedridden for a long time. Captain Chen's daughter-in-law has been bedridden for more than ten years, and Captain Chen can take care of her to such an extent. This shows that this person is a person who values ​​friendship.

In recent years, Captain Chen has spent all his family's savings in seeking medical treatment everywhere in order to cure his wife's illness.

There are cracks everywhere, the window glass is broken and covered with an old newspaper, the walls are pitted and not painted white, there is a medical pot on the coal stove in the kitchen, there is no radio, and the only decent furniture is a car The 28th big bar with mottled paint.

Captain Chen, the nemesis of thieves, never even frowned when facing thieves with murderous weapons, but now he was as reserved as a child.

I learned that the two of them were going to buy dried seafood.

He put the net bag directly on the table, "Besides, these nutritional supplements are for my sister-in-law, what do they have to do with you."

Li Aiguo and Captain Chen solved cases together, and the two established a deep friendship in half a month.

Li Aiguo's so-called local is naturally Captain Chen.

Captain Chen told his two sons to take good care of their mother at home, and asked Aunt Wang next door to help, and then pushed a tattered bicycle out the door.

He waved his hands repeatedly: "Driver Li, this is too valuable, I can't accept it."

Captain Chen was about to go out to buy medicine for his wife. When he saw the two of them, he handed over the task of buying medicine to his three boys and welcomed them into the house.

At this time, a weak voice came from the back room: "Old Chen, is your friend here?"

"Old Chen, we are comrades-in-arms, don't we have any comradeship at all?"

"You're welcome, sister-in-law, we're here to borrow Brother Chen's help today."

"I'm really sorry, I can't get up to pour you tea." A trace of apology appeared on Team Chen's wife's pale face.

This guy is a local and has connections with all religions, so he is best suited to be a guide.

There was also an additional note in the file. His wife wrote to the Public Security Bureau several times, hoping to divorce Captain Chen. The superiors asked Captain Chen to talk to him, but Captain Chen refused.

Li Aiguo and Zhou Ke entered the back room again and said hello to Captain Chen's wife.

There were two pounds of apples and a box of malted milk in the net bag.

After greeting Captain Chen's wife, Li Aiguo also explained his purpose.

Fortunately, I was too poor at the time to buy a plane ticket, otherwise I would have been ripped off.

"Then I'll take advantage of you!"

Although she is bedridden all year round, she is quite tidy.

Although the clothes on her body were patched one after another, there was not a trace of stain visible. There was a red ribbon tied on her black hair, which added a bit of vitality to her.

But fortunately, I didn’t use a mouse head to pretend to be a duck neck, which is considered professional ethics.

Fried pork rinds with isinglass. The Chinese are really good at it.

The two finished breakfast.

However, if it is only publicly funded medical care, the conditions are very limited.

The two rode bicycles to a large house in the suburbs of Yangcheng.

When Captain Chen joined the task force, Li Aiguo reviewed his files.

Captain Chen is at the leadership level. Even if his wife is dragging him down, it will be unimaginable in future generations that his family conditions could be so embarrassing.

Thinking of his bedridden wife, Captain Chen gritted his teeth, put aside his so-called face, and put the net bag in the cabinet.

Locals like to go to Panyu, which is relatively close to the port city and has a large farmers' market. "

"Thank you, Brother Chen."

Li Aiguo followed Captain Chen on his bicycle.

Captain Chen is definitely a "capable person".

Judging from the fact that he is a tall and thick man, but he is as careful as a hair, he can catch thieves on the street before they take action, so he naturally understands the intentions of Li Aiguo and others.

Who doesn’t love good quality products at a great price?
The bicycle rode all the way in the warm spring breeze for half an hour.

The surrounding buildings are no longer visible, replaced by low-rise houses and large slogans painted on the walls.

After driving for a while, the flow of people on the street gradually became denser, and Li Aiguo knew that he had entered the territory of Panyu.

Specifically, this place should be called Shiqiao, which had become a market during the Republic of China.

The road in Shiqiao is narrow, with a width of 8 meters. The shops on both sides of the road have "arcades" that span over the pedestrian road, which is quite southern style.

Compared with the center of Yangcheng City, this is a real southern town.

The market Captain Chen is looking for is a crossroads, located at the intersection of Qiaodong, Dadong, Dabei and Dongyong roads.

Li Aiguo saw a supply and marketing cooperative nearby. When he went in to inquire, he found that there were indeed coconut cigarettes.

This kind of cigarette is also famous in Beijing. It uses high-quality tobacco leaves from Zimbabwe and other regions, and also has filters.

The price is not cheap either, one dollar per pack, Li Aiguo bought two.

Open one of them, take out three boxes, give one box to each of Zhou Ke and Captain Chen, take one box for yourself, and put the rest in the canvas bag.

Captain Chen took the cigarette and was silent for a moment. In the end, without saying anything, he put it in his pocket and pointed to the market in the distance to introduce it.

"People in Shiqiao call this intersection 'Cross Road', and most of the people selling goods on the street are real fishermen and community members."

When Li Aiguo went to the market, he saw that it did not look like the large market he had imagined. Instead, it felt a bit like a pigeon market in Beijing.

There is a free market with stalls on both sides of the street, without even a shelter.

The only difference is that the stall owners don't have to be afraid. They sit in front of the stalls, smoking hookahs and gossiping.

There are fresh fish, shrimp, and various dried seafood in the market. What caught Li Aiguo's attention most was that there were seven or eight rack trucks loaded with piles of bananas.

"Old Chen, don't bananas only mature in October? Why are they here now?" Li Aiguo stopped and asked.

Captain Chen was helping Zhou Ke look for dried seafood. Hearing this, he stood up and said with a smile: "Bananas can mature all year round. The maturity time should depend on the planting season. I don't know the specific situation."

"So this is ah."

Li Aiguo took a deep look at the piles of sweet bananas and came up with a bold idea.

Bananas are really rare in northern rural areas. Many people have never seen them. Bananas are mostly sold in cities above the municipal level.

Last year Liu Guozhang gave Li Aiguo a bunch of bananas.

When Liu Guangfu saw it, he even called the banana a "finger", which made Chen Xueru laugh. She broke off a banana and gave it to him on the spot.

Now that I think about it, Liu Guangfu might have done this on purpose.

In short, even in the capital, bananas are very rare and extremely expensive, making it impossible for ordinary people to buy them.

If we transport bananas from the south to the capital, we can make a lot of money.

It's just that Li Aiguo is cautious by nature, and he knows very well that there must be a reason why no one does this, and he needs to plan carefully.

He turned his head and looked at the stall of dried seafood.

Although Chen Xueru is not pregnant, she can still buy some dry goods with whitening effects.

The person selling bananas next to him is a member of Dashi Commune in the suburbs of Yangcheng.

Seeing two people staring at the bananas, the production team leader Chen Dabao became excited, threw his cigarette butt on the ground, and wanted to stand up.

Seeing that the two of them turned to look at the stall selling dried seafood, he sat back angrily, took out a crumpled native cigarette and started smoking.

"The branch secretary asked us to sell bananas. Now it's better. We pay a management fee of 2 cents a day. It's been three days and we haven't sold a hundred kilograms of bananas in total. I even lost my pants."

A commune member next to him said listlessly: "Who says it's not the case! It's just that we can't help it. In response to the call from our superiors, seven or eight of our communes have changed all the fields into early banana fields.

If these bananas don't sell, we'll all go hungry. "

"I see, the leaders above didn't investigate at all, they just made a decision with a slap on the forehead." Another member said angrily: "The results are theirs, and it's not their turn to go hungry anyway."

Seeing that the two people were talking more and more, the production team leader Chen Dabao waved his hand and said:
"Okay, the decision above is not something we can discuss. Let's think about how to sell the bananas."

While he was talking about thinking of a way, Chen Dabao also knew that the commune members might really go hungry this year.

Banana production is large and the price is cheap, only two cents per pound. The key is that life is not easy for everyone.

In addition, more than a dozen communes next door have also promoted early bananas, and almost every household grows them. Who would be willing to spend money to buy bananas?

In the past, they could also use small sampans to deliver bananas to the port city.

The investigation has become more and more strict in the past two years, and no one dares to do this anymore.

Worry!
If Chen Dabao's hair hadn't been so thick, all of it would have been scratched off.

"Don't be in a hurry when buying dry seafood. We have to go from house to house and buy from whomever is cheaper."

After Captain Chen finished reading the useful goods, he did not directly ask Zhou Ke to buy them, but led them to continue shopping.

Several people were wandering around and asking about the price.

Li Aiguo also bought seafood. He felt that the prices were much cheaper than those in dry goods stores, and the quality was much better.

In addition, Li Aiguo is also paying attention to banana stalls.

There were a lot of banana carts selling bananas in the market, more than 30 of them in total. However, the business was not good, and some of the sales members simply squatted on the ground and played cards.

At this time, a middle-aged man wearing red sleeve bands hurriedly walked over from one end of the market.

There is something wrong with his left leg and he is limping, but his speed is not slow.

The vendors in the market all greeted him with a smile when they saw him. While saying hello, he scanned the stalls with sharp eyes.

If he found someone who dared to deceive customers with fake goods, he would rush over, scold him, and then throw him and the goods out of the market.

The old vendors in the market respected him and called him "Uncle Liu" one by one.

It should be said that "Uncle Liu" is also a celebrity in Shiqiao.

In order to facilitate the exchange of materials, a market similar to a pigeon market was formed in Shiqiao, where all kinds of speculators were rampant.

Everyone in Yangcheng knows that there are three things in Stone Bridge: first, there are many thieves, second, there are many cheaters, and third, there are many goods.

Later, the market gradually became semi-formalized, and Uncle Liu appeared.

At first, the thieves and speculators saw that he was just a cripple and didn't care.

Who would have thought that on his first day at work, Uncle Liu had uncovered more than twenty thieves and sent them all to the police station, and then used thunderous means to subdue the opportunists.

The public security situation in Shiqiao improved and it gradually became prosperous. Shiqiao people and the surrounding folks who came to sell seafood and agricultural products all appreciated Uncle Liu's benefits.

Some people wanted to treat Uncle Liu to dinner and drinks, but all they got in return was a flying kick.

Everyone couldn't understand how a cripple could master Iron Leg Kung Fu!
Uncle Liu was about to collect management fees from the vendors. When he saw Li Aiguo and the others, he suddenly stopped and ran over.

The vendors stood up one after another, picking up various things in their hands.

If these three people dared to talk to Liu Shuqiang, they wouldn't mind letting these three people taste the enthusiasm of Shiqiao people.

Seeing someone running over, Zhou Ke was about to take out his pistol, but was stopped by Li Aiguo because he didn't feel any hostility from Uncle Liu.

Uncle Liu ran to Captain Chen and looked at Captain Chen in disbelief: "Captain Chen?"

"You are Liu Deli!"

Captain Chen was stunned at first, looking at Uncle Liu up and down, a light suddenly burst out from his cloudy eyes, and he punched his chest heavily with his fist: "You kid is still alive. Why did you leave without saying a word?"
I have already reported to my superiors that I am going to join the official joint security defense team. "

"Captain, I am lame in one leg, how can I catch thieves? Even if I stay in the team, I will be a burden."

Liu Deli, who had just scolded others for setting up a stall, now acted like a well-behaved child in front of Captain Chen.

"We are brothers. I told you when I recruited you to join the team. You always like to act like a child."

Captain Chen also knew that it was already too late to teach Liu Deli a lesson now.

He patted Liu Deli on the shoulder and said: "That old man surnamed Huang, and his seven or eight apprentices were all caught by us, and they are probably smashing rocks in the Gobi Desert now."

"I heard about it too, captain, thank you so much for helping me avenge this." Liu Deli's mouth twitched and his eyes were a little red.

He was also an old man back then, and he was still one of the best.

Later, after being caught by Captain Chen, Liu Deli realized his mistake after a heart-to-heart education.

On Captain Liu's recommendation, he joined the security team and became a temporary joint defender.

Because Liu Deli was jealous of evil, he was targeted by an old man, which eventually led to the tragedy.

After coming out of the hospital, he felt that he would be unable to catch the thief in the future, so Liu Deli chose to leave the team voluntarily and returned to his hometown.

By chance, I became the industrial and commercial administrator of this informal pigeon market, responsible for collecting stall fees and maintaining public order.

Setting up an industrial and commercial administrator in Pigeon City sounds a bit fanciful.

But you must know that the policies here in Yangcheng are loose. Since there is no way to eliminate the pigeon market, it is better to bring it into formal management.

In this way, it can not only help people looking for a way to survive, but also increase the income of grassroots units and provide convenience to citizens.

It’s a triple win!

After understanding what happened to Liu Deli, Captain Chen nodded happily: "Okay, okay, Deli, you didn't go astray, so you lived up to my expectations."

"Captain, you have taught me that I must be clean and upright, and I will remember that for the rest of my life."

Liu Deli saw Li Aiguo and Zhou Ke, looked at Captain Chen, and suddenly asked: "Are these two from outside the country?"

Li Aiguo was wearing casual clothes commonly worn by locals today, and he had been silent just now.

This business administrator has really sharp eyes.

"These two are comrades from the railway department. They came here today to buy some dry seafood." Captain Chen introduced the identities of Li Aiguo and Zhou Ke.

"It's easy to tell. I know which store has the best dry goods."

When Liu Deli saw Captain Chen talking very intimately with Li Aiguo, he immediately realized that this person should be Captain Chen's friend, so he led a few people to a stall.

Coincidentally, this stall is the stall Zhou Ke and the others visited just now.

Liu Deli walked over and asked, "Lao Zhang, how much does your scallop cost per pound?"

When Lao Zhang saw it was Liu Deli, he hurriedly smiled and said, "It's Uncle Liu. If you want it, I'll give it to you for free."

Liu Deli said impatiently: "Don't give me this set. These two are my friends. How much will they cost?"

Lao Zhang first saw that the two of them were friends of Uncle Liu. After weighing it for a moment, he said: "Since they are your friends, Uncle Liu, it's fifty cents a pound."

Seafood prices are generally low these days. When Li Aiguo was in Qindao, fishermen could only eat sea cucumbers when the weather was bad.

When the veteran of the Qiongya Column went to the locomotive depot to give a report, he said with emotion: "How good your life is now. You have corn noodles to eat every day. We were very miserable at that time and could only eat abalone every day."

Abalone shells are more valuable than abalone meat, and sea cucumbers, sea cucumbers and sea urchins are all fed to the ducks.

Dried scallops are a bit special, they need to be soaked.

In particular, the scallops on the stall are translucent, khaki in color, and dense. If they were kept in future generations, wild super-large scallops like this would cost at least thousands of yuan per pound.

When Liu Deli heard the news, he stood up and said, "You want fifty cents a pound for scallops? You can keep it for yourself!"

With that said, Liu Deli threw the scallops in his hand on the stall, stood up and took Li Aiguo's arm: "Come on, Comrade Aiguo, I will find you a good and cheap one."

When Lao Zhangtou saw Liu Deli getting angry, he became anxious. He quickly stood up from the stall and stopped in front of several people.

"Forty-five cents, how about it? I also have abalone here. If you buy a pound of scallops, you will get half a pound of abalone for free!"

Good guy, buy one get one free, this guy really has a business mind.

Liu Deli's expression softened a lot. He turned around and looked at Old Zhangtou and said: "Old Zhangtou, your scallops are the best in Shiqiao, but you are too cunning and your business is not as good as Xiao Liu's. Several of them.”

"Yes, Uncle Liu, I will definitely be more honest in the future." Old Zhang rubbed his hands and nodded with a smile.

Li Aiguo was stunned when he heard this.

What? Educate business people to be honest. Liu Deli’s head is not broken, right?

What? This is the fifties? That's okay.

Under Liu Deli's education, Lao Zhangtou became a lot more real.

Their products are good and cheap, and both Li Aiguo and Zhou Ke bought a lot.

It was already noon.

Li Aiguo invited Captain Chen, Liu Deli and Zhou Ke to a state-owned restaurant not far away.

I ordered a large table of lychee meat, Sambu-stick, roasted sea cucumber, and steamed fish.

After everyone sat down, Zhou Ke and others poured wine. Li Aiguo stood up, picked up the wine glass and said, "My biggest gain from coming to Yangcheng this time is that I met two good friends. Come and take one."

"Comrade Patriot, you are too polite. You are a guest from afar. I originally invited you to this meal."

Captain Chen was a little embarrassed, but he also knew that Li Aiguo had a cheerful temperament, so he said nothing and drank the glass in one gulp.

Liu Deli, who was sitting next to Captain Chen, looked at the dishes on the table and the two jugs of good wine, and re-evaluated Li Aiguo's identity in his mind.

To be able to treat a table with such sumptuous dishes casually is not like a train driver with a salary of more than 100 yuan.

Liu Deli and Captain Chen also have bold tempers.

After the wine was poured, I drank three glasses in a row, and drank them all in one go. Although the harvest wine glass cost seven yuan, three glasses were only more than two taels.

But this wine is a local wine, and after three glasses, both of them felt a little bit hot.

Liu Deli blushed and said: "Patriotic brother, I think you are also a decent person. I am afraid that you came to our remote country not just to buy some dried seafood, right?"

Zhou Ke and Team Chen, who were picking up vegetables, stopped with their chopsticks and turned to look at Li Aiguo.

Li Aiguo picked up the wine glass, drank it down in one gulp, and said with two tuts: "In the beginning, it was really to buy dry goods, but when I saw the bananas in your market, I had a small idea."

Liu Deli picked up a peanut and asked casually: "How many kilograms of bananas do you want to buy?"

"A few dozen tons."

(End of this chapter)