Mr. Bao and his son: Only use Stankang for hair oil

Chapter 61 West of the City and South of the City
"He is a student at a provincial high school."

Lao Bao added, staring at the shopkeeper, feeling somewhat confident: He remembered that Bao Guowei said that students can get discounts when they come to get glasses.

The waiter was a little surprised and looked at the man looking in the mirror:

At first glance, he looks like a young man going to college, or a young man just starting out in society. But after putting on glasses, he looks like a successful industrialist, or a son of a powerful person who has returned from studying in the West.

In short, it is surprising that he is still attending a new middle school nearby.

"As long as you have a Gusu Middle School student ID card, you can get a [-]% discount."

The shopkeeper replied respectfully. He was speaking to Lao Bao. Bao Guowei looked so noble now that he did not dare to talk to Bao Guowei.

In fact, if we really talk about it, the price of these glasses is not too expensive. It is more than 20 times more than the cost price. Although it is a bit more expensive than its peers, it is not too expensive.

Out of the basic qualities of a storekeeper and based on the subconscious instinct - the price reduction should also make customers feel that it is worth it, and do not make people think that the previous price was random.

"The cost of these square-shaped glasses is much higher, and the frame is gold-plated! Nissan electroplating..."

Anyone who likes gold and silver jewelry knows that gold-plated items are actually meaningless. One gram of gold can be plated with a surface area of ​​several hundred square centimeters. This type of production is mainly about craftsmanship.

In fact, as a "semi-non-renewable resource", it is normal for glasses customers to be more expensive considering the rental prices of shops in the city center. As long as it is not outrageous, Bao Guowei can understand it, but...

"What, you think I don't understand this? Are you using these words to fool people?"

The man wearing glasses spoke, sensing some displeasure in his tone. It looked like there was a block in the shopkeeper's chest, making it difficult to breathe, and the back of his neck felt a little chilly as if there was an ice block stuffed in it.

……

After coming out of the store and walking on the dry and hard road, Lao Bao still felt a little distressed.

A pair of glasses cost four and a half yuan - not four and eight yuan, but it was worth more than a hundred kilograms of new rice. That was still the price of fine grains. If it were replaced by bran leaves and grain bran, how long would it last?

However, thanks to Guowei, the Qin government has given him a salary increase: four and a half yuan is less than half a month's salary.

Now that he has become the "big housekeeper", his servants give him gifts from time to time. If someone is late for work, they will bribe him with a few copper coins.

Not only that, the master and his wife have a much better attitude towards him, and they usually give him some rewards.

Even taking into account the annual tuition fee of about [-] yuan from a foreign school, the family does not need to be as tight as before.

Thinking of this, and looking at Bao Guowei's very heroic appearance after wearing gold-rimmed glasses, Lao Bao no longer has any thoughts of feeling distressed - it's worth it.

The optical shop is at the north end of the school. If you want to go home, you have to go back to the school along the same route and then walk south.

The shadows of the trees swayed, the light of the setting sun shone on the ground, a group of sparrows flew by, and looked around - the spacious road seemed to be sprinkled with gold powder, there were neatly dressed pedestrians on the road, the streets were clean and tidy shops, even rickshaws Much more luxurious.

A student holding a book in his hand walked by:

"Go to the comic store and buy some comics!"

"Go buy some more novels and read them!"

He spoke words that children in the south of the city would almost never mention.

Men in suits and top hats walked by:
"The Toyo Textile Factory had obviously shut down before, so why did the stock price suddenly rise so much?"

"Haha, you didn't know that this time, the tax on textiles entering the city was directly increased, and the government united..."

He was saying things that the men in the south of the city couldn't understand.

Women wearing cheongsam and silver jewelry on their heads and necks take a catwalk:

"My husband brought me the British Karls perfume last night."

"Then you should buy him a bottle of Stankang scalp oil today."

He was talking about things that the women in the south of the city had never paid attention to.

……

There are far fewer people around the school, and most students and parents have gone home.

But there were still school security guards at the door, and there were a few scattered students or gentlemen who had just come out at this moment.

Some vendors have already pushed their carts to other places, pushing the carts very quickly, as if they are in a hurry to leave.The remaining vendors were still shouting - if the items can't be sold, they will be taken to the south of the city or other places, and the price will be much less. If they can't be sold, they can only eat it themselves, without any financial resources. , what you eat is the money for the next purchase, and you cry while eating.

"Want a bowl of wontons to warm you up?"

Lao Bao stopped in front of the steaming "Li's Chaos" stall and took Bao Guowei's hand - he had previously put his cold hands in his sleeves to keep warm.

There are wooden sticks on the wonton stall and an open fire is burning to heat the wonton soup. On this cold day, when people see this eye-catching fire, they want to get close to get warm.

Bao Guowei nodded.

"Two guests, you can get [-]% off for two copies. Brothers fighting tigers, father and son go into battle!"

The store owner wore a black hat, gray hair exposed at the temples, and a cotton padded jacket. He was probably in his sixties and was still earning a living outside.

Seeing the two people holding hands in front of him, although he felt a little inconsistent, but after looking at their faces, they were somewhat similar, and the shop owner still knew in his heart: this is a father and son.

"how much is it?"

The vendor pointed to the sign next to him: "One bowl is a dime, and the second one is [-]% off."

I think this price was carefully considered. Even if it is [-]% off, wealthy parents who want to show off their wealth will often only generously spend [-] cents - no need to look for it.

"Want two?"

"One portion, I'm full at home."

Lao Bao couldn't bear to eat fine grains or meat. He always felt that enjoying such things in his humble life was too luxurious.

……

The further we walked toward the south of the city, the more dirty and messy we felt. The dead leaves on the ground had not been cleaned and had accumulated a thick layer, giving off an unpleasant smell.

The wall on the road seemed to have been smeared with oil stains, and the cracks in the wall were black. There was a lot of rain in the south of the Yangtze River, so there was a lot of green moss attached to it, but according to past memories, the moss would be gone in winter—— Maybe it was scraped off and eaten.

When people they meet on the road see Bao Guowei dressed like this, they often run away to another street far away to avoid spreading their dirt to others, which in turn arouses anger and causes unprovoked disasters and the like. , or simply awe.

Bao Guowei just held a thin white wooden bowl in his hand, eating the wontons in it as he walked, the steam steaming on his glasses.

"Dad, are food prices high recently?"

Bao Guowei suddenly remembered what his high school history teacher said: There were many great famines during the Republic of China.

The so-called Great Famine, if the number of victims does not involve tens of millions of people and the number of people who starve to death does not reach one million, is not enough to deserve this title.

He can still clearly remember a nursery rhyme told by his history teacher:
In the 18th year of the Republic of China, people came to eat people, dogs came to eat dogs, crows and sparrows ate stones, and rats were too hungry to move away.

What is described here is the Great Famine from 1928 to 1930.

Lao Bao thought for a while: "It was high for a while, but as a result, many more grain merchants came to the city, and it dropped again."

"Then let's stock up on more grain now. Isn't there a small cellar in the courtyard? It should be filled up at least. There is no need to reserve tuition. Money may not buy grain, but grain can be turned into money at any time."

Although the Bao family is small, it still has a cellar, and a few cubic meters can actually store thousands of catties of grain.

Lao Bao nodded. Now he would do everything Bao Guowei said, let alone what he should do like stocking up on food.

"I'll ask Zhang Siwu to find someone to go with you tomorrow. I'm not worried about you going alone."

As he was talking, he noticed a man in his 20s lying on the ground like a corpse on the road ahead.

The clothes on his body were in tatters, as if they had been soaked in ink and rubbed by the river until they turned white and then crushed underfoot: wrinkled, with holes everywhere, strand after strand. of.

He was covered with a broken straw mat, his cheeks were withered, and his eyes were looking at the sky with no expression. Next to him was a broken pottery bowl with a few dead leaves in it.

Pedestrians passing by him seemed invisible and just walked around, as if they were used to it.

Death is a common thing. Now that the weather has become cold, it is less likely to cause plague and disease. Therefore, the intensity of the government soldiers' control over "dead people" has gradually decreased.

Bao Guowei had almost eaten the Chaos in his bowl, and there were still some leftovers. Seeing how pitiful he was, he poured the rest into the broken pottery bowl.

But the man didn't respond. He looked at his chest and saw that it had stopped rising.

(End of this chapter)