My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 40 Liu Yinhuan

The old man mentioned a repair stall located under the large archway at the entrance of Changle Village, which repaired both cars and shoes.

The stall owner was a middle-aged man with a stubble beard and a pockmarked, square face. Business was pretty good. Chen Ling pushed the cart in front of the archway and put the basket on the ground.

There were quite a few people getting their shoes repaired and zippers fixed at the stall, so I figured I'd have to wait a while.

He took out his pocket watch and checked the time. It was just past eleven o'clock, which was the time when there were many people at the market. Instead of waiting here, he decided to try and sell some vegetables.

Anyway, idle is idle.

"Cucumbers and tomatoes, two yuan a pound, or your money back if you don't like them!"

Chen Ling started shouting.

This shout immediately attracted a lot of attention.

What the hell? They dare to sell cucumbers and tomatoes for two yuan a pound? This is robbery!

Even the vendors at the nearby stalls couldn't help but look over here.

"Cucumbers, tomatoes, fresh vegetables from the greenhouse—try them before you buy, so you know what's good and bad..."

"It's two yuan a pound. You can try it even if you don't buy any."

Regardless of what others thought, Chen Ling continued to shout.

With this shout, the curious people who had been watching quickly gathered around.

This includes the bicycle repairman and the sugar seller.

"Hey, I was wondering why there are cucumbers in March. They must be grown in greenhouses."

"Building a greenhouse must cost a lot of money. I heard that some people in Yangtougou have built greenhouses to grow mushrooms."

"What do you know? A mushroom greenhouse doesn't take up more than two acres of land and doesn't cost much. It's the vegetable growers that spend money..."

"So what? They can't sell them for such a high price. Pork is only 2.5 yuan a pound after the price increase, and vegetables are 2 yuan a pound. They're treating people like livestock."

"..."

Seven or eight people gathered around, saying all sorts of things.

Chen Ling didn't mind, took out two cucumbers, broke them into pieces, and handed them out.

"Folks, don't complain about the price yet. Come and try it. If it's not delicious, I would never dare to sell it at this price, even if you paid me. Don't you agree?"

"You get what you pay for, that makes sense."

"I'll try it."

The middle-aged mechanic at the stall next to Chen Ling nodded, took a piece of cucumber, wiped it on his clothes, and took a bite.

"Crack."

With one bite, the middle-aged man felt a refreshing crunch, and after a few chews, the fragrance lingered on his lips and teeth.

Another cool sensation rushed straight to the center of the forehead, instantly invigorating the spirit.

The middle-aged man hurriedly ate the remaining piece, giving Chen Ling a thumbs-up as he ate, and mumbled, "Delicious, brother, your cucumber is really good."

Hearing this, the others couldn't resist taking the cucumbers from Chen Ling and trying them.

They were pleasantly surprised after tasting it and gave Chen Ling a thumbs up, praising him highly.

However, none of them expressed any intention to buy.

This was within Chen Ling's expectations, so when he offered the tomatoes to others to try, no one came forward to eat them.

If you don't buy from others, who would have the nerve to eat it?

"Young man, you're selling it for such a high price, you won't be able to sell it at the market..."

"You should go to the health center area. There are a few bastards who own factories there. They're really good at making money. They've built little villas and they're not short of cash."

The candy seller was a chubby old man with patches of blue and white on his face, a kind of freckled face.

Its scientific name is vitiligo.

He also wanted to bargain and buy some.

"Haha, I was just thinking of going over there, but my car broke down, so I pushed it over to get it fixed. When I got here, I saw a lot of people, so I thought I'd try calling out a few names."

Chen Ling glanced at the old man, picked out a few tomatoes and cucumbers from the basket, and gave them to the old man and the man repairing the car.

"It's fate that we're setting up stalls together. If you think something tastes good, just take some. There's no question of buying it or not."

"Oh, no, no, we'll still give you whatever we owe you..."

Chen Ling's generous behavior made the two of them feel embarrassed.

People who have been running a stall for a long time all care about their reputation. They bargain, but they can't be so shameless as to ask young people for things.

"Please don't be shy, both of you. Please accept this."

"I'm going to the west to buy livestock later. I can't sell these things, so I'll have to ask you to look after them for me."

Chen Ling said with a smile.

"Well, that's okay."

Only after hearing this did the two men feel relieved enough to accept the gift.

"Hey bro, what's wrong with your car? Need a tire changed?"

The middle-aged man grabbed Chen Ling's arm and led him to the stall, acting very enthusiastically.

"We need to change the tires. The rear tire blew out, and there are a few rat bumps stuck in the front. Both tires need to be changed."

Chen Ling nodded and pointed it out to him.

"Oh dear, you should have changed these a long time ago. Look at these tires, both the outer and inner ones are worn down, almost flat. This mountain road is difficult to travel on. If they blow up on your way back from the market, that would be a real problem..."

"Who says it isn't?"

The old man selling sugar figurines wasn't doing much business right now. After putting his things back on his stall, he ran over to chat with Chen Ling and the other man.

After introducing themselves, they realized that the two were locals from Changle Township.

The man who sold candy with a freckled face was called Zhang Tiegen, but everyone else called him Lao Gen or Uncle Lao Gen.

He usually travels from village to village selling sugar figurines.

The man who ran the repair stall was named Guo Baolai. He not only repaired bicycles and shoes, but also mended pots and even castrated pigs.

“Fugui, when you go to buy livestock, have Baolai take you. He knows a lot about cattle, horse and pig farming, he’s very knowledgeable about it.”

The two chatted with Chen Ling, occasionally helping him by calling out to each other and pulling two more people over.

Unfortunately, everyone thought it was too expensive, so no one bought it.

"Is the sugar figurine seller still in business?"

A moment later, someone shouted.

When Chen Ling and the other two looked over, they saw an old woman with black hair holding the hand of a chubby child standing in front of a sugar figurine stall. The child was standing on tiptoe, calling out "Sun Wukong, Sun Wukong," and reaching out to take the figurine.

"Hey, who's this guy? He looks really familiar."

Zhang Tiegen walked over with a smile, picked up a sugar figurine of Sun Wukong, and handed it to the chubby boy.

The old lady glared at him: "You're so familiar with your grandma. Come home for lunch and we'll have a meal together. Huanhuan and her husband have finally come back. Go over and have a few drinks with them, otherwise your brother-in-law's alcohol tolerance is simply not good enough."

"No, no, I haven't seen Huanhuan for over ten years. I wouldn't know what to say if I went there, and it would make me feel awkward."

Zhang Tiegen waved his hand, then pulled out a tomato from behind the stall and handed it to the chubby boy: "Come on, call him Uncle, Uncle will give you something good to eat."

“I won’t call you that. You just said bad things about my mother. You’re a bad old man.”

The chubby boy pouted and said.

"Xiaoming, how dare you speak to your uncle like that? Did you forget your mother's teachings to be polite?"

The old lady gently tapped the chubby boy on the head and glanced at Zhang Tiegen: "It's only the beginning of spring, where did you get these tomatoes?"

"Look, that young man over there is selling these. He says they're grown in greenhouses, and they're sweet and sour. They're so delicious. Sister, why don't you and the kids get a few?"

Zhang Tiegen handed over all the tomatoes that Chen Ling had given him.

The old lady glanced at Chen Ling, then took a tomato from Zhang Tiegen's hand: "One is enough, don't give him so many. This kid is very picky, who knows if he'll eat them or not."

"Then how about Uncle makes another sugar figurine for Xiaoming, maybe even a Monkey King?"

Zhang Tiegen's old face was beaming with joy.

"Okay, I like Sun Wukong."

The chubby boy's eyes lit up, and he sang, "Brother Monkey, Brother Monkey, you're amazing..."

The old lady said from the side, "If you want Sun Wukong, call him Uncle and say thank you, Uncle." With the sugar figurine, the chubby boy immediately became much more obedient and honestly said, "Thank you, Uncle."

This made Zhang Tiegen laugh heartily.

After the old lady led the chubby boy away, Guo Baolai joked, "No wonder you dragged me to buy vegetables from Fugui earlier, it turns out you were giving them to your grandson as a rare treat."

"It's a pity that they're from the capital. They've seen everything. They can eat vegetables from these greenhouses whenever they want. It would be better to make more sugar figurines for the little ones."

Zhang Tiegen's face, covered in blemishes, suddenly flushed red: "Stop talking nonsense! Do you think I don't understand? I just thought Fugui's dishes looked delicious, so I wanted to buy some to stir-fry with my family..."

"Okay, okay, you want to buy it yourself."

Guo Baolai acted as if whatever you said was the truth.

Chen Ling was somewhat moved, as he had also overheard Zhang Tiegen's conversation with the old woman.

It's nothing more than his niece marrying into a family in Beijing and now returning home with her husband and son. As her uncle, he wants to get close to the children and make them happy, but unfortunately, he doesn't know how.

When I see something nice or rare, I want to buy some and send it over.

But at the same time, I was worried that I would buy the wrong thing and my child would not like it, so I felt very uneasy and conflicted.

"Do wealthy families have children?"

The old man glared at Guo Baolai and asked.

"No, I plan to have one in two years."

Chen Ling smiled. He hadn't even gotten married in his previous life, and now he was being asked to have a child with Wang Susu.

I really wasn't mentally prepared for that.

"Have one soon. Having a baby at home will give you more energy to do chores."

Guo Baolai was tired from repairing cars, so he wiped his sweat, rolled a cigarette, and handed the bag of tobacco leaves to Zhang Tiegen.

"Want a Fugui cigarette?"

Chen Ling waved his hand: "No, I can drink, but I don't smoke much."

Guo Baolai immediately perked up: "Then come to my house for a couple of drinks at noon?"

"Maybe next time. We still need to buy livestock today. Drinking too much will only make things worse."

Chen Ling picked up a cucumber, wiped off the thorns, and started eating it.

The two men were smoking, and he always felt awkward if he didn't have something in his mouth.

The three chatted until midnight.

During that time, people came to buy sugar figurines and get their tires repaired, but no one came to Chen Ling's stall to buy vegetables.

He called out a few times and attracted quite a few people, but they would often turn around and leave as soon as they asked about the price.

"Fugui, come and eat. I asked the family to make a little extra. Let's eat together as a family."

Guo Baolai greeted him.

His house is in the third alley to the east of the archway, very close by.

When it was time to eat, they simply brought out a pot.

A big pot of stew with steamed buns—it's vegetarian with no meat, but it's still quite delicious.

Chen Ling didn't stand on ceremony, walked over, moved a few stones, sat down, and started eating.

"Really not going to have a couple of drinks? A little bit is fine too."

Guo Baolai said it tasted good, and then asked.

"No, no, maybe next time, definitely next time."

“You spend all day going from village to village casting pigs and mending pots, and Uncle Lao Gen is always going from village to village. Why don’t you come to our village one of these days? If you want to drink, it won’t be hard. There will be plenty of opportunities.”

Chen Ling said, taking a big bite of the steamed bun.

"Hey, you're right."

Guo Baolai's eyes lit up: "I'm going to your village to castrate pigs in a couple of days. Damn it, there are so many families raising piglets in the spring."

"Yes, that's true. Pork is expensive this year, so there's a sudden increase in pig farming."

Zhang Tiegen also said.

The three were eating when suddenly someone called out "Uncle" from a distance. It was a woman's voice, and she called out several times, sounding quite urgent, as if she was walking and calling at the same time.

"Huh? It's Huanhuan!"

Zhang Tiegen stood up abruptly.

Chen Ling looked in the direction of the sound and saw a beautiful young woman in her thirties, dressed fashionably, hurriedly walking over with a chubby boy in tow.

"uncle."

Upon meeting, the young woman first called out to Zhang Tiegen.

"It's Huanhuan! I wouldn't have recognized her if we were out in the street. She'll probably be staying for a while this time..."

Zhang Tiegen was quite happy; he hadn't seen his niece for ten years and had heard that she was doing very well now.

"I won't be staying long; I'll be leaving the day after tomorrow."

The young woman said apologetically, then added reproachfully, "Why didn't you come home, Uncle? We went to my mother's house yesterday afternoon. We went to call you last night, but my cousin said you went to sell sugar figurines and haven't come home yet."

"You're so old, why are you still working from dawn till dusk? You should take a break."

"Let's go to his house later, the food is all ready, let's have a few drinks with Xiaoming's dad. I've been telling him about you, but he's never met you yet."

"I'm not going. I'm eating right now, and the stall needs someone to stay. I'll go check on things at home after the market is over..."

Zhang Tiegen chuckled sheepishly: "But your daughter, you finally come back for a visit, why don't you stay a few more days?"

Liu Yinhuan sighed: "The TV station can't do without people. I had to beg three or four times before I finally got this leave to visit my family."

Zhang Tiegen was deeply moved upon hearing this: "You've really made something of yourself. When I went to the county town, I often saw you on TV. Your mother also often said that if the signal here weren't so bad, she would definitely buy a TV so that she could see you every day."

Liu Yinhuan's eyes immediately reddened: "Uncle, you've watched me grow up since I was a child, how come you never meet your nephew-in-law?"

“My nephew-in-law has such a big business, I... I went to see him, but I really didn’t know what to say.”

Zhang Tiegen chuckled.

"Mommy, Mommy. Stop talking, I want to eat tomatoes..."

The chubby boy had long been impatient listening to the two talking. Seeing that they were still chatting endlessly, he immediately became upset and twisted his round, chubby body, whining.

"Xiaoming wants to eat tomatoes? Your uncle has some here."

Zhang Tiegen hurriedly brought out all the tomatoes and asked, "Is this enough?"

The chubby boy immediately beamed with joy, not caring whether it was enough or not, he grabbed one and started munching on it.

"Wow, it's so delicious, sweet and sour! It's even better than the fruit at my house. This is the best thing I've ever eaten..."

The chubby boy sucked on the tomato juice, his mouth turning completely red.

“Liang Yiming! Have you forgotten everything your mother taught you? You just pick it up and eat it without even saying thank you. This is your great-uncle, your elder. How can you be so inconsiderate…”

Liu Yinhuan reprimanded him with a stern face, but was stopped by Zhang Tiegen before she could finish her sentence.

"The child is still young, don't scold him so harshly."

Liu Yinhuan knew that the old man doted on the child, so she didn't say anything more. She looked around and her gaze fell on the two baskets next to Chen Ling's bicycle. Seeing that no one was around, she frowned slightly.

"Uncle, isn't the vegetable seller here?"

"Yes, yes, yes, right here, we're eating at the shoe repair stall across the street."

Zhang Tiegen pointed at Chen Ling.

Liu Yinhuan saw a young man holding a bowl and a steamed bun, eating heartily.

"Wealth, wealth, come quickly..."

Zhang Tiegen called out twice.

"Wait a minute, Uncle Lao Gen, let me have a drink of water, I'm choking a little."

Chen Ling took a sip of water and ate a little.

"Wow, you're opening for business! I didn't expect kids in Beijing to love tomatoes. Don't they have tomatoes where they are...?"

Guo Baolai muttered to himself.

Chen Ling smiled and said, "A woman who brings a little baby won't sell many things on her first day."

(End of this chapter)