Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 869 868 What the hell are you talking about? Go to the market!
Saturday, October 6.

Early in the morning, Tang Zhitong casually pulled out his old clothes from the closet and put them on.

"Why are you wearing this?" Xiao Wang frowned when he saw it. Such a handsome young man, wearing patched clothes with holes, looked like a beggar.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you yesterday. The school organized some labor, so wear something a little worn out so you don't ruin your clothes," Tang Zhitong said with a smirk.

The vegetable garden developed by the Department of Wired Electronics last year has now become a labor base within the college, where students regularly go to work.

The Department of Wired Communications lost its right to share in the fruits of labor. Part of the produce from the fields would be taken to the cafeteria to improve the meals for teachers and students, and the other part would probably be distributed to faculty and staff.

Given the above situation, the faculty and students of the Wired Department have basically lost touch with vegetable garden work. Labor is not as frequent as last year, and it is considered good if they are assigned to labor twice a semester.

Tang Zhitong wore this outfit because he planned to go to the countryside to pick some melons for his classmate Xiao Wang.

Seeing how much she ate melon last night, Tang Zhitong felt a little sorry for her. Since she liked it, he decided to buy more this time and let her eat it little by little after they got back.

Once the season is over, there's no reason to take more out.

As for classes, skipping one more day is fine.

After breakfast, when Tang Zhitong dropped Xiao Wang off at the entrance of the National Library, his attire even startled the security guard: "Guy, what's with this outfit today? From a distance, I thought someone had the guts to do something to us employees!"

"Haha, I'm doing manual labor at work today, so I don't mind wearing old clothes and wasting them." The security guard was responsible, and he was especially worried about Xiao Wang. Tang Zhitong immediately offered him a cigarette and chatted for a few minutes before leaving.

According to the map, Tang Zhitong was heading towards Xinjiekou, but as soon as he left Xinjiekou, he turned west and headed for the train station.

Tang Zhitong went to the west a while ago to deal with the medical insurance for the commune members. He met quite a few people there, so he can't go to the west again this time. He can only go to the east, south, and north.

The location of the National Library is right here; starting from here, the north is the most suitable and time-saving direction.

Tang Zhitong found a small alley outside Xizhimen Station, put his bicycle into his spatial dimension, and then went to buy a ticket and wait for the bus.

Judging from the waiting crowd, there were still quite a few vendors who used to buy things, but no one approached Tang Zhitong because of his shabby clothes. This suited Tang Zhitong just fine, so he sat down in the car and closed his eyes to rest.

Tang Zhitong kept his mouth shut, but he couldn't control what others were saying; the surrounding discussions kept pouring into his ears.

"Soybean curd crab, wheat-flavored turtle, guess how much that turtle I bought the other day sold for?" A few people nearby clearly recognized each other and started chattering together.

"Wow, look at you! You've eaten your fill and your belly is all round now!"

"How much? It can't be sold for twenty yuan, can it?"

The others offered either flattery or envy.

"Hehe, it's not that exaggerated, but it's still better than usual. Rich people really know how to enjoy life. They really enjoyed this turtle, and now they've ordered from me again. But these things aren't so easy to catch. If you guys happen to come across one, keep an eye out for me. I definitely won't let you guys lose money." In the end, the man didn't reveal how much money he made; he just wanted to use this as an excuse to expand his supply.

"Sure, sure! I don't need to find sales channels myself. I can just buy some products and make money. I'll do it!" someone immediately said.

"That's a good idea. How about this: if any of us have something that's hard to sell, we can share the information and help each other out. We all have different clients, so if we say a few words, maybe someone will lend a hand. It's not easy to make a living these days, as long as we don't lose money." While supporting the idea, someone also raised their own needs.

Upon hearing this, Tang Zhitong realized that they probably knew each other because they frequently traveled the same route, but they weren't very close yet. However, this partnership reduced the risks associated with buying and selling.

"This is a good idea, I support it! I recently bought a basket of apricots, thinking I'd sell them at a higher price, but I didn't expect that if I set the price too high, they wouldn't sell quickly, and a lot of them rotted overnight. I was so heartbroken that I couldn't sleep well for several days." Immediately, someone jumped out to support it.

"Hey, let me teach you a lesson. There's a saying: 'Better to eat one fresh peach than a basket of rotten apricots.' Apricots don't keep well; once they start rotting, it's like a contagious disease. Every time I go to the countryside to buy apricots, I pick the unripe ones; they can last for two days when I get back. If you insist on buying soft, sweet apricots, half of them will rot before they even reach Beijing!"

When these words reached Tang Zhitong's ears, he felt that this person was ostensibly teaching the techniques of picking apricots, but actually was gloating. He slightly raised his eyelids and peeked through a crack, and sure enough, the person had a smile on his face.

Some people are like that; they feel terrible when their brothers are doing well, but they feel happy when their brothers are not doing well, even while offering comfort.

"Do you think I don't know this principle? Are you spouting nonsense here sincerely, or are you just trying to cause trouble?!" Upon hearing this, the man became displeased, his face flushed red, and he pointed at the other person's nose and got angry.

"Alright, alright, calm down, calm down. He just speaks his mind, he doesn't mean any harm." Seeing that the newly formed alliance was about to fall apart, someone immediately stepped in to act as a peacemaker.

"Hey, look at you, you idiot. I've really been ungrateful for your kindness." Being insulted to his face, the man was also a little embarrassed.

Hearing that a fight was about to break out, Tang Zhitong was afraid that it would affect him. He immediately opened his eyes as if he had been woken up, looked around, and then got up and walked to the connecting area between the carriages to give them space so that they could do what they wanted.

However, the group only vented their anger verbally and did not actually start fighting, because the flight attendant came over after hearing the commotion and reprimanded them.

When Tang Zhitong sat back down, the carriage was much quieter.

The train journey was arduous, and Tang Zhitong only opened his eyes again when the train arrived at Changping Station.

At the end of last year, Tang Zhitong went to Dazhuangji in Shahe and bought a lot of Jingxi rice there.

Today is not market day in Dazhuang, but due to the inconvenience of travel, the local markets must not be too far apart.

Although Tang Zhitong had changed his clothes, his tall and straight figure and strikingly handsome appearance were still a safety hazard if he were recognized. Therefore, he chose to sit one more stop ahead this time.

After getting off the train, the merchants who came to buy goods rushed out of the station in a swarm.

Tang Zhitong was here for the first time and didn't know where the market was. He had originally planned to follow the vendors to find the market, but when he saw this situation, he immediately took off with his long legs and followed, afraid of getting lost.

But as soon as Tang Zhitong got off the train, he was amused. What the hell was he going to a market for? There were several rows of vendors squatting in the open space in front of the train station.

Has this train station really gone to such lengths to sell goods?
He had planned to sneak into the market, but now he could skip it. What a waste of those beggar's clothes. Standing tall, he could see far. Tang Zhitong glanced around the roadside and immediately recognized the vendors. Most of them were selling fruit, all of which were classified as three types of goods not subject to government purchase restrictions: mulberries, cherries, peaches, apricots, and melons.

Come to think of it, only goods that are not subject to centralized purchasing can appear openly in public. If someone were to come selling eggs with a basket, the police station at the station would probably have detained both the person and the eggs long ago.

There were many sellers and buyers here, but Tang Zhitong didn't rush to ask the price. He was gambling that the small vendors who came to buy goods wouldn't be able to eat so much fruit.

Tang Zhitong stepped forward, looking left and right, eavesdropping on others negotiating prices.

"How much are these peaches?" A small vendor took a liking to a peach, bent down, picked it up, gently squeezed it, and asked.

"Two and a half cents a pound, two and a half cents for the whole bunch." The old farmer, who was guarding two baskets of peaches, squatted behind the baskets, puffing on his pipe, and quoted the price.

"This is too expensive. In Beijing, the best peaches are only 25 cents. These peaches are all cracked. Make it cheaper, I'll buy ten pounds." The vendor put the peaches down again, straightened his back, and acted like an old farmer who would leave if he didn't agree.

"It's not that they're bad just because they're cracked. They got wet from the heavy rains recently. These peaches are even sweeter." The old farmer was unwilling to haggle, insisting that he had a reason for charging a higher price.

"That won't do either. Even if you sell these peaches to the supply and marketing cooperative, they won't buy them." The small vendor wouldn't budge an inch.

"I still won't sell them. Do you really think I don't know? There aren't that many peaches for sale in the city. I can sell these peaches even if I carry them there." The old farmer shook his head, still unwilling to sell them cheaply.

"Hey, look at you, so confident. Why don't you try carrying it around and selling it? If it gets confiscated, you'll have nowhere to cry." The vendor sneered and went to the next stall without looking back.

Tang Zhitong shook his head as he watched. In those days, people from the countryside were indeed afraid of going to the city, but not to the point of being afraid to go.

After hearing what the small vendors said, Tang Zhitong finally understood why there were fewer vendors selling goods on the streets this year. Besides production issues, it was probably related to the verbal intimidation by these people.

Although he wanted it, Tang Zhitong didn't go up to talk to him. If he bought it now, was he just going to sit here and do nothing? With everyone watching, he couldn't just take it from his spatial storage!
Next, Tang Zhitong followed different vendors and listened to the prices of fruit at several stalls.

The farmers who came to sell fruit all seemed to have agreed on the same price.

Unripe apricots cost 26 cents a pound, while slightly soft ripe apricots cost 20 cents.

Cherries and mulberries are difficult to store and transport, so their prices are comparable to those of ripe apricots.

The most expensive melons cost 30 cents a pound.

Upon hearing the price, Tang Zhitong realized how much money these vendors were making. Last time, he had bought those melons for 55 cents each, which, when converted to a unit price, was about one yuan per kilogram.

There's a profit of 70 cents per kilogram. Even with transportation costs and losses, the profit margin is still quite considerable. In a month, it's not less than what workers earn.

After looking around, I noticed that most people asked questions, but few actually bought anything.

Tang Zhitong only began to understand the situation when he saw some vendors enter the station empty-handed and then come out empty-handed again.

Are both sides in this relationship spending time playing a psychological game?
The gambling vendors selling their goods had to buy them before the train arrived at the station on their return journey; otherwise, they would either have to stay overnight or go back empty-handed.

Vendors are betting that the sales will falter and someone will be willing to lower the price; otherwise, the fruit will spoil more if left out for even one more day.

It was still early before the train for the return journey arrived, but Tang Zhitong didn't want to stay there idly.

The vendors might be willing to linger for a few cents if they wanted to earn more, but Tang Zhitong had no shortage of money and no reason to waste his time with them.

Tang Zhitong first went to a melon stall at the end of the square. The location was poor and inconspicuous, but the price was stable at three cents a pound: "How much are these in total?"

"Forty-five jin, do you want to buy it all?" the melon seller asked excitedly.

"I can't carry it, but could you deliver it to me? It's not far ahead." Tang Zhitong nodded slightly, then gestured with her chin in a direction.

"Sure! But you have to pay first." The melon seller replied without hesitation, seeing Tang Zhitong's shabby clothes.

"Give me ten yuan first, and I'll give you the rest when it's delivered. I'll walk in front, and you follow behind me." Tang Zhitong took out a wad of cash from his pocket, pulled out a large ten-yuan note, and handed it over.

"Young man, do you want some apricots? I can deliver them to you too!" The fruit stall wasn't far away, and there was still some time before the afternoon departure. The most impatient one was the apricot seller. When he saw the wad of money that Tang Zhitong took out, the apricot seller was also tempted.

When the wheat turns yellow and the apricots ripen, it's the season for apricots to be harvested. Unripe apricots can be left to ripen a little longer, but if the fully ripe ones can't be sold, they'll all be stuck with us.

Tang Zhitong glanced at the uncle selling apricots, but hesitated and remained silent because he was worried that walking around two stalls at once would be too conspicuous.

The apricot vendor thought Tang Zhitong was interested and enthusiastically promoted the apricots, saying, "Look, these are all locally grown Bada apricots, picked this morning, they're so fresh."

Bada apricot is actually the same as Bada apricot. It is said to be named after the area near Badaling where it originated. Due to its outstanding taste and yield, it was once very popular north of the Yellow River. Before Tang Zhitong came here, there were still families in his hometown who grew this kind of apricot.

"How much?" Tang Zhitong finally gave in. He could still buy it at the train station this year, and even if he came back next year, it might still be available, but the price might not be the same.

"The prices are all the same here. The slightly firmer ones are 26 cents, and ripe apricots are 20 cents. That's 20.4 yuan in total. I'll deliver to wherever you want, no delivery fee." It's not easy to find such a generous buyer. He not only kept his promise not to lower prices but also sold out all the apricots at once. The uncle selling apricots had no reason not to promote his products enthusiastically.

"You'll follow behind this guy in a bit." Tang Zhitong was too lazy to haggle, so he took out his money again, pulled out a large ten-dollar bill and handed it over, then stood up and walked out.

Currently, the area around Changping Station is mostly farmland, with only a few residents. Tang Zhitong walked slowly towards the farmland, giving the two of them time to catch up.

Ten minutes later, Tang Zhitong stopped at a small mound where no one was around. The wheat had all been harvested, and the stubble in the field had been turned over. He guessed that it was lunchtime and the commune members had all gone home for lunch.

(End of this chapter)