1988: Back to the human world for a few years

Chapter 399 A City with a Strong Personality (2)

Although according to the plan, Zhao Lin and Xin Ronghua would stay in the guesthouse for one night and officially start work tomorrow, after seven o'clock in the evening, the two could not help but stroll out.

There was no other way. For safety reasons, they stayed in a state-owned guesthouse, and it was an ordinary state-owned guesthouse.

It was an ordinary state-owned guesthouse in the north in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Students whose elders had relevant experience knew that the shabby place was completely useless except that it was relatively safe.

Not to mention televisions, some guest houses don't even have bathrooms for showers. Even for hot water to drink, one has to carry a thermos downstairs to get it. In the early summer, it's a boring, sweat-steaming hell.

So instead of sweating in that small, stuffy room, it’s better to go out for a walk and get to know the situation in Texas at night.

There is a saying that goes, sunlight is an inhibitor of human dark emotions. The security environment of a city will be fully revealed after the sun sets.

Although according to information obtained from other channels, DZ city is now one of the few cities in the north where the night economy is gradually becoming active. The gradual activation of the night economy means that the public security here at night is still relatively guaranteed.

But after what happened at the train station during the day, Zhao Lin, who didn't have a very good first impression of the city, didn't have much confidence in Dezhou's security environment at night...

But there is no way. Public security is one of the core evaluation indicators of a city, and it is also one of the contents that they must evaluate in detail during this trip. As members of the investigation team, Zhao Lin and Xin Ronghua cannot escape this... Anyway, they will die sooner or later, so they might as well take advantage of this opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

………………

In Zhao Lin's imagination, the so-called "gradually active night economy" simply means that there are more barbecue stalls for people to drink and eat barbecue, more billiard rooms open at night for street urchins to kill time, more video halls open at night for young people whose hormones are about to run wild to vent their inner filth... and even more nightclubs with bright lights and wine, providing a place for those evil people who make trouble all day long to expend a lot of energy.

Although the starting point is not noble, past experience has shown that although this method also has some side effects, it can indeed reduce the security pressure in the city to a certain extent.

However, what was somewhat beyond Zhao Lin and Xin Ronghua's expectations was that these places in Texas were indeed open at night, but the night economy here was far more than that.

"Toss the ring, toss the ring, ten for a dime, take whatever you catch, and take home a radio!"

Zhao Lin looked in surprise at the number of people on the street, which was beyond his imagination, and the various small stalls that popped up every few meters or ten meters. He turned his head to look at the small boss who was shouting hard.

It is obvious that most people from Qi and Lu are not suitable for doing business. If they shout in such a stiff and dry way in a southern city, there will definitely be no business all night.

However, the business of this small stall is still pretty good. At least Zhao Lin saw three or four people starting to take out money from their pockets.

Well, although except for the radio in the last row, the rest are some worthless gadgets, but fortunately the price of 10 circles for 1 cent is not expensive, and the distance between the drawn edge line and the first row of gadgets is less than meter... Just like the food at the train station, the people here are relatively honest in doing business. No wonder at this time when the overall economy is not very good, there are still people willing to spend money to try their luck.

I watched with a smile as a mother and her daughter of six or seven years old were trying to fit the ceramic doll in the third row with a bamboo hoop, but they just couldn't get it right. Seeing the daughter start to pout, the boss, without saying a word, stuffed the doll, which was painted in a somewhat ridiculous color, and the other small prizes in the doll into the little girl's arms.

"Here, take it if you like it!"

The boss's voice was as stiff as ever. If I hadn't seen the doting look on his face, I would have thought he was a bandit from somewhere.

After watching her mother awkwardly say thank you, the little girl happily hugged the pottery doll in her arms. Zhao Lin looked at the two stiff and clumsy adults and couldn't help but feel a little dissatisfied.

Do people in Texas all have poker faces? They will die if they smile!

Also, he is obviously a pretty nice boss, but he acts like a bandit. Not only does he have an incredibly loud voice, but his mouth is also very harsh. This is only true in the north. If it were over there, which customer would dare to approach him?

But despite all the complaints, Zhao Lin's mood improved a little.

After all, being able to take children out late at night shows that the security in Texas at night is not as bad as one imagined. Moreover, the behavior of this small boss proves that although the customs in Texas are tough, the people are still relatively simple.

………………

"Come on, come on~ If anyone still refuses to accept the result, come over here with your weapons and let's try!"

After strolling leisurely around a dozen small stalls, a burst of arrogant and provocative voice came from not far away.

Um! ! ?
Is anyone fighting?

I knew it, with the culture in Texas, how could there not be some public security problems so late at night?
Zhao Lin and Xin Ronghua frowned, looked at each other, quickened their pace, and rushed towards the place where the sound came from.

Chinese people like to watch the fun, so when Zhao Lin and his friends arrived, there were already a dozen or so spectators gathered around.

However, when Zhao Lin and Xin Ronghua squeezed into the crowd, the scene before them surprised them.

Although there were a lot of people, it was not a real-life PK as they thought.

There was a flatbed truck in the crowd.

The flatbed truck was loaded with melons.

Standing next to the melon was a young man in his early twenties with a defiant look on his face. I guess it was he who made the provocative shouting just now.

But the strange thing was that the person standing in front of the young man was not the burly man that Zhao Lin had imagined, but a middle-aged man who looked gentle and polite... Judging from his clothes, physique and appearance, he should be a southerner, and a southerner who was not short of money.

The middle-aged man was looking at the bag of cantaloupes in his hand with some embarrassment.

To be precise, he was looking awkwardly at the spring scale hanging above the bag of melons.

"That's not right. There are only 6 cantaloupes, how come they weigh 5 jins... In our place, 2 cantaloupes weigh at most 6 jins!"

"Even if your melon is going to be a little bigger, it won't be that much heavier!"

The middle-aged man shook the bag unwillingly and argued in a low voice.

The young man sneered: "I don't know what the cantaloupe you have there looks like, but here... 6 cantaloupe only weigh kilograms? I'm too embarrassed to sell them!"

As he spoke, he took out a cantaloupe from the car and smashed it open with his fist. As a strong honey fragrance came out, the young man looked down at him and said, "Look carefully, do you see the juice and smell the fragrance? The ripe honey fairy cantaloupe in the field... The seeds were introduced by the Dezhou Agricultural Science Institute, the planting technology was guided by the Yucheng Supply and Marketing Cooperative, and after being evaluated and approved by the Xialiu Marketing Cooperative, it was wholesaled by the Linyi Supply and Marketing System at 5 o'clock this afternoon. This is a second-grade fruit."

"Hehe, do you know what the standard of the second-level fruit here is?"

"The weight of a second-grade honey fairy melon is about 400 grams, and the lower limit error is not allowed to exceed 10 grams... In addition, they were picked today, and there is no loss of water. Is it wrong to weigh 6 jin and 5 liang for 2 melons?"

The middle-aged man's face became even more embarrassed. In fact, the weight shown on the spring scale he brought with him was a little more than 5 jin... Not only did the young man not weigh less for him, he also wiped out a little bit, probably because he felt that the small piece of vine on the melon should not be taken into account.

Seeing this, the young man sneered, then slammed the old-fashioned steelyard in his hand on the shaft of the cart and said, "If anyone still doesn't trust my scale and wants to try it out, just come over!"

"It doesn't matter if it's a spring scale I brought with me or an electronic scale I borrowed from somewhere else, it's all fine. I'll use the scale right in front of the guy. If my scale is off by a penny, I'll give him all the melons in this cart and eat the weight. I mean what I say... How about it, is there anyone who wants to come up and try it?"

Many people around laughed: "Aren't you bullying me? Even if we Texans have a thousand problems, we won't shortchange you even if we force you to buy or sell. Isn't this a disgrace to us Texas?"

"Besides, those Southwestern guys from the drilling company are really mean-spirited. If you're shortchanged and they make fun of you, you better not go out. If you go out, you'll be beaten to death by other Texans!"

Obviously, all those who spoke were local Texans, and the few outsiders among the onlookers obviously didn't understand what this meant and looked confused.

The young man snorted defiantly: "That's right. You can say my car is broken, you can say I have a bad attitude, you can also complain that my melons are not sweet, but you can't say I'm short of your weight... You think everyone who comes out to do business is the same as you have seen before, they are all profiteers!"

After saying that, he snatched the bag from the middle-aged man and threw it into the car: "I'm telling you, I'm not going to sell it today!"

When the middle-aged man saw this, he was immediately ashamed. He was in the wrong to begin with, and the young man scolded him like a villain.

God have pity on him, he just arrived in Texas today, and he had no idea that people here would take such things so seriously!
Besides, counterfeit and shoddy products are rampant in the country nowadays. In places like train stations, tourist attractions, and night markets, short-weighting is commonplace. Is there anything wrong with him being cautious?

but……

This is called honey melon, it smells really good.

Thinking of this, the middle-aged man swallowed his saliva, looked at the bag of cantaloupe that he should have been able to feast on with reluctance, and was about to rush out of the crowd with his head down.

"and many more!"

Just as the middle-aged man turned around, the young man called him.

"Give!"

The middle-aged man hurriedly took a melon thrown by the young man and looked at the young man in surprise, not knowing what the other person meant.

Facing the middle-aged man's surprised eyes, the young man sneered, with a face full of arrogance: "Don't think about going back and saying bad things about us Qilu people like those southwestern people in the drilling company, saying that we Texas people are stingy... This melon is for you!"

"Remember, in the future when you are in Texas, don't judge us by your outsiders' cunning and sly standards... Don't blame me for not reminding you, we Qilu people have good wine for friends and fists for troublemakers... Go, when you take this cantaloupe back, don't cool it with cold water, eat it directly, and by the way, let you guys see what our Qilu cantaloupe taste like... Tsk~ 6 cantaloupe are only three and a half catties, which means one of them is less than half a catty, that thing is worthy of being called a melon!?"

Zhao Lin and Xin Ronghua, who were watching quietly on the side, couldn't help but raise their eyebrows.

I just feel that the people here are extremely arrogant and willful, and their map cannons are even more limitless.

What does "Don't judge us by your outsiders' standards of dishonesty and deceit" mean?
So what you mean is that all outsiders are sneaky and cunning. That's too harsh!

But what was somewhat strange was that they did not really have much aversion to this young boss whose words were extremely unpleasant.

People are like this. If you can't do it yourself, no matter how beautifully you say it, others will only despise you.

But if you can really do it, no matter how harsh what you say is, others will not get too angry about your sarcasm.

Tsk tsk,

The people in this place are kind of weird!

only……

What the hell is going on with those southwestern people from the drilling company who are always sneering at them?

What does it mean that these hot-tempered Texans can only endure these sarcasms and ridicule? What's going on?
With deep suspicion, Zhao Lin took Xin Ronghua and quietly left the crowd...

………………

It has to be said that although the night economy was said to have only been gradually liberalized since March, the night market business structure in Dezhou still exceeded Zhao Lin's imagination.

XX Martial Arts School is recruiting students for its night class: practice diligently for two hours every night, and don’t panic if you encounter danger... This is a relatively well-known martial arts school that is recruiting students in crowded places. It also comes with live martial arts performances, and it can be considered a specialty in Qilu.

XX open-air KTV: You can choose from 665 classic songs, and for only 5 cents, you can become the singer that everyone is paying attention to... Someone has brought the newly popular VCDs from Hong Kong and Taiwan to the outdoors, and this business is very popular. Not only do some women not hesitate to show off their beautiful singing voices in front of everyone, but also those Qilu men who have drunk a little too much at the barbecue stalls will howl like ghosts under the influence of alcohol.

XX beer drinking contest: without spilling the beer, you can advance to the next round if you can drink three beers in one minute, and the beer fee is free; the time for the next round remains the same, but the number of beers is increased by 1; after five rounds, you will enter the finals, and the champion will receive a huge reward of 300 yuan... Obviously, this is the beer manufacturers taking advantage of the increasingly strong nighttime dining atmosphere to promote themselves. With many beer brands entering the Dezhou catering channel with the commercial demonstration zone as a transit point, Dezhou has suddenly become an increasingly important market in Shandong that cannot be underestimated. In order to seize market share, major beer brands are also using all kinds of tricks.

Hundred Stores Cooking Competition: Every 10 minutes, 30 guests are randomly invited from each batch to blind taste 10 dishes from various restaurants and write their scores on the scoring board. The dish with the highest score will be awarded the title of "Star of the Week". Participants in each round will receive a 1-yuan discount coupon for their highest-scoring dish... This is actually a copy of the activity on Commercial Street , and both the scale and rewards have been reduced a lot. However, the commercial demonstration area is some distance away from the main urban area after all, and not everyone goes there every day. Therefore, imitating this kind of activity on a street basis is still very effective in promoting and attracting traffic to various restaurants.

XX State-owned Garment Factory Private Clothing Customization Point: A 30-year-old state-owned factory dedicated itself to the business of tailoring clothes to your measurements and providing you with the most comfortable wearing experience...It is obvious that the JIT model promoted at the grassroots level in rural areas with Xialiu Sales Agency as the main force has gradually affected the urban areas. Some garment factories with poor performance have also opened up their minds under the advice of some people. Overall, the effect is quite good.

Other than that,

I took a bunch of plain white plaster dolls and taught the children how to color them;
Helping children with their homework;
Taking advantage of the fact that night time does not occupy working hours, people repair watches and shoes;
Pushing a tricycle and waiting at the intersections of restaurants and late-night snack stands, taking the drunk people home;

Etc., etc……

In short, the characteristics of this non-working time in the evening are fully utilized. All the business types that Zhao Lin can think of are here, and those that he cannot think of are also here.

………………

Perhaps it was because the night in the north was really boring, the two of them walked and stopped along the way, and it was actually nearly eleven o'clock. Seeing that the number of people on the street had visibly thinned out, they finally returned to the original direction and walked towards the guesthouse.

Eleven o'clock. This number may be considered too early for people in later generations who are still jumping around outside at three or four in the morning, but for northerners of this era, it is a time that cannot be later.

"Xin Ronghua, have you noticed the difference between Texas and our place?"

Zhao Lin asked thoughtfully, holding a double-decker wooden windmill with a painted pattern in his hand.

I must say that if you don’t mind it being too tacky, there are actually quite a lot of interesting gadgets at the Dezhou Night Market. After a night of shopping, even though both of them had work to do, they still couldn’t resist the urge to buy a lot of things.

Xin Ronghua changed his hand and nodded. "It's only at this point that the scene is gradually dispersing. The security situation in Texas is indeed much better than I thought... It seems that the auxiliary police wandering around the streets are not hired in vain."

Zhao Lin smiled and said, "There's no need to emphasize something that even a blind man can see. This is not the point. The point is... Haven't you noticed that the night markets here are basically small night markets scattered here and there, and at first glance, they seem to have no pattern at all." After his colleague pointed it out, Xin Ronghua finally realized, "Yes, now that you mention it, I realize that this is indeed the case. Walking through the night, there are obviously several areas that are relatively empty. Logically, such places are most suitable for setting up stalls and forming small night markets, but this is not the case. Instead, many corners that don't look very safe and not very suitable for setting up stalls are full of small stalls... This is unreasonable!"

Zhao Lin nodded, then laughed: "I was also confused at first, but then I discovered some things and made some guesses, and then I felt it made sense."

Found something?
Xin Ronghua, whose curiosity was aroused, quickly asked, "What did you find?"

Zhao Lin stopped and pointed to a room not far behind him that was still lit. "Think about it carefully. Isn't there a Mo Mo Bai Chao restaurant in the center of every small night market or night market?"

"And within the 200-300-meter radius around Momo Baichao, even though the alley looks scary and dark at night, there are still all kinds of small vendors?"

"On the contrary, if there is no Mo Mo Bai Chao nearby, no one will set up a stall there even if the location is good?"

Xin Ronghua was stunned for a moment, and after thinking carefully for a long time, he nodded uncertainly: "It seems... is that the case?"

Zhao Lin laughed maliciously: "So, this may very well mean one thing... The security in Texas at night is not as good as we thought!"

"To be precise, the public security in Texas at night may be better than that in many cities, but it is not as good as we think tonight!"

"As we all know, the public security environment directly determines the prosperity of the nighttime economy. Therefore, the current nighttime prosperity in Texas does not actually represent the true appearance and potential of the city."

Xin Ronghua frowned when he heard this: "Zhao Lin, I know you have a bad first impression of Dezhou because of what happened during the day, but we came here to conduct research with a mission, and you can't just make a conclusion based on your personal preferences."

Zhao Lin shook his head: "You didn't understand what I meant. What I meant was that if the standard is the same as tonight, the nighttime public security performance in DZ City is better than that in most cities... This is a fact."

"But facts are facts... but if you want to say that this represents the actual level of public security in this city, that's not necessarily true!"

Xin Ronghua was confused by the roundabout words: "Zhao Lin, what do you mean? I don't understand."

Zhao Lin sighed and patiently explained, "If the pattern I just discovered is true, and most of the night markets in Dezhou are indeed centered around Momo Baichao and distributed in fragments within a 300-meter radius..."

"That only proves that the reason why Texas' nighttime security is so good nowadays... 1/3 of the credit should be attributed to the auxiliary police patrolling the streets at night, but the other 1/2 of the credit should be attributed to Mo Mo Baichao... To be precise, it is Qingfeng Food and Southwest Drilling Company No. !"

"Xin Ronghua, this is not the first time you have come out to conduct research. You should know that from an evaluation perspective, cities are cities and enterprises are enterprises. No matter from what level, the two cannot be equated... But neither Qingfeng Food nor Southwest Drilling Company 1 is a municipal enterprise in Texas, so this matter cannot be generalized."

1/3 of the credit goes to the auxiliary police?
1/2 of the credit goes to Momo Baichao?
Xin Ronghua's mouth twitched. So what you mean is that the subjective initiative played by the competent authority in this matter is only 1/6?
Isn’t this too arbitrary?
Just when she hadn't figured out how to refute, Zhao Lin spoke again: "Also, don't you think that for an old industrial city where industrial development has stagnated for three consecutive years, where a large number of companies are unable to pay wages on time and in full, and where the state needs to pay a large amount of money every year, the night economy here is a little too prosperous, and the citizens here are a little too free in their nighttime consumption?"

Xin Ronghua was stunned again.

In the past two years, she has visited no less than four old industrial cities like Texas. To be fair, although every city has its own night market economy, the night economy of some old industrial cities is still very prosperous, but the so-called "night economy" mostly refers to some well-known red and green businesses, and it is rare to see ordinary citizens who go there to consume.

It is rare for a night economy like that of Texas, which mainly serves ordinary citizens, to be so active; and with the open-minded attitude of these citizens, it is hard to imagine that this is an old industrial city with an economically troubled economy.

After thinking for a while, Xin Ronghua refuted uncertainly: "Didn't you see that a large number of enterprise employees carried out small-scale self-help activities at the night market here... With the development of heavy industry being hindered, it is normal to seek a breakthrough in the tertiary industry, right? Dezhou is not short of people. With more people, there will be more demand. Everyone can make money at the night market and then spend it. Isn't this reasonable?"

Zhao Lin shook his head speechlessly: "Do you want to listen to what you are saying... If the masses don't have enough confidence, no matter how much they earn in the night market, they won't spend a penny, do you believe it?"

At this point, he sighed: "So, didn't you notice tonight... that many businesses at the night market here are customized or group-buying models?"

"Clothes and shoes are custom made, and you pay for them after they are made... This is normal and easy to understand;"

"Those fruits can also be purchased in groups. No matter if you invite people or ask acquaintances for help, as long as a certain number of people sign up on site and can buy a whole cart of goods at once, the boss can give a very cost-effective price, and everyone will be happy... This idea is very interesting, and it can also give full play to the advantages of the familiar society of the street-level small night market, and promote friendship between neighbors... I guess it must have been guided by an expert;"

"Even those restaurants and those who sell vegetables will come to you in the middle of the night with a small notebook and ask you if you want to go out for breakfast/buy vegetables the next morning, and what vegetables you want to eat/buy, so that they can help you to buy them in a group at a very cost-effective price, and you can just pick them up the next day... Even those who sell snacks, stationery, and even handmade furniture will come to you and try to register your information."

"This model is very effective for the familiar society at the street level. After all, they are all neighbors, so it is easy to get together. They can also take care of the business of acquaintances without violating their own wishes, and then they will get closer to each other... According to my observation, people in Texas are very face-conscious, and the price of those things is indeed very affordable after they are group-purchased, so the success rate is quite high."

"It is this kind of money-making model that allows for large outflows and inflows that gives people here the confidence to start spending freely... If they have no money, they can just buy some goods and let others order them. After all, we all owe each other. If I take care of your business today, I'm sure you won't be embarrassed not to take care of mine tomorrow."

At this point, Zhao Lin sighed with emotion: "I have to say that the person who can come up with this trick is definitely a genius. Not to mention that he has firmly grasped the social characteristics of the street community... In this process, the hope and confidence gradually accumulated by the masses are the most precious wealth!"

"So, as long as we can ensure the quality of these circulating commodities and form a virtuous cycle, it is only a matter of time before Texas gradually gets out of its economic difficulties."

At the end, Zhao Lin's mouth curled up a little: "However, people's minds are hard to predict. It's hard to say whether the quality of these circulating commodities can be strictly controlled."

Although he said "it's hard to say", judging from his expression, Zhao Lin clearly did not think highly of this business model that relied on relationships with acquaintances in the community.

Xin Ronghua nodded in approval and did not refute him.

Although the word "acquaintance" represents a lot of convenience, it also represents a lot of trouble. Moreover, unlike in rural areas, the relationship between acquaintances in the community in the city is very fragile. As long as a few accidents happen, this business model based on trust will collapse immediately.

………………

"Huh? Why are there still people setting up stalls so late?"

Just as the guesthouse was in sight, Xin Ronghua, whose feet were sore from walking, suddenly cried out in surprise.

I raised my wrist to check my watch. It was already 23:37. This time was too late even for people returning from the night market. Therefore, the small stall not far away that was selling flashlights for supplementary light was even more eye-catching… Nowadays, except for the main roads, the street lights in the city will be turned off at a certain time. Therefore, people have to rely on flashlights for supplementary light.

But the interesting thing is that even if others wanted to provide additional light, they would shine the flashlight towards the sign on the stall, but this person just stuck the flashlight straight on the ground and let the light shine towards the night sky... It would be more appropriate to say that he was giving a signal rather than providing additional light.

"Boss, why don't you close the stall so late?"

With a hint of curiosity, Xin Ronghua walked up and asked.

Taking a look in the dim light, I saw that this stall repaired radios.

This is even more strange. It's late at night and even the street lights are off. There is no light at all. How can you repair Der's radio?
"Wait someone."

The boss, who was nearly 40 years old, responded in a muffled voice, then turned his head to look somewhere twenty meters away. He found that although the door was closed, the lights were still on. His expression seemed to be a little relaxed.

wait?

Xin Ronghua glanced at the Momo Baibaichao restaurant not far behind him, with a gossipy expression: "Master, who are you waiting for... to pick up your date after get off work?"

The man shook his head and said, "That's not right. Yesterday, a guy brought his radio to me for repair and he agreed to come and pick it up today."

Xin Ronghua had a strange expression on his face: "Master, it's almost twelve o'clock, I guess they won't come... Why don't you go home? It will be the same if you come tomorrow."

The man shook his head and said in a hard tone: "No, we agreed to meet today."

Zhao Lin interrupted with amusement: "Master, are you worried about not getting paid? Don't worry, the radio is in your hands, they will not refuse to pay you... and if they come a day late, you can charge them a little more, just as a storage fee."

In Zhao Lin's eyes, this was another person who was driven red-eyed by money. In today's imperial capital, it was not uncommon to see people who could not stand seeing overnight money.

The man just glanced at him nonchalantly and said, "That second brother already gave the money yesterday."

Zhao Lin choked up and looked incredulous: "Since the money has already been paid, why are you waiting here so late at night?"

The man's voice was very calm: "I promised that second brother that I would wait for him today."

Zhao Lin didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He raised his wrist and looked at it. "It's already 11:40. There's no one on the street. He won't be coming back today...Wouldn't it be different if you give him the repaired radio tomorrow?"

The man looked around and found that there was really no one on the street. A trace of disappointment flashed in his eyes, but he still shook his head: "No, I promised him that I would wait for him today, so I will wait for him today... I have been waiting for about four hours, so I can't afford to waste another twenty minutes."

There were a lot of mosquitoes in early summer. Zhao Lin slapped away the mosquito that was buzzing towards him, with a funny look on his face: "Master, you know it's only 20 minutes until twelve o'clock. Why do you have to waste this last bit of time? Is there any point?"

The man slapped a mosquito with a swollen belly to death, his voice still calm: "It makes sense. After twelve o'clock, it's not today anymore."

Zhao Lin felt that he couldn't understand these Qi and Lu people at all. He took a breath with some pain in his teeth and said, "Master, why do you have to be so serious about this? Isn't it the same whether I come to get it today or tomorrow?"

The man looked at him with some displeasure: "Second brother, are you from another place?"

The corner of Zhao Lin's eye twitched: "Yes."

The man said "oh" as if he understood, then ignored him and continued to shift his gaze to the empty street.

Zhao Lin was a little upset: "No, Master, what do you mean?"

The man glanced at him and said, "Nothing. I just understood when I heard you were from another place."

Zhao Lin felt that he was being discriminated against, and immediately looked unhappy: "Master, what do you understand?"

The man didn't even look at him, and said in a stern tone: "Everyone says that people from other places are not the same as us Qilu people. Although I can't read a few words, I have heard the story of Weisheng hugging the pillar... I know that in the eyes of you outsiders, we Qilu people look like a bunch of idiots, but since I promised to give them the repaired radio today, I have to wait until the end of today!"

For some reason, when he heard the four words "Weisheng Baozhu", coupled with the faint pride in the man's tone, a feeling of shame and annoyance as if he had been affected by the map cannon surged up in Zhao Lin's heart.

"Master, I won't say anything else. The customer who repaired the radio should be from your local area... He agreed to come pick it up today, but now it's almost twelve o'clock and he hasn't shown up yet... I'm curious, when he comes to pick up the radio tomorrow, what will you say to him?"

Zhao Lin had a smiling face, but there was a hint of malice in his words.

The man looked at him expressionlessly and said, "I know you outsiders like to laugh at our jokes... If that second brother comes tomorrow, I won't treat him badly... But I'm putting this on hold. From now on, I won't take his business anymore."

Zhao Lin choked suddenly.

Nowadays, tape recorders are considered valuable items. Although there are many people who own radios in a small or medium-sized city, if you spread them out to each block, there are not many... Losing such a customer out of thin air is a huge loss for a craftsman like Hanzi.

MD, I finally figured it out, these guys are like stones in the cesspool, smelly and hard!
Is it really okay to be so willful?

Just as Zhao Lin was sighing with both laughter and tears in his eyes, a rapid jingle-bell sound came from a distance and gradually approached.

When I looked up, I saw a 28-inch truck speeding towards me in a crooked posture... Luckily, there were no cars on the road so late at night, otherwise there would have been an accident.

In a short while, a young man with a red face threw his bicycle onto the road, breathing heavily, and then walked over with crooked steps.

"Brother, I'm really sorry. My company had a reception today, and I didn't finish it until 11 o'clock... Ugh~... As soon as I finished it, I immediately rode my bike from the rubber factory to come here... I'm really sorry, I kept you waiting... How are you, did you keep your promise?!"

The young man, with unsteady steps, held the man's right hand tightly with both hands, and his body kept shaking.

The man glanced at the 28-inch bicycle that was thrown aside, and finally a smile appeared on his stiff face: "It's not a bad appointment, there are still more than ten minutes... I said I would pick it up today, so I will pick it up today, no problem!"

Without saying anything, he picked up the repaired radio, walked to the 28-inch bicycle, lifted it up, and then tied the radio tightly to the back seat with a belt.

He turned around and walked to his stall, turned off the flashlight which was already dimming, and then quickly closed up his stall.

From beginning to end, he never said a word.

Looking at this young man who was clearly too drunk to walk, but still rode his bike across half the city to get here;

And the man who stood guard like a fool for five or six hours in the mosquito-filled night.

Zhao Lin and Xin Ronghua were a little dumbfounded.

Is this over?

If this happened in the imperial capital, wouldn't the two of them flatter each other and then call each other brothers?

What does this attitude of taking it for granted and then forgetting about each other mean?
Damn it...

Aren’t the people here too unique?
Zhao Lin, who was full of complaints, didn't notice that when the man quickly packed up his stall and left, the young man also rode away crookedly on his 28-inch bicycle.

The light of the Momo Baichao restaurant not far away is always on...

It finally went out.

------

PS: This plot is adapted from a true story and comes from the personal experience of an elder colleague of mine.

(End of this chapter)