Struggle Life in the 1970s

"Yes! That... Boss Xiao Han, I want to buy these two fish ponds. You can name a price." Chu Ye responded politely, holding a fruit plate in his hand.

"Tsk," Han Zhao frowned and spoke without any emotion, "Don't call me Boss Han, just call me Brother Han."

"Okay, Brother Han." Chu Ye followed suit.

After she shouted, Han Zhao hummed lightly, then turned to look at the fish pond. The air fell silent for a moment.

Chu Ye glanced over at him. From the side, Han Zhao's facial features were quite three-dimensional. Through the legs of his glasses, his thick black eyelashes covered half of his eyes. He seemed to be deeply immersed in some memories, and the oppressive feeling just now was gone.

She turned her head and looked at Uncle Li who was not far away. Uncle Li had been paying attention to this side. When he saw her, he gave her an encouraging look.

Chu Ye silently turned his head and looked at Han Zhao. His memories seemed to have reached an unpleasant place. At this moment, his brows were furrowed, and even the air around him became a little colder.

Chu Ye silently rubbed the goose bumps on her arms, picked a chocolate from the fruit plate, peeled off the golden plastic wrapper, and after a rustling sound, she put the chocolate into her mouth.

Instantly, a strong bitterness spreads in the mouth, followed by the sweetness of milk.

"Is it delicious?" Han Zhao's cold voice sounded beside him. His eyes were still on the fish pond, but the words he asked were directed to her.

"It's delicious." Chu Ye nodded honestly, not understanding why this person asked such a strange question.

"One dollar each." After saying that, Han Zhao looked straight ahead but stretched out his hand ruthlessly, his meaning was very clear.

Give money.

Chu Ye:......
Although I know chocolate is expensive, it is definitely not this kind of gold price!
She argued, "Don't cheat me, chocolate is not that expensive!"

"Yeah," Han Zhao responded through his nose, "This is what I brought back from Hong Kong. The goods are scarce and hard to buy, plus my hard work and car fare along the way, this is about the price."

After saying that, he shook his hand forward, and the mirror turned around, and the eyes behind the mirror stared at her sharply again.

Uncle Li, who was not far away, couldn't hear the noise from here and thought that the two were having a good conversation. He even made a gesture of encouragement from a distance.

Chu Ye:......
Turning her head, she saw Han Zhao, who was determined not to negotiate unless she paid. She gritted her teeth, lowered her head, fumbled in her pocket, and took out the money for the meal.

One cent, two cents...
After counting out one dollar, he put a few banknotes in Han Zhao's hand, and then put the remaining ten cents into his trouser pocket.

The man did not feel any sympathy for Chu Ye as she counted the money pitifully. He held the money in his hand after receiving it.

"Okay, you're a fool. Then tell me how much you plan to spend to buy this fish pond?" Han Zhao folded the money and put it in his shirt pocket, then turned to look at the water.

"I've inquired about it. There are also fish ponds contracted in the surrounding towns. For a fish pond of this size, the contract fee is 45 yuan a year." Chu Ye was prepared for this matter. She glanced at Han Zhao, who had a blank expression on his face. She didn't know if he had heard her. "But I want to buy it permanently. What price do you think is appropriate?"

Han Zhao glanced at her with a clear look in his eyes, as if he had seen through Chu Ye's unfinished intentions. He directly pointed out, "Haven't you already decided how much money you want to spend?"

Chu Ye was speechless for a moment. She had indeed calculated a suitable price in her mind. She said this just to test Han Zhao's attitude and find out what he thought was a suitable price. She didn't expect this man to block her way as soon as he opened his mouth.

Chu Ye had no choice but to reveal her trump card. "My estimated price is 900 yuan for these two fish ponds and the small house." She pointed out that if she bought this place, she would have to quit her job at the factory. In this case, she would either rent a house in town or live in a hotel. But in the long run, renting a house would definitely be more cost-effective. In this case, she might as well buy the small house as well.

"Tsk!" Han Zhao laughed after hearing this. "It's good enough that you bought the fish pond with 900 yuan, and you also got a house for free. What do you think?"

Chu Ye pursed her lips and said nothing. If the fish pond business could be successful, then she would indeed have gained an advantage.

His voice was a little loud. Uncle Li next to him heard the noise and came over tremblingly. "You bastard! Did you bully Xiao Chu? Anyway, you don't like it here, so sell the house and go back to Hong Kong!"

After saying this, he started coughing again because of excitement, and his face instantly turned red. Han Zhao made a click of the tongue, stood up unhappily, walked over in three or two steps, and supported Uncle Li's arm.

"I was just discussing business, and you, old man, are interfering again. I finally came back and you are in such a hurry to send me away? What? Are you looking for your son behind my back?" Han Zhao helped the man to his bench, pressed him to sit down, then turned around and went back into the house.

"I'll tear your mouth apart! You're such a scoundrel every day and you never speak in a proper manner!" Uncle Li cursed at his back. Chu Ye quickly put the fruit plate on the bench and stood up to pat his back to calm him down.

"... Cough! ... Cough! Xiao Chu, don't listen to what he says. He doesn't come back every day, so there's no point in keeping this house! I'll make the decision. I'll sell this place to you and send him back to Hong Kong!" Uncle Li took a long time to recover after panting. The redness on his face did not go away for a while. His voice was hoarse, but he still forced himself to speak.

"You talk about Hong Kong all the time. What good thing about Hong Kong do you have to keep talking about? At worst, I can take you with me when I go back in a few days." Han Zhao came over with a glass of water, squatted beside Li Bo and handed the water to him.

He was as big as a mountain, but his movements were extremely gentle, and his words were venomous. "I haven't been back for just a few months. How come you are so thin? What's the matter? Are you losing weight at such an old age to become a star in Hong Kong?"

Uncle Li rolled his eyes, drank the water and passed the cup to Han Zhao. When Han Zhao took the cup, he slapped him on the forehead, "You bastard! What else can I do except make me angry every day! You'd better sell this place and go back to Hong Kong! Don't come back again. I will lose 20 years of my life just by looking at you!" Han Zhao didn't respond this time. He just asked if he wanted to drink water and turned back to the house.

Uncle Li turned his head and looked at Chu Ye apologetically, "Xiao Chu, I know the price you gave is reasonable. Just wait, I will ask him to sell this place to you."

"I haven't thought about it yet, you go." Han Zhao came out of the house, ignoring Li Bo's words, and said to Chu Ye.

He took off his sunglasses this time. Without the cover on his eyes, he looked sharper. His eyes were black under his thick eyelashes, but now there was an apology in his eyes, making him look much less aggressive.

"Okay, I understand." Chu Ye nodded, not at all frustrated. Business talks are based on mutual consent, and Han Zhao may not want to sell. From his tone, it seems that he has not made up his mind yet.

As for the reasons behind this, Chu Ye could guess a little.
This place was built by Boss Han, who put a lot of effort into it. I learned from Uncle Li that after the fish pond was built, Boss Han often brought his friends here for entertainment. At that time, Han Zhao, who was not yet an adult, also left many good memories here.

However, Uncle Li's face darkened, and he stood up and prepared to teach Han Zhao a lesson again. Chu Ye hurriedly tried to comfort him. After a long while, although his anger had subsided, he still rolled his eyes at Han Zhao frequently.

Han Zhao pretended not to see it.

After coaxing Uncle Li, Chu Ye was about to leave. Uncle Li quickly scooped a handful of candies from the fruit plate and stuffed them into Chu Ye's pocket without saying a word.

"I can't let you come here for nothing today, take more. This brat always brags that the candies he buys are delicious." After filling one pocket, Uncle Li still felt it was not enough, so he scooped another handful and put it into the other pocket.

Han Zhao stood aside, his brows furrowed so tightly that they could pinch a fly to death. Chu Ye even saw that he raised his hands that were hanging on both sides of his body several times, and then put them down in a suppressed manner.

It was because she saw this scene and remembered the precious chocolate that she did not stop Uncle Li.

Seeing that there were only three candies left in the fruit bowl and Chu Ye's two shirt pockets were bulging, Han Zhao finally couldn't help but speak up, "Okay, I'll see her off, old man, you take a rest first."

"Eh?" Uncle Li looked at him in surprise, then he was delighted when he realized what was happening. "Okay, then you can send Xiao Chu off and get him to the factory safely."

Chu Ye said goodbye to Uncle Li with a smile, turned around and walked out. Han Zhao's eyes fell on the fruit plate, squinted at it for a while, then took a step forward to follow.

The two of them walked out of the fish pond in silence, one after the other, until they were out of sight of Uncle Li. Chu Ye stopped, turned around and waved, "You don't have to see me off. I'll go back the rest of the way by myself."

Han Zhao nodded slightly, his eyes lingered on her pocket for a moment, and then turned away expressionlessly.

"Hey," Chu Ye thought of something and added, "Well, you can take Uncle Li to the hospital to have a checkup when you have time. I told him several times but he didn't listen. Maybe he will listen to you."

Han Zhao frowned slightly and nodded when he heard that, but this time he was more polite when he left and added a thank you.

After that day, Chu Ye did not go to find Han Zhao again. Whenever she had time, she went to the vegetable market and seafood market. She also wandered around the town to see if there were any other fish ponds that could be contracted.

Two weeks passed like this, and one day, she took the pear paste she bought from the department store and planned to visit Uncle Li.

Uncle Li has been coughing frequently recently. He heard that pear paste can relieve coughs, and he hopes it can make him feel less uncomfortable.

But when she arrived at the fish pond, she found that there was no one there. Uncle Li, who often picked up scraps nearby, had gone somewhere. Chu Ye walked to the door of the small house, which was also locked.

It was so quiet all around that even the fish rarely floated to the surface of the water. The wind had stopped blowing. The traces of the awning that had been set up on the ground the last time I came were still there, but now it had been completely cleared away.

The tall trees outside the fish pond seemed like cages, and the water surface became unfathomable. Although the scenery was still the same, Chu Ye felt inexplicably more panic in his heart. It was too quiet here, and his heartbeat seemed particularly intense.

Bang!Bang!Bang!
Chu Ye turned around and quickened her pace to walk back. The panic in her heart gradually grew, and she began to run. Just as she was about to run out of this area, a black shadow came quickly on the path in the distance.

The black shadow was getting closer and closer, and when it was in front of me, I realized it was Han Zhao riding a bicycle.

He was not wearing sunglasses today, and his face no longer had the previous coldness. He was not surprised at all when he saw Chu Ye.

"Why are you running? Is there a ghost behind you?" He frowned and looked vaguely behind Chu Ye.

"No, do you know where Uncle Li went? I bought something to give to him." Chu Ye raised his hand and indicated that it was a bottle of pear paste.

Han Zhao didn't say anything, he just turned his bike around and said, "Come on, I'll take you to find him."

(End of this chapter)