Back to 1979: Sending the Educated Youth’s Wife Back to the City

Chapter 25 Square Advantage
Lin Yan had just finished speaking when she raised her chin slightly with a hint of worry, "You see, his business is not doing well."

The experience of returning to the city made her feel a great sense of identification with BJ Ju and Da Buyi.

Fang Mingche, who was pushing his bicycle, looked in the direction he was going. He saw a farmer carrying a load of white radishes to sell in the square. His business was indeed not good.

Before 1979, there was no street stall economy in New China.

At least not in the open. There are only small markets that are run covertly in the black market, or spontaneously formed by farmers on market days, mainly for barter (some of which are also sold covertly).

Nowadays, setting up stalls on the street is looked down upon.

Many people think this is a shameful thing. Not only is it embarrassing for themselves, but it is also embarrassing for their families and even their ancestors.

But such behavior could be carried out in Tiananmen Square, and the PLA soldiers standing guard nearby would not drive them away.

This really shows that the people are the masters of the country.

It was only during this special period of 1979!

Soon after, all these businesses were moved to the commercial street near the square.

Ah Yan hesitated for a moment before agreeing to set up a stall with him. Fang Mingche was still very pleased.

He said, "No. I'm new here, how can I know how to buy goods? This fellow's business is not good because he hasn't found the right business. Who comes to the square to buy white radishes? Look at the people walking in the square, aren't they a little scared? If there is a bowl of hot tea for sale at two cents, will they be willing to buy it? In the summer, cool the tea and it will quench your thirst."

The big tea stalls near the square employed a lot of working population in the previous life.

Moreover, there is no need to import any goods.

As long as you buy a stove, a teapot, tea bowls, some coarse tea stalks and honeycomb coal, you can start your business.

Two cents a bowl, not expensive at all when you're cold or thirsty.

A bottle of Arctic Ocean soda costs 25 cents.

Although the number of visitors to the square is not as high as in later times, it will increase. Nowadays, there should be 20,000 to 30,000 people a day.

It shouldn’t be a problem to sell several hundred bowls a day.

It was not difficult to sell ten or twenty dollars that day.

But the cost is really low, and the coarse tea stems can be washed down to be as light as white water before replacement.

The main purpose is to quench thirst and drive away the cold. Who is still here to drink tea?

The profit that day was only about ten yuan.

Lin Yan's eyes lit up. At two cents a bowl of hot tea, she was willing to buy it.

Moreover, the square is really the most crowded place in the whole city of BJ.

This business can really be done!
After coming back for more than a month, she felt really uneasy because her monthly salary was missing.

Although she still had more than a hundred dollars in her pocket, she had no income, so she would inevitably be stingy when spending money.

I originally thought that going home by myself wouldn't cost much.

But after all, she is no longer a little girl at home.

She took the initiative to pay the living expenses.

During the Chinese New Year, she expressed her gratitude to her parents. After all, she has been working for so many years.

In short, if she could earn 20 or 30 yuan every month on salary day like when she was a village primary school teacher, she would be much more confident.

What's more, this will allow Mingche to stay in BJ and prepare for the exam with peace of mind.

Just set up a street stall.

Fang Mingche said, "Let's go. In the next few days, we need to use the square as the center and find a rental house nearby. The closer the better! After all, we need to move the tea stall here every day."

If he couldn't find a house to rent, he would not be able to stay in the guesthouse until his letter of introduction expired in eleven days.

You definitely can’t live in the Lin family.

His mother-in-law and brother-in-law were not welcoming to him. His father-in-law also said that Yanyan should be left behind and let him fend for himself.

Therefore, even if he put another small bed in the Lin family's restaurant, it would not work. He did not want to fall to that point. He had to rely on the Lin family's mercy to stay in BJ.

After all, it would still be freezing cold after eleven days. If you really slept under a bridge, you would still be cold even if you had bedding.

My cousin used to sleep on a gas tank. After all, their place is considered southern compared to BJ.

Lin Yan nodded, "Okay, let's go in one direction today. Walk about three kilometers and see if there are any houses for rent in this area. Well, in an emergency, you should do what you can, so don't be picky about the houses."

Fang Mingche was used to living in a big house in his hometown, so he was a bit picky on weekdays.

But is he still allowed to choose now?

"Don't worry, just find a house to stay in first. As long as there's a roof over your head and a door you can lock, it'll be fine."

Lin Yan smiled and said, "We still need windows."

The square in 79 was already quite interesting to visit. The famous central axis was also in the direction of their bicycles.

However, finding a house to rent right now is important and urgent.

As long as you can find a house to stay in, you will have plenty of time to visit the square, the Forbidden City and the central axis.

Fang Mingche changed direction and rode towards the alley.

Yanyan has no objection. As long as she is with her parents, she can be anywhere.

But that place just now was really big!

The family of three chose a direction and searched three kilometers away.

I would go into every alley and ask the old men and women sitting around, "Uncle|Auntie, are there any houses for rent in this alley?"

There are no real estate agents nowadays. These uncles and aunts are probably the ones who know the situation best.

Once they are found, giving them fifty cents or one dollar as a reward for their hard work will be enough.

Unfortunately, there are very few people who have extra rooms to rent out nowadays.

For those who have extra rooms, I guess they don’t need the rent of more than ten yuan a month.

There is no need to rent a room and allow outsiders to come into your home.

I searched for almost an hour or two, but to no avail.

Lin Yan raised her hand to check her watch. "Let's go. We have to go back and check out of the room. We'll continue looking in another direction this afternoon."

If you check out before 12:, you can only pay for one day's room. This way, the waiter won't be delayed in cleaning.

New guests can be accommodated before 14:.

Fang Mingche hesitated and said, "I saw that your brother didn't even welcome Yanyan last night."

"Why should I care about him? It's not his house. It's not time for him to kick me out. Yanyan can just sleep with me. It won't bother him in any way."

After spending half a day together today, Yanyan and her mother have re-established their close relationship.

He won’t make a fuss about following dad instead of mom.

As for the uncle's attitude yesterday, the child had forgotten it after a night.

Fang Mingche thought that it would be much more convenient for the child to live and eat with his mother, so he nodded.

The family of three rode their bicycles back, packed their luggage and checked out of the hotel before 12 o'clock.

I only stayed one night and didn't take out many things from my suitcase.

In no time, the two boxes were packed. Lin Yan also packed the father and daughter's belongings separately.

I checked out of the single room and booked a quad room, which was 1 yuan a night.

I still booked it day by day. I would move out the day I found a house to rent.

Renting a house is always much more economical than staying in a guesthouse.

(End of this chapter)