My 1978 Hotel

Chapter 68: Selling the Camera to Comrade Wu Shengnan
"It's been almost ten days, why haven't Gao Jue and Gao Cheng come back yet? Did something happen?" The roof has been repaired, and only the courtyard wall needs to be rammed earth. The two brothers haven't come back yet, and I'm really worried.

"Should we ask Public Security Wu to lend us a three-wheeled motorcycle to take a look?"

Li Feng was a little anxious. First, he was afraid that something might happen to the two of them. Robbery, murder and arson were not uncommon these days. Second, Li Feng was a little short of money recently and there was no way he could get the hundred yuan he had.

But first I had to pay thirty yuan in wages, and then pay another thirty yuan to the brigade to repay my debt. I had more than thirty yuan left. Recently, I got some tickets and bought dozens of kilograms of grain and some non-staple foods, of course, meat, bones and other things.

He'd spent a bit of his money, and the money he had left wasn't much. He hadn't received any royalties yet, and that was making Li Feng very nervous. "I'm afraid I'll just have a small pot of mixed fish for lunch."

Han Fuguo and Han Futian held a meeting to criticize Li Feng for eating meat twice every other day. Although the issue of the origin of Li Feng's meat coupons and banknotes was clarified, the problems of hedonism and backward thinking could not be solved.

The members of the society have pointed out many problems with Li Feng. He is a hedonist in his thinking and has no fine revolutionary traditions. Li Feng is very annoyed by the criticism and education, especially since Uncle Futian has been coming to teach him every night recently.

"What are you mumbling about?"

"Public Security Wu, nothing."

Li Feng quickly put down the pen in his hand. "Hurry up and sit down. Have some tea."

"I'll do it myself."

Wu Shengnan casually poured a glass of water. "Writer Li, I have something I'd like to discuss with you."

"Come to me to find out, tell me."

Li Feng was a little confused. He didn't know what Wu Shengnan wanted to know from him. Maybe something happened to Brother Gao Ju. For a moment, Li Feng was really a little panicked.

"How much do you know about the ghost incident in the dam a few days ago?"

"Haunted, you mean Han Wang's house, don't listen to her nonsense. In my opinion, this person has done something wrong and is suffering from a heart disease." Li Feng had no good feelings towards Han Wang. How could that guy hide anything from her?

All the little things in her family's history were revealed without any concealment. Wu Shengnan was a little bit incredulous. "She starved her mother-in-law to death, right?"

"Why don't you believe it? The whole dam knows about it."

"I heard that Han Wangshi even hired a fortune teller to kill her mother-in-law's ghost. This family." Li Feng shook his head, not wanting to talk about Han Wangshi's family as if he was afraid of being contaminated by some garbage.

Wu Shengnan was a little worried. If Han Wangshi was really such a person, then some of the things she said about Li Feng might not be true.

Wu Shengnan was a little angry and felt like she was being played like a monkey.

During the two days of investigation, some conflicts between Wu Gou and Li Feng surfaced, which made Wu Shengnan even more suspicious of some of Wu Gou's statements. "Who's telling the truth, and who's lying? Such a small place has so much going on."

The two were talking when the voices of Gao Ju and Gao Cheng came from outside the door.

"Cousin, we are back." Gao Ju and Gao Cheng were a little surprised to see the motorcycle at the door. After asking, they found out that it was from the police. They looked at each other and had some ideas in their minds.

"came back."

Li Feng glanced at the two of them. Gao nodded, knowing there were guests in the house. "Cousin, are there guests at home?"

"Public Security Officer Wu has been stationed in the village to carry out propaganda recently."

Li Feng helped the two of them take down the cloth. It was quite heavy, probably around 20 to 30 kilograms. He wondered what kind of stuff it was. "Wu Gongan, my cousins Gao Cheng and Gao Ju are brothers. They're out shaving people's heads to earn some food."

Public Security, Gao Cheng and Gao looked at each other, thinking they might be investigating speculation, and they smiled and said hello. "Public Security Wu..."

Wu Shengnan looked at the two men. Her skin was darker and rougher than Li Feng's, making her look more like a farmer. "You guys chat, I'm going to the dam." As she spoke, she glanced at the cloth tent that revealed some corn cobs, sorghum, dried sweet potatoes, and small pieces of bacon.

Wu Shengnan thought to herself, this guy is really like a barber, changing everything. As soon as Wu Shengnan left, Gao Cheng and Gao Ju looked at each other and went to check outside. Only when Wu Shengnan was gone did they breathe a sigh of relief.

"Boss, what's going on?"

"I'm not too clear about the specifics."

Li Feng briefly talked about Wu Shengnan's situation.

"We passed by many production teams, but didn't hear any propaganda. Could they be coming for us?" Gao was very suspicious.

"No matter who she's after, it's better to be careful."

Li Feng agreed with Gao Cheng's words. "It's just right that you're back. Observe more. We won't be going to the county town anytime soon. So what if they're coming for us? As long as we don't reveal our true identity, no matter how many police officers come, they won't matter. Don't worry."

"Let's not talk about that. Why are you guys so late for several days? I was so worried. I thought something had happened."

"Nothing, it's a good thing."

Gao Cheng said proudly, "We found a good job these days and earned over 20 yuan."

"Really."

It turned out that in an ancient village they were visiting, a family needed furniture made for their son's wedding that fall, but the carpenters were overwhelmed with work and couldn't handle it all at once. So Gao Cheng volunteered to help make a new style tall cabinet for 25 yuan. "So the labor fee is so high?"

Li Feng was a little surprised that the carpenter earned so much money. It was much higher than working in the commune. According to the two men, they only worked for five days. If you calculate it all, each person earned a little over two dollars a day.

"They're so well-off, their daily wages are usually around 80 or 90 cents."

Gao Cheng was making money, so he felt confident. "Besides, we're selling tall cabinets only in the city, and there are still two families waiting in line for the price. If we weren't afraid of you worrying, we would have gone after we'd sold those two families before returning."

My goodness, why is he still collecting antiques and porcelain? He should just make furniture directly. Five yuan for two people a day, and exchange it for RMB to take back home, which makes tens of thousands a day. He can get married in two months.

“Craftsmen are really popular.”

Li Feng thought that making five dollars a day was safe, so why would he bother speculating? "Oh, right, it just so happens that we don't even have a table at home. The table we're using is the small table that Wu Gongan brought from Uncle Fuguo's house when we were sharing meals with him these past few days."

"While we're repairing the house, let's break down the table."

"If you ask me, it's not just a table, but two beds as well."

"Let's make a bed. There's no place to put it." Li Feng thought that he should make two beds. It's okay normally, but what should he do in winter? Daya and Erya sleep on the bed, and they have been sleeping on the floor these days.

"How about expanding the house by two rooms?"

"That's an idea, but I'm afraid it would cost more than a hundred dollars to expand the utility room."

Li Feng calculated the money he had, but it wasn't enough unless the royalties were paid. But he couldn't be sure of the royalties for a while. "I don't have that much money right now."

"what is it now?"

Going back to make the tall cabinet, Gao Cheng and Gao Jue looked at each other and it seemed to be okay.

"Let's do this first. I'll go find Uncle Fuguo and Uncle Futian to borrow some money."

Li Feng thought about it and decided that the house really had to be built. It was okay in the summer, but sleeping on the floor in the winter was unbearable. Besides, Daya and Erya were two girls following him, and it would not be nice for the two brothers Gao Ju and Gao Cheng to sleep in the same room for a long time.

"What, expand two rooms?"

"Yes, Uncle Fuguo, you see there are so many people in your family, it's not good for them to sleep in one room."

Li Feng said with a smile. "Also, I want to buy some furniture. Can the team please provide me with some more wood? I'll pay you back as soon as I have enough money."

Han Fuguo really wanted to spit in Li Feng's face. He had no money and was asking the brigade to pay him an IOU. "The wood for the expansion and furniture will cost at least 180 yuan. You still owe the brigade 60 or 70 yuan."

"Uncle Fuguo, it's only a hundred or eighty yuan. I'll pay you back as soon as I get my royalties." Li Feng's "Postpartum Care for Sows" is fifty thousand words long, and at the minimum rate of three yuan per thousand words, that's still a hundred and fifty yuan. At the very least, a hundred or eighty yuan is the minimum.

Han Fuguo didn't believe the idiot's boast. If he couldn't get the tree, he'd owe the brigade one or two hundred yuan. That wouldn't work. If other families knew about it, they'd make a scene. "How about this? You give me fifty yuan first, and I'll approve the tree for you."

Why don't you believe what you said? Li Feng was helpless. He only had more than ten yuan in his pocket now, and he really couldn't take out fifty yuan. Oh, there were still the two brothers Gao Jue and Gao Cheng, and the money they earned from working.

"Row."

When we got home, we asked for their money and found out that they had bought some dishes. This ancient village really has some good things.

"Boss, take a look."

Gao Jue proudly took out two blue and white plates. "These are good things."

"Is it from the official kiln?"

"That's not the case. These are from the mid-to-late Qing Dynasty, custom-made in Jingdezhen. They must have been specially commissioned by a wealthy merchant at the time, and they were very particular about the quality, comparable to that of an official kiln. They'd fetch a high price at auction. I estimate these two plates would be worth around 150,000 yuan." Gao Jue was incredibly pleased to have secured these two fine items. "I asked around, and there are at least two or three other places that have this kind of custom-made porcelain."

"Next time I go there, I'll ask around and try to get a few more pieces to auction together. The price might be higher."

Gao carefully wrapped the two blue and white plates in cloth and put them away. They were really interesting things.

"Good stuff, I'll put it aside and see if I can bring it back later."

The two plates were worth over a hundred thousand, and Li Feng was quite happy about it. As for the other small items, which cost a few thousand yuan, he didn't care much. It was just that the things cost some money, and now the two brothers only had a dozen yuan on them.

It's true that a penny can make a hero die. No, what should I do? I can exchange some small things at home for food coupons, but exchanging them for money is a bit difficult. They are too small. "Watches and cameras, these two things can be exchanged for money."

I can't go to the county town, but here in the commune, apart from the cadres, there are few people who can come up with so much money. Wow, you really can't believe there is one.

"What, Boss, think about it again."

Just kidding, the camera was given to Wu Shengnan. Gao Jue and Gao Cheng thought Li Feng was really generous. This was like the mouse wishing a happy new year to the cat. He was courting death. "Don't worry about this. We won't bring this up. Let Wu Public Security bring it up himself."

Both cameras were old and worthless when I bought them, but they've become worth more now that I've brought them here. "Just listen to me later, and you'll get the money."

(End of this chapter)