Back to 1984: Earning Money, Raising Kids, and Keeping the Household Busy

Chapter 56 Selling Bicycles
Lin Qin looked at Chen Wenjun.

Chen Wenjun agreed without hesitation, saying, "We'll fix it in a couple of days."

The gap isn't very big, but it will still take several days to seal it up. It's not too late to wait for the senior engineer to come and get his opinion before starting work.

After the group boarded the boat, Chen Wenjun used a bamboo pole to take them to the county town on the other side of Nanxi.

The ship docks at the pier.

Lin Qingxiang and his son had never been here before and were completely unfamiliar with the place.

Fortunately, Chen Wenjun had sold fish here before and personally led the way for them.

The three walked through the alleys on both sides of the main street of the county town and soon found a car repair shed.

The repair shed was located inside the alley. Although the alley was deep, there were many people coming and going. Lin Qingxiang guessed that this must be the only way for the village to reach the main street.

Chen Wenjun explained, "The owner of this repair shop will take these kinds of cars. He has connections, but don't make a fuss, let me explain."

The father and son nodded, staring longingly at the owner of the repair shop.

Chen Wenjun stepped forward, handed the boss a cigarette, and pointed at the bicycle without saying anything.

The boss stood up from the ground, his hands covered in calluses and black grease. He quickly washed his hands with a basin of indeterminate water, took the cigarette Chen Wenjun offered, tucked it behind his ear, and strode toward the bicycle. He touched the handlebars, tested the brakes, turned the pedals, and checked the chain.

I checked the bicycle inside and out and found that everything was fine except for the broken lock.

The shopkeeper immediately turned around, hesitated, and said, "Eighty yuan. I'll pay now if you want it."

"Only eighty yuan?" Lin Shaojun frowned and opened his mouth, but Lin Qingxiang immediately covered his mouth and said with a smile, "Eighty is fine. Anyway, they owe us money. We'll make up whatever amount we can."

Chen Wenjun nodded.

The boss immediately took action, carrying the bicycle into the house. A moment later, he had eight ten-yuan bills in his hand.

Lin Qingxiang checked the tally and said with a smile, "That's right, then we'll be going now!"

Chen Wenjun followed them out of the alley.

Lin Shaojun grumbled in dissatisfaction, "Dad! Why did you stop me just now? That bicycle costs at least 130 yuan, and he only charged us 80 yuan. That's outrageous!"

Lin Qingxiang glared angrily, "Are you stupid? We're selling unlicensed taxis, we make a profit no matter how many we sell, and you're getting addicted to taking advantage? Besides, don't they need to make a profit too?"

Lin Shaojun was speechless after being scolded.

After the three boarded the boat, Chen Wenjun immediately rowed it away.

Lin Yi asked anxiously, "Has it been sold?"

"It's sold! It's worth eighty yuan!" Lin Qingxiang was obviously very happy. This money was a windfall for his family, and a large sum of money at that.

With today's wages, the father and son will be able to take more than a hundred yuan home this time.

Your wife will definitely be happy!

Lin Yi was somewhat surprised, but mostly relieved. "Good, good! Everyone feels at ease now that we've sold that thing. Let's not mention this again!"

Lin Shaojun had figured it out by now, and nodded with a smile.

After the boat docked, Lin Qin reminded them to take those things with them.

After watching them leave, Chen Wenjun picked up the fishing net and bucket and prepared to get off the boat. "The weather isn't right. I think it's going to rain tonight. Let's catch a couple more nets while it's still early. Aqin, do you want to come with me to the pile of stones? Maybe there are still some duck eggs there."

Lin Qin thought it was unlikely. She had picked up a batch of scavengers around nine o'clock this morning, and even if there were any left, there wouldn't be more than two. However, the weather was definitely not right, so she might as well go for another trip.

Upon hearing about collecting duck eggs, Liu Yaya and Chen Ping'an were both eager to try.

"Mom, I can help you pick it up."

"Auntie, may I go and take a look?" Chen Ping'an asked cautiously. He knew that he was not very good at handling things and might not be able to help if he went, and might even become a burden to Lin Qin.

Lin Qin initially wanted to refuse, but seeing how expectant the child was, she reluctantly agreed. The four of them disembarked with buckets and tools.

Lin Yi stayed on the boat to cook.

Along the way, Lin Qin reminded them from time to time: "The pile of stones is a bit high. I'll hold Ping An's hand for a while. Ya Ya, you have to be careful. Don't climb dangerous places, okay? If you can't find the duck eggs, just forget it. You can collect a few snails by the stream and then go back."

"Okay!" the two children shouted in unison.

Each person carried their own small bucket, walking carefully, their backs looking particularly cute and amusing.

Lin Qin unconsciously curled the corners of her mouth, thinking that there probably weren't many duck eggs, so she would just treat it as playing with the children.

With that in mind, the three of them climbed up the pile of stones.

Chen Ping'an insisted on climbing on his own, not wanting to be a burden to Lin Qin.

Lin Qin followed behind, watching patiently.

The little guy used both his hands and feet to climb the first step and shouted, "Auntie, look inside, isn't that a duck egg!"

Lin Qin's expression changed, and she quickly went over, squatted down to take a look, and found that there was indeed a nest of duck eggs inside. Because of its hidden location, it was not easy to find, and she had to go around to the other side to find it.

"Wait a moment, Auntie will go get it."

Lin Qin ran over excitedly.

Before she could even take out the duck egg, Liu Yaya had already made a discovery.

The child was impatient and couldn't wait for Lin Qin at all, so he took out the duck eggs one by one by himself.

After Lin Qin finished collecting the duck eggs, she looked back and saw that the two little ones had run far away. She quickly chased after them and found that there were seven or eight duck eggs in each of their buckets.

"So many! Where did you find them?"

Liu Yaya pointed to two places.

Lin Qin couldn't remember if she had looked for it that morning, and suspected that she had missed it.

She quickly moved the eggs from the two children's buckets into her own large bucket.

In just a short while, Chen Ping'an made another discovery.

The two little guys were competing with each other, finding duck eggs on one side and catching something on the other.

Lin Qin was so busy cleaning up after them that she didn't even have time to look for herself.

In this way, the three of them walked through the pile of stones that was more than ten meters long.

Lin Qin's bucket was also six-tenths full.

Looking at the sky, with dark clouds looming overhead, she sensed something was wrong and quickly led her two children back the way they came.

At this time, the fishing boats on Nanxi were already lit up with scattered orange-yellow lights. Some families lit candles, while others used kerosene lamps. Boats came and went, creating a lively scene.

Lin Qin said, "It looks like things are really about to change; the fishing boats have all gone to the port."

Whenever the weather changes, the Tanka people will voluntarily row their fishing boats to the harbor, linking them together so that they are not afraid of strong winds or heavy rain.

Chen Ping'an quickly shouted in the direction of Chen Wenjun, "Dad, it's going to rain! Let's go home!"

Chen Wenjun waved to them, signaling them to board the boat first.

When he returned, Lin Qin had already bathed the two children and changed them into clean clothes.

Two children are sitting on the deck playing with a turtle.

I don't know if it's because of the change in weather, but the turtle keeps surfacing, opening and closing its mouth, more active than at other times.

(End of this chapter)