Year 1983: I was a carpenter in Northeast China

Chapter 169 Unexpected

When Chen Jianguo saw that his younger brother had brought Xu Bei along, he paused in his act of giving change, then immediately broke into a bright smile.

"Hey, Brother Xu, I figured you'd be here soon. You're here to pick up some goods for your shop this time too."

"Yes, Brother Chen. I've opened another shop in the city this time, so we'll use a different address for shipping from now on."

As Xu Bei spoke with a smile, he also looked at the goods on the stall and found that Chen Jianguo had quite good taste in the goods he picked; the styles and colors were almost all very nice.

Chen Jianguo was surprised that his younger brother was opening another shop in such a short time. After a moment of surprise, he smiled and said, "That's great."

Then he glanced at his own stall, his hands wearing fingerless gloves, and the fanny pack around his waist, "This is way better than my stall, Chen's."

Since Xu Bei wasn't from the provincial capital and didn't know much about the local situation, he still asked softly out of curiosity and concern for his friend, "Brother Chen, why don't you also consider opening a shop?"

Chen Jianguo shook his head helplessly, "How could I not want to study it? But—it's always changing. It might be possible today, but not tomorrow. Let's wait and see. After all, mobile vendors can change locations whenever they want, but once you have a fixed shop, you can't just run away."

Xu Bei could completely understand why the other party would have such thoughts.

After all, it would be illegal to resell large quantities of scarce clothing and supplies under the unified purchase and distribution system at this time.

Even if some regulations are set to control the situation in principle and relax them under specific conditions, the actual implementation varies from place to place.

"That's true, let's wait and see. Anyway, it'll be quick to open it up."

"Yes, that's what I think too."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Chen Jianguo told Xu Bei to look at the goods first, and then went to attend to other customers.

Chen Jianshe didn't just stand by as a background character; he even helped his brother watch the stall. After all, there are always petty thieves and opportunists everywhere, and if someone steals one or two items, the loss would be huge.

Xu Bei picked and chose items at the stall and in the box of the tricycle behind him.

They quickly picked out some and set them aside; most of them were batwing shirts and jeans.

The so-called batwing shirt is generally characterized by unusually wide and exaggerated sleeves that are connected to the sides of the garment, so that when the arms are outstretched, they resemble the shape of a bat, hence the name.

Xu Bei remembers that a popular outfit for a while was a batwing top, leggings, and high heels, which often attracted the attention of passersby.

However, leggings have not yet appeared on the market.

After all, cloth ration coupons had not yet been abolished at that time, and the most sought-after fabric in China was Dacron.

The material of the leggings is mainly made of a blend of silk and synthetic fibers, which has great elasticity.

The widespread application of this highly elastic composite fabric and the fashion revolution did not begin to emerge until the late 80s.

The reason it became wildly popular in the early 1990s was mainly due to the introduction of foreign fitness concepts after the reform and opening up, especially with the arrival of Jane Fonda's aerobics videotapes in China, which sparked a craze for imitation.

Afterwards, Chen Jianguo gave Xu Bei a purchase price of five or six yuan, which he could then sell for at least ten yuan, so the profit margin was quite large.

However, if you want to open a new store, you definitely can't just stock these few types of clothing.

Therefore, by 9 o'clock, there were fewer and fewer people strolling around the market.

Xu Bei helped the Chen brothers pack up their stall, and the two of them accompanied him to other people's shops to look at and select goods.

After visiting several suppliers, he had already spent almost all of the three thousand yuan he had legitimately borrowed from his family.

In the midst of our busy work, it was already noon.

Xu Bei couldn't let them go hungry, so he invited the Chen brothers to a restaurant for dinner.

During the meal, everyone ate and chatted, and their relationship became even closer.

Then, under Xu Bei's deliberate arrangement, a new cooperation method was discussed and agreed upon.

That is, each party advances the payment for the goods to the other, so that they no longer need to go through the trouble of making remittances.

The Chen brothers, who were extremely satisfied and happy, probably never dreamed of this.

This kind of advance payment eliminates the need for remittances and saves them a lot of money, making it a very profitable operation.

However, for Xu Bei, it was like exchanging wooden stools and folding tables for clothing and general merchandise, making money out of thin air with no initial investment, and saving him the trouble of constantly going to the post office to collect remittances. He was going to make a fortune.

Xu Bei successfully completed all the tasks he wanted to accomplish, but he was still concerned about the safety of his mother and sister. Therefore, he boarded the train for his return journey that afternoon.

Now that I have a shop and a place to stay in the city, I don't need to go through the hassle of going to the Forestry Bureau anymore after I get off the bus and queue up to pick up my package.

Xu Bei hired a trolley and took the goods and himself back to his home near No. 1 Middle School.

When he arrived home, he found the front door locked, but he wasn't surprised at all. After all, his younger sister had to go to school, and his mother was probably at the shop tending the stove.

After sending away the porters and moving all the goods into his own house, Xu Bei washed his hands and then lifted the lid of the still-warm pot.

Inside the pot, a curtain was placed, upon which sat a small bowl of stewed sauerkraut, potato strips, pork belly, and half a bowl of rice.

Xu Bei sniffed and smiled. No matter how good the food is outside, it can't compare to a home-cooked meal.

He poured some homemade, glistening chili oil into the dish, then added the rice and stirred it all together.

Served with chive blossoms and pickled cucumbers, the meal was devoured in a flash, followed by a satisfied sigh that echoed through the courtyard.

Xu Bei quickly looked out the window.

When he saw that not only his mother but also his brother-in-law Zhu Wenliang had entered, he was somewhat surprised and astonished, and quickly left the room.

"Mom, brother-in-law."

Zhu Wenliang greeted him even more warmly than usual, "Brother, you're back! Was your journey smooth?"

"Everything went smoothly. Brother-in-law, why aren't you at work?"

Xu Bei, observing Zhu Wenliang's expression, also noticed something amiss. Before Zhu Wenliang could answer, Xu Bei turned to his mother and asked, "Mom, what happened?"

Zhao Fengying saw the front door open and guessed that her son had returned.

Now that I see that he is all healthy and in good spirits, I am completely relieved.

But the thought of someone still in the hospital made his expression complicated.

"Don't even mention it. Your dad's sick, and your brother-in-law helped bring him to the city hospital—"

Zhu Wenliang quickly chimed in, "Otherwise, we wouldn't know that it was Zhao Laosi, who has a good relationship with Dad, who went to the shop, and then your sister sent me to bring him over."

The doctor examined me and said it might be acute appendicitis, requiring surgery! My mom and I came back to pick up some things, and I didn't expect you to be home already.

Xu Bei never expected that Xu Dashan, who hadn't shown up for a while, would suddenly fall ill, a fate so different from his previous life.

He didn't know if it was related to the flapping of his reborn butterfly wings —