Back to my 1980s

Zhao Ru stared in disbelief at Zhao Hua's fluid and skillful actions, speechless with astonishment.

Chinese people have a strong belief that no matter what they do, they must strive to be number one. This led to many "number one" claims in later GG promotional materials.

The second effect is greatly reduced; apart from the second and third, which I care about, no one else cares.

It's not even as good as the number one's hair.

This mindset permeated every aspect of life, and Zhao Hua was no exception. He had already decided at home that he would be the first customer of this small shop.

"Hey! Old Meng, what's this place like?"

A woman who lived closest to him on the other side of the road walked over and looked at Meng's father.

Meng's father chuckled and said, "My Qinghe has nothing better to do, so she set up a small shop to sell matches and such."

"Qinghe is doing this, isn't she afraid of being caught?" the woman said, pointing in the direction of the village committee.

Meng's father laughed and said, "No, no, we have the necessary permits. We are a licensed business operator, so there will be no problem."

The older woman nodded with some skepticism, glanced at Zhao Hua who was counting toilet paper, then at the things laid out on the wooden bed, and, finding them somewhat intriguing, smiled and asked, "How much are these matches?"

Meng's father laughed and said, "It's the same price as the retail store, three mao."

The older woman exclaimed in surprise, "What? The same price as the retail store? How can you possibly sell them?"

Meng's father hurriedly said, "The sales point is so far from here, isn't this place closer? It will save us a lot of effort."

Zhao Hua curled his lips. Meng's father didn't even know what his core competitiveness was. His core competitiveness was that his place wouldn't close on time and could stay open until eight or nine o'clock in the evening.

While other retailers go off to eat or take a walk after get off work, his shop remains open. He casually promotes it, and once people know he's open in the evenings, they'll casually come over to buy something once, and naturally won't want to travel far anymore.

However, Zhao Hua didn't worry about that matter, because Meng Qinghe refused to accept the one yuan and insisted on returning the money.

He was too busy arguing with Meng Qinghe to worry about anything else.

The final result of the fight was that Zhao Hua won, but he almost lost because Meng's father also participated. Zhao Hua won the final victory by fighting two opponents at once.

If the money isn't paid out, then we won't become the first customer, right? Besides, how can a new store lose money on its very first sale?

People gradually gathered around, but not many actually bought anything; most just came to watch the excitement. Zhao Hua kept his promise and squatted in the shed all afternoon.

He only bid farewell to Meng's father and left after glancing at the sky and realizing it was time to catch fish.

Meng Qinghe's small shop gradually got on track, and Zhao Hua's three main rooms were also built. Once the courtyard wall and kitchen were completed, the project would be officially finished.

"Brother, the tractor has arrived!" Zhao Ru shouted, sticking her head into the room.

"Understood." Zhao Hua straightened his clothes and left the room.

"I've loaded everything onto the tractor for you. When you get there, listen to your Aunt Zhao. Do exactly what she says. Don't try to do things on your own and make a fool of yourself." When Zhao Hua came out, Zhao's mother quickly handed him the clothes in her hand and went up to him to give him repeated instructions.

Zhao Hua casually replied a few words and left. He didn't hear a word his mother said. It was just an engagement, but she made it sound like a war.

The tractor's trailer contained half a pig, two large carp he had caught himself, and some tobacco and alcohol, all of which were to be delivered to the Song family.

As for the clothes in his hand and the jewelry in his pocket, they were for Song Xueping.

There were also two red envelopes, each containing twenty yuan. One was for Song Xueping, and the other was for Song Zhiqiang. That was all.

The key point this time is that the Geng Tie (庚帖) that needs to be exchanged is not in Zhao Hua's hands, but in the hands of the matchmaker. The matchmaker needs to exchange the Qian Tie (乾帖) for the woman's Kun Tie (坤帖), which together are called Qiankun Tie (乾坤帖), and this is the exchange of books.

The engagement gift was just a small one, not much, and Zhao Hua could carry it all in one trip by bicycle. However, it wouldn't be enough if the matchmaker was also involved.

Song Xueping's home was too far away; she couldn't possibly carry half a pig on her legs to get there. As for pulling a cart, that was no different from walking.

So I booked a tractor last night, and the fare for just the tractor alone was eight yuan.

"Mom, I'm going now!" After the tractor started, Zhao Huachong waved to his mother and younger sister standing outside the yard. As soon as he finished waving, the tractor disappeared into the alley.

The tractor rattled along for half an hour until it reached Hongguang Village. At the village entrance, Zhao Hua saw the group of children he had given candy to last time.

The matchmaker kept giving directions to the tractor driver, while Zhao Hua sat in the vehicle watching the scenery on both sides of the road recede into the distance.

"We've arrived. After you get off the car, put the things you brought on their table. I'll handle the rest." The matchmaker patted Zhao Hua's arm.

Zhao Hua turned his head and looked over. The Song family's relatives and neighbors must have received the news long ago, as the courtyard was surrounded by people in layers.

Zhao Hua was holding clothes in his hands, making it inconvenient to carry the pork. Just as he was wondering whether he should hand the clothes over to the matchmaker, Song Zhiqiang, who had received the news, suddenly rushed to the front of the car.

Zhao Hua breathed a sigh of relief; the helper had arrived.

He quickly waved and said, "Brother Qiang, come quick, carry the pork inside."

Upon hearing this, Song Zhiqiang beamed with joy and said, "Brother, I've been eagerly awaiting your arrival for so long, and I'm so glad you've finally come."

Zhao Hua's lips twitched. This damned guy was actually hoping for his arrival just for a bite to eat. Didn't he know that his sister would get married soon after he came?

However, he didn't say anything. It was fine; having something to eat was enough. Zhao Hua smiled and said, "Let's take the things inside and put them away first."

As he spoke, he jumped out of the car. At this moment, Song Zhiqiang's cousins ​​also came out to greet him, with a cigarette in their mouths and a swaying gait as they walked out the door. Zhao Hua had a vague impression of these people, but he hadn't seen them much since. They looked familiar, but he couldn't recall their names.

The men peered into the truck bed and, seeing only two carp and half a pig, their disdain was palpable. They then flicked the cigarettes they were smoking at Zhao Hua.

Zhao Hua racked his brains, thinking that this didn't seem to happen in his past life. Although these people weren't particularly warm towards him before, they weren't as arrogant as they were now.

He blinked. When he met them before, they were much more mature than they are now, and the timing of their meeting was different.

It seems they are at the peak of their youthful exuberance.

Zhao Hua came to get engaged, not to cause trouble, so he naturally didn't take their provocations to heart.

He smiled, tucked his clothes under his arm, and took out cigarettes to offer to the people in front of him.

Unexpectedly, the cigarette was snatched away as soon as he took it out. The person looked at it over and over for a while before throwing it back.

He took a deep drag of his cigarette and blew it into Zhao Hua's face, sneering, "Kid, I heard you're rich? Is this how rich people try to fob us off?"