Back to my 1980s

Right after finishing their meal, Zhao Ru's three sisters arrived at the Zhao family's courtyard one after another.

They were standing inside the house waiting, wearing raincoats and boots. Zhao Hua was a little speechless. They came so early in the rain. Luckily, he had decided to go with them and he would give them 5 cents...

He scooped all the fish out of the water tank and put them into the same bucket. Then he poured the fish from the other two buckets together, found two planks, covered the buckets, and tied them securely with rope.

He had Zhao Ru carry the scale, sack, and straw rope, then took a handful of coins from inside the house and sat down in the main room to wait for Zhao's father.

After finishing his meal, Zhao's father went out to borrow a raincoat. He returned shortly with two raincoats, giving one to Zhao Hua and the other to Zhao Ru.

After tidying up, he tied the ropes attached to the two buckets to the middle of the carrying pole, strung them together, and carried them.

Wearing a straw raincoat while carrying a load is very inconvenient, especially since it belongs to someone else.

Who knows if it's an old antique passed down for generations? It would be bad if it wore out. The raincoat in my own home has witnessed my growth from childhood to adulthood.

When Zhao's father saw him string the two buckets together, he moved his lips slightly, feeling a tickle in his throat, but in the end he still helped him carry them out without uttering a curse.

Fortunately, the rope was securely tied, and it didn't slip when they encountered steep slopes along the way. The two of them awkwardly carried it all the way, finally enduring the ordeal until they reached the market. When walking in the rain, they only dared to step on the grass stalks by the roadside.

They arranged for Zhao Ru to stay under an asbestos-roofed shed in the market and gave her half a bucket of fish. It was normal to catch a lot of fish on rainy days if you were lucky, since she always carried proof with her.

After settling Zhao Ru in, Zhao Ru pointed to the few small carp in the bucket. Upon seeing this, Zhao Hua ran to the general store.

Before entering, I looked up at the sign hanging at the door: General Department Store, and found the fabric counter inside.

The sales clerk was a girl who looked about his age. When she saw him walk to the counter, her eyes lit up.

Having started over, Zhao Hua's temperament is naturally different from before. Except when facing Song Xuemei, he is more composed and calm when facing anyone or anything else, and less impetuous and flustered than a young man.

With his charisma, height of 1.8 meters, and naturally good-looking face, the saleswoman, an ordinary girl, naturally felt more favorably toward him.

Her eyes crinkled into a smile as she stepped forward and asked, "Comrade, would you like some cloth or something else?"

"Do you have a red cotton rope?"

"Yes, how many feet do you need?"

Zhao Hua paused, used to measuring with rice, when suddenly a ruler popped into his head. He quickly converted it in his mind and said, "Twelve feet, right? Cut it into twenty sections for me."

"One foot costs three cents, twelve feet costs three dollars and sixty cents."

Zhao Hua took out the money and handed it over, then took the cut red cotton rope and returned to the market. Zhao's father had been waiting impatiently, and seeing that he had taken so long to return, he said angrily, "What have you been doing for so long?"

Seeing that Zhao Hua only casually waved the red rope in his hand without replying, someone asked, "What are you doing with this?"

Zhao Hua ignored him and scooped the carp out of the bucket. It was still early, and it wasn't time for people in town to go out to buy groceries yet.

He threaded the rope through one gill slit and out through the fish's mouth, tied a slipknot, then braided the rope end hanging outside into a ruyi knot, and handed it to Zhao Ru.

Zhao Ru took the fish, somewhat intrigued. She recognized the ruyi knot, but this was the first time she'd seen it tied to a fish. She looked at Zhao Hua and asked with a smile, "What's this for?"

"Take the sack out and lay it on the ground, then put the fish on it. Find some stones to weigh down the rope, and remember not to get the rope wet. Put five fish on it at a time." Zhao Hua continued threading the next fish.

Watching from the side, Zhao's father muttered, "All this fuss and spending money before even selling them. How much did these ropes cost?"

Zhao Hua ignored him and then said to Zhao Ru, "These carp can be sold individually, at 49 cents each. When you tie the fish up, remember to pick fish of similar size for each batch."

Zhao Ru was even more curious, and holding the fish, she asked, "Why sell it for forty-nine cents? Wouldn't fifty cents be easier to calculate?"

Zhao Hua smiled mysteriously, without replying. After giving his instructions, he and his father planned to go to the villages to sell fish. It was raining today, so the administrator wouldn't be wandering around aimlessly.

Looking at the remaining half of the fish, all crucian carp, weighing forty or fifty pounds, it seemed like a lot. But in reality, if you really found a way to sell them, it wouldn't be enough to go around. Nowadays, most households have a large population, and each family can sell two or three pounds, or dozens of pounds, in no time.

The problem is that very few people are willing to take out this money. He looked at Zhao's father and saw that Zhao's father was also staring at him. The two looked at each other for a few seconds.

Zhao's father couldn't help but speak up, "What are you standing there for? What are we going to do with the rest of the fish?"

Zhao Hua stroked his chin. His father was a craftsman; people would come to him directly if they needed furniture made. Relying on him seemed useless; he might not even have as much experience as Zhao Hua himself.

So he asked, "Dad, do you know where there are a lot of gamblers? Like in our village, where they gather in a bunch to gamble." He had tasted the sweetness of gambling last time, and he wanted to try again this time.

"What nonsense are you talking about! How could I possibly know about such a place! I don't go to such places! Don't talk nonsense!" Zhao's father couldn't help but steal a glance at Zhao Ru, and just then he met Zhao Ru's gaze.

The atmosphere froze for a second. He turned and glared at Zhao Hua, who quickly chuckled and said, "I'm asking if you know, don't you often go out to make furniture for people? Don't you have a lot of friends? Who asked if you went or not?"

Mr. Zhao waved his hand impatiently and said, "How would I know where there are such places if I don't go there? I just play cards at my neighbor's house when I have free time. How would I know about such places?"

"No, I mean, wouldn't it be much faster to sell the fish there? Running errands to each store would be exhausting!"

After pondering for a moment, Zhao's father mumbled, "If you put it that way, I have indeed heard others mention such a place. I heard that people from all around go there."

Zhao Hua clapped his hands and laughed, "Alright, let's go!" After saying that, he and his father put on their raincoats, picked up their buckets, and set off behind his father.

After the two left the market, he suddenly asked Zhao's father, "If we just walk through like this, people won't recognize us. Won't they think we're those 'gambling busters' in disguise, and then they'll grab us and beat us up?"

Zhao's father rolled his eyes at him, annoyed, and said, "Who would hit you for no reason? Just follow me, why are you talking so much nonsense!"

Zhao Hua had a good idea of ​​what to do after this impromptu test, but he didn't pay much attention to it. In the countryside, people like to get together to play cards after finishing their farm work and having nothing to do. Zhao's father hadn't just been gambling and doing nothing in his previous life.

After walking with Zhao's father for almost half an hour, he couldn't help but admire his father. He had walked all that way to play cards, and the journey from home to the market took almost an hour.

When they arrived, people looked at the father and son carrying buckets with curiosity. Zhao Hua glanced around and saw that it seemed more lively than Shuanghuai Village, with forty or fifty people even on rainy days.

Zhao's father told him to wait at the door, and he went inside for a while. Soon after, he brought out a few people who weren't playing cards. The dozens of kilograms of fish were divided up without even being played.