Back to my 1980s

market.

Despite having just glared at Xu Qian, he's now having someone else act as a backdrop.

But Zhao Hua wasn't embarrassed at all.

After all, whoever is more sensitive will feel embarrassed. If he doesn't feel embarrassed, then it's someone else who will feel embarrassed.

The two girls stood to the side, holding umbrellas over their heads, looking a little lost. On a whim, they wanted to make amends to Zhao Hua. Since it wasn't customary to give money directly these days, helping him sell fish was the perfect solution.

They all stared at Zhao Hua, who was squatting on the ground. They remembered that other people had to shout to attract customers when they sold goods, but why was he so quiet? Could it be that he wanted them to shout?

Jiang Yue secretly gripped Xu Qian's arm with her hand that wasn't holding an umbrella, afraid that Zhao Hua would suddenly turn around and tell them to go and solicit customers. Just thinking about that scene made her feet curl up involuntarily.

Zhao Hua squatted for a moment, then, as if just remembering there were two other people beside him, turned and asked with a smile, "You've been here the whole time, aren't your families worried?"

Seeing that Zhao Hua spoke first, the awkward atmosphere eased slightly. Jiang Yue said softly, "It's okay, they're all at work, no one's home right now."

Xu Qian was still being stubborn, so she turned her head away and gave a soft hum.

Zhao Hua's mind raced. These days, the word "going to work" isn't something ordinary people can easily encounter. Plus, they had just called Director Zhang "Uncle." He thoughtfully stroked his chin, sizing up the two people in front of him.

Jiang Yue felt uncomfortable under his gaze and regretted staying to help. She unconsciously tightened her grip on Xu Qian's arm, causing Xu Qian to cry out in pain and turn around sharply.

Seeing Zhao Hua looking them over, she said irritably, "What are you looking at! Look again and I'll gouge your eyes out!" Jiang Yue tugged at her twice, and she glanced at Jiang Yue before turning her head away sullenly.

Zhao Hua didn't take Xu Qian's harsh words to heart. He was thinking about what kind of background these two girls had. Since they knew the director of the market management office, they must be from similar cadre families.

But Director Zhang didn't stand up for them. He thought to himself that their family background wasn't that great. After all that commotion, no one had come to buy fish yet, so he was just idling around.

Jiang Yue felt a little embarrassed and annoyed when she saw that he had only asked one question and then kept staring at them. Just as she was wondering how to react, a middle-aged man in his early forties came up to the fish stall and asked about the price of crucian carp. She breathed a sigh of relief and looked over with Zhao Hua.

After the middle-aged man inquired about the price, he ordered three catties of crucian carp. Zhao Hua quickly weighed the fish and strung it with straw rope. Jiang Yue stepped forward to help, taking the change from the man's hand. After the middle-aged man left, Jiang Yue handed the money back to Zhao Hua.

Zhao Hua glanced at the two women's clothes, then hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but didn't. He hadn't intended to argue with them on the street, so he just casually suggested they come over as background figures.

Who would have thought she would even help collect the money! Judging from their clothes and appearance, they shouldn't be bothered to cheat me out of my meager earnings.

Zhao Hua took the money, put it in his pocket, and said with a forced smile, "Thank you, but you don't need to come over. Just stand behind and watch. The ground is all muddy and wet, so don't get your clothes and shoes dirty."

Jiang Yue didn't notice anything amiss, assuming Zhao Hua was just being polite. She raised her hand to tuck a strand of hair that had fallen in front of her behind her ear and said softly with a smile, "It's alright. I'm happy to be able to help you out after causing you so much trouble today."

Zhao Hua clicked his tongue. After someone started, more and more people gathered around. He didn't have time to waste words with them anymore, so he turned around and greeted the customers who came up to ask about the price.

Zhao Hua helped the customers who had chosen their fish weigh them, while Jiang Yue helped collect the money. Xu Qian was left with nothing to do and was initially being difficult, but seeing that the two of them were busy and no one was paying attention to her, she stopped complaining.

She quietly turned her head to look for a while, and found it interesting to thread the fish through its gills and tie it up, so she stepped forward and volunteered to help string the fish together.

She had only strung a few fish when she found them sticky, slippery, and smelly. She tugged at Zhao Hua's sleeve and told him to strung them himself while she helped weigh them. However, she couldn't read the scale, so she went to Jiang Yue's side to help with the bill and change, having a great time.

Zhao Hua glanced at the two women briefly, feeling somewhat troubled. However, they were, after all, daughters of a leader, and should have received some education. With that thought, he felt a little relieved and focused on dealing with the customers in front of him.

The number of fish in the bucket dwindled, eventually reaching just over seventy pounds. Once the flow of people picked up, the fish sold out in the blink of an eye.

Zhao Hua roughly swept the ground, washed his hands, and poured all the sewage into the drainage ditch that had been specially dug in the market.

Turning to look at Jiang Yue, who handed all the money to Zhao Hua, Xu Qian seemed a little reluctant to leave and followed beside Jiang Yue.

The two women helped Zhao Hua sell the fish the whole time. Without them, Zhao Hua would have been quite flustered. He took the money from Jiang Yue and said with a smile, "Thank you for your hard work."

Seeing that Zhao Hua was no longer speaking coldly, Xu Qian's expression softened considerably. She said, "It's alright. We were the ones who caused you trouble first. Are you coming again tomorrow?"

Zhao Hua shook his head and said, "I'm not coming." He planned to look for a way to buy a bicycle in the afternoon.

Jiang Yue hesitated, exchanged a glance with Xu Qian, and Xu Qian stepped forward and asked, "Are you worried that those thugs will cause you trouble?"

Zhao Hua glanced at the two of them without saying a word, then turned around and put the scale next to him into the bucket.

They exchanged glances again. Jiang Yue, who hadn't spoken since selling the fish, stepped forward and said, "Actually, we just graduated from vocational school and have been waiting at home for job assignments."

She hesitated for a moment, paused, and then continued, "We'll be assigned to work at the commune restaurant, but the official notification hasn't come through yet, so nobody knows about it publicly."

Xu Qian nodded, walked to Jiang Yue's side, and said, "You've probably been catching fish to sell, right? We can help you collect the fish after we join the company."

Zhao Hua understood immediately. No wonder he was always wandering around the streets; it turned out the job assignment documents hadn't arrived yet. He was a little tempted. The price the restaurant paid for fish wasn't much different from what was offered at the market, so it wouldn't be bad to be able to process them in bulk.

He had just started thinking about buying a bicycle to go to the county town, and as he was struggling with the decision, it suddenly occurred to him that the two people were talking about what would happen after he started working…

He asked in confusion, "When did you start working here?"

Jiang Yue and Xu Qian lowered their heads slightly and whispered, "The notification should arrive in about a month."

Zhao Hua pursed his lips and said irritably, "Let's talk about it again in a month. Isn't it a bit too early to talk about it now?" But then he thought about it again. More and more people in the village were fishing, and who knows when he might have to ask them for help.

He immediately softened his tone, a fawning smile appearing on his face, and said, "Then remember to tell me after you join the company that being good at studying is a good thing; you get assigned a job right after graduation, that's really impressive!"

Seeing Zhao Hua's temper change faster than flipping through a book, Jiang Yue couldn't help but lean against Xu Qian and burst out laughing.