Era: Rise from the Wilderness

Before anyone even entered, the sound waves had already surged over.

It wasn't the frantic hawking of the street vendors, but a more murky, weary cacophony.

The shouts were weak and feeble, the bargaining was heated, and occasionally the hoarse opera singing from an old radio could be heard.

The car stopped beside the bumpy dirt road.

Li Yunjing jumped out of the car, the heat wave carrying dust hit his face, and he squinted.

The scene before me resembled a faded genre painting from the 1990s.

Old military overcoats spread out on the floor, bicycle frames rusted into lumps of iron, enamel basins piled up like small mountains, old books and newspapers scattered all over the place...

The air was thick with the smells of rust, musty wood, engine oil, and sweat, all mixed together and pressing heavily into my nostrils.

"Stay close."

Li Hongfeng said something in a low voice and took the lead into the chaotic shadows.

The passageways between the shantytowns were so narrow that only two people could pass side by side.

The ground beneath our feet was mud and broken bricks.

In front of a stall selling used bearings, a shirtless man was using a rag dipped in kerosene to wipe a dark lump of metal.

Next door, an old woman was curled up in a bamboo chair, with several old thermos flasks with chipped porcelain in front of her. Her eyes were half closed, and she seemed oblivious to the people passing by.

They specifically look for shops that sell used appliances.

I looked at two refrigerators. One was a "Wanbao" single-door refrigerator that had long been discontinued, with the outer shell so rotten that the yellowish-brown insulation was showing. The other was an old "Saratov" freezer made in the Soviet Union, which was as heavy as an iron coffin and had the old-fashioned plug with two round pins.

When he reached the third house, Li Hongfeng stopped.

It was a large shed made of blue canvas and bamboo poles, and it was more organized than the other stalls.

Two freezers were prominently displayed in the open space in front of the entrance.

One was a "White Snow" brand, with scratches crisscrossing on its milky white body; the other was a "Fragrant Snow Sea" brand, light green, with a dent in the lower right corner, revealing the gray base paint underneath.

Both machines were cleaned thoroughly, and the plugs were neatly coiled up to the side.

Li Hongfeng's eyes lit up.

He slowly walked around the two freezers, bending down to look at the nameplates on their backs.

The manufacturing date is 1988.

He reached out again and tapped the box with his knuckles; the sound was dull and solid.

Finally, he straightened up and called out into the dimly lit shed, "Boss! Watch the freezers!"

"They're here!!"

The sound came from deep within the shed, echoing.

A tall, thin man emerged from behind a greasy curtain, wearing plastic slippers and fanning himself with a tattered palm-leaf fan.

He was about thirty-five or thirty-six years old, wearing a faded black T-shirt with the words "Crossing the Guandong" printed on the chest, and a pair of over-the-knee capri pants with the cuffs rolled up to his calves.

"Your freezer looks good, is it any good?"

Li Hongfeng pointed to the freezer and asked.

"Big brother, you have a good eye!"

"My place, Old Ma's place, is unique in the entire Jiangwa market!"

"The machine works perfectly!"

His face immediately broke into a familiar businessman's smile, and he pointed his palm-leaf fan at the freezer, "Look at the quality of this!"

"Boss Ma!"

Without wasting words, Li Hongfeng pointed to the white snow-white model and asked, "How much for this one?"

"Snow White's, 1800!"

Old Ma slapped his palm-leaf fan on the freezer lid with a loud thud. "That one from Xiangxuehai is huge, two thousand five! Brother, to be honest, you won't find another place like it in Jiangwa at this price!"

"Two thousand five?"

He Ling gasped, her voice trembling, "This...this is almost enough to buy a new one!"

"Big sister!"

Old Ma turned his head, a sly smile tinged with mischief. "Have you inquired about the price of the new ones?"

"You won't even get close to it without spending over three thousand!"

"This is secondhand, that's true, but please take a look!"

He bent down and patted the compressor area. "Listen to this sound! Feel this panel! It's solid stuff from a proper state-owned factory!"

"Those new brands these days, ugh, their plastic shells are as thin as paper!"

Li Hongfeng didn't reply, and turned around as if to leave.

"Hey!!! Big brother! Big brother, wait!"

Old Ma rushed forward, fanning himself with his palm-leaf fan, and lowered his voice, "The price is negotiable! You take a look at the machine first, and if you like it, we can discuss the details, okay?"

Li Hongfeng stopped and looked back at the white snow-covered machine: "Let's test it."

"Alright!"

Old Ma moved nimbly, turned around and pulled out a strip with a patterned electrical cord from the shed, the ends of the cord wrapped with bulging tape.

The plug was inserted into the freezer with a click.

hum...

A low, muffled vibration came from the compressor, like a distant tractor idling.

The indicator light on the top of the freezer lit up a dim red.

Old Ma handed Li Hongfeng a "Great Production" cigarette, which Li Hongfeng took and lit with the match Old Ma offered.

Two men stood beside the freezer, puffing away in the July afternoon heat and the hum of the compressor.

"To be honest, brother!"

Old Ma, puffing out smoke rings, became more talkative, "These two machines are ones I got from the 'Hualian' in the city."

"They upgraded their cold storage last year and retired a batch of units. I had to pull several strings to get two units back."

"Look at the production date, it's from 88, right in its prime!"

Li Hongfeng squinted, flicking cigarette ash onto the muddy ground: "After three years of use, the compressor must be quite worn out, right?"

"How could that be!"

Old Ma raised his voice, "The environment in the mall is constantly warm and humid, better maintained than home! Listen to this voice, how steady it is!"

When he finished his third cigarette, Lao Ma felt that it was about time.

He stubbed out his cigarette and opened the freezer lid.

A chilling white blast of air burst out with a "poof," quickly swirling and dissipating in the scorching air.

A thin, even layer of frost had formed on the inner wall, shimmering with a faint silvery light in the sunlight.

Old Ma reached inside, wiped his hand on the inner wall, and held it up to Li Hongfeng: "Feel this! It's ice cold!"

Li Hongfeng reached out and tried it.

He Ling also carefully inserted her fingers.

Li Yunjing also stepped forward, pressing his palm against the cold metal.

That solid, heavy coolness shot straight from my palms to my heart.

There are definitely no issues with the quality.

"Boss Ma, the machine's cooling is alright."

Li Hongfeng withdrew his hand and wiped it on his pants. "But your price is still not right."

"I'm not going to haggle with you, one price, one deal!"

He paused, then held up three fingers. "But the price is still too high. I won't beat around the bush, 1300 yuan, I'll take this Snow White."

"I really can't afford any more. This is almost as much as I've saved up in two years."

"Oh, my dear brother!"

Old Ma's face twitched violently, as if he'd been hit with a stick. "Your price...you're slashing my artery with a knife!"

"I've collected far more than that!"

"What...what am I supposed to do? Starve?"

Li Hongfeng didn't speak, he just looked at him, his eyes as calm as well water.

The standoff lasted for about ten seconds.

Outside the shed, a broken radio from some stall was playing Shan Tianfang's storytelling, its hoarse voice drifting over: "...and there was Qin Qiong, striking six prefectures in Shandong with his mace, his horse trampling both banks of the Yellow River..."