He forced me to sever ties with my family and sleep on a dilapidated boat, then turned around and be

A rather arrogant female shop assistant came out, waving her hands with disgust, and shooed Niu Bayi out.

Niu Bayi was somewhat stunned, and also somewhat angry.

"What's going on? Why can't I go in?"

The female shop assistant's nose was raised so high that it almost formed a plane with her forehead.

She pointed to the outer wall next to her.

"Open your eyes wide and look! Look! What's written on this paper?"

Niu Ba glanced to the side.

A sign was posted on the outer wall with ten large characters: "Those who are not properly dressed are not allowed to enter!"

He looked down at his clothes again.

He wore a pair of worn-out liberation shoes, and both his pants and shirt were quite old, with one, two, three, or four patches on them.

Actually, it wasn't considered sloppy attire; the clothes were fairly clean and tidy.

But people just judge a book by its cover.

The female shop assistant looked at her with disdain.

"Look at you, do you think you can even come into our craft shop? Only people of status and importance can enter this shop. And you're carrying around a few tattered sacks? Are you trying to collect scrap?"

"Let's get going!"

As he spoke, he waved his hand vigorously outwards.

Niu Bayi said, "I'm not here to collect scrap; I have business at your craft shop."

"What's up?"

The female shop assistant burst out laughing and gave Niu Bayi a few more disdainful glances.

"You don't actually want to buy anything here? Can you afford it? Even the cheapest seashell ornaments cost several dollars. I'm afraid you can't even afford that. Our craft shop isn't for the average person, and they can't even get in!"

"Primarily targeting government officials, overseas Chinese, and wealthy businessmen!"

As she spoke, she fanned her nose, her face filled with disgust.

"You still smell fishy. Did you come from some small fishing village? Go away, don't disturb our business. I'm afraid you'll drive away all our customers if you come in."

Niu Bayi suppressed his anger.

"I'm not here to buy anything, I'm here to sell something. I did come from a fishing village, and I found some good things in the sea. I'd like to see if you need any of your handicrafts."

The female shop assistant glanced at the tattered sack he was carrying and chuckled.

"So you're here to sell things. That's right, we also buy some raw materials, but someone like you isn't qualified to come in. You not only smell like fish, but you also smell like poverty."

"What do we call going in there? We call it air pollution, you know?"

"If you have anything to sell, show it to me here."

If it weren't for the fact that he needed to sell things, Niu Bayi would have turned around and left immediately.

Who is this person? They're quite pretty, but why do they have such dog-like eyes?

He could only lift the sack slightly to reveal the golden willow inside.

"You recognize this thing, right?"

The female shop assistant leaned closer to take a look and exclaimed "Oh!"

"It's quite pretty, it looks like sea willow, but the sea willow products I've seen aren't this color. Why is it a bit golden? Wait here, don't come in!"

"I'll go get our manager!"

This craft shop is impressive; it even has a manager.

Not long after the female shop assistant ran inside, she lured out a short, chubby man who looked to be nearly fifty years old.

She pointed at Niu Bayi.

"Manager Bao, this is the guy who wants to sell something. I think it's pretty, like sea willow. Could you take a look and give it your opinion?"

The manager surnamed Bao walked out the door with his head held high, glanced at Niu Bayi, and then looked at the golden willow tree he was holding.

Then, his eyes lit up slightly, and he nodded, saying, "Not bad, it is indeed sea willow, and the most precious golden silk at that. It's so thick and big. Where did you get it? It's quite impressive."

Niu Bayi smiled faintly: "I was fishing at sea and got lucky. I found this on the beach. It's very sunny here, how about we go inside and talk?"

Indeed, the weather in May was scorching hot, especially at midday, and Niu Bayi found it unbearable.

Manager Bao frowned and immediately shook his head.

"Didn't you see the sign next to it? People who are not properly dressed are not allowed in! Our craft shop only admits customers with good taste. You're not here to buy anything, you're here to sell something, how can you come in?"

Niu Bayi laughed in anger.

These people are all so condescending.

But in order to sell their products, they had no choice but to swallow their pride for the time being.

"Alright, Manager Bao, right? Take a look at my golden sea willow, how much is it worth?"

Manager Bao didn't say anything, but stood in the shade on the threshold and stretched out a hand to Niu Bayi, who was being exposed to the scorching sun.

Niu Bayi pulled out a golden willow branch and handed it to him.

Manager Bao took it and examined it carefully before saying, "Not bad. This kind of sea willow is a very good material for making snuff bottles, cigarette holders, and various handicrafts."

"Okay, I'll offer you 80 yuan a stick, and I'll take all seven."

Niu Bayi almost burst out laughing.

I initially thought the manager knew his stuff because he recognized the bag as being made of golden sea willow.

80 yuan a stick?

He said, "This is not ordinary sea willow, it is top-quality sea willow. 80 yuan a piece is too low."

The female shop assistant said irritably, "You think 80 yuan a piece is too low? Do you think you've found some amazing treasure? It's just sea willow. You can make more than 500 yuan by selling seven pieces."

"My monthly salary is only a little over forty yuan, and you've earned more than a year's salary in one go! Don't be greedy!"

"Our manager, Mr. Bao, is offering very fair prices!"

Manager Bao waved his hand impatiently: "Sell it or don't, it's up to you. If you don't want to sell, then get out!"

Niu Bayi immediately figured it out.

The manager wasn't trying to lower the price on purpose; he just didn't know the value of golden sea willow!

Niu Bayi was too lazy to say anything, so he simply took the golden willow branch from Manager Bao's hand and put it back in the sack.

It seems I'll have to go to the city to find a connoisseur.

Manager Bao sneered repeatedly at his behavior, speaking arrogantly.

"Kid, let me tell you, no matter how valuable your golden willow is, it's about the same price I'm offering. I've been a manager at an arts and crafts shop for over ten years; do you think I can't tell?"

"If anyone offers more than what I'm asking, I'll call you 'sir.' That's wishful thinking! You think you can sell a few pieces of broken wood for a fortune? Nobody's going to buy them!"

A car suddenly stopped on the side of the road; it was a domestically produced Volkswagen Santana.

In 1984, this car cost over 200,000 yuan.

It is also the first joint venture brand sedan in China.

People who can ride in this kind of car are not just rich and noble, they are extremely rich and noble.

In comparison, other domestically produced cars are much cheaper.

For example, the Hongqi was only around 40,000 yuan at the time, and the Shanghai Automotive was only around 30,000 yuan.

The well-known Beijing Jeep also costs over 30,000 yuan.

At that time, the only car that could be compared with the Volkswagen Santana was the Guangzhou Peugeot, which was manufactured two years later.

The driver got out of the car, went around to the back, and was about to open the car door.

The back door was opened first.

An elderly man in his seventies, with neatly combed white hair, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and leaning on a cane, came out.

His eyes were fixed on the golden willow in Niu Bayi's hand, his face showing ecstatic joy, and he rushed over.

As soon as Manager Bao saw the old man get out of the car, he rushed over to greet him.

"Mr. Yang, you've arrived! Our shop has released several new handicrafts, all landscape sculptures. I guarantee you'll like them. Come, come, this way, let's go inside. I'll brew you some of our best Biluochun tea!"

This is completely different from how Niu Bayi was treated before.

Mr. Yang, however, rebuked him without any politeness: "Get out of my way!"

Manager Bao was so frightened that he quickly stepped aside, not daring to be angry at all, and even bowed and apologized profusely.

"Excuse me, Mr. Yang, I'm blocking your way. Where are you going? What... ah?"

Suddenly, he was dumbfounded.