1983 Small Island, Starting From a Large Farmer

Chapter 73 Bicycle Fish Balls

I looked at my watch and saw that it was still more than four hours before my sister's train arrived in Rongcheng.

Li Duoyu simply walked around the square for a while.

There are many dry goods stores in the square, and these stores did very well in this era.

The most popular items sold in dry goods stores are dried mushrooms and bamboo shoots, as well as a large amount of dried squid. The small ones are in bulk, while the large ones over 30 centimeters are wrapped in plastic bags with the words "Fresh Squid King" printed on them. A big red letter.

In addition to dried squid, the store also sells a lot of dried salted fish and dried oysters.

Most of the people who buy dried seafood in places like train stations are mainlanders who are rushing back to their hometowns. Especially this kind of dried squid is very fragrant when used to make salty pork rib porridge.

Li Duoyu looked around and found that there was no dried kelp. As long as there were no problems, the stall owner might have to sell his dried kelp at this time next year.

Seeing how seriously he looked at it, the boss quickly greeted him warmly: "What do you want to buy? Things here are very cheap."

Li Duoyu smiled. The things sold at the train station were so cheap, but he still asked:

 “Boss, how do you sell this squid?”

The boss smiled: "Brother, you are really discerning. This big squid is a top quality product. The fishermen on the beach may not be able to catch such a big one in half a month. Look at how you look when you come here for the first time." , I’ll sell it to you cheaper, just think it’s nine yuan, and I’ll sell the others for ten yuan.”

Seeing the boss opening his mouth to come, Li Duoyu smiled awkwardly.

Giant squid are not common, but when Sanshu and his fishing boat go trawling in the deep sea, they can sometimes catch dozens of these big ones in one net.

There are fishermen in their village who often dry this kind of squid. After drying a large one like this, the price is less than one yuan. Unexpectedly, it has doubled almost ten times.

This boss’s one-time business seems to be able to kill one person after another.

“How much does this dried oyster cost?”

“This one is cheaper, six yuan a pound.”

Li Duoyu knew that the food sold here was not cheap, but he didn’t expect it to be so expensive. If Lao Li came to set up a stall here, he would probably make a fortune.

 It is not easy to open a shop and stall in such a mixed place. It is estimated that most of the money earned will have to be handed over to the people above.

 “It’s too expensive, I can’t afford it.”

“Well, brother, don’t tell anyone else, I’ll sell you this big squid for eight yuan.”

 “It’s still expensive.”

 “Seven yuan, really the lowest price.”

Li Duoyu shook his head and left. He found that most of the merchants and vendors in the square were scammers, and those with slightly normal prices were all using fairy scales.

But it’s okay to think about it. If you do serious business in a place like this, you might be shut down by your peers the next day.

What Li Duoyu didn’t expect was that the scams of marbles and chess had already existed in this era.

 He watched it for less than half an hour.

 I found that many people were tricked.

 After walking around, Li Duoyu checked the time and went to the station exit to wait for someone. In this era, it is common for trains to be delayed. If he wanted to pick someone up at the train station, he had to rely on patience and good eyesight.

Not far from the station exit, a large group of passengers carrying large and small bags, tied with quilts, and enamel teacups hung around their waists were queuing up to buy tickets.

At this time, the tickets sold at the train station were all hard tickets. The tickets were pre-printed and the date on them had to be punched with a pin.

Even a skilled conductor can take three to four minutes to issue a ticket. Perhaps because of the inefficiency, the queue to buy tickets is very long.

It’s really hard to get a ticket. Some passengers live directly at the train station in order to buy a ticket home. As soon as the quilt is opened, they find a place to sleep directly.

You also have to fight wits and courage with scalpers. After all, in this era before ID cards, there are not many scalpers among the people waiting in line.

Especially when the New Year is approaching, scalpers go out as a whole family, and their division of labor is very clear. Some people are responsible for queuing up to buy tickets, while others are selling train tickets everywhere.

 As for his father, Lao Li, how did he know that his little sister was coming back in this era without the Internet?

 One is that they have been exchanging letters and know the holiday time of Xiaorong's school. In addition, Lao Li repeatedly asked Xiaorong to send a telegram to his family as soon as possible after grabbing the tickets.

In the 1980s, telegraphy was the fastest way to communicate, but it was also the most expensive, and the cost was per word. Each word costs about 7 cents, so when sending a telegram, everyone will not be wordy and try to use the fewest words to explain the matter clearly.

 The content of the telegram Li Xiaorong sent to his father was very simple, with only a few words and not even a single punctuation mark.

“Tickets have been purchased (72) and it’s twenty-five hours.”

  Meaning: I bought the ticket, it will take 72 hours by train, and it will arrive on the 25th day of the lunar calendar.

In addition, the recipient address also costs money, and is charged on a per-word basis, so Li Xiaorong tries to write nine words each time, because the telegram has a minimum consumption guarantee, and if the telegram is less than ten words, it will also be counted as ten words.

Once the telegram is sent out, the telegraph clerk at Rongcheng Post Office will translate the contents of the telegram, write it into a letter, and give it to the postman.

Even with an inaccessible island like Dandan Island, the telegram can be received within almost three days. This is why Lao Li knew that Xiao Rong was coming back.

However, except for a piece of overseas land, the rest of their province is full of mountains. It takes three days to take a green car back from the province where Xiao Rong studied.

After waiting at the train station for five hours, Li Duoyu waited for several groups of people to leave the station, but still did not see Li Xiaorong exiting the station.

Li Duoyu looked at his watch and saw that it was already more than an hour late. However, Li Duoyu was not in a hurry. If he remembered correctly, it was a full day late last time.

At almost dusk, an old man was riding a 28-inch bicycle. This bicycle had been modified with two rectangular iron boxes hanging on both sides.

There is also a place for burning charcoal down there. The old man rode a bicycle and walked through the square, holding a pair of bowls and spoons, making a clinking sound of ceramics, and shouting in a unique tone:

 “Fishball~fishball~”

 “Delicious fish balls~”

Li Duoyu, who was already a little hungry, couldn't help but swallow after smelling this fragrance.

 “Uncle, how do you sell this?”

 “Ten fish **** and three hairs.”

Li Duoyu bargained: "Fifteen three cents."

 “Then I’ll give you twelve.”

 “Sure, give me one.”

  Immediately afterwards, Li Duoyu took out three 10 cents from the inner pocket of his pants.

 Actually, he has two inner pockets, one of which contains change, and the other contains a few large unity cards.

These two inner pockets were sewn for him overnight after his mother knew that Li Duoyu was going to pick up Li Xiaorong at the train station.

 It's right under the trousers. If you want to steal the money here, unless the pickpocket puts his hand in, he won't be able to steal it at all.

 After receiving the money, the uncle took out a washed bamboo tube and put the fish **** and soup into it respectively.

Li Duoyu said: "Uncle, put more white vinegar, pepper and chopped green onion."

The uncle smiled and said: "The way you eat is very authentic. You must be a local of us."

 “Absolutely, I’m from Lianjiang.”

 “The fish **** over there are good.”

Li Duoyu smiled: "It's okay, but I still like your taste the best."

"You're right. The fish **** you have over there are too authentic. They have a strong fishy smell and most people can't get used to them. It's really hard to sell them here at the train station. My kind of fish **** have a lighter taste and they're more popular. better."

The uncle felt that this young man was very interesting to him, so he said to him: "Don't lose this bamboo tube later. If you meet me again, I will give you two cents back."

"okay."

   Thank you all for your support, please continue to read, please recommend, there is another chapter.

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 (End of this chapter)