Reborn in 1977

He darted away, pulling the cart to the livestock area to find Master Liu.

The old man was smoking and chatting with several elderly men whose ages were indistinguishable. Seeing Chen Fan and the others approach, he greeted them. Then, looking at the empty cart, he couldn't help but be surprised, "You've sold everything?"

Chen Fan grinned and nodded, taking out a pack of Peony cigarettes from his pocket and handing it to him, "Everything's sold out. Didn't you go out for a stroll, old man?"

Master Liu quickly grabbed his hand and pushed it back, "What are you doing? You already gave me some bowls and plates before coming out. How can I take your cigarettes too?"

Those bowls and plates were worth at least a yuan or more, much more expensive than the cigarettes. He was really embarrassed to accept anything else.

Chen Fan twisted his wrist, easily shaking off the old man's iron-grip-like hand, and stuffed the cigarettes into his pocket, chuckling, "This isn't a labor fee, it's a bonus for you, old man, because the goods sold well today."

If Xiao Lie Wen knew how much effort he was putting in, he wouldn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Hearing him say that, Master Liu didn't refuse, grinning toothlessly, his eyes squinting, "You're a thoughtful person."

After a pause, he added, "I just took a walk around. Apart from a few more food vendors, everything else is about the same as last time. I won't wander around anymore. You guys go take a look. Buy whatever you want first, then come back here. I'll wait for you."

Chen Fan cupped his hands in thanks, "Thank you, Master Liu. We'll go take a look around first."

Then, smiling and nodding at the several old men beside him, he walked away.

Chen Fan hung the cloth bag in front of his chest, swaggering ahead, while the four girls nervously looked around, afraid someone would jump out and rob them.

Looking back at them, Chen Fan said with a smile, "You guys should relax a bit. You're acting like secret agents making a rendezvous. Are you afraid people won't notice you or what?"

Huang Ying took two steps forward, leaned closer, and said cautiously, "Teacher Chen, this is several hundred yuan! What if bad guys target us?!"

Thirty charcoal stoves were 360 yuan, 30 sets of tableware were another 300, and the other hundred-odd scattered bowls and plates sold for more than 70 yuan, adding up to over 730 yuan, equivalent to two sets of mud-walled houses, a senior worker's annual salary, more than ten years of dividends for a strong laborer in the village…

No wonder they were nervous.

Chen Fan said helplessly, "Just be natural. Don't look like you're carrying a treasure. Bad guys won't target us."

Huang Ying and the others smiled awkwardly, trying to adjust their expressions and postures. Although they were still a bit unnatural, they were much better than before.

Chen Fan nodded in satisfaction, then cleared his throat and walked a few steps to the side, where no one was around, and whispered to them, "Huang Ying, Yang Ju, Liu Dan, do you want to keep some secret stash?"

The three girls' eyes lit up, staring at him without blinking.

Keep a secret stash? Great!

But how to keep it?

If this money were distributed to them, the consequences would be obvious: it would definitely be handed over, there would be no other outcome.

What could a girl do with dozens of yuan? You should know that many families in the brigade didn't have that much savings.

But they were all sixteen or seventeen years old, and their pockets were usually cleaner than their faces. It was impossible to buy anything they wanted, so how could they not yearn for a little pocket money?

Seeing their bright eyes, Chen Fan chuckled softly, "Listen, my suggestion is all for your own good. My money is my own, and Xiao Jiang's money is also her own to control. Only you have to hand it over, so it's up to you whether you listen or not.

But don't worry, Xiao Jiang and I are both people who can keep secrets. As long as you don't tell anyone, no one will know for sure. Also, even if you don't plan to use it, you can't tell anyone that I said this, otherwise wouldn't I become a busybody Lü Dongbin."

Huang Ying looked at Yang Ju and Liu Dan, exchanged glances, and the three nodded together, then looked at Chen Fan, "We definitely won't tell anyone!"

Then Huang Ying asked in a low voice, "What's the method?"

Chen Fan chuckled, "It's very simple. If others ask you how much you sold today, just say you only sold a little over 500 yuan."

Those two cartloads of things were all sold in front of the villagers, and the prices were all public. It was impossible to hide too much.

But others saw the two cartloads of things, plus they sold so quickly, and there were so many people around, they didn't know the exact quantity. Giving a 30% discount wouldn't be too different from what others estimated in their minds.

As for why Chen Fan made this suggestion? Of course, it wasn't to help the three girls hide their secret stash, but to minimize the existence of "red-eyed people."

Making several hundred yuan in a few days, even if a portion was distributed to the four girls, more than 400 yuan would still be left over 700 yuan, comparable to the annual dividends of many families with strong laborers. It would be strange if no one was envious.

If a discount was given, although 300 yuan and 400 yuan weren't much different, the psychological feeling was different, and the number of envious people could be greatly reduced.

As for the rest, Chen Fan couldn't do anything. It's normal to be envied if you're talented. He was just so outstanding, what could he do?

Hearing Chen Fan's suggestion, Huang Ying and the others thought for a moment and agreed decisively.

If they were asked to hide half, they might be a little afraid, but only hiding 30% immediately made them feel much better.

Setting the tone and unifying their stories, the five continued to browse the market.

There were a lot of people today, but as Master Liu had said, the things being sold were about the same. The only difference was that there were many more vendors selling cooked food.

The wisdom of the people is infinite. Some people saw that Chen Fan made money selling soft-shelled turtle meat last time, so they followed suit. Therefore, there were at least fifty or sixty stalls with large iron pots steaming and cooking soft-shelled turtles appearing in the market today. Even the rice bowls were imitating Chen Fan, all bamboo tube bowls.

But there were also smarter people who, after hearing that many people were going to sell soft-shelled turtles, switched to selling other things.

So along the way, there were roasted sweet potatoes, steamed sweet potatoes, roasted potatoes, roasted fish, roasted cakes, and some people even set up tables and chairs to sell noodles.

However, some of these stalls had good business, while others had poor business. Many of those selling soft-shelled turtle meat still had most of a pot of meat left, and the buyers were also few and far between. Compared to Chen Fan's unique business last time, there was no comparison.

Chen Fan didn't care about these things. The Nanhu Commune market was only so big. The main force that was willing to spend money to buy meat to eat was still the residents of the town. There were only so many buyers, but the number of sellers had increased dozens of times, so naturally the business was poor.

But even if it was poor, there were still people buying, which was better than those stalls selling pickles.

The best cooked food business was actually those stalls selling sweet potatoes, potatoes, roasted fish, and roasted cakes. The prices were affordable, ranging from a few cents to one or two mao, so even rural commune members were willing to buy one or two for their children to hold and eat. As a result, when Chen Fan came over, some stalls had already sold out and were preparing to pack up and go back.

Some stalls left, while others were still there. Every time Chen Fan saw something new, he couldn't help but buy a little.

Anyway, he had a lot of money in his pocket, and there were many people behind him, so he wasn't afraid of not being able to afford it or not being able to finish it.

Just as he was walking and browsing, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he waved to the front, "Third Tiger Brother, Third Tiger Brother."

It turned out that the people walking towards him were from Team 5 of Lujiawan, and one of them was Zhang Wenliang.

Seeing Chen Fan, Zhang Wenliang immediately walked over quickly, "You're here. How's business?"

Chen Fan walked to an open space by the lake and laughed, "Everything's sold out, so I came out for a stroll."

Then he asked, "How about you? How's the soft-shelled turtle meat selling?"

Zhang Wenliang grinned from ear to ear, "It's also sold out. I made a lot of money. I'll give you the money."

As he said that, he was about to reach into his pocket.

Chen Fan quickly stopped him, "We'll talk about it when we get back. There's no rush now."

He looked at Zhang Wenliang curiously, "There are so many people selling soft-shelled turtle meat today. I saw that some people have only sold less than 20%. How did you sell so fast?"

Zhang Wenliang chuckled, "When I first arrived, it was really difficult to sell. Some of them came early. When I arrived, there were already more than 20 stalls selling soft-shelled turtles. It was really difficult for me, the latecomer, to sell."

As he said that, he pulled over Zhang Cuie beside him and pointed at her, saying, "It was Xiao'e who came up with an idea. She found a wooden board and wrote a few words on it, and stood it next to the stall. It sold out all at once."

Chen Fan looked at Zhang Cuie in surprise, then looked at him, "What words?"

Zhang Wenliang put his hands on his hips, quite proud, "It said 'Soft-shelled turtle meat made by Master Chen himself'. Everyone in the commune knows that the soft-shelled turtle meat you make is the most authentic and the most delicious. Even if others sell it for 8 mao a bowl, I sell it for one yuan, and all 100+ bowls sold out all at once. Not a single bowl was left!"

Chen Fan opened his mouth wide and forgot to close it. What's going on? Have I become a brand?

Zhang Wenliang couldn't help but laugh when he saw Chen Fan's expression.

At this time, Zhang Cuie suddenly said, "Teacher Chen, there's someone selling a mare over there. It seems to be Gan Laibao, who sold the foal last time. Do you want to go take a look?"