Spring Thunder Chapter 0174 Switchman
As day broke, Nan Yi, wrapped tightly in his clothes, carried a basket and crossed the wire fence to his vegetable garden.
In the spring, Nan Yi asked Xian Yaodong to cut off the extra orange flowers.
There aren't many fruits on the orange trees.
However, the fruits are very beautiful, and their color, shape and size are all similar to pumpkins.
Well, just align.
It would be strange if it could grow beautiful without using chemical fertilizers or spraying pesticides.
Holding a pair of pruning shears, Nan Yi stood on the ground and cut the oranges, some in bunches of three and some in pairs of two.
There were signs of broken treetops in some places, which meant that Chen Weizong's grandson must have come to pick the fruits.
The Wenchangwei area is no longer a route chosen by those fleeing to Hong Kong. Recently, they have tended to head towards the Sham Cun River. It is impossible for the villagers to break the treetops like this when they come to pick the fruits.
After spitting at that grandson a few times, Nan Yi quickened his hand speed. There were too many caterpillars on the tree, and once his clothes were soaked with sweat, his body might become itchy.
There were more than a dozen orange trees, but only two baskets of oranges were harvested. Nan Yi thought about cutting the orange flowers again next year, and letting them grow freely the year after that.
Carrying the basket, I just stepped over the barbed wire and ran into Chen Weizong who was on patrol.
"Hey, you can just pick oranges if you want, but why did you damage my orange tree?"
"Off the line, how do you know I picked it?"
"Nonsense, three months later, the tree still smells of your urine."
"Tsk, leave some!"
"Leave it to me, come get it yourself tonight."
"Nan Yi, I'm going to retire this year." Chen Weizong said suddenly in a desolate tone.
"when?"
"We'll leave in early December."
"Seeing off my comrades, I set off on my journey, with two lines of tears in silence..."
"Go away, I'm not leaving yet."
"Then what are you talking about? Don't block me. I still have to go to the city to sell oranges."
"Make a few more dishes tonight."
"I know."
Nan Yi continued to walk forward with the basket on his shoulder, and met Xian Yaoguo who was coming to the field for some unknown reason.
"Nan Yi, you're back?"
"Well, Uncle Yaoguo, what are you doing?"
"You have time to go to the armory today and clean your gun. The People's Armed Forces Department has notified you that the Shajiaotou militia battalion has been reduced to a company, and the Wenchangwei militia company has been disbanded."
Well, Nan Yi, a soldier who is not a soldier, is also facing retirement.
"Okay, I understand. I'll go there in the afternoon." Nan Yi also said in a desolate tone.
"We'll practice again tomorrow morning, but alas, not enough people are here." Xian Yaoguo sighed.
Nan Yi returned home carrying the basket, leaving about twenty pounds of oranges at home. He pushed out his bicycle, put the basket on the backpack rack, and rode towards the city.
Grunting and puffing, I rode the bike all the way to Shennan Middle Road.
This broken road was filled with dust when the Jiefang truck passed by, making people look dirty.
After being covered in dust all the way, we finally arrived at Renmin Road, where we happened to see trenches being dug and culverts being buried on the side of the road, and the road was also covered in mud.
Nan Yi saw two people setting up a stall in an open space where many cars were parked. He rode his bike over and parked next to a stall that was also selling fruit.
"Nan Yi, are you here to sell fruit too?"
Hehe, what a coincidence, the man selling fruits is also from Wenchangwei.
Nan Yi couldn't remember who this person was, but he was sure that his surname was Xian, and his name was Xian Yao×.
"Yes, uncle, do you usually set up a stall here?"
"Not necessarily. I always sell on the go. This is the most crowded area at this time, so I'll sell here."
“Is business good?”
"Not bad, I can make twenty bucks a day."
"That's not bad. I don't have a scale with me. Can you lend me yours for a while?"
"Use whatever you want, Nan Yi. Your oranges are not good. They look terrible. I'm sure you won't be able to sell them at a high price."
"Not necessarily. You'll know when you see how I sell it."
After the two finished their conversation, Nan Yi turned his head around, his eyes staring at the passers-by.
One minute, two minutes... twenty minutes, he still didn't see the target customers he wanted to attract. The two customers who came to his door on their own initiative bought some guavas from the uncle next door, but they were dismissive of Nan Yi's oranges.
Nan Yi was not in a hurry and continued to look at the passers-by.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up.
Two foreigners were walking towards us, a man and a woman, around 40 years old. Their ethnicity was not obvious, they could be from the United States, the United States, or Australia.
Since you can't tell the nationality, then just shout...
"Orange, Orange, Elizabeth I orange, no fertilizers, no pesticides, pure natural green and pollution-free."
Needless to say, Nan Yi's shouting was definitely in London accent.
"Sir, Madam, look, there are insect holes all over it. There is absolutely no pesticide used."
Nan Yi held two oranges in his hand and put them under the eyes and noses of the two foreigners.
The foreign woman took the orange, looked at it, and asked, "Are you sure you didn't use pesticides?"
"No, look at these leaves, they are all bitten by insects. In fact, I have been away the whole time this year and have not taken care of the orange orchard. I only came back this morning and hurriedly picked oranges to sell."
"Oh, how much?"
"Eighty pence a pound."
As soon as the foreign woman opened her mouth, Nan Yi could tell that she was from the United States.
"Only in pounds?"
"Foreign exchange certificates are also OK, 4 yuan."
"Ahaha, then I'll pay in pounds." The foreign woman smiled and said, "Give me two pounds."
"You can take your pick, maybe you can buy an extra pound and I can give you 20p off."
"No, it's too much. I can't finish it."
The foreign woman waved her hand and reached into the basket to start picking.
Nan Yi took the scale from next door, put a plastic bag on the scale pan, and waited with it in his hand.
The plastic bags were old bags accumulated at home, all of which were brought from Heung Keng to Tin Shui Wai one by one.
Although they are old, they are absolutely clean. Nan Yi has washed and dried each one of them.
The foreign woman picked for a while, picked out a dozen oranges and stopped, "That's all, enough."
"OK, I'll weigh it for you."
Nan Yi pulled the weight with his fingers, and when it hit the two-jin mark, the beam was still tilted high. He knew that this was a nine-liang scale. He roughly estimated the weight. The oranges in the scale pan were only about two jin and one liang, but when the weight reached two jin and three liang, the beam was still tilted slightly.
"Look, 1.15 kilograms is 2.5 pounds. I'll give you two pounds."
"OK, you're so nice."
The foreign woman praised and handed Nan Yi two pounds.
"I'm sorry, I don't have any pennies to change for you. Can I give you RMB or HKD?"
"Okay, I want RMB."
"OK, the official price is 3.42, 40 pence, I'll give you 1.40."
"More."
"It's not much. You are foreign guests and should be treated preferentially." Nan Yi handed over the money and said, "Welcome to Shencun. I wish you a nice day."
"Thank you, and best wishes to you. Your English is very good. Have you been to London?"
"No, I've been to Xiangkeng."
After sending the two foreigners away, Nan Yi turned around said, "Uncle, you must have been beaten a lot, right?"
"Hehe!" The guy next door laughed awkwardly.
"Continue to use the 9-liang scale. Every time you weigh something, give the customer a little more and say it's a gift. This way, when they see that you didn't miss any weight, they won't care too much about your verbal favors and they'll get repeat business. Of course, it's better to give the full weight and not be too clever with the scale."
Nan Yi showed the pounds in his hand and said.
"It's really easy to do business with foreigners, but it's a pity that I don't know foreign language."
"It's okay, just learn a few words. I'll teach you a few words now. If the foreigner's face turns black, you say sorry, sorry; if he smiles, you say OK, OK; if he gives you money, you say Thank You;
If someone points at something and talks, you can write the price on a piece of cardboard and show it to them, and smile sweetly, and you will definitely be able to seduce a few foreigners."
"Nan Yi, how much are the two worth?"
"I can get about thirty or forty yuan by exchanging with those foreign exchange dealers."
"Monkey Sai Lei!"
“How much are the oranges?”
At this time, a woman carrying a basket of vegetables came over and asked the price.
"50 cents."
"Selling such rotten oranges for 50 cents, are you crazy? Will you sell it for 2 cents? If you want, I'll weigh two kilograms."
"50 cents."
"Crazy line!"
The woman went away cursing.
After that, a few more women came. The better ones had stern faces, while the worse ones were cursing.
This is a good idea. Instead of selling it at two cents a pound and then being scolded behind my back as "this farmer has a really bad heart", it is better not to sell it.
Besides, is Nan Yi the kind of person who does business on a penny basis?
Sales are slow when the customers are picking up the oranges. By noon, Nan Yi had only sold six kilograms of oranges. However, the uncle next door was intimidated by him and was willing to stand still.
"Uncle, forget it. I won't sell it. I have about 80 kilograms here. I'll give you two dollars, one dollar and sixty cents for the oranges, and 40 cents for the tuition."
"Okay, okay, give it to me."
The uncle next door has been waiting for it for a long time. If Nan Yi can sell it, so can he. He doesn't want too many, as long as he can find a foreigner buying from him every day.
After pouring the oranges into the basket of the uncle next door, Nan Yi pushed the cart and left.
There is something very strange in Nan Yi's character. When he is doing this kind of cash flow business, he is reluctant to spend money as long as there is cash flow. He likes the feeling of having more money and does not like the money in his hands to become less.
In my previous life, it was the same when I was selling CDs . I couldn’t afford to eat or wear anything. I couldn’t even afford to smoke a four-yuan Hongmei cigarette, and would only smoke a three-yuan Xiao Nanhai cigarette.
It was a memorable time, and it would have been even better if it hadn't been for the women choking with babies in their arms.
After returning home, he waited for a while. When it was past mealtime, Nan Yi went to the cafeteria to eat some leftovers.
Still owed.
After dinner, when I arrived at the armory, there were already a few people there. Some were moving things around, while others were wiping their favorite guns.
Nan Yi found his gun, disassembled it, and carefully wiped it inside and out with the cloth he brought with him. Although the rifling of the gun had been almost worn out, Nan Yi still loved him and still regarded him as his close comrade-in-arms.
After cleaning the gun, Nan Yi removed the Mitsubishi bayonet and sharpened it.
Finally, he carefully wiped the gun again, wrapped it in cloth and put it in the box.
I don’t know which cave this gun will end up in, or whether it will end up in the hands of some shooting god. I hope not, as it would be a desecration of my gun if it fell into their hands.
He lined up for the last time, counted for the last time, stood still for the last time, and rested for the last time. He personally carried his comrade onto the car and watched him be taken away.
"Uncle Xian, what are you busy with?"
After seeing off his comrades, Nan Yi went to the village committee.
"The physical examination is about to begin, and I am planning to notify the kids in the village who want to join the army."
"Oh, how many?"
"Three, two of the appropriate age, and one under eighteen."
Although the conscription age in the 1980s was between 18 and 20 years old, many people joined the army when they were only 15 or 16 years old.
“So little?”
"There are quite a few. I picked them out and estimated that only five or six could be chosen. Two of them already have wives, and one is doing business in an unknown place and cannot be contacted."
"What's your education level?"
"One elementary school, one junior high school, and one high school."
"Who's from high school?"
"Xian Weijun is only seventeen this year."
"That's a shame. You can't study? It would be great if you could try harder to get into an engineering college."
"No, you value education, and so do I. As long as they can learn, the village will support them."
"Then go to the army and take the exam. Since you want to be a soldier, you have to make a name for yourself. It would be a pity to be a soldier for three years and then come back. Have you asked where they are recruiting this year?"
"northeast."
"Oh, that's fine." Nan Yi chuckled and said , "If that primary school kid wants the dividends from the village, then let him not go for the physical examination. Apart from a little benefit, there's no need to go to the army and suffer for three years. He might as well raise pigs for three years."
"I asked, they just want to be soldiers, to fight on the battlefield."
"Then let him think it over carefully. With his education level, he won't be able to make much progress in the army, let alone become an officer, unless he can win a first-class merit.
Technology is also the future trend of the army. It is difficult to be a rural soldier. If you want to go, just be a volunteer soldier in the army until retirement. "
"The allowance for volunteers isn't much."
"Do our soldiers in Wenchangwei need to rely on allowances to survive?"
"hehe."
"After they have served in the army for a year, the village will send 10,000 yuan to each of them. By the way, the money should be sent to the soldiers earlier, after the new recruits have finished their training."
"Why send money?"
"Give them flowers, of course."
Now that the money has been given, let them figure out where the blade is.
Xian Yaodong pondered for a moment and finally figured it out. "Okay, I'll get someone to do it."
"Once they are conscripted, if their parents are doing business outside, they will be asked to come back and find something to do in the village. It is easy for them to get into trouble outside."
"Nan Yi, are you afraid of being tainted?"
"Yes, that's what I mean. If you can't help, don't hold us back. The village is the same. We only give, not ask for anything. We don't need them to open any convenient doors for the village. The village just wants a name.
Tsk tsk, Wenchangwei is so great, so-and-so's family is an officer in the army. It sounds so nice to hear others praise him like this, and it makes Wenchangwei proud. "
"Yes, there is a battalion commander from the village next door. How impressive."
"Haha, we will have some too. How are those chicken farmers in the village doing?"
"It's not easy. Last month there was a chicken plague, and 80% of the chickens died. All the money I earned was lost."
"Do they still raise them?"
"I have no money, so I can't raise a dog. I asked the village to borrow money but I didn't give it to them."
"We can stretch them a little bit and wear down their temper. Next year, we can integrate them and start breeding."
Nan Yi's long-planned route of transitioning from raising and selling chickens to raising pigs and then entering the feed industry can finally be implemented.
