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墨書 Inktalez
"Nothing much, just organized an event, and it turned out like this, eight fifty," Li Xiaoyun smiled as she took the ten yuan that Jiang Yizhou handed over and asked, "Do you have fifty cents?"
Jiang Yizhou shook his head and took the change he received back. He carried the stationery and walked straight back to Uncle's place.
Young indeed! Thinking back to the Grocery Store, it seemed like apart from that boy, there was only the shop owner, who should be only a few years older than him, at most five or six years. She didn't wear much makeup, so her age was still somewhat discernible.
So, no matter where a loser goes, they remain a loser. They fantasize about having an extraordinary vision that transcends the times, but without any solid skills to back it up, they are at best just a loudmouth.
Moreover, if they encounter someone skilled in debate, even if they hit upon future trends, if they can't win an argument against that person, they still end up being a failure. Someone with a detailed division of labor like him is far inferior to someone who can open a store based on their own abilities.
Perhaps he didn't even have the courage for that; after all, he wasn't good at socializing and would instead drive customers away.
Maybe those who work in sales and public relations are more suited for crossing over. Among ordinary people, Jiang Yizhou ultimately came to this conclusion.
"Ah~ watch where you're going!" Jiang Yizhou subconsciously felt like he had bumped into someone while lost in thought. He exerted some effort and avoided the collision, only hearing the person across from him curse angrily.
He looked up and found it was someone dressed rather flamboyantly, with a typical rogue style. However, in a place like Beijing where law enforcement is relatively strict, it shouldn't escalate to violence over a mere disagreement, right?
Qiu Erhu glanced at him and surprisingly did not pursue the matter as usual. "Kid, pay attention and watch where you're going."
He waved his hand, adjusted his clothes, and then swaggered back into the Grocery Store.
Jiang Yizhou was also quite surprised; he thought there would be a fight. This kind of confrontation starting with "What are you looking at?" and ending with "What are you gonna do about it?" was something he had encountered more than once in his past life. It was a joke he never found amusing.
The most serious incident happened when by coincidence he ended up with a group of thugs. One of them lit a cigarette; Jiang Yizhou had never smoked. The guy thought he was being disrespected for not accepting the cigarette and immediately slapped him twice. Then both sides started fighting. The result was that Jiang Yizhou got injured while that thug also got "what he deserved" by getting expelled and had to pay some money.
Since that incident, Jiang Yizhou completely distanced himself from those kinds of people and stayed away from their circles, focusing on studying hard to get into school.
What’s going on? Young people have a short temper, and it’s easy to get into a fight over a disagreement. What if someone gets hurt? What if you have to pay for it? What if you get fired? Marde, let’s talk after the fight.
Obediently, he returned to his residence located among the houses in the area. When he reached the door, Jiang Yizhou frowned. He didn’t have a key, and the lock wasn’t fixed to the door; it was just one of those cheap locks that cost two or three yuan. He couldn’t get a key from the landlord either.
Jiang Yizhou, who never relied on others, placed the shopping bag he had just bought on the steps in front of the door and sat down heavily…
It was really cold!
In the middle of winter, the stone steps felt freezing to Jiang Yizhou. After sitting for a while, only then did his body warm up that small area beneath him.
Hoo~~
The air was clear, but it was still very cold. Isn’t it said that when it snows, it’s warm, and when the snow melts, it’s cold? Fortunately, his clothes were of good quality and quite heavy, unlike many in later years that were mixed with fakes. He wrapped himself tightly; aside from his neck feeling a bit cold, everything else was fine.
Hoo~~ Hoo~~
The bright sun and the raging north wind seemed to have no conflict at all. Lost in thought, Jiang Yizhou felt… quite cold.
……
“Hey, Old Jiang, why are you back so late? Don’t you usually come back around the seventh or eighth day?” The family selling vegetables were also old neighbors of Jiang Maode, though not from the same town. However, the villages were only two or three miles apart, and many daughters had married back and forth between them; this family’s wife also had the surname Jiang.
“Nothing much, my younger brother’s son came out with me; we waited for that kid to come before heading back!” Jiang Maode became more animated as he spoke. Talking to Foreman was exhausting; he insisted on pretending to be a city person and spoke with a Beijing accent. After staying in Beijing for so many years, he could speak Mandarin too, but it felt awkward.
Suddenly, Jiang Maode thought that Yi Zhou always spoke Mandarin? Better than himself even? Who did he learn from? His teacher still taught in their hometown dialect.
“Wow, time flies! Even Maoqiang’s son is out working now; he should be getting married in a few years, right?” Gao Deyou grinned widely, showing more than eight teeth. After selling vegetables for several years, he had gotten used to smiling and attracting customers.
Jiang Maode sighed while picking vegetables, "If it were like this, that would be great! But over here, that kid doesn't want to work. Why can't he just get paid monthly? I can't control this little monkey!"
"What? Does this kid want to sit in an office? He really has big dreams!" Gao Deyou smacked his lips. For people like them, the two most desired paths were still to start their own business and get rich, so they wouldn't have to worry about their children in the future. Of course, that possibility was slim.
The other hope was for their children, mainly their sons, to get into a good high school, then a good university, secure a stable job, or find an office job in one of those buildings. That would be much better than working themselves to death just to make ends meet.
If Jiang Yizhou knew about their conversation, he might have some sarcastic comments. After all, they were making decent money now. Compared to housing prices, although places like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou had never seen prices drop, it was still possible to save enough for a house in other cities. However, in the future, even houses in Jiang Yizhou's hometown—those impoverished county towns—would rise to three or four thousand per square meter. Not to mention the city where he worked.
"Ah, getting old means I can't control these one or two kids who want to venture outside!" Jiang Maode couldn't help but think of his ex-wife who had run away—or rather, he couldn't say she ran away since she did take some money and got a divorce certificate.
Obediently working to earn money, finding a suitable partner, building a two-story house back home, living a smooth life while watching the children grow up—that would be a fulfilling life.
"How much is it?"
Gao Deyou quickly weighed the vegetables on the scale and tapped on a calculator for a moment before handing the bagged vegetables to Jiang Maode. "It's seven yuan and ten cents in total; just forget about the change. Seven yuan will do!"
Jiang Maode didn't refuse; they were all familiar neighbors and relatives. A few cents here and there were manageable. Helping each other out was common. He then found a fish stall and bought a catfish weighing over a pound before heading home without continuing to browse.
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