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墨書 Inktalez
The next day, Yezi said she would take everyone to explore the Provincial Capital. When Zhou Zhang and the two young men heard this, they immediately got excited. "Are we going to ride the tram?"
"Uncle Youcai took the train south; I've never seen what a train looks like. I want to see a big train."
Zhou Village Head couldn't stay calm upon hearing this. Not only had that brat never seen one, but he himself didn't even know what a train looked like at his age. "Yezi, we're not far from the train station, right?"
"Not far!" Everyone looked at her with hopeful eyes; what else could she say besides that?
They squeezed onto the tram and then switched to a trolleybus, packed like sardines, with the air thick and stale. Yezhi exclaimed that she couldn't take it anymore, while Aunt Zhou and the village head were quite pleased, saying that this Provincial Capital was great; stepping out meant you could easily find a car!
As a semi-local of the Provincial Capital, Madwoman dutifully introduced the scenery along the way. The neatly lined green trees on both sides of the road and the vintage, exotic buildings looked like hazy old photographs frozen in time, beautiful and filled with the essence of history.
Of course, this was just how Yezhi saw the Provincial Capital. In the eyes of Zhou Village Head, Aunt Zhou, and their group, all this beauty seemed so grand and impressive that it made them feel envious yet proud.
When they arrived at the train station, Zhou Zhang and the two young men looked around for a long time but couldn't see any trains. They anxiously shouted, "Where's the train?"
Zhou Village Head slapped them both on the back of their heads. "What are you shouting about? Isn't the train inside?"
"Where inside?"
"Inside!" Despite Zhou Village Head's loud voice, he hadn't seen anything either.
At that moment, Yezhi reappeared with a platform ticket and returned to everyone. Madwoman distributed tickets to everyone.
Zhou Zhang laughed excitedly. "We're going to ride the train!"
"Beautiful you!" Sister Luo shattered Zhou Zhang's beautiful dream. "This is a platform ticket; hold it and you can go inside to see the big train up close."
Zhou Zhang was still quite happy. "That's fine; aren't we here to see the big train?"
Aunt Zhou, holding the small platform ticket that was about the length of her pinky finger, said painfully, "The only downside of the city is that everything costs money. Just to look at the train, we each have to pay five cents."
Aunt Ren Er thought the five cents were worth it, while Barefoot Aunt pointed at Aunt Zhou's nose and laughed, "Chunhua, you little miser! We're just here to broaden our horizons; if you're afraid to spend five cents, how are you going to get out?"
Aunt Zhou understood this well but couldn't change her habit of being stingy with money. Besides, her family had taken on a large debt from Contracting the Mountain, and she wished she could split every coin in half to spend.
Yezhi came to her rescue: "My aunt isn't a miser; she just prefers to spend money wisely."
"Exactly, money should be spent wisely."
Zhou Village Head, already standing at the ticket gate, shouted at the group of women, "What are you all dawdling for? Hurry up and come over!"
The ticket inspector checked their tickets, and the group walked toward the platform. The train hadn't arrived yet, and the platform was filled with people looking around.
Zhou Zhang spotted the long green train across from him. "The train is over there!" he shouted before running toward it, but he was stopped by station staff after just a few steps. "Young comrade, you can't go over there."
Yezhi caught up and said, "Zhou Zhang, my platform ticket is for this entrance."
Zhou Zhang slapped his forehead. "I've learned something new; not only is there someone guarding every door in the train station, but even if it's big inside, we can't run around."
Zhou Zhang returned to the line with Yezhi. The two boys exchanged a few words with his good buddy and then jumped onto the tracks to touch and knock on things. Yezhi was dumbfounded as distant whistle blows and shouts grew closer. "What are these two comrades doing? Get back up here!"
Zhou Village Head, who had been enjoying the scene, now felt utterly embarrassed. "You two little brats, hurry up!"
As soon as Zhou Zhang and his buddy got back up, they were scolded by the staff. Zhou Village Head kept assuring them that he would keep an eye on the two boys until the staff finally decided not to chase them away.
At this moment, the announcer informed that the train was about to arrive, and the people waiting on the platform were eagerly looking on. Zhou Village Head and Aunt Zhou didn't even dare to blink, fearing they might miss it.
"Whoosh~ clang clang!" The rushing train was unstoppable, with one car after another flashing by, long and endless.
Zhou Zhang and his friend were so shocked by the scene before them that they couldn't close their mouths. The village head, Cart Driver, and Aunt Zhou couldn't hide their excitement either. When the train finally came to a stop, many rushed forward, while people from the train began to disembark, turning the entire platform into a sea of people mixed with joyful calls.
Barefoot Aunt's hand rested on the train in a daze, while Zhou Village Head and his companions were eager to see just how long the train really was.
Aunt Zhou and Madwoman were also very interested, but only Yezhi was being jostled around with a pained expression, wishing to leave immediately.
"One car, two cars..." Yezhi couldn't help but count along with everyone.
The experience of seeing the train left a lasting shock on everyone. From that day on, the train station became the first stop for the people of Zhoujiatun visiting the Provincial Capital.
After witnessing the train, they hurried to find a place to eat. The restaurants in the Provincial Capital required food stamps. Madwoman was well-prepared; everyone nibbled on steamed buns and sipped egg soup while talking about trains. Yezhi complained that what was so great about trains; in ten years, planes would be much faster.
"Come on now, do you really think we can sit on something meant for leaders?" Aunt Ren Er truly didn't believe she could ever board a plane; she didn't even know when she would get to ride a train.
Yezhi laughed and leaned over the table. Madwoman and Sister Luo comforted everyone, saying that taking a train wasn't difficult at all. Once everyone earned money, they could travel south like Little Mu's Father.
Zhou Village Head thought this idea was good too, but Yezhi said, "Why wait until we earn money? There's a song that's really nice called 'I Want to Go to Guilin.' Let me sing you a few lines."
Everyone perked up their ears and listened to two lines about how when there's time, there's no money; when there's money, there's no time.
Sister Luo expressed her headache; she often struggled to keep up with Yezhi's leaps in thought. But Madwoman understood and remarked thoughtfully, "That really is true."
"Village Uncle, what I actually want to say is not to push everything off for later; not everything needs a precondition."
Zhou Village Head was lost in thought, while Zhou Zhang was fired up by Yezhi's words, "I'm buying a train ticket tomorrow."
Yezhi patted him on the shoulder, "That's the spirit!"
Zhou Zhang chuckled and reached out to her, "Then lend me some money, sis!" Yezhi was taken aback, while everyone else burst into laughter.
It was the first time she realized there was a problem with the song "I Want to Go to Guilin." Having time was useless without money; one would still be stuck.
After eating, they naturally needed to move around. Everyone strolled along the train station's line, where Yezhi spotted an advertisement that thrilled her. She was so excited that she wished to paint the entire wall with advertisements for their Zhoujiatun, such as "Good Rice, Good Life, Zhoujiatun" and "Immortal Peach Descends to Earth, Third Grade Zhoujiatun." One promoted the brand, while the other warmed up for this year's peach harvest.
When Yezhi mentioned doing advertisements, everyone's reactions varied. Some supported it, while others, like Aunt Zhou, directly said, "We haven't even recouped our money yet; why spend more? Can you calm down for a bit?"
Yezhi chuckled; she couldn't refute her aunt's words and looked hopefully at Village Uncle. Zhou Village Head glanced at the advertisements along the way. It was just a promotional slogan; paired with colorful posters, it indeed had some appeal. However, creating such large posters would cost quite a bit.
"The team has no money!" Even if he was tempted, he couldn't spend money meant for repaying debts. "I think we should forget about this."
At that moment, Aunt Ren Er suddenly spoke up, "I support it!"
"You support it? That means we have to use our debt repayment funds!" Aunt Ren Er was no ordinary citizen; she was part of the leadership team in Zhoujiatun, and her words could not be easily dismissed.
"Village Head, you saw many small business people at the train station earlier. Those pastries and wild fruits didn't look great but were selling well."
"What does that have to do with us advertising?" Not only did Zhou Village Head not understand, but Yezhi was also confused by Aunt Ren Er's statement.
"How does it not relate? It shows that there are many opportunities to make money in the Provincial Capital. If we can do an advertisement to let more people in the Provincial Capital know about our Zhoujiatun and our good products, then why worry about not making money?"
After hearing Aunt Ren Er's words, Yezhi was astonished. She hadn't expected Aunt Ren Er to grow to this extent; in a few years, she might even be surpassed.
“Uncle Village, Aunt Ren Er, let's just open a Zhoujiatun Specialty Store in the Province,” she said without fear. After all, everyone knew she had many ideas and was someone who acted on her thoughts. With the policies relaxed significantly now, allowing some people to get rich first, why not take the plunge and go big?
“Daughter!” Aunt Zhou exclaimed anxiously.
“Uncle, let’s do it!” As young people, Zhou Zhang and his friend were quite motivated. They were still part of the Transport Team and would inevitably be running around the Province.
“Let’s do it! Look at how well our Mountain Goods sell,” the Cart Master stated the facts, prompting the indecisive village head to shout, “Let’s do it!”
The group hurried back home, where Uncle Huang and Aunt Huang invited everyone over for dinner.
Uncle Huang and Aunt Huang prepared a feast, with two dishes from the Northeast Four Stews on the table.
There was Catfish Stew with Eggplant and Braised Ribs with Green Beans. The fish head had already made its way into Yezhi's bowl, while Xiaobinzi picked out two pieces of ribs with crunchy bones.
Everyone chatted about their experiences from today while eating. Uncle Huang, Aunt Huang, and Xiaobinzi initially found it amusing, but when Zhou Zhang proudly mentioned their plans to advertise and open a specialty store, the two elders were genuinely shocked. “You’re going to advertise to sell local specialties?”
The Village Head took a sip of liquor. “This needs to be discussed back at the village with the villagers; it’s basically settled.”
Lin Haitao chuckled, “This must be Yezhi’s idea.” Yezhi raised an eyebrow; her husband knew her too well. “Isn’t this a great idea?”
Aunt Zhou seemed to finally seize the opportunity. “Xiao Lin, you should talk to Yezhi; she has too many ideas, and they always involve spending money.”
“Money is meant to be spent,” Aunt Zhou felt a headache coming on when she heard Yezhi say that. This girl had mortgaged Xiao Lin's house; Xiao Lin didn’t mind, but what about Madwoman once she woke up? Until Xiao Lin's house was reclaimed, her heart would always be uneasy.
“Chunhua, you need to trust Yezhi,” Barefoot understood her concerns best.
Yezhi acted cute and said, “Auntie, eat some fish; this fish is as tender as tofu and melts in your mouth.”
"Eat by yourself, I like eggplant."
With oil glistening on his mouth, Zhou Zhang looked up and said, "Our aunt knows how to eat; this eggplant is even tastier than fish!"
"We have to thank Uncle Huang and Aunt Huang for preparing this feast for us." Compared to the modern neighborhood relationships where one might close the door upon returning home and not even know who lives next door or how many people there are, the people in this building are too warm, too close-knit, and too noisy. Yet it is this group of people that makes the saying "distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors" ring true, without leaving anyone feeling regretful.
"Brother Huang, Sister Huang, we’ve troubled you all with our group." The Cart Master seized the opportunity to pour himself another bowl and insisted on toasting Uncle Huang and his wife.
Once the Cart Master started, everyone took turns joining in. Uncle Huang was so overwhelmed with drinks that he stumbled over his words, "Zhou Village Head... Brother Zhou... let me tell you, you’ve brought too much stuff; how can we still live?" They had only known each other for a few days, yet Uncle Huang was already worrying about them.
Yezhi and Xiaobinzi exchanged smiles.
"Yezhi, you..." If they were going to talk about her now, "How can you think of everything! Making advertisements is something ordinary people can do; selling Mountain Goods can be done too. Just look at those who make advertisements; aren't they all serious big companies? Like that cigarette brand we drink, Five Plus White." Uncle Huang actually made a valid point; at this moment, who would bother making an advertisement just for selling Mountain Goods?
Zhou Village Head, already feeling uncertain, was now even more anxious. "Yezhi, how about we put off the advertisement for now and focus on opening a specialty store using our team's reputation?"
Sometimes Yezhi felt like she was being foolish; why did she have to go all the way to the train station to make an advertisement and spend money?
As long as they opened the specialty store in a good location, they could easily make advertisements right in front of their own shop!
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