PDLP Chapter 36 Nearly Arrested
Chapter 36 Nearly Arrested
The fish were sold, the money was collected, and the cigarettes were given away. Li Xiangyang didn't exchange many pleasantries and led Liu Jianguo out of the backyard of the state-run restaurant.
Liu Jianguo remained silent throughout the journey, but his gaze towards Li Xiangyang held a newfound respect.
Before he came, he always thought that Li Xiangyang was just selling fish at a black market stall. He never expected that he would even get involved with the state-run restaurant.
He even became friends with the restaurant's kitchen purchasing staff.
Liu Jianguo suddenly realized that he still had a lot to learn from Li Xiangyang, whether it was in terms of interpersonal skills or conversation.
Just two days ago, Li Xiangyang was just a lazy good-for-nothing in his mind.
"drive."
Li Xiangyang cracked his whip and headed straight for the black market.
He had no time to pay attention to Liu Jianguo's little schemes; he was busy figuring out how to sell the fish later.
Today they brought over 150 jin of fish, of which over 80 jin were just sold to a state-run restaurant, and there are still over 70 jin left on the cart.
Based on past practices,
The 70 jin (35 catties) of fish sold out immediately, but there are many other fish stalls on the black market now, and he had already sold quite a few fish earlier, so now...
Lost in thought, the carriage arrived at the alley they had just crossed. Li Xiangyang jumped off the carriage and said to Liu Jianguo:
"Jianguo, the carriage needs someone to watch it. We can't both go to the black market to sell fish at the same time. Here's what we'll do: I'll take some to sell first, and you wait here for me. I'll let you go sell the rest later."
"Okay, sure."
Liu Jianguo nodded solemnly.
The thought of letting him go sell fish by himself later filled me with both excitement and a little nervousness.
My palms were sweating from clenching them.
Upon arriving at the black market, Li Xiangyang quickly set up his fish stall, which he now usually keeps in the same spot, next to Liu Quan, who sells soap.
He had barely set up his stall when he noticed another fish stall had opened not far away.
Take a quick look,
The stall owner was a young man dressed as a herdsman. The sky was still hazy, so it was hard to see his face clearly, but his figure looked somewhat familiar.
Just as Li Xiangyang was staring at the man, the man also looked up and saw him, and their eyes met.
"It's Li Xiangqian!"
Li Xiangqian, the eldest son of Li Zhenhai, the second uncle.
"Why... is he selling fish now?"
Li Xiangyang was somewhat surprised; they had come simply by smelling the aroma.
The night before last, when the brigade came to Li's house to crack down on speculation and profiteering, my second uncle was still in a hurry to distance himself from the matter. Now that he finds that the brigade is no longer involved, he has also started to have his own ideas.
Li Xiangqian saw him at this moment, but perhaps feeling embarrassed, he simply nodded to Li Xiangyang and dared not look in his direction again.
With Li Xiangqian's stall added, there are now three fish stalls on the black market, so fish definitely won't sell as well as before.
We need to catch some wild game to sell quickly.
As Li Xiangyang was pondering this, he saw a middle-aged woman carrying a vegetable basket squat down and pick out fish.
"Young man, how much is this fish?"
Business has started.
People were also arriving at the black market one after another. Perhaps because it was almost Chinese New Year, the flow of people was significantly larger than the previous two days.
Li Xiangyang became a hit in this area. With his good speaking skills and quick wit, he sold 70 jin of fish down to only about 20 jin after squatting for more than an hour.
He got up and casually glanced at the other two fish stalls, noticing that they still had quite a few fish left, especially the larger carp or pike.
I'm somewhat glad that I got involved with the state-run restaurant and managed to get rid of most of the big fish; otherwise, I would have had quite a few left over.
"Uncle Quan, could you watch the fish stall for me? I'm going to get my brother-in-law."
"Okay, then we need to hurry, the market will be closed soon."
After saying that, Li Xiangyang turned and left. There weren't many fish left on the stall, so he was going to go and get Liu Jianguo to sell them, to give him a try too.
Liu Jianguo came over quickly. He was a little nervous at first, but he felt better when he saw that there weren't many people in the market.
Gradually, people started coming to buy fish, and he would stumble over the prices, using the method Li Xiangyang had taught him to lift the gill covers to show them.
He asked three or four people before someone finally bought five jin of crucian carp from him, earning him one yuan.
Holding the one yuan in his hand, Liu Jianguo felt a surge of excitement.
This is 1 yuan.
Just as he was still reflecting, several market management team members wearing armbands rushed into the black market, and the black market instantly descended into chaos.
"Run! The city management team is arresting people! Run!"
In the chaos, someone shouted, making things even more chaotic.
Seeing that Liu Jianguo was somewhat terrified, Liu Quan, who was selling soap nearby, quickly pushed him: "Young man, what are you standing there for? Run!"
"Oh, run away!"
Liu Jianguo snapped out of his daze, picked up the remaining fish and scales from the ground, and fled into the alley behind him.
"Sigh, I wonder how sales are going over there at Jianguo's place? There aren't many fish left, but he should be able to sell them all, right?"
"There shouldn't be any city management officers making arrests today, right?"
Li Xiangyang was huddled in the carriage, yawning with boredom and lost in thought.
He finally understood how his brother felt when he waited for him here on ordinary days.
He felt his legs were a little numb and was about to get up and move around when he saw Liu Jianguo rushing back with fish and firewood.
"Sister...brother-in-law, run! Run! The city management team is arresting people!"
Liu Jianguo was so nervous that he stammered and his face turned pale with fright.
"Quick, get in the car!"
Li Xiangyang was about to drive the carriage away when he noticed Liu Jianguo still clinging tightly to the fish and the steelyard balance. He scolded, "What are you still holding onto these for? You're going to lose them all!"
"Lost...?"
Liu Jianguo was reluctant to part with it.
This steelyard balance would cost at least two dollars in the market, and these fish would also cost two dollars.
That's more than 4 yuan.
He instinctively pulled the fish and the scale even tighter.
But Li Xiangyang didn't have time to explain to him. He snatched the fish and the steelyard and threw them into the small courtyard next to the carriage.
Then they drove the carriage away.
Just then, two market management team members wearing blue uniforms and red armbands happened to turn the corner, saw them, and chased after them.
"Don't run, you can't escape."
Liu Jianguo was so frightened that he couldn't speak.
"Hoo..."
Li Xiangyang stopped the carriage, and in a flash, he came up with a brilliant plan.
He immediately changed his expression and said with a smile:
"Comrades, what do you mean by 'running'... what do you mean by 'running'? I don't quite understand. Do you know where the town clinic is? Look, my younger brother is sick, and I'm in a hurry to take him to see a doctor, but I've taken the wrong road."
After finishing speaking, Li Xiangyang patted Liu Jianguo on the back.
"Cough cough...cough cough cough..."
Liu Jianguo tactfully coughed in response.
Given that he had just been frightened and his face was pale, he really did look like a patient.
The two market management team members looked at each other in disbelief, then glanced at Liu Jianguo as he circled around the carriage again.
But there was nothing on the carriage...?
Arrest them and seize the stolen goods! There was nothing on the carriage, and they weren't caught directly on the black market, so they couldn't easily arrest them here.
"Let's go."
The older market management team member shouted something and turned to leave.
"I clearly saw a fishmonger running this way."
The younger market management team members continued to hold onto the carriage tightly, refusing to let it leave.
Seeing this, Li Xiangyang was about to say something when another market management team member rushed over.
"Old Liu, Little Wang, the captain is calling you back to the team."
"Have you caught anyone over there?" the young city management officer asked.
"They've caught them: three candy sellers, two vegetable sellers, and oh yeah, one fish seller."
"What? You caught a fishmonger...?"