The temperature is gradually rising, and the hot and humid air is permeating this ancient city, but the hard-working people are not afraid of this humid heat. More and more people and goods are moving towards Wulin Gate, the largest flow of people and logistics in the city and even the province. Gathering at distribution centers. Coolies pulling rickshaws, rickshaw pullers riding three-wheelers backwards, and hawkers using 28-horse camels, all kinds of people, bustling with each other, facing the hot morning sun, and their eyes and faces are full of longing for the future life. , this expectation for the future, and the city's booming commercial development are all achieved bit by bit by the hard work of these hard-working traders.
After eating the fried dough sticks bought by the master from Henan, Liu Fang went to the fried dough stick shop to find the aunt selling fried dough sticks and asked for a bowl of water. Liu Fang felt as if he had had enough food and wine. Although there was no alcohol or meat, compared with the bumps in the past few days, Liu Fang With pain, Yang Liufang could finally calm down at this moment. He was only slightly embarrassed that he was still barefoot, and the broken blisters on his feet had scabbed due to the dust, and the pain gradually subsided. Looking around, in addition to the busy small businessmen and hawkers, and groups of people with large and small bags entering and leaving the station, Liu Fang fell into a situation where he was at a loss again. This was probably the "confusion" mentioned in the book.
"Want to buy shoes? Boss, world-famous brand, exporting to domestic sales." A childish voice, speaking broken Wenzhou Mandarin, remembered in his ears, startling Liu Fang who was squatting under the pillar of the station gate.
Liu Fang raised his head and saw a face with short hair and sweat. Although it was sunburned and red, it could not hide its youthfulness. At most, he was the same age as himself, Liu Fang thought. Looking at my bare feet, it seems that a pair of shoes is a must.
"How much?" Liu Fang asked.
"We usually sell it for fifteen. Today is the first time. The opening price is twelve."
Liu Fang was startled for a moment, and then shook his head in astonishment. Not to mention that he had no relatives now, he couldn't afford it even if he spent the 10 yuan ticket left by the master from Henan. Liu Fang lowered his head again and moved to the side of the wall, partly to refuse, and partly to avoid the rising sun that was hitting him.
"Boss, what I just talked about are leather shoes. Sandals are two yuan a pair, only two yuan." The young man selling shoes still bowed at 90 degrees, followed Liu Fang's movement, moved his steps, and came to Liu Fang's front.
Liu Fang then raised his head and met his eyes. This time he was a little moved, but he deliberately suppressed his desire. Just like the buyers he met while selling furniture on the streets of his hometown Yangshi Town with his master, he said: "Cheaper. Come on, boss, sincerely buy it."
"That one yuan and eight can't be less." The young man selling shoes knew that Liu Fang was in urgent need of a pair of shoes, so he started bargaining.
"It's too expensive. Let's make it cheaper." Liu Fang had already revealed his desire to buy this time. Young people who are inexperienced in the world can't hide their desire.
"Then, the lowest price is one yuan and seven. If you don't buy it, I'll leave." The young man played hard to get, grabbed the blue cloth travel bag on the ground, and pretended to leave.
"Okay, here's a pair."
"Okay, boss, you look happy at first sight." The young man responded sweetly while unzipping his satchel.
"How big are your feet?"
"24 and a half."
"Oh, that's 40 yards."
As he spoke, he took out a pair of black plastic sandals wrapped in transparent cellophane and handed them over. In the 1980s, due to backward equipment and the workshop model, shoe sizes were not standardized. Shoe sellers would not pick up the goods according to the internationally accepted sizes, but would ask the customers how big their feet were. Some Wenzhou shoes The so-called "sales representatives" who sell shoes on the streets, in order to make business, will also carry a ruler with them so that they can measure the feet of customers anytime and anywhere.
Yang Liufang was born as a carpenter, so he knew his height, waist, shoulder width, and foot size very well. After taking off the cellophane, I put the sandals on my feet, fastened the buckles, stood up and moved around, and stepped on the ground hard. They really fit. Then he took out the crumpled 10 yuan note left by the Henan master and handed it to the young man selling shoes. The young man took it respectfully, took out a wad of money from his coat pocket, and prepared to change.
"The businessmen are here, run!" Someone shouted. The young man quickly grabbed the money, lowered his head and grabbed the blue cloth travel bag on the ground, and quickly followed a group of small businessmen and hawkers.
"My money." Liu Fang shouted as he quickly chased after the young man selling shoes. Suddenly he remembered that there were fried dough sticks and turned around to pick them up from the ground. At this time, the young man had already run far away, and there were already businessmen in uniforms in the middle. Personnel isolation. The anxious Liu Fang could only chase after the industrial and commercial personnel, and quickly passed him. Then he accelerated, and gradually saw the satchel of the young man selling shoes mixed in the crowd, Liu Fang still pursued closely.
When they reached the entrance of Huanbei Small Market, some vendors who had just escaped stopped. Maybe it was because there were too many vendors coming in and out of the market, or maybe the industrial and commercial personnel were tired of chasing after them. Later I found out that this was one of the reasons why Hangzhou Huanbei Small Market was originally formed.
The young man selling shoes was lying in front of the pillar of the market gate, holding on to the pillar, bending over and gasping for air. At this time, Liu Fang also arrived in front of him.
"Look for my money. Ha..." Liu Fang also gasped for breath.
"Yes...I'm sorry, I...I didn't mean to." The young man, who was sweating profusely and his clothes were soaked, stretched out his hand. The banknotes in his hand seemed to have been soaked with sweat, and the outermost one was a little sticky. With his other hand, the young man tremblingly found a five-yuan note and two green two-yuan notes, and handed them to Liu Fang, "Here...here." The young man was still panting.
"No, I'm looking for too many." Liu Fang said stupidly.
"It's okay, I'll give you the purchase price." The young man said sincerely.
"Here are the fried dough sticks for you." Liu Fang felt a little embarrassed and handed over the fried dough sticks that he had grasped, but his hands were a little dirty with sweat.
The young man selling shoes didn't mind it, pulled out one, squatted on the ground leaning against a pillar and started eating it. Liu Fang, who was sweating profusely, also squatted on the ground to rest.
Liu Fang, who was leaning against the shadow of a pillar to get a little shade from the sun, had just recovered when a burst of pain hit his nerves again. Only then did he realize that the scar covered by the dust had cracked again due to the friction with the sole of the shoe while running, and the slope of the sandal had damaged the big part of the foot. The big toe was worn out, leaving a blood-red mark.
The shoe seller who finished eating a fried dough stick seemed to have noticed it too. He smiled and said in his poor Wenzhou Mandarin, "I'm sorry. My name is Li Tongfu, the sales representative of Tiens Leather Shoes in Yongjia, Wenzhou. What about you?"
"I..." Yang Liufang didn't know how to introduce himself. He couldn't say that he was a homeless person. After thinking for a while, he said: "My name is Yang Liufang, and I live in Yueqing, Wenzhou. I wanted to go to my uncle to learn business, but I couldn't find him, and there was a typhoon. My clothes were scratched, and my shoes were lost. I want to go back to Wenzhou. Listen. He said he couldn't buy a ticket and didn't know if he had enough money." Yang Liufang was a bit smug with the excuse he made up based on circumstances.
