"Auntie, are you okay?", "Mom, are you okay?" Liu Xia came back when she heard the cry, calling from a distance.
"It's okay, kid, thank you."
"Liu Xia, why are you running so fast! How dangerous!" the girl's mother scolded the girl riding the speeding bike.
"Liu Xia? Auntie, you said her name is Liu Xia. Are you from Liunan Village?"
"Yes, you are?"
"Auntie, my name is Li Tongfu, I am Yang Liufang's friend...brother."
"You are Ah Fu. Liu Xia's father always praises you when he comes back from his hometown. What are you?"
"Auntie, I have applied for my ID card. Now I will go to Xizhou to continue doing business."
"Oh, will you see Al Fang then?"
"Afang, is this my brother? Do you know my brother?"
"Go, don't interrupt."
"Auntie, I will try my best to find him. I will write to my godfather and godmother as soon as I have news."
"Godfather and Godmother?"
"Well, I grew up eating a lot of food, and I have no relatives. A Fang's parents saw me as pitiful and recognized me as their godson. No, I came back to apply for an ID card this time. I have been staying at his house for more than ten days. . The two old men treat me like their own son."
"Oh, Al Fang's parents are kind-hearted. By the way, after you find Al Fang, ask him to write us a letter. If he feels bad, you can also send us a letter if it's convenient for us. We will feel at ease. Xiaoxia, come and give this Brother, leave me your address."
"Okay!" Liu Xia tore off a page of notebook paper and wrote on it: Liu'an Woodware Factory, No. 30 Quxi Street, Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province. After writing it, he handed it to Li Tongfu. Li Tongfu saw the beautiful and elegant handwriting, and looked up at Liu Xia carefully. Although she was only a high school student, her features were delicate and her eyes revealed the aura of a Jiangnan woman. This was the first time he saw Liu Xia. .
"Auntie, I made a note of it. I have to go to the station to catch the train now. See you soon."
"Goodbye."
"Remember to ask my brother to write a letter." Liu Xia said loudly from behind.
"Don't worry." Li Tongfu replied while struggling to carry the travel bag and handbag. It is still difficult to buy a ticket from Wenzhou Bus Station to Hangzhou. There are so many people going out to do business here. In addition, small commodities and small electrical appliances are springing up like mushrooms after a rain, and there are more people coming and going. Li Tongfu bought a refundable ticket at a high price and headed to Hangzhou. After a day and night of bumpy stops and stops, the bus arrived at Hangzhou Wulinmen Bus Station. It was still a familiar place, and many acquaintances running street vendors came up to greet him warmly when they saw him.
Li Tongfu called a yellow car to take him to the train station. There were many tickets to Xizhou, but there were no seats before arriving in Shanghai. Li Tongfu, who had experienced a traffic jam, knew the reason and accepted it calmly. But this time he learned his first lesson. He approached a staff member at the station and gave him 2 yuan to help him put his travel bag and luggage bag into the cabin of the carriage in advance. Traveling lightly, he easily entered the station, squeezed onto the train, and went to the conductor's room to take out his travel bag and handbag.
There were many trains, but after passing Shanghai there were fewer people. Because it was late autumn, there were few people going to the north. After passing Xinyang, there were already a lot of empty seats in the carriage. Li Tongfu found a three-seater seat and lay down, having a good sleep.
The train gave way and stopped at the station along the way. By the time it arrived in Xizhou, it was already 9:10 a.m. on the third day. Since the windows on the train were closed, no weather changes could be felt, and the northwest wind blew after leaving the station. As soon as I blew it, I felt the two heavens of ice and fire. The weather in the northwest has become colder. Compared with the short-sleeved, long trousers and thin clothes in Jiangnan, sweaters are required here. He was carrying a travel bag. After his ID card was checked and he was released, his nose was so cold that he had runny nose while walking on the road. He thought it would be more appropriate to go to the wholesale market to get some clothes to wear first. Thinking about it, I quickened my pace so that it would be easier to carry heavy objects.
When we arrived at Boss Zhou's shop in the market, Boss Zhou happened to see off a customer. When he turned around, he saw Li Tongfu, who was shrinking his neck in the cold and was very excited.
"Oh, Xiaofu, ah, no, Xiaoli, you're back. Your brother is dying of waiting for you." As he said this, he grabbed his arms with both hands, as if he was afraid of running away.
"my brother?"
"Yes, Xiao Yang, Yang Liufang."
"Afang is here? Afang, Afang."
"Oh, stop screaming. He's not here. Is he freezing? Come on. Come in and drink a cup of hot water. I'll tell you slowly." Li Tongfu walked into the stall, put the two bags away, and sat down At Boss Zhou's small tea table, he was anxiously waiting for Boss Zhou to tell him about Al Fang.
"The day you gave me the shoes, Xiao Yang was buying goods from a fellow who sells department stores in the aisle next to ours. You walked in front, and he came here to buy clothes in hindsight. When he saw your travel bag, he rushed out to chase it without even asking. you."
"Boss, how do you sell this?" Before he finished speaking, a customer picked up a pack of gloves and asked.
"How much do you want? Is it wholesale or retail?" Boss Zhou stood up and greeted, and Li Tongfu picked up the teacup to warm his hands.
"If you come to 20 packs, I'll give you 5 cents for a pair. A pack of 50 pairs costs 2.5 yuan, a total of 50 yuan."
"Can it still be cheaper?"
"It's really not profitable to give you the wholesale price."
"Oh, let me take a look."
"Don't leave, let's do this. I'll give you two more pairs." Seeing the customer pretending to leave, Boss Zhou replied.
"That's pretty much it." The customer paid, and Boss Zhou picked up the goods from under the stall, and found a large plastic bag to pack for the customer. After clearing the money and goods, the customer left with the goods.
Boss Zhou continued to tell Li Tongfu: "I chased him to the train station. The police said you were deported, so he came back dejected. Yes, he left a note for you. I will find it for you later. Here." After Boss Zhou found it, he continued to tell Li Tongfu. Passed it to Li Tongfu, who took it and saw Yang Liufang's rumor written:
Brother Tongfu, I am Yang Liufang. When I came to Boss Zhou, you had already left. After arriving in Xizhou, I started running a small business in the mountain village when I waited for you. Now it is stable, so don't worry. I often come to a tail shop in the department store area of the market to purchase goods. The owner is a fellow villager of ours named Chen, who also takes great care of me. If you come, be sure to leave me a message.
After Li Tongfu finished reading the letter, he gradually calmed down and said, "Brother, thank you for taking care of A Fang. Please help me get some clothes first. It's really cold here."
"Oh, it's hard to get used to coming from my hometown. It's still very hot here. So you and Xiao Yang should wear the same work clothes."
"OK."
"Seeing that you and Xiao Yang are about the same size, I'll give you the same size. Here!" Li Tongfu took it, put on his coat first and said, "I'm going to see Boss Chen. Thank you."
"Oh, don't worry. I'll settle the bill for you. Your last batch of shoes has been sold out. The return rate is very small. If it's convenient, you can buy some and sell them here. I'll give you a total of 362, minus the cost of clothes. 5 yuan, and 357 more.”
"Brother Zhou, I have just arrived, so you are not welcome. I will treat you to dinner tonight to express your help to me and my brother."
"You're welcome. We're all fellow villagers. I can't help you much. Boss Chen is more helpful."
"No matter how big or small the help is, I'm equally grateful! I'll go to Boss Chen first to see what shop number he is in?"
"No. 89, row 4."
"Okay, I'll go over right away. Then I'll leave my things here for you first."
"Okay, go ahead."
Li Tongfu found Boss Chen's shop according to the number given by Boss Zhou, and saw Boss Chen drinking tea in the shop. Boss Chen saw Li Tongfu wearing labor cloth work clothes at night. At first glance, he thought it was Yang Liufang, and thought to himself, this guy is so Coming back soon? The goods are sold out? It wasn't until I got closer that I realized it wasn't.
"Hello, what would you like to order?"
"Brother Chen, hello Nihe, I am Li Tongfu. Thank you for taking care of my brother."
"Ah, Ah Fu, you are back. If you don't come back, your brother will be in a hurry to go to the house. How is it? Have you got your ID card?"
"Okay. Thank you for your concern. My brother Al Fang, how is he doing now?"
"Well done Ni (here), good Ni (here). His business is good now, he has regular customers and retail investors. It would be nice if you came back a few days earlier. He just finished purchasing goods from here three days ago. By the way, I also bought a batch of carpentry tools, saying they were going to make furniture for a leader’s family in the village.”
"Oh, then he can. By the way, do you know which village he is in?"
"I really don't know that. He walked through the streets. Where exactly he went, you know, business matters, it's not convenient for us to ask. But his first stop out of the city should be Yantan, and then he hitchhiked to the oil field. I don’t know where I will go next.”
"Okay, thank you, Boss Chen. I'll treat you and Boss Zhou to dinner tonight. Thank you for taking care of me and my brother. I'll go look for him tomorrow."
