booktalesy Chapter 76 Some are happy, some are sad
Chapter 76 Some are happy, some are sad
With the entire village of Shihe catching eels, it's likely that other nearby villages will follow suit soon.
Then there will be a steady supply of eels to sell, allowing us to quickly seize the window of opportunity.
So Zhang Beichuan discussed it with his grandparents again, and they considered whether to build a chicken farm in the village.
"Third Brother, Sister-in-law," Zhang Beichuan said cautiously, "this eel business can only last for a month at most. When it gets cold, the eels will burrow into the mud and won't come out. I was thinking, free-range chickens are quite popular in the city, how about we build a farm?"
After listening, Zhang Dequan and Lan Xiuying exchanged a glance but neither responded immediately.
After a few seconds of silence in the courtyard, Zhang Dequan spoke first.
"Let's not even talk about how much it costs to buy chicks, build chicken coops, hire people, and feed. There's an old saying in our countryside: 'Even if you're rolling in money, livestock doesn't count.'"
"Yes, yes, yes," Lan Xiuying chimed in. "Even if everything goes smoothly, raising chickens takes too long. Even if you specialize in raising them, the cost per chicken isn't necessarily cheap. And what if the market price changes in two or three years?"
Zhang Dequan nodded and continued.
"The risks involved are too great. You'd be better off spending some money to hire more people and go to the villages more often. You could earn a decent income throughout the year."
As Zhang Beichuan listened to his grandparents' analysis, the flame that had just ignited in his heart seemed to be doused with a bucket of cold water.
These statements are indeed all reasonable.
"I was oversimplifying things," he said with an awkward laugh.
Seeing that he had taken it to heart, both Lan Xiuying and the other woman showed relieved smiles.
Tomorrow is the weekend. In the afternoon, while Zhang Beichuan was delivering eels to the county, he took his mother and her two daughters to the county town to fulfill his promise to them.
The moment they saw the television, the three little girls rushed into the store, their eyes glued to the television playing a program in the corner.
Zhang Dequan, who came along, was also so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth when he saw four more television sets on the counter.
"Xiao Chuan, are we selling TVs now?"
At this moment, Lan Baojun came out from behind the counter, offering cigarettes to the two of them while smiling and saying...
"Brother-in-law, we're not only selling TVs now, Xiao Chuan has also added a lot of other goods, like flashlights, pencil cases, needles and thread."
"I haven't been here for a few days, and the store has added so many things." Coming back to his senses, Zhang Dequan asked curiously, "So, has anyone asked about this TV?"
Televisions are rare, but they are expensive and not something that ordinary families can afford.
Lan Baojun looked at Zhang Beichuan, who was equally curious, with an excited expression on his face.
"Brother-in-law, Xiao Chuan, although we haven't sold one yet, quite a few people have already inquired about the price. Most importantly, a colleague who works at the county agricultural machinery station gave us a twenty-yuan deposit this morning, asking us to reserve one for him. He'll come to buy it tomorrow once he's raised enough money."
Zhang Beichuan's heart skipped a beat. "You've accepted the deposit?"
"I've accepted it." Lan Baojun chuckled and leaned closer. "I told him I wanted to discuss it with you, but he insisted on giving it to me, afraid someone else would snatch it up first. I saw his sincerity, so I wrote him a note."
Zhang Beichuan nodded. Who would carry around more than four hundred yuan all day?
Weekends are when the store is busiest, which makes him even more curious about whether everyone will see that Beichuan Department Store is selling televisions tomorrow.
Zhang Dequan smiled with pride. The two stayed in the shop for a while before returning to Shihe Village to continue transporting eels.
The next day was a weekend, and Beichuan Department Store had just opened when the comrade from the agricultural technology station who had paid the deposit arrived.
As soon as I entered, I went straight to the counter and carefully took out the money from my pocket. There were four hundred yuan neatly arranged inside.
It was a thick stack of bills, including small denominations and large sums of money.
"Comrade, I've raised the money."
Zhang Beichuan, who had just returned from selling eels in 2026, saw the man's expectant face as soon as he entered the store. There weren't many people in the store at the moment.
Lan Baojun smiled and took the television set off the counter. He let Lan Baojun inspect it first before taking the money and writing a receipt.
"Comrade, keep the receipt safe. As long as it wasn't damaged intentionally, you can bring the receipt and the TV back to the store to exchange it for a new one if there's any problem with the TV within a year."
"Okay, okay..." The man carefully strapped the television to the back of the bicycle and pushed the bike away.
No sooner had the man left than two uniformed police officers arrived, led by Gao Bo.
"Comrade Zhang Beichuan, we need to verify some details with you again. Could you please come with us to the bureau to make a supplementary statement?"
The three little girls, who were intently watching TV, turned pale the moment they saw the police looking for Zhang Beichuan.
In their minds, only bad people who have committed crimes will be approached by the police.
The little girl Xiaoli burst into tears. Remembering how good her uncle had been to her, she rushed over and hugged Gao Bo's leg while crying, her little face looking up with tears in her eyes.
"Police officers, my uncle is a good man! Please...please don't arrest him...he's not a bad guy..."
Xiaoju and Xiaocui felt the same way; they simply couldn't believe their uncle was a bad person.
The older sister hugged her legs, while the other two hugged her arms.
Zhang Beichuan was taken aback at first, and then looked at his mother and the others pleading for him, feeling both amused and exasperated.
Gao Bo was also a little embarrassed by the scene. He suppressed a smile, squatted down and looked at the three girls sobbing, trying to keep his tone as soft as possible.
"Don't be afraid, little girl. Uncle knows your uncle isn't a bad person." Gao Bo glanced at Zhang Beichuan and said earnestly, "He's a great hero. Uncle just wants to ask him some questions."
"A great hero?" Xiaoli tilted her head and asked curiously.
"Yes, big..."
Before Gao Bo could finish speaking, Zhang Beichuan interrupted him. He didn't want the three little girls to know too much, lest their grandparents worry when they went back in the afternoon.
"Comrade Gao Bo, how about we go to the bureau to talk?"
Gao Bo, who had been interrupted, glanced at the look he was giving him and said, "Okay, let's go back and talk."
Then, he glanced at the three little girls and said with a smile, "Don't worry, your uncle will be back in a little while after he finishes explaining the situation to us."
"Really?" Cui Cui asked, wiping away her tears.
"Really, the police officers wouldn't lie to you."
Zhang Beichuan looked at the three girls who were already crying their eyes out and said with a smile.
"Watch TV at home for a while, and when your uncle is done with his work, he'll take you to the county town for a stroll."
Upon arriving at the county bureau, Gao Bo very politely invited Zhang Beichuan into his office for questioning, provided some additional details, and returned to Beichuan Department Store in less than an hour.
Since Zhang Beichuan was taken away, the three little girls lost their interest in watching TV and stood at the door, gazing longingly at the screen.
No matter how Lan Baojun tried to persuade him, it was no use, and he sighed helplessly.
When they saw Zhang Beichuan return, the three little girls immediately rushed forward, looking him over from all angles, as if they were afraid he was missing a piece of flesh.
"Uncle, why did the police officers say you're a great hero?" The youngest, Cui Cui, asked first.
Zhang Beichuan smiled, patted each of their heads, squatted down, lowered his voice, and said mysteriously.
"Shh—keep your voice down. The police are looking for Uncle because he's on a secret mission for them, understand?"
The three little girls' eyes widened instantly, filled with both nervousness and excitement.
"Really, Uncle?" Zhang Xiaoli covered her mouth and asked softly.
"Of course it's true!" Zhang Beichuan nodded seriously. "But this mission is extremely important. You can't tell anyone, including your parents. Otherwise... if those bad guys find out, we'll be in trouble."
He deliberately spoke in a frightening way, and the three little girls were indeed intimidated.
"We won't tell! We'd rather die than tell!" Xiaoli said, then turned to her younger sisters with the air of a true big sister, instructing them, "Did you hear that? You can't tell anyone. Anyone who tells a liar is a dog!"
Zhang Beichuan watched the two little girls nod earnestly and tried hard to suppress his laughter.
"Come on, Uncle will take you to buy some delicious food."
On one side, Zhang Beichuan was happily taking his three girls around buying delicious food and fun things, while on the other side, Liu Jianguo was extremely worried.
These past two days, he hasn't left the factory at all, afraid of missing Zhang Beichuan's visit, but today he still hasn't come.
Somewhat impatient, he glanced at the sun and figured that no workers would come to the factory to block him at midday, so he went straight to the main gate.
"Factory manager, what brings you out here?" Old Zhao asked, glancing around as he spoke. "Didn't I tell you to hide?"
After all, he had told the workers who came to the factory to confront Liu Jianguo that he had never seen the factory manager.
Disturbed and agitated, Liu Jianguo pulled out two cigarettes from his pocket, handed one over, and lit one for himself.
"Old Zhao, is that kid trying to fool us? It's been two days already!"
Old Zhao took a puff of his cigarette and thought carefully about what had happened that day. He knew the man was anxious, but he didn't dare to make any promises.
"Probably not? He asked quite a few detailed questions; he didn't seem like he was just talking nonsense. Why don't you wait a little longer?"
Liu Jianguo thought about it. The Second Light Industry Bureau hadn't made a decision yet, and he'd already waited two days, so he didn't mind waiting one more day.
If Zhang Beichuan doesn't come by tomorrow, he'll have to think of another way.