Ye Cheng

But sometimes things don't always go so smoothly. Ye Cheng and Lu Mingyuan arrived at the pedestrian street early the next day. It was just dark, and many vendors had just opened their stalls. Those who sold accessories, toys, discs, and Catering business people gathered here one after another from all over the city.

Ye Cheng and Lu Mingyuan walked around the pedestrian street, and finally decided to go to the place where they stayed yesterday. The two of them stood at that intersection not long before a young man with a patch of yellow hair on his forehead came over.

"You two plan to sell balloons here?" Little Huang Mao spoke in a strange voice.

"Yeah." Ye Cheng nodded, Lu Mingyuan didn't respond, but his eyes were fixed on the other party, as if he was ready to fight.

"Hey, don't be so nervous." Huang Mao gave Lu Mingyuan a self-styled smile. "This street is now covered by Brother Adong. Since you two plan to do business here, you should pay the protection fee first."

Ye Cheng turned his head to look at the other vendors nearby. There were also a few young people who were collecting protection money from them, but those people were probably already familiar with the way, and they would readily pay when they saw each other, so there was no need to talk nonsense. In one sentence, some even greeted each other with smiles on their faces.

"How much does it cost?" The arm couldn't twist the thigh, and everyone paid it, so the two of them should pay it too.

"A small booth costs 30 yuan a night. The two of you can count it as a booth. You only need to pay [-] yuan. Only after you pay the protection fee will someone cover you. These days, you two brats dare to come out to do business at night, hehe , Haven't met a bad guy, have you?" It was obvious that the yellow-haired man didn't think of himself as a bad guy.

"Here you are." Ye Cheng simply gave him 30 yuan. Since it is such a rule in this land, he has to pay the money or do business in another place, but the money in other places may not be more profitable than here. .

"That's right, you kid is on the road, and you will pay the money on time every day in the future. We will cover you, so don't worry about doing business, hahaha." The man laughed arrogantly and walked away after taking the money.

After doing business there for a few nights, Ye Cheng and the others also found out that the protection fee seemed to be not for nothing. One day a few people got drunk at the barbecue stand and became drunk and refused to pay. The boss took out his mobile phone and made a call. After a while, a group of people rushed out from an alley in the pedestrian street, and restrained those who wanted to eat Bawang's meal in a few seconds.

The drunks who wanted to eat the overlord meal were all emptied later. Some of them paid the owner of the barbecue stall for the barbecue and wine, and the other part was confiscated by the group. As for the few drunks who were beaten The guy who was in a mess was directly carried and thrown into the park.Since then, Ye Cheng and Lu Mingyuan have never been near that neat and clean park. There are a few chairs in it. They used to go there to sit for a while when they were tired. Did not go in and sit again.

The small turmoil subsided after a while, and everyone should do what they should do. It seems that they have become accustomed to such things. Ye Cheng and Lu Mingyuan continued to do their business. Fortunately, no one has ever troubled them. Those with a clear mind will not cause trouble everywhere at night.

Once, when one of Brother Adong's subordinates came to collect the protection fee, he smiled and said to Ye Cheng and the others: "Little brother, with your body, if you are stopped by someone on the way home, it will be a waste of work this day." How about it? Do you have a knife on you? You need to bring something for self-defense."

Naturally, Ye Cheng and the others wouldn't really carry a knife with them, but since then, they didn't dare to take too much money out at night, and usually took out part of the money and kept it at home in the evening.

There is no shortage of hooligans in this city. They either gather together to occupy a place to collect protection fees, or wander around in groups of three or four, either stealing or robbing.Most of those people like to gather in the billiard room and roller skating rink, and there are also KTV, but not many.Ye Cheng and the others are relatively low-key. They usually stand silently by the side of the road, like two vending machines, with a low sense of presence, and no one has ever troubled them.

No matter what, doing business in such an environment, Ye Cheng and Lu Mingyuan still feel very tired. They have to be careful every day for fear of being targeted, and every time they go home, they have to run for fear of being intercepted. Such days After a few days, they began to miss the life of living in the village. Even if it was a bit bitter, at least they didn't have to worry about it.

"Ye Cheng." Lu Mingyuan was less talkative these days than before.

"What are you doing?" Just after taking a shower, Ye Cheng climbed onto the bed in long johns, and the bed had already been warmed by Lu Mingyuan.

"Today is Saturday." Lu Mingyuan leaned in Ye Cheng's direction.

"Oh, but I'm so tired."

"Well, I'm tired too." Not only did they have to sit and run back and forth two or three times a day, but they were also too nervous, and they were really tired.

"Then tell me, are we still coming in summer?"

"Come." Lu Mingyuan replied without hesitation.

"That's right, I've made a lot of money in the past few days, earn more, and I don't have much savings." Ye Cheng sighed, it's really not easy to be in charge.

"Ye Cheng." Lu Mingyuan called again.

"Yeah." Ye Cheng's eyelids had already started to fight.

"Today is Saturday." Lu Mingyuan reminded again.

"Didn't you say you were tired?"

"I'm not tired now." Lu Mingyuan entangled Ye Cheng, his two hands were so obsessed that he felt under his clothes and pinched Ye Cheng's butt.

"Be gentle, don't be overheard by grandpa." Ye Cheng raised his hand and covered the two of them with the quilt. This kind of wooden house has almost no sound insulation effect. Although there is still an aisle between them and old man Wu's room , but people in this alley go to bed early, and at night, they can hear every sound clearly.

Ye Cheng and Lu Mingyuan made an agreement. Anyway, they should be careful now and try not to be watched by others. If they are really stopped one day, they will obediently take out all the money on their bodies, and then they will not go out to do business at night. .But obviously, the two of them still take themselves too seriously. There are so many rich people in this city, like those gorgeous girls and guys with famous brands all over them. These people are the main targets of the gangsters.

Like Ye Cheng and the others, they earn hundreds of dollars a day, which is indeed a lot for Ye Cheng and the others, but for people who are out of society, it is just a small change.They were still two boys, and they could run faster than rabbits. They were obviously a difficult stubble, and the gangsters were also very busy, so their work had to be efficient.

Years ago, the weather was always good. Ye Cheng and Lu Mingyuan had to go back and forth three times a day, and never took a break. Until the New Year's Eve, it suddenly rained. Anyway, no one would go out to play on the New Year's Eve. , everyone is eating New Year's Eve dinner at home, and Ye Cheng and Lu Mingyuan are also happy and relaxed.

However, they did not rest at Old Man Wu's house, but went to the vegetable market to find Gao Jinhua. They were busy making money these days, and they never took time to go to the vegetable market. It happened that it was raining, so they went.The vegetable market is still the same, but it seems to have been reorganized, it looks a little bigger than before, and it is also much tidier.

Gao Jinhua's stall is no longer in the same location as before. Ye Cheng and the others found it after searching for a while. In the area dedicated to selling cooked food, Gao Jinhua still does business by herself. There are quite a lot of customers at the moment, and she is busy weighing the change. , I didn't even have time to raise my head, so I naturally didn't know that Ye Cheng and the others were coming.

"Aunt Jinhua." Ye Cheng called out to her when she saw off another guest.

"This is...Ye Cheng, right?" Gao Jinhua still had her curly hair permed, but it wasn't as shaggy as before, and she even dyed it a little bit, and her face was not as plump and round as before, but it still looked very charming.

"Yes."

"Oh, this is Lu Mingyuan, right? Come, come in! Auntie, look, they've grown so big!" Gao Jinhua's voice was still as sharp and crisp as before.

"No. [-], bring over two bowls of noodles and add two eggs." Just like the first time I met Ye Cheng and the others, Gao Jinhua ordered two more bowls of noodles with a loud voice.

"Okay!" The person at the noodle shop replied loudly, everything seemed to be the same as seven years ago.

"We came here when we were full." Ye Cheng said hastily, they went to the bun shop at the entrance of the alley early in the morning and ate several buns, and they were really not hungry at the moment.

"Eat when you're full. After so many years, that noodle shop is still the same as before. Hey, you two should try it again." Gao Jinhua greeted the customers who bought vegetables while talking.

Not long after, the noodles were delivered by a teenage boy who looked about the same age as Ye Cheng and the others, and knew Gao Jinhua and the others very well. While waiting for the money, he grabbed a ball and threw it into his mouth. inside.

"You son of a bitch, be careful not to spoil your stomach." Gao Jinhua raised his hand to slap his hand, but he missed it and was dodged.

"It's better if you eat badly. It's rare to have a winter vacation. I'm so exhausted that I won't be given any rest on New Year's Eve." The child took the money and went back to work with the tray in his arms.

The noodles still tasted the same as before. When Ye Cheng and Lu Mingyuan were growing up, their stomachs were like a bottomless pit, and they couldn't be filled no matter what. Two bowls of noodles were eaten in a while, and there was no waste.

After eating the noodles, Ye Cheng was not in a hurry to go back. Today is the Chinese New Year, and the business at Gao Jinhua's stall was very good. He was very happy and Lu Mingyuan took the initiative to stay and help. Do some groceries. The cooked food on that plate is almost sold out, so I pour some out of the bag inside to make up for it. If the plastic bag is not enough, he will buy it.

Although it didn't help much, Gao Jinhua still saved a lot of energy with the two of them here. The business went smoothly that day. When the stall was about to close at noon, the stall owner next to him asked: "Jinhua , is this your brother's son?"

"Where, if those two boys can be so sensible, my brother will die laughing." Gao Jinhua asked Lu Mingyuan to buy a few catties of oranges from the fruit stand at the entrance of the alley, and he was peeling them and stuffing them into his mouth at the moment. After being busy for a long time, it was hard to take a rest to catch her breath. She never treats herself badly.

"Then who are they?"

"It's Ye Cheng and Lu Mingyuan. Didn't they often come to our vegetable market before? Look at your memory." Gao Jinhua smiled. People in their vegetable market like to gossip, and they are not in a hurry to close the stall after the business is over.

"Hey, Gao Jinhua, I still have a lot of prawns left here, you want to give it a cheap price!" Someone in the seafood selling area was shouting to this side with his neck stretched.

"My brother told me not to buy your rotten fish and rotten shrimp anymore, and be careful not to spoil the old man and old lady." People in the vegetable market were not polite, and they liked to make half-truths and half-fake jokes.

"Hey, look at what you said, if it weren't for our friendship, could I sell it to you so cheaply?" A big man said this to a big woman, but he was not afraid of being misunderstood. His wife was still there. Standing on the side.

"Don't be silly, be careful to be overheard by my family." Gao Jinhua's man works in the unit, so he must be different from the people in his vegetable market. It can be seen that she still pays attention to family harmony. After saying this, she stopped talking. "Let me see your prawns today."

"Look carefully. This is a shrimp hole just opened yesterday. I sold it for 13 yuan a catty in the morning. There is not much left now. Ten yuan is worth it." stand up.Ye Cheng and Lu Mingyuan grabbed an orange and ate it, and followed Gao Jinhua to watch the fun. It was very interesting to bargain, especially when the buyers and sellers were small bosses.

"Who is it? I heard you call 11 yuan a catty just now, and now you want me to wrap it up for ten yuan?" It is normal for 13 yuan prawns to be reduced to 11 yuan later. In supermarkets, prices are very flexible.Gao Jinhua stretched out her fingers to pick at the small pile of prawns a few times, and stuffed the last two pieces of orange into her mouth, and put the orange peel in her apron pocket.

"Then how much do you say?"

"Look at how pitiful this shrimp is. It's so small, those who don't know it think it's a dried shrimp." Gao Jinhua continued to pick and choose without mentioning the price.

"Don't talk nonsense, I'll give you a basket to pick out and you won't just pick the big ones, do you want to?"

"Seven yuan, I want it all." Gao Jinhua bargained without changing his expression.

"Seven yuan? You want to eat shrimp for seven yuan? That's right!" The man laughed.

"It's Chinese New Year, whose family hasn't bought vegetables yet? This is a big day once a year, everyone is trying to look good, and your pile of shrimp is really hard to sell." Gao Jinhua shook his head.

"Nine yuan, if you want it, don't push it down, I keep it for myself."

"Yo, we are so familiar, don't be silly, who doesn't know that your old Wang used to eat stinky shrimp until he vomited, and now you can still eat such a pile of shrimp?" Gao Jinhua also laughed, what are you selling? What's the matter, her family cooks cooked food, and she herself doesn't want to touch those meatball and fish ball.Since this old Wang doesn't want to lower the price, she's about to leave. She usually has a hard time with this guy. Today she's very tired. Business is good these days at the end of the year. She finally made it to the Chinese New Year, so she wants to take a good rest. If you need so much strength, you might as well talk to Ye Cheng and the others for a while.

"Jinhua, didn't Lao Wang ask you because he knew you like shrimp? In this way, if you want eight yuan, you can take it away, okay?" Business has always been to make money before making money, and for the latter, it is better to exchange some losses for money. Is it true that you can take it home by yourself?

"Okay." Everyone didn't come to the vegetable market in the first and second grades, and Gao Jinhua also rested, so naturally he wouldn't go out to buy vegetables, so it's good to have some shrimp at home.

Gao Jinhua asked Lao Wang to divide the prawns into two bags, keep one bag for himself, and give the other bag to Ye Cheng and the others: "Hey, I like to eat shrimp, this old Wang is not very good, his shrimp is really good, you guys Bring some back in a while."

When Gao Jinhua closed the stall, she carefully put the dozens of salted duck eggs and preserved eggs given by Ye Cheng on the tricycle. She said that he just loves salted duck eggs, but things in the city are becoming more and more unreal now. It is said that there is a problem with the salted duck eggs now. I don’t know what ingredients are added. After a few days of salting, the oil will come out, but eating too much is not good for the body.

She didn't set up a stall in the first and second grades of junior high school, so that they would come to the vegetable market frequently in the future.It was getting late, and Ye Cheng and Lu Mingyuan declined Gao Jinhua's proposal of going to her house for the New Year. Gao Jinhua also knew that old man Wu was at home alone, so he didn't say much, so they parted ways at the gate of the vegetable market.