Chapter 42 Buying a Bicycle
When we arrived at the gate, it was the familiar guard who saw Zhang Xingwang and said in surprise:
"Looking for your mother again?"
"I'm looking for your Section Chief Shen, please pass the message on."
"It's not time to start work yet, Section Chief Shen hasn't arrived yet."
As soon as the guard finished answering, Section Chief Shen arrived at the door on his bicycle. Zhang Xingwang quickly called him and told him why he was there.
Section Chief Shen told the guard that when Zhang Xingwang came, he would be allowed to pass after registration, and then he said to Zhang Xingwang:
"Director Li has already left the note with me, so you don't have to go through the formalities in purchasing. Come with me and I'll give it to you."
Following Section Chief Shen, we went straight to the supply and marketing cooperative after getting the note. However, what was written on the note was not 6 cents per pound, but a total of 183 yuan.
It was 362 kilograms of pork, 8 yuan per kilogram, a total of 289.6 yuan. After deducting the bicycle ticket, there were still dozens of yuan left. I guess Li Huaide didn't care about this, so he should have shared it with the two people who came that day.
When he arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative, he asked the salesperson to introduce the bicycles. Seeing the indifferent salesperson, Zhang Xingwang put the bicycle ticket on the counter with a smug look on his face. Only then did the salesperson tell him the brand and price.
Currently, there are only two types of vehicles in stock: Forever and Phoenix, and there is only one of each. A Forever 165-bar model costs 157 yuan, while a Phoenix model costs yuan.
After looking for a long time without making any sense, he picked a Forever brand car and asked the salesperson to issue a ticket. He took out a stack of big black coins from his pocket and bought two snakeskin bags.
The salesperson thought he was showing off the bicycle ticket, but he didn't expect him to actually buy it. He was stunned for a moment, then hurried to issue the ticket.
Pushing his bicycle, he walked away arrogantly while the salesperson looked at him, "This guy is probably done for this time."
Nowadays, being able to ride a bicycle is comparable to a BMW in later generations, and it is not enough to just buy it. You also have to take the invoice to the police station to register the vehicle. The police station did not ask too many questions, but just looked at the invoice. After paying a tax of one dollar and a half and the license fee, the formalities were completed smoothly and they gave you a bicycle license.
Zhang Xingwang still felt a little uncomfortable riding the 28-inch bicycle. Why? It was because the materials used in the bicycle were too thick, and it did not have the lightweight materials of later generations.
It's still a bit hard to pedal, but the frame is big, so the speed is not low. After getting on the road, the rate of turning heads is very high.
At noon, I found a state-owned restaurant, had a quick bite, and then went straight to the hospital. I gave a cigarette to the old man who was guarding the door, and then went straight to Director Li's office.
I found Director Li and asked him to contact the hospital's purchasing department. Then I went outside to put the fish in the space into a bag and took it to the purchasing department to weigh and sell it. 85 kilograms of fish were sold for 36 yuan.
Under the envious gaze of the old security guard, he rode his brand new bicycle back to the courtyard.
When passing by the middle courtyard, Jia Zhang, who was sewing shoe soles, saw Zhang Xingwang pushing a brand new bicycle passing by.
"It's only been a few days since he got well, and he already has a bicycle. I'm afraid he's just speculating!"
It's no wonder that Jia Zhang thought so. Buying a bicycle is not an easy thing these days. Just getting a bicycle ticket is a problem for 80% of families.
In the whole courtyard, only Xu Damao and the third uncle had bicycles. Xu Damao's bicycle was a government-owned one, which was provided for the purpose of showing movies in the countryside.
Not to mention the third uncle, who was so frugal that he saved up for several years before he could buy a second-hand car.
Given Zhang Xingwang's family's financial situation, if someone reported him for speculation and profiteering, and if he didn't know the source of the money, then he would be doomed.
Today's economic system is not as complicated as that of later generations, so it doesn't take much effort to check your source of income.
Zhang Xinwang ignored Jia Zhang's complaints and swaggered back on his bicycle. Selling fish and pork would be policed anyway, so he wasn't afraid of being checked.
As soon as I arrived at the door, I saw my mother, Wang Xiulan, washing the little girl's hair in the yard. I looked up at the bicycle that Zhang Xingwang was pushing, and my first reaction was that it was borrowed from someone else. Then I took a closer look at the brand new bicycle, and who would lend it to someone else for no reason? I stood up and asked carefully:
"Xingwang, whose bicycle do you want to borrow?"
"Couldn't I have bought it?"
"Don't joke around, kid. Talk to your mother nicely."
"If you don't believe me, come and see. It's written in this little notebook."
"Just tease me, I can't read a word."
"You should know my name."
After seeing it, the mother still had a look of disbelief on her face. She said to herself, "My family has a bicycle too." She touched and looked at the bicycle here and there, and the more she looked at it, the more curious she became.
At this moment, I suddenly heard my younger sister say aggrievedly:
"Mom, my hair, why don't you take care of Xiaoya?"
I was washing the little girl's hair in a basin of water because it was hot, but I forgot about her when I saw the bicycle. When I looked back, the little girl had wet hair and was crying out of grievance.
Wang Xiulan hurried over and continued to wash her hair.
The little girl is her father's little cotton-padded jacket. Just look at the names of her siblings and you will know that they are simple and rough.
I wanted a boy but failed, so my eldest sister was named Zhaodi. This was the first failure.
Soon after, their second sister and younger brother were born, and finally Zhang Xingwang was born. Later, the couple felt that one son was not enough. At that time, everything was in a mess, and they thought it would be good to have more children in the family, so they thought about having another son.
The fourth time, when Wang Xiulan was pregnant, both she and her father had already decided that she was carrying a boy. However, as things did not turn out as they wished, the fourth sister was named Ruonan, which means she looks a bit like a boy.
This was the little girl’s last attempt. Both of them were getting older, so they gave it one last try.
After the birth of the baby, it was still a girl, so she gave up the idea of having a son. Although my little sister's father passed away when she was a little over a year old, he loved this little girl the most when he was alive.
After washing the little girl's hair, the mother and daughter started walking around the bicycle again.
My mother was fine, after all, she often saw bicycles at work, but she was surprised that her family had one.
The little girl was different. She clearly found a big toy and was about to pretend to push it around. After being taken away by Wang Xiulan, she refused to give in.
In the end, Zhang Xingwang had no choice but to put her on the beam and push her around in the yard for a few circles before she calmed down contentedly.
When the eldest and second sisters came back, things were even more out of control. The eldest sister hasn't stopped laughing since she saw the bicycle, and she directly said that now that there was a bicycle at home, she wanted to learn to ride it. Her mother was worried that her careless nature might cause her to break the bicycle, so she stopped her and refused to agree.
The eldest sister then came over and gave Zhang Xingwang a questioning look, and Zhang Xingwang immediately responded with a look that said "as long as you are happy."
Then, under his horrified gaze, the eldest sister picked up the bicycle and ran to the central courtyard carrying it, while the angry mother stomped her feet behind them.
Before the mother could finish her anger, the second sister, who was eager to try, was encouraged by Zhang Xingwang's eyes and started to trot after the eldest sister.
The second sister had probably been fantasizing about winning a bicycle as a prize when she was digging wild vegetables, and her expression had always been eager. It was rare to see the second sister with this expression, so Zhang Xingwang signaled her with his eyes.
Left behind were the disappointed fourth sister and the sulking Wang Xiulan.
Zhang Xingwang didn't expect that bicycles would have such a destructive effect on his family. His two sisters didn't come back until dinner was over.
After finishing her homework, the fourth sister suddenly disappeared, leaving the mother depressed and saying to the little girl, "These girls are making a fuss, you can't learn from them."
