The next day, Zeng Xiaopeng and Lu Shaohui, the newly recruited security guards of Jinhong Group, entered a simple intensive training.

Etiquette, standing posture, honorifics, etc., are nothing to Zeng Xiaopeng, who has just come out of school and is used to being educated.

But Lu Shaohui is miserable, he is used to being free and casual, where can he stand this toss.

The standing posture must be upright like that of a soldier: the heels are close together, the toes of the feet are about 60 degrees apart, the legs are straight, the lower abdomen is slightly tucked and the chest is naturally straight, the upper body is straight and slightly leaned forward, the shoulders should be flat and slightly stretched back, the arms should hang down naturally, the fingers should be slightly bent together, the tip of the thumb should be attached to the second segment of the index finger, the middle finger should be attached to the seam of the trousers, the head should be straight, the neck should be straight, the mouth should be closed, the chin should be slightly closed, and the eyes should be level forward.

After three hours of standing training, Zeng Xiaopeng and Lu Shaohui were sweating.

Etiquette is even more complicated, including appearance, expressions, walking, gestures, etc., each of which must be decent and standard.

In the morning, I practiced standing, learned etiquette in the afternoon, and trained like a duck for a day, and finally announced: learn and explore in practice, and go to work tomorrow.

In other words, Zeng Xiaopeng and Lu Shaohui will be able to stand at the gate of the palatial Jinhong Building tomorrow.

slept in a collective dormitory at night, four people in a room, Lu Shaohui and Zeng Xiaopeng naturally shared a dormitory.

The iron frame bed, the bunk on the bed is all new, all imitation of the army, unified green, and even the furnishings in the room are military.

Both of them were sore, and they threw themselves on the bed and never wanted to move again, as if they had returned to the devil's training years in Le'an Town, Fuyang.

The other two security guards in the same dormitory were on the night shift, and they had already gone to the cafeteria to eat and prepare for the change of guard, but Zeng Xiaopeng and Lu Shaohui were lying motionless on the bed.

Hunger eventually overcame fatigue, and the two woke up one after the other when it was dark.

The cafeteria must have been closed long ago, Zeng Xiaopeng said, "Let's go out and have a bite to eat." ”

After turning the main road and walking for more than half an hour, I came to a small street, and only here can there be a small restaurant.

In a small noodle restaurant, the two of them ordered three or two knives to cut noodles, and after eating, they saw that it was still early, and the city's nightlife had just begun, and they could only go to bed when they returned to the deserted collective dormitory.

So, the two of them strolled into the depths of the side street.

Walking to a bustling and noisy open area on the corner of the street, Zeng Xiaopeng grabbed Lu Shaohui and said, "This is a famous ghost market in Tingcheng, let's go shopping." ”

The so-called ghost market, that is, the night market, opens at night and disperses at dawn.

If you want to trace back, it is said that at the end of the Qing Dynasty in Tianjin's Tianbao Road, there is a place where refugees gather, in order to barter, or facilitate the sale and sale of stolen goods, the refugees opened up a market, this market has one of the biggest characteristics, that is, it opens at night, and closes the stalls at dawn.

Whenever the market opens, the market is bustling very lively, each stall is lit with a kerosene lamp, candles, soybean oil lamps or something, at that time, in addition to the shacks built by the refugees, there are patches of farmland and mass graves open depressions, looking at it from afar, the lights and shadows are bright and dark, flickering, and there are people who buy and sell in the activities, that formation, people who do not know must be frightened. Later, people called it a ghost market.

Up to now, almost every city has a ghost market, and sellers often spread newspapers or a piece of plastic sheeting on the ground, put a few antique jade, real or fake old handicrafts, old books and newspapers, old clothes and old pants, and juggling things, and then squat to the side, scanning pedestrians with their eyes, and there is no loud selling.

Buyers quietly walk between the stalls, a little insider, even if they see their favorite things rarely ask the price directly, but "look around and around", pretending to be a layman, psychologically, the ghost market sells old books and antiques, old things and old goods, hoping to bring the old goods can be sold smoothly before dawn, otherwise the dawn, the city management industry and commerce also come; and the people who go to buy and occupy the old books and periodicals are afraid that they will be late and the good things will be bought by others.

This ghost market in Tingcheng is also similar, at this time, it is already overcrowded, and the lights and shadows are shaking everywhere.

turned around, turning over and over those old things, what antique jade, bronze ceramics, old books and newspapers, etc., Zeng Xiaopeng and Lu Shaohui didn't distinguish the real from the fake, just to look at it and pass the time.

Walking slowly with no interest, I didn't realize that I had come to the end of the ghost market.

In an old man's lonely stall, under the still bright street lamp, Zeng Xiaopeng let out a "huh" and stopped.

This is an old man in his sixties, with a clear and watery expression, a few locks of white hair on his head are glued together and crusted, and a dark green down jacket on his upper body is shiny, which seems to have never been washed.

A plastic sheet was filled with knick-knacks, old watches, vintage radios, bamboo and wooden walking sticks, bamboo pen holders, bead strings, a pile of copper coins, etc.

What caught Zeng Xiaopeng's attention was an inconspicuous thing in the corner of the stall: it was a cylindrical package wrapped in broken plastic sheeting, the thickness of an old-fashioned hot water bottle, and the corner of the hole at the top caught Zeng Xiaopeng's attention.

Lu Shaohui also stopped, looking at the stall under his feet curiously, I don't know what tattered things attracted Zeng Xiaopeng?

Zeng Xiaopeng squatted down, picked up the scroll, and asked the old stall owner with a peculiar smell on his body, "Uncle, can I open it?"

The old man replied with three words: "Whatever you want." ”

The package was opened, and it turned out to be a mattress, and the smell of sweat and mold came to my nose.

Lu Shaohui covered his nose and asked puzzledly: "Xiaopeng, you won't buy a mat in winter, right? It's smelly and broken, let's go quickly." ”

Zeng Xiaopeng said while disassembling the plastic sheeting: "Who said you can't buy a mattress mat in winter? ”

This mat is nearly two meters long and about one meter three or four meters wide, and it looks very old, but the mat surface is flat and smooth, thin and soft, and the mat surface is dirty and moldy, and its true color can no longer be seen.

Zeng Xiaopeng carefully rubbed the surface of the mat with his fingertips and asked, "Uncle, how much does this mat cost?"

The old stall owner's main item was obviously not this broken and dirty mat, but someone finally asked, so he stretched out his palm, spread his five fingers, and said, "Five hundred." ”

Lu Shaohui "cut" and said disdainfully: "You rob people, dare you ask for five hundred for a broken mat!?"

The old man glanced at Lu Shaohui and said, "Young man, this is an antique, I have slept on this mat since I was a child, more than sixty years." ”

When Lu Shaohui heard that it was the old man who had slept on the mat for more than 60 years, his face was full of disgust, he took Zeng Xiaopeng's hand and said:

"Xiaopeng, let's go, you like to sleep on a mat, tomorrow I will go to the mall to buy you the best bamboo mat, just like the kind of mahjong blocks put together." ”

Zeng Xiaopeng didn't move, and said: "I like old things, I have aura, and I don't have nightmares when I sleep." Uncle, can you have less?"

The old man stretched out his three fingers: "Three hundred, a lot of points, if I don't have to be demolished and moved, I am reluctant to sell it!"

Zeng Xiaopeng rolled up the mat, still wrapped it in the torn plastic sheet, put it back in its place, and stood up.

The old man was a little flustered, it hadn't opened for a few days, and finally a buyer came, but he couldn't let it go easily, so he shouted: "Two hundred and six, little brother, it can't be less, this mat is really an old thing!"

Zeng Xiaopeng nodded reluctantly, turned to Lu Shaohui and said, "Ah Hui, lend me two hundred yuan, and I only have more than seventy yuan on me." ”

Lu Shaohui took out the money and said, "Money is not a problem, I will give you as much as you want, but are you really sure you want to buy this broken seat?"

Zeng Xiaopeng stared at Lu Shaohui with his back to the old stall owner, took two hundred-yuan bills, scraped together another sixty yuan, handed it to the old man, bent down to pick up the mat, and the two left the ghost market.

Walking out of the small street and coming to the main road back to Jinhong Building, Zeng Xiaopeng squeezed Lu Shaohui's hand and said in surprise:

"Ah Hui, it's a big leak! This is an ivory mat, something from the Qing Dynasty palace!"

Lu Shaohui stopped and stared at Zeng Xiaopeng dumbfounded, looking confused!