After standing for more than half an hour in the non-staple food store on Zixin Road, and after watching two lively scenes, Hong Yanwu and Chen Liquan came out.

No problem, not to mention that the smell in the house is not good, and there are many people. If you delay any longer, there will be no chance at all, and it will be a waste of time.

What's more, the kid who was embarrassed by Hong Yanru and was beaten by Hong Yanwu is also there, and it is even more boring to be recognized by him. It's better to try your luck somewhere else.

So Hong Yanwu and Chen Liquan lit a cigarette and touched their heads in the leeward place at the gate.

Not to mention, the two of them have the same thoughts, and they both say that don't look near the door of the house, it's better to just go directly to the earth, maybe there will be some gains.

The "earth" they are talking about here actually refers to the four largest vegetable markets in the capital that year. That is to say, it refers to the "Dongdan Vegetable Market", "Xidan Vegetable Market", "Vegetable Market" and "Chaonei Vegetable Market", which occupy the four directions of the capital.

These "four major vegetable markets" are the highest-level sales points under the Second Commercial Bureau of Beijing, and unlike ordinary sub-food stores, residents of the whole city can buy things in these four vegetable markets with shopping books in different areas.

So, of course, in these places, there are the most people queuing up on the eve of the Spring Festival every year.

In order to cope with this situation, the Beijing Second Commercial Bureau not only requires the store to extend its business hours, but also gives priority to the supply of goods. There are even some rare commodities that are rarely seen in the market and sold in the market.

For example, in winter, there are fine vegetables such as "garlic sprouts" and "leeks", "walnuts", "hazelnuts", "chestnuts", "rubber dates" and other mountain goods, as well as live chickens, live ducks, live fish, frozen shrimp and the like.

And these unplanned things, because the number is too scarce, it is difficult to cover the whole city, generally do not require a ticket, but the price is also surprisingly expensive. In the eyes of ordinary people, these things are undoubtedly quite "chicken ribs" commodities. Often, only high-ranking officials and families with deep pockets can afford to enjoy it.

But it is precisely because of this that people like Hong Yanwu and Chen Liquan who are "thick-waisted" are really worth trying their luck.

Needless to say, from the perspective of distance, among the "four major vegetable markets", it is obvious that the "vegetable market" is the most convenient. So the two of them did not hesitate any longer, and after extinguishing the cigarette in their hands, they directly braved the cold wind to kill the destination located in the west of the "Crane Year Hall".

Speaking of which, some people may still be wondering. They probably wanted to ask, shouldn't there be a "Chongwenmen Vegetable Market" among the four major vegetable markets in Beijing? Have they never heard of any "vegetable markets"?

Hey, you'd be wrong to think so.

It is necessary to make a special note here. In fact, among the four major vegetable markets in the capital, it is the big brother that belongs to this "vegetable market".

Because it was originally called "Guang'anmen Vegetable Market", it was established on the first day of October in the 32nd year of Guangxu (November 16, 1906), and it was the earliest government vegetable market in Beijing. Later, in 1956, it was renamed "Caishikou Vegetable Market", and it was not demolished until 1993, when Guang'anmen Inner Street was renovated.

In addition, it is also the only wholesale business among all the "vegetable markets", and has always existed as a vegetable distribution center in the north and south districts of Beijing, just like the current "Xinfadi".

At the same time, due to the proximity to the "Cattle Street" where the **** is concentrated, the field also has a special halal food counter for beef and mutton, cooked meat, soy products and so on. There are also special counters for meat, vegetables, dried vegetables, seafood, aquatic products, poultry eggs, seasonings, tobacco and alcohol.

If you consider it comprehensively, in addition to the business area limited to 800 square meters, it is smaller than other vegetable markets, and in terms of functionality, the "vegetable market" should be the most complete one of the "four major vegetable markets" at that time.

In comparison, the "Chongwenmen Vegetable Market" is an absolute "small character".

This "rising star" only opened its doors in 1976, and until the 80s, its role was limited to serving the people living near the wet market. At this time, it is far from being comparable to the "vegetable market".

Later, it was because the "vegetable market" was demolished, and it itself was doing well, so it replaced this vacancy.

In short, in this period, the status and role of the "vegetable market" are still second to none and irreplaceable.

It should be said that Hong Yanwu and Chen Liquan were indeed right. When they arrived at the "Caishikou Vegetable Market", they found that the situation was really better than that in the grocery store, after all, there were many places, and besides, there were people rushing to grab everything.

In fact, all the people who lined up to form a rush to buy in those days were nothing more than those cheap and indispensable mass commodities.

The first is tofu, soy products, and vermicelli. As long as the goods come, all the people in line will give up their current goals and rush over, and they will be sold out within an hour, so everyone has the heart to exclude others.

The second is peanuts and melon seeds. At that time, peanuts and sunflower seeds belonged to the oil purchased and sold by the state, and they had to be exported for foreign exchange. People in Beijing can see peanuts in the market, but only during the Spring Festival.

It's an annual thought, and it's no longer a question of whether it's delicious or not, or whether it can be replaced by something else. There are also issues of fashion and fashion. Just like the shoes worn by children today, only Jordan, Nike, Reebok, Adidas, etc., you wear a pair of high-end brand-name polished leather shoes, although they are expensive and good, but they are not like that.

So if anyone doesn't make it up, don't say it's a pity, just say that the disappointed children have an awkward quarrel with the adults, and the festival will not be good.

Further back, it's poultry eggs. Whether it is eggs, salted duck eggs, or pine eggs wrapped in a layer of soil, because they are too scarce, even if they are based on their own, they are also the team of Wuyang Wuyang. What's more, chicken is cheaper than pork, beef and mutton, and it is very affordable to stew one during the New Year. Of course, this refers to frozen, bare-haired, not live.

When it comes to the end, it is the hairtail fish of three cents and eighty-one catties, the yellow croaker of four cents and five catties and the frozen meat with bones, one by one.

These things are going to be bought late, and I am afraid that the hairtail fish will only be able to buy two cents and five thin strips, and the yellow croaker may be sold out. The most important thing is that the frozen meat is not fat.

Speaking of which, the aesthetics of meat are completely different from today's, when everyone didn't like to be thin, because fatty meat can be refined "pan'er oil", which can effectively supplement the shortage of oil in the family.

Anyway, to put it simply, because the layout of the vegetable market was relatively fixed, the most important meat tables, fish ponds, live poultry and vegetables were placed in the middle of the open space, and the other secondary counters were placed in a circle.

So what Hong Yanwu and Chen Liquan saw. It is from the center of the vegetable market like a long queue of four queues, some of them have been lined up more than a mile away from the entrance of the vegetable market.

It is not surprising that the varieties that the people are looking forward to are peanuts, melon seeds, poultry eggs, fish and meat. As for the other counters, although there are people who buy them, they don't have to wait in a big queue, and they are basically in a normal and busy state. As long as you don't squeeze into the middle, the liquidity is not bad.

Of course, there are also those who are particularly relaxed. In the northeast corner of the wet market, in addition to the soy products counter that has been sold out, it is next to its tobacco and alcohol canned counter. This is because canned food is a high-priced luxury, there are few people who ask for it, there are no good cigarettes and good alcohol here, and if you want to buy a ticket, you have to go to big places like Xidan shopping malls and department stores.

Once you see the situation clearly, it's time to put it into action.

After entering the gate, Hong Yanwu and Chen Liquan circled around and spent more than an hour almost sweeping the entire vegetable market, which should be regarded as a small harvest.

They first bought two bottles of canned bean curd, two bottles of leek flowers, and two bottles of shrimp paste at the pickle counter for four yuan. Then I bought two bottles of two-mao-nine premium soy sauce at the spice counter.

Then, I spent 25 yuan at the cooked food counter to wrap up the remaining five catties of high-priced "Cantonese sausages". Then I spent 30 yuan at the dry goods counter and bought fifteen or sixteen catties of black and white melon seeds, hazelnuts, pine nuts and black dates.

In this way, their shuttle in the vegetable market has gradually become the focus of attention of many customers and salespeople.

In fact, not many people have really witnessed the scene of their "explosive purchase" of money, and the things they buy at the critical time are all free of tickets and expensive goods. The red sausages, with a variety of dried fruits and a variety of dried fruits, were held in their hands, which was too eye-catching, and it was difficult not to be noticed.

But in the end, what really caused a commotion and made them a little limelight was their purchase behavior at the vegetable counter.

At that time, Chen Liquan was pleasantly surprised to find that on the relatively deserted vegetable counter, he could see a small pile of fresh "water chestnuts" and four or five bundles of "leeks", and there were also fifty or sixty apples and oranges on the shelves behind the counter.

So he immediately pointed it out to Hong Yanwu. Wait until the two of them squeeze over and ask, and then I heard that these things don't need tickets. They were so happy that they didn't even ask for the price, and they didn't say a word that they wanted all these things.

This is good, as soon as this remark came out, not to mention the customers around him, even the salesperson opened his mouth wide. I thought I had misheard.

Later, when Hong Yanwu urged several times, the salesman trembled and quoted the price, and saw that they still insisted, so they dared to weigh the things.

Some people may wonder, why is there such a big reaction? Exaggeration is not exaggeration?

I'm not exaggerating to say that.

Because in that year, the seasons are distinct, winter is winter, and summer is summer. Anything out of season is generally not visible, and there are no other vegetables in winter except Chinese cabbage, turnips, and carrots. It's not easy to eat a bite of the tender.

As for this "water chestnut" and "leek", one is picked in artificial ice water, and the other is cultivated in a fire house. The entire capital is only about 500 catties, and the 400 catties of special supply are removed, and the remaining little is divided into the four major vegetable markets. Therefore, the sales price is as high as fifteen yuan a catty.

When it comes to fruits, apples and oranges are common, right?

Of course not. In fact, since the beginning of the "movement", the national fruit planting area has been declining year by year. Throughout the 70s, the total amount of allocation in the suburbs of Beijing and other cities was barely enough to maintain the supply of special needs. Therefore, children in the sixties and seventies rarely ate real fruits, and basically ate tomatoes, "heart-beautiful" radishes and sweet potatoes as fruits.

What's more, the refrigeration conditions were too backward back then, and there was no cold storage at all. The only way to make it harder to save a little fruit for winter is to emulate the old pre-liberation traditions.

Every year, before apples and oranges go on the market, the Second Commercial Bureau has to send people to the orchards in the suburbs of Beijing. Choose some particularly good old style, relying on the old style of "fruit bureau" in the past, first "touch" it from the tree without hurting the fluff, and then stuff it into a large urn that can hold 300 apples, and finally put it into a few ice cellars in the capital to preserve it.

Therefore, the price of apples and oranges, which look ordinary now, is as high as ten yuan a catty, which is the price of a whole basket in a normal season, and it is not something that ordinary people dare to ask about.

To put it bluntly, these things that Hong Yanwu fancies, then this is the same reason as before liberation, when Layue spent a lot of money to eat cucumbers in the warm cave in the cold winter. No one has ever seen such a purchase.

Sure enough, in the end, a total of statistics showed that "water chestnuts" and "leeks" added up to eleven catties and three taels, and apples and oranges were twenty-two and a half catties, totaling three hundred and ninety-four yuan and five, which was more expensive than today's prices.

Of course, as soon as the salesperson reported the bid, the nearby customers were alarmed, and those who did not queue up immediately surrounded the vegetable counter. Everyone wants to see who is so generous and does such a shocking thing. And in the end, can you come up with so much money?

didn't expect Hong Yanwu to be a master who "would rather eat a bite of fresh peaches than half a basket of rotten apricots", so he "clicked" a little ticket in front of everyone, and took out forty sheets of unity without frowning.

Then he took the change in the extremely complicated eyes of the salesman. Without saying a word, he immediately pulled Chen Liquan, picked up his things and left.

Why are you in such a hurry?

Hey, he's not stupid, he's going to be a monkey in the zoo if he stays any longer!

Sure enough, before they had gone far, some people in the crowd of onlookers behind them were shouting and talking.

"Damn, where did you come from, you dare to spend money like this, but it's a ...... day"

"Hey, the big official's family has a high salary. Didn't you see that the police uniform was new, and it was wearing leather shoes......"

"Ah, it's a high-ranking cadre, why are you running to the south of us? isn't this a stinky show with our poor people......

"Okay, okay, let's say less. In my opinion, people buy it for their units, so where do ordinary people have so much money? Besides, what can we do if people eat other people's fresh goods, and we eat our big pickled radish......?

"That's right, I'm red-eyed, at least people still spend money. Unlike the director of my son's unit, he takes it for nothing wherever he goes......"

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