Tian Guo looked at Liu Mazi and found that he stopped in front of the stalls where the goods were sold just now, and the boss was very afraid of him. It was also serving tea and pouring water, and handing cigarettes and sugar. Liu Mazi waved his hand impatiently, and then walked into the stall.

Basically, he walked out in less than three minutes, and the boss behind him continued to flatter: "Brother Liu, go slowly, thank you for taking care of you today!" ”

It was a word of thanks, but the expression was intriguing. How to say it, it is to dare to be angry but not to speak.

At this time, Liu Mazi walked to Zhang Li's stall, saw Tian Guo, glanced up and down, and asked Zhang Li: "Who is this girl?" ”

"My sister." Zhang Li said, and then poked Tian Guo's thin waist, "Hurry up and say hello, call Brother Liu." ”

"Brother Liu." Tian Guo smiled sweetly at him.

Generally, a young girl like Tian Guo is easy to be startled when she sees Liu Mazi for the first time, let alone say hello, but she doesn't dare to look at it. Of course, Liu Mazi knows that he has a flaw on his face, and it is even quite scary, but can this rely on him? It's not because of the old society with underdeveloped medical care that there was no medicine to treat smallpox, so I regretted it.

The girls were afraid of him, which made Liu Mazi feel very hurt his self-esteem, and he didn't dare to talk to the young girl for a while. Sometimes when I see a young and beautiful person, I deliberately pretend to be disgusted. But today Tian Guo was not afraid of him, and always smiled calmly, Liu Mazi was very happy, and a sense of pride in his heart was recognized by the young girl.

Raising his finger to point at Tian Guo, he said, "Xiaoli, your sister is much more beautiful than you." ”

Zhang Li lit a cigarette for Liu Mazi, nodded and responded: "No, you see how good my sister's temperament is, college student!" ”

Liu Mazi's eyes lit up, and his gaze fell on Tian Guo again, "Yo, college student, which university?" ”

Tian Guo's face did not change: "Normal University." ”

Anyway, it's just chatting, who will really investigate, besides, even if Liu Mazi goes to investigate, he will look fierce at him, can other schools let him in.

"It's good to be educated." Liu Mazi took a puff of cigarette, suddenly remembered something, and asked, "Huh?" Yesterday they said there was an English-speaking person here, wasn't that her? ”

"No, my sister speaks English very well, and she helped me sell a dress just now!" Zhang Li said approvingly, then beckoned Liu Mazi into the stall, took out two yuan from his pocket, stuffed it into the other party's hand, lowered his voice and said, "Brother Liu, thank you for taking care of it, take this little meaning." ”

"How much did you sell for that dress?" Liu Mazi asked.

Tian Guo was stunned for a moment, not understanding what he meant.

"Six bucks." Zhang Li said.

"Hmm." Liu Mazi nodded, and said with a smile: "Xiaoli, among so many people, you are the most real, they all pushed the price down just now, thinking that I can't see it, then I should be a fool, I just don't have the same knowledge as them, and doing business should be valued by harmony, I am too lazy to break with them, and now that I am older, I talk too much and am short of breath." Come on, you and your sister can talk slowly here, I'll go back first. ”

"Brother Liu, go slowly!" Zhang Li has been sending Liu Mazi out quite a long way, and the two stood there and said a few words, Liu Mazi's face was a little embarrassed, but finally nodded. After Zhang Li came back, Tian Guo asked curiously, "Who is this Brother Liu?" ”

In fact, Tian Guo probably guessed that this person might be the little leader who manages Xiushui Street.

Zhang Li took a sip of water before telling Liu Mazi's life experience. Sure enough, as Tian Guo thought, Liu Mazi is currently the head of the street in Xiushui, in addition to him, there is also a person named Shi Yang, both of them have a bit of a background, they can be regarded as high-level cadres, especially Shi Yang's grandfather, who has been in Jinggangshan and Yan'an, is a general, and has participated in the Battle of the Hundred Regiments and the War of Resistance / US Aid / Korea.

"The offspring of the revolution/life/family!" Tian Guo sighed, and what was even more emotional was that no matter what era it was, it would always be more difficult for ordinary people to make a career.

Zhang Li said: "Shi Yang doesn't always come, others are in Hong Kong, I don't know what they do, anyway, it is a very profitable industry, it seems to be real estate." Now it is Liu Mazi who manages this side. There are still a few people under Liu Mazi's hands, they can be regarded as little minions, sometimes Liu Mazi is no longer there, they are responsible for managing Xiushui, and they can also be solved if there is something. ”

Liu Mazi, formerly known as Liu Aijun, is 30 years old this year, and the pockmarks on his face were left when he was two years old when he had smallpox.

"Actually, he's good." Zhang Li concluded, "It's just that he looks a little fierce, if you really have something urgent to find him, as long as he is in a good mood, he will basically help you solve it, but sometimes he throws his face, but on the whole, it's fair, you also saw it, these people are obedient to him, it turns out that Xiushui is very messy, and there was a fight in order to grab business, and once he almost killed someone, since Shi Yang and Liu Mazi came, now everyone is much more harmonious, and nothing has happened to rob business." ”

Tian Guo nodded, thinking that Liu Mazi looked like a big gangster, and he probably didn't have any culture, but he had a lot of management experience. Of course, his and Shi Yang's identities are also the reason why others are obedient. Not only in that era, but also twenty or thirty years later, the identity of the red/second generation/third generation is still a deterrent to ordinary people.

Taking a sip of water, Tian Guo thought of the two yuan that Zhang Li handed Liu Mazi just now, and asked her what was going on.

"What does it mean to give him money? Protection money? ”

Zhang Li smiled, looked at Tian Guo and said, "Yo, the little girl knows a lot, and she also knows about the protection fee!" Have you ever been in Guangdong? ”

In fact, the matter of "collecting protection money" first appeared in Hong Kong and Macao. There are a lot of businessmen in that place, and there are many blacks/roads, so those who do small business are naturally bullied by the blacks/roads, and those who do big business are colluding with the blacks/roads, disrupting competitors, and occasionally having to scramble for territory, which is quite chaotic anyway.

As far as Tian Guo knows, there are currently several business tycoons in Hong Kong who started from the underworld at the earliest, and then did charity laundering after making a fortune, but fortunately, the era itself was chaotic, and more than 30 years have passed in a hurry, and many rights and wrongs have become blurred.

People only look at the present, and basically do not go back to the deep investigation. And even if you investigate deeply, you are not an opponent of others.

"That's not protection money." Zhang Li took the small bookkeeper, wrote down the accounts one by one, and said, "That's the money for the tour guide." ”

Tian Guo understands now, it is the introduction fee or commission.

"Do you think it's a white belt for a tour guide to bring a group over? Don't give people a little benefit fee? There are so many places to sell clothes in Beijing, there is no Xiushui without you, there are Longfu Temple, Xidan, Dashilar and Wangfujing. It is said that there are also a few people at the zoo who are discussing a market to buy clothes, hey, the pressure on Xiushui is actually quite large. ”

Zhang Li frowned, and Tian Guo asked: "How much commission does the general tour guide take?" ”

"Basically go by a third."

"So much?!" Tian Guo was shocked, if you look at it this way, Zhang Li can't actually make much money selling a piece of clothing.

Zhang Li sighed and said: "So I told you just now, the business here is not easy to do, because the price is not uniform, if it is a casual customer, it is better, if it is a tour group, the clothes you sell must include the tour guide's commission, which is much more difficult to do. ”

Tian Guo bowed his head and was silent, feeling that he was really stupid and sweet when he thought about doing business so simply.

"But don't worry, I told Liu Mazi just now, you are here to help me, I don't understand anything, I usually don't come back to the tour group at night, and if you come, then the commission will also let Liu Mazi give the tour guide first, and then return it to him when I go to work the next day."

"Thank you, Sister Li." Tian Guo stood up and bowed to Zhang Li, thinking that people had known him for two days, and he was grateful to take care of her so much.

Zhang Li smiled, waved her hand and said, "Oh, no, you still helped me a lot." It's not easy for women to do something in this era, we have to help each other, otherwise the world will be full of their stinky men! ”

***

Huan Ran was squatting in his room to repair semiconductors, and his mother shouted in the yard: "Huan Ran, it's time to eat." ”

"Come on!" Huan Ran replied loudly, looking at the semiconductors that had been dismantled, he couldn't help but shake his head, listening to cross talk last night, he was happy and turned over a glass of water on the side, at this time the semiconductors couldn't make a sound at all, Huan Ran was good at electrical appliances, but he was also a little overwhelmed at the moment.

After Wu Zhen brought the dishes close to the house as usual, she ran to the kitchen to serve food to everyone.

"Mom, give it to me." Walk over with a lot of thought.

Wu Zhen glanced at his dirty hands and said in disgust: "Are you going to dig coal?" Go wash your hands first! ”

Huan Ran explained half-coquettishly: "My hands are not dirty, but they are a little darker." ”

Wu Zhen shook his head angrily, slapped him on the head with the back of his hand, and said, "If you don't wash your hands, you are not allowed to eat, and my aunt will come back in a while, and when I see your dirty hands, I should scream again, go quickly!" ”

Huan Ran smiled, no matter how old he is, as long as he is in front of his mother, he is always a child who has not grown up. After washing his hands, his mother just put the rice on the table in turn, today Huan Ran is on the night shift, Wu Zhen doesn't know who to listen to, long-term night shift is not good for the heart, eat more beans to replenish the heart, although Huan Ran is also on the night shift once a week, but thinking that he is not married yet, his body can't collapse in advance, every time it is Huan Ran's turn to be on the night shift, Wu Zhen will prepare a bowl of bean porridge for Huan Ran alone.

There are mung beans, black beans, red beans, and kidney beans in it, which looks like eight-treasure porridge.

Huan Ran didn't like to drink porridge or eat beans since he was a child, and he wanted to drink a small bowl of eight-treasure porridge symbolically during the New Year's holiday, so when he saw his mother put the bean porridge in front of him, he felt powerless.

"Mom, I'm not hungry today, just eat rice, don't drink this porridge, okay?"

"Nope." Wu Zhen added a chopstick to fry bean sprouts and put them in her son's bowl, "The night shift is too ruinous, you don't feel young now, and it will be too late to regret it when you reach your father's age. ”

Mother's good intentions made Huan Ran's heart soft, and it is estimated that if she marries a daughter-in-law in the future, she will not have a mother who loves her so much. But he couldn't drink the bean porridge, so he began to be coquettish again, "Mom, I'm really not hungry today." ”

Wu Zhen said: "If you are not hungry for rice, don't eat it, drink porridge." ”

Speechless. The younger brother Tang Sijia couldn't help but smile when he saw that his brother was such a big person and was reprimanded by his aunt like a child.

In the corner of the living room, the overture of "News Network" sounded on time at seven o'clock, and his uncle Tang Anping moved a chair as usual, holding a small red book and a pen in his hand, sitting in front of the TV to record current political news. At this time, the courtyard door opened, and my aunt Niu Lan pushed the bicycle into the yard, and when she saw her mother coming back, Tang Sijia ran out as soon as she put the chopsticks down.

"Mom!"

"Hey, good son!"

In the past few months, Tang Sijia has grown up again, and her strength has grown a lot, and she can already push her mother's 28 bicycle.

Wu Zhen stood at the door of the living room and said, "Xiaolan, hurry up and wash your hands, the meal is ready." ”

Niu Lan responded, sat down at the dining table after washing his hands carefully, glanced at Niu Huanran, who was eating hard, and moved his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't say it.

Wu Zhen looked at her, felt strange, and asked, "What, do you have something to say?" ”

Niu Lan shook her head and pretended to be relaxed and said, "No, no, let's eat quickly." ”

After eating a few bites of food, Niu Lan felt that she still had to say what was in her heart, otherwise she wouldn't be able to chew the rice in her mouth at all.

"Aunt, do you have something to say to me?" Huan Ran felt that my aunt was weird today, and looked at her eyes worriedly.

Niu Lan pondered for a while, then put the chopsticks on the bowl, seemed to be a little angry, and said, "I really have something to ask you, Huanran, I heard the people in the alley say, you went for a walk with that rice field fruit last night?" ”