At dusk, when Zhou Jianping appeared at the head of the village with very simple luggage, he heard someone greet him from afar, "Jianping, this is just coming back from outside, right?" ”

Zhou Jianping looked up and saw several villagers chatting in the open space at the head of the village, and the one who greeted him was Zhou Jianping's elder, "Uncle, are you enjoying the shade here?" He didn't stop and walked straight in the direction of his house.

Looking at Zhou Jianping's back, several villagers pointed behind his back and discussed, "Isn't this kid the boss of Zhou Xuecheng's family?" I heard that I graduated from high school, but I didn't get into anything, and I didn't see anyone all day, so I don't know what I'm busy with? ”

"Yes, since I returned to the village, I haven't seen him work in the fields for a few days, who knows what to do outside?"

......, Zhou Jianping was getting farther and farther away from them, and the sound of discussion behind him disappeared into the air.

When they returned home, their parents were both surprised and delighted, "Jianping, you are back, where have you been during this time?" Your departure will make me and your dad worry badly. Mother Chen Xiuhua said.

Looking at his down-and-out son, Zhou Xuecheng also asked with concern: "Jianping, you have been going for a month, and you don't say hello to us, what are you doing outside?" Nothing, right? Zhou Xuecheng was afraid that his son would cause some trouble outside.

No matter what his parents asked, how they asked, Zhou Jianping didn't say a word.

This is the first time in his life that he has gone out of the house, the first time he has done business, and he originally planned something carefully, but in the end it was such a result, and in the face of his parents' inquiries, Zhou Jianping was speechless.

Since he went back with the goods, for more than ten days, Zhou Jianping has not had a full rest, coupled with the blow to the business, he is exhausted and extremely sleepy, threw his luggage to the head of the bed, fell down and fell asleep.

......

Zhou Jianping studied in Huaxing City Sixth Senior High School, referred to as Huaxing Sixth Middle School, which is the top three key middle schools in Huaxing City, dozens of teachers and staff in the front line of teaching, in the spring breeze of reform and opening up, full of vitality, under their influence, the school more than 2,000 teachers and students are unprecedentedly active, full of curiosity and expectation for the new things that happen every day in the society.

Next to the school playground, in front of the long newspaper reading column, many newspaper readers gather after dinner every day, including teachers and students, who are eager to learn from the newspaper about national policies and news happening all over the country.

Like many of his classmates, Zhou Jianping was also inspired by Xu Chi's reportage "Goldbach's Conjecture", but he calmed down and paid attention to policy news in front of the newspaper reading column, and was also interested in articles such as "Why bother with thousands of troops and horses crowding a single-plank bridge" and "There is more than one road to success".

After the entrance exam, the cruel reality came, and the surprisingly low admission rate made Zhou Jianping and more than 90% of the high school graduates the losers, because the family was too poor, and returning to school to repeat was something he didn't dare to imagine. Next, the harsher reality of returning to his hometown to work as a farmer awaits him in front of him.

"Like my fathers, enclose yourself in that one-third of an acre of land? That's just horrible! Thinking of this question, Zhou Jianping shuddered.

"The newspaper said that many policies have been relaxed now, and the urban and rural areas outside have long been in full swing, in this case, if you still stick to that one acre and three points of land, it is really worthy of this great era!" Zhou Jianping sighed in his heart.

However, in his hometown of Yuanba Village, there is no radio, but the brigade branch has a newspaper, and how many literate people in the village are? Can they feel the warmth brought by the spring breeze of reform and opening up?

With the regret of failing the college entrance examination and the helplessness of the current situation, Zhou Jianping returned to the village and became an authentic farmer, and he had to work in the field like the members. At that time, it was summer and autumn, the scorching sun, heavy labor, and the endless farm work of the production team made Zhou Jianping not want to stay in such an environment for a moment, and he couldn't leave this poor and backward place immediately.

Zhou Xuecheng saw that his son was very depressed, and he enlightened: "You didn't get into the exam yourself, you can't complain about others, since you have returned to the village, you have to accept your fate, and be a farmer with peace of mind." ”

"Jianping, we know that you have been studying for more than ten years, and you can't endure this hardship when you return to the village, but everyone in the village comes here like this, even if you are reluctant, you have no other way out!" Chen Xiuhua also lamented for her son.

Zhou Jianping didn't listen to a word of his parents' words.

"Dad, Mom, I want to go out and break through." Zhou Jianping plucked up his courage and said.

"What? Go out and break in, what do you take to go out and break in? What can you do when you get out? Jianping, you are not too young, you are still a high school graduate, you should be an example to the brothers and sisters below, you should be sensible, we advise you to calm down and be a farmer in a down-to-earth manner. Obviously, the parents did not support Zhou Jianping's idea.

However, Zhou Jianping knew at school that the national policy had been liberalized, and newspapers and broadcasts had news about this every day, and even the political courses and the political test papers of the college entrance examination involved relevant content. It's been almost a year since he returned to the countryside, and Zhou Jianping has been thinking that since he has caught up with this era, he can't confine his life in this remote and poor village, he wants to go out, regardless of whether the outside world is wonderful or helpless, Zhou Jianping wants to feel it for himself.

When I was still in school, I heard that bananas in Guangzhou were cheap and it was absolutely profitable to ship them to Huaxing City. Zhou Jianping made up his mind that he would go south to Guangzhou and sell bananas.

Without the support of his parents, Zhou Jianping had to find another way.

At the turn of summer and autumn, the aftermath of the scorching heat is still raging, and even at night, it is still unbearably hot. After dinner, Zhou Jianping asked his uncle and second brother to go to the yard of the production team to cool off.

Uncle and second brother Zhou Jianliang, one year older than Zhou Jianping, the two have been playmates since childhood, but Zhou Jianliang does not like to study, relying on his father is the village party secretary, he is not doing his job at the age of fourteen or fifteen, and he is idle. Strange to say, these two brothers have very different personalities, but they can play together.

"Jianping, how does it feel to work in the field?" Zhou Jianliang asked deliberately.

"What else? It's not that you don't know. Zhou Jianping said angrily.

"Okay, let's accept labor reform at home this time."

"That's nice, why aren't you willing to accept labor reform?"

"I can't see it, you, a good young man in people's minds, are not interested in production and labor, just right, let's get together as a pair." Zhou Jianliang thinks he has found a soulmate.

"What! I'll tell you the truth, I want to go out and break through. ”

"Go out and break in, where do you want to go?" Zhou Jianliang didn't expect that this uncle and brother, who had been reading for a few days and looked a little wooden, were much bolder than himself, not only did he not like to work, but he also had to go out into the world.

"There are no specific targets yet. Second brother, I beg you a favor. Zhou Jianping said seriously.

"What's the matter?"

"Lend me some money."

"How much?"

"Two hundred."

"Are you crazy? Where can I find two hundred dollars to lend you? Our family's annual income in the production team is only more than 100 yuan, and the money is still in my father's hands. "The second brother, who is usually hanging, was almost angry by Zhou Jianping.

"I see that you eat and drink constantly, and you have a wide range of contacts, for the sake of our brothers playing from childhood to adulthood, you can help your brothers, you must have a way." In front of his buddies, Zhou Jianping couldn't care about his face.

"Jianping, you see that I eat and drink all day long, in fact, I don't have any money in my hand, I don't spend money on other people's treats, I invite others on credit. Ten yuan and eight yuan are easy to do, your opening is two hundred, it scares me a lot, this is a huge amount of money! ”

Zhou Jianping drooped his head and didn't speak, Zhou Jianliang knew his brother's character, he was a little introverted, and after being rejected, he might be ashamed and depressed in his heart, "Why don't you speak?" Zhou Jianliang asked.

"What did I say? If you don't want to help me, it's useless to say anything more. ”

"Hey! It's not okay for me to complain a few words? But what you said also makes sense, we are brothers who play with bare butts, and also, you are different from me, you are honest and steady, you are definitely not taking the money to eat, drink and have fun, I will go out and try my best to help you. ”

"Really?" Zhou Jianping suddenly came to his senses.

"If you don't agree, I'm afraid you'll hang yourself with a rope."

"As for it? It's too much to underestimate your brother, life is precious, love is more expensive, we haven't tasted love yet. ”

"Yo, one set in one, a few years longer than me, it's really different! Well, you're going out into the world, why don't you ask your parents for money? ”

"Hey! My parents wanted me to be an honest farmer, and they really didn't have any money. Second brother, although you promised to help me, I still want to know, where do you get money? Zhou Jianping knew that this second brother was not honest, and he was afraid that Zhou Jianliang would do something desperate in order to help him, so it would not be worth it.

"You're very wide, where do I have to report to you when I get money? Don't worry, no matter how hard the second brother is, he won't commit crimes for your sake. ”

A few days later, Zhou Jianliang took out a hundred yuan from his father's hand through soft grinding and hard foaming, and then borrowed a hundred yuan from fox friends in the society, which was enough to make up 200 yuan, "Jianping, the second brother is not as educated as you, nor does he have your courage, but I admire you." These 200 yuan is even a little bit of my heart, don't say anything about borrowing or not borrowing. ”

"Thank you second brother for your help, Jianping is unforgettable."

Zhou Jianping took the 200 yuan that his uncle and second brother gave him, only took a photo with his parents, and said goodbye.

Walking nearly 10 kilometers and taking a car for more than 20 kilometers, Zhou Jianping first came to Huaxing City, but he couldn't stay here for a long time, first, the security was strict, and the unemployed vagrants were not allowed to stay in the city, and second, he couldn't take the borrowed money to spend time in the city, that was not the purpose of his decision to come out, he wanted to implement his plan as soon as possible.

Zhou Jianping bought a station ticket, stood all the way to Guangzhou, bought a bread to nibble on when he was hungry, took a few sips of cold water to drink when he was thirsty, and got under someone else's seat when he was sleepy, and fell asleep on the floor of the carriage.

I don't know how many hours passed, the train finally arrived at Guangzhou Station, before getting off, Zhou Jianping looked in front of the mirror in the carriage, he found that his image was no different from the refugees fleeing the famine, he quickly took out the towel from the bag, washed his face, combed his hair, and straightened his clothes, before getting off the train and leaving the station.

When he came to a fruit market in Guangzhou, Zhou Jianping wanted to go around the market first, and the wholesale banana vendors swarmed up and surrounded him, and he couldn't understand what these people were talking about, probably selling his own bananas to him.

Seeing this scene, Zhou Jianping had more eyes, he felt that the quality and appearance of bananas could be seen clearly, what if the traders were short of two catties in quantity? So it was decided not to buy from individual traders.

Coming out of the fruit market, walking aimlessly two or three hundred meters, Zhou Jianping found the signboard of a state-owned fruit company, he found the manager to explain the intention, and a manager surnamed Pan received him, "May I ask Mr. Zhou, are you buying goods from a unit, or do you distribute them yourself?" ”

"Does it make a difference?"

"That's the case, the unit needs a letter of introduction to purchase goods, and if you distribute it yourself, you don't need such procedures."

"I distribute it personally."

"It's so much simpler. I'll take you to see our goods. ”

Follow Manager Pan to the warehouse, ho! The huge warehouse was full of bananas, and the air was filled with the unique fragrance of bananas, Zhou Jianping was really eye-opening.

"Manager Pan, I have seen the goods, let's talk about your price."

"We are a state-owned fruit wholesale company, and there is not much room for negotiation!"

"Just tell me how much money is a pound." Zhou Jianping is very crisp.

"The wholesale price, more than 500 catties, a dime per catty."

"I just came from the fruit market, where it's only eight or nine cents a catty, and your price is ......," Zhou Jianping obviously opened his mouth, and he didn't inquire about the price at all in the fruit market.

"Mr. Zhou, you are a foreigner, you may not understand the situation, those people in the fruit market, five hundred catties of bananas, it is normal to have one or twenty catties less than you, even if it is like the price you said, do you calculate which one is more and which is less? We are a state-owned company, the goods are genuine, and we can't afford to be short of two pounds and pounds with customers. ”

Zhou Jianping had already thought of this.

"Shall I buy 1,500 catties, or a dime per catty?"

"I'm really sorry, we don't have the authority to lower the price for you."

"Okay, don't be embarrassed by the price, but you'll have to let me pick when it's loading."

"Don't worry, our goods are up to you."

After looking at the goods and negotiating the price, Zhou Jianping found a small hotel to live in. Looking at the dim and damp residence, lying on the slightly smelly hard bed, he calculated that the best bananas in the Huaxing market, it is not a problem to sell for four dimes per catty, except for the purchase cost, the profit margin is too great! When you make money and come to Guangzhou again, you have to find a higher-grade hotel to live in; In addition, as long as you have a firm foothold in the Huaxing market, you can open a tropical fruit trading firm in Huaxing in the future, which can not only meet the needs of the city, but also radiate the surrounding cities.

When the goods were loaded the next day, Zhou Jianping personally supervised each box, and he told the workers to pick the brightly colored and very ripe bananas to pack.

After selecting for most of the day, fifty boxes of bananas were neatly stacked outside the warehouse gate, Lao Pan was very enthusiastic and helped contact the transport vehicle.

Zhou Jianping held 1,500 catties of bananas, bumped all the way, walked on the road for a week, and finally arrived in Huaxing City.

In this northern city, bananas are a rarity, even if the price triples, there is no problem in sales, Zhou Jianping calculated, this trip will be at least three or four hundred yuan.

found a densely populated intersection, Zhou Jianping unloaded the bananas on the side of the road and put on a big selling posture. Sure enough, before he had completely set up his stall, several people came to inquire about the purchase, "The bananas that just came in from Guangzhou, everyone chooses them by themselves, and I'm still busy." Zhou Jianping took out a few baskets of bananas for customers to choose, and was busy with the work in his hands.

After sending away the wave of customers just now, the scene was straightened out, Zhou Jianping sat down to catch his breath, he was hungry and wanted to taste what bananas tasted like. Grab a banana from the basket, huh----! Why did the color turn black? He grabbed a handful, it was still dark, and he swooped to his feet, and found that the remaining bananas in the basket had all turned black! There are 30 catties of bananas in each basket, and a few customers bought less than 20 catties just now, which means that nearly two-thirds of them have turned black and broken!

Zhou Jianping opened several baskets one after another, and found that some of the baskets were more serious than this, and his brain buzzed, and sweat immediately flowed down his head.

Taking advantage of people's novelty about bananas, Zhou Jianping originally wanted to raise the price further, but in the current situation, let alone the price increase, he wished he could get rid of it immediately. Thinking of this, Zhou Jianping opened the box one by one, picked out the normal color, and put it on the table to sell, those that were blackened and broken were thrown into the roadside trash can, and a small part of them were edible but could not be sold, and Zhou Jianping was used as cooking food to satisfy his hunger, so that since then, he was disgusted when he saw bananas.

It took less than two days for Zhou Jianping's bananas to be sold out, but unfortunately, when he bought 1,500 catties of bananas, he only sold less than 400 catties, and the rest were rotten.

Zhou Jianping was devastated, physically and mentally exhausted, he returned to his parents with a sloppy image and a depressed expression.

......