For the following week, Chen Ying neither went out for a run nor contacted Qin Hong. In addition to going to class on time and soaking in the library to do her homework, her spare time is always full. By the time she was a freshman in college, she had already developed a good relationship with the scrap collector through the opportunity to sell waste paper and Coke bottles every weekend. This is a Zhejiang boss surnamed Guo, he is not tall, and his skin has been plated with a layer of bronze by the wind and sun for many years. Beneath a pair of thick, heavy eyebrows are a pair of shrewd little eyes, and the hands are full of tears from long work. This is a trustworthy, hard-working small businessman, and he is responsible for all the copy shops and scrap yards on campus. He took his family to work hard in the school, and used his diligence and wisdom to solve the problem of food and clothing for the whole family. Chen Ying admires his down-to-earth attitude towards life, in addition to selling waste paper to him on time every weekend, she often looks for opportunities to get rich together through the school intranet.

Chen Ying got up at five o'clock that day, which didn't mean that she was going to participate in morning exercises or anything. A few days before the start of this semester, she had already discussed with Boss Guo to go to the nearby wholesale market to buy a batch of daily necessities, and then sell them at the door of the freshman dormitory. It's not an easy task. A week ago, Chen Ying and the student management office got permission to set up a booth in front of the freshman building, and it was only for one day. There are also objective conditions that limit their movements, because Boss Guo only has an electric tricycle, so all the goods that come in the morning must be piled up on the stall and then transported the waste from the previous day to a larger recycling station without stopping - because Boss Guo also has no warehouse to stack excess items.

Boss Guo lives in the copy shop closest to Chen Ying's dormitory. This is a small shop of only 10 square meters, with two photocopiers and three desktop computers on the ordinary cement floor, and various photocopying utensils piled up on the wooden shelves next to the computers, staplers, nail removers and paper cutters, various colors of cover paper for binding papers, glue, ink cartridges, etc. The dark wall is bordered by two bunk beds, each with a row of hangers hanging on the side armrests to dry the washed clothes. The corners are stacked with A4 paper for copying. On the floor by the doorway lay an induction cooker, a frying pan, and a small soup pot — both blackened on the outside and the aluminum lid of the pot, which was out of shape. The guardrail outside the window was filled with all kinds of daily necessities, and the only window in the room was tightly covered. Next to the door stands a simple table with a foldable wood grain pattern, which can be opened to become a round table. Boss Guo's family's three meals a day and the homework of the two children are all solved at this table.

Every morning, Boss Guo would take off the sheets hanging on the door, open the aluminum alloy door that was already slightly mottled, and squat at the door with the proprietress to make breakfast. The proprietress was a peasant woman with a bucket-like figure and a pair of gold earrings hanging from her ears. She always wears a navy blue one-piece apron, wears a pair of flower sleeves, and her gray hair is always casually combed into a bun at the back of her head.

When Chen Ying arrived, the family had only just gotten up. Boss Guo is urging his two sleepy-eyed sons to wash their faces. The children looked very much like their mothers, one was just sixteen years old, and the other was not yet eighteen.

"What time is it, hurry up - there's still something to do in a moment." Boss Guo scolded loudly. The boys slumped their heads and crouched on the ground groping for basins from under the bed.

"Woke up early." The proprietress nodded at Chen Ying. Chen Ying knew that she and Boss Guo were fellow villagers, and although she was illiterate, she was very kind and always tried her best to take care of the people around her. As she spoke, she stacked five steamed buns on a polished blue and white porcelain plate, along with a small plate of pickles, on the round table she had just mentioned.

"I'll bring a few tea eggs—" Chen Ying said as she put a sauce-colored plastic bag on the table, and the two children turned their heads together to look at Chen Ying and then at Boss Guo.

"Why are you so polite—" Boss Guo looked embarrassed. He looked away a little embarrassed, "Have you had breakfast?" ”

"Well, I've eaten it - these were bought by the way to the cafeteria, and they didn't cost much."

"Let's eat some more." The proprietress brought a bowl of full white rice porridge in front of Chen Ying.

"No, let them eat."

"Why don't you thank you, sister?" The proprietress blamed her two sons, who had been staring at the plastic bag in Chen Ying's hand since just now.

"Thank you, sister—" The two said in unison.

When the family finished eating, Chen Ying and the proprietress got into a simple tricycle with a bucket. The so-called bucket is a four-sided bucket with a baffle. In order to facilitate the transportation of goods, Boss Guo has already installed a small motor under the body. On this tricycle, the proprietress also made a cushion for Chen Ying out of clean cardboard, so that she would not have to sit in a dusty corner like herself.

Before the students got up, they bumped all the way to the wholesale city. The wholesale market is built on the rural-urban interface, and the roof of the market is barely spliced together with green plastic panels. Most of the merchants have just opened, and they are busy sweeping out the garbage left in the store yesterday. Many storefronts have not yet pulled up their roller shutters. As soon as the car stopped, Chen Ying jumped down and walked with the boss towards a shop at the very end. The proprietress stayed to watch the car.

"Yo, good morning!" Boss Guo pushed open the glass door and squeezed into the store with Chen Ying. The store is only about 10 square meters, except for a narrow aisle full of groceries, and even the roof is full.

"Oh, you're here so early!" The shopkeeper poked his head out from behind, "Have you had breakfast?" ”

"Eat, eat, eat." Boss Guo said in dialect. They are fellow villagers, and they have all seen Chen Ying, so they are not shy about it.

"Why didn't the eldest and second child come? Went to school? ”

"I didn't go to school today - I helped look after the store."

"Where do your children go to school? My eldest son is also in middle school, and he is worried about this. ”

"Where else can I go to school? Many high schools didn't accept it, and finally found someone to go to a boarding school in Haidian - the conditions were poor, but it was quite close to us. ”

"Is this school still recruiting students this year? You can help me inquire. ”

"Okay."

"So- what do you want to get in today?" The shopkeeper turned to the point.

"As I said last time - basin, hanger, hot water bottle - and some clothes hooks, and do you have a lighter?"

"You're going to sell student lighters?"

"No, I'm going to do it myself—one is enough!"

After they agreed on the items, they began to bargain, and Chen Ying chose the colors and looks that the students liked.

"Is that all?" The shopkeeper said as he pulled out a dozen beige towels and gently rubbed them in front of them, "These are new arrivals, they're cheap, look at how good these are - why don't you have some?" ”

"Nope." Boss Guo smiled and began to take money out of his jacket pocket, "Just let me sell it for a day, and there will be no place to put it if I buy too many goods." ”

The shopkeeper agreed. He stood in the doorway, taking a closer look at each piece of money by the light, and then stuffed them into a black bag that hung around his waist. He and Boss Guo carried two boxes full of washbasins and plastic hangers into the car, Chen Ying and the proprietress carefully placed the thermos on the car and tied them together with a thin rope to prevent them from falling halfway, there were too many things, and finally the three of them could only barely sit in the car.

Before leaving, the shopkeeper suddenly pressed the handlebar and said seriously: "Guo Zi, you must inquire about the school, and introduce me to any way." ”

"What can I do?" Boss Guo smiled wryly, "It's just that the students in the school helped find such a school." ”

"Girl." The shopkeeper turned his face and looked at Chen Ying solemnly, with a pleading look in his cloudy eyes, "I know you are a good student and love to learn." My eldest son also really wants to go to school, and he doesn't sleep at night when he reads a book. You can also help me ask and find him a good school, okay? ”

Chen Ying said she was willing to help. The shopkeeper seemed relieved, and he continued to push the cart to the main road, and refused to leave when they were far away.

"I need to come again!" The shopkeeper waved at them.