Year 1983: I was a carpenter in Northeast China

Xu Bei had long anticipated that they would run into each other, but he certainly didn't expect it to happen so quickly and by such a coincidence. He ran into them as soon as he turned the corner after delivering the goods.

However, faced with Old Scar's loud questioning, he naturally felt neither guilty nor afraid.

After all, it was the other party who first said they wouldn't cooperate.

Xu Bei replied with a half-smile, "I'm here to deliver goods, brother."

Upon hearing this, Old Scar's face flushed red and then turned pale, his eyes gleaming with a fierce light. He asked again, wanting to confirm, "Are you delivering goods for that little southern barbarian surnamed Fan?"

Xu Bei nodded, still speaking calmly, "That person's surname is indeed Fan."

Old Scar threw his bicycle down, took a few steps forward, and angrily questioned, "No wonder I said we wouldn't cooperate for the time being. You were so calm and decisive, did you already have connections?"

"Brother, what are you saying? If we had already made contact, why would we have gone through all that trouble with you twice?"

It was quite a coincidence; I met Brother Fan through someone else just yesterday.

Xu Bei spoke calmly and casually, but his body was poised and ready to fight.

Old Scar pondered for a moment, half believing, and found it somewhat reasonable. But anger still flared within him, and he argued defiantly, "Even if what you're saying is true! You're not being fair! You're ditching me now, just ordering and delivering goods directly! Who's going to sell my wooden stools and tables?"

Xu Bei's face also tightened, and he said coldly, "That's your own problem. You can't just say you won't cooperate, and then my buddies and I can't cooperate with anyone else! Even if you ask someone to judge, you're in the wrong!"

老疤被噎够呛，说不过就想要动手，嘴里骂着「你他娘的真欠揍！」，直接拽下手套挥舞着拳头冲着许北的脸就去了。

Xu Bei had been prepared for this all along; how could he possibly sit idly by and wait to die?

He dodged the opponent's punch by sidestepping, then grabbed Old Scar's wrist and twisted it, tripping him with his leg.

Old Scar screamed in pain, quickly lost his balance, and fell onto the snow.

He really didn't expect that Xu Bei, who usually seemed so refined, had some skills; he had underestimated him.

While cursing under his breath, he quickly got up and continued.

Xu Bei least wanted to hear someone cursing his mother, so he naturally hit harder and would never tolerate it.

The two men were fighting near the intersection, which quickly attracted some cyclists and pedestrians.

Seeing them fighting so fiercely, some people wanted to watch the excitement, while others wanted to break them up and mediate.

For a moment, the scene was extremely noisy.

If they hadn't heard someone shouting in the crowd, as if calling the nearby police, Xu Bei and Lao Ba might have continued fighting for a while longer.

After all, neither of them wanted to be arrested for fighting.

The latter, in particular, had already experienced crouching by a fence, and was like a mouse seeing a cat.

However, before they left, Old Scar, in a fit of anger, spat blood on the ground and uttered some harsh words.

"You just wait, you little brat!"

Xu Bei knew that a feud had been formed between the two, but he was not afraid at all. He snorted coldly, "Fine, I'll be waiting!"

Then, they quickly pulled the sled away from the area.

Fighting outdoors in the dead of winter, because of the bulky clothes, would look more like a clumsy wrestling match if no weapons were used.

Unlike in the summer when fighting easily results in cuts and bruises, with sweat and blood dripping down, which looks terrifying.

However, Xu Bei's exposed face was inevitably exposed as well, which he later discovered in the mirror at the department store.

To avoid worrying her family, Xu Bei bought some cosmetics and took some remedial measures.

If we can keep it a secret for now, we'll keep it a secret; if we can't, we'll find an excuse to get by.

In short, it's impossible to tell the truth that the fight was over the sale of wooden stools.

Xu Bei quickly went up to the third floor and immediately felt the noise, which was different from the floors below.

After all, what's sold here are big-ticket items from this era, such as televisions, radios, and cameras.

The glass display case for cameras was polished to a shine, and inside were several cameras, gleaming with a cold metallic sheen.

Xu Bei knew that the most representative camera brands in China in the 80s were Seagull, Phoenix, and Double Bird.

Imported ones are even more expensive, generally costing over 1000 yuan, or even several thousand yuan.

Although he earns money easily now, it's all limited money, and he'll have to choose a cheaper camera for now.

Xu Bei first stood in front of the counter and looked at it carefully for a while.

Finally, my gaze settled on the two cameras placed side by side.

On the left is a Seagull DF, its black surface gleaming, its silver dome gleaming coldly under the light.

On the right is a Phoenix 205, a bit smaller in size, with a metal casing that has a slightly frosted texture. The word "Phoenix" on the lens is hot-stamped in gold, making it particularly eye-catching against the red velvet cloth.

Xu Bei looked at the sales clerk who was busy calculating the bill and asked, "Comrade, how much are these two cameras?"

The saleswoman was a middle-aged woman wearing glasses. She pushed up her glasses and said, "Seagull DF is 520, Phoenix 205 is 165."

Upon hearing the price, Xu Bei also preferred the latter.

But even if you can't buy it, it doesn't mean you can't play with it and feel its texture right now.

"Then please bring them all over here so I can take a look."

The saleswoman had seen a lot of people, and she remembered that this handsome young man had bought a radio just a few days ago.

Therefore, he was quite polite and carefully placed the camera on the counter.

Xu Bei picked up the Seagull DF first, then weighed it in his hand. It was still so heavy, and the "click" of the wrench was still crisp.

He rotated the lens, the focus ring had a smooth damping feel, the rangefinder in the viewfinder was very clear, and even the "Serve the People" slogan hanging on the wall opposite the counter could be seen clearly.

Xu Bei put down the Seagull again and picked up the Phoenix 205.

This one is much lighter, and it's not as tiring to hold.

He turned the wrench in the same way as before, the sound was a little muffled than the seagull's, but still very crisp.

The double image in the viewfinder is quite clear, but there seems to be some vignetting at the edges of the lens.

Xu Bei vaguely remembered hearing that Phoenix's lens was a copy of the German Zeiss lens, and the image was quite sharp, but the body material was not as good as Seagull's.

After he had played with it enough, Xu Bei said, "Comrade, I want this Phoenix 205. Let's get the ticket."

The sales clerk immediately responded with a beaming smile, and then quickly started issuing invoices.

After paying, Xu Bei received the new camera in its leather case and, of course, didn't forget to buy film.

After leaving the department store, his photography addiction kicked in, and he took many pictures of the beautiful scenery after the snow.

Once on the Sengoku Railway, I took a lot of photos of the scenery rushing by inside and outside the train.

The other passengers on the train all watched and talked about him as if he were a spectacle.

After all, although more people own cameras these days than before, there are still many who don't, and if they want to take pictures, they have to go to a photo studio...