Year 1983: I was a carpenter in Northeast China

The provincial capital's railway station in the 1980s was undergoing renovation and was not yet fully completed.

The station's gray cement walls have no fancy decorations, exuding a Suzhou-style ruggedness and a unique sense of antiquity.

Aside from the hurried people on bicycles and pedestrians, the streets were filled with those long-braided trolleybuses with their overhead wires tangled like spider webs.

The plaza in front of the station was large, and there was still some snow on the ground that hadn't melted completely.

A rectangular monument stands in the middle of the square, surrounded by green iron chains, giving it a solemn appearance.

Xu Bei picked up the bag and sniffed it carefully again. It was different from the smell of his hometown, which was a mixture of coal smoke, car exhaust and frozen soil.

Then he walked toward a steaming breakfast stall in an alley near the square.

The stall was small, consisting of a large pot and a few simple tables.

An old man wearing an old cotton-padded coat and arm sleeves was frying dough sticks. The smoke from the oil was instantly blown away by the biting cold wind, turning into puffs of white mist.

Upon closer inspection, the golden and crispy fried dough sticks were tumbling in the oil, emitting an enticing aroma.

Xu Bei had only had a quick bite to eat in the car that night, and by now he was starving. Without even asking the price, he started ordering, "Sir, three fried dough sticks and a bowl of soy milk, please."

"Alright!" the old man greeted with a smile. "Young man, find yourself a seat."

Xu Bei agreed and found an empty seat nearby.

Soon, a woman who looked like the old man's wife quickly brought over the food he had ordered.

Xu Bei took a bite of the freshly fried dough stick; it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with a savory and delicious flavor.

Taking another sip of hot soy milk immediately dispelled much of the chill.

He ate while observing the people around him.

At the next table, two men, also carrying bags, were talking in hushed tones.

"I heard that there are now more stalls selling bell-bottom jeans in the market outside Daowai."

"Really? I'll have to go check on it after I finish eating."

"It's a pity that it's too cold in Northeast China and it's not summer here. Otherwise, I could wear a pair of sunglasses, a floral shirt, and a radio, looking as cool as a microphone."

"Yeah, right. You can't really be cool if you're not dressed warmly enough. You'd probably just freeze and pee your pants."

Xu Bei and the other diners nearby heard the two's humorous conversation and were amused.

He knew that the Mike one of the men was talking about was the protagonist of "The Man from Atlantis".

Since the show aired, the other person's outfit—wearing sunglasses and flared jeans that are narrow at the top and wide at the bottom—has become a trend among young people and someone everyone wants to imitate.

Furthermore, a thought struck him: he knew that these street vendors probably also knew people who wholesaled goods.

Otherwise, since there isn't a professional wholesale market yet, people wouldn't know where to source their goods.

So he moved his stool to the side, struck up a conversation with the two of them as if they were old friends, and started asking them questions.

"Brother, where is the market with the jeans stalls you guys mentioned? How do I get there?"

"Brother, you're from out of town, right? Let me tell you, go that way and take bus X, get off at Daowai Street, and just follow the crowd."

"Yes, it will be easy to find once we get to that area."

"Thank you so much, brothers."

"Don't mention it, it's not easy for anyone traveling."

"Yeah, if it weren't for the fact that you'd be a while before you finished eating, my brother and I would have taken you to catch the car."

"No need for that. You've explained it very clearly. I can find the site."

The two men who arrived first finished eating quickly and left. Xu Bei, after eating and drinking his fill, also ran to the bus stop.

He had only waited a short while when a muffled buzzing sound came from afar.

Immediately afterwards, a red and white articulated trolleybus came along.

It looked like two train carriages were forcibly joined together, connected in the middle by a black rubber tarpaulin that resembled an accordion bellows.

Two long "pigtails" were mounted on the roof of the vehicle, gripping the overhead power lines tightly.

Before the car had even come to a complete stop, the door slammed open, and a wave of heat mixed with many different smells rushed out of the carriage.

"Get in the car! Move to the back! Don't block the door!"

The ticket seller was a middle-aged woman in a blue uniform, and her voice was so loud it sounded like she was arguing.

She was clutching a punched ticket holder in her hand, making a clicking sound.

Xu Bei was pushed and squeezed onto the car by the crowd behind him.

The train was ridiculously crowded, with the area connecting the front and rear compartments being the most packed.

However, although it was cramped, it was indeed warm, giving Xu Bei more leisure time to observe the situation inside the car.

A thick layer of frost flowers had formed on the car window, making the outside world appear blurry.

Occasionally, someone breathes on the ice flowers, creating a transparent patch that reveals a corner of the gray street.

The streets are lined with typical old European-style buildings, with Baroque reliefs appearing and disappearing in the mist.

"Daowai XX Street! Those getting off, hurry up!"

At the ticket seller's shout, Xu Bei quickly got off the bus with the flow of people.

The car door closed, spewing out a puff of exhaust fumes, and continued driving forward, wobbling precariously.

Xu Bei stood by the roadside and took a deep breath of the fresh air. Although it was a bit cold, it smelled much better than the stale air inside the car.

He tightened his grip on his bag, looked at the bustling market entrance in the distance, and strode over.

The sky was still a leaden gray, but the gloomy sky did nothing to dampen the liveliness on the ground.

The entire market resembled a giant, long dragon, stretching along the street and seemingly endless.

The air was murky and mixed with many smells, and various shouts rose and fell.

Xu Bei saw that there were vendors selling fish, meat, and vegetables.

Of course, in cold weather, even cabbages sold on the ground are frozen.

The boxes or baskets covered with quilts contain vegetables that are susceptible to freezing; they are only opened to show to those who are genuinely interested in buying.

Xu Bei had a clear goal in mind when he came here. He quickly passed by the stalls and went to find someone selling jeans.

Finally, he spotted the stall in the middle of the market.

The stall wasn't large, and there weren't many jeans hanging or displayed, but each pair exuded a stylish vibe, and a number of people were gathered around looking at and selecting items.

The stall owner was a man in his thirties, dressed in a down jacket, jeans, cotton shoes, and a leather hat. His attire and demeanor were quite different from the other stall owners in the market.

Xu Bei walked over, took off his gloves, picked up a pair of dark blue flared jeans, and touched the fabric. "Boss, how much are these jeans?"

The stall owner stamped his foot. "Fifteen yuan a piece. This is genuine denim from the south. If you're serious about buying, I'll give you a two-yuan discount since it's early morning and we haven't even opened for business yet."

Xu Bei laughed when he heard this. In an era when workers' monthly wages were only a few dozen yuan, it's no wonder that there were many people looking at the product but few actually making a purchase. "I'll take a look first."

The stall owner, having seen countless people, could tell from Xu Bei's attire and demeanor that he was more likely to make a sale than others. So he stopped paying attention to others and focused intently on serving Xu Bei.

Xu Bei seemed to be leisurely selecting items, but in reality, he was also waiting and trying to get information out of people.

When only the two of them remained at the stall, they changed the subject and started talking about buying goods in bulk.

The stall owner clearly hadn't expected retail to turn into wholesale, but no one would turn down a profitable opportunity, so he immediately became even more enthusiastic.

And upon learning that Xu Bei wanted to buy not only jeans, but also needles, thread, hair ties, underwear, and other small general merchandise, she offered to help make connections...