Reborn in 1994: Starting from the Autumn Harvest

"Hey...where should we park?"

"Is this where you should stop?"

Just as Chen Mian was about to get out of the car, she heard a series of shouts coming from the side.

Turning my head, I saw a staff member in a station uniform walking angrily towards me; he looked to be in his thirties.

"What is your name, brother?" Chen Mian took out a box of Daqianmen cigarettes that had just been torn and hurriedly offered it to him.

These days are different from later generations; these kinds of people are really not to be trifled with. The only thing to do is try to have a conversation with them.

"Don't try that." The man glanced at the Daqianmen cigarettes that cost a little over a dollar, a cold smirk playing on his lips. He raised his hand and rudely blocked the way. "I'm Wu Qiu, the station manager. This isn't your place to set up a stall. Hurry up and move over."

Chen Mian tactfully took the cigarette back; if the other party wasn't interested, there was no need to force it. He asked directly, "Brother, how can I set up a stall here?"

"Do you have a license? You can't set up a stall at the station without a license." Wu Qiu said impatiently.

Upon hearing this, Chen Mian understood.

In 94, Fengyuan County was very lenient towards farmers setting up stalls in the city. As long as they did not obstruct the road or go to special areas, there were no barriers or restrictions.

Demanding permits for this location only proves that someone has encroached on someone else's territory, and that stall owner probably has some connection with this administrator.

Chen Mian looked around. It wasn't that there was nowhere to go, but either it was too far or too remote, or it was too small and would easily block the road.

In a bustling place like a train station, this location is the perfect fit for my "eat and go" melon-selling style.

Just as he glanced to the north, his pupils suddenly contracted. 200 meters away, around the corner, was a two-story restaurant, where a familiar white Alto appeared, as if it was looking for a parking spot.

Hearing Wu Qiu's impatient urging from the side, Chen Mian smiled and then pointed to the north, saying, "Brother, don't rush. I ran into an acquaintance over there. I'll go say hello and come back to move the car as soon as I'm done."

Following the directions, Wu Qiu looked north and found that apart from a white Alto parked there, there was no one else. He couldn't help but turn his gaze back to Chen Mian and sized her up.

The more I thought about it, the less I understood. This kid was wearing tattered work pants and looked so rustic, how could he possibly have an acquaintance who drove a car worth tens of thousands of yuan?

"Are the people in that car acquaintances of yours?"

"The car owner's name is Zhuang Changhe, and he is my brother-in-law's uncle."

Chen Mian named names, which made Wu Qiu mutter to himself.

Then, as if they were old friends, he moved closer and pointed to Wu Qiu, "Look at the person coming down behind you, that's Jiang Bingyuan, the owner of Panyuan Restaurant, and he's my uncle's sworn brother."

Wu Qiu scratched his head, feeling a little flustered. He didn't know who Zhuang Changhe was, but he was very familiar with the Panyuan Restaurant because he worked at the train station.

The restaurant owner is named Jiang Bingyuan. He used to work at the county supply and marketing cooperative before he went into business and opened this restaurant. He and his boss are good friends.

That Zhuang Changhe is actually a sworn brother of Jiang Bingyuan. Birds of a feather flock together, so he must be someone special.

After a brief brainstorming session and a quick look around, only two or three seconds had passed when Wu Qiu's tone softened: "Alright then, hurry up and go, I'll wait for you here."

He added, "No rush."

Chen Mian responded and hurriedly ran north, meeting Zhuang Changhe and the other man just before they entered.

Zhuang Changhe had a gathering with his sworn brothers in the city yesterday and stayed overnight. He was planning to have breakfast before going home.

Chen Mian left a deep impression on them last time, as she resembled a mandarin fish, so they recognized her at a glance.

"Wow, what a coincidence."

Chen Mian forced a smile and said, "I saw this Alto over there and it looked familiar. I didn't expect it to be my uncle, so I thought I'd come over and say hello."

"Okay." Zhuang Changhe nodded, then thought of the mandarin fish, "Did you catch any?"

Chen Mian sighed, feigning a sigh: "I did catch one. I was thinking of bringing it to you, but it died on the way because of the heat, so I was too embarrassed to say anything more."

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Changhe couldn't help but feel a little regretful. He then instructed the fisherman not to be reckless next time and to have someone notify him as soon as he got the fish.

Jiang Bingyuan stood to the side without saying a word. Even when greeted, he only gave a faint "hmm" and didn't seem to take the country boy seriously.

But when he heard about the mandarin fish, he still offered a few words of advice, since Zhuang Changhe had brought the fish here to cook.

Chen Mian stood still and watched the two enter the door before turning around and running south.

"Brother, I'm sorry to have taken up your time." Chen Mian ran up to him with an apologetic look on her face and immediately pulled the crank handle out from under the seat. "I'll move the car right away."

"No..." Wu Qiu saw Chen Mian about to grab the crank handle and quickly reached out to stop her. "Brother, no need to move it, we don't need to move it."

Wu Qiu had witnessed Chen Mian chatting with the two people the whole time. He even walked a little further forward and could vaguely hear some conversation about mandarin fish, which was very gentle and friendly.

He then noticed that Jiang Bingyuan and the other person had glanced in their direction, which made him quickly retreat.

Therefore, I can't help but feel a little resentful. Why didn't you say you had this relationship earlier? Are you just teasing me?

At this moment, Chen Mian pretended to be worried: "Brother, I don't have a license, I'm afraid it will be difficult for you to handle this later."

Wu Qiu waved his hand, making no mention of what had just happened, as if they had known each other for a long time: "Brother, what is your name?"

"Chen Mian, Er Dong Chen, Mian as in cotton."

"You can set up your things, just don't block the way. Remember not to litter. If you need anything, just come in and find me. If I'm not here, just give me my name." Wu Qiu patted Chen Mian on the shoulder and left.

Watching Wu Qiu leave, Chen Mian lit a cigarette with a match, and looking at the ordinary pedestrians, couldn't help but sigh, "Making money isn't easy."

If I hadn't heard of Jiang Bingyuan's reputation, things would have been really difficult today.

……

The busiest time at the station is from 7:30 to 10:00 in the morning.

Zhang Dawei was on a business trip to Fengyuan County from out of town. He was supposed to take the 8:30 bus back today, so he came to the station early to wait since he had nothing else to do.

When I first arrived, I heard from people taking an early morning stroll that there was a melon stall here where you could get a nearly five-pound melon for just 7 cents, which piqued my interest.

When I got to the stall, I saw that the two signs were very large.

One sign reads: "Cool and thirst-quenching, healthy and nourishing, freshly cut and eaten, 2 cents per pound."

One sign reads: Specialty seed melon, whole melons sold retail, 2 jiao per jin (0.5 kg).

"Why is the price still the same?"

Chen Mian explained, "If you take the whole melon with the seeds, you can't sell it, but you can stir-fry it yourself. If you cut it fresh, there won't be any seeds."

"Oh~" Zhang Dawei nodded knowingly, then looked up and asked, "Is this melon guaranteed to be ripe?"

"How are we going to eat it?"

Chen Mian pointed to the watermelons in the car and explained, "Pick one, if it's not ripe, just exchange it until you find one you like. Cut it open and eat it right away, then leave. I'll clean up the rest."

"Don't be fooled by its size; this watermelon has a thick rind and not as much flesh as you might think. I can tell you just came from a restaurant, so a small one would be perfect for cleansing your palate."

This watermelon-selling model is something Chen Mian has been researching these past two days. Currently, the watermelon market is oversupplied, making it even more difficult to sell to ordinary people.

Having witnessed countless promotional events and received numerous eggs with my mother in my past life, I decided to focus on improving my service.

The melons in the truck weigh between 2 and 4 kilograms. At two cents per kilogram, they can offset the transportation losses and earn some hard-earned money.

Upon hearing Chen Mian's explanation, Zhang Dawei found this method of selling very novel and convenient for him. He immediately took out three one-cent bills and said, "Then pick one suitable for me."

Although Zhang Dawei said there was no need for a scale, Chen Mian still took the steelyard and used it. Business deals had to be done properly, to impress outsiders.

Gradually, as more and more people arrived, the amount of food they ordered decreased, and everyone left after finishing their meal, so no one cared anymore.

As the name suggests, "beating a melon" involves "beating" it. If you don't have any tools, you can use your fingernail to make a few marks on the melon, and then easily crack it open with a tap.

But Chen Mian had no intention of keeping the seeds, and it was inconvenient to break them apart to eat, so she just cut them with a knife.

"We don't have any benches here, so please make do and squat down to eat. It'll taste even better that way."

"You're right." Zhang Dawei squatted down and scooped out a spoonful of melon flesh. "Anything you eat while squatting is good."

At this moment, Chen Mian handed over a fertilizer bag: "Brother, spit the seeds in here, and call me when you're done."

Zhang Dawei looked up at Chen Mian and nodded in surprise. This guy's words and actions were not like those of an ordinary farmer.

He travels around and has never seen a rural person address him with the formal "you" (您). Villagers are used to saying "you" (你), while only city dwellers are used to saying "you" (您).

Zhang Dawei had traveled a lot and knew how hard it was to earn money. Holding the melon in one hand, he gave a thumbs-up with the other: "This melon is good, don't worry."