Chapter 49: New Car Arrives in the Village
Generally speaking, at this stage, there are two sources for purchasing bicycle tickets.
One is bicycle tickets issued by various units according to plan.
The other is accumulating industrial coupons.
For example, a formal worker at the Hongqi Coal Mine can receive one industrial coupon for each year worked at the unit. After accumulating 15 coupons, he can exchange them for a bicycle purchase qualification.
The bicycle tickets issued by various units have a simple drawing of a bicycle on the front, a decorative border on the back, and the four large characters 'Purchase Vehicle with Ticket' in the middle.
In addition to this, the back will also have the issuing unit's stamp and the effective expiry date.
This stamp tells a story; there are different stamps like the coal mine stamp, institutional unit stamp, Supply and Marketing Cooperative stamp, etc.
Among all the stamps, the Military Control Commission stamp is the most impressive. This indicates that the person buying the bicycle might have connections with certain people in the Military Control Commission unit.
The salespeople working at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative are all genuine sharp individuals; they can gather a lot of useful information from just a small clue.
“Please wait here for a moment, I'll go get the bicycle for you!” Li Li took the issued receipt copy, said hello, and went to get the bicycle for Yue Feng.
Soon, a gleaming, heavy-duty Forever brand bicycle was pushed out.
Yue Feng immediately tore off the foam packaging on the wheels and frame, pushed the handlebars, and walked out of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
Once on the main road, he stepped on the pedal, swung his leg over, and with a light push, the bicycle shot far ahead.
It must be said, this brand new bicycle was even more effortless to ride than Village Secretary Wang Jianguo's. To exaggerate, it truly felt like riding at lightning speed.
The gleaming new bicycle attracted attention from pedestrians wherever it was ridden; the rate of turning heads was practically one hundred percent.
Good news lifts the spirits. Yue Feng was riding his bicycle, not feeling anything in particular, when he already reached the village entrance.
As soon as the bicycle reached the village's small shop, it instantly attracted the attention of three or four old women from the 'intelligence office'.
“Second Young Master Yue, you bought a bicycle?” Li Yinhua, the owner of the small shop, stopped playing with the small cards in her hand and immediately got up and came to the door.
“Ah! Aunt, have you eaten?” Yue Feng responded politely, with no intention of getting off to chat.
“Yes, I have. How much did this bike cost? This is a big Forever, right?”
“Hehe, not much, around a hundred yuan!” Yue Feng replied perfunctorily and continued forward.
By the time Li Yinhua wanted to ask a third question, Yue Feng had already ridden far away. Li Yinhua sullenly returned to the house.
“This Second Young Master Yue is doing well! I don't know where he earned the money, but he's bought a new bicycle and brought it back!”
“I heard from my Xiao Bao that at Yue Lei's house, there's a rack full of eagles tied up in the yard! Recently, the Zhang Family's brothers Xiao Wen and Xiao Wu, as well as the Li Family's father and son, have been going up the mountain with him to fly eagles and catch wild game!”
“Just catching some wild game, can that be worth so much money? This bicycle must cost at least over a hundred yuan, right?”
“Yes, it's over a hundred yuan. A heavy-duty big Forever, 180 yuan each! Last year, just before the New Year, my husband and I went to look, but the ticket was too hard to get; you couldn't get one even with money!” Li Yinhua said, sounding very knowledgeable.
Hearing the number 180 yuan, the other women in the room exchanged glances, and the scene fell silent for a moment.
What a large sum of money that is! You know, for an ordinary family to have savings of thirty or fifty yuan was considered a well-off family in the village.
The follow-up to Yue Feng buying the bicycle wasn't over yet. As the bicycle passed through the village's back street, a group of children quickly followed behind, watching the excitement.
The children hadn't really seen such a gleaming bicycle before. The style was different from Secretary Wang's, and the bell sound was also crisper.
Among the group of children, the happiest was Yue Feng's youngest sister, Jingjing.
From a distance, Jingjing shouted, “Second Brother!”
Yue Feng stopped after hearing her, directly held Jingjing and sat her on the crossbar, and with a push of his foot, the bicycle rode forward again.
Under the envy of her many friends, the little girl rode her family's bicycle home. Along the way, she felt as though the air was emitting a sweet scent.
The bicycle stopped at the doorstep. Yue Feng propped it up, then opened the door, and pushed the bicycle into the courtyard. The little girl was still sitting on the crossbar, unwilling to get down, and kept playing with the bicycle's bell.
Soon, his mother, Meng Yulan, and father, Yue Lei, came out of the house.
“Dad! Mom! This is the bicycle I just bought and brought back!!” Yue Feng grinned and just stood there quietly.
Mom Meng's gaze was fixed on the brand new bicycle in the courtyard, her brows slightly furrowed. “Buying a car is such a big deal, son, why didn't you discuss it with the family?”
“This is a heavy-duty big Forever! Where did the ticket come from?” Yue Lei looked the bicycle's nameplate up and down, his eyes showing a mix of joy and a bit of doubt.
Yue Lei and his wife were aware that their son had recently been earning money by delivering wild game. After all, his wife kept the accounts every day and then distributed the money to the people who flew the eagles.
But no one dared to think about buying a bicycle. In a relatively remote and underdeveloped mountain village like Xing'an Village, this item was not something an ordinary family could afford.
As for the 'three turns and one sound' that became popular for weddings, that was still a long time in the future!
“Hehe, I had enough money, and I need it to go into town every day. I can't keep borrowing from Old Uncle's family. There was a chance, so I just bought it!”
I spent fifty yuan on the ticket, asking a friend I know from the Ghost Market to help me get it! How about it, I'll hold onto you, and we can ride a couple of laps in the courtyard?” Yue Feng replied with a chuckle.
Yue Lei shook his head. “My leg isn't fully recovered yet, I wouldn't dare show off!”
Buying it is a good thing. From now on, you won't have to walk into town every day. Forty li round trip, purely walking on your feet, you can't keep that up for long!”
Since Dad didn't express any opposition to buying the bicycle, it meant that Yue Feng's decision to act on his own was considered settled.
Although Mom complained verbally that her son didn't discuss buying the bicycle with the family, her body was very honest. She approached the bicycle, carefully touched the paintwork, and couldn't stop smiling.
“Life will get better and better! Right now, the bicycle is just an appetizer. When I save enough money, I'm going to buy a gun and a dog!” Yue Feng continued to give his parents a heads-up.
“Buy a gun? You'll buy cannons next!! Don't waste the money you earn. Give it to Mom, and Mom will save it for you. In the future, you'll need to build a house and get married!”
Meng Yulan somewhat regretted not nationalizing the local finances, and she glanced at her son as she spoke.
Yue Feng grinned. “Look at what you're saying! Your son can earn dozens of yuan a day now!”
Buying a gun or a dog, that only costs a few yuan! Dad has already agreed to this, Mom, you can't hold me back!”
Yue Lei also nodded. “Since our son wants to do it, let him do it! Old Li and I are keeping an eye on him. Xiao Feng has a steady temperament and won't mess around!”
Now it was settled. The father and son had formed a united front. Although Meng Yulan was still a bit unconvinced verbally, she no longer insisted.
Please vote, collect, and keep reading, godfathers, please! It's hard for a child's new book.