latelenovela Chapter 11 First Visit to the City
Chapter 11 First Visit to the City
The pigpen was completed in four days, and Zhao Yuan herded the two piglets back to his own pigpen.
Looking at the cheerful little pig, Zhao Yuan felt very happy.
"Zhaodi, Laidi, finish your homework today and check it carefully. Tomorrow is Sunday, I'll take you to the Xinhua Bookstore in the county town."
"Ok."
Zhao Zhaodi was so happy that she danced with joy.
Although they finished everything that night and went to sleep as usual when it got dark, both sisters couldn't sleep.
"Sis, I can't sleep, I'm so excited! What's the county town like?"
"I think it must be very big, with many people and many big houses."
"Hmm, I think it should be very pretty."
......
The two sisters chatted for a long time, and then fell asleep without anyone noticing.
Before dawn, Zhao Zhaodi woke up, followed by Zhao Laidi.
The two sisters got up, lit the kerosene lamp, combed their hair, washed their faces, and cooked pig feed to prepare to feed the pigs.
"Woo-wah, woo-wah, woo-wah..."
Zhao Nana started crying, and then she heard Lin Fangfang comforting the child.
After a while, the child stopped crying.
"Squeak."
The door opened.
"What are you two sisters doing up so early?"
"Mom, we're awake. Let's get up and feed the pigs, or we'll miss the bus to the county town."
"It's still early. Go back to sleep for a while. Dad will wake you up when he gets up."
"Okay. Mom, remember to call us, don't miss the bus."
Zhao Zhaodi took Zhao Laidi's hand and led her back to the room to sleep fully clothed.
Unable to sleep, the two sisters tossed and turned in bed countless times. Finally, they heard a sound outside.
"Zhaodi, Laidi, get up."
"Alright, get up."
As soon as the two sisters heard the call to get up, they jumped out of bed.
After finishing breakfast early, Zhaoyuan led the two sisters several miles to the commune bus station. It was called a bus station, but it was really just a roadside stop in front of the supply and marketing cooperative, with one car parked there; everyone just called it a bus station.
I bought three tickets and boarded the train.
The car started on time.
The two sisters gazed at the rapidly passing scenery outside the window, their minds filled with countless thoughts, and they remained excited throughout the journey.
We arrived at the county bus station.
Everyone was in a hurry to get off the bus.
The two sisters squeezed off the bus at the front. The county was indeed much more populated; the houses were packed tightly together. Most of the city children were still dressed relatively neatly. There weren't many clothes with patches on them; most of them were like them, having come to the city.
There are many shops in the city, selling all sorts of things.
Passing by a shop, I saw someone making sugar figurines. The sugar figurine maker scooped a small spoonful of sugar, then skillfully swung the spoon, cleverly pouring the syrup onto a hot plate. He then quickly used a tool to outline the shape of a rabbit, placed a wooden stick in the middle, and gently scraped it with a hot plate. A lifelike sugar rabbit was born from his skillful hands.
Zhao Zhaodi and Zhao Laidi couldn't help but stop and stand aside to watch.
Zhao Laidi kept swallowing, her eyes filled with envy.
Seeing the two sisters like this, Zhao Yuan stopped and walked over.
"Master, how much is a sugar figurine?"
"Five cents each."
"Give me two, what kind of animals do you want?"
Zhao Yuan looked at the two sisters.
"I want a rabbit."
"I want a rabbit too."
The two sisters vied to answer.
The sugar sculptor quickly made another rabbit.
I paid.
The two sisters, each holding a sugar rabbit figurine, followed Zhaoyuan to the Xinhua Bookstore.
The Xinhua Bookstore was deserted; apart from a female sales clerk, there wasn't a single customer in sight.
Zhao Yuan instructed the two sisters to finish eating the sugar figurines quickly.
Upon entering the Xinhua Bookstore, Zhaoyuan asked the sales clerk for two comic books of "Journey to the West," handed them to Zhaolaidi and Zhaozhaodi, and instructed the two sisters to read them at the nearby table for a while.
Zhao Yuan himself chose a book on animal husbandry and started reading it, wanting to see what kind of books on animal husbandry were being written at this time.
After a while, a man in his thirties wearing a Zhongshan suit came in.
"Comrade, do you have a Chinese-English dictionary?"
The man asked as soon as he entered the room.
"No."
The saleswoman replied.
"Are there any dictionaries that can translate from English? Could you ask me about Chinese-English dictionaries? Can I pre-order one?"
The man pressed for an answer.
"Okay, I'll ask the provincial Xinhua Bookstore. If they have it, I'll order a copy for you."
The saleswoman replied.
"Okay, thank you so much. I'll write down my contact information for you. Contact me when the book arrives."
The man took a piece of paper out of his pocket, quickly wrote down the address, and prepared to hand it to the saleswoman.
"Hello comrade, are you buying this English-Chinese dictionary for college entrance exams?"
Zhao Yuan walked over and asked the man.
"No, I'm Zou Ziqi from Xiongxiong Fireworks Factory. Now that we're in a period of reform and opening up, I want to sell fireworks to foreigners and find a translator. But there's no one in our county who knows how to translate. I graduated from junior high school and know some basic pronunciation. I'm thinking of buying a dictionary and learning by myself to tide me over."
The man replied.
“My name is Zhaoyuan, Director Zou, I think I can help you with this matter.”
Zhao Yuan said. Zhao Yuan knew that the man in front of him had led Xiongxiong Fireworks Factory to become the first fireworks company to go public.
"Your name is Zhaoyuan, and you speak English?"
The man glanced at Zhao Yuan and said with disbelief.
"Yes, I would say I have professional-level English skills; I have no problem with both spoken English and translation."
Zhao Yuan said with absolute certainty.
Zhao Yuan wasn't bragging. In his previous life, he taught at a university for over 10 years, writing papers in English. He was also sent to the United States for a year of further study, so his spoken English was excellent, and translation was a piece of cake for him.
"Really? That's great. Can you spare some time now? Let's talk in detail, and we'll go to Huacheng in a few days."
The man excitedly grabbed Zhao Yuan's hand and said.
“I have my two daughters with me now, and I need to take them home. Give me your address, and I'll come to your factory tomorrow to take a look and learn more about the products. We can then discuss and introduce the products to each other. We can also talk about cooperation in detail.”
Zhao Yuan said.
"Okay, thank you so much. I've been asking county officials to search for a long time, but I just couldn't find anyone who could be a translator."
The man handed the note he had just written to Zhaoyuan.
Zhao Yuan took the note, glanced at it, and then put it in his pocket.
The two chatted for a few more minutes, then agreed to meet at the factory the next morning to talk and then part ways.
The man walked out of the Xinhua Bookstore happily.
Do you like this book?
Zhao Yuan asked.
"like."
The two sisters answered in unison.
"Comrade, take a copy of this 'Journey to the West' and a copy of the 'Xinhua Dictionary'."
Zhao Yuan said.
"Okay, that'll be 1.5 yuan in total."
The saleswoman said.
Zhao Yuan handed over the money, took the book, and led the two sisters out of the Xinhua Bookstore.
"Come on, let's go to the market and help your mother pick out some things."
Zhao Yuan said.
The father and his two daughters arrived at the commercial building across the street. It had a lot of things inside, including pretty floral dresses, delicious pastries, and toys...
The two Zhao sisters were seeing such a large shopping mall for the first time; they were like country bumpkins visiting the Grand View Garden, unable to take it all in.
Zhaoyuan led the two sisters from the first floor to the third floor, and they explored the entire area.
The two sisters bought a bag of fried dough sticks to take home for their mother.
Once on the bus home, the two sisters lost their initial excitement and soon became sleepy, eventually falling asleep.