[Novel] Red Dust (3): Dialogue in the Wet Market

The wet market is the most accurate microcosm of Chinese civil society.

I think: The reason why "Along the River During Qingming Festival" has been passed down through the ages is because Zhang Zeduan copied the marketplace of that era in the most accurate form, allowing us to travel through time and space through the most intuitive image, thus inspiring us An extraordinary vision of history.

The palace curtains, the lives of princes, princes, grandsons, and dignitaries are too far away from me. This distance limits my imagination. It doesn’t matter if you don’t want to! But the vegetable market is very close to me. It is like a flowing open book, worth reading, worth looking at and savoring.

In the vegetable market I often go to, I know half of the merchants there and can call them by their names. The other half of the merchants probably also know me and can call me by my name.

So as soon as I step onto the street leading to the vegetable market, I feel confident and stride forward like a bird flying over the forest and a fish returning to the sea.

"Master Jin is here!"

"Chairman Jin is here!"

"Teacher Jin is here!"

" Master Jin is here!”….

Listen to these names, each one is louder than the last! And in my opinion, there is no element of flattery or obedience in this. They are meat sellers, chicken sellers, fish sellers, duck sellers, roasted seeds and nuts sellers, seafood sellers, vegetables and radish sellers... If they try to get close to you, they will at best win you over to buy more vegetables or two, and talk down to you. Can't do it. Moreover, you, Mr. Jin, are just a cadre of a bankrupt company who was forced to retire early. Have you ever used backdoor methods to build relationships with retired cadres?

Of course, I consider myself not old yet. I am only in my early 50s, so I do not regard myself as a veteran cadre for the time being.

People call me Master Jin, probably because I have a plain face, so I probably wouldn’t be able to find him in a crowd. Although I have never worked as a front-line worker and am a little good at writing and writing, in my former state-owned enterprise, I was often called a master or something like that.

People call me Chairman. These are people who know my background. I once served as the union chairman in that state-owned enterprise. According to Lao Shi, this union chairman was given to me by my wife. The factory party committee originally considered my wife's hard work and meritorious service and wanted to promote her to be the chairman of the labor union. My wife said that she is most suitable as the workshop director, but I recommend someone, this person is Jin Yige, he is the most suitable as the union chairman! Only then did the organization consider me.

My wife has also gained the reputation of "a person who promotes talents and never avoids relatives".

People call me teacher because they think I am a teacher or a scholar because I am thin and weak, so they respect me as "teacher". Those who are familiar with me know that I like a bit of poetry and calligraphy, and sometimes I can be a teacher, so they gave me the title of "teacher" half-heartedly.

Most of the people who call me "Master" are young literary and artistic people. When they saw that I also recited a few crooked poems, recited a few lines of ancient prose, wrote a few lines of Chinese characters, and even opened a calligraphy and painting shop called "Jingyige", they thought I was a giant in the literary and art world. Yelling randomly.

Without further ado, let’s get down to business. Let me say that early in the morning on February 14th, I picked up a bag and went to the vegetable market. There were still dozens of meters away from the entrance of the vegetable market, and people kept saying hello to me, including merchants and some coming to buy vegetables.

The wet market is naturally busy with traffic and noisy, so I won’t mention it here.

During the Chinese New Year, there was a lot of big fish and meat at home, and I was already tired of eating it. Today I just wanted to buy some wild green vegetables to give my greasy stomach a refreshing feeling. So I wanted to avoid the meat section.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Wu, the butcher selling pork, saw me from a distance and greeted me from a distance: Chairman Jin, come here, come here!

Xiao Wu and I used to be colleagues. He was the publicity officer of the factory union and was considered my subordinate. In the past, he used a pen to write articles, but now he uses a knife to kill pigs. It is said that he can subdue and kill a 200-pound pig by himself, which shows his cruelty.

I walked over slowly and said with a smile: I won’t buy your meat today. You see, I have gained weight after a long time.

Xiao Wu said: Hey, New Year’s Eve, I know you won’t come to buy my meat.

I laughed and said: If your meat is for sale, I don’t think anyone will buy it. Why? The grease is too thick and heavy!

Xiao Wu also laughed and said: Chairman, you are going to kill me! Today is my first day selling meat. How about you do me a favor and open it?

I laughed again and said: Xiao Wu, it would be great if you were a woman. On the first day you sell meat, I will come to help open the business on the first day.

Xiao Wu still smiled and said: I am going to tell my sister-in-law and tell her to be careful about you! Huh? Today is Valentine's Day, and you went to the vegetable market instead of accompanying your sister-in-law at home.

I said: It’s not like you don’t know that grocery shopping is now my basic job.

Xiao Wucha changed the subject and said: I sent you a text message to wish you a happy New Year, why didn’t you reply?

I said: Really?

Xiao Wu anxiously wanted to wipe off the oil stains on his hands, and took out his cell phone from his trouser pocket to prove that he had sent a text message.

I said: Don’t take out your mobile phone. Your text messages are probably sent in bulk. I have received thousands of them. Can I read them? You want to tire me to death. So on New Year’s Eve and the first day of the first lunar month, my phone is always turned off!

Xiao Wu said with a smile: Didn’t I say that Chairman Jin is a different person?

I said: I don’t know if you are praising me or hurting me.

Xiao Wu added: The day before yesterday, some friends from our factory had a gathering, and you didn’t come to attend.

I pretended to be surprised and said: I don’t know! Is such a thing possible?

Xiao Wu said: You didn’t receive the invitation? I was surprised at that time, why didn't you go? Secretary Shi has gone, but he still said at the wine table that he is the great matchmaker between you and your sister-in-law.

I said: This is an objective fact, a fact that cannot be changed in a lifetime.

Xiao Wu said with emotion: Everyone is getting older year by year, and they all say that we will get together every year in the future. I remembered, Xiaofeng said that he called you countless times, but you never answered. He had no choice but to invite you.

Xiaofeng is also a cadre of the factory trade union. His surname is Mao. Although I didn't have much contact with him, I heard that he had become a nouveau riche, and the gold chain around his neck was as thick as my little finger.

Xiaofeng did call me countless times, but I just let the phone vibrate.

I don’t want to see Xiaofeng.

As for why, I am too lazy to tell Xiao Wu now.

To be continued