The man stared blankly at the money in his hand, never imagining that Wang An would actually give it to him.
Ignoring their surprise, Wang An spoke to them again
"If you ask me, you guys should stop this 'lever-smashing' business. To be honest, with your level of skill, I'm embarrassed for you."
After saying this, Wang An saw that Wang Li and Mu Xueli had already fastened the truck's tailgate, so he shouted to the two of them
"Old Five, Xueli, let's go."
The three of them climbed into the cabin of the big Jiefang truck and drove off in a flash, leaving with such style that they didn't even leave a cloud behind.
Watching the Jiefang truck disappear into the distance, one of the men who had helped Wang An load the logs—a youth who looked particularly wise—said
"I reckon the kid is right. We really can't do this lever-smashing work anymore. Not only does it not make much money, but we have to live in fear every single day. If we run into someone even more vicious than that kid and they shoot us all in the thighs, our lives would be ruined!"
As he spoke, the youth glanced at the one who had been shot in the leg.
This group were actually all nearby villagers. Most of them had been lured by the youth who got shot; in a heat of passion, they had started this highway robbery business.
Little did they know that robbing travelers was far more dangerous than hunting in the mountains.
There was no helping it; in this day and age, simply staying alive was hard enough, and earning money was even harder.
Therefore, when people encountered robbers, if their strength permitted, wouldn't they fight back with everything they had?
As soon as the youth finished speaking, he immediately garnered a lot of support.
Consequently, these people ignored the man with the shot thigh and all disappeared into the woods.
Only two people helped the wounded man up and supported him as they walked away.
If Wang An had been there, he probably wouldn't have imagined that because of a single sentence of his, a gang of bandits had actually disbanded.
Despite this little interlude, the three of Wang An were not affected at all. Once back in the truck, they picked up their roasted chestnuts and biscuits and continued eating.
After the biscuits came the melon seeds, after the melon seeds came the broad beans, and when they got thirsty, they drank soda. Occasionally, they would light a cigarette; in short, until they reached Ice City, the mouths of Wang An's trio basically never rested.
In this manner, finally, around 1:00 PM, the Jiefang truck drove into the urban area of Ice City.
It was only about 500 li, or roughly 250 kilometers, but with the people resting while the truck didn't, it had taken a full four hours. It showed just how grueling a trip was in this era.
After entering the city, Wang An took over the steering wheel.
Mainly, there were simply too many people and cars in the city; Wang An felt the other two weren't confident enough in their driving.
He drove straight to the vicinity of the Department Store and parked in a spot that wasn't in the way. The three of them then walked directly into the building.
Due to transportation issues, appliances like refrigerators, color TVs, and washing machines were all placed on the first floor. With a clear goal, the three of them headed straight for the television section.
It must be said that the variety of TV brands and models in Ice City's department store was truly comprehensive. Peony, Great Wall, Kunlun, Swan, Mudanjiang, Flying Deer, Fengtian, Plum Blossom... and so on. It was a dazzling array.
There were 9-inch, 12-inch, 14-inch, and 17-inch models; every size was available.
However, the largest color TVs produced in China at this time were only 14 inches. Since Wang An's trio wanted 21-inch ones, they could only buy imports.
Wang An remembered that it was either 1986 or 1987 when Chinese-made color TVs began production of 21 inches and above.
Upon arriving at the TV section, although there were several salesclerks, the area was incredibly crowded, almost to the point of people squeezing against each other.
From this, one could see how good the living conditions of the people in Ice City were at this time; they were even queuing up to buy something as expensive as a television.
Of course, it couldn't be ruled out that because the New Year was approaching, people wanted to have a TV to watch during the holidays, so they all rushed to buy them now.
In fact, it wasn't just the TV section that was crowded; other areas were even more so.
Seeing the crowd, Wang An couldn't help but complain to Wang Li and Mu Xueli
"Look at all these people. When will we ever get to buy a TV? We might as well come back after the New Year."
Wang Li and Mu Xueli were also sweating profusely, but they clearly disagreed with Wang An's words.
While the crowd was in a chaotic mess, someone shouted
"Line up! Line up! Everyone get in line! Anyone not lining up can get the fuck out!"
Looking back, it was the security personnel of the department store.
At this time, although the security guards in the department store lacked quality and education, their power was not small. They could manage anything inside or near the store.
Furthermore, if they encountered petty theft, they didn't even need to notify the police; they could handle it directly themselves.
Thus, under the shouting of the security guard, the people obediently formed several queues.
Wang An, being very cunning, took the opportunity to slip into a middle position, leaving Wang Li and Mu Xueli staring in stunned silence.
Surprisingly, after everyone lined up, the speed actually became much faster.
After about half an hour, it was Wang An's turn. He spoke directly to the salesclerk
"Four 21-inch SN color TVs, no coupons needed."
The salesclerk was stunned upon hearing this, even stopping the pen she was about to use to write the order. She looked up at Wang An with a face full of astonishment.
From Wang An's perspective, he could originally only see the top of the clerk's head, but when she looked up, he was actually momentarily dazzled.
Indeed, this salesclerk was a woman, probably only in her twenties, and she was absolutely stunning.
Large eyes, double eyelids, an oval face, a pert nose, and a cherry mouth. Her entire face looked refined and otherworldly, pure and natural, giving off the feeling of a first love.
If Wang An were to evaluate her, this woman was only slightly inferior to Sun Nian.
He had to admit, there were truly many beautiful women in Heilongjiang Province!
Seeing the woman looking at him, Wang An repeated
"No coupons, 21-inch SN color TVs, four units."
It was impossible for the woman not to be surprised. Four 21-inch SN color TVs had a total value of nearly 10,000 yuan.
In this era, even in an international metropolis like Ice City, there probably weren't many people who could pull out 10,000 yuan. As for those who could spend 10,000 yuan just to buy color TVs, they were likely as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.
Of course, this referred to people queuing at the counter, not those using connections to buy through the back door.
After Wang An finished speaking, the woman hurriedly nodded and buried her head to write on the order form.
What Wang An found strange was that he could see her small ears turning red at a visible speed.
He had no idea why! (End of Chapter)