Just as Wang An and the others were discussing how to secure the five motorcycles in the truck bed, the salesperson's family crowded around them.
The salesperson's father, lacking any sense of tact, stepped forward and asked
"Young man, I see you're all buying the same motorcycle. Didn't this model just come out? Is it actually reliable?"
Wang An glanced at him and replied perfunctorily
"Yeah, I reckon it's pretty good."
After speaking, Wang An ignored the father and turned to give instructions to Mu Xueli, Wang Yi, and the others
"Xueli, Xiao Yi, you two go to the truck and receive them. Lao Wu, help me lift them onto the truck. Don't tie them down yet; we'll tie them all together once they're all loaded. Xiao Zhong, go push the bikes over here."
At Wang An's command, the other four responded in turn, and the five of them began working together.
Unexpectedly, the salesperson's father crowded in again, saying with a face full of smiles
"Young man, why don't you wait a bit before loading the truck? First, tell me, in what way is this Jialing motorcycle better than that Xingfu 250?"
As he spoke, the father pulled out a cigarette and offered it, adopting a formal attitude of someone asking for a favor.
From his four-pocket Zhongshan suit and the aura he inadvertently exuded while speaking and acting, it was clear that he was likely an official with some rank.
However, judging by the fact that the whole family had to mobilize just to buy a motorcycle, and their fear that the purchase might be unsatisfactory, it was evident that the family didn't have much money.
To put it bluntly, when buying a high-value item like a motorcycle, they had no room for error.
Therefore, the family had clung to Wang An, who appeared to know a lot about motorcycles, like a drowning person suddenly grasping at a straw.
But regardless of the circumstances, what the hell did that have to do with Wang An?
Thus, Wang An merely gave him a brief glance, didn't take the cigarette, and pointed at the female salesperson
"Didn't I explain it to her in great detail just now? She even took notes. Just have her explain it to you and be done with it. Can't you see we're busy?"
Wang An felt that this entire family was mentally ill, and not mildly so.
The father continued to smile and said
"My second daughter told us everything you told her. I just thought I'd ask you to explain it again, mainly for my son to hear. You're all young people; young people have more common ground, hehehe..."
The man's attitude was indeed polite, making it quite difficult for Wang An to refuse. He replied sincerely
"I'll put it this way: for this bike, just buy it with your eyes closed. You definitely won't regret it later."
Wang An was telling the absolute truth, as the failure rate of the Jialing 70 was extremely low, and more importantly, maintenance and repairs were very cheap. For people who didn't understand motorcycles and didn't have much money, they could just buy it without any hesitation.
Once Wang An finished speaking, the salesperson's younger brother said with a face full of resentment
"You say I won't regret it, so I won't? How the fuck do you know so much? 'Buy it with your eyes closed'—it's not like you're the one paying, you fucker."
Wang An was stunned for a moment, but he saw that the middle-aged couple and the salesperson didn't take a side or even react. They seemed to be waiting for him to say something rebutting to convince the kid.
Wang An thought to himself: *Who has the time to argue this nonsense with you? This isn't my son!*
Consequently, Wang An's face instantly dropped, and he said with great impatience
"Then buy whatever the fuck you want. Don't fucking ask me. Is your whole fucking family sick?"
This brat didn't look much older than Wang Yi, but he wasn't nearly as sensible. He was clearly a spoiled second-generation brat—what later generations would call a "problem child."
Of course, while the child was senseless, the adults were just as useless.
As soon as Wang An cursed, the middle-aged couple realized their son had spoken wrongly. They began lecturing their son while repeatedly apologizing to Wang An.
Wang An waved his hand in disgust
"Just stay the fuck away from me. I'm seriously annoyed by you people now."
Having said that, Wang An ignored the family of four and turned back to continue loading the truck.
Loading was fast, but securing the motorcycles with ropes so they wouldn't collide during bumps was quite slow, as it was a task requiring significant skill.
By the time the five of them had firmly secured all five motorcycles in the truck bed, over half an hour had passed.
As for that bizarre family of four, he didn't even know when they had left.
In truth, people like the salesperson's family were not uncommon regardless of the era; while they hadn't committed any great wrong, they were incredibly grating.
After loading, Wang An drove the truck to the department store and said to Mu Xueli, Wang Li, and the other two
"You guys go back to the guesthouse first and load the things we bought yesterday. Then come back and wait for me here. I'm going to look for some industrial coupons."
Wang Li asked in confusion
"Fourth Brother, haven't we bought everything we needed with industrial coupons? What do you want them for now?"
Wang An didn't lie and said directly
"I'm thinking of buying those two children's bicycles for Xiaomei and Xiaoli to play with. Anyway, you two drive slowly; don't hit anyone."
Sitting in the driver's seat, Mu Xueli said confidently
"It's not that far. Don't worry, Brother-in-law."
After Mu Xueli drove off, Wang An began wandering around the vicinity of the department store. He asked several people carrying small backpacks who looked like ticket scalpers, but none of them were.
Just as Wang An was pondering where to find a scalper, a young man around twenty years old approached him.
Coming up to Wang An, the man lowered his voice
"Buddy, I've been watching you from over there for a while. You're looking to buy some industrial coupons, right?"
Wang An nodded
"Yeah. You have some? How much per piece?"
The man looked around and spoke cautiously
"It's almost the New Year, so the price of coupons has gone up. I'm charging 70 cents a piece. How many do you need?"
Normally, an industrial coupon cost 50 cents, and some even sold them for 40 or 45 cents. However, because of the upcoming New Year, a 20-cent price hike was normal, so Wang An didn't think twice and said
"I need 118. Do you have that many?"
He couldn't show favoritism between his two younger sisters. As for his sister-in-law, Xiao Lai, and Huang Ying, he was powerless to help those three!
The reason he wanted 118 was that he already had two in his hand.
Hearing this, the man said with a bit of exaggeration
"118? Holy crap! Wait a second, let me calculate the total."
As he spoke, the man began counting on his fingers; his calculating posture looked like he was performing a divination.
Soon, the man said
"118 industrial coupons would be 82 yuan and 60 cents. Do you have that much money?"
In this era, over 80 yuan was more than two months' salary for a formal employee, so it was by no means a small sum. Most people would never carry that much cash when going out.
Wang An looked the kid up and down and said
"Look at you. Since I want to buy coupons, naturally I'd bring enough money. If I didn't have the money, you just wouldn't sell them to me, right?"