Chapter 9

On this day, Ning Weimin, on his way home, experienced for the first time frequent disdain from passersby.

This was because he was carrying too many copper pieces, about fifty pounds, all stuffed into his old burlap bag.

Even before boarding the bus, he had already stuffed his dirty and smelly work clothes, broken straw hat, worn-out cotton shoes, and two-pronged hook back into his large canvas bag.

He had even washed his face with water from his military canteen.

Yet, others could still discern his true identity.

Especially when he boarded the bus on the major route, the ticket collector saw Ning Weimin carrying a heavy burlap bag.

The bag made a clattering sound when placed on the bus, almost causing a commotion.

It was only because Ning Weimin was a young man that the ticket collector hesitated.

Moreover, seeing him voluntarily show his monthly pass and buy an additional ticket for his burlap bag, the ticket collector did not kick him off the bus.

As for the other passengers, they all avoided Ning Weimin like avoiding flies.

Not for any other reason, but because the smell of the garbage from his burlap bag was quite noticeable.

To put it this way, compared to the long-haired, sunglasses-wearing, carefree hooligans featured in the documentary "Riding the Bus" that year, Ning Weimin, who was already trying his best to stay out of the way, seemed even more detestable.

Almost everyone was thinking, why would a scavenger need to ride a public bus?

And ride the major route along Chang'an Street?

Do you look good doing that?

Why don't you walk and save some money?

Isn't this just causing trouble for everyone?

However, Ning Weimin did not show any dissatisfaction or bother to notice the disdainful looks from others.

Firstly, in those days, bus ticket collectors were absolutely not to be provoked.

They had low incomes and no service consciousness.

They spent their days on the bus, with no fun in their lives, and found joy only in arguing with passengers.

Don't be fooled by their always sleepy, mumbly way of announcing stops, which made it hard to hear clearly.

But if anyone dared to show the slightest hint of provocation, they would respond with a clarity several times greater than their announcements.

At such times, it was absolutely crucial not to argue back.

If you did, they had a whole basket of words waiting for you, scolding you like a torrential rain.

Until you were drenched and had to flee in defeat.

Once, Ning Weimin had merely asked how many stops were left to a certain station.

This provoked the ticket collector, who immediately rolled his eyes.

"Are you deaf or hard of hearing? I just announced the stop, didn't you hear? The next stop is it, get up quickly, is that seat so comfortable?"

Taking this as a lesson, why would he provoke trouble and suffer such a loss?

Secondly, despite the ticket collector's arrogance and the other passengers' disdain, Ning Weimin really didn't care much.

Because self-respect and confidence come from within, and he was secretly pleased.

Even though he was a scavenger, he dared to make a bold claim.

There wasn't a single person on the bus whose money was worth more than his burlap bag.

That was over fifty pounds of copper, mostly purple, how much was that worth!

So, from Jian Guo Road to Wangfujing, Ning Weimin was so busy calculating his earnings that he had no time to be upset.

His face was turned toward the window, looking at the street scenery, and his mind was focused on how much he had earned today.

Hmm, the things I picked up myself could sell for about eighteen to nineteen yuan.

But after this exchange, turning them into purple copper, the difference in value added six yuan.

And the forty pounds of copper I picked up later, after removing a small amount of yellow copper, could earn about forty yuan.

So, roughly calculated, I've already earned over sixty yuan.

Damn, it's like today's earnings equal three days of normal work.

No, no, no... This calculation is still too simple.

The most brilliant idea I had today was the sudden thought to buy a watch.

That old man "General" would never have thought that there are trust stores in the city where second-hand goods are sold.

The watches there are not only cheap but don't require ration tickets.

Remember, after the New Year, when I went to the store with Old Kang to see his old friend.

There was a nearly new Hu Hai brand watch that was quite suitable, selling for eighty-two yuan.

If I take it to a watch repair shop to fix it up, and then give it to "General" as a new one tomorrow.

That would add another thirty-eight yuan in profit.

So, with this calculation, I've earned nearly a hundred yuan today.

Ha ha, I'm truly a genius, who can compete with me in this world!

Laughing, he didn't notice, and a fart escaped from his stomach, making a clear "pfft" sound.

This inevitably drew even more disdain...

But to be honest, it really wasn't Ning Weimin's fault for being so elated, so self-satisfied, or so short-sighted.

Mainly because the past few days had been very hard for him, enduring humiliation and hardship.

To be honest, the most money he had ever had was when he sold blood to save someone in the hospital.

But the sixty yuan didn't even stay in his pocket before it was returned to the hospital.

Afterward, to recover, he only had eggs, brown sugar, and millet porridge, no meat.

It was like being in confinement, and even that was shared with Old Kang.

His daily meals had long been so plain that his stomach was almost empty.

It wasn't until ten days ago, when he really started working at the East Suburb garbage dump, that his living standards improved slightly.

But he still didn't have much money in his pocket.

Because he had a purpose for earning money, and whenever he had money, he would run to the post office and spend it all on monkey stamps.

Working for ten days, buying every day, he had accumulated twelve whole sheets of stamps.

For this, Old Kang had a lot of complaints, saying he was crazy, wasting money on things that couldn't be eaten or drunk.

There was no help for it; they were from different generations, and the old man's thinking was limited, not recognizing the value of investing in stamps.

So, the carefree days of drinking Maotai, steaming in saunas, playing mahjong, and ordering lobster were long gone.

It was like a hundred-year memory, almost completely faded.

Now, seeing a plate of braised pork made him almost drool, how pitiful.

Moreover, how valuable was a hundred yuan in those days?

At that time, the average monthly living expenses for a Beijing resident were only about ten yuan.

A few dozen yuan a month was enough to support a family of three.

Even in 2010, a professor from Beijing Normal University evaluated the value of the "ten-thousand-yuan households" of the 1980s and published an authoritative academic report.

The professor believed that with nearly thirty years of inflation, the value of ten thousand yuan back then was equivalent to 2.55 million yuan today!

If this standard is applied, the value of one hundred yuan in 1980 would be at least 25,500 yuan today, or even more.

Earning this much in a day, anyone would be overjoyed.

And the most important thing was that the money was secondary; the sense of achievement was more significant.

This was the first time in his life that Ning Weimin had successfully turned his intelligence into cash income.

The excitement, confidence, thrill, and pride this business brought him completely dispelled his discomfort with the era.

It was no less than the joy he felt when he mastered the skill of turning canceled stamps into new ones and successfully sold them for the first time in his previous life.

To put it bluntly, after being emotionally suppressed for so long, it was natural to feel a bit elated when seeing a bit of sunshine.

As a person with no highbrow tastes, he was already being quite low-key by not wiggling his hips and shouting "oh, yeah."

...

Leaving was easy, but returning was hard.

Ning Weimin's process of entering his home was a bit complicated because he had many things to do.

The first thing was to take the heavy burlap bag to the scrap collection station of the material recycling company to sell the copper.

Since he started working at the East Suburb garbage dump, Ning Weimin had been going to the Bai Zhi Bay collection station.

Not for any other reason, but to avoid being "cheated" by the East Suburb collection station and to stay as close as possible for convenience.

But today, he changed his routine, making the effort to take the bus back to the collection station near Qianmen.

This was because it was closer to home, and he knew the people there were fair and wouldn't cheat him.

Sure enough, the "Big Old Liu" he knew from selling scrap paper was dark-skinned but fair-handed.

After checking the quality with a magnet and weighing the items, he paid Ning Weimin according to the weight and specifications without any fuss.

Although he was amazed by the quantity and weight of the copper,

"Big Old Liu" didn't persistently ask where the items came from.

After all, the items were not new and were too mixed, clearly indicating they were not problematic.

Thus, 193.4 yuan smoothly reached Ning Weimin's hands, truly deserving his sweaty head.

The second thing, of course, was to get a watch for "General" and buy things for the vagrants.

The trust store near Qianmen was on the west side of Qianmen Street, next to the bicycle shop.

To Ning Weimin's surprise, the Hu Hai brand watch that cost eighty-two yuan was already sold out.

The most suitable one in the store was a seventy-yuan, seven-tenths new peacock watch from Dandong.

Although it looked much older with many scratches on the glass, it didn't matter.

As long as the movement was fine and it kept accurate time, it was fine.

Ning Weimin confidently bought it.

Following his plan, he immediately went to the watch repair shop, which was still called "Chen Zhong" at the time.

He spent five yuan on a new glass and two yuan on polishing and cleaning.

In about forty minutes, the watch was refurbished to look brand new.

The skills of the master at the famous shop were not to be underestimated.

As long as the back cover wasn't opened, no one could tell it was used.

It was more than enough to pass "General's" inspection.

Of course, during this waiting period, Ning Weimin didn't waste any time.

First, he went to the grocery store and department store to buy the other things the vagrants needed.

Then he bought some treats for himself and Old Kang.

Finally, he crossed the street to the post office.

Just before closing, he bought seventeen whole sheets of monkey stamps and then returned to pick up the watch.

By the time he finished all these tasks, it was around six in the evening.

At this point, returning home was the perfect conclusion.

No need to ask, Ning Weimin's face was beaming with joy from the inside out.

Despite being hungry and exhausted, he felt a sense of relief and satisfaction.