Chapter 2315

The heat of the day gradually dissipated with the arrival of night, and the occasional breeze brought a trace of coolness, dispelling the fatigue and irritability of people's day.

In the evening, the capital in summer was always exceptionally lively. Especially the streets near Qianmen Square were crowded with people, who were either rushing, strolling leisurely, or picking out items they liked at the small stalls on the side of the street.

Taifeng Tower was near Qianmen, and Zhou Andong didn't take a car. He and Gu Bing blended into the bustling crowd, strolling toward home. From afar, one could hear the sound of opera fans singing in the square, as well as the happy laughter of children.

Gu Bing took a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, pulled one out and handed it to Zhou Andong, lit one for himself, then took a deep breath, his gaze moving with the coming and going crowd, and said with great emotion: "It seems like I haven't strolled around the square at night for more than ten years."

Zhou Andong took the cigarette, lit it with a lighter, the fire flashing in the darkness: "Compared to more than ten years ago, are there any changes?"

"There are definitely changes." Gu Bing flicked the ash and said slowly: "Besides fishing no longer being allowed in the moat, there are also many more small vendors setting up stalls in the square. Look over there, the one selling big bowls of tea—more than ten years ago, it was still a collective enterprise; now it has been opened up, and private operation is allowed."

Zhou Andong looked in the direction of Gu Bing's gaze and saw a stall selling big bowls of tea not far away, where the owner was enthusiastically greeting passing pedestrians: "Indeed, the commercial atmosphere is very strong now."

Gu Bing continued: "Also, there are more tourists. Back then, whether it was day or night, most of the people coming to the square were actually locals from the capital; even if there were tourists, they were all on official business.

But look now, tourists make up the majority. This also proves that reform and opening up is correct; the living conditions of some people have already improved, and they have spare money to come out and travel."

Zhou Andong stopped his footsteps, then made a turn: "Let's go, let's go over and stroll around too."

Wang Wentian and the others, who were following behind in the car, found a place that didn't obstruct anything and parked the car on the side of the road, right across from the Jinshui Bridge.

In the square, there were tottering old people, running children, and many people flying kites. In addition, there were small vendors selling everything.

Clothes, shoes, socks, food, daily necessities, toys, and souvenirs; of course, there was no lack of stalls for fortune-telling.

And the most numerous weren't the ones selling big bowls of tea, but those taking photos. It could be said that they were one right next to another; as long as someone inquired, the stall owner would enthusiastically introduce them.

Gu Bing and Zhou Andong stood in front of a photo stall. The stall owner was a young girl in her twenties, wearing a light blue dress, looking very pretty, with a very sweet smile.

At this moment, the young girl stall owner was enthusiastically introducing photography services to a young couple from out of town. The young couple was clearly unable to handle the stall owner's enthusiasm and finally agreed to have their photos taken, paid the money readily, and filled in their address.

"Zhou... Zhou Dong?" Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded from behind Zhou Andong's side.

Zhou Andong turned his head to look, and it was actually Er Squire. This guy even had a camera hanging around his neck, which made him laugh: "Didn't you mix quite well in the south? Why did you set up a photo stall here again? Not going south anymore?"

Er Squire hurriedly pulled a pack of Marlboros out of his pocket, pulled one out and handed it to Zhou Andong: "Zhou Dong, have one!"

"I just finished smoking!" Zhou Andong said with a smile, but he didn't refuse, reaching out and taking the cigarette.

Er Squire saw Zhou Andong take the cigarette and immediately felt he had a lot of face. He then pulled out another cigarette and handed it toward Gu Bing: "I haven't seen this boss before, have one too."

Gu Bing took the cigarette readily and said with a smile: "I also just finished smoking, I'll smoke later."

Actually, whether he smoked this cigarette or not, even if he just took it and threw it away, to Er Squire, this was giving him face.

Er Squire took an exquisite lighter out of his pocket, lowered his head, lit the cigarette in his mouth, and took a deep breath: "After my family exchanged two sets of buildings with you, my mom's old friend introduced me to a partner, so naturally I couldn't run south anymore.

But I couldn't just do nothing at home, so I had to ponder finding something to do. A while ago, my partner and I came here to stroll around and found that there were a lot of out-of-town tourists, and the photo stall business was very good.

I thought, why not set up a stall here and try it out. After all, I grew up at the foot of the Imperial City, and I had set up a stall here for two years before, so I still have some acquaintances and connections, and getting a spot isn't that difficult."

Zhou Andong nodded. Indeed, those who could set up stalls in the square, even those fortune-tellers, definitely had some background and connections; otherwise, they wouldn't even be able to think about it.

"Dahai!" The young girl stall owner finally couldn't help but speak, and this call also let Zhou Andong know that this girl should be Er Squire's partner.

"The customers are still waiting, let's finish the work before chatting."

Er Squire waved his hand casually and said without any hesitation: "Not taking photos anymore, let's leave them to Old Liu."

The young girl opened her mouth, wanting to say something but didn't, and finally, somewhat unwillingly, shouted to a middle-aged man at the stall next door: "Old Liu, let this job be yours."

Old Liu had been paying attention to the situation here. Hearing the young girl's words, a smile immediately appeared on his face, and he hurriedly stood up, picked up the camera on his stall, and enthusiastically greeted the young couple.

"Come on, you two, I'll take your photos. Rest assured, I am a well-known senior photographer in this area, and my technique is absolutely first-class!"

The young girl rolled her eyes, then sat down on a chair, clearly somewhat dissatisfied with Er Squire's decision.

Zhou Andong saw this scene and couldn't help but say to Er Squire with a smile: "Delayed you from making money."

"Hey!" Er Squire said very freely: "Money can be made anytime, but the opportunity to run into you like today and chat with you is rare!"

"Hahaha..." Zhou Andong laughed out loud: "Since you said so, then I'll point you toward a path to make big money!"

"A path to make big money?" Er Squire's eyes lit up instantly, his heart beat faster, his breathing became rapid, and his body couldn't help but tremble, because he knew that one sentence from Zhou Andong would likely change the trajectory of his life.

Zhou Andong didn't say it directly, but asked unhurriedly: "Setting up a photo stall here, how much money can you make a day?"

Er Squire took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and then replied: "There are too many photo stalls, and the competition is very fierce. When it's good, I can make a hundred or so a day; when it's less, it's just sixty or seventy."

This income in this era was already quite good, averaging more than two thousand a month, definitely belonging to the high-income group. Of course, compared to taxi drivers, it was still quite a difference.

"That's not bad!" Zhou Andong nodded: "Then have you ever thought about changing the way you take photos?"

"Changing the way I take photos?" Er Squire couldn't help but freeze, a blank expression appearing on his face, looking straight at Zhou Andong, completely not understanding the meaning of these words: "Taking photos, isn't it all like this? What else can be changed?"

Zhou Andong said with a smile: "Wedding photography!" ===== CHAPTER 2316 =====