Chapter 178: Very Puzzled

After Wang An finished his cigarette, the sorrow immersed in his mind gradually dissipated.

Starting from the moment he walked out of his house in the morning, Wang An finally remembered that "quite important thing," which was also quite a big "major event"!

And so, Wang An drove the sled, turned around, and returned to the county, then headed straight for the supply and marketing cooperative.

Carrying a tattered sack, he walked into the supply and marketing cooperative and went straight to the general section. In the corner counter of the general section, there were the "divine artifacts" Wang An wanted to buy, which were firecrackers!

Small firecrackers were actually just slightly larger small whips; 10 for one cent. Medium firecrackers were as thick as an index finger; 5 for one cent. Large firecrackers were a circle thicker than a thumb; 2 for one cent. Wang An bought 1 yuan worth directly, which was 200!

It was only after buying them that he discovered there were extra-large firecrackers. They looked just like hand grenades, big and bulky; 3 cents each. There were only 16 left in total, and Wang An bought them all.

After thinking about it, he bought 2 bundles of "two-kickers" (double-bang firecrackers); two-kickers were 2 for 1 cent, 100 in a bundle. Then he bought 5 strings of 1000-shot small whips; 40 cents a string.

The way the supply and marketing cooperative sold goods in this era was that the salesperson stood behind the counter, and behind the salesperson were large shelves with various goods on them.

Customers wanting to buy things needed to stand in front of the counter. The side of the counter facing the customer was sealed with boards, while the side facing the salesperson was actually a waist-high shelf!

Wang An wanted one item, and the salesperson needed to take one item from behind them or from under the counter, then put it on the counter.

This led to the various firecrackers Wang An wanted to buy filling the entire counter. The salesperson, after taking the items, frowned and looked at this large pile of firecrackers, then looked at Wang An with a face full of confusion as he packed the firecrackers into a large sack!

Perhaps this salesperson had worked in this position for so long, but it was the first time seeing someone buy so many firecrackers, filling an entire large sack!

After paying, Wang An carried the sack away. This large sack of firecrackers was quite heavy.

The firecrackers in this era were very simple, only two-kickers, firecrackers, and small whips; there was nothing else. Like the fireworks and such that Wang An had set off in his past life, they didn't exist yet. Wang An remembered that it was in '83 that those things started to appear in small quantities.

These things didn't require coupons, because even during the New Year, an average family would only buy ten or twenty two-kickers, and a string of small whips, or maybe add a few firecrackers. Being able to buy these already counted as a decent family.

To tell the truth, firecrackers, besides adding joy during the New Year, were also set off when building a house and putting up the ridge beam, or when digging a well and opening the wellhead!

In normal times, they actually didn't have much use. Weddings weren't allowed to be celebrated, but if they were allowed, they could also set off quite a few with a "crackling" sound.

Furthermore, this stuff actually wasn't cheap at all. In this era, 99% of the national population had an average monthly income of less than 5 yuan!

In other words, with an average daily wage of seventeen cents, even if one didn't eat or drink, how many firecrackers could one buy?

When Wang An carried the sack out of the supply and marketing cooperative door, he saw that on his sled, there were actually 2 fifteen or sixteen-year-old loafers sitting, and 2 more standing next to it. Wang An took a glance and found that he didn't recognize any of them; they must all be newcomers in the loafer circle.

Although there was a vigorous campaign to eliminate illiteracy in this era, every year, a considerable number of children like this were produced—those who didn't continue their studies after not graduating from elementary school, or didn't continue after graduating, or dropped out of junior high, or were just idling after graduating from junior high.

Children whose families could arrange a path for them were only a small portion. Sensible children would help their families with work. For those like this whose families couldn't arrange anything and the children themselves weren't sensible, they accounted for at least one-third!

Naturally, they became little hoodlums or loafers.

However, Wang An didn't care at all. In Wang An's eyes, loafers like this had zero combat effectiveness; besides shouting like damn fools, they were useless.

He walked up to the sled, ignored these four loafers, and put the large sack on the sled. These four loafers, however, continued to shout and yell, ignoring Wang An's arrival.

Wang An said directly: "Hey, little brothers, why don't you go over there to chat? I need to go."

But after Wang An shouted once, these four loafers didn't pay him any mind at all. The scene was damn awkward. After a while, seeing that these four loafers didn't move and continued doing what they were doing, Wang An suppressed his impatience and raised his voice: "I'm talking to you four, right? Can you make some room?"

In the Northeast, generally speaking, if the last word of a sentence is "bei," it's a tone of negotiation, with no provocative elements involved! Although the tone might be blunt, it's a local speech habit; don't overthink it.

Perhaps Wang An's voice had been too small before, and these four loafers truly hadn't heard him. Now that Wang An had raised his voice, these four loafers heard him.

A loafer sitting on the sled said toughly: "We're just sitting for a damn while, look at you shouting. Didn't you see we were chatting? Wait."

After saying this, he seemed quite proud and imposing, gave Wang An a disdainful side-glance, and continued to laugh exaggeratedly with the other three.

Wang An was stunned for a moment upon hearing this. In both his past and present lives, besides Wang Dazhu and Liu Guilan, truly no one had dared to speak to Wang An like this.

The main problem was that Wang An was a bit speechless at this moment, and also very puzzled!

Did this guy think that doing this made him a "loafer"? Or did this mean he was "mixing in society"?

Isn't this just a pure, big idiot?

Wang An saw that this idiot couldn't speak like a human, so there was no need for him to speak either.

He pulled the horsewhip from the sled shaft and walked directly around the sled to the loafer who had just spoken.

The sled shaft is the two long pieces of wood on the left and right of the horse.

Because the stallion was quite human-like, Wang An basically hadn't used this horsewhip. But not having used it didn't mean he didn't know how to use it. Children who grew up in the countryside treated the whip as a toy, and every one of them played with it skillfully.

After Wang An walked up to this loafer, he quickly took a step back, and immediately the whip in his hand swung toward the sky, then quickly swung downward. A crisp "crack" sound from the whip was heard, followed by a miserable scream from this loafer, who instantly went from sitting to jumping into the air!

The purpose of Wang An taking that step back wasn't because he was a coward, but to leave distance for the whip. Anyone who knows how to play with a whip knows that only when the whip is swung quickly and then swung back with force in the opposite direction will the sound be crisp!

The "sounding whip" or "awe-inspiring whip" used during court audiences in ancient times was swung out just like this; it was quite loud.

And as a tool for driving livestock, the whip is actually also a weapon. Of course, with different materials, the names are different, and the functions are even more different!

However, no matter what kind of whip, they all have one thing in common: the most powerful part is the tip of the whip.

Whether used as a tool or a weapon, it is the tip of the whip that is used. One must know that when the tip of the whip hits an ox or horse, the ox or horse will scream in pain, and after being whipped, they will be very obedient.

And Wang An's whip swing was fast and accurate, and it hit the tip of this loafer's nose and the middle of his lips. Just thinking about that feeling makes one's own butt hurt!

Why say it makes the butt hurt? Because Wang An's butt had been whipped by Wang Dazhu many times. It's just that when a father beats his son, it's truly painful, but those are all superficial injuries; besides the pain, there's nothing else.

Actually, the reason Wang An whipped this loafer's nose was because this loafer was wearing a hat. Besides his mouth and nose exposed, everything else was covered by the hat.

With one whip, this loafer only cared about covering his nose and mouth, instantly losing his combat effectiveness!

The other three loafers were quite loyal; they all shouted and cursed as they rushed up.

Thanks to "Shadow Exposed in the Sunlight" for the reward, thank you, thank you, thank you for your support and love!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 179 =====