Chapter 213: Going to Buy a Motorcycle with Xiulan

Chapter 213: Going to Buy a Motorcycle with Xiulan

On January 16th, according to the lunar calendar, it was the 14th day of the twelfth month. Lin Heng and Xiulan got up early in the morning because they had errands to run in the city.

The first thing they did after dressing was head to the bathroom. Once out, Lin Heng began to observe the world around him.

In the early morning, the ground, rooftops, and trees were all covered in white frost, but the sky was a clear blue.

“It looks like it’s going to be a good day,” Lin Heng murmured to himself as he gazed at the sky. Instead of returning indoors, he started his morning exercises right there.

Feeling particularly inclined to practice archery today, Lin Heng took out his compound bow and shot thirty arrows before moving on to his usual routine.

Halfway through his workout, Xiulan and Xiao Xia joined him. Xiulan began her exercises while Xiao Xia imitated Lin Heng’s movements with playful enthusiasm.

After finishing their training, Lin Heng washed up, and Xiulan handed him a set of clothes: a black coat, gray pants, brown boots, and a green sweater underneath.

Once Lin Heng was dressed, Xiulan carefully adjusted his outfit.

Xiulan shook her head. “That’s not true. If you dress poorly, people will laugh at you. Besides, we have nice clothes, so why not wear them?”

After tidying him up, she clapped her hands and added, “While we’re in the city, you should buy a Zhongshan suit. It’ll look more formal for business meetings.”

“Sure,” Lin Heng agreed, realizing he did need a more formal outfit.

Xiulan nodded and said, “Watch Xiao Xia for a bit. I’ll go make breakfast.”

Lin Heng took a bowl of cornmeal and a bag of corn for Xiao Xia, and the two of them headed to the back hill.

At this time of year, the only green behind the house was the purple bamboo Lin Heng had planted; everything else was bare.

They shared the cornmeal with Hongzao and the female musk deer, whose belly was noticeably growing.

“Goo goo goo!”

Xiao Xia fed the chickens with corn. As Lin Heng opened the coop, a dozen chickens rushed to her, competing for food, making her giggle with delight.

Lin Heng collected three eggs from the coop. In winter, the chickens were less inclined to lay eggs, but fortunately, they had laid plenty before, so there was still enough at home.

Thanks to the wild chickens and golden pheasants they hunted, their domestic chickens thrived, though some might meet their end during the New Year celebrations.

Originally, they had bought twelve black-boned chickens, eight roosters and four hens, all with glossy black feathers.

Two of the roosters, possibly having eaten centipedes or scorpions, had become particularly aggressive. They dominated the hens in Lin Heng’s coop and even bullied the colorful rooster next door, claiming its hens as their own.

When Lin Heng wasn’t around, they even tried to attack Xiao Xia. Lin Heng had marked these two roosters for slaughter during the New Year.

Now that they had electricity, he planned to hatch some chicks in the spring. Without a professional incubator, he could use a tungsten lamp to make a simple one.

After feeding the chickens, Lin Heng and Xiao Xia returned to the house. Xiulan had prepared a simple breakfast of pickled vegetable noodles, and Lin Heng called Caiyun to join them.

After breakfast, Lin Heng and Xiulan promised Xiao Xia they’d bring back treats, then informed his parents before riding Hongzao to Huangtan Town.

They arrived at Huangtan Town by 8:30, just as the sun was rising.

In town, Lin Heng entrusted Hongzao to Wang Zhou and rented a motorcycle to take himself and Xiulan to the city.

Originally, they had planned to deposit some money at the town’s credit union yesterday, but since they still had 5,500 yuan saved, they decided against it for now.

Lin Heng had the motorcycle take them directly to the center of Taibai City. There, he and Xiulan headed straight to the motorcycle dealership.

They hadn’t deposited the money because, after a thoughtful discussion last night, they decided it was better to keep the cash at home for now. The recent economic reforms meant banks weren’t yet interconnected, making deposits and withdrawals inconvenient.

So, they left home with a leather bag containing 3,000 yuan for the motorcycle purchase.

With the lifting of restrictions on private vehicle ownership, motorcycles were becoming increasingly common. It wasn’t unusual to see one on the road now.

Taibai City had its own dealership, and Lin Heng took Xiulan to the only motorcycle dealership in the city center.

The shop was quiet in the early morning, with the owner still brushing his teeth. He paused when he saw Lin Heng and Xiulan enter.

“Are you here to buy a motorcycle?”

The owner sized up Lin Heng and Xiulan, noting their seemingly affluent appearance.

Lin Heng nodded. “Yes, what kinds of motorcycles do you have?”

“I have a variety of models. It depends on what you need; the prices vary,” the owner replied with a smile.

He quickly abandoned his morning routine, wiped his face, and led Lin Heng and Xiulan inside.

Lin Heng pulled Xiao Xia into the building, where the hall was filled with various motorcycles. There were scooters, lightweight models similar to shared bikes, and heavier ones akin to motorbikes.

“Take a look and see which one you like. All the models are here,” the shop owner said, gesturing toward the motorcycles.

“Tell me about the prices,” Lin Heng asked as he and Xiulan examined the bikes. The colors were quite appealing, predominantly red and orange, with some blue and white ones as well. Other colors were less common.

The owner pointed to each bike in turn, introducing them: “This Jialing 50 is the cheapest at just 900 yuan, the Mingxing 50 is 1,800 yuan, and this Xingfu 250 is 3,000 yuan.”

All the motorcycles here were domestically made, with no imports. Typically, official imports could only be found in Ancheng, while smuggled ones were cheaper but required special channels to purchase.

In these times, the coastal areas saw many foreign smuggling ships, bringing in various cheap industrial goods that could be sold inland for a hefty profit.

However, Lin Heng didn’t discriminate against domestic products. By this time, the technology for motorcycles was quite mature, with hardly any issues.

Xiulan felt a bit dazzled by the array of motorcycles. She had never imagined her family owning one. The beautiful paint jobs and glossy colors were captivating.

It was amazing how this hunk of metal could run faster than a horse, something many still found hard to believe.

“Which one do you think is good?” Lin Heng turned to Xiulan and asked.

Xiulan blinked and smiled, “I don’t know much about these. You pick whichever you think is best.”

She would never give random advice on things she didn’t understand.

Lin Heng appreciated her response and asked, “Then which color do you like?”

“Red, it looks festive,” Xiulan said, pointing at a red one.

Lin Heng nodded and turned to the shop owner, “Would you sell the Xingfu 250 for 2,200 yuan?”

The owner was taken aback, “What? 2,200 yuan? Are you kidding? Do you even know what this bike is? That’s impossible.”

Lin Heng smiled slightly, “Of course I know. This is the Xingfu 250A Model, a replica by Shanghai Bicycle Factory No. 2 of the famous Jiawa 250. It’s a single-cylinder, two-stroke, 239cc engine with ten horsepower. Its factory price is under 2,000 yuan.”

“Ah!”

The shop owner was stunned, “How do you know more than I do? Are you in the business too?”

He was genuinely surprised. In these days, the general education level was low, and people knew little about mechanical knowledge. Usually, they just took his word or listened to others’ recommendations. It was the first time he met someone as knowledgeable as Lin Heng.

Xiulan was also impressed by Lin Heng’s confidence. Although she didn’t understand what he said, the owner’s expression told her he was right.

The owner took a breath and shook his head firmly, “You have no idea how much it costs to transport these here. The lowest I can go is 2,500 yuan. Any less and I can’t sell it.”

Lin Heng looked at him, “If you can do 2,300 yuan, I’ll buy it. If not, forget it. I won’t offer more.”

“2,500 yuan, I really can’t go lower,” the owner insisted, unwilling to budge on the price.

Lin Heng shrugged, “Alright then, I won’t buy it.”

With that, he took Xiulan by the hand and headed out.

Once outside, Xiulan asked, “Are you really not buying it?”

Lin Heng nodded, “Yes, we’ll go to Ancheng in a few days to buy one.”

The owner was too greedy; even if he had the money, he wouldn’t be taken advantage of like that.

“Alright,” Xiulan agreed, then curiously asked, “How do you know so much about this?”

Lin Heng gave a wry smile, “Because I’ve wanted to buy one for a long time and often researched them, but I could never afford it.”

Just as Xiulan was about to ask where they should go next, a voice called out from the side, “Are you looking to buy a motorcycle? I have some, want to take a look?”

Lin Heng turned to see a man in his late twenties or early thirties, dressed in black, with a hooked nose. He had a somewhat sly look about him.

“Are they second-hand or smuggled?” Lin Heng asked, surprised to find someone soliciting customers here.

“Both, actually. They’re from the Ancheng Motorcycle Repair Shop,” the man replied with a smile.

“Alright, I’ll take a look. Wait a moment,” Lin Heng said, then turned and took Xiulan to the nearest bank with their package.

“You wait here and don’t come out for anything. I’ll be back soon,” Lin Heng instructed Xiulan. He didn’t dare take her or the money to what was surely a remote location for second-hand deals.

Xiulan nodded, “Okay, be careful.”

After ensuring Xiulan was safe, Lin Heng followed the man, who introduced himself as Mr. Zhao, to see the bikes.

They soon arrived at a Used Vehicle Shop, which intrigued Lin Heng, as he hadn’t known there was a place for second-hand bikes in the area.

Mr. Zhao said, “They’re all in here. You can negotiate on any you like, and they’re all ready to be registered.”

Lin Heng entered and saw a few others inspecting the bikes. The shop was filled with various refurbished motorcycles, though the quality of the refurbishments was poor, with flaws visible at a glance.

There weren’t many vehicles here, around fifty or sixty. The more Lin Heng looked, the less interested he became. In his previous life, he had ridden motorcycles for a long time and even repaired them himself.

From Lin Heng’s perspective, the repairs on these motorcycles seemed quite average, raising significant doubts about their safety.

Lin Heng wasn’t a novice when it came to motorcycles; he was quite knowledgeable. He wanted to see if there were any core components that hadn’t been repaired, as buying such a bike at a low price would be a good deal.

He was looking for heavy motorcycles, similar to the Xingfu 250.

There were twelve Xingfu 250s here, but after checking them out, Lin Heng wasn’t satisfied. He was already thinking of leaving, planning to take a quick look around before heading out.

“Hey, why do you have these here?”

Lin Heng was taken aback when he saw three vehicles in the back. They weren’t two-wheeled motorcycles but sidecar motorcycles.

They were military green, exuding a powerful and imposing aura.

These were quite rare, usually used by the military or police, and second-hand ones were hard to find.

Mr. Zhao smiled and said, “They’re all legitimate. Some are retired from the military, some are second-hand repairs. I’m not entirely sure, but they can all be registered.”

“How much are these?”

Lin Heng was quite interested in them. They were well-built, with plenty of horsepower and large fuel tanks.

He walked over for a closer look and saw the Changjiang 750 nameplate. They were all domestically made.

“Five thousand each,” Mr. Zhao said with a smile.

“Forget it.”

Lin Heng immediately lost interest and turned to leave.

“Haha, the price is negotiable. Don’t be in such a rush,” Mr. Zhao said, blocking Lin Heng with a smile.

“Never mind. If these break down, they’re hard to repair and too expensive. I can’t afford them.”

Lin Heng shook his head. These bikes might have been used for who knows how long, and buying them didn’t feel reassuring.

Mr. Zhao looked at Lin Heng and said, “Name a price, and I’ll see if I can accept it.”

These three bikes had been gathering dust here for over a year and were hard to sell. Seeing Lin Heng’s interest, Mr. Zhao was eager to make a sale.

Lin Heng thought for a moment and said, “Two thousand.”

Mr. Zhao’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Brother, these are three-wheeled motorcycles. Even second-hand, they shouldn’t be that cheap.”

He paused and added, “How about this, four thousand, and I’ll sell it to you.”

Lin Heng shook his head. “I don’t have that much money, just two thousand. Who knows how many kilometers these have run? If you don’t want to sell, that’s fine.”

He brushed the dust off one of the bikes and continued, “Besides, these are hard to sell. People come here looking for cheap deals. A thousand or so, maybe a few hundred more, and someone might buy. At this price, no one will even look.”

Mr. Zhao thought for a while and said, “Three thousand. At this price, I’m not making a profit. I can’t go any lower.”

“I don’t have that much money, unless you’re willing to take an IOU,” Lin Heng replied.

“That’s impossible,” Mr. Zhao shook his head repeatedly. “No way. I don’t even know where you live. How could I trust an IOU?”

Lin Heng wasn’t in a hurry. He crouched down to inspect the bikes. One had a military green paint job, while the other two were black.

The black paint was clearly a later modification; they were originally military green.

They looked quite stylish, with no obvious signs of major repairs, but some parts indicated they had been used for a long time.

“Three thousand, really can’t go any lower. If you don’t want to buy, that’s fine,” Mr. Zhao said to Lin Heng.

Lin Heng didn’t respond immediately. He started each of the three bikes, revved the engines to listen to their roar, then looked up and said, “Let’s not talk about the price yet. Can I take them out for a test ride?”

(End of Chapter)

— Translator’s Notes —

– Zhongshan suit: A Zhongshan suit (also known as the Sun Yat-sen suit or Mao suit) is a style of formal Chinese menswear with a standing collar, four pockets, and a straight cut, popularized in the early 20th century and associated with revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen.

– Jiawa 250: The Jiawa 250 (transliteration of ‘Jawa 250’) is a classic motorcycle model originally produced by the Czech manufacturer Jawa, known for its reliability; in 1980s China, it was replicated by domestic factories as an early symbol of modern transportation.

– Changjiang 750: The Changjiang 750 is a Chinese motorcycle with a sidecar, produced by the Changjiang Motorcycle Factory; it is a licensed copy of the German BMW R71 from the 1930s, widely used by the Chinese military and police for its durability and off-road capability.