After getting under the ill-intentioned old man's skin, Li Long cheerfully packed up his stall, secured his things under the clip on his bicycle's rear rack, and wheeled the bicycle around the morning market.
The eggs looked good, so Li Long asked the price.
"I'm about to pack up. They were eight fen each, but if you're serious about buying, how about seven?"
"Can they hatch into chicks?" Li Long asked casually.
"Yes, they're all from our own chickens. We keep both roosters and hens. I can't guarantee they'll all hatch, but most of them should. Take a look if you don't believe me."
Li Long picked up an egg, cupped it in his palm, and held it toward the sun, squinting at it. He could make out a black spot inside.
"All right, however many you've got left, I'll take them all."
There were twenty-six eggs left in the basket. Li Long paid one yuan and eighty-two fen and bought them all.
Having nothing to carry them in, he simply spent another fifty fen on the egg seller's moderately used wicker basket and hung it, eggs and all, from his bicycle's handlebars.
There was still grain at home, so he bought none. When he saw someone selling chickens, he bargained over the price and bought two roosters and two hens for ten yuan. He put them into a urea sack and returned to the compound.
After putting everything away, he went to the Big Meat Canteen for breakfast. He noticed that its breakfast selection had grown considerably. He ordered a bowl of congee, two steamed buns, and a plate of stir-fried shredded potatoes, then tucked in.
Zhong Guoqiang, the manager of the Big Meat Canteen, came over, sat opposite him, and said with a smile:
"Comrade Xiao Li, haven't