He would see whether the troops still wanted any after the New Year. If they did, they could let him know; if not, he might stop buying them.
His own family could produce quite a lot. If supply exceeded demand, there was no need to buy from others. He could simply sell what his family produced.
While they stood there chatting, the crowd beside them kept growing. More and more villagers came running over, gathering in little groups. Even if they were not having their pictures taken, they could still enjoy the excitement. Someone had come to the village to take photographs, and they had nothing to do at home anyway.
The enthusiastic villagers even followed the photographer from house to house, taking the opportunity to see what small appliances other families now owned and how their own households compared.
After tagging along to two houses, Ye Yaodong and the others decided to set up a table at A-Zheng's Home and play cards to pass the time.
With everyone taking turns getting photographed, it would be a while before their households came up anyway. Once it was their nearby neighbors' turn, they could take a break from the game.
But before they reached A-Zheng's Home, just as they turned onto a narrow path, they saw two unremarkable-looking men hurrying toward the village entrance with a child in their arms.
That startled them!
"What's going on?" A-Guang's eyes widened, his mind struggling to catch up.
"That kid seems to be crying!"
The two men spotted them too and quickened their pace, fleeing in a panic.
Perhaps running made it hard to hold him, because the little boy struggled and managed to poke his head out from under the man's arm, shouting, "Help! Mmph, mmph, mmph..."
Their pupils contracted. They all recognized