Sundry Goods

Grocery store owner, Misery Ending and Happiness Beginning

     Those peddlers, who prevailed in the market currently, all had experienced various vicissitudes of life.

     Grocery store owner, Mr. Li, and his wife Ms. Chen, were both natives of Luchou. Mr. Li had been selling groceries for almost 15 years, since he changed his job in the so-called first-move, when factories were transferred to other places in  Taiwan. Suffering a loss for 2 years because of lack of experience, he had to take a part-time job of selling socks in night market in the evening. Given kids' young age, which was even not old enough for kindergarten and neither his mother nor his wife's would like to take care of them, he was desperate to cry with kids every night after coming back from the market. Recalling those days, Ms. Chen said "she would still cry into tears". Right now, children grown up, business stable, and potential customers, they had pulled through at last.

     For the sake of supporting the family and raising children, Mr. Li removed his bad habit, such as smoking, playing majang etc., which was regarded as his biggest achievement. He was also very delighted that kids were so good that they would help with the business and housework. Customers, aged from 30 to 60, may sometimes be tough, beating him down, rejecting pay, even picking up an egg and shaking, seeing which he was so distressed that he persuaded them not to buy, but they insisted on. He declared that customers in the past were more generous, whereas they were husbandry at present, and some one even used a calculator. 

     The most special guests, buying black mushrooms and sea tangles, were a nun in a temple. Customers were the most of all in Spring Festival period, so was stealing rate, said the boss, satisfied with the present business, although not as good as 10 years before

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