Chapter Ten: The Scrap Collection Station

“We also want to buy some scrap materials,” Qin Jiuhong said with a bright smile.

“The price list for the recycling station is right here,” Uncle Li said, taking a drag from his cigarette before handing the list to Su Dawei.

“As for buying scrap, what kind are you looking for?”

“Bicycles,” Su Dawei replied.

“Do we have any damaged bicycles as scrap here?” Their main goal this time was to find bicycle parts to see if they could assemble a bike. It would make commuting to work in the county seat much more convenient.

“Bicycles, huh? We do have some. Follow me. But I want to be clear with you—most bicycles that end up at the scrap station have been repaired again and again until they’re beyond saving. My advice is that you’d be better off going to the trust store to buy a secondhand bike that doesn’t require paperwork,” Uncle Li explained as he led them.

The trust store primarily dealt in used goods. Customers would entrust their items to the store for resale, with prices negotiated on the principle that used items should never exceed the price of new ones. The store would take a commission once the goods sold, and the remainder would go back to the customer. Alternatively, the store could directly purchase items from customers, setting prices based on condition or customer wishes, then sell them as store inventory.

Su Dawei had considered going to the trust store before. They had one in the city too, but he wasn’t sure about the prices. Also, there was no guarantee they’d have bicycles in stock; usually, any secondhand bikes would be snapped up immediately.

“Take a look first,” Uncle Li said without elaborating further, as others had tried refurbishing bikes here before.

Soon, Uncle Li led the two to a rundown warehouse.

“Gentlemen, inside this room are bicycles, radios, pedal cars, rickshaws, and more. Take your time looking!” he said. “Also, bicycles tied with red strings haven’t been registered yet, so don’t touch those, understand?”

“Got it, thank you, Uncle Li. We’ll just have a look,” Su Dawei said, then went inside with Qin Jiuhong.

After a quick search, they found some discarded bicycle wheels and parts. Qin Jiuhong asked Uncle Li to borrow some tools, and they got to work.

“Honey, these parts are really in terrible shape. Maybe we should just buy a bike at the trust store instead,” Qin Jiuhong said, eyeing the tires and rims, which looked unusable.

The chains were only a bit rusty and could be cleaned up. The frame was slightly bent too.

“No worries. I’ll fix this one and ride it. Later, we’ll go to the trust store and buy you a bike. Then you can ride it,” Su Dawei said, busy with his work. Before the apocalypse in his previous life, he was involved in mechanical work and knew a thing or two about these things.

After about ten minutes, Su Dawei had gathered all usable parts onto two bicycles. They just needed to buy two tires, two pedals, and a few small components.

After finishing with the bicycles, he searched the warehouse for anything valuable but found nothing of interest—no antiques, paintings, or fine furniture. He wasn’t knowledgeable about those anyway.

He did manage to assemble a radio, thinking that once they had their own place, it would be nice for some entertainment.

Carrying the radio and bicycles to Uncle Li, Su Dawei said, “Here’s everything.”

“Alright, I’ll make you a receipt. The bicycles are 18 yuan, and the radio is seven yuan,” Uncle Li said after a quick inspection.

“Here’s twenty-five yuan,” Qin Jiuhong pulled out the money from her pocket.

“Hold on, I’ll make the receipt,” Uncle Li said, then went to prepare a stamped voucher.

“You can take this receipt to get the bicycles officially registered.”

“If the bike can’t be fixed, just bring it back, and I’ll refund you!”

“Thanks so much, Uncle Li,” Su Dawei said, then left the recycling station carrying the bicycles alongside Qin Jiuhong.

Afterwards, they went to the state-owned gold shop, which bought gold at 3.2 yuan per tael. Su Yanchu had brought back a box containing eighty gold bars, each weighing thirty grams, worth 96 yuan apiece. Unexpectedly, Su Dawei’s first fortune in this era came thanks to his own daughter.

After selling three gold bars, Su Dawei and Qin Jiuhong headed to the trust store.

For Su Dawei, his own bicycle could be less than perfect, but his wife and daughter deserved the best. They chose a well-maintained Flying Pigeon bicycle about 80% new, costing just over 100 yuan without any paperwork required.

In this era, bicycles were an important mode of transport. Regulations required bikes to have lights for nighttime riding, and frames came equipped with mounts for lights on the handlebars.

After purchasing the bike, Su Dawei and Qin Jiuhong went to the public security office to register it.

Soon, they each received a red license booklet containing owner and bicycle details, along with tax records. Every bicycle paid a two-yuan annual usage tax.

“Wife, why don’t you ride the bike home first? I’ll slowly push this scrap bike back,” Su Dawei suggested.

“No, it’s still early. Let’s go back slowly together,” Qin Jiuhong shook her head.

“Alright, let’s take our time,” Su Dawei happily agreed.

The two chatted as they made their way back to the production team. By then, night had fully fallen. Just as they reached home, they heard the old Mrs. Su shouting angrily.

“Third son! The team leader said you were allowed one day off, so why did you go to work? Are you secretly slacking off?”

“And what’s that you’re carrying? Are you hiding a lot of money?”

“Mom, do you have eyes or what?” Qin Jiuhong snapped back without holding back. “This is scrap we bought at the city recycling station. It’s worthless.”

“Even scrap bicycle parts have some value. And why have you been taking leave every day these past few days? Don’t you want to live properly?”

After seeing what they carried, Old Mrs. Su continued scolding, “Where did you get the money? Return those scraps immediately and hand the money over to the collective!”