Bread, herring, cucumber and 200 grams of strawberry sweets. What is most in demand among the villagers in a car shop

Whatever you say, but trade in the countryside has changed for the better. To call the stores of consumer cooperation "selpo" in the old fashioned way does not turn the tongue. Judge for yourself: a large selection of products, beautiful display, modern design of counters, the ability to pay with a plastic card - all this is in every agro-town. In small villages, a mobile shop calls in several times a week, where the assortment, albeit smaller, but no worse than the city one. We have personally verified this.

In villages where there are not so many inhabitants, a stationary store is a luxury from an economic point of view. The mobile shop helps out, which will reach the most remote farm, even if only one person spends his years there.

From Klichev to the village of Ustye a little more than 10 kilometers. The villagers say about such a distance "at hand." On the other hand, just one kilometer away is the agricultural town of Batsevichi, where there are several shopping facilities. But Ustiens are rarely bought there, because the truck shop visits them three times a week. So today, the seller of the local regional district Yulia Prokharenko hurries to the buyers. Her shop on wheels with the beautiful name "Olsa" serves 33 settlements with more than 500 inhabitants.

The loading of the truck shop is being completed, and literally in 10 minutes it will go on a trip along country roads. The goods are packaged, weighed, laid out on shelves, refrigerators and freezers. The assortment is rich: fresh fragrant bread, products - dairy, MEAT and fish, canned food, sweets, FLOUR , pasta, teas, coffee , carbonated drinks - a standard set of any food store.

Overtaking the car shop, we stop by the editorial car in Ustye closer to 11 days. If not for the welcoming barking of dogs, the village would seem extinct. There is not a soul on the street.

- Wait! You will also see how many people will gather for the arrival of the truck shop, - Zhanna Kurko, the first deputy chairman of the board of the Klichevsky regional district, who accompanies us, immediately reassures us.

Indeed, after 10-15 minutes, a queue forms on the impromptu site. By large bags, we understand that the villagers are planning to buy thoroughly.

- For the weekend , children , grandchildren will come together - you need to buy gifts, - the pensioner smiles and asks where we came from. - Already from the capital itself! Then be sure to write that we thank the President for the social discount in stores. You can save a lot in a month.

- Yes, our raipo does not forget us, old people. There is a large agricultural town a kilometer away, but a mobile shop was still allowed here, - local resident Taisiya Petrukevich introduces the matter. - In winter, we have only a couple of residential buildings here, and by the summer, summer residents come together. The village is filled with voices, laughter...

A colorful van enters the village importantly because of the turn. The driver honks, notifying buyers of his appearance, although there is no need to convene anyone - everyone has long studied his schedule. After a few minutes, customers begin to look around the window in a lively manner.

- I'm coming here to visit my mother. I don’t take anything from the city with me from the products, because I can buy everything here, - says Oksana Leonidovna.

She is the first in line to dictate the list of goods to the seller:

- Bread, a loaf, a carton of MILK, 200 grams of strawberry sweets ...

While the buyer is paying, we are looking at prices: several types of bread - from 1.01 rubles, "Snowflake" rolls - 1.96 rubles per pound, braids - 1.80 rubles. A pack of wafers 200 grams - a little more than 3 rubles, a kilo of caramel "Strawberry with cream" (the most popular in the village) - 8.40 rubles. A kilogram of flour - 1.66 rubles, SUGAR - 2.55 rubles, a package of herring - 4.32 rubles. A little lower - a showcase with fruits and vegetables: pears - almost 6 rubles, cucumbers - 6.84 rubles per kilo.

“I don’t spend more than 50 rubles here, even if I take the entire set of products,” Taisiya Ivanovna assures, and slowly goes home with a full bag.

In addition to food, sellers take orders for the delivery of a wide variety of goods from the city. Sometimes, at the request of pensioners, they even bring medicines . This is not part of the tasks of a mobile shop, but how can old people refuse?

- Everything depends on people. Our Yulechka is not only a good seller, but also a person with a capital letter. He will never refuse to help, - Galina Anatolyevna joins the conversation. - Thank you very much for such an attitude towards us.

The salesperson, Yulia Vasilyevna, smiles embarrassedly, although later she will tell that over the years of work she managed to remember who buys what.

- It happens that an old granny will only come up to the window of the truck shop, and I am already preparing a set of products for her, at the end I will definitely clarify: did they take everything? Often I remind you about bread, then about milk . People thank and admit: they forgot what they wanted to buy, she says. - If necessary, we can bring a bag to the house.

Returning to the regional center, we decided not to pass Orekhovka - the largest agro-town in the Klichev district. By the standards of a small locality, the local retail facility of consumer cooperation can be safely called a department store. How else, if two departments work at once in one building: food and non-food products. The "krama" is not crowded, because the working day is in full swing. I look around: the shelves are literally bursting with an abundance of products, you can’t immediately say that this is an ordinary rural shopping facility.

First of all, we HEAD to the meat showcase: a kilo of ribs for soup or for baking can be bought for 9.55 rubles, a kilogram of good pork will cost 14.55 rubles, a knuckle is offered for 4.70 rubles. Attention is drawn to the fruit and vegetable department with its bright, juicy colors: cucumbers are a little more expensive than 6 rubles, about the same kilo of fresh tomatoes. Onions - 20 rubles each , carrots a little more than a ruble, beets - 90 kopecks. There is Beijing cabbage, iceberg lettuce, parsley, radish. In the neighborhood, fruits are neatly laid out: oranges - almost 5 rubles per kilo, tangerines - a little more than 7 rubles, green grapes - 11 rubles each, lemons - 6.50 rubles. Also on sale are avocado, mango, kiwi, grapefruit, pineapple.

They offer homemade pastry here: freshly baked buns, cakes, puffs, muffins. Prices are quite reasonable: from 89 kopecks for a cinnamon bun to 3.60 rubles for a set of cakes.

In the department of non-food products, you can buy not only clothes for the whole family, but also furniture, dishes, children's toys, hygiene products, household appliances. And all this is in demand. For example, last year 14 washing machines, 12 vacuum cleaners, 11 TVs, 10 refrigerators were sold, and furniture - almost 93 thousand rubles. Agree, the figures are impressive, given that this outlet is rural.

The final point of our trip was a small cozy supermarket "Rodny Kut" on the outskirts of Klichev.

- The assortment is not worse than in a hypermarket. There is no shortage at all, in addition, a greater percentage of goods on our shelves are Belarusian, which means they are tasty and of high quality, - Zhanna Leonidovna smiles goodbye. - So do not believe the one who says that life in the countryside is worse than the city!

Marina VALAKH,

photo of the author,

newspaper "7 days".