After arriving in the county, Xia Qingqing went straight to the black market.

She rarely goes to the black market for things that can be obtained from the supply and marketing cooperative, since the black market still carries certain risks.

But this time she needed a large quantity of cotton, and she didn't have enough cotton coupons. Besides, even if she had coupons, the supply and marketing cooperative might not be able to supply them.

Cotton is a scarce commodity. In winter, every household needs cotton. People from the county have a geographical advantage and stay there every day. How could Xia Qingqing from the county come every ten days or half a month?

Upon arriving at the black market, Xia Qingqing wandered around for a while and found that it was full of food vendors, even cloth and shoe vendors, but she didn't see any cotton vendors.

Xia Qingqing looked disappointed. She had placed too high expectations on the black market, thinking that buying cotton there would be easier.

It's not easy for her to come to the county town, and she can't come every day. She's not willing to go back empty-handed.

Just before Xia Qingqing was about to leave the black market, her gaze fell on the man guarding the entrance. After thinking for a moment, she decided to ask him.

She originally didn't want to get involved with people in the black market, so she always had Qin Chuan help her sell things, just in case she was being cheated by them and it was dangerous.

But this time she was buying something, so there shouldn't be any major problems. The black market boss wouldn't stoop so low as to rob a customer buying cotton.

The gatekeeper, named Hei Zi, noticed Xia Qingqing staring at him and scratched the back of his head somewhat awkwardly.

What's wrong with this girl? Does she have a crush on me?

That won't do. He already has someone he likes. He needs to work hard to save up for a dowry to marry Cui Cui. He can't afford to be tempted by anything.

Kuroko coldly turned his head to the other side.

Xia Qingqing finally made up her mind to talk to Hei Zi, but Hei Zi immediately turned his head away when he saw her approach, leaving her completely confused.

What, is she a virus?

Xia Qingqing deliberately coughed loudly, drawing Hei Zi's attention back to her:

"Hello brother, do you know where I can buy cotton?"

Hei Zi gave Xia Qingqing a strange look, feeling quite embarrassed. So she wanted to buy something? If she wanted something, she should have just said so. Why was she staring at her like that? He had thought she was interested in him.

"Cotton, right? How many kilograms do you want?" If he only wants a small amount, he won't bother bringing it over; it's too much trouble.

Xia Qingqing gestured: "About 20 jin (10 catties)."

She needs to make two cotton-padded coats for herself, and at least one coat for each member of her family, plus two quilts. That should be about right.

In fact, Gu Yunshu had thoughtfully sent her some winter clothes and blankets a few days ago, but those things were obviously not suitable for use now. They were things that didn't exist in this era. Even if she wanted to use them, she could only do so secretly, such as secretly wearing thermal underwear underneath.

When Hei Zi heard Xia Qingqing say she wanted 20 jin, he nodded with satisfaction and said, "Okay, come with me."

As he spoke, he turned and walked down the side path.

Xia Qingqing hesitated for a second, then checked the wooden gun and stun gun in the system's inventory. Feeling a little more at ease, she followed Hei Zi.

When Hei Zi was halfway there, he looked back and saw that Xia Qingqing was far behind him. He gave her a disdainful look, but still resigned himself to stopping and waiting for her, urging her, "Hurry up, you're going to be walking like an ant."

Xia Qingqing looked at Hei Zi speechlessly. Did he even know that he was over 1.8 meters tall, while she was only a little over 1.6 meters tall? How could she keep up with him?

Fortunately, the hater was just saying it for the sake of saying it, and then he slowed down his walking speed considerably.

Xia Qingqing followed behind him, turning left and right until she was completely confused. After walking for about 5 minutes, they stopped at the gate of a courtyard, and Hei Zi knocked on the door a few times.

Xia Qingqing observed that Hei Zi knocked on the door with a special rhythm, and silently memorized the rhythm.

Soon, the courtyard gate was opened, and a somewhat overweight man came out. This physique was quite rare in this era, and Xia Qingqing couldn't help but take another look.

The fat man said impatiently, "Hey, isn't it your turn to guard the gate now? What are you doing here?"

Hei Zi pointed to Xia Qingqing behind him and said, "This little girl wants to buy cotton. You take her inside. I'll go back and keep watch."

After finishing his sentence, Hei Zi left Xia Qingqing behind. Xia Qingqing didn't say anything, but nodded to the fat man and said, "Hello."

The fat man looked Xia Qingqing up and down before letting her in: "Come in."

Upon entering the inner room, Xia Qingqing discovered two other people, one of whom was of ordinary appearance and could easily be lost in a crowd.

The other one exuded an aura of authority, with cold eyes and sharp facial features. His otherwise good looks were overshadowed by a scar on his cheek, making him look somewhat frightening.

The fat man said to the scarred man, "Boss, this little girl was brought here by Hei Zi. She said she wants to buy cotton."

"Buying cotton? How much?" The man, Xiao Hui, glanced at Xia Qingqing and asked. His voice was deep and gave people a sense of composure.

Xia Qingqing thought for a moment: "Do you have 20 jin?"

She couldn't bring too much home, otherwise it would be difficult to explain to Zhang Hongyan. So she planned to bring 20 jin home to make clothes and quilts, and keep the rest in her space for later use.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Hui nodded: "Yes, since you bought a lot, I'll give you a discount of 1.5 yuan per jin, no bargaining."

"No problem," Xia Qingqing readily agreed. The cotton price at the supply and marketing cooperative was 90 cents per jin, but even with a ticket, the cooperative might not have the goods. The black market price of 1.5 yuan was also reasonable. It could only be said that it was a seller's market at the moment.

Her straightforward attitude won Xiao Hui's favor: "Dongzi, go to the warehouse and get 20 jin of cotton."

Dongzi was the ordinary-looking man. Upon hearing his boss's order, he immediately got up and walked towards the warehouse.

A moment later, Dongzi came out carrying a large bag of cotton, put the bag on the ground and said, "This bag weighs exactly 20 jin."

Xia Qingqing frowned as she looked at the bag of cotton. She had overlooked the fact that cotton was bulky. If she were to carry this bag of cotton to ride the oxcart, she would become famous in the production brigade again tomorrow.

However, this issue can be considered later. Xia Qingqing opened the bag and checked it. She found that there was no problem with the cotton, and took out three ten-yuan bills from her pocket and handed them to Xiao Hui.

"Do you need anything else?" Xiao Hui looked at the young girl's generous gesture of taking out her money and knew that she was someone who didn't lack money. Her business principle was never to let go of any potential customer.