Chapter 88 Back to the Black Market

Just as Xia Qianqian was happily playing with the little one in her arms, a comment suddenly popped up: "[The female lead is awesome! This Peach Blossom Spring has actually been upgraded! I remember the female supporting character never managed to upgrade Peach Blossom Spring until the very end!]"

Xia Qianqian was slightly taken aback at first, then overjoyed. She never expected that she would accidentally upgrade Peach Blossom Spring!

It seems that Peach Blossom Spring will grow bigger with each upgrade. This time it became the size of Xiangyang Village. Will it become even bigger next time?

The thought of Peach Blossom Spring becoming even larger than South City filled Xia Qianqian with wild imagination: In Peach Blossom Spring, rows of exquisite houses were scattered in a pleasing, orderly fashion, with wisps of smoke rising slowly from the rooftops—the warmth and tranquility of home. Living here would be far more pleasant than in Xiangyang Village!

With such beautiful dreams in mind, Xia Qianqian strolled leisurely through the Peach Blossom Spring with a smile on her lips.

I hadn't been here for a few days, and there had already been some changes. Look at the flock of chickens; the once fluffy chicks are now fully feathered, and several majestic roosters are particularly eye-catching.

Looking down at the ground, white eggs were scattered everywhere, like pearls strewn among the grass.

Xia Qianqian thought to herself, if these eggs are not picked up in time, they might hatch into a brood of chicks.

As for that large field of rice, some of the rice stalks had already fallen to the ground because they couldn't be harvested in time.

Xia Qianqian frowned with heartache, secretly blaming herself: We can't waste food!

She picked up the sickle, bent down, and began harvesting. She didn't know how much time had passed, but Xia Qianqian was so exhausted that she felt her back was almost too sore to straighten.

She straightened up and looked at the rice paddy, only to find that not even a third of it had been harvested.

Xia Qianqian sighed helplessly: "If only these grains could just obediently go into storage on their own when you call 'collect'!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the rice was harvested neatly in an instant. It was piled up in heaps and steadily stacked in front of Xia Qianqian.

"I can't believe it actually works!" Xia Qianqian was so surprised she almost jumped up.

As if she had discovered a new continent, she eagerly turned her gaze to the eggs scattered everywhere, and then shouted, "Collect them!"

In an instant, the eggs seemed to be gently lifted by an invisible hand, tracing graceful arcs in the air before landing neatly in front of her.

Looking at the mountain of eggs in front of her, Xia Qianqian couldn't help but exclaim in amazement: "My God, there are so many eggs!"

A rough estimate suggests that these eggs weigh at least a hundred pounds. Even if she ate ten or eight a day, she still couldn't finish them all.

After the initial joy, new worries welled up in Xia Qianqian's heart.

Looking at the piles of golden rice, she frowned. There was no equipment to husk the rice. What should she do?

If we were to take all that grain directly to the village, it would be too conspicuous. It would definitely arouse the curiosity and suspicion of the villagers, and might even cause unnecessary trouble.

Xia Qianqian didn't want to get involved in any trouble; she just wanted to quietly enjoy the beauty of Peach Blossom Spring.

Why not trade on the black market? Anyway, no one knows how much wealth she has. If we sell these things there, we can get money to buy other necessities.

Recently, the comments section has been filled with talk of an impending famine. Although she doesn't have to worry about food right now, she still needs to prepare some clothing, medicine, and other supplies in advance.

It would be even better if we could build a house in Peach Blossom Spring, so that we would have a place to rest when we come back next time.

Xia Qianqian's mind grew more and more excited as she thought about it, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up, revealing an expectant smile.

However, this matter must be done step by step; it cannot be rushed.

The next day, Xia Qianqian told her family that she was going to the city to buy things. After leaving the house, she turned a corner and headed straight for the black market.

Arriving at the familiar air-raid shelter with practiced ease, Xia Qianqian headed straight for the person in charge of the black market.

When the person in charge heard that she wanted to sell grain and eggs, he immediately became interested.

In some areas, autumn grain production has decreased, making grain extremely scarce and causing prices to soar. This presents a great opportunity to make money.

Although the person in charge tried to negotiate a lower price, Xia Qianqian agreed without hesitation. After all, the black market had its advantages: they wouldn't pry into the origins of the goods, and they were extremely quick to pay.

Seeing that she agreed so readily, the person in charge immediately told his subordinates to go with her to pick up the goods.

Xia Qianqian had already placed the grain and eggs on a mountain not far from the black market. The group arrived at the storage location without much walking.

Upon seeing the pile of grain, the person in charge rushed over, grabbed a handful of rice, rubbed it skillfully, then held it to his nose to sniff it lightly. He then put a few grains into his mouth and chewed them carefully.

A fleeting, almost imperceptible glint flashed in his eyes. Seeing this, Xia Qianqian quickly asked, "Is there a problem?"

The person in charge quickly shook his head: "This batch of grain is good. If you have more goods next time, I can raise the price for you."

Afterwards, everyone weighed the grain and eggs. Once weighed, the person in charge handed the money to Xia Qianqian.

After successfully getting the money, Xia Qianqian finally felt relieved.

Although she had traded on the black market several times, she still couldn't help but worry each time, fearing that something might go wrong.

Unbeknownst to her, after she left, the black market manager subtly gave a wink to someone nearby. The person understood and followed her without making a sound.

The black market transactions have always been fair, but Xia Qianqian's two large transactions left a deep impression on the black market manager, giving rise to the evil idea of ​​"double-crossing" him.

The man followed Xia Qianqian closely all the way to the city.

Xia Qianqian spent money like water, constantly buying all sorts of things.

He couldn't help but feel anxious, muttering to himself: If she spends all the money, how am I going to explain this to the boss?

His eyes swept across the surroundings with a sinister glint. Seeing that the number of pedestrians on the street corner was gradually decreasing, he thought to himself: Why not make a move in that quiet alley ahead, knock him out, rob him of the money, and run away without anyone knowing!

Xia Qianqian was stuffing the floral fabric, yarn balls, and sewing kit that the salesperson had packed into the bamboo basket. The heavy basket made her arms ache from the pressure.

She thought to herself: If it weren't for the fear of attracting attention and causing trouble, she should have packed everything away in Peach Blossom Spring by now. Why bother getting so tired? It seems she'll have to buy the medicine another time; she can't possibly drag all this stuff to the pharmacy…

As I was looking down, deciding which direction to take, I caught a glimpse of comments popping up out of the corner of my eye—

[Holy crap! What's that guy following the female lead up to?! He's been sneaking around like a madman the whole way!]