Chapter 127 My name is Lin Die, his name is Sang Biao

Lin Baozhu completely handed over the battlefield in the kitchen to her second brother and sister-in-law, then pulled up a chair and sat down. She took out a palm-sized mirror and a few inconspicuous small iron boxes from her small cloth bag.

She stood in front of the mirror, her fingers deftly applying and outlining her face. Dark foundation darkened her originally fair complexion, her deliberately thick eyebrows slanted upwards towards her temples, and a few slightly fierce lines were drawn at the corners of her eyes... In a moment, the bright and beautiful face in the mirror disappeared, replaced by the face of a street woman with a dull complexion, sharp eyes, and a somewhat unapproachable air.

Lin Erlang and Lin Sanlang huddled together, marveling at the scene. The three of them, heads close together, quickly exchanged a few more details in hushed tones.

"Knock knock knock—"

Just then, there was a knock on the courtyard gate...

The three quickly exchanged a glance, and Lin Erlang got up to open the door.

As the door opened, a tall man strode in.

He had a handsome face, but a scar about an inch long at the end of his eyebrow added a touch of menace and an aura that kept strangers at bay.

The man's gaze swept across the room, finally landing precisely on Lin Baozhu. His eyes lingered for a moment on the disguise on Lin Baozhu's face, which could be described as a complete transformation.

He raised an eyebrow, his tone devoid of emotion: "You're the 'younger sister' Erlang mentioned... the one who wants to see me?"

Lin Baozhu stood up, meeting the scrutinizing gaze without flinching, her eyes revealing a shrewdness and a street smarts.

"Mr. Qiu, it's an honor to meet you. My name is Lin Die, Lin as in forest and Die as in butterfly!"

The man looked at her outstretched hand, his lips twitching almost imperceptibly. Lin Die? That name… it sounds like it deserves a beating.

He reached out and gave a loose handshake, his voice low: "Qiu Sangbiao."

After giving this pseudonym, which he often used in the black market, he felt a bit of toothache.

Lin Baozhu: ...Sang Biao? Alright, big brother, don't laugh at second brother. Our pseudonyms are about the same, both of them have a "don't bother me" vibe.

"Young lady..."

Sang Biao cut straight to the point: "I heard from Brother Erlang that you have a lot of good stuff on you? I've come here to take a look at the goods and discuss connections." He pulled up a chair and sat down, his relaxed posture exuding an invisible pressure.

"The channels are easy to negotiate. As long as Boss Qiu offers a reasonable price and delivers the goods quickly, everything is negotiable." Lin Baozhu's voice also carried a hint of江湖气 (a kind of江湖-like, ...

Lin Erlang picked up the bottle of brandy on the table at the right moment, and while opening the bottle, he smoothed things over: "Brother Biao, Sister Lin Die, we're all on the same side! If it weren't for your connections back then, Brother Biao, helping me get the life-saving food, I would have lost my life long ago."

Upon hearing this, Lin Baozhu couldn't help but glance at "Qiu Sangbiao" a few more times. For her second brother to mention him with such gratitude, this man was quite interesting.

But... why did this face seem vaguely familiar to her? Yet she couldn't quite place where she had seen it before.

"Comrade Lin..."

Sang Biao cut straight to the point, "If I may ask, what kind of goods do you mainly have here? Most importantly... is the supply stable? Is the quantity large?" This was what he was really concerned about.

Without saying a word, Lin Baozhu turned around and took things out one by one from the basket next to her.

"Mr. Qiu is a sensible man. Let's take a look at the goods first. If you're satisfied, we can continue our discussion."

She unfolded a Dacron women's shirt and said, "This is a hot-selling item from Shanghai! In department stores, shirts, dresses, and leather shoes like these are always sold out, even at rock-bottom prices! This batch of my goods..."

She ran her fingers over the fabric, her tone smug: "The workmanship and the material are top-notch. Wearing it makes you look so elegant! Which young woman or married woman wouldn't be envious?"

Sang Biao's gaze fell on the unfolded clothes, and his eyes lit up.

He carefully examined the fabric and stitching, nodding slightly: "Hmm, it's good quality, even better than what you see in department stores. However..."

He changed the subject, looked up and stared directly at Lin Baozhu with a scrutinizing gaze, "If it's just a few measly coins, a small-scale affair, it's not very meaningful."

Lin Baozhu raised an eyebrow; clearly, he was testing her limits.

She lowered her eyes, tapping her fingers lightly on the edge of the table. After a moment's hesitation, she looked up and a faint smile appeared on her face.

“Ms. Qiu is a straightforward person! These high-end goods are indeed difficult to source. Each month, I can guarantee this number for shirts, dresses, leather shoes… each item.” She held up five fingers and waved them. “Fifty pieces! That’s the maximum! Any more than that, I can’t handle; the risk is too great!”

"Every month?!" Sang Biao's pupils contracted sharply, and he instinctively sat up straight, even his breath catching for a moment! Fifty pieces each per month?! He suppressed the shock in his heart, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, trying to keep his voice steady: "Fifty pieces each per month... So how do you plan to price this?" This quantity is definitely a huge source of goods on the black market!

"The price is negotiable!"

"These dresses can sell for over thirty on the black market, I'll give them to you for 25! Leather shoes are 28, women's shirts are 20! And..."

She paused deliberately, then dropped an even bigger bombshell, "Besides clothes, I can also get some food. Fresh hens, a minimum of five hundred per month, each weighing no less than eight pounds! Eggs... I can get three thousand a month!" Her voice wasn't loud, but it struck Sang Biao's heart like a heavy hammer.

"hiss--!"

This time, Sang Biao couldn't hold back any longer and gasped! He stood up abruptly, almost instinctively taking two steps closer to Lin Baozhu, his voice extremely low and his face grave: "Comrade Lin! Are you...are you sure? This is a huge quantity! Is the supply reliable? What if...something goes wrong along the way..." He wasn't worried about not being able to handle it himself, but rather that this route was too risky, and if something went wrong, the consequences would be enormous! No matter how powerful his backing was, he couldn't handle such a huge mess!

Lin Baozhu met his sharp gaze without flinching, a slight smile playing on her lips, a smile that carried a ruthless, street-smart edge and absolute confidence:

"Boss Qiu, rest assured! If any goods shipped from my location encounter any problems on the way, it's all on me! I, Lin Baozhu, will accept any loss, no matter the money or the goods! But once you step into this town..." She gestured with her chin towards Sang Biao, "then it's your territory, Boss Qiu. If a single feather is lost in this town, it has nothing to do with me!"

Sang Biao stared intently into her eyes, seemingly assessing the weight of her words. After a moment, a genuine smile finally appeared on his face: "Good! Comrade Lin is straightforward! Don't worry, in our town, no one dares to mess with my goods!" He waved his hand generously, "So... do you have any on hand right now? How much?"

"Now..."

Lin Baozhu counted on her fingers, "There are more than six thousand eggs right now, and they're all this size!" She pointed to the basket of eggs on the table, each one a size larger than a regular egg, "and the shirts, dresses, and shoes I just mentioned, fifty of each, are also readily available."

"Over six thousand... and all of them are in stock?!"