Chapter 49 Fair and Reasonable Conditions

So she had an idea: to get some children to help her find the duck eggs!

"Shaohua, Shaohua, come here."

Qiao Manqing carefully put the duck eggs she found into the bamboo basket she had brought on her back, glancing back at her little nephew who was running around nearby as she did so.

Then raise your voice and call him again.

"Shaohua!"

After the little guy ran over, Qiao Manqing quickly pulled him aside, gently placed the duck eggs she had just packed into the basket, and then put the basket back on the dry ground.

Then he turned his head and said mysteriously in a low voice.

"Shaohua, your aunt is giving you a special task."

Shao Hua looked at her intently, his eyes wide open.

"What mission, Auntie? Tell me quickly."

“Take this candy and go back to the village to find some friends. Tell them that you will get five cents for every duck egg you find.”

As Qiao Manqing spoke, she took a handful of red and green fruit candies from her pocket and placed them in his hand.

Although I don't understand why my aunt wants others to collect eggs and even spends money to buy them.

But Shao Hua still took the candy and carefully put it into his pocket.

He took this special mission with his pockets bulging.

When he returned, he was followed by seven or eight little boys, all around ten years old.

The youngest was only six or seven years old, chattering and laughing as they gathered around.

The children curiously approached Qiao Manqing, asking her all sorts of questions.

"Will my aunt really give us money?"

They blinked.

The children, who were initially a little reserved, instantly became excited after learning that they could earn five cents by finding one.

Two hours later, Qiao Manqing counted the harvest in the basket and found that there were over a hundred duck eggs!

Looking at her harvest, a satisfied and relaxed smile appeared on her face, and she felt that this method was indeed efficient and feasible.

Three days later, the total number of wild duck eggs had reached more than four hundred.

I can collect a lot every day, and I hardly need to do anything myself, which greatly improves efficiency.

This is a surprisingly good result.

She stored all the wild duck eggs in her personal storage space.

What surprised her even more was that exchanging wild duck eggs for brown and white sugar would be much more profitable than selling duck eggs directly.

This type of transaction is not very common.

But she happened to have some relevant information, which unexpectedly came in very useful.

It seems this batch of duck eggs can bring in more than just money.

It can also be transformed into scarce resources.

Therefore, she decided to leave thirty snake eggs to hatch.

The other four hundred were all exchanged for forty catties each of white sugar and brown sugar.

You have to understand, in those days, sugar was extremely precious.

Not only were they incredibly expensive, but ordinary people also needed ration coupons to buy them; they weren't something you could just buy whenever you wanted.

Even if you have money and tickets, you might not actually be able to buy them.

Not only do you need to rush to buy them, but sometimes you also need to have connections or pull strings to get them.

So she figured she might as well take all eighty pounds of sugar to the black market and sell it for something more practical.

Early the next morning.

The entire village was still asleep, and the sky was so dark that the bottom could not be seen.

Qiao Manqing quietly got up and dressed, afraid of making the slightest noise so as not to wake even the cat.

I had already gotten some patched old clothes from my mother.

It was a drab gray cloth shirt and an old-fashioned blue floral headscarf.

Before leaving, he deliberately smeared some soot on his face.

After applying it evenly, the skin appears dull.

He looked extremely sloppy and plain.

After disguising himself properly and making sure no one recognized him, he quietly pushed open the door and slowly walked out.

It's about seven or eight miles from Yuwei Village to the black market on the outskirts of the county town.

That's quite a distance.

She walked slowly along the country path.

It was still dark when we arrived, and the only light along the way was the occasional bark of a dog.

It took her almost two hours to finally reach her destination.

The black market was bustling at five in the morning, with vendors and buyers coming and going.

People were moving around everywhere.

But everyone looked strange.

Qiao Manqing found a quiet corner where there weren't many people.

First, take out two coarse cloth bags that had previously contained grain and place them on the ground as markers.

Then, slightly open a corner of the pocket, deliberately revealing the snow-white candy bag inside, so that people can identify what it is at a glance.

After standing in a relatively conspicuous spot, she cleared her throat.

"White sugar! Brown sugar! No coupons required!"

Soon, an elderly woman carrying a vegetable basket came over.

She sized up the young woman in front of her.

Is your sugar pure? Is it undiluted?

Mass counterfeiting wasn't very common back then.

However, because white sugar is so scarce, some speculators will mix in other substances to deceive customers and make a profit.

"Don't worry, ma'am, this is good quality white sugar."

Qiao Manqing responded with a confident expression.

"If you're still not sure, you can try it! You'll know if it's real or fake after you try it!"

As she spoke, she grabbed a small handful and handed it over.

The old woman took the small pinch of candy and examined it carefully in her palm.

Then, I picked up a little with my fingertip and gently put it in my mouth to savor it.

After the old woman tasted it, a smile immediately appeared on her face.

She nodded with a smile, her eyes shining.

"This is really good candy, the sweetness is just right, not bitter or impure at all, how much is it?"

"Auntie, I don't accept tickets. It's a flat 1.2 yuan per jin, white and red are the same price."

She answered in a very steady tone.

After she finished speaking, she kept her hands on her knees, her expression calm and composed, and her tone confident. She did not rush to sell the product just because the other party was interested.

The supply and marketing cooperative has a coupon for goods, and it only costs 80 cents.

Although it's a bit more expensive than the official price, the market has been experiencing tight supply and shortages of goods for a long time.

The price of two pieces is fair and reasonable in this environment.

Moreover, the fact that it doesn't require a ticket and can be purchased with cash is itself very attractive.

"Alright! Then give me two catties of white sugar and three catties of brown sugar!"

The old lady made a decision immediately.

My daughter-in-law, who just gave birth to my grandson, needs to recover during her postpartum period, and I'm worried about not being able to buy any sugar.

Normally, it's not easy to make a bowl of sweet soup for a new mother.

Because brown sugar has long been out of stock in the market.

I never expected to meet such a trustworthy seller this morning.

The price is acceptable; it's perfect to bring a few more home!

The more she thought about it, the more she felt that this was the most pleasant thing that had happened to her that day.

Qiao Manqing had prepared this pile of old newspapers long ago.

Those were scraps of newspaper that I had collected from my neighbor over a long period of time.

At this point, I grabbed a relatively clean and intact sheet and laid it on the small table in front of the stall. It was perfect for portioning and weighing.

First, pour the white sugar into a piece of paper and wrap it up. Then, turn around and pick up the brown sugar from the red bag. Weigh out two pounds of white sugar and three pounds of brown sugar.

"Auntie, here you go, this is 6 yuan in total!"

As Qiao Manqing handed the package to the old man, she quoted him the total price.

"Okay, that's exactly 6 yuan."

The old lady took the bag and replied.

She already had six banknotes prepared in her hand and handed them over without hesitation.

The old lady paid the money readily.

She weighed the two bulging little bags in her hands, and her eyes crinkled with laughter.