Seeing that it was almost time, Qiao Qiqi left the black market and was about to find a secluded place to change her clothes when a little beggar dressed in tattered clothes suddenly ran towards her.

"Stop! Don't run!" Soon, three boys, about thirteen or fourteen years old, appeared behind the little beggar. They were obviously older than the little beggar and naturally ran faster.

Soon, the four men grabbed the little beggar and kicked him to the ground.

"You filthy beggar, how dare you steal from my house! I'll beat you to death!"

A little boy punched the beggar in the face. The boy was quite strong for his age, and the punch immediately broke the beggar's lip.

Qiao Qiqi frowned.

The little beggar was curled up on the ground, silent, but his dark eyes were filled with determination.

Qiao Qiqi's heart softened at his defiant appearance, and she couldn't help but walk over and ask, "What did he steal from your house that made you beat him like this?"

The four little boys weren't afraid at all when they saw someone coming. The boy who had just attacked the beggar pointed directly at the little beggar's arms and said, "This stinky beggar came to my house asking for food. We didn't give him any, so he grabbed a cornbread from the table and ran out."

In those days, every household was struggling to get enough to eat and wear. They couldn't even take care of their own families, let alone have extra food to help others.

Qiao Qiqi could understand that feeling, but looking at the boy's dark eyes, they were so similar to her younger brother's.

She couldn't bear to stand idly by, so she knelt down, pulled the little beggar up from the ground, stared at him, and asked, "Did you come out to steal food because you were hungry? Where are your parents? Don't they care about you?"

The little beggar glanced at him but didn't say anything.

Qiao Qiqi couldn't help but wonder, could he be mute?

"You stinking beggar, give me back my cornbread! Or I'll hit you again!" the little boy next to him shouted again.

Seeing that the little boy instinctively protected the thing in his arms, Qiao Qiqi could clearly hear what the little boy was saying. Realizing that he was not mute, she thought for a moment, took out a dime from her pocket and handed it to the little boy.

"Consider this penny as payment for your steamed bun. Take the money and leave. Don't make things difficult for him anymore."

The little boy was stunned. Seeing that Qiao Qiqi was a sucker, he immediately snatched the money away.

But he didn't leave and continued, "When this little beggar came to my house to steal things, he broke one of my bowls. You have to pay for that too!"

Qiao Qiqi gave the little boy another two cents, and the little boy was finally satisfied. He said, "You're lucky," and then left with his friends.

Qiao Qiqi helped the little beggar up from the ground. She noticed that his pants and shoes were torn, his legs were thin and bony, and his face was dark and sallow. However, his eyes were unusually bright, and he seemed to have good features.

Although she didn't know how the other person had ended up homeless, Qiao Qiqi still took out another 50 cents from her pocket and gave it to him.

"From now on, buy whatever you want to eat with money. Don't steal or rob. If you encounter a vicious person, you'll lose your life, understand?"

The little beggar looked at the fifty cents in his hand in surprise.

He paused for a moment before looking at Qiao Qiqi with gratitude and saying, "Thank you. If I have the chance in the future, I will definitely repay you."

After saying that, the little beggar turned around and ran away quickly.

Qiao Qiqi glanced at it, didn't take it seriously, and turned to leave.

After finding a secluded spot and picking some apples and peaches from her spatial storage, Qiao Qiqi went to a state-run restaurant and ordered double portions of braised pork and chicken stew with mushrooms.

Today is Saturday. Her younger brother, Qiao Tianyou, will be home from school at noon. Qin Huai's younger brother, Qin Guodong, also goes to school in town. The two children only come home once a week, so Qiao Qiqi plans to improve their meals.

Fortunately, the same chubby chef served the food this time.

After recognizing the other person, Qiao Qiqi deliberately showed a corner of the apples in the basket. Noticing that the other person's eyes lit up, she immediately picked up her things and left.

Then, just as she turned into the alleyway next to her, the fat chef chased after her from behind, "Young man, wait a minute."

Qiao Qiqi turned around and saw that it wasn't just the fat chef who had come; there was also another thin chef. She immediately smiled and asked, "Did you call me for something?"

The portly chef approached him, smiling, and asked, "Young man, are you bringing apples to your relatives again?"

Qiao Qiqi knew that the other party had already guessed what she did, but since the other party had given her this way out, she immediately went along with it and said, "Yes, my relatives said the apples were delicious and that the neighbors had given them all away, so they asked me to bring some more."

“I think your apples are pretty good too. How about this, you sell me another 10 jin, and he wants 6 jin, so the two of us will need a total of 16 jin.”

As the chubby chef spoke, he looked into Qiao Qiqi's basket and was surprised to find that there were some peaches there as well.

Those big peaches looked pink and sweet, and they looked incredibly juicy.

His eyes lit up immediately. "You still have peaches here?"

Qiao Qiqi readily put the basket on the ground. "These peaches are nectarines, imported, fragrant and sweet, but they're a bit pricey, 80 cents a pound. You've bought from me before, so I can give you a discount. Let's say 75 cents, four pounds for three dollars, how about that?"

The chubby chef gritted his teeth and said, "Fine! Then give me four pounds."

Qiao Qiqi didn't have a scale, so she could only give the fat chef the number of apples and peaches. Each apple and peach was big and round, so she counted them as fewer than usual, which naturally made the fat chef happy.

"These are 20 apples, 12 peaches, and 10 peaches. I'll just charge you four jin (2 catties). All of these together will cost 11 yuan."

The fat chef took the apples and peaches and paid Qiao Qiqi 8 yuan, while the thin chef took the apples and paid Qiao Qiqi 3 yuan.

Qiao Qiqi happily accepted the money and turned to leave when the fat chef suddenly stopped her. After telling the thin chef to go back first, he looked at her and asked, "If I want more, like 50 jin at once, can you give me a discount?"

Qiao Qiqi had been waiting for this moment.

She just didn't expect the fat chef to speak to her so quickly.

Suppressing her joy, she thought for a moment and said, "If you want 50 catties of apples or pears at once, I can give you 45 cents. If it's peaches, I can give you 65 cents. My profit margin isn't much, so this is all I can offer you."

The chubby chef gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, bring me 50 pounds of apples tomorrow."

"Okay." Now that we've talked it out, things will be easier.

Qiao Qiqi's individual strength is limited after all. If she were to sell wholesale, the risk would be lower, and she would be willing to sell in large quantities at low profit margins.

After finding a secluded spot and picking some apples from her spatial storage, Qiao Qiqi went to the grain station.