A glint of light flashed in Qin Chu'an's eyes, and he held out both hands to compare.
Aunt Huang's face immediately fell: "1.3 yuan? That's too expensive. Pork at the grocery store is only 70 cents a pound. Your price is more than double."
Qin Chu'an replied calmly, "Hey, you can't say that. Let's not even talk about whether you can get pork at the grocery store. You need meat coupons to get meat at the grocery store, but I don't need coupons for my meat."
"I'm not saying this to be mean, but it's not easy to buy meat on the black market these days."
Hearing his words, Aunt Huang's expression gradually softened. Qin Chu'an was right; it wasn't easy to buy meat on the black market. Everyone had to rob it. She had been waiting there for several days in a row, but hadn't even seen a single piece of meat.
“That’s not how you raise prices, Qin. Give me a fair price, and I’ll buy all the pork,” Aunt Huang said, her smile returning as she looked at Qin Chu’an.
Qin Chu'an was waiting for her to haggle. These aunties and grandmas usually liked to bargain, and he had already anticipated that Aunt Huang would haggle, so he deliberately raised the price by one mao.
"Alright, if you want it all included, I'll give you a discount of 1.2 yuan. How about that? There are 10 jin of meat here, I'll give you a discount of 1 yuan right away."
Aunt Huang thought to herself, "This is equivalent to saving the money for a pound of meat." She instantly smiled like a blooming chrysanthemum: "Okay, Xiao Qin is good at business. Remember Auntie if you have any other good things in the future."
Aunt Huang turned to go to the bedroom to get money for Qin Chu'an, but was stopped by her daughter-in-law:
"Mom, who are you talking to outside?"
Grandma Huang glanced at her sleeping grandson on the bed and smiled brightly: "He's a boy who came to sell pork. Mom bought 10 jin of meat to nourish you properly."
When Huang Da Niang's daughter-in-law heard this, she was stunned: "Oh my, 10 jin of meat? Where did you get that?"
“He said he got it from a fellow villager. He was selling it for 1.3 yuan, but I bargained it down to 1.2 yuan, saving me 1 yuan right away,” said Aunt Huang, her voice filled with pride.
Upon hearing the price, the daughter-in-law's eyes flickered, and she asked, "Mom, is there any meat left in that person?"
Aunt Huang shook her head and said, "I don't know, I didn't ask."
"Are you thinking of sending a few pounds to your family as well? Don't worry, I bought 10 pounds, that's enough for your family."
The daughter-in-law shook her head: "Mom, have you ever thought of doing what that boy did and making a profit? This meat would definitely sell well if it were sold for 1.3 yuan. Even if you sell it to someone else at the original price, you can still make a favor. These days, who doesn't need meat?"
Grandma Huang slapped her thigh and looked at her daughter-in-law with even more kindness in her eyes: "Yan'er, you're so smart. Wait here, I'll go ask her right away."
Aunt Huang handed the 12 yuan she had prepared to Qin Chu'an: "Little Qin, count it and see if it's correct."
Qin Chu'an took the money, counted it carefully, and after confirming that there were no problems, he prepared to take his leave.
Aunt Huang quickly stopped her, saying, "Wait a minute, Xiao Qin, do you have any meat left? My daughter-in-law wants to take some back to her family."
Qin Chu'an's eyes flickered, and she looked at Aunt Huang with a troubled expression: "Yes, we do have some, but they've already been ordered by someone else. I have to go and deliver them to them this afternoon."
Undeterred, Aunt Huang pressed on, "Did the other party pay a deposit?"
Qin Chuan shook his head: "No, he said it's cash on delivery."
Aunt Huang grabbed Qin Chu'an's arm: "Oh dear, that won't do. What if they don't want the meat you deliver? You'll be stuck with it."
Qin Chu'an cooperated by showing an uneasy expression: "I don't think so, do I?"
"That person ordered quite a lot of meat, 40 jin (20 catties), it must be for a big purpose."
When Aunt Huang heard that there were 40 jin of meat, her eyes lit up. If she could resell the meat, she could make 4 yuan.
Don't underestimate these 4 yuan; it's enough to buy a whole hen or 8 jin (4 catties) of eggs to nourish your daughter-in-law.
Finally, after much pleading and cajoling from Aunt Huang, Qin Chu'an reluctantly sold the meat to her.
Once they left the family compound, a triumphant smile appeared on Qin Chu'an's face.
He knew, of course, that Aunt Huang might have bought all the meat to make a profit, but he didn't have Aunt Huang's connections, so he couldn't earn that money. Selling meat from one household to another was not only slow but also very risky.
Qin Chuan returned home with 60 yuan in his pocket. Qin Chuxin stared wide-eyed in surprise at the empty basket in her brother's hand: In less than half a day, her brother had sold 50 jin of meat.
——
On the other side, Xia Qingqing saw that it was still early and didn't want to go to the oxcart so early to wait in vain, so she decided to go to the scrap metal recycling station to take a look.
Several months had passed since her last visit to the scrap metal recycling station. She had almost finished reading the few books she had at home, and she decided to try her luck again. Maybe this time she could find the complete set of "Physics and Chemistry Self-Study Series".
Xia Qingqing walked into the scrap metal recycling station with practiced ease, but was soon stopped by the same old man from last time.
The old man glanced at Xia Qingqing, seemingly trying to recall something, and quickly asked, "Are you here to look for old newspapers again?"
Xia Qingqing was surprised that the old man still remembered her, and awkwardly touched her nose: "No, I came to find a book."
The old man, with his hands behind his back, nodded and said, "Come with me."
"Where are we going?" Xia Qingqing asked, though she found it a little strange, she still obediently followed behind the old man.
The two entered a room that appeared to be for the old man to rest in. Xia Qingqing also saw a 1.2-meter bed with a quilt on it.
The old man dragged a box out from behind the door, the box was full of books: "Take a look, see if there's anything you can use."
"Are all these books?" Xia Qingqing asked doubtfully, squatting down to examine the books in the box.
The box was huge, and Xia Qingqing was surprised to find that it was full of books related to learning. She even saw the "Physics and Chemistry Self-Study Series" inside.
In no time, she had found the entire set of books and was overjoyed: "Grandpa, did you collect all of these?"
“Some young people occasionally come looking for books. I usually have nothing to do, so I pick out some books that you might find useful,” the old man said with a kind expression on his face.
Xia Qingqing looked at him gratefully and said, "Thank you."
The old man waved his hand and said, "No need to thank me. You have to pay for it yourself. Don't expect to get it for free."
Xia Qingqing chuckled: "Of course, but I also want to thank you for saving me time looking for the books. Besides, if you hadn't set these books out for me, they would probably have been disposed of."
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