Jiang Sui secretly got on his bicycle and followed Xiang Baiwei.

It happened to be a big market today, and Xiang Baiwei quickly got on a mule cart owned by a villager from the neighboring village whom she was not familiar with.

Following Xiang Baiwei all the way to the outside of the town, Jiang Sui saw that the mule cart that Xiang Baiwei was riding in had stopped. He quickly braked and stopped, observing Xiang Baiwei from a distance.

After Xiang Baiwei came down, she looked around. She came early and there was no one around.

There was only a cyclist in the distance, but it looked like there was something wrong with his bike and he was bending over to fix it.

Xiang Baiwei felt relieved and continued to move forward.

After walking a few steps, she suddenly stopped, turned her head and looked back. Seeing that the man seemed to be still tinkering with the car, she continued walking forward, looking back every few steps.

She didn’t know if it was her illusion, but she always felt that the figure tinkering with the car was particularly familiar.

The next moment the thought came to Xiang Baiwei's mind, she shook her head.

I must be feeling a little guilty and panicked, so I think this way.

It's not even daybreak yet, how could anyone I know come?

Jiang Sui bent over and fiddled with it for a long time, then slowly straightened up, hunched over, and moved to the other side of the car, looking at Bai Wei in a somewhat obscene manner.

At this point, he had already guessed what Xiang Baiwei was going to do.

But there was one thing he was still curious about, which was what Xiang Baiwei put in her backpack.

He knew very well what was in the house, and what Xiang Baiwei put in her backpack must be for exchange.

But he couldn't guess what he would give Bai Wei in exchange.

Xiang Baiwei took out a black coat from the backpack, then put a blue scarf on her head and a scarf covering half of her face.

Dressed in this outfit, she took many turns and finally arrived at a special street in the town.

If I remember correctly, the so-called free market is on this street.

This town is not very big, with only about a hundred households, so the business that can be done is probably limited.

The sky was gradually turning pale. Xiang Baiwei stood at the street entrance, looking at the sparse crowd of people inside.

Most of those people were scattered, each standing in one place.

There were also groups of two or three, and all of them would carry a bamboo basket on their arms.

It looks like a transaction.

Xiang Baiwei carried the backpack on her back and walked forward step by step.

Every person who passes by will receive a scrutiny.

After walking back and forth twice, Xiang Baiwei picked a man who was also strolling back and forth. She approached the man and lowered her voice: "Boss, do you want fish?"

The man looked around vigilantly, pointed to a small corner next to him, and then walked over first.

Xiang Baiwei followed closely behind, took off the backpack on her body and held it to her chest.

"What fish do you have? How big are they?"

Xiang Baiwei recalled the types of the three fish she had put in that morning: "Two crucian carps and one carp, each weighing four pounds. The price is fixed, fifty cents per pound."

The man hesitated for about half a minute: "Each one is about four pounds in size? Let me see."

Xiang Bai Wei looked around, lifted the cloth covering the quilt, turned the fish tied with straw rope over, and let the man look at it.

The man opened the fish's gills and took a look, then weighed the fish in the basket and nodded cheerfully: "Okay, I'll take them all."

It was the first time they did business together, and for the sake of good luck, Xiang Baiwei deliberately gave the man a small discount. For the three fish, she charged the man a total of six dollars.

The man took out three green banknotes and stuffed them into Xiang Baiwei's hand. Then he quickly put the three fish into the bamboo basket on his arm.

Good luck in the grand opening. Xiang Baiwei put six dollars into her bag, looked up at the sky, and seeing that there was still enough time, she turned around and ran to a secluded place, hid herself, and took out three more fish from the space.

After she came back, the person who had noticed her trading came over and said, "I seemed to smell fish just now. Anything else?"

Xiang Baiwei was delighted and said, "Hmm," "We have crucian carp, grass carp, and carp. Which one do you want?"

"I want crucian carp. My wife is in confinement after giving birth and needs this fish. Can we negotiate the price?"

Xiang Baiwei lifted the cloth in the basket and showed the man the fish inside. "They are very fresh. They were just caught before dawn today. Each one weighs four pounds. I charged the man fifty cents per pound. As for you, since your wife is in confinement after childbirth, I'll give you three fish for five dollars."

The man looked delighted and hurriedly took out five dollars. He gave the money to Xiang Baiwei only after she gave him the fish.

The transaction had just been completed. Xiang Baiwei was hesitating whether to get a few more fish to sell when the man who was on guard at the entrance of the alley in the distance ran into the alley like a gust of wind, imitating the barking of a dog as he ran.

These dog barks are the secret codes of the free market.

When Xiang Baiwei and the others heard the dog barking, they packed up their things and quickly left the alley in different directions.

Not long after running, Xiang Baiwei vaguely heard a few loud shouts, followed by a dispute.

Xiang Baiwei was so scared that her heart was in her throat. She ran forward without looking back.

She ran all the way to the market area, where she saw several middle-aged women from Xiangjia Village who were coming to the market.

In order not to arouse suspicion, Xiang Baiwei found a toilet, changed her clothes inside, and then came out to meet up with those ladies.

Before leaving the bathroom, she deliberately put the clothes she had taken off and the cloth that was stained with fishy smell when she had just placed the fish into the space.

It is not safe to carry it on your body, but it is safer to put it in space.

Near noon, Xiang Baiwei returned home carrying a basket of vegetables.

In the yard, Jiang Sui was cutting sweet potatoes with a knife. He planned to dry some of the sweet potatoes while the sun was still good.

Dried sweet potatoes are a very high-status food in this era.

"You're back? Is the market lively?"

Xiang Baiwei, who earned eleven dollars in the morning, was slightly excited. She described to Jiang Sui with great joy what vegetables she had bought.

Xiang Baiwei turned out all the radishes of various colors from her backpack, poured them on the ground, and pointed to a piece of land in the corner: "I think that's a good spot. I'll dig a cellar with a hoe later and store these radishes in it. It'll be enough for us to eat for the whole winter." (The earth cellar, burying the radishes in the soil, can ensure that they will not go bad for the whole winter.) Jiang Sui looked at the dazzling array of radishes and suppressed his doubts: "Put them here first. I'll dig out the cellar later. After I finish these dried sweet potatoes, I'll make the radish cellar."

"Then I'll help you cut the sweet potatoes."

Xiang Baiwei took off her coat and sat over.

(End of this chapter)