Chapter 88: Encountering the Deputy Monitor at the Black Market
Xia Xiaoman originally thought that the so-called black market was like in the movies, with narrow and winding streets covered with all kinds of illegal advertisements and graffiti, and every passerby had all kinds of sharp weapons hidden on them.
However, the reality is that it is similar to an ordinary night market, with many small stalls in the wide square, selling clothes, candles, and pots and pans.
As soon as I walked into the night market, the owner of the stall next to me greeted me warmly, "Little sister, do you want to see a necklace? Do you want a bag? I sell LC brand bags for one pound of grain. They are 100% authentic. If they are fake, I will compensate you tenfold!"
"Beauty, would you like to buy some clothes? Short-sleeve shirts are 50, long-sleeve shirts are 40, and we have both long pants and shorts. They are all new and have never been worn."
"Big sale! Second-hand water bottles, good quality and low price, first come first served, while stocks last!"
There were constant shouting and bargaining sounds, but there was no trace of a black market at all.
Xia Xiaoman walked around and stopped in front of a small stall. "How much are these seeds?"
The dozing boss heard the voice and stood up with a start. He hesitated for a long time before saying, "One pound of grain for a bag of seeds."
The seeds on the stalls are all packaged vegetable seeds, and there are quite a few varieties, including coriander, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, beans, Chinese cabbage, chili peppers, okra, pumpkins, zucchini...
"Can I tear open a package and take a look?" Xia Xiaoman asked.
There are also requirements for seed preservation. These seeds have experienced humid floods and have been baked by high temperatures. Who knows if they can still be planted.
The boss looked hesitant and said, "If you tear it up and don't want it, it will be difficult for me to sell it again..."
Xia Xiaoman thought for a moment, took out a one-pound bag of brown rice from her bag and threw it to the boss, then picked out a bag of radish seeds, opened it and poured it out to check.
Seeing that the quality of the seeds was okay, he asked, "Do you have any other seeds?"
"Yes, I have another bag here." The boss pulled out a red plastic bag from under the stool.
Xia Xiaoman roughly counted how many bags of seeds there were in the bags and on the stalls, "Boss, do you only take in grain? Do you take in other things?"
"Gold is fine, or water is fine."
The boss thought for a moment and then said, "If you don't have any, you can use sanitary napkins."
Xia Xiaoman: “!!!”
Seeing Xia Xiaoman's shocked look, the boss reacted and quickly explained: "It's not me who wants to use it, it's my wife and my daughter who want to use it..."
So that's how it was. She thought she had met a pervert. "Then how about exchanging sanitary napkins? One night pad for a packet of seeds?"
"No, it's too little. Two tablets for night use or three tablets for daily use for a packet of seeds. If it's a sanitary pad, five tablets for one." The boss bargained with Xia Xiaoman with a flushed face, and sweat kept coming out of his nervous forehead.
The flood lasted for more than two months. People were more in need of sanitary products than food. Some sanitary napkins and toilet paper were not vacuum packed and could not be used after being soaked in water.
Many people tear off the paper from books when there is no toilet paper. If there is no book, they use rags. If there is no rag, they can only pick leaves. If there are no leaves, they either don't wipe their butts or sacrifice their shirts.
But without sanitary napkins, women will feel very uncomfortable during their menstrual period. Those who are skillful can learn to make menstrual belts like the ancients. Those who are clumsy can only find a pile of cloth to pad underneath.
During the flood season, it was not hot and humid, so although I was not used to these two methods, it was not uncomfortable. But now the weather is extremely hot and humid, and I have to put a thick cloth under my body, which is unbearable for normal people.
The stall owner has two daughters and a wife, so there are three people in total who need sanitary napkins, so he gritted his teeth and refused to lower the price at all.
Seeing that he was unwilling to give in, Xia Xiaoman had no choice but to agree to buy the vegetable seeds at his price. "I don't have that many sanitary napkins with me now. I'll bring the things over around 10 o'clock tomorrow night. You wait for me at the street corner."
There are many people in the square, so it is best to avoid trading with people.
After agreeing on a time with his boss, Xia Xiaoman continued to wander aimlessly in the black market, looking for opportunities to buy a generator.
Suddenly someone patted her shoulder. Xia Xiaoman subconsciously grabbed the hand that patted her and pulled it forward, while at the same time she hit her left elbow hard backwards.
"Ah! Hiss, it hurts, Xia Xiaoman, it's me!"
Hearing the voice, Xia Xiaoman let go of her hand and turned around. It turned out to be the vice-monitor of the university class. "Hu Yao? Long time no see."
Hu Yao rubbed his chest and grinned, "Long time no see. I didn't expect you to give me such a big gift as soon as we met."
Xia Xiaoman laughed awkwardly twice, "You suddenly patted my shoulder from behind, and I thought you were looking for trouble, so I subconsciously hit you. Is that okay?"
"It's okay. Why did you come to the black market alone? It's very chaotic here. Be careful of being robbed."
Xia Xiaoman looked around and said, "It's not bad! I think this place is similar to an ordinary night market."
Hu Yao shook his head speechlessly. "Didn't you find out clearly before coming to the black market? The black market doesn't look chaotic, but there have been people watching you since you entered the black market."
"If you buy a lot of things and leave the black market, someone will follow you and rob you when they find a chance. If you encounter some extremely vicious people, you may even lose your life."
Xia Xiaoman nodded thoughtfully, "It doesn't matter, I didn't buy anything, so I shouldn't be targeted."
"Not necessarily. If they can't rob you of your money, someone might rape you instead."
Hu Yao sighed, "Since we are classmates, I will be your escort tonight! Do you want to buy anything else? If not, I will take you home."
Xia Xiaoman narrowed his eyes and shook his head, "I wanted to see if there were any generators for sale on the black market, but after looking around, I couldn't find any engines."
"You want to buy a generator?!" Hu Yao was surprised. "Can you afford the price of a generator?"
Xia Xiaoman raised the corners of her lips and said, "I can't afford it alone, but I can join forces with my neighbors to buy one."
Hu Yao smiled and said, "At a time like this, generators are lifesavers. They can power fans and air conditioners. Anyone who has a generator will keep it hidden. How can they sell it?"
Suddenly, he thought of something and said, "I know there is a place that has a solar generator installed. If you can get that house, you can get a generator for free."
"What do you mean?" Xia Xiaoman looked at Hu Yao with a smile.
Hu Yao glanced around and saw that no one was paying attention to them, so he lowered his voice and said, "Fatty Luo, do you still remember him? He was the fat guy with glasses who confessed his love to you not long after school started."
Xia Xiaoman nodded. Of course she remembered that fat guy. When he failed to express his love to her, he framed Huang Yao and said that she would sleep with him every weekend to make money.
"Fatty Luo has recently been hanging out with a guy called Brother Leopard. He often leads people to rob people coming out of the black market and gets a lot of good stuff."
"Several of my companions and I have been robbed before." Hu Yao was a little angry when he said this. "My companions and I have been scouting the area these two days and found Fatty Luo's residence. We are preparing to take action in the next two days."
"If you are willing to join us and fight against Fatty Luo together, I can promise you that I will give you the generator after we succeed."
Xia Xiaoman raised her eyebrows and wondered why the deputy monitor was so active in getting close to her. It turned out that he was waiting for her here.
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