Chapter 113 How can they be considered childhood sweethearts if they didn't grow up together?
The West Fifth Lane black market is located at the westernmost part of the town, in a more remote location. It is also much smaller in scale than the East Third Lane black market, and fewer people come here, so it is relatively safer.
Previously, Aunt Tang and her friends would usually come here to buy things like needles, thread, and seasonings.
Qin Suisui was also a first-timer, but fortunately, the rules of the black markets she had been to seemed to be similar. After paying the money, someone led them inside.
The scale inside was indeed much smaller than the black market in East Third Alley, but it had everything you could want, just with fewer varieties. Qin Suisui also noticed that there were more stalls selling seasonings and some old rice and flour of poor quality.
It seems the two black markets cater to different groups of people, but that didn't affect her.
Qin Suisui has no shortage of rice and flour. She had previously stockpiled a lot of Northeast rice in Northeast China, as well as rice, flour, and cooking oil that she had taken from Yang Jiankang's granary. She will not lack food for the next few years.
Su Yunyi wasn't short of money; she was already well-off. Working at the medicinal herb garden, she earned full work points every day, and the allocated rations were more than enough for her alone. She didn't need to buy stale rice. Her main purpose in coming was to buy more sugar. She was from Suzhou, where people consumed a lot of sugar, adding it to everything they made, resulting in high sugar consumption.
Qin Suisui followed suit and bought some brown sugar and white sugar, as well as a jar of vinegar. Summers on Qiongtan Island are too hot, and she loves cold dishes, so she uses a lot of vinegar; most of the vinegar she bought last time is already gone.
After looking around, she couldn't find any fine salt for sale. Most of the salt she saw was coarse salt, probably refined by fishermen from seawater. Qin Suisui couldn't get used to this kind of salt; she always felt that there was sand in it, and it tasted rough.
She lowered her head and asked the stall owner in a low voice, "Do you sell fine salt here?"
The stall owner was a young man in his early twenties, with long, dark, and thin hair, looking like a monkey. He scratched his ear, looked around, and asked her in a low voice, "How many do you want?"
This means "yes".
Qin Suisui was overjoyed and lowered her voice, "How much per pound?"
The stall owner held up his hand and made a "9" gesture. Seeing Qin Suisui frown, he quickly added, "If you buy a lot, I can give you a discount."
Qin Suisui nodded: "I need 60 jin, do you have any?"
Su Yunyi pulled Qin Suisui aside and whispered, "Are you crazy? Why are you buying so much?"
Qin Suisui patted her hand reassuringly: "I bought these for the ladies in the family compound. They said it would be cheaper if we bought them together."
Actually, no, she planned to buy it to store in her space. She originally wanted to say 100 jin, but she was afraid that it would be too much and too conspicuous.
Su Yunyi thought for a moment and nodded: "Then...then I'll buy ten catties with you too?"
Qin Suisui turned to the stall owner: "Add another ten jin, that'll be 70 jin in total, can you give me a discount?"
Upon hearing that he was a big customer, the stall owner nodded with delight: "Yes, yes, I'll give you a discount of one cent per pound. Wait for me under that big tree over there in twenty minutes, and we'll exchange money for goods!"
After saying that, he glanced at the vendor selling spicy sauce next to him. The vendor understood and came over from his stall to help serve the customer.
Qin Suisui and Su Yunyi then strolled around the black market. Women, no matter where they are, are easily attracted to fabrics and skincare products when they go shopping.
The two originally intended to buy chili sauce, but before they knew it, they had wandered over to a skincare product stall.
The stall owner was a smooth talker. As soon as he saw the two women staring at him, he quickly introduced, "Comrades, this is Friendship brand snow cream, just shipped from Shanghai. It moisturizes and nourishes the skin, and prevents sunburn. Would you like a couple of boxes?"
Su Yunyi touched her face; she had indeed gotten a bit tanned recently. Without hesitation, she squatted down and began to choose.
Qin Suisui was also tempted. She had naturally fair skin and didn't get tanned easily. Even if she did get tanned, she would quickly return to her fair skin. However, she still insisted on skincare every night and would also make some face masks using the methods her grandmother taught her every now and then.
Grandma said that no matter how good your skin or how good your natural foundation is, if you don't take good care of it, it will eventually become ravaged and unsightly. So, we have to buy it!
While the two men were squatting in front of the stall selecting their salt, the salt vendor had already run into a residential building. He took a sip of water as soon as he entered before panting and saying, "Boss, two ladies want to buy 70 jin of salt. I'll deliver it over now."
Someone nearby laughed at him: "70 jin? Monkey, you haven't been set up, have you? Even if a typhoon is coming, no one would hoard this much salt all at once, right?"
The monkey's face turned red as he argued, "I heard her say that she was bringing them for the women in the yard!"
Hearing this, Liang Qi paused, his hand that had been tossing the knife up and down, and asked, almost as if possessed, "What does that girl look like?"
The monkey shook its head: "His face was covered by a handkerchief, so I couldn't see clearly, but his eyes were extremely beautiful... Hey, boss, where are you going?"
The monkey was taken aback, but quickly stood up, picked up the salt, and followed Liang Qi toward the black market in West Fifth Alley.
Upon arriving at the black market, Liang Qi did not go inside. Instead, he went up the stairs to the small attic.
Looking down from the attic, the girl with a white shirt, pinafore dress, two braids, and delicate features was the one he had been dreaming about.
He gave a wry smile: "They know East Third Alley is mine, so they won't even go there anymore."
The monkey didn't understand. He put the salt on the ground, wiped his sweat, and asked, puzzled, "Boss, what did you say?"
Wen Lian stepped forward, head bowed: "I'm sorry, boss, if it weren't for me..."
Liang Qi shook his head: "You know what? Ah Lian, I was born with the name Sun Ruwen, but when I was 14, my mother wanted to change my surname to Liang in order to please my stepfather. She seemed to be very fair and asked me what name I wanted. I could choose it myself. I thought about it and said I wanted to be called Liang Qi, the Liang Qi from 'There is a fox, so graceful, in the Qi Liang.'"
“I’ve wanted to tell her since I was 14 that I had another name, but I never had the chance. When I met her later, I didn’t have the courage to tell her. By the time she found out, it was too late.”
"Actually, I should thank you. If it weren't for you, I would only ever be Ruwen in her memory, and I would never be able to face her openly and honestly."
Wen Lian choked up, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down: "But she doesn't want to see you anymore."
Liang Qi smiled and said, "What does it matter? You know, when I was 14, I left without saying goodbye. She was angry with me for two years. Later, after I finally managed to coax her back, she told me that she was waiting for a childhood sweetheart."
"I was overjoyed. I actually thought she was talking about me."
"Ah Lian, tell me, how can they be considered childhood sweethearts if they didn't grow up together? It's clearly me and her who are childhood sweethearts!"
Wenlian lowered his head and remained silent.
Liang Qi smiled and then spoke to Monkey, who was already trembling with fear, "Remember that woman in the white shirt. If she comes again, remember to let me know. Also, whatever she buys, sell it to her cheap. If we don't have what she wants in the black market, we'll rob her if we have to!"
The monkey stammered, pointing to the seventy pounds of salt on the ground: "Then...then what about this?"
Wenlian kicked him: "Five cents! Get lost!"
The monkey, clutching the salt, was about to run downstairs when Liang Qi's cold voice came from behind again: "Remember to inform the brothers in South Fifth Alley and North Third Alley later, and move some of the goods from East Third Alley to the west side as well!"
The monkey stumbled and nearly fell. Jianghui Town only had four black markets: east, west, south, and north. The fifth alley in the west, which he was in charge of, was the poorest and smallest. Now, the boss was actually going to transfer some of the goods from the third alley in the east to him because of that woman?
That wasn't some woman! She was practically his benefactor!
Upon seeing Qin Suisui again, the monkey's attitude underwent a complete 180-degree turn, becoming extremely respectful.
Qin Suisui was a little suspicious, but when she saw the salt he was carrying, she couldn't help but feel relieved. They say the customer is always right! She bought so much salt from him, so it was only right that he be nice to her!
But what the monkey said next startled her:
"Comrade, since you're buying a lot, I'll just give you the cost price of 50 cents per pound. Here's 70 pounds of fine salt. Check it over, and if there are no problems, just give me 35 yuan!"
Qin Suisui's eyes widened. The original price was nine cents, and they said they would give her a discount of one cent, making it eight cents per pound. How come after she went to get the salt, they gave her a discount of 21 yuan?
Since this was something she was getting a good deal from, Qin Suisui naturally didn't ask any more questions. After checking that the salt was of good quality and there were no problems, she took out 35 yuan from her cloth bag and handed it to the monkey.
The monkey then happily grabbed two large jars of chili sauce from the stall next to him and shoved them into her hands: "Comrade, we're having a big sale today, take this chili sauce and try it. If you like it, remember to come back and buy more!"
Now Qin Suisui was indeed suspicious, and she didn't dare to take the chili sauce. She wouldn't dare to take a free lunch: "Boss, forget about the chili sauce, thank you."
The monkey realized he had lost his composure. He glanced casually at the attic out of the corner of his eye, his body stiffened, and then he shoved the chili sauce back into his mouth.
"Comrades, did I scare you? Actually, just as you were buying salt, my wife gave birth to a big, healthy girl! I've been hoping for a girl for so many years! You are my lucky stars, and I was so happy that I..."
Upon hearing what had happened, Qin Suisui and Su Yunyi realized they had misunderstood and quickly congratulated Monkey. Monkey waved his hand and stuffed the boxes of face cream they had their eyes on into their hands: "Take these and use them. Consider it as doing my daughter a favor! In the future, come to my black market in West Fifth Alley and I'll get you whatever you want!"
Qin Suisui and Su Yunyi were also happy. Having connections in the black market would make it easier to buy whatever they wanted in the future!
Before leaving, Qin Suisui saw a number of vendors selling pork, canned goods, and seafood coming in one after another. Her eyes lit up, and she went to buy three more sets of pork offal.
Su Yunyi pinched her nose, her brows furrowed tightly: "Sui Sui, why did you buy the wastewater? It stinks!"
Qin Suisui raised an eyebrow at her, giving her a "you don't understand" look.
"I'll braise some when I get home today, and I'll bring you some tomorrow. Then you'll know how delicious pork offal is!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
