Chapter 174 Don't Sigh
Thinking about the twenty-odd bottles of beauty-enhancing pills that the women in the Beijing family compound had ordered, Qin Suisui could use the excuse of buying medicinal herbs to look for herbs on the black market to help Song Yunlai detoxify.
That's right. Although Qin Suisui doesn't have an antidote right now, her master had already told her the underlying logic of how to make an antidote in the Snake Witch Tribe. The poison that Song Yunlai and the others were poisoned was like building a tower. Each person who was poisoned later had one more type of toxin in their body than the person who was poisoned earlier. As the toxins kept piling up, the current antidote could never cure the next person.
However, this poison has a fatal flaw: its underlying logic is always the same. Qin Suisui is quick to understand; her master gave her a few pointers, and she grasped the essence of it.
Therefore, she wasn't worried about Song Yunlai's poison at all; the only missing ingredient was that was difficult to find.
The next morning, Qin Suisui directly invited Sister Wu and Sister Tu from the family compound to go to the black market in East Third Alley. Sister Liu was too busy with her work at the hospital to go out, and Sister Tang was even less likely to go out, as she was already more than six months pregnant and her belly was very big, making it very inconvenient for her to come out.
But they all asked Qin Suisui and the others to help them carry things, and since it was a small favor, no one refused.
This was Qin Suisui's first time coming to the black market so early. She thought there would be fewer people in the morning, but there were even more than expected.
Aunt Wu patted her hand: "There are lots of good dishes on the black market, you can only get the best if you come early!"
Qin Suisui felt ashamed. It seemed to make sense. She had never gotten up early to grab food, nor had she ever lacked food or drink. In comparison, she really was somewhat unaware of the hardships of life.
They parked and locked their bicycles in a secluded spot, then put on hats and homemade masks for simple concealment before heading towards the black market.
At the entrance to the black market, the third-year gatekeeper was yawning. Seeing the three people approaching, he said impatiently, "Buy or sell? Buy one, sell two, pay upfront!"
Qin Suisui nodded: "Buy."
As she was about to take out her money, the third-year student frowned when he saw the large basket on her back, and his tone became particularly fierce: "Open the basket and take a look!"
Qin Suisui was taken aback: "When did this rule come about?" She had always carried a basket when she came to the black market before, and she had never heard of having to be checked before entering.
"Stop talking nonsense, open it when I tell you to! You can't get in if you don't open it!"
"Honestly, we're already in the black market, why bother with rules..." the third-year student muttered under his breath, his tone quite fierce.
A sharp "snap" rang out, startling Da San for a moment before he felt a dull pain on his head. He belatedly looked back and saw his boss standing behind him, his eyes looking... scary!
Following behind Liang Qi, Wen Lian glared at him with exasperation, then turned to Qin Suisui with an extremely eager smile: "No need for inspection, hurry up and go in!"
Qin Suisui chuckled and nodded to Liang Qi, "Okay, Brother... I'll go in first." Qin Suisui knew that Liang Qi definitely wouldn't accept her three cents, and there was no need for her to argue with him at the door.
Hearing her call him "brother," Liang Qi grinned and said, "Okay, let's go in quickly, don't delay your shopping."
"Hey, wait a minute, even if we don't check, they haven't paid yet!" The third-year student cried out anxiously, watching Qin Suisui and the others walk away with an air of nonchalance.
"Pay up! Pay up! Pay up! I think you're obsessed with money!" Wen Lian kicked him several times in anger, then grabbed his ear and pointed at Qin Suisui's back: "Did you see that? From now on, when this person comes over, not only will you not charge her, but you also have to tell her to charge her for everything she buys at cost price, and give her the best goods!"
The third-year student, clutching his backside, complained, "Who is this? Such a grand entrance."
Wen Lian kicked him a few more times in anger: "Who, who, didn't you hear what she called the boss just now? That's the boss's sister! I really don't know how I ended up with an idiot like you here!"
Turning his head to see Liang Qi's unfriendly gaze, Wen Lian still had to cover for him: "Boss, this kid is new and doesn't know any better."
The third-year student realized what was happening and quickly lowered his head to admit his mistake: "Big brother, I'll remember this. From now on, when my sister... my little sister comes over..."
Before he could finish speaking, the third-year student noticed that his boss's gaze had become even more intimidating, and quickly changed his tune: "From now on... from now on, when that lady comes over, I... I definitely won't charge her, and I'll even... I'll give her a discount!"
On the other side, Qin Suisui followed her two sisters-in-law straight to the black market where seasonings were sold. Her sisters-in-law usually came to the black market to buy seasonings and small items like needles and thread. Qin Suisui didn't actually lack seasonings, but she was surprised to see that they were selling chili oil and Sichuan peppercorn oil.
What was most surprising was that the boss actually let her try it.
Qin Suisui was somewhat flattered. She dipped her fingertip in the oil and tasted it. The chili oil was very authentic Sichuan flavor, seven parts fragrant and three parts spicy, very refreshing. She could also taste the Sichuan peppercorn oil, which was made from Sichuan peppercorns without any other additives.
Previously, their nanny from Sichuan Province had her parents buy a lot of Sichuan peppercorns to make oil so that she could eat properly. The resulting Sichuan peppercorn oil tasted just like this, fragrant and numbing. Sprinkling a little on noodles or cold dishes would elevate the flavor of the dish to another level.
"Boss, give me two bottles of this chili oil, and two jin of Sichuan peppercorn oil too!" Qin Suisui made a quick decision.
"Alright! You're so generous, lady. I used all the freshest chilies and Sichuan peppercorns this year, they're all very fresh. Since you bought a lot, I'll give you a little more of each. Come back if you enjoy it!"
"Here you go, comrade, two bottles of chili oil and two jin of Sichuan peppercorn oil, that'll be six yuan in total. Be careful carrying this, or you might spill it and prick your hand!"
Hearing the price, Qin Suisui was stunned for a moment, silently calculating it twice in her mind. The chili oil was packaged in canned jars, each jar containing about two jin (1 kg), for a total of four jin (2 kg). The lowest market price was one yuan and fifty cents per jin, so four jin would cost six yuan in total.
Sichuan pepper oil is a spice and is relatively expensive. The lowest market price is three yuan per jin (500g), and two jin would cost at least six yuan, which would add up to 12 yuan. Why did you only charge six yuan?
Moreover, the boss said he would give her some to try, but after that big spoonful, it was probably more than half a pound.
However, she didn't say anything; no one would be foolish enough to pay extra for something. Besides, she suspected it was mostly Liang Qi's fault.
The women were buying salt nearby. When Sister Tu saw the extra chili oil and Sichuan peppercorn oil in Qin Suisui's basket, she couldn't help but exclaim, "Suisui, this looks spicy, but with so much oil, it must be very expensive!"
Tu's wife is from Guangdong Province. She usually prefers a light diet and rarely eats spicy food.
Qin Suisui smiled and said, "The price will definitely be a bit higher than ordinary seasonings. You sisters can buy it here, and I'll go over there to check out the medicinal herbs."
On their way to the black market, Wu's wife and Tu's wife had already heard Qin Suisui say that she had taken on a "business" of beauty pills in Beijing. They also knew that the pregnancy-preserving pills that Tang's wife usually took were made by Qin Suisui.
As Aunt Tu watched Qin Suisui squatting in front of the herbal medicine stall selecting herbs, she nudged Aunt Wu with her elbow and said, "Hey, tell me, could Suisui help me take a look at my mother-in-law's illness? Is that alright?"
Tu's sister-in-law went back to her hometown for a while because her mother-in-law had cancer and she needed to go back to take care of her.
Sister-in-law Wu looked at her suspiciously: "Your mother-in-law has cancer, but Sui Sui doesn't know how to treat cancer."
"I was just thinking that since Sui Sui's medical skills are so good, maybe she can cure my mother-in-law's cancer too?"
As Aunt Wu filled the bottle she had brought with sugar, she shook her head with a smile: "Are you silly? When we came here, didn't Sui Sui say that her beauty pills and pregnancy pills are secret recipes left by her grandmother? All she can do is take a pulse and check for minor colds, nothing else."
Aunt Tu asked in confusion, "But do you remember during the Japanese encephalitis outbreak? She saved several of our children, and I heard that she was the one who provided the prescription for that medicine at the hospital!"
Aunt Wu gave her a strange look: "Why do you act like you've lost your memory after going back to your husband's house? Wasn't that bottle of medicine that Sui Sui took out the one she brought from home? She didn't make it herself, did she? The prescription for the hospital was also brought from home. Didn't she tell us that back then?"
“I think that Sui Sui is so young, it’s no problem for her to see her grandma for minor illnesses, but if you want to see a doctor for cancer or some other difficult disease, you’d have to go to an old traditional Chinese medicine doctor with decades of experience. Sui Sui is so young, don’t put so much pressure on her.”
"Besides, your mother-in-law has never treated you well. She bullied you before, so why are you still helping her find a doctor? If you ask me, you've taken care of her and fulfilled your filial duties all these years. You have a clear conscience. Don't do anything unnecessary, otherwise, if she can't be cured and you go through all that trouble, it will end up being your fault."
Sister-in-law Tu nodded: "You're right, I misunderstood."
Qin Suisui was completely unaware of the whispers between her two sisters-in-law. She was squatting in front of the stall, carefully selecting medicinal herbs.
It has to be said that the black market is indeed the black market; it has everything, including many medicinal herbs that she didn't have in her spatial storage.
You see, the medicinal herbs in her spatial storage already encompass a vast array of varieties, including those brought from home, gathered in the mountains and wild forests after arriving on Qiongtan Island, collected from Changbai Mountain, and purchased from the Changbai Mountain black market. She never expected to find new varieties on the black market!
She excitedly squatted down and picked through the herbs, her expression shifting between surprise and sighs. The herbs were indeed excellent, but the skill of the people processing them might vary, resulting in a waste of many good ingredients.
The vendor selling medicinal herbs was a burly young man in his mid-twenties. He glanced at Qin Suisui, then cautiously looked up at his boss, who was watching them from a small pavilion not far away, and broke out in a cold sweat.
"Young...young comrade, what kind of medicine do you need? You...you just tell me, you...you don't sigh..." I was scared!
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