The commune was located in a market town an hour away from Xiahe Village, unlike the county town where Qifei had come by train that day.
This market town is small, but it has a large population.
People from nearby villages come to the commune in the market town here, because the county town is too expensive for them.
Private buying and selling is not allowed at present, so you can only buy things from the commune.
However, you need coupons to buy things in the commune. Occasionally, some defective products don't require coupons, but those are very rare and you have to be lucky to find them.
Qifei went inside with them for a stroll, bought a bag of fruit candies with her candy coupons, and decided to go out for a walk when she saw the crowded commune.
There were too many people, but very few kinds of food, which disappointed Qifei.
A long line had already formed at the pork stall, and looking at the remaining meat, Qifei figured that even if she got to the front of the line, there probably wouldn't be much left.
It seems that if you want to eat something good, you have to queue up very early in the morning.
Qifei squeezed out of the commune and strolled around the town, where she noticed someone sneaking into an alley.
And there's more than one.
This piqued her curiosity.
She followed the others into the alley.
Qifei went in openly and without any attempt to conceal herself, so she was immediately recognized.
"Big brother, that looks like that educated youth from our village." Monkey looked at Qi Fei's figure hesitantly, unable to believe that someone would openly shop at the black market without any disguise.
Shura naturally saw Qifei's figure as well.
It seemed like she was seeing a black market for the first time, and she stared in astonishment at the people squatting on the ground selling things.
The black market had a much wider variety of items than the commune, but the prices were a bit higher.
Because you don't need a ticket.
Of course, if tickets are available, the price will be a little lower than at the commune.
However, the price will be much higher if you don't have a ticket.
Qifei looked at each stall with great interest.
"Didn't the people at the door stop them?" Shura asked in a low voice.
The black market isn't a place anyone can just walk into. Usually, there's a guide who will show you around. Once you've been there once, you'll become a familiar face, and the next time you can come on your own.
However, Qifei came on her own; no one brought her here.
The monkey took a look and returned with an embarrassed expression. "The person watching at the door said he had never seen such a beautiful woman before and was stunned for a moment, so he let her in and didn't stop her."
By the time she realized what was happening, she was already inside.
People are already inside; there's no point in stopping them anymore.
Shura frowned. "Let him go and receive his punishment himself in a bit."
"Yes, boss."
Shura's gaze fell on Qifei. She was beautiful and attracted a lot of attention as soon as she entered.
No matter which stall she squatted in front of, the stall owner would unconsciously lower the price a few cents when looking at her face and listening to her sweet words.
Shura almost laughed out of anger. How come he never knew these people could be so chivalrous?
They source all the goods on the black market through various means, profiting from the price difference.
Although there was a bottom price and bargaining was allowed, this kind of price reduction is truly unprecedented.
Shura decided to deduct the money from these people when he checked the accounts today, so that they would be consumed by lust.
He would never admit that he felt a little annoyed seeing Qi Fei laughing and joking with others in such a sweet and gentle manner.
Qifei happily carried a basket on her back and left the black market.
Just now, the staff inside saw that she had bought a lot of things and gave her a basket as a gift, which is convenient for carrying things.
Although she found the things too heavy and moved them from the basket to her storage bag, it didn't stop her from being happy.
She bought a lot of things today, so she can have a good meal when she gets home.
These days, eating so much coarse grains has made her feel like she could eat a whole cow in one go.
She never went hungry in the previous two worlds; all sorts of delicacies came to her whenever she wanted. She didn't realize it then, but now it seems like such a luxury.
In this world, being able to eat meat is something to celebrate; it's so rare.
The educated youth who came this time bought a lot of things. They rarely come to the commune, so they definitely wanted to take the opportunity to buy as much as they could.
Everyone returned with their baskets full of goods. Some people were curious about what Qifei had bought, and Qifei generously showed them what was in her basket: a few pieces of cloth and some pastries.
"Oh dear, this cloth looks so drab, it might not look good on you," someone said, quickly glancing at the cloth in Qifei's basket.
"It's alright, it's more resistant to getting dirty when working." Qifei smiled as she packed up her basket.
That's true. They work in the fields every day, so they can't wear all those pretty colors. They definitely need to find colors that are more durable.
"Qifei, your family must dote on you a lot. This cloth must have cost a lot of money, right?" Someone looked at Qifei's basket with envy.
They wouldn't even be willing to buy fabrics that are easy to get dirty, let alone pretty ones.
Moreover, cloth ration coupons were required to buy cloth, and they had to save the few coupons they found each month to supplement their family income.
But it seems that Qifei doesn't have to worry about those things at all.
Qifei tilted her head and smiled, "Hmm, not bad."
Although her current family isn't extremely wealthy, it's considered quite well-off in this world.
Her family originally intended to arrange a job for her in a factory, but because of Shura, she had no choice but to go to the countryside.
Moreover, if she doesn't go to the countryside, her brother will.
There are only two children in their family. Originally, her parents' idea was that since the older brother was a boy, he would be tough and hard-working, so they would send him to the countryside for a few years to train him, and then find an opportunity to bring him back later.
My youngest daughter is so cute and cuddly, I feel more at ease keeping her by my side.
However, Qifei snatched the spot to go to the countryside. Her brother is a rare scientific research talent. If he goes to the countryside, he will be ruined in those few years. Besides, Xiuluo is still in the countryside. If she doesn't come, the two of them will not be able to meet.
Knowing that Qifei was going to the countryside, her brother felt very guilty, feeling that his sister had volunteered to go to the countryside because of him.
Her family felt indebted to her, so they asked her to bring a lot of tickets and money over, and they still send her a lot of tickets and money every month.
So not only did she not need to subsidize her family, her family would also send her tickets and money from time to time, telling her not to deprive herself and to buy whatever she wanted.
However, she never opened letters in front of the people at the educated youth settlement. She would always find a quiet place to open the letters, read them, and then put them in her storage bag.
Today, the educated youth settlement was filled with the rare aroma of meat.
Many people stared longingly at the kitchen, constantly swallowing their saliva.
The aroma was so strong that it attracted not only the educated youth settlement but also the people living nearby.
"Comrades, what are you eating? I smell meat."
Although Kihi didn't buy meat at the commune, she did encounter it at the black market, so she bought a lot without hesitation.
Back at the educated youth settlement, she contributed a piece of pork belly.
Right now, she's making braised pork.
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