Since Xu Ningyan was pretending to be doing this for the first time, she naturally couldn't quote prices as skillfully as she would in the black market.
Instead, he nervously rubbed his hands on his trouser leg and tentatively said, "Auntie, this is my first time too. These are all good stuff, you can see for yourself! How much? Can you pay me the black market price?"
The last two words were spoken very carefully.
The old woman was overjoyed. She had gotten a good deal while sitting at home today. She nodded repeatedly and said, "Don't worry, I'm not a heartless person. I'll give you whatever price is right."
Xu Ningyan said that there were five catties of rice, two liang of red dates in a bag, one catty of brown sugar in a bag, two catties of peanuts, and one and a half catties of cured meat.
Fearing the old lady wouldn't believe him, he asked her to bring out the scale herself.
The old lady then went inside and got a scale, weighed each item, and found that the weights were exactly the same.
I was even more satisfied; he was an honest man.
I did some mental calculations. These days, black market rice is 20 cents a pound. At that price, five pounds of rice would cost one yuan; two ounces of red dates would cost 10 cents; two pounds of peanuts would cost 60 cents; one pound of brown sugar would cost 60 cents, so two pounds would cost one yuan and 20 cents; and one and a half pounds of cured meat would cost two yuan and 50 cents.
These things will cost 5.4 yuan in total.
The old lady hesitated for a moment. She accepted the rice, red dates, and brown sugar, but she was reluctant to part with the peanuts and cured meat.
He only said he was going in to get the money, and a little while later he took out two yuan and thirty cents and handed it to Xu Ningyan.
Xu Ningyan counted the money, handed the rice, red dates, and brown sugar to the old woman, and asked her to pour the rice into her own rice jar before returning the bag to her.
When the old lady came out, Xu Ningyan, to express his gratitude, grabbed two more handfuls of peanuts and gave them to her.
The old lady hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly accepted it.
Xu Ningyan then inquired whether anyone nearby wanted to buy or could buy her things.
If the old lady can help introduce someone, she will give her two cents as a running fee.
Upon hearing this, the old lady slapped her thigh and immediately declared that she would take care of it.
She said she wanted to sit down for a while, as she had an old friend who was well-off and would definitely need the remaining peanuts and cured meat. However, her friend had gone out to buy things and would be back soon.
Afraid that Xu Ningyan would run away, she brought Xu Ningyan tea and chatted with her.
Xu Ningyan had been waiting for this moment.
At first, she was reserved, just holding her teacup and listening to the old lady ask her where she came from.
I made up a story about my origins, figuring the old lady wouldn't believe me anyway, since this kind of work is dangerous and nobody would confide in me.
As she gradually relaxed, Xu Ningyan took the initiative to ask about the courtyard Lu Kai had come from: "Auntie, the people living in this alley all look quite respectable! It's so much better than our countryside! I must say, the feng shui in the city really does nurture people."
"When I first arrived, I saw a really pretty girl at the house with the little stone benches in front of it! We don't have girls like that in our village—"
This is one of the old lady's specialties.
He immediately smiled and said, "I know that family. Although they're not long-time residents of our alley, they've been here for several years. A young couple lives there. The man's surname is Lu, and his wife, the pretty girl you see, is surnamed Meng."
"I heard that Xiao Lu works out of town, as a technician, and he rarely comes back! We haven't seen him much either, only once or twice. He's a very polite and friendly young man. Xiao Meng, on the other hand, works locally, I think at a garment factory nearby. She's a well-known beauty in our alley!"
"The young couple has a good relationship. Even though the man doesn't come home often, Xiao Meng is so beautiful, but she's a respectable person and never flirts with other men. I heard a few days ago that Xiao Lu was injured and hospitalized in another city for more than a month. As soon as he recovered, he came back and didn't forget to bring Xiao Meng a silk scarf, saying that he had someone bring it back from Shanghai!"
"Tsk tsk, you didn't see it, that scarf is really beautiful, it's actually a fuchsia color, I've lived for most of my life and I've never seen such a bright color."
"Xiao Meng has worn it out several times. Not only are all the young women and wives in our alley staring at it with wide eyes, but even I, an old woman, want to take a second look. But only a pretty girl like Xiao Meng can pull off this color. If it were anyone else, even with chicken feathers stuck in their hair, they wouldn't be a phoenix!"
...
Xu Ningyan chimed in, coaxing the old woman into talking more and more enthusiastically.
Aside from the one family Xu Ningyan wanted to inquire about, she wished she could spill all the old gossip in this alley.
What? So-and-so's daughter-in-law loves to give money to her own family, she's practically emptied out her husband's family's coffers.
What's going on? A mother-in-law favors her youngest son, and the other daughters-in-law are unhappy about it, so they fight every day.
So-and-so's daughter married a cadre who could be her father so she wouldn't have to go to the countryside.
...
Xu Ningyan was so engrossed in listening that she momentarily forgot about Xiao Lu and Xiao Meng, whom the old lady had been talking about.
The old lady had also lost track of time, and kept talking until her grandson came home from school and pushed open the door, saying he was hungry, which startled the two of them.
The old woman snapped out of her reverie, slapped her thigh, and exclaimed, "Oh dear, look at my memory! I get so carried away when I start telling stories! Quick, quick, come with me—"
She instructed her grandson to watch the door at home, then took Xu Ningyan out the door, took a few steps, and knocked on the door of the house across the street.
An older woman who looked about the same age as her opened the door. Before she could even speak, she was pushed inside by the older woman and then dragged Xu Ningyan inside as well.
Not long after, Xu Ningyan came out with an empty bamboo basket. The old lady and her aunt reluctantly saw her off at the door, holding Xu Ningyan's hands: "Come visit me anytime, I'll be waiting for you!"
Xu Ningyan readily agreed: "Auntie, don't worry, once things are quieter in the countryside and the crops are harvested, I'll bring some local specialties for you to try—"
Putting everything else aside, just to listen to this auntie gossip, I have to come here often.
After the two parties reached an agreement, Xu Ningyan slowly walked out of the alley carrying a bamboo basket.
At this time, although the children have finished school, the adults have not yet finished get off work, and there are not many pedestrians on the road.
Xu Ningyan found a secluded spot, put her belongings into her spatial storage, and returned to her previous attire before heading home.
As I walked, I kept pondering the information the old woman had revealed.
The male head of the household is surnamed Lu, but let's leave that aside for now.
The woman surnamed Meng worked in a garment factory, was wearing a rose-red silk scarf, and looked familiar from the side. These factors combined reminded Xu Ningyan of someone.
Meng Ruyi, the most beautiful girl in the garment factory.
Putting everything else aside, that rose-red silk scarf was bought by Lu Kai from Xu Ningyan.
How did it come to the old lady's account that Meng Ruyi's husband brought her back from out of town? Could it be that Lu Kai is Meng Ruyi's husband?
No way! If Lu Kai really is Meng Ruyi's husband, why would he be so open about dating Xu Zhenzhu and constantly proclaim that he wants to marry her?
He's made such a big fuss, there's no way things will end if he doesn't marry Xu Zhenzhu.
You have to understand, in this day and age, dating without the intention of marriage is considered immoral.
Not to mention Lu Kai, even the Lu family would never allow him to make such a mistake!
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