Xu Ningyan's attire was not conspicuous in this black market; everyone dressed in unexpected ways to avoid being noticed.
On such a hot day, some people were wearing dog-skin hats, some were completely covered in burlap sacks, and some had their faces wrapped in black cloth.
The main idea is to conceal one's true identity and not be recognized by anyone.
Even the shoppers were very low-key, keeping their heads down or covering their mouths and noses with scarves or shawls.
Everyone was used to it, so when Xu Ningyan entered the black market, apart from the few men guarding the place, no one gave her a second glance.
Xu Ningyan wasn't in a hurry. She first walked around the venue to get a sense of what was being sold on the black market.
There were vendors selling meat, grain, cloth, watches, and all sorts of coupons and industrial vouchers.
Xu Ningyan chose a spot to put the basket down, and lifted the cloth covering it. Soon, a large crowd gathered around.
Noodles are a delicate product; even department stores don't sell them in large quantities, and you need ration coupons for them.
Not to mention the dried meat; just look at its color, and the chili peppers and peppercorns hanging on it—it smells so tempting.
The jujubes are also large.
Someone then asked the price: "How much are these noodles?"
Xu Ningyan had done her homework before coming. She walked around the store and learned the prices of other items. By comparing them with the prices in the department store, she knew how much to sell them for.
"Noodles are 65 cents a pound without a coupon, and 55 cents with a coupon. Half a pound of dried meat is 2.5 yuan, and red dates are 50 cents a pound," Xu Ningyan quickly quoted the prices.
Some people complained about the price: "Your noodles are too expensive! Can you make them cheaper? Besides, I don't even know where these noodles are from—"
"Buy whatever you want, or go somewhere else!" Xu Ningyan said firmly.
Sure enough, as soon as these words were spoken, the person who complained about the price fell silent. Someone nearby, who had been getting impatient, pushed the person who had spoken, saying, "If you think it's too expensive, then don't block our way from buying! Give me two pounds!"
Once the first person spoke up, the others weren't about to be outdone: "I want three jin!"
"I want a pound!"
They only took three bundles of noodles, weighing fifteen jin in total. This immediately took away five or six jin, and the people behind them panicked, afraid there wouldn't be any left. "I, I want two jin—"
...
Xu Ningyan didn't have a scale, so he asked the rice seller next door for a handful of red dates and borrowed his scale and his help to weigh the rice.
Fifteen pounds of noodles were quickly sold out, along with more than a pound of dried meat and two or three pounds of red dates.
Those who hadn't managed to buy any were still unwilling to give up, surrounding Xu Ningyan and asking, "When will you have more of these noodles?"
Xu Ningyan thought for a moment and said, "I'll have more this afternoon. How many do you want? I'll count them and see if I can get them!"
Everyone was delighted and quickly reported how many kilograms they needed. After a final calculation, it turned out to be about thirty kilograms.
Xu Ningyan nodded: "I'll still be here this afternoon, the sooner you come, the better!"
Only after receiving confirmation did these people slowly disperse.
The guy next to her who was helping out by borrowing the scales whispered, "Hey lady, this thing you've got is pretty solid!" He even gave her a thumbs up.
Xu Ningyan glanced at the basket in front of him. The rice was yellowish, indicating it was old rice, and it contained quite a few impurities. Even so, it had been almost all bought by the people who hadn't been able to buy noodles earlier.
Seeing that Xu Ningyan didn't speak, the guy didn't feel embarrassed. He took the red date she gave him, popped one into his mouth, chewed it, and his eyes lit up: "Big sister, your date is really sweet!"
After thinking for a moment, he reluctantly said, "Give me half a pound too!"
Xu Ningyan smiled and said, "Of course! These are Xinjiang jujubes, with small pits and thick flesh. They're even sweeter than regular red dates, okay?"
The vendors selling things nearby were also watching Xu Ningyan's stall. When they saw someone next to her try a date and then ask to buy one, they couldn't help but be tempted.
I also joined in, saying, "You buy two ounces, I'll buy two ounces too, I want to try it out."
My eyes lit up when I tasted it.
Those who do this are all shrewd; someone came up to them and said, "Hey lady, how many dates do you have left? Give me a fair price, and I'll buy them all!"
The men guarding the place had already noticed the commotion.
Upon hearing this, someone came over, took a date, tasted it, and said, "Sister, these dates of yours are quite good. Would you be interested in talking to us about them?"
As soon as the man approached, those who had previously harbored designs immediately backed down, smiling obsequiously as they stepped aside.
Xu Ningyan glanced at the man, guessing that he was the person in charge of the black market and had his eye on the goods in her hands.
If she could produce more goods at once, that wouldn't be a problem. It would save her from doing things piecemeal and risky.
He nodded immediately.
The man made a gesture, and Xu Ningyan put away the rest of her things and followed behind him.
After exiting through that small door, I walked along the road for a while and came to a dilapidated-looking courtyard with someone guarding the entrance.
Seeing that the man had brought Xu Ningyan over, he looked her up and down before letting her in.
The courtyard gate was open, and a man walked out.
The man who brought Xu Ningyan in exclaimed, "Boss, we've got some good stuff!"
He leaned close to the leader's ear and whispered something.
Xu Ningyan stared at the man, almost crying out. Wasn't this Sun Zhou? What was he doing here? Was he the boss of this black market?
Fortunately, she was wrapped in a towel and was blocked by the man in front of her, so no one noticed her lapse in composure.
She quickly regained her composure, stood there calmly, gripping the basket tightly, as if she were about to run away at the first sign of trouble.
This perfectly captures the unease and wariness a woman feels when taken to an unfamiliar place.
Sun Zhou looked Xu Ningyan up and down, then frowned. "How many pounds of those red dates are there?"
Xu Ningyan lowered her voice even further, sounding like a middle-aged woman: "It weighs about a hundred pounds."
"What about noodles?"
"Besides what I agreed to buy this afternoon, I also have about fifty kilograms left."
"Jerky?"
"There's not much dried meat, only a dozen or so pounds."
Sun Zhou had a plan in mind. After considering it for a moment, he said, "I'll take all of these. What other goods do you have?"
Xu Ningyan rummaged through her spatial storage, mentally estimated the quantities, and then cautiously asked, "Fifty catties of rapeseed oil, thirty catties of soybeans, fifty catties of mung beans, one hundred catties of white sugar, one hundred catties of brown sugar, two hundred catties of the finest rice, and two hundred catties of flour. Can you eat all of that?"
Sun Zhou raised an eyebrow and smiled: "I could eat twice as much as you want!"
Then he asked, "How is the price calculated?"
Xu Ningyan thought to himself, "After all, this is someone from a big shot. I'm making money off this big shot, so I definitely can't offer any discounts! In business, isn't it all about taking advantage of acquaintances?"
"Rapeseed oil costs one yuan per pound, soybeans cost two mao, mung beans cost two mao, white sugar costs eight mao eight, and brown sugar costs six mao."
Sun Zhou's brow twitched. This guy's price was really something, right around his target price. He couldn't bargain, and he couldn't not bargain either. It was making him feel uncomfortable.
After doing the math, he said, "If the rice and flour are truly of the highest quality as you say, it's three hundred with a receipt, and three hundred and forty without one?"
Xu Ningyan did the math in her head. Sun Zhou was a straightforward person; he calculated all the items together and didn't haggle much.
The decision was made immediately: "Deal!"
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