Chapter 90
The black market was a small underground bazaar, filled with all sorts of things, from bills and tickets to food and luxury goods. It was located in an inconspicuous alley, crowded with people but quiet. There were two sentries on either side of the alley.
Back when Bi's parents were still around, Bi Chunliu rarely had the chance to visit the black market. Firstly, she didn't manage money, and secondly, she wasn't in charge of the household, so she had no money. Then, in the winter after Bi's mother passed away, Bi Chunliu came twice. She'd wandered around furtively, nearly attracting the attention of the sentry, before finally entering. Those two times, she'd bought nearly seventy kilograms of grain, greatly alleviating the four sisters' financial woes. On both occasions, she hadn't dared to examine anything closely; this was the first time she'd ever examined anything on the black market.
The afternoon closing time is considered quite late for the black market, and there are few people selling things, and many sellers have already left.
Bi Chunliu passed by those who had few products and a man sitting there with nothing on his face. He looked like a receipt seller. She also passed by two people selling meat but flies were buzzing around the meat. The hygiene was so poor that she was afraid she would get diarrhea after eating it. There were not many people selling vegetables and the vegetables were very wilted.
"Chunliu, I forgot to ask what the guy selling egg cakes looks like?" Wang Xiaojun was very cautious after arriving at the black market. She continued in a low voice, "Let's look around. If we can't find him, let's leave quickly."
Bi Chunliu nodded. There was really nothing good left at this point in time.
"Eh? Is that it?" Wang Xiaojun was so excited that he held Bi Chunliu's hand even tighter.
Bi Chunliu looked over. Egg cake, that's it? She thought it was the same kind she'd had before, but she didn't expect it to be so perfunctory, two thin layers with jujube paste in between. If you didn't know better, you might have thought you were eating a soft pancake with jujube paste filling.
The two walked over, and Wang Xiaojun asked, "How did you change it?"
"One dime each."
Wang Xiaojun exclaimed, "How expensive!" Wang Xiaojun pouted. She had only heard people say it was delicious, but she hadn't expected this egg cake to be so expensive. It was so small, not even one-fifth the price of the jujube paste cake sold at the supply and marketing cooperative...
Bi Chunliu tried to bargain, "Sister, you've kept these for a while now, and they're all limp. Can you give us a discount? We can get two more, and you can go home earlier. You still have seven here, how about six cents each?"
The egg cake lady said: "No, six cents is too little, it's not even enough for my capital! The minimum must be eight cents!"
"Sister, fewer and fewer people are out at this time. It's hot now, and you can't stay here if you go back. Any money you can make is a little bit better. How about this, we can each make a concession and charge 7 cents each. If you think it's okay, then it's fine. If not, we'll leave."
"Alright then. You all want them?"
"I want them all! Xiaojun, how many do you want? I'll pack the rest." Xia He, Qiu Guo and the others had never eaten this before, so they wanted to try it for fun.
Wang Xiaojun knew that the Bi family was large, so he quickly said, "I just want two to try with my nephew."
Bi Chunliu didn't bother to be polite with her. "Okay. Big sister, pack them separately for us. Oh, and wrap mine in oil paper carefully. Don't let it fall apart before I get home."
The egg cake lady: "...Okay, got it." This girl bargained for the price but still didn't forget to take advantage of the oil paper.
The two paid and were about to go home with the egg cakes. As they were leaving the alley, they saw a man bargaining with a young man selling bamboo mats. "It's almost getting cooler now, and you're still selling them so expensively. Who would buy them? One yuan a piece and I'll take them."
"No, no."
No matter what the person who wanted to lower the price said, the young man selling the bamboo mat kept saying no, and did not give any specific reasons. In the end, he drove the person who wanted to bargain away.
Bi Chunliu's eyes lit up when she saw the bamboo mats for sale. Her family had been using the mats for seven or eight years and they should have been retired long ago. She had just been making do with them this summer.
"How much is a bamboo mat?"
The young man looked at her and said, "Three yuan each. These are all hand-woven by several old men and women in our production team. The price can't be reduced any further." He had only brought five sheets before he came. The original price was four yuan, but he only sold three in a day. Now the price has been reduced to three yuan, and it really can't be reduced any further.
Bi Chunliu squatted down and carefully touched the bamboo mat. It was smooth, flat, and cool. "Any more? I want four!"
The young man was delighted and asked, "Do you really want it?"
Bi Chunliu nodded. When she got married, there would be four mats for her family of five. Oh, she forgot to count Uncle Han and Xiaomei, which would make six.
"If you guarantee they're all of this quality, I'll take six."
The young man laughed happily and generously lowered the price, "Then I'll give you another 20 cents off."
"Okay, I'll take these two first. Can you bring the rest to me?" It was quite difficult to carry four mats.
"Okay, leave me your address and I'll send it to you tomorrow."
Bi Chunliu gave him the money for two mats and another dollar as a deposit. Then he gave him the address of Xing Fei's home and agreed to wait for him there at the same time tomorrow. Only then did he go home without a penny left.
Wang Xiaojun felt that the sisters were becoming more and more different, and they had a sense of pride in being the boss. She told Bi Chunliu this, and Bi Chunliu laughed continuously.
"Xiaojun, your parents, brothers, and sisters-in-law are all your supporters. I'm now my brother and sister-in-law's supporter. You think I have the courage to be the master of the house, but I envy you for being able to act coquettishly and joke around! Besides, you just bought me food when I asked you to. Isn't that the courage to be the master of the house?"
"Hahaha, that's true..." Wang Xiaojun thought of the food in his pocket and felt that he was quite generous!
.
The next afternoon after work, Bi Chunliu went to Xing Fei's house first. She waited there for about twenty minutes before the young man who brought her the mat showed up.
After the two of them settled the final payment, Bi Chunliu saw two exquisitely made bamboo baskets in his cart and bought them too.
"The things you make are so good that they can be exported to earn foreign exchange," Bi Chunliu praised.
The young man blushed and waved his hands. "No, no, these are all made by our production team. They can't even be sold here for much, so how can we export them?"
Bi Chunliu said seriously, "You have this skill, you can try to set up a cooperative. Does your production team have courage and good eloquence? Let's apply to the county and go to the Canton Fair to broaden our horizons. Maybe we can really sell it. The Canton Fair hasn't started yet this autumn. If you are quick, apply and try. If you don't take action, you will definitely not gain anything. I think with the quality of your products, you can definitely sell a lot. Foreigners like this kind of pure natural things. By the way, remember not to lower the price too much. If you sell a mat to us for three or four yuan, you can consider selling it to them for 15 yuan. This kind of bamboo basket, woven in different sizes and with different patterns, can be sold to them for 8 yuan each. They have money. The most important thing is that your village must have this confidence. Good things are not afraid of being tested by everyone!"
First he was praised, and then he was told that he had participated in the Canton Fair. The young man was confused. They said they could guarantee the quality, that was no problem, but could they really do it?
"Okay, thank you, comrade. I'll go back and discuss this with our team leader."
"Okay, I really think you're doing a great job." Bi Chunliu thought about the movies and TV shows she had seen in her previous life, as well as some books that said that these traditional Chinese crafts had to be earned outside. She agreed with that! If she had this skill, she would also like to make a fortune!
After the young man left, Bi Chunliu returned to the house, put several mats inside, and left a note for Xing Fei explaining that two of them were for Uncle Han and his younger sister. Then he locked the door and left.
When I returned to the compound, I saw Deng Hong with a large basket of eggs in front of her, and she was arguing with the people in the compound to exchange eggs.
Deng Hong: "Hey, sister Chunliu is back? Does your family want eggs?"
Bi Chunliu nodded, "Yes, Sister Deng, do you have any leftovers at home?"
"Well, it's my second aunt's house. My cousin Qi Chao just had twin daughters. So, my sister-in-law's relatives gave them a lot of eggs. It's so hot now, how can they be kept? My second aunt asked me to ask the neighbors in our compound if they can trade them. They'll give the same price as the supply and marketing cooperative."
Deng Hong was really happy. Old man Qi was so confused that he was jumping up and down like a monkey just because his niece-in-law was pregnant. He said how difficult it was for Xinxin, and that she was pregnant with twins, so she would have two sons. He even planned to make her take some folk remedies that he had found from somewhere.
Bah! Now it’s all right, twin daughters, the three golden flowers in Qi Guang’s family.
Bi Chunliu was lost in thought. No wonder she'd seen Uncle Qi looking as listless as a frost-bitten eggplant the other day. It must be because his quest for a man had failed. She glanced at the large basket of eggs and said, "Sister Deng, I'll take forty. I'll go home and get the basket."
Deng Hong was in a good mood and said with a smile: "Okay, okay, go ahead. I'll wait for you."
Bi Chunliu brought over the money and the basket of eggs, squatted down to pick up the eggs, and the eggs were surprisingly good. "Sister Deng, these eggs are quite big."
"Yes, look at the eggs they make. The yolk inside is different from other eggs. Where did your sister-in-law's relatives buy them?"
The person who was speaking was Aunt Zhang. She came out of the house holding a bowl in one hand and a stool in the other. Her son Jianyuan had taken his wife and children to his mother-in-law's house again. She had no mood to cook by herself, so she just made a bowl of egg drop soup to cool herself down.
Deng Hong: "Her hometown is far from our city. It seems that these eggs were exchanged by her relatives with the villagers. They are all eggs laid by the chickens raised by the villagers themselves. The chickens they raise are very good. Last year during the Chinese New Year, my brother-in-law gave my family a chicken. It was so delicious when stewed that my wife Yalan drank two bowls of chicken soup."
Aunt Zhang took a sip of the frangipani and nodded, "Well, no wonder, just look at these eggs, they're really well-raised."
A creaking sound startled several people in the yard. They all turned their heads and asked, "Wow! Why is Uncle Qi like this?"
The old man in front of me looked like a beggar, dressed in rags, and I could smell the sour odor on him from a distance.
Aunt Zhang quickly finished her frangipani drink and then scolded, "Lao Qi, how long have you not showered? You stink so bad!!"
Uncle Qi glanced at the people in the yard, snorted fiercely, picked up the big broom outside and rushed out.
"Is Old Qi crazy?" Aunt Zhang murmured.
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