Bai Jiaojiao cupped Shen Heng's face and gently pecked his lips.
Shen Heng was intrigued, but Bai Jiaojiao noticed his gaze deepen and immediately got down to business: "I'm planning to sell this for 50 cents a pound, or 12 cents a pound. What do you think, Heng-ge?"
On the black market, this price isn't expensive; it's even cheaper than a freshly baked chicken cake from a supply and marketing cooperative.
"It's cheaper, about one cent per ounce."
Shen Heng felt uneasy seeing Bai Jiaojiao working so hard to produce such a small amount of stuff, only to sell it for such a paltry sum.
"If Brother Heng is capable, he can sell it for one yuan per tael."
Bai Jiaojiao smiled, but Shen Heng felt that the little girl was teasing him.
"Then let's try selling these three catties first. If they sell well, we'll see what happens."
Bai Jiaojiao wasn't greedy; this time she gave out more than three jin of glutinous rice strips.
Because the fried dough expands after frying, this bag of glutinous rice strips weighing over three pounds is quite large.
"good."
When picking up goods in town, people usually travel out under the stars.
When we arrived in town, it was exactly four or five o'clock. At this time, the chickens were still asleep, which gave the people in the black market a bargain. If you wanted to buy or sell, you had to do it early.
Moreover, when it's dark, no one can see anyone clearly, which is a safety net for everyone.
Shen Heng plans to go to town to try it out tomorrow morning.
"I'm going to town, do you want me to bring you anything?"
The town's supply and marketing cooperative had a much wider selection of goods than the brigade's supply and marketing cooperative.
Now, they just eat radishes from the yard at home, steamed radishes, stewed radishes, and cold radish salads. Shen Heng used to eat them raw without feeling anything wrong, but after Bai Jiaojiao came along, he didn't want to make her suffer.
He also agreed with what Bai Jiaojiao said: if they tidy up the yard now, they will have all kinds of vegetables to eat in the fall.
Bai Jiaojiao glanced at Shen Heng's clothes, which were a bit stiff: "Bring back two pieces of cloth and find the village tailor to take your measurements."
"No need, I have clothes to wear."
Shen Heng wasn't lying; he had a new dress specially made for his marriage to Bai Jiaojiao.
"The weather is getting hotter and hotter, so get a couple of outfits to change into. Heng-ge, buy whatever you like, but don't buy any fancy floral fabrics. If you dare to buy them, I'll make them for you!"
Bai Jiaojiao seemed to see right through Shen Heng's thoughts.
Shen Heng wanted to ask how Bai Jiaojiao knew that, just a moment ago, he was thinking of bringing her a piece of the currently popular Dacron fabric.
"I'm a man, I don't need so many clothes."
Shen Heng didn't dress himself in rags all the time. Most of the men in Shili Village dressed like him.
Bai Jiaojiao, however, did not want to let Shen Heng down: "If I tell you to buy it, then buy it. If you don't, don't come back and get on the kang (heated brick bed). Take the door panel down and sleep in the woodshed!"
"You little wench are really unreasonable."
He's not only starving, he can't even decide where he'll sleep.
Shen Heng was both amused and annoyed, but couldn't bring himself to get angry.
He used to look down on anyone who was henpecked.
Looking at Bai Jiaojiao now, so energetic and spirited, I'm actually finding myself enjoying it a little.
Shen Heng planned to leave at three o'clock, so he had to wake up at two o'clock. After dinner, the two of them went to bed.
Bai Jiaojiao refused to let him touch her no matter what.
Tomorrow, Shen Heng not only has to get up early, but also has to rush back to work. If he doesn't go to bed early, his body won't be able to take it.
"You little brat, you're already trying to kill the donkey before it's even done its work. Yesterday, when you were begging me to help you with your small business, you were so obedient, calling me 'Brother Heng' all the time. But today you've turned your back on me."
Shen Heng's lips brushed against Bai Jiaojiao's ear, and after speaking, he gently bit Bai Jiaojiao's earlobe with his canine teeth in a threatening manner.
Bai Jiaojiao blushed instantly. She leaned forward, distancing herself further from Chen Heng behind her.
Shen Heng looked at the back of Bai Jiaojiao's head and couldn't help but grin foolishly.
His little wife is so adorable.
Shen Heng leaned in and hugged Bai Jiaojiao without saying a word, but didn't go any further. He buried his head in Bai Jiaojiao's fragrant neck and closed his eyes contentedly.
When he got up at two o'clock, Shen Heng quietly got up and kissed Bai Jiaojiao on the face. Seeing her sleeping face, Shen Heng was reminded of the newborn kitten at the neighbor's house when he was a child.
Shen Heng smiled and carefully went to the kitchen to get the glutinous rice strips before riding his bicycle towards town.
The weather has been bad these past few days, and there are no stars or moon at night. Fortunately, Chen Heng knows this road very well; he could walk it even with his eyes closed.
It takes an hour and a half to ride a bike from Shili Village to the town. I ride slowly at night, and by the time I arrived in town, it was already past four o'clock. In the summer, the days are long, and it was already bright enough to see people's outlines.
He entered the familiar place with ease—a maze of alleyways branching out in all directions—and saw a lean man huddled at the entrance.
"Shunzi".
Upon hearing Shen Heng call him, Wang Fushun immediately stood up, his spirits lifted.
"Heng-ge, what brings you here! I thought you looked like me just now, but I didn't even recognize you!"
Shen Heng nodded at him and casually asked, "Are there many people today?"
"After so many days of rain, there are an unusually large number of people today."
Shen Heng took out two cents and handed them to Wang Fushun, but Wang Fushun declined, saying, "No need, no need."
Although everyone is very cautious when trading on the black market, surprise inspections cannot be ruled out, which requires an informant to be on the outside.
Wang Fushun did this kind of work. Anyone who wanted to come to the black market had to ask Wang Fushun a couple of questions before they could enter. If they wanted to sell something, they had to pay him a dime first.
Wang Fushun made a living this way. However, Shen Heng was familiar with him and often gave him things. Wang Fushun had never accepted money from Shen Heng before.
Shen Heng withdrew his hand, not in a hurry to go in, and inquired, "I have a few pounds of pastries here, do you have any connections to sell them?"
Shen Heng didn't want to sell it on the black market; he couldn't afford to waste that time.
What kind of snack?
Shen Heng opened the basket and let Wang Fushun take one to try.
"Wow!" Wang Fushun's eyes shone brightly in the darkness after chewing on the crispy glutinous rice strip. "What is this? How can it be so delicious?"
My wife says it's called Jiangmi Tiao (glutinous rice strips).
"Wife? Heng-ge, you haven't been here for so long, did you go home to get a wife?"
Wang Fushun couldn't resist and reached out to take another glutinous rice strip to eat: "Sister-in-law, you have such good skills, this stuff will sell well. Just give it to me like this."
Shen Heng handed the basket to Wang Fushun, saying, "I won't mince words. This is three jin. I'll give it to you at one yuan per jin. You can sell as many as you want."
Wang Fushun gritted his teeth: "Brother Heng, one yuan?"
"Do you think I'm trying to drive up the price with you two?"
Hearing Shen Heng's tone, Wang Fushun knew this was indeed the bottom price, and immediately flattered him:
"That's not what I meant at all. We're like brothers, why would I make money off Brother Heng? I just felt you were being too kind to your brother. This stuff wouldn't even fetch this much at a supply and marketing cooperative!"
Shen Heng ignored his fancy talk: "Stop going off on a tangent. You try selling them and see how much you can sell in a day."
The glutinous rice strips weren't heavy, but a pound was a huge bag. Wang Fushun ate another one, thinking that this stuff was addictive, and started sucking the candy off his fingers.
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