Before Mu Xia, who had her arms crossed, could say anything, Ruan Xianxian had already fastened her clothes again and stood up to walk towards the car door.
Mu Xia followed closely behind, squinting, wanting to see what this woman was up to.
The two girls next to her exchanged a knowing glance and followed suit.
"These sanitary napkins are genuine products from Friendship Store. Only the outer packaging is damaged; the contents are all in good condition. You can take one to try first."
Fearing that the women might not understand, he added, "Sanitary napkins and menstrual belts serve the same purpose, except they don't need to be washed. They're disposable, and you just change them when they're full."
In 1974, department stores did not have sanitary napkins. She remembers that it wasn't until 1982 that my country introduced its first sanitary napkin production line, the Anle brand.
Before this, she could only buy imported goods at the Friendship Store with foreign exchange certificates, and the prices she saw were outrageous.
"How much?" Mu Xia asked, showing no surprise, clearly knowing the purpose and usage of sanitary napkins.
Feeling pleased that she hadn't made a mistake in choosing the right person, Ruan Xianxian asked, "Three yuan a piece, how many do you want, ladies?"
Mu Xia: "Give me 10...100 pieces."
She didn't even try to negotiate the price, she really... I'm so upset!
Ruan Xianxian counted and counted, finding 50 pieces from the small waist bag she had sewn herself. Adding the pieces hanging on the lining, she had a total of 70 pieces. She smiled apologetically.
"I'm sorry, young comrade, this is all I have."
Mu Xia raised her round chin, seemingly intending to tap her handbag with the tip of her chin, but stopped halfway through, her expression freezing.
He asked somewhat awkwardly, "Isn't it in the big bag? What is it? It's moving."
"Cricket!" Ruan Xianxian replied perfunctorily.
Mu Xia rolled her eyes speechlessly. She wasn't usually one to meddle in other people's business, but she suspected the other person was a human trafficker and was afraid that there was a child in her bag, so she asked a few more questions.
Suddenly I saw the 'duck neck' printed on the cloth bag, and I was speechless!
Aside from the fact that the money exchange was done discreetly, the two made their deal openly and chose a good location where passersby couldn't see anything because of Mu Xia's large frame.
After the transaction was completed, Ruan Xianxian was about to head to the next carriage when Mu Xia stopped her, asking hesitantly, "Do you still have any of this? Can you supply it regularly?"
Ruan Xianxian gave her a helpless look, meaning there was nothing she could do.
Two more women came up after her; they were Mu Xia's seatmates. They surrounded Ruan Xianxian and boldly asked her what she was doing.
As Beijing gradually opened up, street vendors were a common sight, and Da Niu was particularly bold.
"Would you like some sanitary napkins and nylon stockings?"
One person clearly wanted nylon stockings, while another was interested in sanitary napkins but was deterred by the price; they also ended up asking about the price of the stockings.
How much is a pair?
"No ticket required, one dollar and fifty cents a pair."
The two women gasped.
Nylon stockings are now considered a luxury item, expensive and produced in limited quantities.
I knew the price was high, but I didn't expect it to be this outrageously expensive.
Ruan Xianxian wasn't lying; it sells for 1 yuan in the mall, and there's no price to be found.
To prove the top-notch quality of her socks, she simply picked one up and put it over her head, leaving all three women stunned!
A muffled voice came from under the socks: "See? My head can fit inside, so why would I be afraid of not being able to hold your bound feet?"
The two girls, adhering to the principle of "since we're already here," were persuaded by Ruan Xianxian to buy three pairs of shoes each, in red, blue, and pink.
After seeing the customers off, Ruan Xianxian felt this wasn't a good idea. How much money could she make in a day? She decided to stop buying from the mall once she had sold everything she had.
Seeing that Mu Xia was standing to the side and hadn't left, she asked, "Do you want some socks?"
The other person gave her a disgusted look, and Ruan Xianxian clicked her tongue, thinking, "This little girl is quite picky."
To avoid being reported by troublesome people, she was particular about the items she sold.
Which girl would report someone selling menstrual pads to the train police? How could she not be ashamed?
In one afternoon, she sold sanitary napkins, watches, ration coupons, and even hard candy and milk candy. The best-selling item was grain coupons.
The second one was actually malted milk powder?
After figuring out the preferences of the educated youth, she was confronted by a meddlesome aunt who loudly proclaimed her identity as a black marketeer, leading to a 'train horror' incident, after which she calmed down.
It wasn't that she was afraid; rather, the thrill and excitement of walking in the gray area made her adrenaline surge, and she particularly enjoyed it.
We headed back to the city simply because it was time to eat, and it was time to go back and enjoy her roast goose!
This time, she didn't even go to the toilet. She covered her face and walked through a train car. When she reappeared, she had her original appearance.
Back in the private room, she did the math: sanitary napkins sold for 350 yuan, two basic Shanghai brand watches sold for 380 yuan, and men's nylon stockings sold even better, totaling a little over 40 yuan…
After deducting costs, she basically made half the profit, earning around 350, which was quite a substantial sum.
He happily tore off a piece of roast goose, added some lamb offal and braised beef to a lunchbox, and took out the Moutai he had opened that morning but barely drank any of it.
He ate a bite of meat and drank a sip of wine, making the man next door grit his teeth in disgust.
He snapped at his wife in the upper bunk, "Go to the dining car and get me a serving of braised pork."
The woman pursed her lips. What you could buy for food on the train depended entirely on luck. She didn't say anything and led her daughter toward the dining car.
"Look how spoiled you have become."
Ruan Xianxian took a bite of the roast goose leg and smiled.
The man was not ashamed but proud, saying, "Women are born to do laundry, cook, bear children, and serve men. How many of you are there?"
He looked Ruan Xianxian up and down, and said shamelessly, "Someone like you, I wouldn't marry even if you paid me."
After drinking two glasses, Ruan Xianxian's temper flared up. She grabbed the man's neck and punched his outwardly beautiful but inwardly rotten face twice.
"Someone like you would have been beaten to death in my house long ago, you know that? Answer me!"
The man's small, round eyes popped out, blood streamed from his nose, and he said, on the verge of tears, that he knew.
"Louder!" Bang! Another punch landed on him.
"Okay, okay! I was wrong, I won't say it again, alright!"
Just as Ruan Xianxian was satisfied and let go of her hand, she inadvertently noticed four people standing outside the private room. In addition to the mother and daughter who had gone to get food, the old man on the upper bunk and the young man had also returned.
She slowly straightened her clothes and smiled at the woman: "A sapling won't grow straight if it's not pruned, and a man won't grow tall if he's not disciplined, understand?"
As she finished speaking, she seemed to see a glimmer of starlight appear in the woman's gentle eyes.
"Hahaha! What the lady said is interesting!" The old man laughed loudly. Ruan Xianxian, who grew up in a military compound, recognized the old man's identity at a glance.
He offered her a glass of wine. "Would you like a drink?"
The old man was quite cheerful; he took the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp, then shared the food he had brought with Ruan Xianxian.
Through their conversation, it was learned that the old man was indeed a leader in the military region, and the young man was actually a translator.
Ruan Xianxian, who didn't know why the two of them were staying in a hard sleeper, suddenly became deep in thought. She remembered that Fifth Master Qin had said that there were foreign guests on this train.
She downed the wine in her glass in one gulp, then, head down and swirling the glass, asked the system: "Do you have any medicine that can give someone diarrhea, enough to make them faint?"
PS: Ruan, not a good person, now: Shall we pull?
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