The walls were covered with all kinds of women's clothing: tank tops, pencil skirts, crop tops, shorts, white shirts, and jeans.
On the other side hung men's leather jackets, ripped jeans, white shirts, and casual pants—all currently trending items.
Mingjing didn't find any clothes she liked, so she only took a sun hat and two pairs of leather gloves, which she would use when going beachcombing.
"Sister, let's buy Dad a pair of shorts and Mom a dress," Mingyue said, her eyes dazzled by the choices, her parents being the first people she thought of.
Mingjing stepped forward, picked out a pair of light blue shorts, and also bought two pieces of printed fabric, intending to go back and make clothes.
In the 1990s, you didn't need to buy fabric with ration coupons, but ready-made clothes were still ridiculously expensive. Buying a piece of fabric and making your own clothes saved a lot of money.
After paying ten yuan, Mingjing led her younger sister out of the clothing store.
"Sis, can we go buy some food?"
"Not yet, go buy some meat."
The so-called town is actually just a commercial street with some shops around the dock.
If you walk a little further in Mingjing, you'll see a butcher shop. This is the main source of red meat for the fishing village and nearby businesses.
The shop is over 50 square meters, with three different types of meat hanging on three walls. Pork is at the front, and beef and mutton are on the sides. Chicken, duck and goose can only be found in cities further away.
"Boss, two pounds of pork belly, one pound of spare ribs, and a piece of pork fat."
The islanders love seafood, but Mingjing thinks lard is more fragrant, and using lard occasionally for seasoning is a good choice.
The owner, a fat man, glanced at the two sisters, swiftly chopped the ribs, put them in a paper bag, weighed them, and said in a rough voice, "One pound and eight ounces of ribs, two pounds of pork belly, and three pounds of pork fat, totaling ten yuan and seventy-six cents."
Prices at the docks are already higher than elsewhere, and pork is a scarce commodity here, so it's naturally even more expensive.
After paying, the two sisters walked back.
Along the pier, several restaurants stand with signs outside that read "We buy seafood."
Mingjing chose a restaurant and walked over with her things.
The owner sat at the doorway, cracking sunflower seeds and trying to attract customers. He was handsome, with a large build, wearing a leather jacket and tight jeans that accentuated his large breasts.
"Come eat?" the man stood up and greeted.
Mingjing blushed slightly, then turned and pointed at the sign, "Buying seafood?"
The man nodded. "You have goods? I buy grouper, yellow croaker, conger eel, and abalone."
"How much does a pound of large yellow croaker cost?" Mingjing inquired.
It's not appropriate to always sell at Old Zhao's place; people who don't know the situation might think she's using selling fish to seduce Zhao Dali.
"100 per jin!" The man looked Mingjing up and down. He had never seen such a beautiful girl before, and couldn't help but take a second look.
Mingjing bit her lip; Old Zhao had lied to her.
If you lose ten yuan per pound, you'll lose at least two thousand yuan for more than two hundred pounds.
"Where's the conger eel?"
"110 yuan per jin!"
Mingjing's teeth chattered; that old Deng was indeed no good.
"I'll have my dad come and take a look at your place tomorrow. The price is negotiable," Mingjing said, turning to leave.
The man thought for a moment, then called out to her, "Wait a minute, young lady, I guarantee you'll be satisfied with my prices. Leave me your contact information, and you can come to my place to pick up your fish in the future."
The man went inside and took out paper and pen.
Mingjing suddenly remembered that she didn't have a cell phone or a telephone at home, so she simply left the village committee's phone number. If there was a big shipment, she could discuss it with them.
"Uncle, could you give me a copy of all the prices for the seafood you've bought?"
"Okay, wait a moment!"
The man turned around, took the pen and paper, wrote down a long list of seafood prices on the paper, and handed it to Mingjing.
On the way back, Mingjing kept thinking about how to deal with that old man.
"Sis, I want to eat a popsicle." Mingyue stopped in her tracks as she passed the convenience store, licking her chapped lips.
Mingjing looked up at the blazing sun and stepped into the supermarket.
"Mingyue, go get the popsicles, I'll go buy something else."
The supermarket is small, but it has a full range of daily necessities.
Mingliang has almost emptied the house of all her belongings, so she needs to buy some daily necessities.
She bought a whole bunch of kitchenware, mosquito coils, laundry detergent, socks, and toilet paper. In addition, she also bought spicy strips, soda, sunflower seeds, candy, and bulk rice.
"Sister, this flower hair clip is so pretty," Mingyue said, staring blankly at a strawberry hair clip on the shelf.
"Buy it! What's there to hesitate about for a hair clip?"
Mingjing glanced at the pink strawberry hair clip and didn't think it was particularly pretty. She didn't say anything even though her sister liked it.
"Boss, another soft-serve Taishan!"
When we paid for everything together, all we had left was one dollar for the boat fare.
Mingjing was very satisfied. Prices were very low in the 1990s, and he bought so many things for fifty yuan. In later generations, it would cost several hundred yuan.
The two sisters carried large and small bags of things home.
Walking through the village, you'll definitely turn heads.
"Mom, we're back!"
Mingjing walked into the courtyard carrying her things, then paused.
"Mingjing is back!" Ming Lao Er said, chewing betel nut and showing off his black teeth as he smiled at her.
"Second Uncle, what brings you here?"
Mingjing entered the room, put down her things, and looked at the two of them warily.
"Mingjing, did you go shopping? What nice things did you buy?"
Mingzhu leaned closer to try and open the bag, but Mingjing blocked her way. "It's nothing. What brings you all here?"
“Mingjing, your second uncle said he’s going out to sea to fish tomorrow and wants Mingliang and your dad to go help. He couldn’t go last time.”
Sun Yunmei followed up with an explanation, but looked embarrassed.
"I think you want my dad to get some abalone cream? No way, my dad's gout hasn't gotten better yet, he can't touch cold water, and my brother only knows how to coax women, taking him along would be even more useless."
I'll go with you.
Mingjing carried the things inside, closed the door, and came out.
Her luck should return tomorrow. She's only catching small fish and shrimp while beachcombing; the big catches are all in the deep sea. She desperately needs money to improve her life.
If I could actually touch the pearl, I could live a carefree life for the rest of my days.
Ming Lao Er glanced around and, overjoyed, said, "Ming Jing can go too. We need to set sail as soon as possible; the ship will depart at four o'clock tomorrow morning."
"Understood." Mingjing readily agreed, then added, "Second Uncle, let's make this clear first, we'll each be in charge of our own affairs this time, and whoever catches the big shipment keeps it."
Ming Lao Er took a deep drag on his pipe, exhaled white smoke, and nodded, pretending to understand.
"Alright, that's all. You can go back now. There's no food at home," Mingjing said, hands in her pockets, looking like she didn't care about anyone.
Ming Lao Er, feeling humiliated, got off the stool, snorted coldly, and turned to leave.
"Sis, what did you buy? It looks like such a big bag. Grandma's been talking about you lately. Why don't you take the things and come visit her?"
Mingzhu's two eyes darted around mischievously as she peered into the room.
"I don't want to go today. I bought a menstrual belt, but my grandma is too old to use it."
"Sister, Grandma misses you so much. Come visit me, otherwise she won't be able to eat."
Mingzhu didn't believe a word Mingjing said. That huge bag was full of menstrual pads; wouldn't she bleed to death?
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