Chapter 41 Black Market Sales
The two rented the innermost courtyard for three yuan a month. The courtyard was large, and although no one lived there for a long time, it was cleaned every now and then, so it was not messy. It was enough to move in after a simple tidying up.
“Little sister, I didn’t expect the rent to be three yuan a month, which is thirty-six yuan a year. If our mother finds out, she will definitely scold us for being spendthrift women.”
"Third Brother, thirty-six sounds like a lot, but if you're lucky, you might earn it back in a day. Plus, this place has all the pots and pans you need, so you can cook here without any problem. The key is that this alley is very close to the alley for the black market. You can get there by just going through a small path. You can tidy up this place first, and I'll go buy you some things!"
After saying that, she carried the basket on her back and walked outside. She wandered around for nearly an hour. When she came back, the basket was not only full, but she was also carrying two large woven bags in her hands, which were bulging.
When she returned, Lin Sanlang was cleaning. Seeing her carrying so many things, he exclaimed and stood up from the ground, quickly taking the basket off her back.
"So heavy? What did you buy...?"
"Oh, I went to my classmate's place and brought the things over. I'll take you to the black market to test the waters later."
As she spoke, she carried two large woven bags and walked into the house...
Lin Sanlang stared in shock at the huge pile of things on the bed.
"Little sister, Mom only gave us a hundred yuan, and you bought so much stuff?"
Lin Baozhu rolled her eyes at him and said, "Are you dreaming? I still owe you two hundred yuan for this. Let me briefly tell you the price: this shirt cost eight yuan and fifty cents to buy, and it's not going to cost less than thirteen yuan."
"No, I'm not selling. The cost price for the 'Braji' is 13.5 yuan, and I won't sell it for less than 22 yuan. Also, things like apples and peaches will sell for at least 0.8 yuan each, although it would be best if they could sell for even more."
Lin Sanlang exclaimed, "Little sister, can we really sell these clothes at such a high price? We should only make a dollar or two per piece. If we make too much, I'll feel like I'm losing money."
“Third Brother, if everyone thought like you when doing business, we’d lose a fortune. We’re in the business of speculation and profiteering, which is mind-numbing. When the risks and rewards aren’t proportional, we shouldn’t do it. You’ll stay with me today and watch how I sell things…”
Her second brother is such an honest person that it feels like lying to him would be a sin.
Let him get more experience and hopefully he'll become more shrewd, so his mother won't scold him for being a simpleton all the time.
*
At this moment, in the alley of the black market, a tall, fierce-looking man named Lin Sanlang was standing against the wall with his younger brother selling things.
Although the man was fierce, he was hiding behind his younger brother as a background figure at this moment.
The "younger brother" was holding a red floral dress with daisies printed on it and whispering to a woman, "Sister, this dress is much prettier than the ones in the department store. The key is that the fabric is thin and breathable, and the pattern is something we don't have here. There are only a few left, and once they're sold out, they're gone."
"You look quite well-off, sister. Wearing this outfit, wouldn't you charm a whole bunch of handsome young men?"
The woman blushed at the compliment, and while lovingly stroking the fabric in her hands, she chuckled and said, "You little brother, you really know how to talk. I'm old enough to be your aunt. How much is this dress? If the price is right, I'll take two."
"Oh my, my sister is pretty, so I won't lie to you. Similar items cost 25 yuan at the Friendship Store with a coupon, but I'll just consider it as bringing two back for my sister, so it'll be 26 yuan without a coupon."
Lin Sanlang's eyes widened upon hearing this. Good heavens, didn't the little sister say she would only sell it for twenty-three? How could she raise the price so blatantly? Isn't this the work of a cunning merchant?
Lin Baozhu glanced at him, afraid he might say something thoughtless, and quickly said, "Brother, don't be angry. It's okay if these two items don't make money. It's just that my sister and I are destined to meet. When my sister wears these clothes out, many people will definitely ask about them, and then there will definitely be people who will buy them!"
Hearing Lin Baozhu say this, the woman couldn't bring herself to bargain, especially when she saw Lin Sanlang staring with incredulous eyes. She instinctively felt that she hadn't overpaid and had even gotten a great deal.
"Sister, I'll wrap these two clothes up for you. I also have some fresh apples and peaches here. Would you like to take a look?"
"The apples are green and astringent right now, so I won't buy them."
"My sister is talking about the local apples here, but these apples of mine are from elsewhere. They're big and red, look..."
As he spoke, he lifted the cloth covering the basket beside him...
The woman glanced at it, her eyes widening: "Wow, this apple is huge, little brother! How much is it?"
Lin Baozhu: ...
He cleared his throat lightly: "One yuan and twenty cents a pound, guaranteed sweet. If you gave this to your superiors or elders, how prestigious would that be? Everyone else gives you some shriveled little apples, but this..."
The woman's eyes lit up. She had been struggling to decide what to give her boss as a gift, and these apples looked just right...
"How much is it in total? I'll take it all."
"Let me weigh it!"
"It weighs sixteen pounds and two ounces in total, plus two dresses, making it a total of seventy-one yuan and forty-four cents. Sister, you can give me seventy-one yuan and forty cents."
Upon hearing this, the woman laughed and said, "Little brother, I bought over seventy yuan worth of things. I won't even try to round it down by a little over a dollar. Is seventy-one yuan okay?"
"Since I like her, seventy-one it is!"
After watching the woman leave, many more customers came one after another, but because of the high price of the product, many people asked about it but few actually bought it.
Lin Sanlang looked at the clothes, which were almost all gone, and said in a low voice, "Little sister, these clothes are too expensive, nobody wants them. How about we lower the price?"
Lin Baozhu rolled her eyes at him: "What's the rush? It's only been a short while."
She never fights a battle she's not sure she can win. Although most people in this era lacked food and clothing, some people made a lot of money by taking advantage of the characteristics of this era.
Corrupt officials and parasites who will stop at nothing to make money have existed in every era, so her clothes not only have no trouble selling, but are even in short supply.
A short while later, the woman who had just bought two dresses returned with three more women. Seeing that they hadn't left yet, she hurried forward and said, "Young man, do you have any bright red dresses? This is my sister; she's getting married next month, but she hasn't been able to find a festive and nice dress..."
“Oh, it’s you, sister. I do have this red dress, but my brother originally planned to give it to my future sister-in-law… but since this sister is getting married, we should give it to her first.”
As she spoke, she bent down and pulled a bright red dress from the very back of her basket. A small iron chain was tied around her waist. The moment the dress was taken out, the eyes of the women present widened in astonishment.
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