Liu Jing took a day off today, and as soon as she received Liu Yun's call, she went there with her classmate, Shen He.
She wasn't sure how much Liu Yun could get her hands on, but it probably wouldn't be a small amount.
As soon as they opened the courtyard gate, the two heard the chirping of chickens and ducks, which meant there were probably quite a few. Liu Jing had a better idea of what was going on.
Upon opening the door to the main room, they saw the sheep tied to a pillar. Chen He couldn't hide the surprise in his eyes. After taking stock of the items, he took them all without saying a word.
After confirmation, it was time to settle the bill. The current market price was seven cents for a chicken egg, eight cents for a duck egg, and nine cents for a goose egg. You also needed egg coupons, but they certainly wouldn't calculate it at the market price. On the black market, although coupons weren't required, the price would be double: two mao for a chicken egg, three mao for a duck egg, and four mao for a goose egg. So, it came to twenty-seven yuan.
Chickens, ducks, and geese are a bit more expensive. Chickens can be sold for 1.3 yuan per jin at chicken food stations, and even more expensive on the black market. The price difference between chickens, ducks, and geese is not much, so we'll calculate it all at 1.8 yuan. Since the quantity is large, we'll round down to a total of 220 yuan.
Rabbits aren't as expensive; they're only about 1.5 yuan on the black market, which is about 300 yuan after deducting the last two digits. But these rabbits are quite fat, so it's still a good deal, especially considering that oil prices aren't cheap these days.
Fish is relatively cheap here because it's near the river and fish are readily available, but it's definitely scarce to the west.
These grass carp cost four cents a pound, and on the black market they're only six to eight cents a pound, let's say six cents. But these grass carp are all very big, each weighing seven or eight pounds, and these twenty-odd ones would weigh a hundred and twenty pounds.
These dried vegetables and dried mushrooms were cheap; six sacks of them cost only about twenty yuan, totaling six hundred and ninety yuan.
"Comrade Liu, look how conspicuous it is for me to carry all this stuff. May I ask if this courtyard is yours? Can I rent it for a month? Don't worry, the rent is no problem." This was something Shen He had asked after observing the courtyard. It was clear that the courtyard hadn't been lived in for a long time, with almost no furniture and a lot of dust, but it wasn't an abandoned house, since it was well preserved. So he guessed that Liu Jing used it specifically to sell and store goods.
"No problem, here's the key, no need for rent, but you can't damage anything here." Liu Jing knew he planned to deal with these things here, after all, this was indeed a nice place.
That very evening, Shen He's family came over to process his belongings after receiving the keys. Aside from what they would eat in the next few days, all the meat was made into cured pork. They had already asked his sister to buy a house there, and now all they needed to do was send the supplies. They could start sending dried vegetables and mushrooms now; resources were scarce there, and even with money and ration coupons, it wasn't guaranteed to buy good things. For now, they needed to convert their money into storable supplies. A gentleman takes revenge even after ten years. With things tense now, they would lie low for a few years until things calmed down. As for money, they were leaving anyway; once they loosened their grip and relinquished some power, they would have plenty more.
On Sunday, Liu Jing went to deliver money to Liu Yun. Liu Yun was stunned when she saw that it was 690 yuan. She thought it would be at most 500 yuan. She didn't expect it to be so much, but she didn't show it. After all, this should be the price on the black market. She didn't know the price of things on the black market, but she knew it would definitely not be cheap. She didn't dare to show anything for fear of giving herself away.
Both of them were very happy. Liu Yun was happy because she not only earned such a large sum of money, but also consumed a batch of items in her space. Although she didn't consume much, at least she didn't increase her inventory.
Liu Jing was happy because Shen He must have told his family when he went back yesterday, because the next day she was transferred to the publicity department. This was a junior position with a monthly salary of over thirty yuan, and it was an office job with a relaxed workload and much better benefits. Who wouldn't be happy to get such a good position without spending a penny?
After receiving the money, Liu Yun put the matter out of her mind and continued to busy herself with her preserved vegetable business. The ones she had brought home last time had already been smoked, so Liu Yun immediately packed them up and sent them to Li Juan. Although it had already snowed heavily there, there was no other way; these could only be made in this season. She could make more this year and try to save some to send earlier next year.
Liu Yun carried large and small bags home, saying she would make more to save for next year and send to Li Juan and the others earlier, otherwise it would be uncertain whether they would receive them due to the heavy snow there.
Yu's mother and the others also thought it was a good idea. There was no other way; lost packages were still quite common these days. Although their package was being sent to the military, which would make it more important, what if something went wrong? After all, they always sent valuable items in large quantities, and if it got lost, it would be gone forever. And that's all money!
This year, I can finally eat my fill during the Lunar New Year! The twins have been weaned, so I can eat whatever I want. Last year, I was pregnant and didn't dare eat much, so this year I'm going to make up for it. Especially the roe deer meat—I heard it's a specialty of Northeast China. Li Juan sent some over before, but because I was pregnant with twins, I didn't dare eat any of those preserved vegetables. Although eating a little wouldn't cause any problems, considering my medical situation, I didn't want to take any risks. This time, I'm going to eat my fill of roe deer meat and dried fish. Li Juan said it's made with three-scaled fish, which I've never tried before, and it looks so tempting!
This year, thanks to her parents' help taking care of the children, Liu Yun never let them worry about food. Aside from her father bringing back some good stuff from his old friends, or occasionally taking the triplets fishing, they never bought groceries. Although her parents mostly cooked, Liu Yun always kept the kitchen fully stocked, never lacking anything. If her parents wanted something, she would immediately prepare it if she had it in her online space; if not, the couple would find a way to get it. Except for one thing—snake meat—which Liu Yun could never accept.
This story begins with Yu Qianhe. Fu Yao went to the commune below to help out and returned with two days' worth of rat snakes, giving one to Yu Qianhe. That day, Liu Jing happened to order a batch of goods, more than usual, and the yard on the outskirts of the city was empty again, so she went to store the goods and returned late. Coincidentally, Yu's father was cooking that day, while Yu's mother was outside chatting with people and taking care of the children. As soon as Yu's mother got home, she saw her son skinning a snake in the yard. It was a rat snake, thicker than a fire poker, with its head nailed to a tree stump. Yu Qianhe had made a cut and was starting to skin the snake from the head. Before Yu's mother could say anything, she saw Liu Yun riding a bicycle with a sack on her back and thought to herself, "This is it."
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