"Hongmei, let's find a place to stay first and take a good bath."
"Then we'll have to find a public bathhouse. Let me make this clear first, I'm not going there. I hate all that white stuff."
"What do you mean by all white?"
Zhang Hongmei glanced at the girl helplessly. "Do you not take off your clothes when you take a bath? Wouldn't that just leave you all white?"
“That’s true, I’ve never been to a public bathhouse either. Let’s go to the hotel and fetch our own water to wash up.”
"Okay, let's go out for dinner after we've rested up."
Once they made up their minds, the two started looking for a hotel. "Wang Ying, I heard that the roads in T City are really winding and confusing. It's hard to find your way around. Let's get out of the car and ask around."
Zhang Hongmei couldn't bring herself to ask for directions. After stammering for a long time, Wang Ying couldn't bear to watch any longer and got out of the car to ask someone for directions herself.
After many twists and turns, they finally saw the inn ahead. Both of them breathed a sigh of relief. They had finally found it. It had been so difficult.
The two registered for two rooms with their letters of introduction. The worst part was that there was no hot water available, which was a real problem. In the end, they had to beg and plead before they were allowed to use the hot water that the staff had prepared. Otherwise, they would have had to take a cold shower.
An hour and a half later, the two walked out of the room looking refreshed and smiled when they saw each other.
"Auntie, what's the best thing to eat here? We've come all this way, so we'd like to try some of our local specialties."
The affected Tianjin accent came through, but Zhang Hongmei could still understand it. The final conclusion was that the steamed buns were only available at noon, not in the evening.
The two were dumbfounded. They had originally wanted to try the food here, but what did it mean that they weren't selling it?
"Then, Auntie, where can we have dinner?"
Finally, the two of them left the hotel dejectedly and headed towards the state-run restaurant two streets away. At least they could get something to eat there.
The two girls were quite lucky, at least when it came to food. The restaurant hadn't served steamed buns for several months, but they were available tonight, which delighted them.
However, the taste wasn't what Zhang Hongmei had experienced in her previous life, which was a little disappointing. Nevertheless, the flavor was still quite good. For the past seven days, they had been eating whatever was convenient, so being able to have a proper meal today, even if it was just average, was delicious to them. Each of them received a bowl of shrimp and seaweed soup, and the amount of seaweed was quite generous.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, they both felt they had eaten too much, so they decided to take a walk.
But there was nothing there at night. After circling around several times, I suddenly noticed a figure moving in front of me.
"Wang Ying, let's go take a look. Maybe this is the black market."
"Really? I've heard of the black market, but I've never been there. Shall we go take a look?"
"Hehe, that's what I meant too. Luckily we brought our handbags. Otherwise, if we liked something but didn't have the money, it would have been a waste."
The two girls excitedly entered the alley, and they were right – this was the biggest black market, and today was the biggest market every fifth day of the lunar calendar.
The vendors on both sides were using flashlights, though some were just trying to get a better look at what they were selling. But you could still make out roughly what they were selling.
The two of them were like country bumpkins visiting the Grand View Garden, finding everything fascinating. Food was scarce; the majority consisted of seafood, dried vegetables, fresh vegetables, and handicrafts.
Neither of them was interested in the former. But the handicrafts captivated them. They squatted down and examined each one carefully.
In the end, the two bought a bunch of things: roly-poly clay figurines, small and exquisite cricket cages, cute little straw animals, and handmade tiger-head pillows.
She paid and continued, honestly just joining in the fun, but the further she went in, the more surprised Zhang Hongmei became.
They even sell daggers and swords.
Wang Ying was interested in these items, and Zhang Hongmei squatted down as well. In the end, the two of them chose two daggers and two short knives. They didn't know what they were for, but they just liked the look of them.
After paying, Wang Ying whispered to Zhang Hongmei, "Hongmei, we've chosen really good stuff. Our master taught us to recognize daggers and short knives."
Seeing Wang Ying's excitement, Zhang Hongmei teased her, "So, we've struck gold, haven't we?"
"Pretty much. Let's split it when we get back. We can carry it with us for self-defense."
"You're always thinking about fighting, aren't you?"
"No, it's just for self-defense. Hongmei, look, there are still furniture vendors selling furniture so late at night."
Zhang Hongmei looked in the direction Wang Ying pointed and immediately rushed over. These were all old, valuable items.
"Sir, is this furniture a set?"
"Yes, there's also the canopy bed and the four-poster bed, and the display cabinet, which we didn't bring. This is the complete set of dowry furniture. Young lady, let me tell you, these are all high-quality materials. We're moving to another city, and we can't take this with us. Selling it to a recycling station would fetch too little, so I brought some over tonight to try it out."
"Uncle, what kind of material is this?"
"I don't know anything about this either. My mom said it's made of chicken wing wood?"
"Hehe, I don't know either, uncle. How much does this set cost? If it's suitable, I'll buy it. I happen to have a truck that I can use to transport it."
"Little girl, I'm not lying. I asked the recycling station and they offered me sixty yuan for a set, but my goal is one hundred and twenty."
Zhang Hongmei didn't say anything, genuinely feeling it wasn't expensive. The craftsmanship alone was worth more than that price, and the wood was also very hard to find.
Zhang Hongmei lamented that Wang Ying wasn't as adept at cooperating with her as Er Ya. If Er Ya were around, she would have immediately jumped up and shouted that the price was too high. But Wang Ying was just brandishing the dagger in her hand and didn't pay any attention to anything else.
The middle-aged man noticed Zhang Hongmei's hesitation and became somewhat anxious, "How about one hundred? I really can't go any lower."
Actually, Zhang Hongmei didn't want to pay less; she just felt that if she didn't bargain, it wasn't like buying something.
“Okay, price is not a problem. I was just wondering if you have any furniture left so I could buy it all at once and save myself the trouble.”
"I have two trunks, two cabinets, and a few round-backed chairs at home. You can go and take a look. If you want them, just give me twenty yuan for everything."
"When should we get it installed?"
"It'll be ready tonight." The seller was genuinely worried that the young girl wouldn't buy it.
"But I haven't finished exploring yet, and besides, I can't find the place."
"Then I'll load the car and wait for you."
"No need for that. You can go back first, and then come to the state-run hotel to find me tomorrow morning. We can do it tomorrow morning. I'm afraid of disturbing the neighbors in the middle of the night."
"Okay, then I'll come find you tomorrow morning."
After reaching an agreement, Zhang Hongmei and Wang Ying continued shopping, but after walking for quite a while, they still didn't see anything they liked.
Both of them were a little disappointed and couldn't take it anymore, so they decided to go back to the hotel.
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