Chapter 23: Selling Herbs in Exchange for Food on the Black Market
Thinking that her appearance was a bit eye-catching, Su Henghao specially wore the same headscarf as the old lady.
It's a reasonable way to protect against the sun in the summer, since the beige headscarf only leaves the eyes exposed.
Su Heng felt that she was almost as good as a thief, so she tried to make her movements more relaxed and natural.
As soon as I turned into the alley, I found that there were groups of three or four people standing in every corner, talking.
Su Heng looked like a newcomer. When someone saw her carrying a basket, they came up to ask what was in it, but left when they heard it was medicinal herbs.
Food is scarce these days, and most people come here to buy food.
Su Heng was not in a hurry. She continued to walk inside and began to look for her target, who was known as Xiao Ye in the black market.
He is the trader who runs this black market. I heard he has some background, but the book only mentions that he is wealthy and a man who values credibility.
It is no problem to consume this batch of medicinal herbs, but I don’t know if he is here today.
This area is full of low-rise bungalows, and the connected courtyard walls separate the alleys.
The newcomer Su Heng is too conspicuous. The black market is tense. Although it seems loose here, there are actually people watching secretly.
Although she didn't make any obvious inquiries or searches, she had been in there for a long time without doing any business, so she had already been noticed.
Su Heng turned a corner and was wondering where the dealer's yard should be when he was suddenly stopped by someone.
Su Heng turned around and saw a young boy who was not very old. He stopped her in a low voice and said, "Hey, what are you doing here? If you don't want to change your things, leave quickly and don't hang around."
The black market in this area is managed by Mr. Xiao, and Su Heng understands that this person must be his man.
He opened his backpack and said, "I'm here to exchange for food, but no one here buys herbs. Brother, do you know who buys herbs here?"
The young man took a look and saw a full basket of medicinal herbs with a jar underneath. He was indeed here to sell something.
Besides, if it was the police or the enemy, they would not send a woman.
Then his expression softened a little and he said to her, "Come with me."
As soon as Su Heng heard this, she thought it was a good opportunity and immediately followed him.
The two of them walked around in circles and soon arrived at an inconspicuous courtyard.
The young man knocked on the door three times before someone opened it.
"Wu Zi, what's the matter?" An uncle opened the door.
The young man named Wu Zi explained: "Uncle Lin, she wants to sell medicine. Isn't Brother Xiao just looking to buy some herbs?"
Uncle Lin glanced at the basket Su Heng was carrying and said, "How much can she possibly have? Forget it. Come in first."
The two were welcomed in. The yard was unexpectedly clean and tidy. She had thought that there would be a lot of goods piled up in the yard.
"Uncle Lin, who's here?"
A young man in black came out of the main room. He had a delicate and handsome appearance and a noble temperament that didn't seem like someone from this small town.
Su Heng was stunned for a moment and then looked away, and then he heard Wu Zi call him "Brother Xiao".
Brother Xiao? Su Heng was puzzled. Could this man be the profiteer?
It's really hard to match the name with the person in front of me.
When Su Heng read in a book before that he was called Master Xiao, she automatically imagined a middle-aged man with a scar and a fierce aura.
Who would have thought she was so pretty and still so young.
Over there, Meng Xiao glanced lazily at Su Heng's head wrapped up like a ball, then looked away with a lack of interest.
"What herbs are you selling?"
Su Heng took down the backpack and introduced it to him: "Wild Codonopsis, dug from the mountains, and a little wild honey, it has very good effects, you can try it."
Meng Xiao became interested, but wild honey is not easy to get.
The big clay pot in Su Heng's house was a bit ugly, and Meng Xiao looked at it with some disgust.
Su Heng was speechless: "Take the cup and taste it and you will know."
As she spoke, she took out the jar of honey-soaked apricots that she had originally prepared to test the water. The honey in the glass jar was clear and beautiful in the sunlight, and it looked very good.
Meng Xiao took it and played with it. It looked pretty good.
Uncle Lin went to get some teacups and water. There was a set of tables and chairs in the yard. Meng Xiao sat in the main seat. Uncle Lin made a cup of honey water and handed it to him.
Su Heng thought that this set of teacups must be worth a lot of money, and it would be a waste of them to use them to soak honey.
Meng Xiao picked up the teacup, and just looking at his expression, you would think he was tasting some fine tea.
Uncle Lin poured another cup for each of them. Su Heng thanked him and took it, unable to help but stroking the porcelain cup in his hand.
The touch is soft and smooth, it is fine porcelain. This trader may be young, but he uses fine things. He lives in this small northern city, accompanied by a loyal servant.
This family must be of some importance. I'm afraid the young master is out experiencing life.
After he finished drinking, Su Heng smiled and asked, "How about my honey?"
"good."
"Will you accept it?" Su Heng got straight to the point.
Meng Xiao nodded and asked again: "Is that all?"
Hearing him ask this, Su Heng paused and wanted to keep the food at home for herself.
But there is still such a big nest on the mountain, and it won’t make much difference if we cut some more. The bees can build a new nest in no time.
Seeing her hesitation, Meng Xiao knew there was more, so he said straightforwardly: "I'll take as much as you have, two yuan per pound."
Su Heng thought for a moment and said, "Yes, I do, but I want to exchange it for food, including these codonopsis pilosula."
In fact, the main thing is these Codonopsis pilosula. She mainly came here to sell medicine, but she didn't expect Meng Xiao to be so interested in honey.
Hearing this, Meng Xiao opened the ugly package and picked up a piece of Codonopsis pilosula to take a look.
The wild ones can be so big, you can tell at a glance that they are quite old, and they are also well prepared.
Meng Xiao took a light sniff and could smell the unique medicinal fragrance.
He looked up at Su Heng and said, "You're lucky to have found so many. I want them all. I'll give you one dollar and fifty cents per pound. How about that?"
That’s great!
Su Heng's eyes lit up when she heard that. Dr. Liu had previously said that it might be sold for one yuan, so she had only expected 90 cents. Now Meng Xiao had added 50 cents.
Should we say he is wealthy or a conscientious trader?
Su Heng: "Sure, I have some at home, would you like to take them all?"
Meng Xiao was a little surprised: "I want them all. How many do you have?"
Su Heng thought about the two big bags. Although they had shrunk a lot after drying, they were still quite heavy.
"It should be about a hundred pounds."
The others gasped when they heard this. What kind of luck is this? This is wild Codonopsis pilosula, not a wild vegetable on the roadside!
After hearing this, they all wanted to go into the mountains to try their luck.
Meng Xiao thought for a moment and said, "I want all of these. Do you want to exchange them all for food?"
Grain on the black market does not require food coupons and is sold at a higher price, especially since they mainly grow wheat here. Rice is even more expensive, costing 60 cents per pound, while white flour only costs 40 cents.
But Su Heng likes to eat rice, and she won't let herself suffer no matter how expensive it is.
These medicinal herbs and honey can be sold for more than 200 yuan at least, which is more than 300 kilograms of rice.
For her and Lu Mingchuan, 300 kilograms is enough to eat for more than a year, so it will be no problem for them to survive this year of drought.
Thinking of this, Su Heng nodded affirmatively: "Yes, exchange it all for food. I need 300 kilograms of rice and 50 kilograms of flour. The rest can be exchanged for money."
There had been a famine in earlier years, and not every family had enough to eat in recent years. Seeing that she was going to stockpile so much food, no one was too surprised.
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