Chapter 18 Cash on Delivery
"Also, give me ten pounds each of White Rabbit milk candy and fruit hard candy, and some fabric, the kind that country folk use to make clothes, sturdy and durable, dark-colored. How much do you have here? I'll take it all."
She paused, then continued, "The kitchen utensils are also essential! A sturdy iron pot, a good spatula, a sharp cleaver! And..."
She emphasized, "A stove that can boil water and cook food! A coal stove or a simple stove will do, as long as it can make a fire and cook food! Without a stove, this job can't be done!"
She thought to herself: these warm supplies are essential for survival, sugar is hard currency and a symbol of goodwill, and cloth has a wide range of uses.
The stove was also key to independent cooking—the communal meals at the educated youth settlement were troublesome, and the mother needed to secretly provide financial support.
A house? We'll figure that out once we get there.
Food? We'll figure that out when we get to the Great Northern Wilderness.
Scarface narrowed his eyes, making the scar appear even more menacing.
He looked Xu Zhili up and down, his eyes sharp as knives, as if trying to see through her skin to understand her true nature.
"Little girl, you've got quite an appetite, exchanging so many things? You wouldn't... be thinking of running away after taking the stuff, would you?"
He leaned forward slightly, exuding a strong sense of pressure.
Xu Zhili felt a slight alarm bell ringing in her heart, but on her face she showed a frank and even somewhat naive smile.
"Heh, Scarface, what are you saying? This is a cash-on-delivery transaction. I took your things, you took my watch, the deal is done. Even if I wanted to run away, you wouldn't lose anything, right? Besides..."
She glanced around meaningfully. "Where can I run to on your turf?"
Scarface stared at her for a few seconds, and suddenly, a forced, insincere smile slowly spread across his cold, hard face.
He clapped his hands lightly.
"Interesting, and satisfying!"
He gave instructions to his men.
"According to this... young lady's requirements, go and prepare the goods. Find the best cotton-padded clothes, trousers, shoes, and hats according to her standards. Take as much sugar and fabric as you can. Pick sturdy kitchen utensils. For the stove, give her that nearly new coal stove in the storeroom!"
He seemed generous, but in reality, the actual value of these items on the black market, especially based on the "wholesale price" he offered, was far less than a thousand yuan in cash.
He's still making money.
His subordinates responded and left.
"Little girl."
Scarface sat down again, picked up the peeled apple, took a bite, and juice splattered everywhere. "Your approach is interesting. Do you have any more of these watches? Or... anything else new and interesting?"
He asked seemingly casually, but his eyes were fixed on Xu Zhili.
Xu Zhili sneered inwardly: So they're already probing?
A slightly mysterious smile appeared on her face.
"Of course, it's not just this watch. Clothes, daily necessities... as long as you have enough strength and sincerity, there will naturally be more good things."
She threw out a bait.
Scarface slowed his chewing, his eyes gleaming: "The goods are fine, but I need to know if they came from a clean source. Don't get me into any trouble."
This is the biggest taboo in the black market.
Xu Zhili had already prepared her answer, and her tone was confident.
"Don't worry, Scarface, the source of the goods is absolutely secure and won't cause you any trouble. Cooperation is a win-win situation. I can bring you goods that others don't have, and you can give me what I want... channels and convenience."
She emphasized the word "convenient".
Scarface looked at Xu Zhili again, seemingly assessing her value and risks.
This seemingly young girl possesses a composure and...coldness in the depths of her eyes that belies her age.
Finally, he stood up and stretched out his large, rough, and powerful hand, which was covered in apple juice.
"Fine! I'll take this deal! But..."
His eyes suddenly turned fierce. "Let's get this straight! The goods have to be exactly as you say. If anything goes wrong, or if they try anything funny..."
He snorted coldly, his unspoken meaning laced with threat.
Xu Zhili reached out without hesitation and grasped the sticky hand, her smile sweet and innocent.
“No problem, Scarface, it’s a pleasure doing business with you!” Her fingertips were icy cold.
The transaction between the two parties is complete.
Watching his men begin moving the mountain of supplies, Scarface had indeed given a considerable amount, even though it was worth a thousand dollars. But in the end, he still made a huge profit.
Xu Zhili maintained a polite smile on her face, but inwardly she was sneering.
This resentment over price gouging, 100 yuan each?
Does he think I'm a beggar? This scarred man is ruthless and has a disgusting way of doing things! I'll remember this debt!
Luckily, my mother had the foresight to use soot mixed with Vaseline to lightly alter her skin tone before coming here, thicken her eyebrows, add a few small freckles, and deliberately mess up her hair.
Even her own father might not recognize her face!
This deal is a one-time thing! Tomorrow I'm taking the train straight to the Great Northern Wilderness. Goodbye, you damn black market!
Xu Zhili's gaze seemingly unintentionally swept over Scarface's fierce face, especially the centipede scar, and a surge of malice welled up in her heart.
Tsk tsk tsk, dark forehead, ominous brow bone, gloomy temples... bad luck is not far away!
Look at your arrogant attitude, it won't be long before you're taken down as a typical example of speculation!
It would be best to keep you locked up for another ten or eight years!
Serves you right!
Yeah, right, you tried to lower my price!
Hmph! Scarface old dog!
I will remember this humiliation!
Once the storm has passed, once I've established myself in the Great Northern Wilderness... no, before I even set off as an educated youth in the Great Northern Wilderness, I'm going to write an anonymous letter of denunciation and wipe out your entire den of thieves.
Let's see if you dare to rip me off again.
That felt so good!
Next stop.
With the supplies secured, next... it's time to meet my "good father," Lin Jinguo! I must get my hands on the letter severing ties.
And... I'll give him a little more trouble! Just thinking about it makes me... kind of look forward to it.
Xu Zhili directed Scarface's men to move the items to a designated secluded corner. She made an excuse that someone was coming to pick her up, and looking at the supplies that were enough for her and her brother to survive the winter in the Great Northern Wilderness, the frustration in her heart subsided slightly.
Leaving the bloody, scheming, and unlucky (stepping in dog poop) black market area, Xu Zhili breathed a long sigh of relief as she breathed in the relatively "fresh" air again.
My stomach started growling at just the right moment.
She felt the money and tickets in her pocket. There was still a considerable amount of the resettlement allowance given by Director Wang. She recalled the extreme praise for the braised pork in the state-run restaurant in 1968 in the period novel she had read before she transmigrated.
The scorching sun shone unhindered on the streets in the afternoon of 1968, and the air was filled with dust and the faint smell of coal smoke.
Xu Zhili used a handkerchief—an old silk handkerchief she found in her spatial storage—to wipe the fine sweat from her forehead. Suppressing her anger towards Scarface and her plans for the future, she walked briskly toward the state-run restaurant she remembered.
At this moment, nothing could soothe her heart and stomach, which had been "baptized" by the black market, more than a bowl of legendary braised pork that was rich but not greasy, with a bright red color and melt-in-your-mouth texture.
Only when you're full will you have the energy to "reason" with the Lin family!
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