Chapter 8

Going to the black market to shop and buy things

Niu Dapang chuckled: “Okay! I’m Niu Dapang, what about you, big sister?”

Tie Lanyan: “I’m Tie Lanyan, Tie from blacksmith, Lan from orchid, Yan from swallow.”

Niu Dapang gave her a thumbs up: “That’s a good name, it sounds very elegant, it suits your image.”

Tie Lanyan: …

If he knew that she was walking around beating people up with an iron pot, would he be scared and run away?

Tie Lanyan looked shy: “Hehe… you’re flattering me…”

Before revealing her true colors, she had to act a little, otherwise she would scare people away.

As they were talking, a tall and thin man wearing a black hat walked over from a distance.

He looked around cautiously, his eyes locked on Niu Dapang, and then he quickly walked over.

“You’re Niu Dapang, right?”

“Yes, yes, it’s me!” Niu Dapang nodded quickly and smiled, “You’re quite good, you found me right away.”

The tall and thin man: “Your friend said you’re as fat as a pig, of course it’s easy to find you.”

Niu Dapang choked: … That’s harsh, bro.

Tie Lanyan wanted to laugh, she tried hard to make her mouth look like Donald Duck’s, so she wouldn’t laugh out loud.

Niu Dapang chatted with the tall and thin reseller for a few words, then introduced Tie Lanyan to him.

“This is a big sister I know, Tie Lanyan, she’s very honest, she also wants to buy things from you.”

The tall and thin reseller nodded at her: “Hello.”

Of course, he wouldn’t refuse business that came knocking.

“Hello.” Tie Lanyan smiled and greeted him.

Next, Tie Lanyan and Niu Dapang followed him to a warehouse in the suburbs.

The tall and thin reseller specialized in reselling beef.

Niu Dapang wanted to buy some beef bones to make soup for his grandma to supplement her health.

But the supply and marketing cooperative only restocked beef once a month, it was impossible to get any, so he could only buy it from a reseller.

Beef was a rare meat, beef bones were sold together, they were even more expensive than ordinary meat, 1 yuan and 30 cents per jin, and they also needed coupons.

The black market didn’t need coupons to sell food, but the price was three or four times higher than the supply and marketing cooperative.

So the reseller’s price was 4 yuan per jin.

Niu Dapang wasn’t someone who cared about money, he directly bought 5 jin of beef bones.

He also recommended to Tie Lanyan: “Big sister, this beef looks good, it’s clearly freshly slaughtered, would you like some?”

Tie Lanyan nodded: “Yes, I love eating beef bones.”

Beef bones can not only supplement protein, but also nourish…

Beef bones are rich in blood, which is good for replenishing the body.

And the dishes made with them are so fragrant!

Tie Lanyan’s mind was filled with ideas for cooking beef bones.

Beef bone stewed with radish, beef bone soup noodles, pan-fried beef bones, braised beef bones, beef bone porridge, etc.

The more she thought about it, the more excited she got, her mouth was about to water.

Tie Lanyan’s heart was pounding, she bought 30 jin of beef and beef bones in one go!

Anyway, the space could preserve freshness, it wouldn’t go bad no matter how long it was stored.

This bold demeanor directly shocked Niu Dapang.

“Holy cow, big sister, you’re a hidden gem, you’re much more generous than me!”

Tie Lanyan laughed: “You’re not bad either.”

Niu Dapang left after buying the beef bones, he was eager to go back and make bone soup for his grandma.

Tie Lanyan wasn’t in a hurry to leave:

“Brother, I want to buy some other things, do you have other channels?”

“Yes, what do you want?”

For such a big customer, the tall and thin reseller naturally wanted to make friends.

Tie Lanyan’s heart lit up: “Okay then, thank you!”

Having someone familiar take her to the black market, she wouldn’t be afraid of any risks, and she wouldn’t be cheated.

The plan for this trip was successful!

……

One hour later, at the entrance of the eastern black market.

Two burly men were guarding the entrance, everyone had to check their ID and pay a 20-cent entrance fee.

The reseller’s buddy happened to be one of them.

Tie Lanyan got a free pass, even the entrance fee was waived.

The reseller had something to do and had to leave first, so he left Tie Lanyan with his buddy.

“Brother Fang, don’t look at this girl’s young age, she’s very generous, take good care of her.”

Brother Fang, hearing this, his mind immediately became active.

Taking acquaintances to the black market to buy things, if they bought a lot, he could get a commission.

Along the way, Brother Fang was very responsible in introducing the situation inside to Tie Lanyan.

“Big sister, this is your first time at the black market, don’t be afraid, just buy boldly, we have someone backing us up.”

It was 1975, the control over private transactions wasn’t as strict as before, there were fewer people checking.

Tie Lanyan felt a lot more at ease.

She was also planning to plant some things in the space, and then sell them.

The jade pendant space only had daytime, no night, and the time flow was twice as fast as the outside world.

In other words, if she stayed in there for 2 hours, only 1 hour would pass outside.

With such a favorable environment, plus that fertile black soil, …

It’s perfect for planting grain.

Buying grain and vegetable seeds didn’t require coupons.

But Aunt Ma was here today, so Tie Lanyan didn’t buy any, otherwise it would be hard to explain if she was asked.

Tie Lanyan planned to go to the supply and marketing cooperative again tomorrow.

When she mentioned that she wanted to buy chicken, Brother Fang immediately took her to a stall.

“This old lady raises very fat chickens, the price is pretty good.”

Tie Lanyan asked, a hen was about 4 jin, it cost 15.5 yuan, no coupons needed.

That was 3 yuan and 80 cents per jin of chicken.

The supply and marketing cooperative sold chicken for 1 yuan per jin and needed coupons, so the black market was three times higher.

“Girl, this old hen makes delicious chicken soup, if it wasn’t for the fact that it can’t lay eggs, I wouldn’t be willing to sell it.”

While the old lady was talking, she grabbed two chicks from the bamboo basket:

“If you buy the old hen, I’ll give you these two chicks for free!”

The yellow chicks were the size of a palm, flapping their little wings, they were very cute.

Tie Lanyan touched their fluffy little heads, her heart melted.

“I’ll give you 20 yuan, the extra few yuan, you can sell me some chicks.”

The old lady was clearly very honest.

Tie Lanyan: “It’s okay, someone at my house knows how to raise them.”

Her jade pendant space had such a large patch of green grass, it was perfect for raising some chicks.

The chicks were a bit more expensive than eggs, 35 cents each.

The old lady gave her 13, plus the 2 she had given her before, a total of 15.

That’s how it was.

Tie Lanyan spent 20 yuan and bought a clucking old hen and a bunch of chirping chicks.

The old hen was tied with a rope, so it was easy to carry, but the lively chicks were not easy to carry.

The old lady only had one bamboo basket, and there were still chickens to sell in it, she couldn’t take them out.

Tie Lanyan couldn’t put them in the space in front of people.

She was a little worried.