Chapter 28 is not the upper limit of her financial resources

After leaving the Xinhua Bookstore with her freshly received manuscript payment, Song Youyou headed straight to the black market.

She had planned this trip ahead of time, so she was dressed in dull, inconspicuous clothing. Before entering the black market, she even put on a hat and wrapped a scarf around half of her face. This was her usual disguise whenever she came. The main purpose was to completely conceal her real appearance while still allowing certain vendors to recognize her familiar attire.

In her previous life, she had learned that there were some big-time speculators in the black market who ran significant operations and specifically did business with familiar-looking customers.

Song Youyou entered through a familiar alleyway. Compared to usual, the black market was much livelier today, with more people and a wider variety of goods being sold at the stalls. Today seemed to be an unofficial market day — like the old village fair days.

She bought some eggs from an older woman, then picked up some dried mountain goods (like morel mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, and black fungus) from a well-wrapped man’s stall. These dried goods had a long shelf life. Since she had just received her manuscript fee and wasn’t short on money, she simply bought them all.

The well-wrapped stall owner was initially surprised by her large purchase, but quickly became thrilled and eagerly packed everything up for her. He even gifted her the bamboo basket he had used to carry the goods.

With the basket on her back, Song Youyou wandered a bit more. During that time, no speculator came to offer her anything, which made her sigh inwardly as she prepared to leave.

Just as she was about to reach the mouth of the alley, a tall and thin man approached her.

“I’ve got oil, meat, rice, and flour. Need any, miss?”

Yes! She needed all of that!

Song Youyou’s eyes lit up, but she knew better than to reveal excitement. She kept her expression calm, knowing that in this kind of place, one shouldn’t flaunt wealth or act too eager.

She looked at the tall man and asked coolly, “Are your goods expensive? Where are they? If it’s too far, I won’t go.”

Her tone had a hint of annoyance and caution, like someone who didn’t want to be cheated.

But the tall man became even more enthusiastic — her demeanor showed she was interested and likely capable of buying.

“It’s not far. We’ve been doing business for years. Prices are fair — no scams, I promise.”

“It’s just around the corner from this alley. Come, I’ll show you!”

As he walked ahead to lead the way, Song Youyou followed at a safe distance.

The man led her deeper into the alley, then turned into an even narrower lane and stopped in front of a small courtyard. He knocked on the wooden door with a specific rhythm.

Inside, several sounds of door bolts being drawn back could be heard. Then, the courtyard door opened.

“This is it, miss. Go in and buy what you want. You can leave through the back door afterward,” the tall man said with a friendly smile.

Not only was the vendor careful when inviting customers in, but he’d even arranged for a back exit.

Song Youyou raised an eyebrow — clearly, this black market boss was thorough and well-prepared, offering a high level of security for the transaction.

She gave a slight nod and stepped inside the courtyard — and was surprised by what she saw.

Despite looking modest from the outside, the inside was like a whole different world.

The courtyard was surrounded by covered stalls, offering shade from the sun and shelter from rain. The primary goods here were grains, oil, and pork.

Besides her, there were seven or eight other customers. None of them were dressed as cautiously as she was.

When the others noticed someone entering, they instinctively turned to look — only to see a person wrapped tightly in plain, dull clothes, face mostly hidden. Unable to see her appearance clearly, they quickly lost interest and turned back to what they were doing.

That was exactly the reaction Song Youyou had hoped for.

With no one paying her any attention, she browsed the stalls with ease.

Although the variety of goods sold here wasn’t large, the quantity was impressive. Take the pork stall, for instance: even before they finished selling the meat on the table, someone was already bringing in another rack of fresh pork.

“How much is the pork per catty?” Song Youyou asked.

“One yuan per catty. No meat ticket needed,” the vendor answered without even lifting his head.

At the state-run supply stores, pork sold for 0.76 yuan per catty, but required meat coupons. Since black market meat didn’t need tickets, it was typically more expensive — so one yuan per catty wasn’t unreasonable.

Keeping that in mind, Song Youyou asked, “If I buy a large amount, can the price come down a bit?”

“How much are you thinking of buying?”

“Maybe a few dozen catties.”

“A few dozen?” The vendor finally looked up at this big-spending customer.

“Yes, my family is having a celebration banquet, so we’ll need quite a bit.”

She casually came up with an excuse.

“I see.” The vendor believed her instantly. These days, most people could only afford a catty or two of meat at most. Only someone preparing a wedding or feast would buy in bulk like this.

“If you’re buying dozens of catties at once, I can give you the lowest price — 0.92 yuan per catty. Also, I’ll throw in the pig bones and offal for free.”

He was clearly being generous for a big customer.

“Alright then. I’ll take 40 catties for now. If it’s not enough for the banquet after I get home, I’ll come back for more.”

In truth, Song Youyou wanted to buy as much as possible. Deals like this with black market vendors weren’t a daily occurrence. Now that she had the chance, she wanted to buy a large amount and make preserved pork to store.

So 40 catties wasn’t the limit of her budget — just the limit of what she could physically carry. Any more and she wouldn’t be able to get it home.