Chapter 51 ☆ The Truth About the Big Lion (Part 1)

The skin on the ankle is the thinnest, and the pain from the scratch was unbearable. Cheng Yaoyao rarely suffered, and she frowned in pain. Seeing that there was no one around, she washed the wound with spiritual spring water, and the small wound healed quickly, leaving only a faint pink.

Cheng Yaoyao wanted to apply the spiritual spring water, and the little lotus leaf swayed and rolled up its leaves. Cheng Yaoyao had already consumed a lot of Yang energy in the past few days by making dried bayberries and taking a bath, and the little lotus leaf was not happy. Cheng Yaoyao’s ankle no longer hurt, so she had to give up.

The black market in Lin’an County was not yet busy. In the hot sun, the vendors were drowsy and seemed a little quiet. A few farmers from the countryside squatted in a corner, selling some crooked peaches and melons, as well as home-grown vegetables. The egg and grain sellers stood with their hands folded. It was a seller’s market now, and eggs and grain were in great demand. They seemed very leisurely. They would only indicate the price when customers came over and asked.

When the young girl in the goose yellow skirt walked in, the air in the black market stagnated. The grain dealers, who were dozing against the wall, woke up and stared at her with sharp eyes.

Cheng Yaoyao was so beautiful that she was unforgettable. Soon, several vendors came up to her and asked, “Comrade, would you like to buy some food?”

“How about some eggs?”

“Fresh peaches, 5 cents a pound!”

A middle-aged man came too close, and Cheng Yaoyao frowned at the smell of sweat. She stepped away and asked the old farmer who was selling grain, “Uncle, I’m looking for a Hou Zi.”

The old farmer took Cheng Yaoyao to one side and shouted “Hou Zi” towards the entrance of the alley. A little girl ran over to call for help.

While waiting for the monkey, the old farmer smiled at Cheng Yaoyao and said, “Girl, thanks to the cloth coupons you gave me last time, my daughter made a new piece of cloth… What kind of cloth is it?”

Cheng Yaoyao asked, “Bragi?”

“Yes, it’s a bragi —just a skirt. Why do they have to call it that? They say it came from the Soviet Union,” the old farmer said happily.

Cheng Yaoyao was about to speak with a smile, but the middle-aged man came over unwillingly and said, “Comrade, I have a watch from Shanghai. Would you like to take a look?”

“No,” Cheng Yaoyao frowned in annoyance, her little face frosty.

The middle-aged man was not afraid at all and buzzed around Cheng Yaoyao like a fly.

The old farmer separated the middle-aged man, intentionally or unintentionally. As they were arguing, Hou Zi ran out of the alley and said, “I’m here! Who’s looking for me? It’s you!”

The old farmer hurriedly said to the monkey, “I’m here to buy the goods from you. I’ll give you the old price.”

Hou Zi was such a smart person that, after receiving the old farmer’s hint, he immediately understood what was going on after taking a glance at Cheng Yaoyao and the middle-aged man. He smiled and said to the middle-aged man, “Old Liu, this is my guest.”

Old Liu stared at Cheng Yaoyao with a deadly look before walking away.

That look in his eyes was like that of a leper. Cheng Yaoyao felt disgusted wherever he stared at her.

When he walked away unwillingly, the old farmer asked, “Girl, why are you here alone? Where is your tall boyfriend from last time?”

Cheng Yaoyao said, “He didn’t come.”

The old farmer shook his head and said, “Don’t come alone next time. I’m going to go and greet the guests. You guys can chat, Hou Zi.”

This was the second time Hou Zi had seen Cheng Yaoyao, and he was still dazzled by her beauty. He rubbed his hands and smiled, “Comrade, what do you want from me?”

Cheng Yaoyao took out a can of dried bayberries and said, “I made this myself.”

The Hou Zi blushed, “Well, how can I accept your things?”

Cheng Yaoyao almost rolled her eyes and said, “I am planning to sell it! Do you want to cooperate with me? We’ll split the profits 37–39.”

The Hou Zi scratched his head and said with some embarrassment, “Food, cloth, and eggs are all easy to sell. How much are your dried bayberries worth?”

Cheng Yaoyao said, “I plan to sell them for 5 yuan a pound.”

The Hou Zi almost bit his tongue and laughed, “Girl, you don’t know how expensive firewood and rice are until you run a household. Did you see those farmers over there? They brought peaches and cantaloupes, and they only sold them for 2.5 cents per pound. There are also people who come here to sell bayberries, and you can buy three pounds for 10 cents!”

Cheng Yaoyao raised her chin proudly and said, “The dried bayberries I make are different! Try them first.”

“Okay, okay.” No one could refuse Cheng Yaoyao, not even Hou Zi.

Cheng Yaoyao opened the bottle cap and poured out a few dried bayberries into the Hou Zi’s palm. The dried bayberries were covered with a thick layer of sugar juice and had thick flesh, which was indeed different from ordinary dried bayberries.

The Hou Zi put a handful in his mouth, and the sweet and sour taste exploded on the tip of his tongue, making the Hou Zi’s eyes widen immediately.

Cheng Yaoyao was not surprised by the Hou Zi’s reaction. She screwed the bottle cap carefully and said straight to the point, “How about it? Five yuan a pound. Help me sell it, and we’ll split it 70%.”

The Hou Zi slurped his saliva and savored the taste of the dried bayberries carefully before he was willing to speak: “The price is a bit high; it’s not easy to sell.”

Cheng Yaoyao said complacently, “My dried bayberries are very clean. They are made with first-class white sugar and spiritual mountain spring water. The cost is not low.”

The Hou Zi immediately suggested, “Can we lower the cost? Replace the white sugar with saccharin or Cuban sugar? The cost can be reduced by several cents.”

“No,” Cheng Yaoyao said flatly. “How can the taste of saccharin compare to that of white sugar? Cuban sugar has too many impurities, and the dried bayberries made from it are bitter and have residue. Besides, it doesn’t save much money.”

The Hou Zi stared at the dried bayberry in Cheng Yaoyao’s hand and said, as if he had a toothache, “Sister, do you know how many kilograms of fine grains you can buy with five yuan? It’s really hard to sell if the price is too high!”

Cheng Yaoyao had anticipated this. For a dual-income family like Chen Yong’s, the combined monthly salary is only 70 or 80 yuan. He is willing to buy dried bayberries because he loves his wife. Even if other people have spare money, they will first buy food and snacks to fill their stomachs. Few people are willing to spend five yuan to buy a pound of dried bayberries.

Cheng Yaoyao countered, “Do you know how they sell melon seeds at the entrance of the cinema? How do they sell them?”

The Hou Zi understood immediately: “You mean retail sales?!”

In those days, televisions had not yet entered ordinary people’s homes, and movie theaters were the favorite entertainment venues for ordinary people. Especially for young men and women, going to a movie was a must for dating or blind dating.

Darkness easily breeds ambiguity. Sitting in a dark movie theater, fingers touch inadvertently, hearts are in turmoil, and a marriage is decided.

When you watch a movie in a cinema, you can’t just watch it. You have to buy two bottles of soda and a pack of snacks. There are the most vendors at the entrance of the cinema. They are banned repeatedly, and I don’t know how many people they support.

The most popular snack at the entrance of the cinema is, of course, melon seeds. The woman selling roasted melon seeds carries a cloth bag and uses a small wine glass with cracked, coarse porcelain to hold the melon seeds. One cup costs five cents. This way of selling melon seeds has been around for many years. When Cheng Yaoyao was in elementary school, the canteen at the entrance of the school still sold melon seeds this way, so she is quite familiar with it.

Hou Zi knew better and made a quick calculation: “The family selling melon seeds in front of the cinema fries ten kilograms of melon seeds tomorrow, and they can make a gross profit of twenty yuan in one night! Dried bayberries can be sold in the same way, and the price will be even higher. Dried bayberries are big, and with the soup, one kilogram can make twenty to thirty cups! We have to find people in the cinema for this, divide them into several buyers, and let those kids sell them.”

Cheng Yaoyao raised her chin: “How about it? Do you want to cooperate with me? I just sold the goods to you. How you sell them and how many buyers you find are your business. I won’t interfere.”

The Hou Zi’s eyes rolled around, and his mind was thinking quickly. Cheng Yaoyao knew that he must be thinking about how to lower the price, so she ignored him and crossed her arms leisurely.

The original book described the Hou Zi as a natural businessman with a network of connections, specifically responsible for selling goods for the protagonist. He could consume thousands of kilograms of goods provided by the protagonist, let alone his own.

Cheng Yaoyao added, “I have some mushroom sauce here. Do you want some?”

Before the Hou Zi could say anything, a greasy voice came from behind him: “I want it~”

Old Liu from before actually came over again, and brought two other strangers with him, both of whom looked quite wretched. Old Liu glanced at Cheng Yaoyao and the things she hid in her bag and smiled with yellow teeth: “So, sister, you are the one who sells goods. If you have any good stuff, I will take it! How can Hou Zi, this kid, afford to take the goods?”

Hou Zi smiled apologetically and put his hand on Old Liu’s shoulder: “Old Liu, this is an acquaintance of mine, Sister. Please give me some face…”

“Get lost! What dignity do you have? Stop flattering yourself.” The man with Old Liu had a face full of flesh. He pushed Hou Zi away and smiled at Cheng Yaoyao. “What kind of product does this comrade have?”

His eyes swept back and forth across Cheng Yaoyao’s chest. Cheng Yaoyao was so angry that she felt dizzy. She turned around with a cold face and was about to leave, but was stopped by the three of them.

Cheng Yaoyao smelled the rotten smell and alcohol in their mouths and raised her voice, “Get out!”

Hou Zi also rushed over and tried his best to block the three people: “Old Liu, don’t make trouble. She is a decent girl. If you call the inspection team over, we will all be finished!”

Several other vendors also tried to persuade them, but they seemed to be afraid of these three people and did not dare to approach.

Old Liu laughed and said, “How can a decent girl come to the black market to sell goods?”

They seemed certain that Cheng Yaoyao had come to the black market but dared not make it public. The man with the fat face even reached out and touched Cheng Yaoyao’s braid, which made Cheng Yaoyao feel sick. Just as she was about to scream, an arm came over from the side and tightly grasped the dirty hand of the man with the fat face.

The fat-faced man screamed like a chicken being strangled by the neck, and then he kneeled on the ground with his hands covered. Old Liu raised his eyes and glared at the person who suddenly appeared behind Cheng Yaoyao: “How dare you… dare to hit someone?!”