Chapter 9

“These are all things that can be done.”

Seeing Xu’s father deep in thought, Xu Xiuhong didn’t say anything more.

The next morning, Xu Niannian got up and found a bag of rice, two bags of flour, and a bag of millet had already piled up in her space.

The space moved at her command.

When she thought “harvest,” the wheat was instantly cut and set aside.

With another thought of “thresh,” the wheat was separated cleanly.

And with “grind,” each clean grain of wheat instantly turned into flour in the air, dropping into a cloth bag that appeared out of nowhere.

She examined the bag, which had no writing on it but was very sturdy—products from the space were indeed excellent.

Bags like these could even be sold, or people could sew them into pants, which would be quite stylish.

Xu Niannian roughly estimated the weight: around 20 pounds of rice, 15 pounds of millet, and 40 pounds of flour.

Since she couldn’t mix anything into the flour, she added some rice stalks from the harvest into the rice and millet to make it look less perfect.

After searching for a while at home, she finally found a basket, which she tossed into the space.

After washing up leisurely, she left the house without even bothering to eat breakfast.

The original owner had been to the black market a few times before. Near the black market, she found a corner, entered the space, disguised herself, put on some old clothes she’d prepared, smudged her face with dirt, and wore a headscarf.

Following her memory, she exchanged a secret code with the two people at the black market entrance and paid five cents.

The two at the entrance were used to seeing people in disguises; everyone who came here was low-key.

They took one look at the rice in her basket and let her in.

Once inside, Xu Niannian just wanted to sell quickly and leave.

She squatted near an older woman with scales, lifted a corner of her basket, and exposed the white rice inside.

People in the market moved quietly; no one shouted about their wares.

It was all about having a sharp eye; whoever spotted something quickly could grab it.

Sure enough, a middle-aged woman came over. She was wearing clean, appropriate clothes with little leather shoes and carrying a small bag.

With her sharp eye, she noticed the white rice. She was here specifically for grain.

People always said that teenage boys could eat their parents out of house and home.

She had three sons and a daughter, all with hearty appetites. Even though she and her husband both had stable jobs, they didn’t have enough ration tickets.

She felt lucky to have found this today.

She leaned down, touched the rice, rubbed a grain between her fingers, smelled it, and immediately decided to buy.

“How much?”

Xu Niannian felt like they were making a secret deal and carefully replied, “Eighteen cents per pound.”

The middle-aged woman looked pained.

“It’s twelve cents a pound at the supply and marketing cooperative. Why are you so expensive?”

Xu Niannian replied quietly, “The supply cooperative needs ration tickets, and this rice tastes better.”

The woman agreed with that; the quality was clearly good.

Glancing around, she saw others approaching and quickly said, “I’ll take all of it. I’ll carry it myself.”

She reached into the rice bag to check the quality from the bottom up, smiling once she was satisfied.

Xu Niannian’s eyes lit up. “Alright.”

But she didn’t have her own scales, so she took a handful of millet from her small bag and handed it to the older woman beside her. “Auntie, could I borrow your scales?”

The older woman immediately agreed, delighted with the golden millet. Plenty of people had scales, but it was rare for someone to be so generous.

The middle-aged woman’s eyes sparkled when she saw the millet. She’d heard millet was good for digestion, and her husband’s stomach was weak from working overtime frequently.

A couple of people, having noticed the quality of the rice earlier, gathered around, negotiating with the woman.

“Could you save us a little?”

The woman shook her head. “Next time, be quicker.”

Meanwhile, Xu Niannian weighed the rice—exactly 20 pounds and 5 ounces. She calculated it quickly and said, “Three dollars and seventy cents, and I’ll throw in the bag.”

The woman happily agreed, taking the bag directly, and the others hurriedly asked her, “When will you come back next time?”

Xu Niannian shook her head. “Not sure.”

Disappointed, the others left.

Just as the woman was about to leave, she remembered the millet.

“Miss, do you have any more millet?”

Xu Niannian nodded. “I have 15 pounds of millet and 40 pounds of flour, but I’ll need to go back for it.”

The woman, understanding boundaries, didn’t ask where she lived.

Although her face was smudged with dirt, her eyes shone with pure honesty.

“After you fetch it, come to Building 18, Unit 203 at the Steel Factory Family Housing and ask for Aunt Wang. No need to put dirt on your face; just say you’re a distant relative.”

With family at home, Aunt Wang wasn’t worried about buying black market goods being exposed. She trusted her gut about the girl.

Xu Niannian replied, “My millet and flour are top quality, too—eighteen cents flat.”

This was pricey, but the quality justified it.

Aunt Wang agreed right away. If her family couldn’t finish the millet, she could share some with her in-laws.

After taking a short walk, Xu Niannian retrieved everything she’d promised from her space.

Aunt Wang’s place was easy to find, and the gatekeeper only glanced at her as she passed.

Aunt Wang’s door was wide open, and she welcomed Xu Niannian in, handing her a large-denomination bill.

After weighing the goods at home and confirming the quality, Aunt Wang was thrilled, planning to share with her parents and in-laws.

Xu Niannian calculated her earnings. Making money in this era was tough—in novels, characters sold hundreds at a time, but she’d only made a little over ten bucks from a morning’s work.

Meat was the real moneymaker; maybe she’d buy some chicks to raise in the space.

She sighed but was relieved to have her first small fortune.

Now, with over 30 yuan, she could finally buy herself a nice outfit.

After walking for a while, she arrived at the city’s bustling department store.