Chapter 28: I’ve Always Been Partial

It took Xia Ning’an three days to finish knitting the vest.

“Zecheng Ge, how about you put it on and let me see how it looks?”

“Okay.”

Xia Ning’an got him a white shirt and put the wool vest on top.

Lu Zecheng changed his clothes and sat on the edge of the kang. When Xia Ning’an came in, it was as if he saw a noble young man who had fallen to earth. His figure was much better than the male models she had photographed before, especially with his eyes still covered with gauze, adding a sense of abstinence and mystery.

Xia Ning’an screamed in her heart, This is my ideal type! What should I do? I want to pounce on him.

“Zecheng Ge, I didn’t know my skills were so good. You look so handsome wearing it. Just wear it like this. Let Second Brother see it. He’ll be jealous.”

“Aren’t you afraid he’ll say you’re partial?”

“I’ve always been partial.”

Xia Ning’an said confidently.

Sure enough, at lunchtime, Xia Ninghao started to complain. In the end, Xia Ning’an had no choice but to promise to knit him one in the same style as soon as possible. He said he had never seen this style in the village. Although he couldn’t be the first person in the village to wear this style, he wanted to be the first to wear it and show it off in the village.

He chose a royal blue color. Xia Ning’an rushed it out for him in three days.

That day, Xia Ninghao put on a white shirt, a royal blue vest, black straight-leg pants, and blue mesh shoes. He wanted to wear leather shoes, but Xia Ning’an suggested he try blue mesh shoes. They were more youthful, making him a perfect little puppy. If only he were taller.

She thought about giving Second Brother a dose of the gene optimization agent.

So, she went into the room, poured a glass of water, and added the gene optimization agent.

“Second Brother, drink this. Drink it and try to grow taller, hehe.”

Xia Ninghao pretended to be angry and said, “You’re laughing at me for being short.”

“You’re not short. You’re just a little shorter than Zecheng Ge. But you’re still taller than most people.”

Xia Ninghao felt unconvinced and pretended to be angry as he drank the water.

Xia Ninghao, who was dressed handsomely, said, “An’an, pack lunch for Mother later. I’ll go to the field to deliver it to her.”

“Mother said to be low-key. You don’t need to deliver lunch to her.”

“It’s rare to deliver it once.”

When Xia Changhai came back for lunch, Xia Ninghao kept showing off his new vest. He didn’t even notice his father’s resentful gaze. Oh well, he would continue working in the afternoon. It wasn’t until three days later that Xia Changhai also wore a new vest.

Everyone else had one, so Mother had to have one too. She spent another three days knitting one for her mother.

If it weren’t for the fact that she had recently become stronger, she would have been exhausted.

She calculated the time. She had to go to the black market in the county to deliver the goods. It was also time to bring back the oil mill machines.

Xia Ning’an got up early, settled Lu Zecheng, and rode her tricycle to the county.

When she arrived near the black market in the county, she dressed up and rented a small courtyard near the black market for 2 yuan a month. The courtyard had two gates. The left one was abandoned, and the right one was closed and rarely seen. It was perfect for her to store goods and convenient for people from the black market to transport goods.

She put 100 iron pots, 100 military water bottles, 10 thermoses, 100 jin of brown sugar, 100 jin of eggs, 200 towels, 5 bicycles, 5 sewing machines, 5 radios, 5 tricycles, and 5,000 seaweed and meat floss rice balls, two liang each, into the space. These were made by Bond when he had nothing to do. The farm produced several drawers of rice every day, and the family couldn’t possibly eat it all. Storing it in the warehouse wasn’t an option either. Now that there was such a shortage of food, it was better to make it into rice balls and sell them cheaply to those in need.

After putting everything away, she went to find the manager of the black market.

She handed the list to the man she had met before.

The man took the list.

100 iron pots at 28 yuan each, 100 military water bottles at 16 yuan each, 10 thermoses at 8 yuan each…

Total: 9,630 yuan.

“Girl, wait a moment. I’ll go find the manager.” He said and ran off.

This batch of goods had some good stuff. The end of the autumn harvest was the peak season for weddings, and there were several large items on this list.

The manager soon came running over.

“Oh, girl, you’re here. No wonder there were magpies calling outside my house this morning. A distinguished guest has arrived. My name is Zhang Dagang. Everyone calls me Gangzi Ge. If you don’t mind, you can call me Gangzi Ge too.”

“Gangzi Ge, you’re too kind. My name is Li Xiaomei. I’ll take you to see the goods.”

When they arrived at the courtyard, Zhang Dagang and his younger brother who came with him were both delighted to see so many goods. After counting the quantity, Zhang Dagang gave Xia Ning’an the money bag. When she took it, the money was already in the space. With a thought, she knew the amount was correct. She pretended to open the bag and take a look before putting it away. Zhang Dagang and his men were amazed. This girl was someone who could do great things. She didn’t even need to count the money. They also felt that this was Xiaomei’s trust in them. They would cooperate well in the future and not disappoint Xiaomei’s trust.

“Gangzi Ge, I have something I want to ask you to help with.”

Zhang Dagang patted his chest and said, “Xiaomei, what is it? Just say it. I know everyone in the county.”

“We have some oyster mushrooms grown in our village. This week, please ask someone to go to the state-owned restaurants and ask around. Tell them that these oyster mushrooms are now being eaten by many people in the state-owned restaurants in the provincial capital. Ask if the state-owned restaurants are interested.”

She said as she handed Gangzi a cloth bag containing oyster mushrooms.

“Is that all?”

“That’s all.”

“Cough, that’s nothing. Don’t worry, I’ll handle it beautifully. But is this stuff really delicious?”

“There’s a lot in the bag. You can try it at noon. Stir-fry it with some meat slices.”

“Okay.”

“Here’s the key to the courtyard gate. Lock it up after you move the goods. I’ll be on my way.” She said as she handed him a key.

“Xiaomei, can we cooperate long-term?”

“We can trade once a week before it snows. Next time, you can prepare some old objects. People up there like them. Don’t bring any gold or silver jewelry.”

“Okay, see you next week.” He said, nodding and bowing as he sent Xia Ning’an out of the courtyard.

Xia Ning’an looked at the time. It was still early. She decided to go around the black market and see if there were any good things to buy. Maybe she could meet someone like the one she met last time.