Chapter 27 Entering the Black Market

Qi Aixiu whispered the entrance to the black market to Ye Nanyi. Ye Nanyi was incredulous. The entrance to the black market was actually behind the supply and marketing cooperative. That was incredibly bold. She didn’t believe that there was no one around back there. “Gurgling, gurgling.” Ye Nanyi was about to thank her when she heard Qi Aixiu’s stomach rumble. To avoid embarrassing Qi Aixiu, Ye Nanyi pretended not to hear it and pretended to take two coarse grain steamed buns from her basket. “Sister, this is a thank you gift. I’m going now.”

 She stuffed the steamed buns into Qi Aixiu’s arms and ran off. Qi Aixiu wasn’t a strong-willed person, and Ye Nanyi’s actions made her eyes red again. She looked at the coarse grain steamed buns in her hand and sniffed them. They had a faint wheat fragrance. Qi Aixiu didn’t dare to eat them. Her three children hadn’t eaten yet. She could just drink some water.

Ye Nanyi, who had left quickly, had already reached the back of the supply and marketing cooperative. She observed for a while and saw many people coming and going. “What are you doing?” A man had been watching Ye Nanyi for a long time and was afraid that she was a spy, so he came forward to investigate. Ye Nanyi was startled. She saw that the man’s expression was serious and knew that he had misunderstood. “Brother, I want to go in and buy some things, but I don’t know…” The man understood. She was just trying to buy things.

He breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s one dime to buy things, and it’s free to sell things.” Ye Nanyi didn’t hesitate. She directly paid one dime and then took an apple from her basket and gave it to the man. The man was surprised to see the apple in his hand. Even without tickets, apples were quite expensive. “Little girl, just call me Tiger Brother. Next time you come, just come find me.” Ye Nanyi didn’t turn around, just waved her hand to show that she understood.

“Tiger, who are you talking to?” The newcomer saw Tiger calling out at the door. “No one, just a little girl who came to buy things at the black market.” The newcomer didn’t believe him. “I know you well. Hey, Tiger, where did you get that apple? It’s even better than the ones in our black market. If we had some, it would be great. The boss is really annoyed.” As the saying goes, the speaker has no intention, but the listener has a heart. “Gangzi, you said the boss is looking for fruit? I’ll go find the boss first. You watch here for a while.” Tiger finished speaking and ran off. Gangzi didn’t even react. “He’s acting strange, I don’t know what he’s up to.”

After Ye Nanyi entered the black market, she felt like a country bumpkin in the city. It was so fresh, and they sold everything. She came here this time for two reasons: to satisfy her curiosity and to see if she could get in touch with the boss of the black market and sell some goods. “Sister, do you need this?” Ye Nanyi was still lost in her thoughts when she was suddenly interrupted by a voice. “You are…” Ye Nanyi looked curiously at the little boy in front of her. Before she could finish her question, she was stunned by the hairpin in the little boy’s hand. It was so beautiful that she didn’t know how to describe it. Her first impression was that it was rich and luxurious.

“Sister, do you want it?” The little boy thought Ye Nanyi didn’t want it and his expression became a little disappointed. “I want it. What do you want to exchange it for?” Ye Nanyi was too excited and her voice was a little loud. Everyone around looked at them curiously. The little boy was a little afraid of the stares from everyone around him. He hesitated for a moment, then pulled Ye Nanyi’s hand and ran to another place. Ye Nanyi knew that her voice was a little loud, so she didn’t resist. After running for a while, the little boy stopped, panting. “Kid, what do you want to exchange this for?” The little boy cautiously extended a hand. “Sister, five pounds of rice.”

Ye Nanyi thought she had misheard. “Five pounds of rice? You’re not kidding me, are you?” The little boy was a little anxious and quickly explained. “I’m not wrong. My grandpa and I haven’t eaten enough for a long time. We have no choice but to exchange this for it.” Ye Nanyi was silent for a moment. She had been paying attention to Qi Erwa recently and had forgotten that gold, silver, and jade were not valuable at this time. “Sister, I’ll take it. Stay here and wait for me.” The little boy watched Ye Nanyi’s back as she left, feeling a little uneasy, afraid that she wouldn’t come back. Ye Nanyi hid in a corner, using her basket as a cover, and took 50 pounds of rice from her space.

 Just as she was about to leave, she remembered that this rice was bought from the future and was a little different from the rice here. She exchanged some coarse grain from her space and put it in. “I’m back. Did you wait long?” The little boy was relieved to see Ye Nanyi return. “Where do you live? I’ll deliver it to you. You probably can’t carry it, right?” The little boy quickly refused. “Sister, it’s only five pounds. I can carry it.” Ye Nanyi was a little stuck.

 She seemed to have forgotten to say it was 50 pounds. “I’ll deliver it to your door. It’s 50 pounds. You’re not as strong as this grain. Don’t refuse. This hairpin is worth it.” The little boy’s eyes turned red, and he choked out, “Sister, call me Kang’er.” “Okay! Kang’er, you can call me Sister Ye from now on. I’ll come here often.” The big one and the small one walked towards their destination together.

As soon as Ye Nanyi left the black market, Tiger searched everywhere for her. He searched for a long time but couldn’t find her. He walked to Xing Jun with a long face. “Boss, she’s probably gone. I’ve been looking for her for a long time, but I haven’t seen her.” Xing Jun saw his subordinate’s dejected look, but didn’t get angry. “It’s okay. You should keep an eye on the door for a while. She’ll definitely come back.”

Tiger was confused by Xing Jun’s words. “Boss, why?” he asked. Xing Jun, seeing his subordinate’s eager face, explained, “She definitely has goods. Otherwise, why would she give you an apple? You’re not exactly a catch for women.”

Tiger wasn’t happy with that. “Boss, don’t you think I look pretty good? I’m just a bit dark. It’s not like no one would look at me. My mother is waiting for me to get married,” he argued.

Xing Jun was taken aback. Was that what he meant? Having this kind of subordinate was tiring. “Stop rambling and go!” he said, exasperated.

This time, Tiger didn’t say anything more and went back to guarding the door.

Ye Nanyi had no idea about the humorous exchange between Xing Jun and Tiger. She was currently at Kang’er’s doorstep. “Kang’er, I won’t go in. I’ll just leave it at the door, otherwise I’ll be late,” she said.

Kang’er wanted to persuade her to stay, but it was getting late. “Then you must come see me next time, Sister,” he said.

Ye Nanyi immediately promised and left. After leaving Kang’er’s house, Ye Nanyi found a secluded spot and retrieved 1 pound of pork belly and some coarse grain from her space. Although she lived alone, she still had to maintain appearances. Who knew if some idle people would cause trouble?

“Ye Zhiqing, why are you so late? I was worried you wouldn’t catch the oxcart,” a voice called out. Ye Nanyi looked up and saw it was the enthusiastic Auntie Wang.

“Auntie, I’m back now, aren’t I?” Ye Nanyi said as she got on the oxcart.

“You little girl, you look so small, but you’re so agile,” Auntie Wang remarked with a smile.