Chapter 20

After sending the package, Shen Yiyi carried another parcel and made a trip to the supply and marketing cooperative.

Of course, she did not buy anything.  

After coming out, she wandered around the area for a while before finding a secluded alleyway. Ensuring that no one was around, she swiftly stepped into her personal space with the package in hand.  

Her space granted her special privileges. Any other living being that entered would lose the ability to breathe and become completely still, only regaining vitality after leaving. However, she could move freely within it and manipulate objects with just her thoughts.  

Inside the space, she took out a brown men’s tunic jacket and a pair of black trousers. She also grabbed a wig and an invisible hairnet to wrap up her long hair before putting on a men’s wig. Using foundation, she darkened and roughened her complexion, ensuring that every visible part of her skin matched.  

To make the disguise even more convincing, she applied a set of realistic stubble—just like the rough texture left on a man’s face after shaving—adding to the coarse, unpolished look.  

Her figure was neither too thin nor too full, and with a few adjustments, she transformed into a small but sharp-looking middle-aged man.  

Shen Yiyi felt confident that even if Li Chen were to stand right in front of her, he might not recognize her.  

Hahaha.  

She admired her own handiwork for a brief moment before slinging a basket over her back and stepping out of the space.  

There was, of course, a reason for this elaborate disguise—she was heading to the Black Market!  

And she wasn’t going there to buy anything. She was going to sell.  

Right now, her family was struggling, and she needed to exchange some goods for money to send back to them.  

Moreover, she now had a family and a son. She needed to have some money in hand to provide them with a better life.  

Besides, after all the years she had spent completing missions, what she desired most was a comfortable life after retirement, where she could do whatever she pleased. And for that, money was essential.

Although her current life was quite different from what she had envisioned, she knew that in a few years, the country would undergo reforms. When that time came, various industries would spring up like bamboo shoots after the rain. As long as she seized the opportunity, she could be among the first to become wealthy.  

The supplies within her space were inexhaustible, a “golden finger” awarded to her by the mission system. Now, she planned to use this space to accumulate her first sum of capital and pave the way for her ideal life.  

With a cheerful mood, Shen Yiyi set off to find the Black Market.  

However, it was not easy to locate. She wandered around for quite a while but saw no signs of anything suspicious. The sun climbed higher in the sky, and judging by the time, it was probably around eleven o’clock.  

Still thinking about getting back to cook for Li Chen and the Three Baos, she decided to take two more rounds. If she still couldn’t find it, she would head home.  

Just as this thought settled in her mind, a person emerged from a nearby alley. He carried a bulging cloth bag in his hand, his expression somewhat nervous. His eyes darted around cautiously, yet he deliberately kept his head from turning too much. He walked quickly, as if in a hurry to leave.  

Shen Yiyi’s heart skipped with excitement. She had passed by this area earlier and had seen this very man entering that alley—empty-handed.  

Holding onto a testing mindset, she stepped into the alley. The passage was long and narrow but had multiple exits, making it seem like a plausible location for the Black Market.  

Typically, underground markets like this had strong backing, which meant they tended to be larger in scale and relatively safer.  

Following the main path for a few hundred meters, she finally spotted a doorframe. Two men squatted at the entrance, chewing on foxtail grass. When they saw her approaching, they exchanged a subtle glance before turning their guarded eyes toward her.  

“What do you want?” one of them asked cautiously.

Shen Yiyi lowered her voice and said: “Here to buy something.”  

The two men scrutinized her.  

She stood there calmly, allowing them to take a good look. Though she was dressed as a man, she appeared thin and frail—clearly not a threat.  

Sure enough, after a second, one of the men spoke. “Two cents.”  

She knew from novels that entering the Black Market required a fee. However, she couldn’t just hand over the money too easily. As she reached into her pocket, she muttered under her breath: “Why so expensive?”  

She made it seem as though she was reluctant to part with the two cents.  

Many visitors to the Black Market hesitated over this fee, so the two gatekeepers were used to it. Their wariness toward her eased significantly, and they allowed her inside.  

As expected, the inside resembled a small marketplace. There were quite a few people, but no one dared to lay out their goods on the ground. Instead, most sellers either held their items in their hands or carried them on their backs, ready to flee at a moment’s notice.  

Shen Yiyi, with her basket slung over her back and covered with a towel, moved through the crowd. The cloth concealed its contents, preventing others from seeing what she had brought.  

Still, along her path, many people cast curious glances at her basket.  

Some even asked what she was selling, but she only smiled and remained silent. She needed to observe the market first and get a sense of the pricing before deciding what to sell.  

She soon noticed a woman purchasing rice from an older lady with a mole near her nose. After the transaction was completed, Shen Yiyi approached.  

“Auntie, how much for a kilo of rice?” she asked.  

“One yuan!” The woman’s eyes lit up at the prospect of another customer. She quickly lifted the lid of her basket, revealing slightly yellowed rice. “I still have five kilograms left. Do you want it all?”

Shen Yiyi’s mouth twitched slightly. “Auntie, this rice isn’t fresh.”  

“This is last year’s rice.” the woman admitted immediately. “But it’s cheap, and you don’t need ration tickets.”  

Rice from the supply and marketing cooperative cost about one yuan and five cents per jin—roughly eight mao more expensive—but required ration tickets.  

Shen Yiyi had gotten the information she needed and said: “Auntie, I’ll look around a bit more.”  

“I’ll lower the price by another dime. How about that?” The woman, sensing a lost sale, became anxious.  

“I’ll keep looking.” Shen Yiyi replied with a smile and decisively walked away.  

She then used the same method to inquire about the prices of grains, oil, and fabrics. After gathering enough information, she sold a few kilograms of rice, some flour, and several kilograms of red sugar, earning a total of 30 yuan.  

She didn’t dare to sell too much.

Judging by the size of her basket, it could only reasonably hold that amount, so she decided to stop there.  

Selling food was only a temporary solution—she never intended to rely on it for wealth.  

Of course, she could take out as much grain as she wanted, but in a planned economy like this, a sudden influx of large quantities of food would definitely draw attention from the authorities. If they started investigating, things would become troublesome.  

Since she was planning for the long term, she had to be cautious.  

After tidying up, she was preparing to leave when she suddenly overheard a conversation from a corner behind her. A pleading voice spoke:  

“Brother Feng, please help me. My son is about to get married. The bride’s family is well-off, and we need the ‘Three turns and one ring.’ Now, we’re just missing a wristwatch. We already lost out on the radio, but I can’t let this watch slip too! If I don’t provide one, my son won’t be able to hold his head up in his in-laws’ home.”  

A thick, slightly exasperated voice responded: “It’s not that I don’t want to help, but the authorities are cracking down hard right now. I can’t get my hands on any stock.”  

“Auntie Gu, you should just go buy one at the department store in the city.”  

“The department store requires industrial coupons—six of them! I don’t even have one.”  

“…”  

Shen Yiyi’s eyes lit up. A wristwatch? She had plenty!