Chapter 43

That brick was indeed placed by Zhou Fengshou. The day after he received the two watches from Shen Yiyi, he sold them.  

One was sold for 170 yuan, and the other for 175 yuan. After deducting the cost, he had earned a total of 25 yuan!  

In just one day… no, in just an hour!  

What did this mean in an era where an average worker’s monthly wage was typically only twenty or thirty yuan?  

Holding the money in his hands, Zhou Fengshou was overjoyed. If that Chinese man from the other day could continue supplying him with goods, he was bound to get rich!  

So, that very night, he went near the supply and marketing cooperative, took a brick, and placed it there.  

He waited anxiously and excitedly for someone to come looking for him, but no one appeared. He grew so worried that he was practically losing his hair, afraid that this opportunity to make a fortune would slip through his fingers.  

Afraid that the brick might fall, he frequently ran over to check on it. The rest of the time, he waited at the designated meeting place, just as he had instructed before.  

After waiting for what felt like an eternity, he had almost lost all hope. When he finally saw someone, he thought he was hallucinating. Rushing forward eagerly, he greeted the person with a fawning smile: “Brother, you’re finally here! Come, come inside and have a seat!”  

Shen Yiyi glanced at the shabby small house, unable to see the inside clearly, and hesitated to enter. Keeping a neutral expression, she said: “Let’s just talk here in the courtyard.”  

This place was secluded, with few people around. By staying outside, she could still avoid prying eyes, but if anything dangerous happened, it would be easier for her to defend herself or escape.  

After all, the man before her was a stranger. Although her instincts told her he wasn’t a bad person, one could never be too careful. It was always wise to stay on guard.  

Zhou Fengshou, being experienced in this line of work, immediately understood her caution and quickly nodded. “Alright, alright, we’ll talk here.”  

After thinking for a moment, in order to show his sincerity, he went ahead and introduced his real name. “Brother, my name is Zhou Fengshou. I still don’t know yours?”  

“Old Hei.” Shen Yiyi casually made up a name that matched her current appearance.  

Zhou Fengshou knew it was an alias but still grinned flatteringly. “Brother Hei.”

Seeing that he seemed eager to continue chatting with her, Shen Yiyi directly cut to the point. “Do you still want more watches?”  

Zhou Fengshou’s eyes lit up. He glanced around cautiously before lowering his voice. “Brother Hei, how many do you have?”  

Shen Yiyi cast him a sidelong glance. “How many do you want?”  

This response implied that she had a considerable stock. Zhou Fengshou’s heart pounded like a drum as his gaze shifted toward the basket on Shen Yiyi’s back.  

Noticing where he was looking, Shen Yiyi smirked slightly and gave him an ambiguous glance.  

Her makeup skills were quite good. When she smiled, her aged face appeared kind and amiable, with wrinkles that softened her expression. However, when she wasn’t smiling—or worse, when she wore a half-smile that didn’t reach her eyes—she exuded an eerie coldness that was truly unsettling.  

Zhou Fengshou stiffened for a moment, quickly averting his eyes from her basket. Instead, he plastered a bright, ingratiating smile on his face and held up a hand gesture.  

Seeing his overly fawning smile, Shen Yiyi thought she had landed a big order this time. However, when she realized he was simply showing the number “two” with his fingers, she was momentarily speechless. “…”  

Zhou Fengshou chuckled awkwardly, scratching his head. “…That’s all I can afford.”  

The 320 yuan he had before was his entire fortune—money he had set aside to repay someone.  

It had been a gamble when he gritted his teeth and bought the two watches last time.  

Fortunately, he had bet correctly and even made a profit of 25 yuan. In his excitement, he had indulged himself and spent around ten yuan. Now, he had just over 330 yuan left.  

“Money.” Shen Yiyi stretched out her hand toward him.  

Zhou Fengshou had originally planned to haggle, hoping to negotiate a lower price. But the slight hint of disdain in her expression immediately shut down any such thoughts. Not daring to push his luck, he quickly pulled out the money and handed it over.  

Shen Yiyi counted the bills, then retrieved two watches from her basket and handed them to him. “Check them. Once I turn around, I take no responsibility for any issues.”  

Zhou Fengshou hurriedly examined the watches and nodded. “They’re good.”

Shen Yiyi nodded and prepared to leave.  

Zhou Fengshou quickly stopped her. “Brother Hei, what’s the maximum quantity you can supply?”  

Shen Yiyi thought for a moment. “Fifty at a time.”  

Zhou Fengshou’s hands trembled upon hearing this. He swallowed hard. “Brother Hei, if—just if—I take fifty at a time, could you give me a better price?”  

His form of address had even changed to the more respectful 您 (you). Shen Yiyi almost wanted to laugh, but she had to keep a straight face. “If you buy fifty at a time, I’ll price them at 150 yuan each.”  

Zhou Fengshou was so excited that even the corners of his lips were quivering.  

“…” Shen Yiyi couldn’t help but tease him. “What? Thinking of taking fifty? Do you even have the money?”  

Zhou Fengshou’s expression stiffened, but he quickly responded with determination. “I’ll find a way!”  

Shen Yiyi raised an eyebrow. “Alright! I’m leaving now.”  

“Okay!” Zhou Fengshou beamed with enthusiasm. “I’ll walk you out!”  

After making a profit of 32 yuan, Shen Yiyi wasn’t greedy. She had no plans to sell anything else today.  

However, she was out of ration tickets and needed to earn some.  

Although she could take items from her personal space without needing tickets, she still had to prepare for emergencies. If there ever came a time when she couldn’t access her space conveniently, she would need to buy things from the supply and marketing cooperative. So, she had to exchange for some ration tickets in advance.  

Black market transaction locations were constantly changing, and the last one had long been abandoned.  

After searching several spots without success, Shen Yiyi decided to head to the residential buildings.  

Most of the people living there were city dwellers who relied on commodity grain, making them the least likely to be short on ration tickets.  

She didn’t ask around recklessly. Instead, she wandered through the area with a let’s-see-what-happens attitude.

She hadn’t been walking for long when someone suddenly pulled her into a secluded corner.  

“Brother, what do you have in that basket?”  

“Auntie, it’s grain!” Shen Yiyi looked at the middle-aged woman in front of her and broke into a warm, friendly smile—completely different from her aloof and indifferent demeanor when dealing with Zhou Fengshou.  

She lifted the cover of her basket, revealing the rice inside. Before taking it out from her space earlier, she had deliberately grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground and mixed it in.  

It wasn’t that she was being deceitful, but in this era, most rice contained bits of dirt and small stones. The rice from her space, however, was of superior quality—plump, translucent, and exceptionally clean, which made it stand out too much.  

If it were spotless and pristine, it would easily attract unwanted attention.  

The auntie’s eyes lit up the moment she saw the rice. This was clearly high-quality grain!  

“How much per jin?”  

“I don’t want money, just ration tickets!” Shen Yiyi grinned, then added deliberately: “I’m only selling ten jin.”  

The auntie immediately agreed to take all of it. She hurried home and returned with a stack of ration tickets—sugar tickets, grain tickets, cloth tickets, meat tickets, and more.  

Having smoothly acquired the tickets, Shen Yiyi didn’t continue selling.  

She found a secluded spot, removed her makeup, and realized there was still some time before the ox cart would depart. Taking advantage of the time, she made a trip to the recycling station and picked up some children’s picture books and storybooks.  

Next, she visited a state-owned restaurant and bought fifteen meat buns, five plain buns, and a plate of braised pork.  

Finally, she retrieved items from her space—half a rack of ribs, two jin of pork, two pig trotters, five jin of cured meat, and thirty eggs—all of which she placed in her basket.  

She also took out five jin of cotton padding and carried it by hand.  

When she returned to where Uncle Niu had parked his ox cart, two elderly women were already seated inside, waiting.  

Shen Yiyi carried her goods onto the cart, found a seat, and settled in.