Lin Hongying strolled through the streets, her eyes scanning every corner.  

In an era of rationed supplies, there were always things ordinary people couldn’t buy. Over time, the black market emerged to meet their needs. Wherever there were people, a black market was sure to exist. But after searching for a long time, Lin Hongying couldn’t find it.  

She walked down several streets before noticing two people shaking hands and feeling each other’s fingers, whispering for a long time—it looked like a private transaction.  

Excited, she immediately turned her cotton-padded jacket inside out and wrapped her face tightly with a scarf.  

In the alley, a few fidgety, watchful people stood with their hands in their pockets, unsure how long they had been waiting in the snow, occasionally stamping their feet.  

Lin Hongying saw two people talking in hushed tones. One asked quietly, “Got any eggs?”  

The other nodded. The customer’s face lit up with joy and reached out a hand.  

The middle-aged man clasped the customer’s hand, using his bulky sleeves to conceal the movement—a practice called “haggling by touch.”  

Soon, the customer’s face fell, his earlier delight wiped away. His lips trembled. “This… this is so expensive.”  

“That’s the going rate. These are eggs we farmers eat ourselves. If you think it’s too pricey, don’t buy.”  

Lin Hongying thought for a moment, then found a corner and “pulled” an egg out of her tattered handbag.  

Two people noticed the motion, their eyes suddenly lighting up like oil lamps flickering to life in the dark.  

A man in a gray khaki trench coat was the first to spot Lin Hongying and walked up to her.  

Though his coat was plain, it was well-tailored, suggesting he held a decent, respectable job.  

Lin Hongying glanced at him. “You look like someone I hate. I don’t want to sell to you.”  

Huh?  

The man was utterly baffled.  

[Zhang Xueliang’s Resentment +100]

Zhang Xueliang knew his face wasn’t particularly likable, but ever since he started working as an adult, no one had ever said such a thing to his face. Hearing it today left him deeply frustrated.  

Lin Hongying turned to the other side, where a middle-aged woman asked in a low voice, “Do you have noodles? I’d like to buy half a kilo.”  

Lin Hongying replied coolly, “I do, but I won’t sell them to you.”  

The woman’s joy froze, her eyes widening in abrupt shock.  

This… this sounded downright infuriating!  

Liu Cuicui rolled up her sleeves, ready to argue—she had never backed down from a fight in her life! But for the sake of the noodles, she decided to hold back.  

[Liu Cuicui’s Resentment +150]

She forced a smile and said, “Comrade, could you at least sell me a little… I don’t need much.”  

Lin Hongying said flatly, “I’ll sell anything to someone I click with. If we don’t click, no amount of money will change my mind.”  

“You and I don’t click.”  

At that moment, Liu Cuicui genuinely had the urge to take off her shoe and smack Lin Hongying’s mouth.  

Another elderly farmer, dressed in patched clothes, shuffled forward. Before she could even speak, he dropped to his knees with a thud.  

“Comrade, do you have any food? I’ll take anything edible. My wife is sick and hasn’t eaten in days.”  

Lin Hongying was stunned by his sudden kneeling.  

The man’s honest face was weathered, lined with deep wrinkles like cracked earth in a drought. His rough, dark hands, enlarged from years of labor, were larger than most.  

These were the hands of a working man—yet he was thin. So thin.  

Lin Hongying’s heart softened. “If you keep kneeling, I won’t sell to you!”  

[Old Man Li’s Resentment +5]

Old Man Li’s hunched back stiffened.  

But Lin Hongying began pulling items from her handbag. She took out food and handed it to him. “Here, take it. Now, give me the money.”  

“Yes!” Overwhelmed with joy, Old Man Li scrambled to his feet.

It was clear that despite the seller’s sharp tongue, her heart wasn’t in it—harsh words but a soft heart.  

With trembling fingers, he counted out the money from his pocket and handed Lin Hongying every last cent he had—three yuan.  

At the state-run supply and marketing cooperative, the standard price for noodles was 0.22 yuan per half-kilo, but they required ration coupons. Fine grains like these were in such high demand that ordinary people could rarely get their hands on them, no matter how long they queued.  

In extreme cases of supply shortages, noodles on the black market could sell for two yuan per half-kilo. Think that’s expensive? During a famine, even money can’t buy food!  

After a moment’s thought, Lin Hongying casually priced hers at fifty cents per half-kilo. She wasn’t relying on this to make a living—just earning a bit to tide herself over.  

She took the money and then pulled six eggs from her handbag, stuffing them into the old man’s basket.  

Just for good measure, she scolded him: “You poor sod! Even Old Man Zhou would be scared of you!”  

She had hoped to squeeze some resentment out of him… but instead, the old man grinned at her like a simpleton who’d just stumbled upon a windfall.  

The two bystanders, left hanging earlier, quickly caught on and began theatrically sobbing and pleading.  

The middle-aged man awkwardly spun a sob story: “I just had a baby, and my wife has no milk. The kid cries from hunger every day—I need eggs to help nourish him.”

The woman rubbed her eyes: “My husband got his leg caught in a machine a few days ago! He’s bedridden now and can’t eat anything. I just want to buy some noodles to cheer him up.”

Lin Hongying hesitated. “Wait… do I look like an easy mark to you?”

“At least make up a believable story.”

[Zhang Xueliang’s Resentment +100]

[Liu Cuicui’s Resentment +100]

The two of them were momentarily speechless.  

Lin Hongying turned to the tall man. “So you’re only buying food for the baby? Your wife, who just went through the pain of childbirth, gets to live on air?”

The man took a deep breath and sighed. “Of course not! Our work unit distributes rations—she gets the noodles, I eat sweet potato buns. But the baby has no milk, so I’m just trying to get some eggs to supplement.”

She pulled eggs from her bag. “Fine, I’ll sell to you.”

Zhang Xueliang handed over a ten-yuan bill. On the black market, eggs without ration coupons typically cost five yuan per half-kilo.  

Since they thought five was too expensive, Lin Hongying compromised—selling them for two-fifty without coupons. She should have given him seven-fifty in change.  

But then she thought about his poor wife, who had just given birth and couldn’t even eat an egg. He’d probably scrimp on those two-fifty.  

Shaking her head with grave concern, she said, “A stingy man is no good. Your wife needs eggs too—here’s an extra half-kilo for her!”

She gave him another half-kilo, making it an even five yuan in change.  

[Zhang Xueliang’s Resentment +100]  

Clutching the change, Zhang Xueliang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Why does it feel like I got scolded even though she gave me more?

He held his tongue. Her mouth was truly foul, but her prices were undeniably fair.  

Under normal circumstances, insulting a public security officer like this would’ve landed her in a detention cell for a couple of days. In all his years, no one had ever dared speak to him like this.  

With the male customer dealt with, Lin Hongying turned to the woman. “And you? At least put some effort into your story.”

[Liu Cuicui’s Resentment +200]

You’re the one making things up! Your whole family’s full of liars! Liu Cuicui fumed inwardly.  

To her surprise, Lin Hongying pulled out a kilo of noodles and took one yuan from her.  

Liu Cuicui had assumed she wouldn’t sell to her at all.  

Her noodles were fragrant and fresh—why couldn’t she just sell them normally? Did she have to say such nasty things?  

As the two customers walked out of the alley, they could faintly hear the infuriating seller muttering, “Do I really have no choice but to sell?”

“Well, I’m not selling anymore.”  

They exchanged glances, their expressions a mix of amusement, gratitude for the unexpected bargain, and a hint of resignation.  

They’d never met such an eccentric seller before.  

Less than half an hour later, Lin Hongying left the black market.  

She had quickly made sixteen yuan and netted 1,876 resentment points.  

Earning resentment this way was several times safer than picking fights with neighbors.  

Truly, “the timid starve, while the bold feast.” 

Lin Hongying discreetly left the black market, winding through nearby streets and alleys to ensure she wasn’t being followed. Only then did she remove the scarf covering her face, turn her jacket right side out, and head toward the supply and marketing cooperative to meet up with Shao Qingfeng and Han Weidong.