Chapter 10

“Grandpa, this was given to me by Brother Chuan. I caught a wild chicken to bring back for you to make soup,” Jiang Ci said.

Grandpa Jiang hurriedly waved his hand, not wanting to get involved with the family next door. “Grandpa doesn’t want it. You can keep it for yourself. A regular hen outside costs one yuan thirty cents a catty, and this wild chicken weighs more than three catties. As for the rabbits, you should calculate their price based on pork. Just convert three chickens and two rabbits into money and send it to them.”

He pulled two hundred yuan from his pocket. “You should keep this to buy some things. You’re not a kid anymore, and you have a decent job now. You need to keep your distance from that Gu family kid.”

In the past year, his eldest granddaughter hadn’t come to find Gu Qingchuan again. Now that she had moved over here, Grandpa Jiang felt somewhat uneasy. “You can choose anyone you want, but not someone with a bad background, especially Gu Qingchuan.”

He pointed at the rabbits in the bamboo cage. “Gu Qingchuan never does anything proper; he only knows how to sell mountain goods. I heard he’s almost become a bully on the black market. People like that will get caught sooner or later. Grandpa absolutely does not approve of you being with him. You’re also not allowed to go there and sell things on the side. If you need money, come find Grandpa.”

Grandpa Jiang hadn’t given a second thought to the gambling incident Jiang Ci had mentioned that day; he dismissed it as the little girl’s childishness.

Having lived a straight-laced life, he considered his eldest son to be a useless fool. He certainly didn’t approve of his granddaughter associating with someone like Gu Qingchuan, who was immersed in the black market.

He was well aware of the little girl’s feelings, so he stated his position clearly ahead of time. She could choose anyone, but not someone with a bad family background, especially Gu Qingchuan.

Jiang Ci secretly plotted, thinking Gu Qingchuan wanted to do something proper, but no factory would hire him. If he didn’t sell some mountain goods, his whole family would be left to starve.

“Grandpa, I understand. You should hurry home and check on things. I bet Grandma is causing a scene with my second and third uncles; only you can keep her in line,” she said.

“Just as long as you know,” Grandpa Jiang replied, placing the two hundred yuan on top of the rabbit cage. “In a few days, Grandpa will come by to build you a grape trellis. You’ve loved grapes since you were little.”

Sighing inwardly, Jiang Ci thought that Grandpa Jiang treated her very well. She had to be filial to him and wanted to marry Gu Qingchuan.

Whatever happened, if she did marry him, she could at least brace herself for a scolding from the old man.

The two wild rabbits in the cage looked sluggish; dead rabbits wouldn’t fetch a good price. Jiang Ci ran to the kitchen, where half a bowl of diluted spirit spring remained from noon. She took a bit to feed the rabbits and poured some into the water trough for the wild chickens.

The two rabbits seemed to sense that the water mixed with “spirit spring” was different and quickly came over to lick the bowl clean.

She placed the wild chickens into a woven bag and covered it with a black cloth bag, worried they might suffocate. Jiang Ci poked a few holes in the bag for ventilation.

Carrying the bag, she headed towards the Black Water River area.

The Qu Shui River and Black Water River were separated by two miles. The environment of the Black Water River was messier and more polluted, and the person Jiang Ci was looking for was near the cement factory.

“Da Sheng Ge, are you home?” Jiang Ci knocked on the dilapidated gate of Jiang Da Sheng’s home.

“Who is it?” After seeing little Jiang Ci, Jiang Da Sheng opened the courtyard door and hurriedly buttoned up his open jacket. “Oh, it’s Xiao Ci… what brings you, a rare visitor, to this unemployed wanderer?”

His tone rose a few notches.

It was still afternoon, and Jiang Ci didn’t dare to banter with him at the door. She pushed against the wooden door that Jiang Da Sheng was blocking. “Let me in so we can talk.”

“Xiao Jiang Ci, my mom isn’t home today. It wouldn’t be good for your reputation if a man and a woman are alone together…” he said.

Jiang Ci forcefully pushed the wooden door open, causing Jiang Da Sheng to stumble back. He quickly shut the door behind him.

“We both share the surname Jiang; what’s there to be afraid of what others say? Jiang Da Sheng, if you don’t let me in, you’re not hiding anything shameful in there, are you?”

Jiang Ci and Jiang Da Sheng were distant relatives from the same family. A few years back, Jiang Da Sheng’s mother had approached Jiang Ci’s grandfather, hoping to have him arrange an apprenticeship for Jiang Da Sheng at the machinery factory. Grandpa Jiang had looked down on the good-for-nothing and refused, and after that, the two families stopped interacting.

Jiang Da Sheng was known as a notorious petty thug in the Black Market. Anyone wanting to sell something there had to get his approval first.

Jiang Ci needed to save up to five thousand yuan within a year to buy the Jiang family’s old mansion. From then on, all her dealings would have to go through Jiang Da Sheng.

Seeing the woven bag in Jiang Ci’s hand, which contained lively creatures jumping around, Jiang Da Sheng immediately realized her intention.

“Xiao Jiang Ci, your family is doing so well; you wouldn’t be coming to the black market to sell things, would you? You must be really bored. If your old man finds out, I might get skinned alive.”

Grandpa Jiang had always been law-abiding and despised those who engaged in speculation. He did not allow his family to come to the black market to buy mountain goods.

In those times, people in the city who received a salary just wanted to eat some meat. However, the planned economy had limited supplies; each person was allocated only half a catty of meat per month. Even if they wanted to eat more, there was nowhere to buy it.

That was why the underground trading market by the Black Water River thrived; it was all thanks to a certain person managing it well over the years. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be as orderly as it is now.

“I need money,” Jiang Ci stated bluntly without any small talk. “From now on, I’ll bring things for you to sell, and we’ll split the profits 80-20. You get 20 percent as your cut. What do you think?”

In her previous life, Jiang Ci had known that the trades by the Black Water River were the safest. It seemed that a group of people was specifically managing it; despite being reported countless times, they had never been caught.

When she came out of the hospital in her last life, Gu Qingchuan was already in prison. Before she could even start selling in the black market, she had been reported by Kang Guixiang.

Indeed, professional matters had to be handled by professionals. She had ways to acquire the goods, but selling them herself was definitely out of the question; she might be targeted and caught at any moment.

If she wanted to sell safely, Jiang Da Sheng was the one with the connections.

“Helping you sell things isn’t impossible. Why do you need money?” Jiang Dasheng asked.

“I made a bet with Jiang Guozhu that I would earn five thousand yuan within a year to buy back our family’s large house, so she can’t take advantage of me,” Jiang Ci replied.

Jiang Dasheng was speechless. This girl really dared to make such a bold claim.

He opened the woven bag and weighed the live rabbit, “Wild chickens are five yuan each, three for fifteen. This wild rabbit weighs about five or six catties. I estimate there will be three to four catties of meat. I can also sell two for eight yuan, and if I take a twenty percent cut, I will charge you four yuan and sixty cents.”

Jiang Ci shot him a glare. “That won’t work today. These all belong to Brother Chuan. He can’t come, so I’m helping him sell them.”

Jiang Dasheng was at a loss for words.

He glanced towards the main room. The man who “couldn’t come” spent every night at the market maintaining order. The supply and sales chain of the Heishui Market had been established over the years by Gu Qingchuan and his brothers.

Only outsiders didn’t know that Brother Chuan was the one in charge.

He didn’t know how to say it directly. “Alright, then, come to collect the money tomorrow. If you have things to sell in the future, come at night; it’s too eye-catching during the day.”

“Okay, it’s settled then.”

Jiang Ci looked into the house. From the beginning, Jiang Dasheng had been sneakily glancing at the main room, possibly because someone else was there to find him to sell things, and he didn’t want others to know he was hiding inside.

She lowered her eyelids. “I’m leaving.”

Jiang Dasheng escorted Jiang Ci out, glancing around to ensure no one was watching before closing the door behind her.

Gu Qingchuan walked out from inside the house.

The young man, dressed in a military-green shirt and black pants, had a tense, handsome profile as he stared blankly at the wild rabbit he had caught that morning. When someone patted his shoulder, he turned to see Jiang Dasheng’s face, which was just asking to be punched.

“Brother Chuan, you heard it, right? Little Jiang Ci needs money. You should earn enough quickly and marry her,” Jiang Dasheng said.

Gu Qingchuan elbowed him. “Don’t talk nonsense. With our family background, Old Jiang definitely wouldn’t agree. He even chased his own son out of the house; how could he possibly allow Little Jiang Ci to enter my family? Don’t even think about it.”

“True,” Jiang Dasheng sighed. “The old man is stubborn. He thinks I’m useless and won’t even introduce me to a job. How could he bear to give his precious granddaughter to a family like yours?”

It was indeed a pity for Brother Chuan and Little Jiang Ci. Ten years ago, Brother Chuan had been the envy of everyone at school—his family background was good, and his grades were excellent. He would always walk Little Jiang Ci home after school back then.

Now, Gu Qingchuan seemed to know that Little Jiang Ci liked him, yet he wouldn’t even meet her.

He had said that anyone who got involved with their family would end up unlucky.

But how could that be? He believed that Brother Chuan was very capable. He managed the underground supply and sales chain with precision, bringing order to their group of unemployed drifters.

Whatever Little Jiang Ci wanted to sell in the future, he would be able to help her find buyers.

Speaking of which, Gu Qingchuan had his own troubles. His father, Gu Zhengchu, had high hopes for him, longing for a daughter to be born to Uncle Cui’s family. However, Uncle Cui had been injured in the war and had yet to marry.

“If Little Jiang Ci became Uncle Cui’s daughter, that would be great,” Jiang Dasheng muttered to himself. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he jumped up.

“Brother Chuan, I’ve thought of something! You should ask Uncle Cui to take Little Jiang Ci as his adopted daughter. Then she would be your legitimate fiancée, and Old Jiang wouldn’t be able to oppose it.”

The more Jiang Dasheng considered the idea, the more feasible it seemed. “Xiao Ci’s mother has taken care of Uncle Cui for so many years, so there must be some goodwill there. If you’re too embarrassed to ask, I can go tell Little Jiang Ci about this plan. As long as she asks, Uncle Cui will definitely agree to take her as his goddaughter.”

Gu Qingchuan couldn’t help but laugh at Jiang Dasheng. How could he come up with such a ridiculous idea? If Uncle Cui really accepted Little Jiang Ci as a daughter and gave her to him as a wife, Grandpa Jiang would probably come knocking in anger.

“What a ridiculous suggestion,” Gu Qingchuan kicked him.

Xiao Ci couldn’t be anyone’s daughter. The landlord’s label on his family had already caused his father’s downfall. He didn’t even know how many days he had left to live; perhaps he would be sent to the countryside to shovel manure tomorrow, with no certainty of seeing the next day.

Jiang Dasheng’s enthusiasm only grew. Even after being kicked, he remained undeterred. “Brother Chuan, if Little Jiang Ci really became Uncle Cui’s daughter, would you marry her?”

“I wouldn’t.”

“You’re just being stubborn. I don’t believe you,” Jiang Dasheng shook his medium-length hair, which looked second-rate. “If Little Jiang Ci became your fiancée, I don’t believe you would be willing to break off the engagement.”

Gu Qingchuan, feeling impatient, slapped him on the back of the head. “Hurry up and sell these wild chickens and rabbits. Give the money to Little Jiang Ci, and don’t say anything reckless in front of her!”