Chapter 7: Reselling Goods

The rain continued into the night and finally started to taper off.

The village was relatively lucky, as the timely drainage saved a batch of the seedlings.

Though there were still significant losses, at least the summer harvest still had a slim chance of survival.

Once the weather cleared up and there wasn’t much work left to do in the fields, Lin Chaoyang decided to take a leave of absence.

He secretly used a burlap sack to separate the rice, cornmeal, and noodles from the supplies at the market.

The packaging at the market was too modern, and it would be impossible to take the items out in their original form.

Once everything was prepared, Lin Chaoyang placed the goods in the market and set off for the county.

Actually, Lin Chaoyang hadn’t gone to the county much when he was a child. He was always busy working, so he never had the time.

The county in the 1970s felt fresh and new to Lin Chaoyang.

But now, he didn’t have the luxury of time to explore; he quickly followed his memories toward the workers’ housing area.

In those days, the people who could afford to buy rice and noodles were mostly those living in the workers’ housing.

They held “iron rice bowls” (secure government jobs), had better living conditions than most, and were willing to spend money.

Lin Chaoyang quickly arrived at the workers’ housing area. To avoid being recognized, he secretly applied some white powder to his face.

Still uneasy, he also added a large beauty spot to his face.

After checking his reflection in the mirror, Lin Chaoyang was satisfied with the disguise.

Now, even if someone were to trace the purchase, the buyer probably wouldn’t recognize him.

Once the disguise was ready, Lin Chaoyang knocked on the door of the nearest small courtyard.

“Who is it?”

A woman’s voice rang out, strong and hearty, as if she had just eaten.

Lin Chaoyang deliberately squeezed his voice into a higher pitch and asked, “Do you need any grain?”

Upon hearing the word “grain,” the door immediately swung open.

“You have grain? What kind of grain?”

The woman lived in the small courtyard, indicating that her family’s life was relatively comfortable. Coarse grains wouldn’t appeal to her.

Lin Chaoyang pulled out a bag of rice from his basket, opening it to show her. “I’ve got white rice, cornmeal, and noodles.”

The woman’s eyes lit up. Such fine, white rice was hard to come by, even through connections.

“You’re quite resourceful, young man. How did you manage to get such good white rice? How much are you selling it for?”

Although her family was doing well, the woman was still calculating the costs in her mind.

White rice was great, but if it was too expensive, it might not be worth it compared to cornmeal.

Lin Chaoyang had an idea of the grain prices in the city at this time, so he extended his hand.

“The grain station sells rice for 1.8 cents per jin, but my rice is better. I won’t ask for a ticket. It’s 0.4 cents per jin.”

This price wasn’t low, but it wasn’t too high either, and the key was that there was no need for a ticket.

The woman immediately showed interest. “Give me five jin. How much are the noodles?”

Noodles were sold by the tube back then, and the grain station occasionally had them, but only if you were lucky.

“The noodles are a little more expensive, 1.5 yuan per tube. These are made from fine white flour, soft and smooth, really delicious.”

A tube of noodles weighed a little over a jin, so 1.5 yuan per tube wasn’t considered cheap.

However, noodles were rare at this time, and they were more valuable than rice. The grain station sold them for 0.8 yuan per tube.

The woman hesitated, but the noodles that Lin Chaoyang showed her were clearly of much better quality than those from the grain station. She felt tempted.

Moreover, the grain station noodles were a matter of luck; she hadn’t been able to buy any for a long time, and her kids were craving them.

“Alright, give me a tube then, so that’s three yuan in total, right?”

In the end, the woman gritted her teeth and spent three yuan to buy a tube of noodles and five jin of rice.

“If you have more of these good things in the future, don’t forget to think of me first. My last name is Han, just call me Sister Han.”

Sister Han could tell that Lin Chaoyang had some connections, and she couldn’t resist making a friendly gesture, thinking it would be convenient for her to buy grain in the future.

Lin Chaoyang smiled, “Sister Han, my last name is Zhao. Just call me Xiao Zhao. Next time, I’ll definitely think of you.”

Zhao was his mother’s surname, and Lin Chaoyang didn’t want to reveal his real name to Sister Han.

Sister Han nodded with a smile, “Alright, Xiao Zhao, I’ll be waiting for you to bring more good things next time.”

After saying goodbye to Sister Han, Lin Chaoyang went on to knock on more doors, selling a fair amount of grain as he went.

By the afternoon, Lin Chaoyang secretly counted his earnings—he had made more than sixty yuan today.

At this time, a regular worker’s salary was only a little over thirty yuan, so he had earned the equivalent of two months’ worth of wages in a single day.

Lin Chaoyang was excited, as the money had come quickly.

However, he quickly concealed his emotions. Everyone in the village was worried, and it wasn’t right for him to be so happy.

As he was about to head home, Lin Chaoyang took out two jin of rough rice from the supermarket and placed them in his basket.

It seemed that Lin Chaoyun had been waiting for him. When she saw him return, she immediately asked, “Big Brother, where did you go?”

“I went to the county to try my luck, hoping to meet some kind-hearted people who might give us a bit of food.”

While speaking, Lin Chaoyang took out the rough rice. “I was lucky today and met some kind-hearted people.”

Lin Chaoyun was shocked and opened her mouth in surprise. “Big Brother, you went begging?”

Lin Chaoyang looked up at her and replied indifferently, “What’s wrong with begging? If you think it’s shameful, don’t eat it. Starve to death, then.”

Lin Chaoyun quickly shook her head. She didn’t mean it like that, she was just shocked.

Ever since her birth, everything had changed.

First, Lin Chaoyu had become a thief. Then, a heavy rain had destroyed most of the crops, and now even Big Brother had to beg for food.

Lin Chaoyun started questioning her life.

Had she made a mistake in her memories, or had she never really been born?

She couldn’t figure it out, but one thing was certain—the hunger she felt now was real. She couldn’t think of anything else.

Lin Chaoyang didn’t have time to care about her internal struggles. He grabbed two handfuls of rice and handed them over to her.

“Make some porridge, add some wild vegetables, and we should be able to fill our stomachs for today.”

Lin Chaoyun nodded, carefully holding the two handfuls of rough rice and turning toward the kitchen.

Lin Chaoyang went back to his room, making up an excuse to send Lin Chaoxing out. He then secretly began preparing what he would sell tomorrow.

Today, he had prepared three types of grain, but the cornmeal hadn’t sold well, so he decided not to sell it.

Tomorrow, he planned to bring some rapeseed oil to sell. It was an absolute rarity right now.

In the city, each household only received a few liang of oil coupons per month, and everyone was short on oil.

It was said that some families, desperate for oil, would buy cottonseed oil, which didn’t require a ticket.

Cottonseed oil didn’t taste good, it was bitter, and it wasn’t even a proper edible oil.

However, after a long time of oil shortages, people would start to swell from malnutrition. With no way to buy rapeseed oil, they had to find alternative solutions.

Given the scarcity of rapeseed oil, Lin Chaoyang was certain there would be a market if he sold it for two yuan per jin without requiring tickets.