That night, Song Suisui slept very comfortably. The next morning, she woke up right at six o’clock, ready to open her blind boxes.  

However, this time, whether it was because of her bad luck or because the Little Lazy Fish didn’t give her any special treatment, the items she unboxed weren’t entirely useless—they just weren’t helpful for what she planned to do later.  

This morning, the three blind boxes yielded a complete set of the Self-Study Series for Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry, a luxury skincare set from a high-end brand in her previous life, and finally, a bicycle.  

After storing the items away, Song Suisui wasn’t too disappointed.  

She still hadn’t traded the 100 bolts of fabric she had unboxed a few days ago with Boss Tan. Since that was the case, she might as well test the waters at the capital’s black market today.  

After greeting the front desk lady, she took a bus to the steel factory to confirm tomorrow’s shipment. Then, she slipped into an empty alleyway. When she emerged again, she had transformed into a man through makeup.  

Riding her bicycle, she made her way to the alley she had suspected was the black market the day before. Standing in a secluded spot, she observed for a while.  

She noticed that people coming in and out were carrying baskets or backpacks.  

It didn’t seem like a den of criminals.  

Well—that wasn’t entirely accurate. In this era, speculation and profiteering were considered crimes.  

So calling it a criminals’ den wasn’t exactly wrong either.  

Pfft—the thought made Song Suisui chuckle to herself.  

She pulled out a mirror from her space to double-check her disguise. Confirming that her makeup and outfit were flawless, she stored the bicycle away and headed toward the alley.  

“What’re you here for?” the lookout asked warily.  

Song Suisui smiled and handed him a cigarette. “Brother, I’m here to buy some stuff.”  

The man took the cigarette and, hearing she was there to buy, said, “Five cents.”  

Song Suisui quickly fished out five cents and handed it over.  

The man told her to go to the very last house in the alley and knock.  

Following his instructions, she arrived at a small door at the end of the alley—likely the back entrance of a wealthy family’s courtyard.  

She knocked, and soon a one-eyed old man peeked out. “What do you want?”  

“Here to buy things.”  

The old man opened the door just enough to let her slip through.  

Once inside the courtyard, everything was different. The yard was spacious, filled with people conducting hushed transactions.

Song Suisui looked around and inquired about the prices.  

Comparing them to Boss Tan’s rates, she had to admit—whether in this era or any other, the cost of goods in the capital was always among the highest.  

Once she had a sense of the market, she approached the one-eyed gatekeeper and said, “Old man, I’ve got a big deal. Wondering if you folks here can handle it?”  

The old man gave her a once-over and snorted. “You call it a big deal, so it’s a big deal?”  

“If it weren’t big, I wouldn’t have bothered coming!”  

The one-eyed old man grunted, “Wait here,” then left the courtyard and headed toward the front yard.  

Knock, knock, knock…

The sound of rapping echoed, and soon the door opened from the inside.  

Inside, two young men were seated.  

Had Song Suisui been there, she would have immediately recognized the man lazily sprawled on the daybed—it was Qin Mulin, the same man she’d seen at the state-run restaurant last time.  

After hearing the old man’s message, Tao Zhu asked quietly, “Brother Lin, you going, or should I?”  

“You go,” Qin Mulin replied languidly.  

…

Song Suisui waited a while before the one-eyed old man returned with a young man who looked barely in his twenties. She couldn’t help raising an eyebrow slightly.  

So this black market is probably run by some young masters from the capital’s elite families.

Not that she needed to ask—she’d read enough novels to guess. If she still couldn’t figure it out, she might as well call herself a fool.  

She followed Tao Zhu into a room. There was no small talk—the man got straight to the point. “Uncle Long said you want to do business with us?”  

Tao Zhu stood at 185 cm tall, looking down at her slightly.  

“Yes,” Song Suisui nodded.  

Tao Zhu motioned for her to sit, then asked curiously, “Your accent doesn’t sound like you’re from the capital.”  

“I’m not. I came from out of town with some goods, passing through. Figured since there are plenty of well-off people here, they’d be able to take what I’ve got.”  

“Oh? And what exactly do you have?”  

“One hundred bolts of flawless fabric—various patterns and materials. Wondering if you can handle that.”  

Fabric was always in demand. Tao Zhu considered it—a hundred bolts was manageable, and the profit margin would be decent.  

“How much are you asking per bolt?”  

Song Suisui had already settled on a price. She didn’t want to linger in the capital, so she skipped the haggling.  

“I’ll be leaving soon, so I’m selling these for two yuan per meter.”  

The fabric she had was 35 meters per bolt. At two yuan per meter, one bolt would cost 70 yuan, so a hundred bolts would total 7,000 yuan.  

Tao Zhu had initially wanted to haggle, but Song Suisui cut him off before he could speak.  

“Non-negotiable. If you can’t make the call, I’ll find someone else. Worst case, I can always sell it slowly back in my hometown.”  

Seeing her firm stance, Tao Zhu realized there was no room for bargaining—but the price was acceptable anyway. So he agreed.  

After settling on the delivery location for that night, Song Suisui pulled out two small boxes from her bag and placed them on the table.  

“I also have a century-old ginseng and a lingzhi mushroom here. Interested?” 

Tao Zhu’s eyes lit up. He wasn’t an expert in medicinal herbs, so he called over Uncle Long—the one-eyed old man from earlier—to inspect them.  

Uncle Long carefully examined the herbs, turning them over in his hands.  

“This ginseng is over 120 years old, well-preserved and intact. The lingzhi is a common variety, but it’s large and was harvested and stored properly—its medicinal potency is still strong. Both are worth buying.”

Tao Zhu smiled at Song Suisui. “How about 2,300 yuan for the ginseng and 500 for the lingzhi?” 

Song Suisui knew that lingzhi varied in quality—premium grades fetched high prices, while common ones were cheaper. But she wasn’t fully satisfied with his offer.  

“The lingzhi price is fine, but I want 2,500 for the ginseng.”  

In a city like the capital, where wealthy families abounded, a century-old ginseng—a life-saving treasure—was practically priceless.  

2,500 yuan wasn’t an outrageous ask.  

Tao Zhu frowned briefly but ultimately agreed.  

He wasn’t planning to resell the ginseng anyway—Brother Lin (Qin Mulin) needed one right now.

After settling the payment, Song Suisui stuffed the cash into her bag (actually tossing it into her space) and left.  

As she walked away, Uncle Long leaned in and whispered, “Should we have someone follow him?”

Tao Zhu shook his head. “We’re not bandits who rob after a deal. Once the trade’s done, it’s done.” 

With that, he took the ginseng and lingzhi to Qin Mulin.  

Meanwhile, Song Suisui took a long, winding route after leaving the black market, making sure no one was tailing her. Once certain, she slipped into a hidden corner, entered her space, and removed her disguise.