Chapter 10

Lin Kexin raised an eyebrow, nodded in agreement, then held up one finger.

“A hundred jin?”

Yan Dao nearly let out a loud tch from his throat, but he swallowed it down.

Big Brother always said—doing business requires patience!

“No.”

Lin Kexin shook her head and moved that finger closer to Yan Dao, before saying,

“Ten thousand jin. Can you take it?”

“What?”

Yan Dao had just lifted a teacup to drink when he heard the girl claim she had ten thousand jin of grain to sell. He almost dropped the cup on the spot.

“H-how much?”

“Too much?”

Lin Kexin frowned, testing the waters.

“If not… one thousand jin will do.”

“No—wait, are you saying you really have ten thousand jin? Is that true?”

Yan Dao was flustered. This wasn’t some street market—how could someone just start bargaining down the quantity like that?!

Big Brother had been tearing his hair out over grain shortages lately, even ordering him yesterday to collect as much as possible.

But here, anyone bringing three or five dozen jin was already considered a big seller!

“Yes, it’s true.”

Lin Kexin was starting to get confused. Did this guy want ten thousand or just a thousand?

“You—you—you wait right here. Don’t move until I get back, got it?”

Yan Dao set his cup down with trembling hands and bolted outside, calling back as he ran,

“Where are you going? Do you want it or not?” Lin Kexin rolled her eyes so hard it hurt. What was wrong with him?

In her past life, when she had dealings with Yan Dao, he had always been steady.

Ah—right. Back then he’d been nearly forty. Now he looked no older than twenty-five!

“I’m going to get my Big Brother. Just stay here!”

Yan Dao waved a hand, jogged a few more steps, and was gone from sight.

Lin Kexin could only shake her head helplessly. Was this really the black market’s number two?

From what he had told her in the past, this part of his history hadn’t looked anything like this.

Not about to waste time, she wandered over to a poultry stall nearby.

“Auntie, how much for this chicken?”

The woman’s eyes lit up.

“Girl, you’ve got a good eye! This is a real mountain chicken, raised free-range on the back hills. Look at that meat—”

She proudly displayed her scrawny hen.

“Uh…”

Lin Kexin pinched the thigh of the chicken. Her mind filled with imaginary crows flapping overhead.

She wanted to ask: Auntie, exactly which mountain were these raised on? Maybe consider switching locations? The poor thing was practically just bones.

“Yes, yes, mountain chicken. Auntie, you must have very big mountains here—your chickens ran all the meat off…”

The woman chuckled awkwardly.

“Girl, it’s just that we’re poor. People hardly have enough to eat themselves, how could we spare grain for chickens? Tell you what, if you’re serious about buying, I’ll give you a discount. At the supply co-op it’s 1.3 yuan per jin. For you, 1 yuan a jin. What do you say?”

It was true, the supply co-op’s chickens went for that price—but theirs actually had meat.

Still, Lin Kexin didn’t care if they were fat, thin, or half-bald. Once she put them into her space, they would surely grow plump and strong.

“How many chickens do you have? Just this one?”

“Girl, how many do you need? If you want more, I’ll take you to my neighbor—she brought plenty today!”

Afraid Lin Kexin might back out, the auntie hurried to offer.

“Alright, take me to her. If the price is similar, I’ll buy them all.”

Her space was huge. Ten or twenty, even thousands of chickens, ducks, or geese would fit just fine.

“Good, good! But girl, you’ll take this one too, right?”

The auntie wanted to confirm.

“Yes, yes. Don’t worry.”

Her neighbor turned out to have five chickens, five ducks, and two geese.

Lin Kexin spent 38 yuan buying them all, and another 3 yuan for the auntie’s chicken.

When she returned to Yan Dao’s stall, she tucked all the poultry safely into her space.

After about half an hour, Yan Dao finally came back, dragging along his elder brother.

“Big Brother, this is the girl I told you about—the one with the grain!”

The burly Yan Dao now stood behind a lanky man, pointing at Lin Kexin.

Lin Kexin couldn’t help finding it funny. With their builds, wasn’t it more natural for him to stand in front?

“Please, have a seat,” the lanky man said, his eyes free of disdain. In fact, his manner was courteous.

Lin Kexin sat down without hesitation.

“I hear from Yan Dao that you have ten thousand jin of grain. Is that true?”

He didn’t beat around the bush, going straight to the point.

“Yes. I’m only helping someone else sell it. If you can take it, there’s no limit to how much.”

Lin Kexin’s calmness and poise were far beyond that of a teenage girl—more like an elder with years of experience.

“Straightforward! I like that.”

The tall man clasped his fists in salute.

“Could it be that the person behind you is also in the black market? Would it be convenient to share a name?”

“If he asked me to sell on his behalf, of course he wouldn’t want others to know who he is.”

Lin Kexin’s words were unhurried, her voice crisp and clear.

“All you need to worry about is collecting the grain. I can guarantee it’s clean, safe, and there will be no trouble.”

With that, she stopped speaking further.

Who was behind her? No one—it was only herself.

But since this man assumed there was someone else, so much the better. That way she wouldn’t need to waste energy explaining, nor would they question the grain’s origin.

“Good. With your guarantee, I’m reassured.”

The tall man laughed heartily.

“Everyone here calls me Brother Long. May I know how to address you?”

Lin Kexin arched a brow. Why was he so curious about other people’s names?

“Just call me Xiao Lin.”

“Very well, Miss Lin. I’ll take whatever grain you can bring. The only thing is—I hope I can get it as quickly as possible. Would that work?”

He was clearly in urgent need of supplies, and he didn’t mince words.

“By noon tomorrow, the grain will be here.”

Lin Kexin calculated. After finishing her work in the fields, she would have a two-hour break. That would be enough time.

“In addition to the ten thousand jin of wheat, would you like corn as well?”

She still had more than a thousand jin of corn in her space.

“Yes, bring whatever you have. I’ll take it all.”

In this era, both coarse grains and fine grains were in desperate demand. He needed quantity—whether wheat or corn hardly mattered.

“Could I also trouble you to tell your contact… whether future supplies could all be sold directly to me?”

Brother Long’s smile was warm, his gaze toward Lin Kexin carrying genuine respect.

“My orders are to procure as much grain as possible. Unlimited amounts. Whatever you bring, I’ll buy. Payment is immediate—cash for grain, no delays…”