Chapter 37: Watch Coupons and Bicycle Coupons

Wang Shuning paused. Was she referring to selling things on the black market?

“Sort of.”

Before long, Wang Shuning had sold everything in her bamboo basket. She replenished it from her space, sold another basketful, and then moved locations.

The bamboo basket was only so big, and she had only been there a short time. Two baskets were almost enough. If someone was watching her, staying too long would cause problems.

She went to another black market and set up her stall again.

Soon, a man in a Zhongshan suit stopped in front of Wang Shuning. “When was the soybean oil made?”

The man had his eye on a seven-liter can of soybean oil on the stall.

Wang Shuning: “It was freshly pressed, less than a month ago. If you really want to buy it, I can open the lid for you to smell it.”

“Let me see. And that rapeseed oil too.”

At the man’s request, Wang Shuning opened the lids of both cans of oil.

The man leaned close to the mouth of the bottles, carefully sniffing and observing the color of the oil before saying, “I’ll take both.”

The man took out his coupons, giving Wang Shuning all the ones he didn’t need, supplementing the rest with cash.

Wang Shuning noticed a bicycle coupon and a watch coupon among his coupons. “Big brother, are you selling the bicycle and watch coupons?”

The man was stunned. A rural girl actually wanted to buy his bicycle and watch coupons—they weren’t cheap.

He had received these two coupons from the factory two days ago and was planning to sell them to a speculator. He hadn’t expected Wang Shuning to notice. “The bicycle coupon is 120 yuan, and the watch coupon is 100 yuan. Do you have the money to buy them?”

Wang Shuning nodded affirmatively. “I do.”

The man was taken aback. Two hundred and twenty yuan was a considerable sum, but it was fine; he wouldn’t have to make another trip. He handed the bicycle coupon to Wang Shuning first.

Wang Shuning took out her purse, filled with small change. It took her a long time to count out two hundred and twenty yuan.

The man recounted it, confirming it was correct before handing over the watch coupon.

Wang Shuning carefully put the watch and bicycle coupons in her pocket. Holding her empty wallet, she was back to square one, with only five yuan left. If she hadn’t sold a batch of goods at the previous black market, she might not have been able to afford both coupons at once.

After a few more transactions, Wang Shuning sensed someone watching her.

Her heart quickened. She hadn’t sold everything in her basket yet, so she shouldered it and prepared to leave.

With her space, she could simply go to a deserted place and disappear into her space to lose her tail while turning a corner.

However, as she stood up, a woman approached her and whispered, “Big business. Interested?”

Wang Shuning slowed her pace, glanced at the woman, and continued walking.

The woman immediately understood and followed Wang Shuning at a distance. Unexpectedly, Wang Shuning led her directly to the door of the state-run restaurant.

The woman hesitated for a few seconds before following. In broad daylight, and the other party being a young girl, what could she do?

At a corner table in the state-run restaurant, the two sat side by side. After ordering, Wang Shuning asked, “What big business?”

The woman looked around. The surrounding tables were empty. “I see your fruits are very fresh. Do you have a fixed source of goods? How much do you have? I’ll take it all.”

Wang Shuning sized up the woman. “Do you often do business on the black market?”

Song Qian: “My son does it more often. He takes all kinds of goods. If you have any more oil, I’ll take that too.”

Wang Shuning pondered. The quantity of each item in her space wasn’t much, but the variety was rich, and she could harvest once a week. If she could find a regular buyer, she wouldn’t have to set up a stall on the black market to sell individual items anymore.

But could she trust this person?

The waitress brought the dishes, and the two immediately fell silent.

Song Qian looked at the one vegetable, one meat dish, and a bowl of rice. The girl ate well.

A minute later, Song Qian’s beef noodles arrived.

Wang Shuning: “One hundred jin each of apples, oranges, pears, bananas, and peaches.”

“Five hundred jin each of wheat flour and rice.”

With each sentence from Wang Shuning, Song Qian’s eyes grew brighter.

“Ten cans each of rapeseed oil and soybean oil, seven liters per can.”

“The transaction will be at midnight the day after tomorrow at the cemetery outside the county.”

…

Song Qian’s smile faltered. “The cemetery?”

There were so many places; why would she choose a cemetery?

It was sunny outside; this girl was a real person.

Wang Shuning nodded firmly. “Yes, at the cemetery. At midnight, no one will be there, it’s safest.”

Most importantly, people who do bad things are afraid of ghosts. If these people dared to play tricks, she would simply disappear and scare them to death.

Song Qian gritted her teeth and agreed. “Fine, the cemetery.”

After agreeing on the price, they separated.

Song Qian stood on the street, specifically checking the ground for Wang Shuning’s shadow before hurrying home to discuss the deal with her son. It was a big deal; they needed to prepare.

That afternoon, Wang Shuning went to other black markets and sold more goods. Her space naturally contained more than just those fruits, but some fruits weren’t commonly available. Pineapples and coconuts had to be transported from far away; they weren’t locally available, so Wang Shuning didn’t plan to sell them for now. She would wait until she found a suitable buyer.

The state-run store in the county had ready-made watches and bicycles, but Wang Shuning only earned thirty-four yuan after a busy afternoon, not enough to buy them.

However, she still went to the state-run store and bought a flashlight. She needed it for the action the day after tomorrow; she couldn’t go out in the dark. If she used candles, she herself would find it creepy, let alone the people coming.

She glanced at the watches in the state-run store’s display case. It would be five o’clock in half an hour; she had to hurry back.

She waited under the big locust tree, and familiar faces gradually appeared—people she had ridden in the ox-cart with that morning.

The familiar old man arrived with his ox-cart, and everyone got on.

When they arrived in town, it was getting dark. Wang Shuning hurried back to the village. By the time she reached halfway, it was very dark; she couldn’t see the road clearly, so she turned on her flashlight.

He Zhuzhu’s house was dark, but she wasn’t asleep. Wang Shuning’s room had been locked all day, and she hadn’t returned yet, which worried her.

A beam of light shone on the window. He Zhuzhu immediately got out of bed, opened the door, and saw Wang Shuning unlocking the door before going back to sleep.

The next day, Wang Shuning showed her face while cooking, spending the rest of the time harvesting in her space.

After the villagers fell asleep, Wang Shuning, dressed in black, went out in the dark.

There were no ox-carts at night, so she had to walk.

When she reached the cemetery, her legs were aching. Dressed warmly, her back was sweating. The people hadn’t arrived yet; it wasn’t midnight yet.