Chapter 51

“Auntie, do you think this is enough?”

Tang Wan felt a little embarrassed. Before she traveled through time, a gold bracelet cost hundreds of yuan per gram.

But in this era, she could only exchange for this much. She was afraid that taking too much would attract attention.

Sure enough, the old lady was overjoyed, nodding her head happily. “Girl, you have a kind heart.

If someone else saw these things, they might have bad intentions, but you’re willing to exchange so much for me.”

“Auntie, don’t say that. If this were in the past, it would be worth a lot of money.”

Tang Wan pushed the things towards the old lady. “Since we’re talking about this, I won’t hide it from you.

My family is getting married, and we’re short of money. If you know anyone who wants to exchange things, I’ll go get them.”

“You have more?”

The old lady was stunned. She didn’t expect that the girl she had randomly picked was actually very capable.

After all, private trading was considered profiteering, and Tang Wan was indeed bold.

“I have two pots and some fine grains and eggs.”

Tang Wan smiled, lowering her voice mysteriously. “My son-in-law works at a steel factory. Auntie, please don’t tell anyone about this.”

She sighed. “If I wasn’t trying to get my son married, I wouldn’t have taken such a risk.”

“I won’t say anything, I promise.”

The old lady’s eyes lit up. She knew many people on the street, but she was also worried.

“Girl, my husband’s family name is Qiu. This matter…”

“Auntie, I need the money urgently. If you help me exchange these things, I’ll give you another five kilograms of fine grains!”

Tang Wan was too lazy to go out and find buyers. Seeing that the old lady was kind-faced, she boldly decided to sell everything and leave.

She still had many things to do and hadn’t found a way to get to the black market.

“Okay, you go get the things, and I’ll go call people.”

The old lady Qiu’s small eyes were filled with excitement, and she was eager to find her neighbors.

However, the old lady Qiu was able to live well in this chaotic world because she was a shrewd woman.

She mentally eliminated all those who were gossipy, loved to take advantage, or had ulterior motives.

Tang Wan didn’t care about finding people. She quickly left the old lady Qiu’s house and then slipped into her space in a secluded place.

She took out two pots, fifty kilograms of fine grains, fifty kilograms of coarse grains, fifty kilograms of pork, and fifty eggs.

Fortunately, the backpacks in this era were big enough. She also took out some of the used bowls she had collected from several families.

She would sell the rest when she found the entrance to the black market, especially the blankets. It wasn’t the right time to sell them now.

The old lady Qiu wouldn’t be that fast, so Tang Wan lit a fire in her space and started braising pig offal.

She had a lot of pig offal from the four pigs, and she threw it all into the big pot that was left. After braising the offal, she also braised some pork belly. This was wild boar meat, and it smelled incredibly delicious.

Thinking that it was about time, Tang Wan came out of her space with the things on her back and a sack of pots in her hand.

It wasn’t far from the old lady Qiu’s house, only a few minutes away. It was lunchtime, and there weren’t many people outside.

Tang Wan didn’t rush to knock on the door. She observed for a while, making sure there was nothing unusual, before knocking on the old lady Qiu’s door.

“Auntie, I forgot to tell you, my son is getting married the day after tomorrow.”

A minute later, the old lady Qiu opened the courtyard door and took Tang Wan’s hand.

“You, girl, were always impulsive when you were young, and you’re still the same now. You left without finishing what you had to say.”

The two of them chatted and laughed as they closed the courtyard door, isolating them from the outside world. This old lady Qiu was a shrewd one.

“I was worried that Tang Wan might be setting me up, so I even asked someone to go out the back door to see if she had anyone following her.”

“Auntie, I’ve brought everything. The price is still the same as we discussed.”

Tang Wan lowered her voice and quickly followed the old lady Qiu into the house. Good heavens, there were five or six aunts and grandmothers sitting in the room.

When they saw Tang Wan’s backpack, their eyes lit up, and they couldn’t wait to lift the cloth on the backpack to take a peek.

“Don’t get excited yet. We’ll divide it according to the price we agreed on.”

The old lady Qiu, after all, was the leader. In a couple of sentences, she subdued the eager crowd.

“Sister-in-law, your nephew is so thin, he’s just skin and bones. You have to save some of the meat for me.”

“My family just had a new grandson. My daughter-in-law needs to eat some fine grains and eggs to have enough milk.”

“Girl, look at me, I’m so skinny. Give me a few more eggs…”

“…”

A group of people surrounded Tang Wan, and she observed the expressions of each person before saying,

“I only brought two pots, fifty kilograms of fine grains, fifty kilograms of coarse grains, fifty kilograms of pork, and fifty eggs. Auntie and the sisters-in-law all know each other.

Why don’t you all discuss how to divide it first, and then I’ll weigh it out for you.”

“Let’s listen to the girl.”

The old lady Qiu made the decision, and everyone looked at each other, whispering and discussing.

This matter was already done in secret, and everyone didn’t dare to waste time. They quickly reached an agreement.

Tang Wan received eighty-seven yuan and a few gold rings for these things. She gave the old lady Qiu the promised fine grains.

While everyone was still discussing, she quickly left their house.

In fact, Tang Wan knew that these people might not keep the pots and bowls for their own use, but she didn’t care if they kept them to sell or give them away.

She wouldn’t go to see the old lady Qiu again in the near future. There were too many people and too much gossip. Her identity was special, and she didn’t need to take risks.

When she was far enough away and sure that no one was following her, Tang Wan slipped into her space and took off her makeup and changed into her own clothes.

It was just noon, and Tang Wan was hungry. She cooked a pot of rice and had a meal with the braised meat.

When she reappeared on the street, she was once again a pretty female comrade.

Thinking that she would go to see her parents soon, Tang Wan went straight to the state-owned restaurant nearby.

It was just past lunchtime, and everyone was sitting at their tables eating. When Tang Wan arrived, there wasn’t much left.

The meat dishes were already gone, so Tang Wan could only buy ten big meat buns and two portions of white flour dumplings in an aluminum lunchbox.

The meat buns were one dime each, and the dumplings were eighty cents a portion. Tang Wan spent two yuan and four cents and three ounces of grain coupons.

Using her backpack as cover, she put the food directly into her space and then went to the post office across the street to buy a few sets of stamps.

She took the opportunity to mail the letter that Lu Huaijing had written. It was a letter to his family, reporting that he was safe.

After taking care of these things, it was already past two o’clock in the afternoon.

Thinking of her empty house, Tang Wan decided to go to the scrap recycling station to find some things.

The situation was chaotic, and there should be a lot of destroyed tables and chairs there. She also needed to buy some books and exercise books for Zhouzhou.

She decided to do it right away. Tang Wan quickly walked to the scrap recycling station. An old man was guarding the station.

He was sitting in a rocking chair, swaying back and forth, smoking a dry pipe. When he saw Tang Wan coming, he simply said,

“One dime a kilogram, pick whatever you want.”

“Okay.”

Tang Wan nodded knowingly and quickly walked in. The old man shook his head as he looked at Tang Wan’s back.

Everyone thought that there were treasures in there, but if there really were treasures, they would have been dug out by the Red Guards long ago.