Chapter 24 Drop a Bomb / Han Xiangdong

“Wu Zhiqing, your uncle misses you a lot lately. Should I contact him and let him come see you?” Hearing Qian Xiaolan’s words, Wu Qiulan’s eyes widened in terror, and her body trembled. She forgot to ask how Qian Xiaolan knew about this. Qian Xiaolan, based on what she had read in the original book, dropped a bombshell and then went to ask Gu Shengli for leave with a light heart. She was going to the commune to buy things today. Gu Shengli readily granted her leave, wrote her a referral letter, and told her not to buy too much and to keep some money for herself. Qian Xiaolan agreed, put on a straw hat, took a few mesh bags, and carried a rattan basket as she set off.

She wasn’t lying; the original owner did know someone at the supply and marketing cooperative. She had met them when she occasionally went to the commune to sell the game she caught in her traps. The original owner was afraid of the black market, so whenever she had game, she would hang around the back door of the supply and marketing cooperative. Over time, she got to know Aunt Zhao, who managed the warehouse there.

This time, she went straight to Aunt Zhao at the supply and marketing cooperative. Aunt Zhao was very surprised to see her. Her son had been craving meat yesterday. Qian Xiaolan saw her eyes fixed on her rattan basket and smiled and nodded at her. She had brought two pounds of mutton this time. Qian Xiaolan first handed it to her, saying it was a gift, and then, under her delighted and nervous gaze, she stated her purpose for coming. Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhao breathed a sigh of relief. She laughed heartily, “Oh, that’s nothing. You could buy those things even if you went to the front. I’ll still pay for the meat. You can’t accept things for free.”

Qian Xiaolan pressed down on her hand as she reached for her wallet, “Aunt Zhao, what are you saying? If I go to the front, I’ll have to wait in line for half a day. And if I want a lot, they’ll have to come to the warehouse to count and move it. It’s not as convenient as here.”

Aunt Zhao was amused by Qian Xiaolan’s words. She patted her chest and promised to count everything carefully for her, not missing a single item. Qian Xiaolan smiled and handed her the order she had written the night before. Aunt Zhao glanced at it and immediately called someone to help her count. Pencils cost four cents each. 500 pencils cost twenty yuan. Pencil sharpeners cost two cents each. 300 sharpeners cost six yuan. Notebooks cost five cents each. 1000 notebooks cost fifty yuan. Erasers cost two cents each. 300 erasers cost six yuan. Chalk cost twenty cents per box.

 100 boxes cost twenty yuan. Total: 102 yuan. Aunt Zhao said that the prices were uniform nationwide and she couldn’t give her a discount. She pulled Qian Xiaolan to find the director of the supply and marketing cooperative to talk to him. Qian Xiaolan felt that it wasn’t worth owing someone a favor for a few yuan, so she stopped Aunt Zhao from going. Not only that, she also bought 160 sketchbooks for eight yuan, making a total of 110 yuan.

After counting the items, she told Aunt Zhao to keep them there and that she would go for a walk and call a car to pick them up later. Aunt Zhao agreed, and Qian Xiaolan left the supply and marketing cooperative and went for a walk in the street. The Forward Commune wasn’t big. There was only one main street. It took about ten minutes to walk from one end to the other. However, there were many alleys. Qian Xiaolan entered an alley, turned left and right for a while, and entered a very secluded alley. There was no one around. She entered the space and changed her clothes. When she came out, she was dressed as a middle-aged woman with a straw hat.

She took out a large basket, filled it with half a bag of rice and half a bag of flour, and then walked through the alley, turning a few corners before entering a wider alley. This alley was crowded with people, but they all kept their heads down and were strangely quiet. This was the black market in Forward Commune. Qian Xiaolan didn’t go directly inside. Instead, she grabbed a handful of rice and walked up to two young men who were squatting and smoking at the entrance of the alley. She said in a hoarse voice, “I’m looking for your Boss Dong.

” The two young men had been vigilantly watching their surroundings and had naturally noticed Qian Xiaolan. When they saw the crystal-clear, plump rice in her palm, they both stood up excitedly. One of them tentatively asked Qian Xiaolan, “Auntie, how much do you have?” Qian Xiaolan didn’t answer. She left a sentence and left.

The two young men looked at each other. One of them immediately ran to find their boss. After listening to his subordinate’s report, Boss Dong’s eyes behind his glasses instantly sharpened, “She really said she would meet at the back door of the grain station?” His subordinate nodded. Boss Dong frowned and thought for a while before slapping his thigh and getting up, “Stones, bring a few brothers with me. I want to see who this person is, friend or foe.” The back door of the commune’s grain station was their secret trading location. Ordinary people would never think of this place. They didn’t know how the other party found out. Qian Xiaolan had placed ten bags of rice and ten bags of flour in the alley next to the back door of the grain station.

After waiting for a while, she saw a gentle-looking young man with glasses, accompanied by two others, walking towards her. Based on the book’s description, Qian Xiaolan recognized the seemingly harmless young man as Boss Dong, who would later become the most feared figure in the black market in the entire Anshi City. Boss Dong’s personality was very different from his appearance. He was as cunning as a fox and had a vicious mind, according to everyone in the black market. Qian Xiaolan knew that Boss Dong was actually very loyal.

The original heroine had unintentionally helped him once, and he had repaid her with everything he had. Of course, it could also be because of the heroine’s halo. But even if she didn’t have a heroine’s halo, she wasn’t afraid of being robbed. Because she had the space, and she also knew Boss Dong’s other secret base. Qian Xiaolan greeted Boss Dong calmly and got straight to the point, “Boss Dong, right? One thousand pounds of polished rice and one thousand pounds of polished flour. Can you handle it today?” Hearing this, Boss Dong still had a faint smile on his scholarly face, but his voice was as cold as water, “Sister, are you looking down on me, Han Xiangdong?” Qian Xiaolan was taken aback, “No, I just thought you only brought two people with you.

 Can you carry the goods?” Han Xiangdong raised an eyebrow, “Oh, so you’re saying the goods have already arrived?” Qian Xiaolan nodded and turned to walk towards the nearby alley, “They’re all here. You check the goods first. If there’s no problem, then we’ll talk about the price.” Han Xiangdong gave his two subordinates a look, and they immediately went forward to check. After checking, they were very excited. They leaned in and whispered to Han Xiangdong, “Boss, the rice is very clean, not a single stone or sand. The flour is also very white, even better than our strong flour.

” The subordinate thought he was speaking very quietly, but he was so excited that his voice cracked. Qian Xiaolan could hear everything clearly. She still had to go home, so she ignored Han Xiangdong, who was frowning, and said directly, “My distant relative will send me another batch from Shenzhen in a while. If the price is right this time, I’ll come to you again next time.” Han Xiangdong was excited when he heard Shenzhen. He heard that many people smuggled to Hong Kong from there, and they must have a lot of good things.