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Last night, after bringing back so many crabs and large yellow croakers, Lin Qingmei planned to go to the county town today to sell some and also try to get a bicycle ticket on the black market.
Taking advantage of the fact that it was still before dawn, she pulled an electric scooter out of her space for the trip.
Normally, walking to the county town took more than an hour. But riding the scooter today, she arrived in just over twenty minutes.
Near the black market, Lin Qingmei put the scooter back into her space and pulled out a handcart from inside. Two bamboo baskets sat on the cart—one filled with crabs and the other with large yellow croakers. To avoid drawing attention, she covered both baskets with a cloth.
“Five mao to set up a stall.”
When she reached the entrance to the black market, two young men who were acting as lookouts stopped her. Lin Qingmei handed over five mao from her pocket.
To enter the black market, you had to pay. Previously, the original host only came here to buy things, which cost two mao. But today she was selling, so they charged three more. Five mao wasn’t much compared to what she planned to sell—definitely worth it.
She walked past several alleys before finally reaching a large courtyard.
Inside, there were already many small stalls set up, with people talking in hushed tones.
In this remote area, black market regulation wasn’t that strict. The officials turned a blind eye, and the black market in Nancheng County operated quite openly. No one even bothered to cover their faces anymore.
“Miss, how much for these large yellow croakers?”
As soon as Lin Qingmei set up her stall, a well-dressed middle-aged man approached to ask the price.
“Ten yuan per jin. These large yellow croakers were just caught from the sea—still incredibly fresh.”
Lin Qingmei wasn’t lying—she had just taken them out from her space, and they were definitely fresher than the ones hauled back by regular fishermen.
“Ten yuan is a bit steep. How about five yuan per jin? If that works, I’ll take two.”
The man tried to keep a calm face, but inside, he was excited.
His guesthouse was hosting several important clients today—wealthy people who liked rare and exotic seafood.
Coming across large yellow croaker today was pure luck. Dishes made with such fresh fish would surely satisfy his guests.
“Five yuan is too low. Can you offer a bit more? These fish may not be one-in-a-million, but they’re rare. I only managed to get a few. Just a few days ago, the manager of the state-owned restaurant asked me to go straight to him if I caught any large yellow croaker. I came to the black market hoping to get a better price. If I sell to you for less than the state restaurant offers, wouldn’t all this trouble be for nothing?”
It was true—just yesterday, while Lin Qingmei was picking up white-cut chicken at the state-run restaurant, she overheard the procurement officer talking about wanting to buy large yellow croaker.
“Six yuan eighty is the best I can do—any more and it’s beyond my budget. If you’re willing to sell, I’ll also take your basket of crabs.”
“Deal. I’ve got five yellow croakers here, totaling thirty-two jin. At 6.8 yuan per jin, that’s 217.6 yuan—just give me 217 yuan. As for the crabs, let’s say 0.2 yuan each. My basket has rock crabs and swimming crabs, all over 150 grams. There are 100 crabs total—that’s 20 yuan. Altogether that comes to 237 yuan.”
In these coastal areas, seafood really didn’t fetch high prices. Swimming crabs sold to collection stations for only 0.5 yuan each—or 0.8 yuan if over 150 grams. Rock crabs fetched just 0.1 yuan each, also depending on weight.
“Here’s the money. Count it to make sure it’s all there.”
The middle-aged man pulled out twenty-four large-denomination bills from his pocket and handed them to Lin Qingmei.
“That’s good. Here’s your 3 yuan change—take it.”
The man took two burlap sacks, poured in the yellow croakers and crabs, then balanced the load on a stick and left the black market.
After selling the fish and crabs, Lin Qingmei didn’t rush off. She discreetly found the black market boss and spent 50 yuan to buy a bicycle ticket.
With the ticket secured, her other purpose for visiting the black market today was fulfilled.
Leaving the black market, she found a quiet spot to return the cart and baskets to her space.
Then she walked empty-handed to the state-owned restaurant. The one in the county town was much bigger than the one at the commune, and the food selection was more abundant.
This morning’s breakfast menu included youtiao, crab roe buns, lean meat congee, mussel congee, and shredded pork rice noodles.
“Miss, I’ll have five baskets of crab roe buns, ten youtiao for takeaway, and one bowl of shredded pork rice noodles to eat here.”
Breakfast portions in Guangdong were notoriously small. The crab roe buns were tiny—just six per basket. Even Lin Zheng needed five baskets to feel full.
And Lin Qinglan was a big eater too. Among the three siblings, only Lin Qingmei had a smaller appetite. She had grown up in Linjiawan and was used to light meals.
“That’ll be 5 yuan, one and a half jin of grain coupons, and 4 liang of meat coupons.”
Lin Qingmei regretted not exchanging more grain and meat coupons at the black market just now. What she had on hand were leftovers from her school days. After this meal, she’d only have 1 jin of meat coupons and 4 liang of grain coupons left.
After ordering, she looked around the restaurant—there were no empty tables left. Scanning the place, she recognized someone familiar and walked over to the corner table.
She gently tapped on the table.
“Secretary He, mind if I share this table?”
“Oh, it’s you. Isn’t your home in Linjiawan? What are you doing in the county town so early?”
He Xufeng was genuinely surprised to see Lin Qingmei—and even more surprised that she approached him.
“I caught some good stuff at the beach last night, so I came to the county to check the buying prices. The procurement station in our commune really suppresses prices. I just want to help the village earn a bit more for our seafood.”
“Your village is coastal—of course ordinary seafood isn’t worth much. Do you want me to help you pull some strings? I know the director of the county’s procurement station. He might be able to help.”
He Xufeng wasn’t sure what had gotten into him.
He was usually cold and distant, yet suddenly so warm toward Lin Qingmei.
Was it County Chief Wang’s influence?
Or… did he actually have feelings for Lin Qingmei?
“No need. You’re the county secretary—you must be very busy. I’ll figure something out myself.”
Lin Qingmei didn’t like to trouble others.
And honestly, whether the villagers made more or not didn’t really affect her. What she said earlier was just a passing comment.