Chapter 130 - 130

Chapter 130 Exploring the Black MarketYun Ting, carrying a basket she had just taken out of her spatial dimension, stood under the crooked old locust tree in the back alley of Capital City, watching "Scarface Li" squatting by the wall, swatting ants on the ground with a straw stick.Before coming, she had already inquired with the two aunties that this man was the "living advertisement" of the black market, and that you had to get past him first if you wanted to get in."Grandpa, I heard you buy 'idle items' here?" She deliberately lowered her voice to the sound of a sparrow stealing food, and waved half a white steamed bun in her hand—this was her "door-knocking" to get in.Scarface Li raised his eyelids, his turbid eyes sweeping over her: "Idle goods? It depends on whether they can fill your stomach or warm your body."Yun Ting chuckled inwardly, pulled an oil paper packet from his cloth bag, and poured out a handful of white rice with a "whoosh." The old man's straw fell to the ground with a "thud," and he abruptly stood up: "Come with me! Watch your step, don't step on the bricks against the wall!"After navigating through several narrow alleys, they finally stopped in front of a dilapidated courtyard gate with a sign that read "General Store." Scarface Li knocked five times on the door knocker and then tapped three times on the door frame. The wooden door, which looked like it might fall apart at any moment, creaked open a crack, revealing a pair of bright, darting eyes."I brought someone who's 'in stock'," the old man muttered, pushing her through the door.As soon as Yun Ting entered, he was delighted. There were more than a dozen stalls in the courtyard: some people were squatting on the ground counting crumpled bills, some were wiping a piece of copper inkwell with their sleeves, and an old lady was secretly lifting a basket, revealing a few round eggs inside, as if she were protecting some rare treasure.She had just found a corner to stand in when a lean man approached her, his voice like it had been sanded: " Little Sister, what 'good stuff' do you have?"Yun Ting slowly untied the cloth bundle, revealing snow-white polished rice inside. The man's eyes lit up instantly, and he almost bit his tongue: "My goodness... this rice...""Keep your voice down!" She quickly closed the cloth bag. "If you're going to weigh it, what price are you offering?"The man swallowed hard and pulled her to a corner: "Here's the deal, 50 cents for a pound of rice. If you can supply it regularly, I'll add another 5 cents!"As Yun Ting was pondering this, she caught a glimpse of someone staring in her direction. She then took out another cloth bag from her basket and opened it, revealing a white cloth bag that gleamed in the sunlight.A moment of silence fell, even the flame of the kerosene lamp flickered. An old man wearing a melon-shaped hat approached, his voice trembling: "Young lady, how much can this noodle... be exchanged for?"Looking at the greed in the eyes of this group of people, Yun Ting suddenly felt that this black market was like a stage hiding interesting stories.She deliberately dragged out her words: "Flour, you need to exchange it for cash—but I also brought some 'rare items'." As she spoke, she pulled a bright red apple out of her bag, as eye-catching as a red lantern.Even the old lady who was squatting on the ground counting money straightened up. Scarface Li also came over at some point, grinning with his missing teeth: " Little Sister is a generous person! Want cash? No problem! Come with me to Shopkeeper Wang, he has plenty of 'hard currency'!"" Shopkeeper Wang? Is that a name?" Yun Tingasked curiously."Haha...it's just a nickname."Before Yun Ting arrived, she had dressed as a woman, so now, no one could tell she was a girl at all.Yun Ting followed him inside, pondering: Should I sell some of the rice, flour, fruit, and meat in the space today? Or should I test the waters first?Shopkeeper Wang has great deals…Yun Ting looked at the Shopkeeper Wang that Scarface Li had called out to, and the other person also looked at her. The two of them secretly sized each other up.His gaze fell on the basket Yun Ting was carrying on his back, and he went straight to the point: "What's in there?"Yun Ting responded, put down her basket, untied the rope, and took things out one by one. First were two bags sewn from coarse cloth. Opening them, one bag contained glistening white rice, plump grains; the other contained fine white flour, exuding the aroma of wheat. Finally, she scooped out several rosy apples from the bottom of the basket, their peels shiny and still glistening with fresh moisture.Shopkeeper Wang picked up some rice, then pinched some flour and smelled it. He then picked up an apple, weighed it in his hand, and said slowly, "I'll give you 50 cents a pound for rice, 40 cents for flour, and the apple looks pretty good. Are you planning to sell it by the pound or by the piece?""Sold by the piece, and this one is quite large!""Then what price do you think it should be?"Yun Ting smiled, thinking to himself, "This old man is really cunning."However, they also set the prices directly: "Rice and flour are 60 cents each, and apples are 80 cents each.""Oh dear, Little Sister, are you not planning to let us earn some hard-earned money?""Where would I be? Shopkeeper Wang, we're all honest people, you still have room to make a profit on this price.""How about this: we each give a one-cent discount, okay?"Yun Ting thought to himself, "Okay, I'll do asShopkeeper Wang says.""I wonder if Little Sister has any stock left? Could you supply me regularly?""Oh, Shopkeeper Wang, such good stuff isn't so easy to get. How about this, if I have any in stock, I'll definitely come back to you. Is that alright?"Yun Ting looked at him and smiled. She didn't want to take any risks since she didn't understand the other party yet. She would trade a few more times and see how things went before making a decision."Okay, I'll remember that.""must…"Shopkeeper Wang paid her for the goods, and she left with her basket on her back.As she went outside, she used her Supernatural Ability to sense her surroundings, hoping to see if anyone was following her. However, she didn't find anyone even after walking quite a distance. It seems that the black market is quite safe for now.However, this so-called Shopkeeper Wangdoesn't seem like a black market boss, but sometimes appearances can be deceiving.She got what she wanted to do today and was in a good mood. She didn't linger outside and went straight back to school.When I arrived at the school gate, I met two unexpected people: Zhou Yang and Lu Jiayan." Educated Youth Yun … Long time no see!" Zhou Yang saw Yun Ting before she even got close."Long time no see, what brings you two here?""Oh... Brother Lu said he wanted to come and see Educated Youth Yang. I thought I had nothing to do anyway, so I came along. I didn't expect to run into you before I even sawEducated Youth Yang.""Where are you studying now?" Yun Ting was quite curious because in the original story, theywent to Peking University with Yang Qingqing, so she was surprised when she didn't see them when they first started school!"We are at Tsinghua University.""That's great. Should I go and call Beauty Yang?""Thank you for your help..." Lu Jiayan said immediately, afraid that if she was too late, Yun Ting would stop helping her find someone.When Yun Ting went back to the dormitory to look for Yang Qingqing, she wasn't there. She then went to the library to look for her, but still couldn't find her. Only then did she realize that Yang Qingqing must have gone out as well.When Yun Ting returned to the school gate, she saw the person she was looking for chatting with the three of them!"Hey, you guys are going too far! I've been searching everywhere for you, and you're all chatting away! Has nobody even remembered me?""Haha… Educated Youth Yun, don't be like that. We know you won't be able to find anyone, so we'll definitely come out and tell us. That's why we're waiting for you here. To make amends, I'll treat you all to dinner." Zhou Yang stepped forward and laughed.Just then, a voice called "Xiao Yun..." made Yun Ting's eyes light up.