NOVPUB
Chapter 107: Chapter 103 The First Deal in the Provincial Capital
Because of a piece of air-dried sausage, Shen Yunfang had warmed up to the people around her. In such a small space, since no one could sleep at night, everyone started chatting, exchanging sentences back and forth.
Yunfang, a young girl on her first long journey, didn’t have much to engage in conversation, so she could only lend her ears and listen to what everyone had to say.
And you know, whether it was because everyone got carried away talking or for some other reason, a young man nearby actually started talking about his experience buying eggs in the provincial capital’s black market.
This was really like delivering a pillow to someone who had just fallen asleep. She had just been wondering where to inquire about whether the provincial capital had a black market or not, and now someone had brought it up directly.
Yunfang discreetly inquired about the exact location of the black market, and made a mental note of it.
By the late night, everyone’s endurance had waned, the sound of conversations gradually disappeared, replaced by the rising and falling snores.
Yunfang saw that some people simply spread out a newspaper under their seats and dove in to sleep. She admired them, as she couldn’t sleep a wink and didn’t have anything to lean on, forcing herself to stay upright. Eventually, out of boredom, she closed her eyes, let her consciousness enter the space, and started organizing it, mainly to see what she had in the space that could be sold. She also needed to have a clear idea in her own mind.
She held out until around five in the morning, when the train finally arrived at the station. It was still pitch-dark outside, and it wasn’t safe for a young girl like her to wander around aimlessly. As she was considering whether to go out and find a hotel to stay in or wait for daylight at the train station, someone patted her shoulder.
"Girl, there you are, I’ve been looking for you."
Yunfang turned around to see that it was the middle-aged uncle who had been sitting beside her.
"Uncle Zhou? You’re looking for me?" She was curious as to what a chance acquaintance like him might want.
Uncle Zhou leaned in slightly and whispered in Yunfang’s ear, "Girl, I need to talk to you about something, let’s find a quiet place to chat."
Yunfang didn’t think the uncle seemed like a bad person, and besides, they were still inside the train station so it was unlikely he’d try anything untoward. Thus, she followed him to a secluded spot to talk.
"Girl, I wanted to ask if you have any more of that air-dried sausage left. Could you spare me some? We can work out a good price," Uncle Zhou said, eyeing the basket on Yunfang’s back.
Yunfang suddenly realized that he was after her air-dried sausage. She pondered for a moment, surprised that a business opportunity had arisen just as she had entered the province.
"I’m really sorry, Uncle Zhou, though it seems small, the sausage is quite meat-heavy. It’s from a pig we killed a while back at home, and I didn’t make much. I’m just bringing a little for my relatives, so I can’t spare any," Yunfang said apologetically. Fearful he wouldn’t believe her, she removed the coarse cloth from her basket to show him that there really wasn’t much inside.
Uncle Zhou looked in the basket as she had suggested, then his eyes brightened, "I see you must have more than thirty pieces there. How about you spare me half?"
Yunfang felt a bit troubled.
"Girl, do me a favor. It’s almost New Year’s, and I’m returning from a business trip empty-handed. My wife won’t even let me in the door," Uncle Zhou said with a bitter expression on his face.
Yunfang laughed out loud, feeling that it was about time to discuss the price.
"It’s not that I don’t want to spare you some, Uncle Zhou, but as you tasted yesterday, my sausage is pure meat, the good stuff made by my own family. It’s quality, and definitely not cheap..."
"Just tell me how much per pound, and if it’s okay, I’ll take some. If not, we’ll talk further," Uncle Zhou was interested because the sausage looked good and cheap.
Shen Yunfang thought for a moment and stretched out two fingers, "I basically have each at half a jin in weight, if you really want them, then it’ll be two yuan apiece."
At this, Uncle Zhou frowned, it was indeed a bit expensive. Currently, a jin of meat only cost nine mao, and one of these sausage links used about seven or eight liang of meat at most, yet now they were selling for two yuan...
However, considering that pork on the black market had already risen to two yuan and fifty, or three yuan a jin, it seemed that the sausage wasn’t too pricey after all.
Shen Yunfang couldn’t tell what he meant by the changing expressions on his face; her asking price was a bit high, but they could still haggle over it, couldn’t they?
After waiting a little while, Shen Yunfang was contemplating whether or not to lower her price when Uncle Zhou nodded in agreement, which left her somewhat taken aback and at a loss.
So, like thieves, the two of them glanced about to see if anyone was watching them, then started to count the cured sausages.
These cured sausages, of course, had just been placed into the basket from her space, the small jar that had been in the basket was long since moved there.
There were thirty-two sausage links in total, which amounted to sixty-four yuan.
Uncle Zhou took a handful of money out of his pocket, counted it, and it wasn’t enough, totaling only fifty-three yuan. His face showed his embarrassment.
Shen Yunfang didn’t mind; whatever money he had would get him that much sausage. She just counted a few cured sausage links back out.
Seeing Shen Yunfang taking some back, Uncle Zhou felt a bit of pain in his heart, but, gritting his teeth, he took out another bill from a different pocket, "Girl, I don’t have enough money on me, but I have a bicycle ticket here, how about that? If it works for you, I’ll trade you all the money I have plus this ticket for all of your sausage."
Shen Yunfang had never seen a bicycle ticket before. She took it and looked it over curiously, thinking to herself that if she had a bicycle at home, it would make going to the county or the city much more convenient, and no one would notice when she sneaked out to sell things.
"Alright, Uncle, I can see you really want them, so let’s do it that way. It’s not convenient for you to carry all these sausages, so I’ll give you the basket too." As Shen Yunfang spoke, she took the oil-paper-wrapped packages for herself and passed the rest to Uncle Zhou.
And so, Shen Yunfang’s first business deal in the provincial capital was smoothly completed.
Waiting at the station until daylight, she then found a nearby railway guesthouse with an introductory letter and rented a room.
Although she didn’t sleep all night and was physically tired, Shen Yunfang was too excited spiritually to fall asleep when she lay on the bed, so she sat up abruptly, deciding not to waste time and to go out and explore while she had the chance.
The provincial capital lived up to its name; compared to the county town where Shen Yunfang lived, it was worlds apart. The streets here had buses and trams, and there were many people riding bicycles.
Shen Yunfang first spent twenty mao to take the tram and toured most of the provincial city, eventually picking out several residential areas. She made a mental note of their locations, planning to come over and do business the next morning in disguise.
Then she took the vehicle back to the vicinity of the train station, glanced at the nearby restaurants, but couldn’t bring herself to spend the money, and instead returned to the guesthouse to eat some rice and vegetables she had prepared from her space.
This time, to save money and for convenience, she had prepared plenty of food for herself before leaving: pork, cabbage, and vermicelli stuffed buns, two-kneaded steamed buns, two pots of rice, as well as dishes like stir-fried pork with celery, sweet and sour cabbage, green pepper with shredded potatoes, sweet and sour ribs, braised pork, and so on, enough to last her out of home for about ten days to half a month.
After eating her fill, she checked the door of the room, then went to bed feeling secure, ready to face the tough fight beginning tomorrow.
