“I’m planning to go out again this afternoon. Once I exchange for some more tickets, I’ll stop. I also heard that cotton is pretty expensive right now, around sixty to seventy cents per jin.
On the black market, you can sell it for eighty to ninety cents per jin without tickets.
I’m planning to take two hundred jin of cotton out to sell as well. I’ll keep the remaining few dozen jin to make clothes. Anyway, there’s still half a mu planted in space. Once it’s harvested, we can make whatever we want,” Deng Minghao said to Li Ruolan.
“That works. It would be best to exchange for more tickets. Of course, if you can get general-use tickets, that would be even better,” Li Ruolan replied.
Deng Minghao nodded while eating. “I’ll do my best.”
After finishing the meal, the two of them rested in the space for a while before heading out separately. Li Ruolan took the bus to a tailor shop that was quite far away.
Fabric was sold by the chi now, with three chi equaling one meter. Li Ruolan did not know how much fabric was needed to make clothes, so she told the tailor she wanted to custom-make four sets of cotton-padded clothes.
Deng Minghao and Li Ruolan would each get two sets, one medium-thick and one extra-thick. She also had three pairs of thick cotton shoes made for each of them.
The tailor knew what he was doing and immediately quoted her a number. Li Ruolan went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy the fabric, then brought both the cotton and the fabric to the tailor.
After taking measurements, paying a deposit, and agreeing to pick them up in seven days, the tailor issued a receipt. Li Ruolan then left the tailor shop and went to the supply and marketing cooperative next door again.
She used up the soap tickets, sugar tickets, and cigarette tickets, buying two bars of laundry soap, two bars of scented soap, one jin of fruit candy, and two packs of cigarettes.
After finding a secluded place and putting everything into the space, Li Ruolan took the bus back to the Li family home.
After returning, she still cooked dinner and waited for the three of them to come back and eat together.
Throughout the meal, Li Ruolan kept her head lowered and did not say a single word to her family. Li Hongjun and his wife, along with Li Baozong, naturally did not bother with Li Ruolan either.
She ate, washed the dishes, and did the same work as the day before. Then Li Ruolan returned to her room and locked the door.
Her obedient appearance put Li Hongjun and his wife completely at ease. They felt that this daughter was still the same as before and could never escape their grasp.
Once in the space, Li Ruolan noticed that Deng Minghao had not returned yet. Thinking he was still busy, she cooked a meal for him.
However, after the food was ready, she waited and waited but still did not see Deng Minghao. When she went out to take a look, she realized that it was already completely dark outside.
“Why isn’t he back yet? Don’t tell me something happened?” Li Ruolan’s heart leapt into her throat, and she waited anxiously for Deng Minghao in the space.
On Deng Minghao’s side, some trouble really had occurred.
That afternoon, Deng Minghao had taken more flour and cotton out to sell. He did not know whether it was because he had sold too much in the morning or had attracted the attention of the wrong people.
As soon as Deng Minghao appeared in the afternoon, he was surrounded by several men.
These men were tall and burly. The moment they came up, they started rummaging through the borrowed handcart Deng Minghao was using. When they saw the white flour and cotton, their eyes lit up.
Deng Minghao took a look at them and realized they were not wearing red armbands. He immediately knew he had probably run into people from the black market.
“Kid, you’ve got so many good things. Why are you selling them retail here? Why not exchange everything with us? We can give you a higher price,” one of them said, leaning close to Deng Minghao’s ear.
Deng Minghao glanced at them again. With so many people, it would not be easy to escape. And if he did run, these goods would end up belonging to someone else.
“Sure. I’ll go with you to meet your boss. I still have quite a lot of goods. As long as the price is fair, I can exchange everything with you,” Deng Minghao said with a smile.
Hearing that Deng Minghao still had more good stuff, the men exchanged looks, then half-dragged him toward a secluded area.
They seemed to have entered the black market area. Deng Minghao could hear that there were many people in the small alleys. However, these men did not take him into the black market itself. Instead, they kept winding through the alleys.
After twisting and turning, they brought Deng Minghao to a somewhat rundown courtyard house.
“Wait here. I’ll have the boss come out to see you,” one of them said. After that, they even pushed Deng Minghao’s goods away.
The so-called black market boss came out very quickly. Deng Minghao sized him up carefully. The man looked to be around forty years old, dark-skinned, and of average height.
His build clearly showed strength. His not-so-large eyes stared straight at Deng Minghao.
“Those goods are all yours?” the black market boss asked.
Deng Minghao nodded. “Of course they’re mine. What do you think? Not bad, right? Do you want them? If you do, I’ve got more.”
The black market boss’s eyes lit up. Deng Minghao’s goods were all prime items. White flour and eggs were scarce even in the black market.
Once they were put out, they would definitely fetch a good price.
“How much do you still have?” the black market boss asked.
Deng Minghao thought for a moment. “As for flour, I can still bring out another five hundred jin. Eggs aren’t many anymore, but there are still two hundred jin of cotton.”
The black market boss did not expect Deng Minghao to have so much in hand. His face immediately filled with smiles. “Little brother, with this much stuff, this is a big deal.
Don’t worry. As long as you bring everything over, the price is easy to discuss. I’ll definitely give you a satisfactory price.”
Deng Minghao smiled as well. “Since you say that, I’ll definitely bring everything here. Selling to individual buyers on my own is a hassle anyway.
So, name your price. If it’s suitable, I’ll go back and deliver the goods in a bit.”
As soon as the topic turned to pricing, the smile on the black market boss’s face became much less sincere. He led Deng Minghao inside to sit down.
None of the underlings left. They all stood in the room, clearly trying to put pressure on Deng Minghao.
Deng Minghao raised his eyebrows imperceptibly. He did not say anything and simply watched the black market boss calmly.
After pondering for a while, the black market boss said, “I genuinely want your goods, so I’ll give you a straightforward price.
White flour at thirteen cents per jin, cotton at fifty cents per jin. How about that?”
Of course it was unacceptable. When selling on his own, Deng Minghao could sell white flour for twenty cents per jin, albeit with tickets included. Cotton was even more expensive now. With cotton tickets, it was six to seven tenths per jin, and even without tickets, there were buyers at eighty to ninety cents per jin.
The black market boss was clearly not intending to do honest business with Deng Minghao. He wanted to take Deng Minghao’s goods by force.
Deng Minghao frowned, a trace of displeasure appearing on his face. “Boss, this price is too low. Give me an honest answer.”
The black market boss chuckled and reached out to pat Deng Minghao’s shoulder heavily twice. “Not low, the price I’m offering is very fair.
Doing business is all about give and take. Don’t worry. If you do this deal with me, you’ll definitely make money.
Otherwise, you won’t be able to sell these goods. And if you go back to retail selling and someone notices, that wouldn’t be good.”