Seeing Jun Ning and the intelligent robot unloading crates of high-demand goods from the truck, everyone’s eyes widened. They stared intently at the pair, curious to see what they were up to.
Jun Ning then pulled a glass display counter from the truck bed. She arranged samples of each item inside the case and set out cardboard signs clearly marked with prices.
As soon as she finished her preparations, several well-dressed individuals—clearly from well-to-do families—approached her. “Excuse me, young lady, are these items for sale?”
Jun Ning replied immediately, “Yes, of course they are!”
She raised her voice and began to hawk her wares: “Come and see, everyone! We have wild boar meat, rice, eggs, white sugar, brown sugar, peanut oil, rapeseed oil, and red apples for sale! No coupons required! No coupons required!“
Hearing this, the people immediately pulled out their money. “Lass, weigh out two pounds of wild boar meat for me, and give me a bottle of peanut oil and a bottle of rapeseed oil.”
“Young lady, I want five pounds of rice, five pounds of wild boar meat, and a bottle of peanut oil.”
“Big Sister, I’ll take five pounds of rice and ten pounds of wild boar meat.”
“Comrade, give me fifty pounds of rice, fifteen pounds of wild boar meat, fifteen pounds of eggs, fifteen pounds of apples, and five pounds each of white sugar, brown sugar, peanut oil, and rapeseed oil…”
Jun Ning glanced at the young man who had placed the massive order. He looked to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. His hair was slicked back with shiny pomade, and he wore a four-pocket cadre suit. He was a young official.
Jun Ning asked tentatively, “Comrade, if you buy this much food and can’t finish it, it might go bad.”
The young man chuckled. “Don’t worry, it won’t go to waste. I have many relatives; I’m actually worried this won’t be enough to go around.”
“Alright then, I’ll pack it up for you. Can you carry all of this back?” Jun Ning asked.
The young man replied with a hint of pride, “It’s no problem. I brought my unit’s car.”
In this era, even owning a bicycle was a source of immense pride; owning—or even having access to—a car was on another level entirely. As soon as he spoke, the surrounding crowd looked at him with eyes full of envy. The young man felt a wave of satisfaction, and his smile grew even brighter.
Jun Ning offered a few words of praise as well. “You are truly young and capable, already driving a car.”
The young man demurred modestly. “It’s nothing, really.”
After Jun Ning finished packing his goods and collecting the money, she was about to call the next customer when the young man handed her a slip of paper. “Big Sister, this is my phone number. If you have more stock in the future, you can contact me.”
Jun Ning took it with both hands and glanced at it. The young man’s name was Zheng Youcai; she made a mental note of it.
She smiled at him. “Alright, if I have more goods, I’ll give you a call.”
The people waiting behind him were growing impatient. They shouted at Zheng Youcai, “If you’re done buying, move along! Can’t you see how many people are waiting back here?”
“Hurry up, hurry up!”
The commotion drew more and more people. Even though Jun Ning had read historical records and knew how frenzied people could get when scavenging for supplies in this era, she was still shocked by the sight of the massive crowd swarming her.
Fortunately, she had prepared the glass display case. People could only look at the samples and could not grab the stock; otherwise, she was genuinely afraid they might have rushed her to loot the goods. Although she possessed formidable physical power, she would never lay a hand on these civilians unless it was absolutely necessary.
Jun Ning sent a command via mental transmission to the tall, imposing intelligent robot. The robot immediately stepped forward and shouted to the jostling crowd, “Everyone, line up! Don’t push! One at a time!”
Seeing the massive, powerful robot who looked like he could send a man flying with a single punch, no one dared to provoke him. They quickly formed an orderly queue. As for the bickering over spots in line, Jun Ning and the robot simply ignored it.
The wisdom of the common people is not to be underestimated; they would find their own way to reach a balance.
Guangdong Province is the “Southern Gate” of the country. From ancient times to the present, it has always been a place of thriving commerce. The local economy had always been active, and due to its proximity to Hong Kong and Macau, the people were more receptive to the concepts of business and trade.
Many families in this region had relatives living or working in Hong Kong and Macau. Those relatives would earn money and secretly bring it back to the mainland for their families. Consequently, the economic situation in the Pearl River Delta was relatively prosperous compared to other regions.
Of course, regardless of the era or location, there are always rich and poor. However, under the influence of the planned economy of this era, many people had money but simply could not find goods to buy. This led to a situation where the appearance of any high-demand supplies would trigger a mass buying frenzy.
Jun Ning knew that hawking goods so openly today was a risk. But seeing others selling vegetables, eggs, and flatbreads without being arrested, she assumed the authorities were turning a blind eye. She decided to be bold. In this era, the bold flourished while the timid starved. How could she earn money or accumulate capital for her future ventures without taking some risks?
Besides, even if someone did try to arrest her, she had her mental control powers. She could easily make them turn around and go back where they came from.
Song Weian and Du Juan were both cadres at the Yucheng State-Owned Textile Factory.
Like Zheng Youcai, their financial condition was quite good. However, the supplies in the city were insufficient, meaning they often couldn’t buy what they needed. Sometimes, due to a lack of cooking oil or meat, they couldn’t even fill their stomachs properly.
Some city dwellers liked to frequent the black market, but prices there were significantly higher. Others, like them and Zheng Youcai, preferred traveling from the city to these large rural markets to buy food. It was cheaper, the volume of goods was larger, and no coupons were required.
Usually, they would carry plenty of cash and visit the markets of various communes. If they were lucky, they could find high-demand items like eggs, live chickens, ducks, geese, or wild boar meat to treat their families.
Today was Saturday. Tomorrow, Sunday, was the wedding day of Song Weian’s younger brother, Song Weining.
The Song family was a harmonious one. Their parents had passed away from illness long ago, leaving only the two brothers. Song Weian and Song Weining had depended on each other as they grew up, and their bond was deep.
Song Weian’s wife, Du Juan, was an educated, reasonable, and kind-hearted woman who also cared deeply for her brother-in-law. Likewise, Song Weining held his elder brother and sister-in-law in high esteem and doted on his nephews and nieces.
Song Weian was 32 years old, while his brother Weining was six years younger at 26. After Weining graduated from high school, Weian had used his connections to get him a job at the Bureau of Commerce. Weining was tall, handsome, and held a good job, so his standards were naturally high. He insisted on finding someone he truly connected with before he would marry. This delay had lasted until he was 26, making him an “older youth” by the standards of the time.