Zhao Yi carried the raisins on his back and brought along the leftover fish from last night in a wooden bucket, heading toward the city.
He hadn’t prepared many raisins—only about ten pounds or so—and they were noticeably smaller than the raisins commonly seen in later times.
Taking the main road might not get him to the city even after a full day and night, but by cutting across the mountains, he could reach it in just five or six hours.
The city had far more workers than the county, which naturally meant stronger purchasing power.
By almost noon, Zhao Yi arrived at the city’s Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
"Hello, comrade. Do you accept raisins like these?"
Zhao Yi set down his backpack and scooped out a small handful, handing it to the Shop Assistant at the cooperative.
Raisins weren’t common at the time, and many places hadn’t even heard of them. With underdeveloped road transportation, most fruits available were locally grown.
"Is this stuff tasty?"
Instead of answering whether they would accept them, the Shop Assistant seemed curious, as she had never seen anything like it before.
"You can try some, comrade. Tasting them is free," Zhao Yi said with a cheerful smile.
The Shop Assistant nodded, took the raisins Zhao Yi offered, and popped one into her mouth. With a light chew, her brow instantly smoothed, and she quickly shared the rest with Shop Assistants at other counters.
One after another, they ate the raisins, finishing the handful in no time. It seemed they hadn’t had enough—it was like cracking sunflower seeds, hard to stop once started.
At that time, fruits and snacks were scarce, and items like these were almost unheard of in the market.
"Comrade, we’ve never accepted this before and don’t know the price. Let me bring our manager over to take a look. Could you give me a few to let her try?" the Shop Assistant said to Zhao Yi, looking a bit embarrassed.
Zhao Yi nodded and scooped out another handful, larger than the last, and handed it to her.
Seeing this, the Shop Assistant beamed with delight and hurried off to the manager’s office.
Soon, a middle-aged woman with short hair, wearing glasses and a Zhongshan Suit, came out.
She approached Zhao Yi with a warm smile. "What should I call you, comrade?"
"My name is Zhao Yi, from a nearby village. It’s the off-season for farming, so I brought something I made to see if it sells," Zhao Yi replied cheerfully.
"Comrade Zhao, to be honest, this is quite good. But we’ve never accepted anything like it and aren’t sure about the pricing. If we pay too much, our Supply and Marketing Cooperative can’t afford the loss; if we pay too little, you’d be at a disadvantage," the manager said frankly. The treat was delicious and seemed storable for a while.
Anyone who tried it would likely buy some, whether for themselves or as a gift.
"It’s just an ordinary fruit, made with traditional methods. You can price it as you would regular fruit," Zhao Yi suggested after a moment’s thought.
"Then we’ll price it like apples. How does that sound, comrade?" The manager was pleased, as fruit wasn’t expensive—only about twenty to thirty cents per pound.
"Deal," Zhao Yi agreed with a nod. He had worried it wouldn’t sell, so he was thrilled it could. It cost him nothing but time. If the villagers found out this could make money, he imagined crowds rushing into the mountains to pick them.
Even at ten cents per jin, many people would fight to get their hands on it.
Upon hearing this, the staff at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative were particularly delighted—they could easily afford such a price.
A shop assistant immediately went to fetch a scale, found a clean bag, and poured the raisins into it without letting Zhao Yi lift a finger throughout the process.
"Comrade, that’s twelve jin in total. At twenty cents per jin, it comes to two yuan and forty cents," the shop assistant said cheerfully.
"Alright," Zhao Yi nodded. This time, he hadn’t prepared much. If he had more, he could have earned three or four yuan. With an average production cycle of seven days, he could make over ten yuan a month—far easier than working at the Forest Farm.
"By the way, comrade, I also have a kind of fruit-brewed wine. It’s not exactly accurate to call it wine—it tastes quite similar to the little champagne sold at your Supply and Marketing Cooperative, sweet and pleasant. I wonder if you’d be interested in purchasing it," Zhao Yi asked with a smile, thinking of the wine he had brewed at home.
"I can’t give you a definite answer right now. You’ll have to bring it over for me to taste before I can decide," the director replied without outright refusal. If such a beverage were available, it would offer another option for holidays and celebrations. Though it might not seem as upscale as bottled drinks, frugality was key for household management.
"Comrade, are you bringing these fish to visit relatives?" the director asked, noticing two fish in the wooden bucket Zhao Yi had brought, each weighing nearly five jin.
"No, I brought them to ask if the Supply and Marketing Cooperative would be interested in purchasing them," Zhao Yi lied. Who would believe he was bringing fish to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative? Normally, people would take them to the aquatic market.
"We generally don’t accept such items, but we might take one or two if you bring them occasionally," the director said with a chuckle.
Zhao Yi understood the underlying meaning—occasionally bringing some for the cooperative’s internal consumption.
The Supply and Marketing Cooperative regularly purchased agricultural products like eggs from rural areas, and it was common for them to explore expanding their business by accepting other goods. If items didn’t sell, they’d be consumed internally without causing any loss to public funds.
Just like today’s raisins, there weren’t even enough to share among the four or five shop assistants and the director. The amount received today wouldn’t even make it to the shelves.
Buying fish from Zhao Yi didn’t require any coupons. They could purchase it, slaughter it after work, and divide it—two jin each to take home for a nice meal. In the future, they wouldn’t even need to go to the aquatic market to buy fish.
They could discuss the quantity to purchase when Zhao Yi returned next time.
Zhao Yi hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly—he earned another three yuan.
After pocketing the money from today’s sales, he sat at the entrance of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, finished his dry rations, and hurried back to the village.
By the time Zhao Yi returned home, it was already dark.
"How did it go, dear?" Zhang Jing asked, setting the meal on the table in the main room and looking at Zhao Yi.
"Not bad. The raisins earned over two yuan. This work will only last a month at most. I’m thinking of visiting your parents’ place so your brothers can join in. In another month, these things will rot in the mountains. This way, they can have an extra source of income," Zhao Yi said, turning to Zhang Jing.
"Should I ask them to come over tomorrow to learn?" Zhang Jing asked, looking at Zhao Yi.
"No need. You already know the procedure – you've seen all the steps. I need to go into the mountains to harvest tomorrow. You can head over first thing in the morning. I'll come check in the afternoon after finishing my work, and point out anything that needs correcting to them."
Zhao Yi waved his hand.
Coming here to learn would waste a whole day. It would be better to first go harvest in the mountains and clean the produce. Anyway, he had to go pick up Zhang Jing in the afternoon, so he could provide guidance while he was at it.