Seeing the white flour, she just grabbed it all; spotting eggs, she carried off the entire basket; hanging cured meats? She wrapped them up without asking the price. Mushrooms, wood ear fungus everything got bundled up and taken.
Her figure darted between stalls, and by the time she reached the end of the alley, she spotted a man squatting on the ground.
In front of him was a row of aluminum lunchboxes, some scratched, clearly slightly defective.
Lin Yinyin’s eyes lit up perfect for portioning meals!
“Comrade, how many of these lunchboxes do you have?”
The man glanced up at her. “How many do you want?”
“Do you have fifty?”
He froze. Fifty? He didn’t even have that many.
“I only have twenty. They have flaws, but the quality is fine.”
“I’ll take all twenty!”
Lin Yinyin paid briskly, then bought 100 jin of potatoes, 5 jin of fruit candy, 5 jin of brown sugar, and 1 jin of white sugar.
By the time she stopped, she had 80 yuan left from her original 298.
She reluctantly paused keeping 80 yuan as reserve. The items in her space would last her a long while; she knew when to stop.
Passing a tea egg stall at the alley entrance, her legs froze again. She wanted ten more… no, twenty more! Even if she couldn’t finish them, she could stash them in her space without spoilage.
As she hesitated, someone suddenly bumped into her from the side.
Faster than a cat, Lin Yinyin’s hand shot into her pocket.
Crap!
The 1 yuan in her pocket was gone!
That was ten tea eggs!
She fluffed up, hair standing on end today, she was going to catch that thief, no excuses!
Chase!
What Lin Yinyin didn’t know was that someone had been watching her while she “swept” the black market.
The thief had no idea his “fat sheep” had only one yuan, yet he’d run eight li for it.
The thief ran five streets, Lin Yinyin followed five streets.
He darted into six alleys, she blocked six alleys.
He scrambled over seven low walls, she climbed seven walls after him.
Only when the thief was panting and exhausted did she pause.
Partly from exhaustion, partly because she realized what if the thief wasn’t a lone wolf but part of a larger gang?
Maybe she could follow the trail and uncover something big!
Eyes glinting, she slowed her pace, secretly tailing the thief.
Sure enough, the thief, thinking she had given up, turned a couple of corners and approached a man wearing bell-bottom pants.
“Brother Shan, everyone says there’s a rich woman in the black market, but turns out she’s just a pauper this is all she had!”
The thief held the single yuan in his hands, his face wrinkled in frustration. “I nearly ran myself to death for this one yuan! She’s insanely fast!”
“Ha! Pathetic!” The man called Brother Shan sneered.
“One yuan what can you even do with that? Not enough to buy two packs of cigarettes!” He tossed the coin at the thief’s face.
“Let’s go find the boss, he’s got a big order!”
Lin Yinyin’s eyes lit up oh, she really had found a “big shot”!
She crouched and followed, weaving through alleys until they reached a courtyard.
She quietly climbed the wall and peeked in. “Whoa!” The yard was packed with over twenty people.
They were split into two groups. One group dressed like flamboyant butterflies bell-bottoms and floral tops, hands stuffed with wooden sticks, swaggering like black market enforcers.
The other group wore dark clothing, faces taut, surrounding a big-bearded man, clearly no good.
But why did the man in the bright red floral shirt look familiar? Compared to the one she knew, his face was darker, hair messier, with red spots dotting his face.
Before she could place him, she heard one of the black market enforcers speak.
“Boss Ke, this merchandise is too flashy. Lengzi is chasing tight; we can’t move it.”
Boss Ke’s face darkened. “Old Du, you swore you could handle this, and now you can’t because of the heat? You can buy it and slowly move it.”
Old Du spread his hands. “Boss Ke, it’s your mess that stirred things up. Even Lengzi dared attack, and this shipment is huge. I can’t afford it, even if I sell everything I own!”
Boss Ke’s eyes chilled. “I’ve been in this trade for decades. If word gets out that you, Old Du, go back on your word, who will dare work with you in the future?”
Old Du bristled, waving back. Dozens of enforcers stepped forward. “Boss Ke, don’t threaten me! I wasn’t raised scared! You attracted Lengzi, and you want me to take it? You think I’m stupid?”
Tension skyrocketed. A fight was about to break out.
Boss Ke took a deep breath, stepping back. “Fine! Ship the goods to the Southern Province! I have contacts there. Smuggle them by water, their value will multiply, and you’ll still get your cut!”
Lin Yinyin’s heart raced. Tomb raiders’ loot!
Ill-gotten gains she wanted.
But she was alone, facing twenty-plus people. Her space couldn’t manifest objects, nor could she knock anyone out. What could she do?
“Got it.”
Lin Yinyin slid down the wall, circled to the courtyard gate, and KICK! she flung the door open.
Panting, she shouted urgently, “Monkey! I finally found you! I just saw Lengzi at the black market, looks like he’s coming this way!”
Her eyes were frantic. “Move! Quick!”
Monkey froze at the sudden shout. Seeing Lin Yinyin, his face drained white.
This was the fierce girl who had chased him eight li for one yuan!
Why was she here?
And in front of his older brother negotiating a big deal!
This was it he was doomed.
Scrambling, Skinny Monkey dug into his pocket. She must be here over that one yuan. Ten yuan should suffice, right?
He pulled out some money and handed it to her. “M-Miss! Th-thank you! Take this money and buy some candy. Go aside, I’ve got huge trouble here!”
Lin Yinyin smiled, deliberately raising her voice a bit. “Monkey, I took the money, but what about the goods you promised me? I specifically found two buyers. They said for your ‘good stuff,’ they’ll pay this much!”
She made a “five” gesture with her hand and sneaked a glance inside.
Skinny Monkey froze completely, question marks swirling in his brain.
Goods? What goods?
Buyers? He had no clue!
He’d never been bright, and now he was clueless on how to answer. He could only bluff: “Miss, you’re mistaken. There… there’s no goods. You better go. If you really want something, I’ll get it for you later.”
He hoped she would leave; if she wanted goods, he could always handle it separately later.
But others overheard, and the meaning twisted completely!
Especially Boss Ke, who already suspected Old Du might betray him. Seeing his men planning the shipment, he could not restrain himself.
“Du Aiguo, you don’t want to buy, yet you plan to ship do you want to double-cross me?”
Old Du was stunned. Who was this black-haired girl?!