Within a few days, Su Junze brought back the glass bottles.
Su Qingran took them and examined them—they were just the right size, with a smooth shape, and looked quite exquisite.
Zhao Lanzhi glanced at them and muttered, “How much can such small bottles hold?”
“The fruit jam from that previous canning jar, when divided, should fill about four or five of these bottles.”
“Then, Qingran, how much do you plan to sell this small bottle of fruit jam for?”
“One yuan per bottle.”
Zhao Lanzhi’s eyes nearly popped out. “One yuan per bottle! Qingran, that’s way too expensive! What if it doesn’t sell?”
Su Junze stroked his chin and said thoughtfully, “I actually think it could sell. One yuan per bottle isn’t too bad. Little Sister’s fruit jam uses a lot of white sugar, and there’s the cost of the glass bottles. The price can’t be set too low.”
“Second Brother understands me best.” Su Junze had initially brought her twenty glass bottles to test the waters. Each bottle cost five cents, so twenty bottles totaled one yuan—the cost wasn’t exactly low.
“This time, I didn’t get many. If we order more next time, it should be even cheaper.” Su Junze took a bite of the pear Su Qingran had taken out from her Space and was surprised. “Did you pick this from the mountain? Why does it taste so good? Even though it looks a bit ugly, the flavor is almost as good as the ones from the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.”
He had gone into the mountains before to pick wild pears, but they never tasted this good, and they weren’t as large either.
“Maybe I just got lucky.”
Over the past few days, Su Qingran had been bringing something back from the mountains every day—either pheasants, wild rabbits, or some wild fruits. The Su family had come to accept that she really was just lucky.
Zhao Lanzhi and Su Hongshan had specifically warned everyone not to talk about it, and the younger children had been reminded several times.
“Mom, we should get going.” Huang Cuicui, seeing that it was about time, slung the water flask over her shoulder and stood up to head out.
Zhao Lanzhi was still a bit worried about Su Qingran and repeatedly cautioned her, “Qingran, don’t go up the mountain alone. Wait until your dad and your older brothers get off work, and let them go with you. It’s not like we need to eat meat every day.”
Su Qingran nodded. “I’ll stay home today and make the fruit jam.”
“We’ll stay home and keep Aunt company too!” Erhu, his little hands clutching a large pear, took a big bite. The abundant juice dripped from his hands onto the ground, leaving him flustered.
Dahu and Erhu played in the yard with their younger sisters while Su Qingran made the fruit jam in the kitchen. The family’s iron pot was large enough—one batch would be sufficient.
This time, she planned to make blueberry jam because there were simply too many blueberries in her Space, more than they could possibly eat!
By the time the sweet aroma of the blueberry jam filled the air, Dahu and the others were already gathered around the pot. Su Qingran gave each of them a taste and packed the rest into the glass bottles.
The small glass bottles, filled with dark purple jam, looked quite presentable.
Su Qingran decided to make a trip to the Black Market. Her second brother had to work in the fields, and it wasn’t good for him to take too much time off. Besides, she couldn’t always rely on others to sell her goods.
After instructing Dahu and Erhu to keep an eye on their younger sisters, Su Qingran rode the family bicycle to the commune.
The Su family owned two bicycles—one for shared use and another that Third Sister had bought herself for commuting to work after getting married.
The shared bicycle was an Er Ba Da Gang model, more suitable for tall men to ride. She used to struggle with it, but now she felt her strength had increased a bit, making it much easier to handle.
As for the Black Market, Su Qingran wasn’t unfamiliar with it. After all, she had visited it several times in her previous life.
In her past life, after marrying into the Lu Family, although the Su Family would deliver her monthly food rations to the Lu Family, there were only Li Lan and Lu Yunxi as laborers in the household. Moreover, they couldn’t even earn full Work Points, so they barely had enough to eat themselves, let alone after Lu Qin joined them later. Children ate a lot too, and he was particularly picky, always wanting the best food.
Although Lu Jingxuan would send money and stamps back, the food stamps were too few. He also had to support Qiao Manxue, so naturally, he couldn’t take care of the family adequately. Su Qingran had no choice but to find her own way in the Black Market.
Su Qingran walked into a narrow alley, turned a few corners, and passed through an unnamed lane before reaching the Black Market.
She had brought one of Zhao Lanzhi’s outfits from home and used the makeup her third sister had given her to apply cosmetics. She even smeared some soot from the bottom of an iron pot under her eyes, instantly transforming from a young, beautiful girl into a haggard middle-aged woman.
As soon as she crossed the alley, a bald man stopped her, “What are you here for?”
Su Qingran patted the large bamboo basket on her back, “Selling stuff.”
The bald man scanned her up and down before saying, “Three cents.”
Su Qingran swiftly handed it over.
“Alright, go in.”
Though called the Black Market, it was actually just a small alley. Many people were squatting by the roadside with bamboo baskets or snakeskin bags, all covered with black cloth, making it impossible to tell what was being sold inside.
Carrying such a large bamboo basket, Su Qingran immediately drew attention as soon as she entered. Some glanced at her and then looked away, while others tried to see what was in her basket.
Sure enough, a bespectacled middle-aged man immediately approached her, “Sister, are you here to buy or sell?”
“Sell,” Su Qingran uttered a single word before finding an empty spot to set down her basket.
“What’s in there? Any meat?” The man craned his neck to get a better look and even reached out to lift the black cloth covering her basket.
Su Qingran frowned and blocked his hand, “Don’t touch. I’ll do it myself.”
“Fine, fine, you do it. I’m just in a hurry, sister. Do you have any meat in there?”
A trace of impatience flashed across the man’s face, “My wife is sick and needs to nourish herself. I haven’t been able to buy any meat for days. Look…”
“I have pheasants and wild rabbits. Do you want them?” Before entering, Su Qingran had taken five pheasants and three wild rabbits from her Space and placed them in the basket. The rest were Blueberry Jam, pears, dates, and chestnuts.
“Yes! Yes!” The man’s eyes lit up, and he lowered his voice, “How much per jin?”
“Two yuan per jin, no stamps required.”
“That’s too expensive,” the man frowned. “The old hens at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative are only 1.3 yuan per jin. Pheasant meat is dry and tough, not much flavor.”
“Mine doesn’t require stamps, and it’s wild from the mountains, very nutritious.”
Prices in the Black Market were indeed twice as high as outside, but he still wanted to haggle. This woman looked unfamiliar, probably her first time here and unaware of the market rates.
Su Qingran sneered, “Then with food stamps, it’s still 1.3 yuan per jin. Take your pick.”
“City folks only get two liang of food stamps per person per month. If anything, you’re getting the better deal.”
The man’s face stiffened. He hadn’t expected this woman to know the market so well.
“Little sister, if I had any food stamps, I wouldn’t be risking coming all the way out here, now would I? Your sister-in-law isn’t feeling well. Could you lower the price a bit? I could tell at first glance that you have a kind heart. When your sister-in-law gets better, we’ll both be grateful to you.”
Seeing that he couldn’t fool Su Qingran, the man switched to playing the sympathy card.
Just as Qingran was about to refuse, she noticed a slightly plump middle-aged woman passing by. With her fair complexion, she looked like someone who wasn’t short on money. Spotting the pheasant feathers peeking out from Su Qingran’s basket, the woman’s eyes suddenly lit up. She hurried over in quick strides, “How much for the pheasant?”
“Two yuan per jin, no food stamps needed.”
Only two yuan per jin?
The woman was surprised. She had just seen someone else selling for 2.3 yuan per jin. “Is this a rooster or a hen?”
“It’s a hen, but it’s a wild pheasant.”
“A wild pheasant?” The woman sounded disappointed. Wild pheasant meat tended to be tougher and not as tasty as domestic chicken.
“While wild pheasant meat isn’t as tender as domestic chicken, it’s more nutritious. It’s very suitable for pregnant women, elderly people, or those who are ill.”
The woman hesitated. She was planning to buy the chicken for her daughter-in-law who had just given birth. She had heard that wild pheasants indeed had higher nutritional value than domestic chickens.
“I also have wild rabbits here.”