“What about wild rabbits?” The woman’s eyes lit up again. “Give me one of each. My daughter-in-law is in confinement, and she was just saying a couple days ago how she’s craving rabbit meat.”
Su Qingran was delighted. “Oh, sister, you’re such a wonderful mother-in-law! Risking coming to the Black Market just to buy meat for your daughter-in-law. You’re the best!”
She gave the woman a thumbs-up.
The woman grinned from ear to ear. “Since she married into our family, she’s one of us. I treat her like my own daughter. It’s nothing special.”
“Ah, there are so many terrible mothers-in-law around these days. Your daughter-in-law is really lucky to have someone like you.”
“Oh, little sister, you’re so good with words!”
While chatting, Su Qingran weighed the rabbits. The two together came to exactly five jin, totaling ten yuan.
The woman promptly pulled out a Da Tuanjie from her pocket.
After accepting the money, Su Qingran took two pears from her basket and stuffed them into the woman’s basket. “Sister, these are wild pears I picked from the mountains. They’re very nutritious too. Since you seem like such a kind person, I’ll give you two as a gift.”
The pears didn’t look particularly appealing, but who would refuse free stuff?
The woman’s smile stretched ear to ear. “Little sister, in that case, I won’t stand on ceremony with you.”
Perfect timing—her daughter-in-law had been saying she wanted fruit. She’d take these pears back to satisfy her craving. The pears at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative cost thirty cents per jin!
“Sister, I also have some Blueberry Jam here. Would you like to see?”
The woman looked at the dark purple jam in the glass bottle with confusion. “Blueberry Jam? What’s that? Never heard of it. How do you eat it?”
“It’s jam made from Du Shi berries from the mountains. You can eat it with a spoon or mix it with water. It’s sweet and sour—really delicious.”
The woman hadn’t heard of Du Shi either. “How much for a bottle?”
Such a small amount packaged in such an exquisite glass bottle—it definitely didn’t look cheap.
But when Su Qingran quoted the price, she was still shocked and immediately waved her hands. “No thanks, that’s too expensive.”
“Sister, this is made with white sugar. The Du Shi berries don’t yield much after being cooked down, plus there’s the cost of the glass bottle. The price really isn’t expensive.”
So it’s made with white sugar, no wonder it’s so pricey.
Su Qingran added, “You can try a sample.”
She took out a canning jar with a thin layer of Blueberry Jam from her basket, then used a chopstick to scoop out a bit and offered it to her.
“Trying this little bit doesn’t cost anything, right?”
Su Qingran laughed. “Of course not.”
After tasting it, the woman raised her eyebrows in surprise. “The flavor is really quite good! Sweet and sour—my daughter-in-law would definitely love it. It’s just a bit expensive. Such a small amount for one yuan? Little sister, could you make it a bit cheaper?”
“Sister, the production cost isn’t low, and I picked all these berries myself in the mountains. Who knows if I’ll be able to find more next time? This might be the last few bottles. The price is already very low.”
Hearing this, the woman gritted her teeth. “Fine, then give me one bottle.”
“Great! Sister, you’re truly a wonderful mother-in-law. Don’t think there’s not much in here—if you mix it with water, you only need a small scoop per glass. But this stuff doesn’t keep for too long, so you should finish it quickly.”
After the woman left, Su Qingran turned to the bespectacled man. “Brother, do you still want some?”
He still thought it was a bit expensive. “Little sister, could you make it any cheaper?”
Su Qingran flatly refused, “No can do. That older sister just bought so much stuff and I didn’t give her any discount either. This is a small business, barely making any money as it is.”
Small business indeed! That last sale alone earned over ten yuan!
The bespectacled man felt dissatisfied but didn’t show it.
While he was still standing there considering, another person approached.
“That older sister said there were pheasants and wild rabbits for sale here. Are there any left?”
From the voice, it was a young man. He wore coarse cloth clothing with his head completely wrapped up, only revealing his eyes. But judging by his hands and the skin around his eyes, this person was clearly wealthy and noble, just trying not to be recognized.
“Yes, what do you want?” Su Qingran lifted a corner of the black cloth covering her basket, letting the man see inside.
The man’s eyes lit up, “How much per jin?”
“Two yuan per jin.”
“Deal, I’ll take them all.”
So straightforward?
Su Qingran was somewhat surprised, but before she could say anything, the bespectacled man nearby became unhappy, “Hey, I was here first!”
“Big brother, weren’t you thinking it’s too expensive and didn’t want to buy?” the man said, “I heard everything just now. Since that’s the case, what’s wrong with me taking all of them?”
“You!” The bespectacled man grew furious. He was still negotiating when this guy showed up. “Brother, my wife is sick and needs pheasant to nourish her body. Could you spare one for me?”
The man seemed reluctant, but hearing it was for his wife, he finally relented, “Alright then. Big sister, please weigh all of these for me.”
While Su Qingran was weighing them, the man kept examining the items in her basket. Seeing that what was visible were all mountain goods, a glimmer of expectation flashed in his eyes, “Big sister, did you gather all these from the mountains? Then do you happen to have White Fungus? It’s a white fungus that looks somewhat similar to black fungus.”
White Fungus?
A light flickered in Su Qingran’s eyes, “I actually do have some. I also got this from the mountains and was wondering who to sell it to. This stuff isn’t cheap though. What do you need it for?”
“You really have it, big sister? That’s wonderful!” The man was overjoyed, “My wife is pregnant and can’t keep anything down except White Fungus. Last time I was lucky enough to buy five good-quality pieces. After she ate them, her morning sickness improved a lot. She’s been pestering me for more, but this stuff is rare up north. I haven’t been able to find any for days!
I never expected to run into you this time. Looks like my wife is in for a treat!”
Five pieces?
That was probably the person who bought from Second Brother last time. Su Qingran hadn’t planned to sell White Fungus this time, since it’s too expensive and few people can afford it. She hadn’t even put it in her basket. Surprisingly, she was lucky enough to meet this big spender again.
Pretending to search for something, she actually picked five White Fungus from her Space and placed them in the basket before taking them out.
“Take a look, is this it?”
“Yes, this is it!” The man couldn’t take his eyes off them, “Big sister, how many do you have? I want them all!”
“Just five pieces.”
“Five pieces!” The man was ecstatic. Five pieces should be enough for his wife to eat for a while. “Great, I’ll take them all. Big sister, how much for each piece of White Fungus?”
“Five yuan per piece.”
The man didn’t bargain, knowing the price of White Fungus, “Deal, I’ll take them all.”
The bespectacled man on one side was practically bug-eyed—five yuan for just this little thing?
And he wanted to buy five of them? Was this guy insane?
Su Qingran then began promoting her blueberry jam. “Brother, take a look at this blueberry jam. It’s sweet and tangy, perfect for pregnant women too.”
“Blueberry jam?” The man was somewhat surprised. He had seen blueberry jam at the Foreign Exchange Store, but it was sold at a very high price. His wife would buy it to spread on bread slices. However, upon seeing the unlabeled glass bottle, he understood. “You made this yourself, right?”
“Yes, I made it myself. You can try some.”
The man raised an eyebrow. This older sister was quite the businesswoman—she even offered samples!
Still, he didn’t have high expectations. He had tried the blueberry jam from the Foreign Exchange Store before, and it was overly sweet and cloying, not very tasty.
But the moment the jam touched his tongue, his expression instantly changed!
The flavor was just right—any sweeter would be too rich, any less would be too sour. The blueberry taste was exceptionally rich and fragrant, far better than any he had tried before!
“Brother, rest assured, aside from blueberries, I only added white sugar to this. Nothing else. It’s perfectly safe for pregnant women, though the shelf life is a bit short—it must be finished within a week.”
“Older sister, how much for a bottle?”
“One yuan.”
The man nodded. At the Foreign Exchange Store, a bottle this size cost three yuan and required a Foreign Exchange Certificate. This price was quite cheap.
“How many do you have? I’ll take them all.”
Take them all?
Su Qingran’s eyes lit up again. He really was a big spender—she was lucky today.
“There are nineteen more bottles.”
Su Qingran weighed two pheasants and two wild rabbits—ten jin and two liang, totaling twenty yuan and four jiao. Adding twenty-five yuan for the White Fungus and nineteen yuan for the blueberry jam, the total came to sixty-four yuan and four jiao.