Liang Hu removed the white cloth covering the basket and took out a bag of rice from inside. He weighed it in his hand—it felt like four or five catties.
He untied the rope, grabbed a handful of rice, and examined it carefully in his palm. The grains were crystal clear, unmistakably top-quality.
Rice of this caliber wasn’t something just anyone could produce.
Having been in the black market for so long, this was the first time he had seen such superior goods. The only time he had tasted anything similar was when he had special supply rice in the capital.
This was comparable, even arguably better than the special supply rice.
This person’s background was definitely not ordinary.
Liang Hu nodded in satisfaction and proceeded to inspect the wheat flour and millet.
He found them to be equally top-tier.
The wheat flour was astonishingly pure, without a single impurity. He couldn’t even imagine how delicious food made from such flour would taste.
Liang Hu hadn’t expected the person he was dealing with this time to have such remarkable capabilities. Grains of this quality weren’t something just anyone could obtain.
The person before him was definitely not to be underestimated, much less offended.
There would surely be opportunities to collaborate again in the future.
“These grains are all excellent. I’ll take them all,” Liang Hu said expressionlessly, a glint of gold flashing in his eyes.
Of course they were excellent—after all, these were grains from a later era, unmatched in both appearance and flavor.
They were simply incomparable to the rice and flour of this time.
Ruan Sui’an had a rather favorable impression of Liang Hu. Although the man looked like a refined scoundrel, his demeanor gave off an upright and honest vibe.
Judging a person shouldn’t rely solely on their face; one must also look into their eyes.
As the saying goes, the eyes are the windows to the soul. From his gaze, it was clear that although he resembled a refined scoundrel, he was a principled person.
Her intuition had never been wrong.
“In that case, let’s discuss the price of the grains,” Ruan Sui’an said in a disguised voice, neither submissive nor arrogant.
Her voice was altered to sound like that of a middle-aged man with a raspy tone.
She believed her disguise was a complete success, certain that no one could see through it. But she was mistaken.
Liang Hu knew the person before him was disguised but didn’t expose it. He could understand their reasoning.
Whether buying or selling in the black market, everyone disguised themselves out of fear of being caught.
“The quality of your grains is exceptional, even better than special supply rice. But you must understand that I also need to make a profit here, so the price will be higher than ordinary rice, but not excessively so. Can you accept that?”
Although the rice was of excellent quality, he could only sell it to specific clients.
Moreover, even if many wanted to buy it, they wouldn’t dare do so openly, fearing they might be caught and implicated.
Ruan Sui’an trusted Liang Hu’s words. She knew how easy it was for someone to be falsely accused here.
Sometimes, it didn’t even take much—a simple Letter of Introduction could land you in trouble.
“Tell me the price, but if it’s too low, I won’t accept it.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t cheat you. After all, I’m hoping to work with you again. How about this: rice at five mao per catty, flour at four mao per catty, millet at four mao per catty, and cornmeal at one mao and five fen per catty. What do you think?” Liang Hu had no intention of cheating Ruan Sui’an.
After all, he was looking forward to future collaborations and didn’t want to offend her.
Ruan Sui'an knew that prices in this era were generally low, with everything costing just a few cents or fractions thereof.
Although she wasn't clear about the grain prices of this time, her intuition told her that Liang Hu's offer was relatively fair.
Doing this was likely to build a good relationship with her, ensuring opportunities for continued cooperation in the future.
Dealing with smart people was indeed straightforward.
She had no intention of haggling and readily agreed: "That works, but could part of the payment be exchanged for ration coupons? Any coupons are fine except for grain coupons."
After all, she wasn't short on food, so grain coupons would be useless to her.
The Space was stocked with everything—grains, snacks, clothes, bedding, meats, fish, seafood—you name it.
However, it lacked the industrial products of this era, as the technology of the 21st century was too advanced to be brought out for use.
If discovered, it would be impossible to explain.
Liang Hu nodded in agreement: "Sure! That's a minor issue."
In truth, he vaguely suspected the person before him might be a woman. Despite the disguise on her face, it was too small, and her figure was excessively slender—everything about her seemed feminine.
But whether she was a woman or not was none of his concern. In their line of work, the most important rule was not to pry too deeply.
As long as the goods were secured, that was all that mattered.
"Since that's settled, the next thing is the location for the transaction. When I came over, I noticed an abandoned small courtyard not far from here. Brother Hu, you probably know where it is, right?"
Seeing Liang Hu nod, Ruan Sui'an continued: "Since you know the place, could you bring people to that small courtyard in half an hour to collect the grain?"
Liang Hu nodded again. "Sure, it's settled then."
Both parties finalized the transaction location and time. The black market area was sparsely populated, and the dilapidated small courtyard was even more deserted.
It was indeed an ideal spot for the exchange.
With everything agreed upon, Ruan Sui'an didn't plan to linger. She stood up and bid farewell to Liang Hu.
"Brother Hu, I'll take my leave now. Don't forget the time—no waiting if you're late."
Liang Hu nodded: "Alright! Don't worry, I'll be there on time."
After leaving the small courtyard, Ruan Sui'an didn't head straight to the dilapidated one. Instead, she circled the area.
This was to ensure no one was tailing her. Although her intuition told her that someone like Liang Hu wouldn't follow her, it was better to be cautious—trust no one lightly.
Once she confirmed no one was following, she felt at ease and made her way to the small courtyard.
As expected, her judgment of people was accurate. Liang Hu wasn't deceitful and hadn't sent anyone to track her.
Upon entering the small courtyard, she didn't immediately take out the grain. Instead, she slipped into the Space.
Wanzi, who had been frolicking leisurely in the Space, spotted the unfamiliar figure and began barking frantically at Ruan Sui'an.
"Woof woof woof woof woof…" It was determined to drive away this intruder.
This was its and its owner's territory—no outsiders allowed.
So noisy!
Ruan Sui'an couldn't help but cover her ears and snapped at Wanzi: "Stop barking, or I'll starve you for three days."
Why was this creature's voice so loud? She hadn't remembered it being this noisy before!
But seeing Wanzi's size, Ruan Sui'an understood. Its build was as large as a full-grown tiger—no wonder its voice was so booming.
Hearing its owner's familiar voice, Wanzi immediately stopped barking. Its massive body charged forward, nearly knocking Ruan Sui'an over as it rushed toward her.
She immediately dodged quickly, not wanting to be flattened. Wanzi pounced into empty air.
Woof woof…
Master doesn't love me anymore.
The dog hung its head, looking at Ruan Sui'an with pitiful eyes as if to accuse.
How could Master dodge? Before, whenever I pounced, Master would stand still with open arms waiting for me.
But today, Master dodged. Does Master have another dog outside?
Looking at Wanzi like this, Ruan Sui'an felt both annoyed and amused, her heart melting completely.
But when she saw its huge body again, she immediately stopped feeling sorry for Wanzi.
If she were knocked down by such a big dog, she thought her poor waist might break.
How could she possibly feel sorry for it?
Ruan Sui'an reached out and patted Wanzi's head, lecturing sternly: "Wanzi! Don't do this again. You're not a puppy anymore. Look at your huge body—if you knock me down, how could I handle it?"
It really has no sense of its own weight.
Only then did Wanzi realize its body had doubled in size. It glanced at its master's slender figure.
Understood. Master was right.
Thinking it could no longer pounce on its master like before, Wanzi felt a bit dejected.
It lowered its head and affectionately rubbed against its master's hand, barking twice as if apologizing.
Or perhaps more like sulking.
Ruan Sui'an smiled and patted Wanzi's head again: "Alright, just don't let it happen again."
Hearing this, Wanzi immediately perked up. Its large body stood up, and it carefully extended its tongue to lick its master's palm.
Then it ran off, fetched a frisbee from its doghouse, and crouched before Ruan Sui'an with the frisbee in its mouth, staring with round, expectant eyes.
Now it was saying, "Master, you haven't played with me in so long."
Actually, Wanzi could no longer fit into that doghouse, given how much its body had expanded.
It seemed she would have to make a new doghouse for Wanzi later.
Inside the Space, it was neither too hot nor too cold, so having a doghouse wasn't really necessary anyway.
Ruan Sui'an immediately understood what Wanzi meant. She took the frisbee and threw it.
The frisbee flew far into the distance. Ruan Sui'an looked at her hand in disbelief.
When did she become so strong?
Without thinking, she knew it must be because she drank the Spirit Spring Water. The Spirit Spring Water was truly a wonderful thing.
Not only could it detoxify and nourish the skin, but it also increased strength.
Indeed, the novels didn't lie.
She looked up in the direction Wanzi had run off. In just a short while, Wanzi's figure grew smaller and smaller.
Almost disappearing from sight.
She smiled, unconcerned. This was her Space—there was no way Wanzi could get lost.
At most, it would just take a bit longer.
Without waiting to see if Wanzi had returned, Ruan Sui'an immediately exited the Space.
With a wave of her hand, she placed the grain in the main room of the small courtyard, then took out a small stool from the Space and sat down.
She leisurely cracked sunflower seeds.
In less than ten minutes, footsteps sounded outside the courtyard. Ruan Sui'an knew someone had arrived.
She put the small stool back into the Space and hid in a concealed corner.
Liang Hu led his men into the main room and found the grain piled inside.
Seeing no one, he didn't immediately order his men to move the grain but stood waiting instead.
He appeared extremely patient.
Ruan Sui'an was pleased with Liang Hu's behavior. Only then did she step out from the corner.
"Brother Hu, you're a good man. There's another batch of grain arriving tomorrow afternoon. I wonder if Brother Hu would be interested?" Ruan Sui'an lowered her voice.
Liang Hu was indeed a good man; she hadn't misjudged him. Ruan Sui'an decided to trade with him once more, especially since her train was at 3 p.m. This place happened to be not far from the train station, so after the transaction, she could board the train right away.
"Of course, I want it," Liang Hu replied immediately.
Hushi had more than just this one black market; he absolutely couldn't let this person deal with other black market bosses.
Liang Hu wasn't a fool—he understood the implication in the other person's words. This transaction was just a test. If he dared to double-cross her, this person would never trade with him again.
Fortunately, he wasn't greedy, or else he would have missed out.