Shen Zhao was angry and turned to leave.
After changing bodies, her senses had declined. She hadn't even noticed someone peeking just now.
But it didn't matter.
So what if he saw? She was confident she could beat him.
Xiao Jun didn't chase after her either. His eyes, watching her retreating figure, were full of interest.
"Such a temper."
After leaving this alley, she discarded those people's clothes and turned another corner.
The view suddenly opened up.
A bustling crowd, carrying baskets, weaved through the street. The vendors' goods were mostly laid out on the ground.
But not much; most of it was in bamboo baskets.
This was for convenience, to be able to run at any time.
Shen Zhao looked around and, seeing someone selling chickens, went to ask the price. But they didn't want money; they wanted grain.
And it had to be unpolished rice, not polished rice.
The price for one chicken was three yuan. Unpolished rice was twelve fen per jin. She gave the seller twenty-five jin of grain.
This was taken from the Shen Family, plus some grain allocated to her by the Production Brigade when she first arrived, that she managed to gather.
She had unpolished rice in her space, but she didn't dare take it out for now.
The local unpolished rice was better than what was in her space, and the taste was different too.
Putting the chicken into her bamboo basket, Shen Zhao continued shopping as she walked.
Later, she bought thirty eggs, twenty century eggs, two jin of pork, two pieces of cured meat, and a few sections of preserved sausage.
She had arrived late, and the vendors didn't have much left on their stalls, so she bought it all.
She walked to the end of the alley and saw a large courtyard with an open gate, also bustling with people.
Shen Zhao walked to a deserted corner, filled her bamboo basket with polished rice beforehand, and then walked in. She approached the man sitting inside the house, communicating through a single open window, and said,
"Comrade, do you buy rice?" As she spoke, she opened a corner of the rice bag to show him.
The man looked at her deeply, then stood up and opened a small door. "Follow me."
Shen Zhao nodded and followed.
After entering, she saw a corridor. The man led her through many twists and turns, finally stopping in front of a door and knocking.
"Brother Jun, there's business, but I'm not sure."
As soon as he finished speaking, the door opened, revealing a man with a buzz cut wearing a padded jacket.
"It's you?"
Shen Zhao raised an eyebrow, not believing such a coincidence. "Were you following me?"
Xiao Jun rolled his eyes unceremoniously. "You're skin and bones, why would I bother following you?"
Shen Zhao: "Did your mouth eat shit? You're spewing filth."
Xiao Jun glared. How could a female comrade have such a foul mouth?
"I can't be bothered to argue with you."
Shen Zhao snorted. Come on, let's hurt each other.
She was a dignified person, but that didn't mean she couldn't curse. In the past, during court sessions, those civil officials would curse using classical allusions, without using vulgar language.
The military generals, however, were as crude as they came. She heard it every day and learned quite a bit.
The man who brought her in scratched his head. "Uh... Brother Jun, you know each other."
Xiao Jun patted his shoulder. "It's fine, Haozi, you go do your thing."
"I get it, Brother Jun," Haozi chuckled and ran off.
Shen Zhao also turned to leave. They had already cursed at each other upon meeting; it seemed this business wouldn't happen today.
"Where are you going?" the man's lazy voice came from behind her.
She turned and saw the man leaning against the doorframe, sunlight slanting onto him, casting a warm glow that lessened his unreliable, frivolous air.
"Aren't you here to do business? Why are you running?"
Shen Zhao's face was blank as she told the truth. "I'm afraid you'll rip me off."
Xiao Jun gritted his teeth in anger and turned to go inside. "Sell it or don't. I don't lack your stuff."
Shen Zhao stood in place, paused for a moment, and then stepped forward to follow.
What was there to fear? At worst, she'd beat him up.
In this world, she believed that apart from those who possessed true knowledge, most people couldn't defeat her.
She entered the room and saw Xiao Jun sitting by the table, smoking, looking like a tough, unapproachable thug again.
"Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Xiao Jun. What do you want to sell?"
Carrying so many things, she must be here to sell.
Shen Zhao directly placed the bamboo basket on the ground and opened the bag. "Rice, do you buy it?"
Xiao Jun narrowed his eyes, bent down, grabbed a handful of rice, examined it for a while, and then put it down.
"This rice... the quality is good. Where did you get it?"
In this era, it was impossible for ordinary families to have so much white rice to sell; they barely had enough to eat themselves.
The machines in the commune couldn't mill rice this white either.
The origin of this rice was questionable.
Shen Zhao didn't answer his question and raised an eyebrow. "What, scared?"
Xiao Jun rested one hand on his hip and said impatiently, "Don't try to provoke me. I have so many brothers under me; I can't risk everything for this little bit of stuff."
Shen Zhao wasn't angry; instead, she approved of his caution. "The origin of the goods is fine. It's rations I brought from my hometown.
I was afraid of attracting attention, so I wanted to sell it and exchange it for local unpolished rice."
Xiao Jun looked at her. Someone who didn't want to eat white rice and specifically ate unpolished rice?
He was fooling himself.
Besides, he had personally witnessed this female comrade's skills. Who would dare covet her things?
That would be seeking death.
"Alright, I'll buy this. Five mao per jin. Any objections?"
Shen Zhao chuckled. "No objections."
The price was normal enough.
Xiao Jun stepped forward and, holding the rice bag, tried to lift it—he couldn't.
His face turned red, and using all his strength, he finally managed to lift it and set it aside. Just as he was about to call someone to help carry it for weighing,
he saw Shen Zhao take a cloth bag from her pocket. "I have a bit more," she said, opening the cloth bag. A small gold nugget lay in her palm.
It was impossible to tell what it originally was.
Hiss...
Why was she so strong?
That large bag of rice, she carried it in without any effort. And now she had pinched gold into a nugget...
It had to be said, Xiao Jun was intimidated by her.
"Gold is ten yuan per gram. I'll call someone to verify and weigh it."
He opened the door and shouted into the courtyard. Soon, two people entered the room carrying tools.
After weighing, the rice was 150 jin. The gold was exactly fifty grams. The total came to 575 yuan.
Shen Zhao gave Xiao Jun a list. "I want a bicycle. If you have the items on this list, please help me get them, deducted from that money."
Xiao Jun looked at the list and nodded. "No problem. I have most of these things here."
He called a subordinate and assigned him to handle the list.
Turning back, he saw Shen Zhao sitting on a stool like an Old Man, and couldn't help but put his hand to his forehead. "Wait a moment, it'll be ready soon."
"Thank you," Shen Zhao said politely.
But that air of superiority was impossible to ignore.
They sat in silence for a while.
Xiao Jun couldn't help himself. "What's your name? Which Production Brigade are you from? I'm familiar with this area."
Shen Zhao's eyes were unreadable. "I'm just selling something; you don't need to check my household registration, do you?"
Xiao Jun: "Who's checking you? Can't we just be friends? Do you have to speak so sharply?"
"Didn't you speak sharply first?" Shen Zhao held a grudge.
The moment they met, he said she was skin and bones. Was that her fault? It was just that this body was too thin.
Her original body was quite voluptuous.
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