“My dear, are you thirsty? Do you want some water?” Mother Xu asked, holding a cup of steaming water out to Xu Ying.
Xu Ying really was thirsty. She took the glass, but then realized her hand was exposed. She quickly pulled her scarf back up. “Mom, I’m not thirsty. Let’s put the dishes away first!” Xu Ying then glanced at Xu Jing. “Let’s get started.”
As Xu Jing called out to begin, the aunt at the front of the line placed her two largest cabbages on the scale.
“Two Chinese cabbage heads, eight pounds!” Brother Xu announced. The rough outer leaves had been removed, leaving only the good ones. Xu Jing quickly wrote it down: eight pounds of cabbage at two cents per pound.
“Fifteen pounds of vegetables!”
Xu Jing swiftly wrote down fifteen kilograms of vegetables, two cents per kilogram, for a total of thirty cents.
“A large yellow croaker weighs three pounds!”
A pound of large yellow croaker cost 40 cents, so three pounds was one dollar and twenty cents. Xu Jing quickly added up the prices. “Auntie Zhang, that’s a total of one dollar and seventy cents.”
Aunt Zhang couldn’t help but smile as she took the money. Seventy cents a day was more than fifty dollars a month! This was more than a regular worker earned. When the villagers heard how much Aunt Zhang had made, they all congratulated her.
Next was Sun Dacao’s family. Her house didn’t have many vegetables, but she had a lot of mushrooms. She earned five yuan, making her the happiest of all. Looking at Mother Xu, she suddenly felt much more friendly and praised her with a smile. “Sister-in-law, if you ask me, you’re truly capable. A child who can achieve so much is the best. Especially your daughter, she’s even more powerful than the gods in the sky!”
Mother Xu was happy inside, but her face showed disapproval. “Sun Dacao, you shouldn’t say such things. You can’t believe in old superstitions now. My daughter is smart, but she’s not a god in the sky.”
Sun Dacao panicked a little and quickly explained, “I meant Xu Ying is smarter and more powerful than gods, but I didn’t say she was a god. Isn’t she just amazing? If it weren’t for her, none of us would be earning so much money. Chinese New Year is coming soon. If anyone in our village doesn’t get to buy extra meat this year, it’ll be because of Xu Ying!”
After saying this, Mother Xu opened her mouth to speak, but still replied modestly, “Dacao, it’s not as grand as you say. My daughter just saw her father worrying about everyone’s lives every day. So, she thought hard and came up with this idea. At the time, she was afraid the leader wouldn’t agree. Who knew our Director Sun was such a good leader who cared about the people? He agreed right away. As soon as I heard about it, I ran to the county town to talk to my daughter’s restaurant buyer.”
“Dacao, please step aside and let us weigh. Do it quickly, so we don’t delay the restaurant’s business hours.”
Sun Dacao quickly moved aside.
The next household came forward, and then the next. Xujia Village had about a hundred households, and not one of them earned less than one yuan. The highest earner was the Huo family. People used to say the Huo Chen family was poor, but after this, no one dared to say that again. Huo Chen directly sold his goods for eleven yuan. If this happened every day, he’d make several hundred yuan a month! Suddenly, everyone looked at Huo Chen with gleaming eyes.
After Huo Chen finished selling his goods, he glanced at Xu Ying. Their eyes met, and they both understood. Xu Ying saw that all the goods were packed. She then explained the future village accounting tables to Xu Jing, and after speaking to Mother Xu, she returned to the county town. As soon as she left, Huo Chen followed her.
“The items are all in this room. I bought them from colleagues and other friends. What price can you give me?” Xu Ying asked, pointing to the goods on the floor.
Huo Chen went to check them, and his eyes lit up. These were all top-quality items. Things on the black market were already expensive, so these could be sold for a lot of money.
“If you don’t need a ticket, I’ll pay you one yuan per pound for flour, three yuan per pound for rice, two yuan for pork, and two yuan and five cents per pound for hens,” Huo Chen said. These prices were already very high. In this area, flour was more common, so rice was quite expensive.
Xu Ying was quite happy with the prices. The white flour was fifty kilograms in total, so fifty yuan. The rice was thirty-five kilograms, making forty-five yuan. Ten pounds of pork cost twenty yuan, and the two hens, both very plump at about five pounds each, totaled twenty-five dollars for ten pounds. Huo Chen quickly calculated the money and gave it to Xu Ying. The total was one hundred and forty-five yuan. Xu Ying took the money, her exposed eyes smiling brightly.
Huo Chen saw her happiness and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. “Then I’ll leave first.”
“Okay, be careful!” Xu Ying had earned so much money, she felt unusually generous.
Huo Chen felt as happy as if he’d eaten honey. “I know. Should I leave the items here and pick them up later?”
Xu Ying nodded, thinking it would be hard for him to move the goods during the day. “Okay, then you can come back after seven in the evening. I have some things to do this afternoon and won’t be here.”
Huo Chen looked a little displeased when he heard this. He replied in a muffled voice and turned to leave. Xu Ying didn’t understand why he was suddenly angry. Watching him go, she turned and put the money with her previous earnings. Now she had over two hundred yuan in her hand. Her salary would be paid the day after tomorrow, which would bring her total to a little over 300 yuan. There were still many supplies in her space. If she sold all of them, she would have at least several thousand yuan.
Watching Huo Chen walk away, Xu Ying put on a disguise, taking out some old-lady clothes and wrapping herself tightly before heading out. It wasn’t enough to rely on Huo Chen alone. She needed to go out and see what was happening on her own. Otherwise, if she relied only on Huo Chen, she couldn’t approach him to sell goods every day, or he might get suspicious about where she got everything.
Xu Ying had never been to the black market, so she could only try her luck in some quiet corners. People who sold on the black market definitely wouldn’t openly show off on the street; they were trying to avoid being caught.
She carried a large basket and wandered around. She met several people, but she wasn’t sure if they would report her. She needed to be careful not to fall into a trap with those who might be undercover.
“Auntie, do you want to sell something?” A familiar voice sounded. When Xu Ying turned, it was Wu Qingsong. Xu Ying was immediately delighted. This guy often followed Huo Chen and must have done business with him. She changed her voice, making it sound older and wearier. She hunched her back and spoke slowly, “Young man, the child at home is sick, and the medicine is expensive. There’s nothing else I can do. Otherwise, I’ll sell it to you.”
Wu Qingsong looked at her small basket, wondering what could possibly be inside. He suddenly regretted calling out to her. But seeing the sadness in the old woman’s eyes, he couldn’t bear to leave. “What do you have?”
“I have five chickens, all fat, as well as two hundred kilograms of flour, two hundred kilograms of rice, twenty ducks, and one hundred kilograms of pork,” Xu Ying coughed a few times as she spoke, sounding like she was half-dead.
Wu Qingsong’s eyes widened when he heard such a large amount. He knew he had to go back and talk to his brother. Mainly, it was just too much for him alone.
When Xu Ying heard his hesitation, she immediately looked unhappy. “Do you want me to come see you again? I’m in a hurry to get money to go back and see a doctor.”
“You haven’t said the price yet! If it’s fair, I’ll take it,” Wu Qingsong quickly said, anxious not to lose the deal.