Rebirth in the 50s: The Couple with the Hidden Space novel Chapter 845

Chapter 845: Chapter 718: Lingnan Black Market

The chat before bed last night was not without its rewards. The two of them, being quite close, even talked about some gossip. Through this conversation, Zhou Jiao at least got some useful information—every day before dawn, local farmers bring their produce to trade near the cinema.

From the way things sounded, this auntie had used sewing machine coupons and industrial vouchers to barter for some goods. At four in the morning, Zhou Jiao followed this auntie. When she had a colleague cover her shift, Zhou Jiao immediately followed suit.

"Little girl, don’t make a sound later. If you see something you like, I’ll bargain for you."

Zhou Jiao nodded with a bright smile, using the local dialect to get closer to the aunt. She noticed that this auntie loved gossip and had a youthful heart.

Generally, who would take a stranger, a little girl, to the black market?

However, upon reaching the destination, Zhou Jiao realized that calling it a black market was an overstatement; it was more like a morning market. Besides some local fruits and vegetables, seafood was the most abundant here.

While the aunt was trading for yellow croaker, Zhou Jiao used the black shoulder bag for cover and traded ten pounds of rice with an older woman for several local tickets.

After the aunt finished, she turned back to Zhou Jiao: "Quick, see if there’s anything you need. I need to go back and switch shifts."

"Auntie, you head back first. This is interesting; I’ll keep browsing."

The other seemed a bit hesitant: "Are you really okay on your own?"

"Look, I’m empty-handed," Zhou Jiao gestured, "Once the restaurant across the street opens, I’ll have breakfast and head back."

The other thought for a while, realizing that in half an hour the morning market would be open too, so it wasn’t dangerous. She gave a few reminders and hurriedly took her leave.

Zhou Jiao was in no rush now. Her goal was never these trivial transactions; it was the more shrewd-looking farmers.

Before long, quite a few people had gradually left. Zhou Jiao set her eyes on an old man; besides the fact he was quite old, which made it inappropriate for a single woman to approach middle-aged men, his skilled techniques in trading caught her attention. Very decisive, once time was up and he had an extra bag of goods, he didn’t continue to sell and quickly left.

Seeing the man hunch deliberately, with his head down, and with muddy cloth shoes, such an elderly man was crisp in his actions and knew when to stop.

Zhou Jiao followed quietly behind him without greeting him. If he were wise, he would wait until they left the safe area to ask about her.

After about five or six minutes, the old man turned around and sized up the smiling Zhou Jiao, shaking his head, "Little girl, be careful not to get kidnapped by following me."

Zhou Jiao stepped forward and whispered, using the local dialect, "Sir, I need a large quantity."

"I can tell. Others look for goods, but you’re looking for people," the old man tossed the bag to Zhou Jiao, "If you trust me, carry it and follow me."

Zhou Jiao quickly slung the bag over her shoulder and followed closely behind.

"The old man’s surname is Qiao, ranked fourth, I’m the cart puller of our team. The ox cart is outside the city gate; it takes an hour to get to our village."

Zhou Jiao immediately understood, "Mr. Qiao, as long as we get back before noon, it’s fine."

Mr. Qiao walked briskly, hands behind his back, "If someone asks once we’re there, you’re my grand-niece."

"Just call me Zhou, Mr. Qiao," Zhou Jiao replied.

Once on the ox cart, not even an hour had passed as Mr. Qiao mentioned. It’s likely this old man was testing Zhou Jiao’s attitude; if she showed any hesitation, he’d probably find an excuse to leave.

Forty minutes later, Zhou Jiao was taken to his house. The old man instructed his grandson to lead the ox cart to the production team, while he took Zhou Jiao into the yard.

"You’re back. And this is?"

Zhou Jiao had just entered when a lady, wiping her hands, approached with a smile.

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