MMB Chapter 6 Let's Make Friends
Chapter 6 Let's Make Friends
"How much can you exchange?"
The stall owner was clearly getting anxious.
This bag of corn is so big, it must weigh at least 70 or 80 pounds. We absolutely can't miss it; it'll be enough to feed his family for two or three months.
We can't wait years to regret: "A bag of corn was once placed in front of me, but I didn't cherish it..."
That's fucking ridiculous!
"I won't trade no matter how much." Zhuang Lihui said calmly and composedly, without trying to attract customers. After all, it was a seller's market, and there was no need to worry about not having enough grain.
The stall owner gritted his teeth and said, "I'll pay for it."
While no one else is paying attention now, it won't be so easy to take this bag of corn once others notice it, and the cost will be high.
What price are you offering?
He's already got a pretty good idea of the market conditions from his journey, so trying to get a bargain from him is practically impossible.
The stall owner held up three fingers: "This number."
Zhuang Lihui ignored him.
Please! Can't you show some respect? Are you serious about this price? It seems you're still not in a hurry.
The stall owner held up another finger: "Is this alright, young man? Let's be friends."
Zhuang Lihui was still too lazy to speak, thinking to himself: If you make friends like this, will you still have any friends?
Sure enough, you can't trust people who sell antiques. They often talk a lot of nonsense, and they all have a lot of nice words, but when it comes to ripping you off, they won't even blink an eye.
He might hoard a batch of antiques in the future.
In this era, if you have space but don't know how to stock up on good stuff at low prices, then you deserve to be poor.
Seeing that Zhuang Lihui remained unmoved and calmly sat there, and with people looking over from not far away as if they were about to rush over and snatch his corn at any moment, the stall owner quickly spread out his palms: "Is this price okay? I guarantee this is definitely the highest corn price on the black market today."
"That's more like it! How many kilograms do you want?" Zhuang Lihui finally asked.
He had just noticed that the price of corn kernels was around 5 yuan per jin (500g), with good quality ones costing 5 yuan, poor quality ones costing a little over 4 yuan, and those with corn cobs costing a little over 2 yuan.
His corn is top-quality; if you bargain hard, you can probably get a 30-50 cent markup.
"I'll take them all," the stall owner replied without hesitation.
Zhuang Lihui couldn't help but ask, "Do you have that much money?"
Judging from your appearance, you don't seem like someone who can hide that much cash.
At 5 yuan per kilogram, his bag of corn is worth more than 300 yuan.
"I don't have that much money right now, but I have some at home. You can come back with me to get it, and I can pack up and go home right now," the stall owner immediately said.
"In that case, I'll go out and get another bag to sell to you."
"You still have corn outside?"
The stall owner stared in disbelief, his eyes wide.
"You underestimate me, don't you?"
Zhuang Lihui wasn't being high-profile; he said it on purpose so that this guy would take the initiative to keep in touch with him. If he really wanted to collect antiques in the future, this would be a good way to do it, instead of having to search blindly on his own.
"By the way, brother, you're familiar with this black market. I need all kinds of tickets. Who should I contact?" Zhuang Lihui inquired.
Seeing that Zhuang Lihui was serious and there really was still food outside, Ma Zhenwei breathed a sigh of relief, regained his calm expression, and smiled, "Then you really asked the right person. I, Old Ma, am most familiar with this black market."
"Wait here for me, brother, I'll bring the person over for you."
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Brother Ma," Zhuang Lihui said, bowing with his hands clasped in thanks.
Ma Zhenwei immediately walked forward.
He had barely walked away when three people strolled over, all of them masked. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought they were there to rob someone!
Despite their faces being covered, Zhuang Lihui could tell that they were a middle-aged man and two young men.
"Master, what is this...?"
Suddenly, one of the young men exclaimed excitedly.
Before he could finish speaking, the middle-aged man covered his mouth: "Keep your voice down. If others hear you, you won't even get to eat hot shit."
After warning his apprentice, the middle-aged man asked in a low voice, "Comrade, how much is this corn?"
"You've come from over there, so I'm sure you know the market price. My corn kernels are plump and top-quality. It's 5 yuan a pound, no bargaining, take it or leave it," Zhuang Lihui said.
The middle-aged man scooped up a handful, examined it closely, and confirmed that it was indeed top-quality goods.
It's 5 yuan per jin (500g), they didn't overcharge.
"Could you make it less?" the young man with a scar on his hand asked.
Zhuang Lihui didn't say anything, but simply made a gesture to see the guest out.
The middle-aged man patted his apprentice on the shoulder: "Don't say anything."
"Comrade, give me 30 jin."
He was filled with regret, wishing he had brought more money with him. He also hadn't expected to find so much good corn on the black market tonight.
Zhuang Lihui did not weigh it, but asked the other party to open the bag they brought and poured about half a bag into it.
"It's definitely more than 30 pounds."
The middle-aged man repeatedly said, "Thank you, thank you so much."
He certainly knew it was more than 30 jin (15 catties), possibly an extra jin (0.5 kg) or a few liang (0.5 ounces).
They took out 150 yuan, handed it to Zhuang Lihui, and after confirming that everything was correct, the three of them left furtively.
Soon, another person came over, also selling things: a cage of chicks, an old hen, and two half-dead white geese.
Zhuang Lihui leaned closer and asked, "Grandpa, how much are your chicks, hens, and geese?"
Yes! The other person was a hunchbacked old lady, who looked to be at least sixty or seventy years old.
However, he misjudged the man; he was not even fifty years old yet.
These days, people age easily, unlike people of later generations, especially those who take good care of themselves, who look like they're in their thirties even when they're over sixty.
"I won't sell it; I want to exchange it for grain," the old man said, shaking his head.
After putting down the chicks, the hen, and the white goose, she couldn't help but pat her back with her hand.
If this were made into a video, and paired with background music like "We are all living life to the fullest," it would definitely get a lot of views and become a hit.
Another person who has had a tough time.
To be precise, most ordinary people living in this era have a hard time, and there's simply no way to sympathize with them all.
Since I've encountered this situation and it doesn't pose a threat to me, I might as well lend a hand; consider it an act of kindness.
Zhuang Lihui dragged the remaining half-bag of corn over: "Old man, how about I trade you this?"
When the old woman saw that it was corn inside, she immediately trembled with excitement: "All...all of it?"
"Fine, seeing you like this, I'll take the loss."
"Thank you, old woman, I'll kowtow to you." The old woman had no words to express her gratitude, so she kowtowed, which is the most simple and heartfelt way for Chinese people to express their thanks.
She glanced at the bag of corn, which weighed around forty pounds. Exchanging it for an old hen, two skinny white geese, and a cage of chicks, it seemed like she was getting a good deal.
The grain can last for many days, while the hens and geese can only last for a few meals.
As for the chicks, who has extra food to feed them? They're a freebie, or rather, an extra treat.
"Grandpa, you don't need to do this. Can you carry me?"
"Yes, yes."
The old man shakily carried the half-full bag of corn on his back and walked away step by step, a hopeful smile on his face.
When Ma Zhenwei arrived with a group of people, he was a little confused to find that Zhuang Lihui's bag of corn was gone.
"Where's your corn?"