Chapter 17: Unexpected News Overheard
4 days ago
After walking for a while, Su He had a good understanding of the area.
"There's a soy sauce factory and a liquor factory nearby. There are a lot of workers there, so it should be a good market."
Soy sauce is actually very simple to make, but the process takes a bit longer.
The liquor factory, on the other hand, can easily cause illness if the seals are not up to standard.
Su He had also helped to repair machinery and make sealing for bottling equipment in a liquor factory in his previous life.
He knew a bit about the tricks of the trade.
As he walked, Su He saw several old ladies carrying baskets. They were probably going to buy groceries.
In those days, there weren't many plastic bags, so people went to the market with baskets.
This was a good thing, but unfortunately it was defeated by convenience. {Plastic Bags!}
Su He knew that if he wanted to sell things, he couldn't be too reserved and wait for people to ask.
Su He calmed his rapidly beating heart and called. “Excuse me! Would you like to buy some fish?”
Hearing Su He's words, a few aunties were startled.
However, upon seeing that Su He was just a young boy, with a Water buffalo and a dog by his side, and a child on the Water buffalo's back, the aunties were no longer afraid.
"What fish? Let me see!"
Su He asked the aunties to come over and look: "Look, there are two carp here, both weighing three catty each. Not more, not less!"
He had a headache, he had forgotten to bring a scale.
He had to go back and buy a scale!
But in those days, he didn't have a ration ticket, even if he had money, he probably couldn't buy a scale.
That's how it was in those days!
The aunties took a look, the carp were still alive and kicking, and they liked them.
"Oh, there are also river snails!"
Another auntie squeezed over and looked: "How much do you sell these snails and lotus roots for?"
Su He said: "Aunties, this is the first time I've come to the city, I don't know the prices. I even forgot to bring a scale. How about this, you ladies name a price, as long as it's not too low, I'll give them all to you. Don't worry, I already cleaned the snails yesterday, and I've made sure they've spat out all the sand!"
The women picked up a few river snails and examined them, nodding their heads. "They really are clean. But without seeing them spit out sand, it's hard to tell."
After thinking for a moment, one of the women said, "How about this? My house is nearby. You come with me, and I'll find a few people to buy all of your things. Don't worry, we won't take advantage of you. We'll give you four jiao per catty for the grass carp, two and a half for the river snails, and one jiao for the wild lotus roots. What do you think?"
Su He didn't know the price level of goods in this era, so he didn't say much.
He thought to himself that this was his first time here, so he might as well gain some experience.
Su He immediately agreed. "Alright. I don't know the prices either, but you all seem like good people, so I'm sure you won't take advantage of me!"
Xiao Nanhua raised her hand and added, “Aunties wouldn’t cheat us!”
Her cuteness, despite her shabby clothes, won over the women. One of them pinched Xiao Nanhua’s cheek, and she didn’t cry, which made them even more fond of her. They all crowded around to pinch her cheek.
The women lived nearby, and they soon reached the house. One of the women brought out a small scale. Su He weighed the empty basket first, then added the items the woman wanted.
"The bamboo basket itself weighs one catty and seven liang. With the rive snails added, it comes to a total of twelve catty and eight liang. Let's just say it's twelve catty. The river snail are 2.5 jiao per catty, so that's three yuan (30 jiao). Would you like anything else?" Su He asked.
The elderly lady saw that the scale was tipped generously, and though it read twelve and a half catty, it looked closer to thirteen catty.
Others had let go of the weight, so the auntie naturally had no complaints.
“Alright, then give me some wild lotus roots!”
Su He quickly weighed them: “The wild lotus roots total six catty. Just give me three yuan and five jiao in total!”
He had already let go of some weight before, and now he was taking off another jiao, what could the auntie have to complain about?
Immediately, her face broke into a big smile.
Another two aunties, one of them took the fish back home, six catty and seven liang. Su He rounded it down to six catties and five liang, taking off two liang.
She called over a few other aunties, and they bought up all the river snails and wild lotus roots.
There were a total of forty-seven catties of river snails, and Su He waived some of the weight again, finally charging 11 yuan.
The two silver carp sold for two yuan and six jiao, but Su He waived one jiao, only charging two yuan and five jiao.
The wild lotus roots totaled thirty-five catties, for which he charged three yuan.
So all in all, Su He’s total earnings were sixteen yuan and five jiao! This amount of money, in later times, wouldn’t even buy a KFC chicken wrap. But at this moment, these sixteen yuan and five jiao seemed to be able to buy quite a lot.
Su He called out to the auntie who was about to leave, saying: “Auntie, look, I will definitely come again next time. Can I borrow your scale then? Or, I see you have more than one scale at home, would you sell me this small one?”
The lady, surprised to have made an additional deal after buying the snails and lotus roots, agreed. Her scales were taken from her workplace and just sitting idle at home, so she figured she might as well sell one.
"This scale has barely been used and is still new. The supply and marketing cooperative sells them for three yuan, but you need a voucher. Since you don’t have one, how about three yuan and five jiao?"
Su He didn't mind the extra five jiao and promptly handed her the money, taking the small scale in return. The lady smiled, pleased with her unexpected gain.
"I'll introduce more customers to you next time. But remember, don't spread the word. If people find out, it could be troublesome. Come back here; the goods sell fast and without risk," she added.
While it was true that goods sold quickly there, the profit was minimal. The elderly ladies were meticulous, needing to support their families, which wasn’t easy.
Su He nodded in agreement, unsure of his next steps but willing to oblige for now. Leading Heixing and Heizi, he prepared to leave.
Shortly after exiting the neighborhood, Su He saw a group of peers walking by. One of them bragged, "Today's meal is at the state-run restaurant, and I'm paying!"
Su He smiled, curious about the identity of this generous person. Then he heard a boy ask, "By the way, Lao He, how did you suddenly get into the Fourth High School? I remember your grades weren't that good."
The boy addressed as Lao He smirked and said, "What's the big deal? There was a student in the town school with the same name as me. My dad pulled some strings…"
Su He didn't catch the rest of the conversation as they walked away, but he got the gist. Lao He had likely swapped his poor grades with someone else's better ones.
This revelation left Su He stunned. He remembered that his previous self had consistently ranked in the top ten of his school. Yet, he had inexplicably failed his recent exams, despite feeling confident about his performance.
"What’s going on? Could it be that I too have been a victim of such a swap?" he wondered.
Chapter 17: Unexpected News Overheard
4 days ago
After walking for a while, Su He had a good understanding of the area.
"There's a soy sauce factory and a liquor factory nearby. There are a lot of workers there, so it should be a good market."
Soy sauce is actually very simple to make, but the process takes a bit longer.
The liquor factory, on the other hand, can easily cause illness if the seals are not up to standard.
Su He had also helped to repair machinery and make sealing for bottling equipment in a liquor factory in his previous life.
He knew a bit about the tricks of the trade.
As he walked, Su He saw several old ladies carrying baskets. They were probably going to buy groceries.
In those days, there weren't many plastic bags, so people went to the market with baskets.
This was a good thing, but unfortunately it was defeated by convenience. {Plastic Bags!}
Su He knew that if he wanted to sell things, he couldn't be too reserved and wait for people to ask.
Su He calmed his rapidly beating heart and called. “Excuse me! Would you like to buy some fish?”
Hearing Su He's words, a few aunties were startled.
However, upon seeing that Su He was just a young boy, with a Water buffalo and a dog by his side, and a child on the Water buffalo's back, the aunties were no longer afraid.
"What fish? Let me see!"
Su He asked the aunties to come over and look: "Look, there are two carp here, both weighing three catty each. Not more, not less!"
He had a headache, he had forgotten to bring a scale.
He had to go back and buy a scale!
But in those days, he didn't have a ration ticket, even if he had money, he probably couldn't buy a scale.
That's how it was in those days!
The aunties took a look, the carp were still alive and kicking, and they liked them.
"Oh, there are also river snails!"
Another auntie squeezed over and looked: "How much do you sell these snails and lotus roots for?"
Su He said: "Aunties, this is the first time I've come to the city, I don't know the prices. I even forgot to bring a scale. How about this, you ladies name a price, as long as it's not too low, I'll give them all to you. Don't worry, I already cleaned the snails yesterday, and I've made sure they've spat out all the sand!"
The women picked up a few river snails and examined them, nodding their heads. "They really are clean. But without seeing them spit out sand, it's hard to tell."
After thinking for a moment, one of the women said, "How about this? My house is nearby. You come with me, and I'll find a few people to buy all of your things. Don't worry, we won't take advantage of you. We'll give you four jiao per catty for the grass carp, two and a half for the river snails, and one jiao for the wild lotus roots. What do you think?"
Su He didn't know the price level of goods in this era, so he didn't say much.
He thought to himself that this was his first time here, so he might as well gain some experience.
Su He immediately agreed. "Alright. I don't know the prices either, but you all seem like good people, so I'm sure you won't take advantage of me!"
Xiao Nanhua raised her hand and added, “Aunties wouldn’t cheat us!”
Her cuteness, despite her shabby clothes, won over the women. One of them pinched Xiao Nanhua’s cheek, and she didn’t cry, which made them even more fond of her. They all crowded around to pinch her cheek.
The women lived nearby, and they soon reached the house. One of the women brought out a small scale. Su He weighed the empty basket first, then added the items the woman wanted.
"The bamboo basket itself weighs one catty and seven liang. With the rive snails added, it comes to a total of twelve catty and eight liang. Let's just say it's twelve catty. The river snail are 2.5 jiao per catty, so that's three yuan (30 jiao). Would you like anything else?" Su He asked.
The elderly lady saw that the scale was tipped generously, and though it read twelve and a half catty, it looked closer to thirteen catty.
Others had let go of the weight, so the auntie naturally had no complaints.
“Alright, then give me some wild lotus roots!”
Su He quickly weighed them: “The wild lotus roots total six catty. Just give me three yuan and five jiao in total!”
He had already let go of some weight before, and now he was taking off another jiao, what could the auntie have to complain about?
Immediately, her face broke into a big smile.
Another two aunties, one of them took the fish back home, six catty and seven liang. Su He rounded it down to six catties and five liang, taking off two liang.
She called over a few other aunties, and they bought up all the river snails and wild lotus roots.
There were a total of forty-seven catties of river snails, and Su He waived some of the weight again, finally charging 11 yuan.
The two silver carp sold for two yuan and six jiao, but Su He waived one jiao, only charging two yuan and five jiao.
The wild lotus roots totaled thirty-five catties, for which he charged three yuan.
So all in all, Su He’s total earnings were sixteen yuan and five jiao! This amount of money, in later times, wouldn’t even buy a KFC chicken wrap. But at this moment, these sixteen yuan and five jiao seemed to be able to buy quite a lot.
Su He called out to the auntie who was about to leave, saying: “Auntie, look, I will definitely come again next time. Can I borrow your scale then? Or, I see you have more than one scale at home, would you sell me this small one?”
The lady, surprised to have made an additional deal after buying the snails and lotus roots, agreed. Her scales were taken from her workplace and just sitting idle at home, so she figured she might as well sell one.
"This scale has barely been used and is still new. The supply and marketing cooperative sells them for three yuan, but you need a voucher. Since you don’t have one, how about three yuan and five jiao?"
Su He didn't mind the extra five jiao and promptly handed her the money, taking the small scale in return. The lady smiled, pleased with her unexpected gain.
"I'll introduce more customers to you next time. But remember, don't spread the word. If people find out, it could be troublesome. Come back here; the goods sell fast and without risk," she added.
While it was true that goods sold quickly there, the profit was minimal. The elderly ladies were meticulous, needing to support their families, which wasn’t easy.
Su He nodded in agreement, unsure of his next steps but willing to oblige for now. Leading Heixing and Heizi, he prepared to leave.
Shortly after exiting the neighborhood, Su He saw a group of peers walking by. One of them bragged, "Today's meal is at the state-run restaurant, and I'm paying!"
Su He smiled, curious about the identity of this generous person. Then he heard a boy ask, "By the way, Lao He, how did you suddenly get into the Fourth High School? I remember your grades weren't that good."
The boy addressed as Lao He smirked and said, "What's the big deal? There was a student in the town school with the same name as me. My dad pulled some strings…"
Su He didn't catch the rest of the conversation as they walked away, but he got the gist. Lao He had likely swapped his poor grades with someone else's better ones.
This revelation left Su He stunned. He remembered that his previous self had consistently ranked in the top ten of his school. Yet, he had inexplicably failed his recent exams, despite feeling confident about his performance.
"What’s going on? Could it be that I too have been a victim of such a swap?" he wondered.
