novelSusiti Chapter 21 The First Huge Sum of Money
Chapter 21 The First Huge Sum of Money
Gao Huaiyi asked, "Brother, why are there so many people today? It wasn't this lively when I came last time."
The man glanced at him and sighed, "What else could it be? Life is getting harder and harder these days. Families have many members, and there's not enough food to eat. Everyone wants to take advantage of the opportunity to exchange for more food. They can't just watch their families go hungry, so naturally more and more people are coming here."
Gao Huaiyi then asked, "With so many people, are there enough grain sellers?"
The man gave a bitter smile: "There are definitely people selling grain, but there are even more people buying it. It all depends on luck. We'll buy as much as we can, and if we really can't buy any, we'll have to find another way. We can't let our family members go hungry and be unable to get out of bed."
"Are you here to buy or sell grain, brother?"
"Buying grain," the man said helplessly. "My family is large, and we can't get any help from relatives. We'll help as much as we can. Grain prices change every day. Yesterday it was seven or eight cents a pound, but today it's a dollar."
Gao Huaiyi was startled upon hearing this: "How could it have risen so quickly? It increased by a full two cents in just one day?"
"That's right, with food shortages, prices naturally rise."
Gao Huaiyi turned to Zhou Xiuying and said in a low voice, "It seems the famine is getting worse and the food shortage is getting more and more severe. We need to sell the wild animals later and stock up on more food, otherwise we might not be able to buy it even if we have the money later."
Zhou Xiuying nodded solemnly: "Before I came here, I heard that there was a drought all over the country and food was in short supply. I didn't expect the situation here to be even more serious than the rumors."
Zhou Xiuying sighed and said with emotion, "It seems that the team leader has already taken extra care of us educated youth, distributing two months' worth of rations at once. If the famine worsens, we'll probably receive even less food in the future."
Gao Huaiyi nodded and said, "Let's find a place to deal with the wild animals I brought."
Zhou Xiuying nodded in response. Gao Huaiyi then cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to the man he had just been chatting with: "Brother, you go ahead with your work, let's go inside and take a look around."
The man waved his hand without saying anything more.
The two turned and walked deeper into the black market, arriving at the spot where Gao Huaiyi had sold wild animals last time. Seeing that it was already occupied, they continued walking and found a secluded corner. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, Gao Huaiyi quietly took the wild animals out of his spatial storage and placed them on the open ground.
The people around immediately spotted the prey on the ground and gathered around. When they saw the large, muscular wolf, a buzz of discussion erupted.
"You can still catch wolves these days? This young man is quite skilled!"
"Absolutely! It was so difficult!"
"This wolf looks to weigh at least a hundred pounds; it should fetch a good price, right?"
As Gao Huaiyi listened to the crowd's discussion, he couldn't help but feel wary. Nowadays, everyone is starving, and people are willing to take risks and commit murder for food. We must be vigilant.
Just then, a familiar voice came: "Young man, do you remember me? I'm the one who bought your wild game last time."
Gao Huaiyi looked up and saw it was the same man who had bought his prey last time. He immediately smiled and nodded, "Oh, it's you, brother. Of course I remember. Are you planning to buy some more game today?"
The older brother nodded, looking troubled: "Today I can only buy this rabbit. This wolf is too big; I really can't afford it."
After saying that, Gao Huaiyi handed over the wild rabbit. The rabbit weighed a good three jin (approximately 1.5 kg), and with prices soaring these days, it sold for nine yuan per jin, a full yuan more than last time. After paying, the older brother hurriedly left with the rabbit.
As for the wolf, most people just watched from a distance, and no one went up to ask about the price. With food prices skyrocketing, everyone was prioritizing buying food to survive; who had any spare money to indulge in meat?
More than half an hour passed, and the wolf remained untouched. Gao Huaiyi grew anxious. The prey was already out in the open; if they took it back, he and Zhou Xiuying wouldn't be able to move it. They had to sell it today; the longer they delayed, the more likely it would attract attention. Besides, even if they took the money and left now, there was no guarantee that someone wouldn't secretly follow them.
Just as he was feeling anxious, a figure slowly walked over and said, "Brother, something this big is hard to sell, isn't it? Come with me, our boss wants to talk to you."
Gao Huaiyi looked up and recognized the man as the gatekeeper at the entrance of the black market. He immediately understood—someone from inside the black market must have their eye on this wolf. Small-time traders couldn't possibly handle such a large prey; only these local bigwigs could afford to buy the whole thing, especially a wolf of this size.
Gao Huaiyi then led Zhou Xiuying and followed the man toward a small wooden house, while the wolf was carried along by two strong men.
Upon entering the room, they saw a wooden table with a burly man sitting at it, leisurely sipping tea. Seeing the two enter, the man gestured for them to sit: "Please, have a seat. I just heard from you that you hunted a wolf, but no one has shown any interest in it at the market. I was thinking of discussing selling it to you."
He paused for a moment and said frankly, "My purchase price will naturally be lower than the market price. After all, I also need to resell it and make some hard-earned money."
Gao Huaiyi considered the suggestion and thought it was feasible. Large wild animals are difficult to sell, and if he were to process them himself, he would have to gut them and cut them into pieces, which would be time-consuming and laborious. Now that he could sell them whole, it would save him both time and effort, which was perfect.
He immediately nodded in agreement: "Okay."
The burly man grinned. "Great! Pleasant to do business with you. My name is Wang Biao. If you ever hunt any large game again, would you consider selling it to me first?"
"If I hunt any more large game, I'll contact Brother Biao immediately," Gao Huaiyi replied. "As for smaller prey like rabbits, I'll handle them myself."
Wang Biao smiled upon hearing this, and didn't insist. He turned and called out to the door, "Si'er, go weigh that wolf and come back to pay the young man."
The young man named Si'er responded and went out. A moment later, he ran back quickly: "Brother Biao, the wolves weighed a total of 125 jin."
After a moment's thought, Wang Biao said, "The current market price is nine yuan per jin, so I can't buy it at that price. The fur and internal organs, which are inedible, have to be removed, so let's set it at six yuan per jin."
Gao Huaiyi quickly did some mental calculations and felt the price was reasonable, so he nodded and said, "No problem."
Wang Biao then pulled out a wad of banknotes, counted out 750 yuan, and handed it to Gao Huaiyi: "Young man, this is the money for the wolf meat. Please count it."
Gao Huaiyi took the money, counted it carefully, and after confirming that it was correct, said, "The amount is correct, then we'll be going now."
"Take care." Wang Biao nodded slightly.
Gao Huaiyi said no more and quickly led Zhou Xiuying out of the cabin. As soon as they reached the door, he grabbed Zhou Xiuying's arm and, without stopping, headed straight for the exit of the black market.
Zhou Xiuying was completely puzzled and asked in a low voice, "Why don't you browse around more? Don't you want to see what else is available on the black market?"
"Let's stop shopping for now and talk outside," Gao Huaiyi said hurriedly, his feet never stopping.
As soon as the two left the black market, three or four shifty-looking men quietly followed them. They trailed them for about a hundred meters, only to find that Gao Huaiyi and Zhou Xiuying were nowhere to be seen.
One of the skinny men cursed, "Damn it! Those two ran way too fast! I was hoping to snatch something, but they were so alert, they disappeared as soon as they came out!"
Unwilling to give up, the group searched the surrounding area again, but still found nothing. In the end, they could only turn back, cursing all the while.
Five or six minutes later, two figures slowly emerged from behind a large tree about twenty or thirty meters from the exit of the black market. They were Gao Huaiyi and Zhou Xiuying.