The Sweetness of the Seventies
Chapter 165: Successful Escape_1

Chapter 165: Chapter 165: Successful Escape_1

This price was very reasonable, especially when all sorts of supplies were in short supply during the Chinese New Year.

The woman was taken aback and asked, "Only money? No coupons?"

"Yes, no coupons, just money. The dried rabbit meat is fifty cents a pound, which is a good deal. You should know that fresh rabbit meat is already thirty cents a pound, and you still need two liang of grain coupons per pound," He Tiantian explained, "We hunt on our own in the countryside, and there’s too much to eat, so we’re selling some to make a bit of money. If you want some, you don’t have to queue up to sell meat, and you can still have a fat year."

The middle-aged woman was tempted. Yes, even with money in hand and a one-pound meat coupon, she could only buy one pound of pork this year. She could save a bit from her salary, but she didn’t have any extra meat coupons. Thinking this, the middle-aged woman agreed, "Okay then, I’ll take one to try."

"Alrighty." He Tiantian took the money and began to weigh it, "That’s three pounds and six liang. Just give me one yuan and eighty cents."

The middle-aged woman looked at the large piece of dried rabbit meat, which was only selling for one yuan and eighty cents without needing meat coupons, and indeed it was a bargain. She counted out the money and gave it to He Tiantian, saying, "Here is one yuan and eighty cents, take it. It’s not easy for you in such cold weather."

"True, we’re all from poor families. I beg you, sister, to be generous. Life is really hard to get by," He Tiantian lamented as she took the money.

The middle-aged woman’s sympathy overflowed. As she picked up the rabbit to smell it, she found it had an authentic aroma and asked, "Will you come again tomorrow? I’ll buy more."

He Tiantian quickly shook her head, "I can’t risk staying in one place too long. If you want to buy, you should hurry. I won’t be here selling tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, and smelling the enticing aroma, the middle-aged woman, thinking of her elderly mother at home who hadn’t had meat for a long time, bit the bullet and said, "Then give me another one, a smaller one. I didn’t bring much money with me today."

"Alrighty!" He Tiantian flipped through and picked out a slightly smaller one, weighed it, and said, "This one is two pounds and eight liang. Just give me one yuan and forty cents."

The middle-aged woman didn’t dare linger there any longer. People were passing by on the main road outside the alley from time to time. She quickly took out one yuan and forty cents, grabbed the two rabbits, and left in the cover of darkness.

He Tiantian followed the same method, and in a little over an hour, she managed to sell more than twenty rabbits and four pheasants.

It was already past five o’clock. He Tiantian prepared to head back. She had just climbed over the wall when she heard noises from her parents’ room; they were probably getting up. He Tiantian quickly entered her own room, counted her money, and in total, it was forty-two yuan and fifty cents. The items in the Snake King’s Barrier Space could probably sell for two hundred yuan more.

With those two hundred yuan, her life in Qijia Village would be quite comfortable. Having no coupons wasn’t a problem, for she had Niu Lili and Niu Dajun. They had broad connections and could scrounge up coupons, as long as one was willing to pay a little extra.

He Tiantian used the same method, rotating through several supply and marketing co-ops in Nan City to sell goods. In three days, she sold over eighty wild rabbits and more than twenty dried pheasants, leaving only around a dozen wild rabbits and two pheasants in the Barrier Space. He Tiantian planned to clear out these items first thing tomorrow morning so as not to occupy the Snake King’s Barrier Space any longer.

He Tiantian, as before, arrived near the supply and marketing co-op. She was about to take out her wares and lure people into the alley to trade when suddenly the Snake King warned, "Don’t bring anything out. There are several people coming this way. They don’t look like they’re here to buy things, but like they’re here to catch people."

He Tiantian was startled and reckoned that her speculative activities had attracted some people’s attention. She hurriedly ran to the other end of the alley.

True enough, within a minute, several people arrived and started to check each alley entrance.

"We’ve checked all the alleys on this side, nothing," a man’s voice said, "How about your side?"

He Tiantian’s little heart was pounding! Thank goodness for Snake King’s warning; otherwise, she would have been caught red-handed.

"My mom mentioned yesterday that there were people profiteering nearby and told me to report it, to capture them and earn a merit," another young man said, "I have no idea where she could have gone, she might have moved to other places. After all, it’s risky to stay in one place for too long!"

The crowd agreed with this reasoning; if it were them, they wouldn’t risk staying in the same place either.

"Alright, let’s go check around the other supply and marketing cooperatives. Everyone, be sharp, the opportunity to make a major contribution is right before our eyes." someone suggested. Catching this person would allow them to make a significant accomplishment.

Recently, the city had been very peaceful, and their work was dull, lacking the earlier grand and ambitious atmosphere. With the lunar new year fast approaching, they were eager to make a big bust, accomplish something significant, and earn rewards to celebrate the holiday.

Although Snake King could use a spell to make her invisible temporarily, with so many people around, they would not only be after profiteers but would add another charge, one of feudal superstition!

A bunch of sons of bitches! Probably as shameless and cruel as Zhou Sihai.

He Tiantian’s small frame definitely couldn’t withstand these two serious charges!

He Tiantian quickly left the area, hiding here and there, and finally managed to sell ten wild rabbits; the wild chickens were all sold out, and the rest, not putting them up for sale, were safe with Snake King where they wouldn’t go bad.

It was getting late, and He Tiantian went home to tally the money she had made over the past few days!

After counting, she found it was close to her estimate, a total of two hundred and twenty-three yuan! She carefully stored it away in her travel chest. When she left Nan City, she planned to leave fifty for her parents, and along with their salaries and various coupons, they would be able to live quite comfortably.

Previously, it had been difficult to carry things on the road, so He Tiantian didn’t bring much in the way of pine nuts, dried sour dates, or persimmons. Now that she was back home, she secretly added quite a bit more to those bags. However, her family members weren’t focused on food, so it didn’t draw their attention.

After dealing with the game, Tiantian could rest easy at home without worry.

But thinking of how tiring it was for her parents to work, Tiantian changed her clothes, put on her new blue cotton pants with white flowers, and a little cotton-padded jacket, and started to prepare breakfast in the kitchen.

This set of cotton clothes was newly made for Tiantian by Wang Shuping. Worried that it might be too small, she made it a bit loose. Tiantian felt it was baggy on her, so she took the initiative to take it in.

When altering the cotton clothes, Tiantian was a bit crafty, tightening the shoulders just right and narrowing the sleeves a bit; she straightened the legs and cinched the waist. After wearing it, her figure was highlighted, drawing praises from Wang Shuping and Third Grandma Qi.

However, Wang Shuping privately instructed her that the cotton clothes were for wearing at home only, and if she went out, she should wear a loose coat over them. Firstly, to prevent the cotton clothes from getting dirty, and secondly, to avoid people seeing her and saying she was behaving improperly.