Transmigration: Flirted with My Childhood Sweetheart
Chapter 160 - 159: Sorry, I’m Undercover

Chapter 160: Chapter 159: Sorry, I’m Undercover

"Milk powder? Yes, yes, come, follow me inside."

The round-faced lady smiled warmly and grabbed Lin Nianhe’s wrist, pulling her into the alley.

The short man muttered softly from behind, "Big sister, she didn’t pay the entrance fee..."

Before he could finish, he got hit by the silver-haired man again, and his mouth was covered.

The round-faced lady could have ignored this comment, but she stopped, squinted her phoenix eyes at the short man, and said half-smiling, "What? Does my sister have to pay to see me now? Was this your idea, or Old Bai’s idea?"

The silver-haired man covered the short man’s mouth, nodding and bowing, "Big sister, it’s his dumb brain; heh heh...don’t mind him, big sister." After saying that, he kicked the short man.

The round-faced lady snorted coldly and pulled Lin Nianhe further into the alley.

She held Lin Nianhe’s wrist and mumbled, "Don’t be afraid, sister. Those old men always talk too much. If you have any problems, just tell me, it’ll work... don’t worry, I won’t trick you. You saved Xiao Jun’s life, I understand."

She spoke without looking at Lin Nianhe, just the temperature in her palm getting increasingly warmer, seemingly nervous.

Lin Nianhe chuckled softly, lifting her arm to link with hers, she sweetly tilted her head and said in a soft voice, "I’m not afraid, you’re a good person."

"Hey, hey." Finally, the round-faced lady looked at Lin Nianhe, laughed, and patted the back of Lin Nianhe’s hand, "Come, let’s go back to my house to get the milk powder."

Lin Nianhe didn’t ask why the milk powder was at her house, but just followed her, chatting casually as they walked.

"Sister, my name is Lin Nianhe, I don’t even know your name yet."

"Name isn’t important; I’m Zheng Lirong. You’ve met my naughty boy, Xiao Jun, and I also have a daughter who took my surname, Zheng Shan... My husband does disgraceful business, I can’t control him, but as long as we three have food, it’s fine."

Lin Nianhe pondered over these words a few times before asking, "Sister, did you take the kids to their grandma’s house when you took the train back yesterday?"

"Not at all, I’m the only one left in my parental home. Xiao Jun’s grandfather was sick a few days ago, insisted on seeing his grandson, so I just took him to visit..."

Zheng Lirong’s words were fragmented, Lin Nianhe listened carefully, her fingers tightening unconsciously on the hem of her clothes.

A black market dealer managing to buy sleeper train tickets – clearly, she had backing.

No wonder Su Yuncheng followed Zheng Lirong the moment he saw her.

During their conversation, they entered the black market.

Lin Nianhe had never been to the Lan County black market, but this one seemed much deeper than Lan County’s.

Look, the meat seller has set up three tables as his stall, next to him piles of apples and pears formed little hills, and children of three or four could even climb on them. Further away, dark coal piles stretched endlessly.

Such a fearless big display, what kind of normal black market is this?

Knowing that if the Public Security discovered the black market, people would be arrested, and goods would be confiscated.

They dare to act like this, obviously unafraid of inspections... or perhaps no one ever came to inspect.

Seeing Lin Nianhe’s surprise, Zheng Lirong sneered, "Your brother-in-law only deals with sneaky stuff, don’t worry girl, it’s very safe here, no one has ever inspected."

Speaking of her husband, disdain was unmistakable in Zheng Lirong’s eyes.

Lin Nianhe nodded, smiling meaningfully, "That’s impressive."

She suddenly wanted to pat Zheng Lirong on the shoulder and seriously say to her, "I’m sorry, I’m undercover."

She imagined Zheng Lirong’s face upon hearing this, feeling it would be quite spectacular.

But seeing the burly man not far away cutting lamb with a butcher knife, Lin Nianhe temporarily abandoned the idea of revealing her identity.

Being undercover, after all, you can’t reveal your identity just after entering.

It wasn’t because she was a coward.

Lin Nianhe steadied her heart and keenly observed everything around her.

She hadn’t seen Su Yuncheng yet, but felt he was nearby; that familiar sensation, she couldn’t be wrong.

Settling her thoughts, Lin Nianhe looked at the lamb stall not far away and tugged on Zheng Lirong’s sleeve, asking, "Sister, how much is the lamb per pound?"

Zheng Lirong glanced over there, disdainfully curling her lip, "Silly girl, why eat lamb? It’s smelly and lacks fat. Come home with me, I’ll get you some fat pork."

Lin Nianhe looked around, feigning confusion, "There’s no one selling pork here, though."

"Heh, those damned fools just to sell lamb, they cleared out the pork." Zheng Lirong lightly scoffed, but lowered her voice, perhaps afraid of being overheard by people around.

People these days are all keen on fatty meat, and at the Cooperative Society, getting the fattiest cuts requires internal connections.

That’s why beef and lamb are now cheaper than pork by ten percent.

Lin Nianhe smiled and explained, "I’ve always loved eating lamb."

"In that case, let’s go."

Zheng Lirong led Lin Nianhe through the crowd straight to the butcher and said, "My sister wants some lamb. Cut her the best you’ve got."

Her actions were utterly natural; people nearby even kept quiet and moved aside, seemingly wary of offending the big sister-in-law.

"Alright, big sister!" The butcher, unfazed, casually hoisted half a lamb with one hand and asked, "Is this enough?"

"Are you nuts? Chop it up!"

Lin Nianhe: "..."

She waved her hands hurriedly before the butcher could chop, repeatedly saying, "No no no, sister, I can’t eat that much, and I can’t carry it... Just one pound is enough."

"One pound? What’s that gonna do?" Zheng Lirong clicked her tongue, "That’s not even enough to stuff in your teeth!"

Lin Nianhe still shook her head: "Really, that’s enough. I can’t eat so much."

"Fine, just tell me whenever you want some," Zheng Lirong said, unpretentiously picking a piece of meat herself for Lin Nianhe, letting the butcher cut what looked to be about two or three pounds.

The butcher didn’t weigh it but tied it with straw rope and handed it to Lin Nianhe.

Lin Nianhe, holding her money, asked, "How much?"

"What money? It’s just a small thing, not worth much." Zheng Lirong took it from her.

"That won’t do, things should be as they are, otherwise I can’t accept it. I wouldn’t feel right coming back here again," Lin Nianhe earnestly said to Zheng Lirong.

"Geez, why must you be so stubborn..." Zheng Lirong pouted, holding the meat and asking, "How much is it?"

The butcher wiped his face with the back of his hand, glanced at the customers watching, and replied, "It’s usually one yuan and thirty-five cents per pound, but for the lady here, let’s just make it one yuan."

Lin Nianhe: "...!"

Her product, sold for eighty cents per pound, ended up being marked up to one yuan and thirty-five?

Could people really buy at that price?

The crowd waiting around told Lin Nianhe that yes, people were buying, and quite a few at that.

Lin Nianhe cursed silently, ’profiteers,’ and pulled out two yuan: "Thank you."

The meat weighed over two pounds. According to her selling price, it should cost under two yuan.

Clearly a losing deal, yet she had to go through with it.

"Sister-in-law, this..." The butcher hesitated to take it, looking at Zheng Lirong.

Zheng Lirong took the money directly from Lin Nianhe’s hand, threw one yuan on the stand, and shoved the other yuan back into Lin Nianhe’s pocket.

Without further discussion, she pulled Lin Nianhe away, saying as they walked, "Alright, don’t fuss about such a small matter with me. Are you really missing these few coppers?"

Lin Nianhe, feeling embarrassed, gratefully said to Zheng Lirong, "Sister, you’re really kind."

Safe. No loss incurred.

Zheng Lirong smiled heartily and continued pulling Lin Nianhe deeper into the black market.

They bypassed a coal hill, and a large courtyard appeared in front of them.

A huge banyan tree filled the courtyard, its lush branches shading half of it.

This place was extremely quiet, eerily so.

Zheng Lirong didn’t notice anything amiss, pushed open the door, and called out, "Sister, come..."

She had barely started speaking when she suddenly stopped, her brows furrowing as she saw the sight in the courtyard.

Two men hung from the thick branches of the banyan tree.

There were quite a few people in the courtyard, but none of them spoke. At that moment, they all intently watched Zheng Lirong and Lin Nianhe by her side.