Wang Lingling glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then quickly slipped into the small alley of the black market, taking a deep breath before entering. The reason for her nervousness was that her experience of being caught last year was still fresh in her mind, and every time she got close to this alley, her heart would start racing.
She found a man standing by the side of the road, carrying a large basket and wearing a straw hat. She lowered her voice and asked, “How much is it?”
The man pulled his straw hat down further and replied in a low voice, “Cornmeal is 0.12 per catty, white flour is 0.18.”
Wang Lingling almost couldn’t control her voice: “That’s so expensive!”
Just earlier, she had bought cornmeal for 0.11 on the street!
The man in the straw hat was experienced and didn’t give her a chance to haggle: “Take it or leave it.”
With the harvest season approaching, anyone with a sharp mind could see that there would likely be a poor harvest this year. The price in the city had only been 0.09 last month, so what’s the harm in raising the price a little? If she didn’t buy now, the price would go up even more later.
Wang Lingling had money on her and hesitated for a moment, but eventually gritted her teeth and accepted the basket: “I’ll take all the cornmeal. I’ll also take ten catties of the white flour.”
The man in the straw hat was a bit surprised. He had seen many people buying grain in the black market, and they were usually very picky, only buying a little bit. When someone bought a lot, they would usually try to bargain for a lower price, asking for a few cents off for ten catties.
So when Wang Lingling asked, he quoted a high price, waiting for her to ask for a discount.
But instead, she agreed directly?
Wang Lingling, afraid the man in the straw hat might change his mind, pointed at his basket and said, “Give me the price for the whole basket of grain.”
She had already filled both her baskets, so of course, she intended to buy them along with the baskets. After all, the basket itself only cost about 0.1, and she had already spent most of her money, so why save on the small things?
After some haggling, the man in the straw hat paused for a moment.
This was the first time he had encountered someone like this. On the surface, her actions seemed bold, but in reality, she was a bit naive.
She hadn’t even asked how much the grain weighed and was just letting him set the price?
The man in the straw hat didn’t think too much and quickly inflated the weight by several catties. Wang Lingling didn’t care and paid him immediately, signaling him to leave with the baskets.
The man in the straw hat took the money and quickly disappeared into the alley.
Wang Lingling’s reckless grain buying didn’t escape the eyes of Li Qing, her brother-in-law, and Wang Pingping’s husband.
Li Qing wanted to say something, but after hesitating for a long time, he kept silent. He took the grain that Wang Lingling had bought and placed it on the back of his bicycle, with one basket on each side and one on his back.
When Wang Lingling thought it was about time, she clapped her hands and said, “Let’s go, let’s head back. We’ll come again tomorrow.”
Li Qing, though honest, started to feel a bit worried: “Lingling, don’t you think it’s a bit too much? The grain we’ve bought these past few days is almost several hundred catties. Our storage room is already full, and if we buy any more, we won’t have space.”
Wang Lingling looked down on her brother-in-law’s cowardly demeanor, especially considering his past. This man had been spineless for decades, and he and her sister Wang Pingping never had children. Later, he contracted tuberculosis and died young, which led Wang Pingping to remarry.
Just two months after remarrying, Wang Pingping was already holding a shovel, intending to dig up the graves of Li Qing and his mother, Old Lady Li.
What was the reason for that?
Wang Lingling only found out later that Li Qing had been completely impotent.
Before marriage, Wang Pingping had been an innocent young girl and couldn’t tell. After marriage, she was fooled into thinking that the whole man-woman relationship was just about lying in the same bed. Having no children wasn’t her fault!
She had been deceived for most of her life by a fake medical certificate from Old Lady Li, believing she couldn’t have children and meekly accepting it.
But after remarrying, she realized the truth—it wasn’t her fault at all!
Li Qing had always known he was abnormal, and Old Lady Li must have known too.
So, this mother and son pair had chosen Wang Pingping as a rural daughter-in-law because she would be easier to manipulate and could provide Li Qing with a wife to live a decent life.
Wang Lingling looked down on Li Qing, seeing him as no different from a eunuch.
How could he even be called a man?
However, she didn’t reveal the truth to Wang Pingping, because she was currently collaborating with the Li family to deal with grain. She hadn’t managed to get Cheng Shufen’s gold ring as planned, and her capital was very limited, so she had no choice but to let the Li family take the larger share. Therefore, it wouldn’t be wise to fall out with the Li family just yet.
Wang Lingling had already agreed with Old Lady Li that they would split the grain at a 70/30 ratio, with the Li family taking 70% and Wang Lingling taking 30%. This deal was made because Wang Lingling was a rural resident and would have to handle the sales of the grain, so it was best to keep the Li family’s hands clean—otherwise, the Li family’s workers might lose their jobs because of this.
But although Wang Lingling verbally agreed, she wasn’t happy about it.
She was the one doing all the hard work and suffering, while the Li family just helped store the grain and expected to take 70%?
What a nice thought!
Wang Lingling thought to herself that she wouldn’t tell Wang Pingping about Li Qing being impotent; she planned to use this to control Old Lady Li.
She would insist on a 50/50 split. If the other party refused, she’d reveal the truth about Li Qing.
The Li family was respected in the town, and if this news got out, who would still respect the men of the Li family?
Wang Lingling was feeling very motivated as she thought about this.
Even though she was buying cornmeal at 0.12 per catty now, once the market tightened, she would at least sell it for 0.24 per catty.
In her previous life, although she had enough food, Xu Shuang had gone into town to deliver grain to her master. That old man hadn’t stocked up on grain, thinking that the shortage would be brief, but he was caught off guard. When Xu Shuang delivered the grain, Wang Lingling had followed him into the county and learned that cornmeal there could be sold for over 0.20 per catty, and in some cases, even up to 0.30.
She was very tempted and desperately persuaded Xu Shuang to sell their family’s grain, but Xu Shuang ignored her, saying that selling grain would bring misfortune.
Misfortune? Wang Lingling spat in disdain. Nonsense!
Not earning a huge sum of money when it was right there for the taking was just plain foolish.
This time, she had contributed 40 yuan to the pool, and the Li family had put in over 100.
With this money, they could buy over 1,000 catties of coarse grain. Although it wasn’t too much, flipping it could bring in three to four times the profit.
How could anyone not be tempted?
The hot weather made Wang Lingling even more eager.
She heard Li Qing constantly worrying and being fearful, and she was getting impatient!
“I say, brother-in-law, you’re a man, how can you not even have the guts for this? Always hesitating, and you still want to make big money?”
Wang Lingling didn’t hold back in her words, and little did she know, her remark “you’re a man” was particularly harsh in Li Qing’s ears.
Li Qing shifted uncomfortably: “But this is too much.”
Wang Lingling had been coming into the city for several days, and the grain she bought was piling up to an alarming amount.
Wang Lingling: “Oh, I didn’t make you spend any money. Brother-in-law, you’re so stingy. Look at your mom—she’s old, but she’s still willing to take a chance.”
In fact, Wang Lingling had already done the math for Old Lady Li, and Old Lady Li didn’t hesitate at all.
Investing a little over 100 yuan could immediately bring back over 300. Of course, Old Lady Li was more than willing.
On the other hand, the rest of the Li family was uncertain and hesitant to get involved.
However, Wang Pingping played a huge role in this. Perhaps because she couldn’t have children, Wang Pingping was eager to gain a firm footing in her husband’s family.
Wang Lingling’s proposal to sell grain was a huge opportunity for Wang Pingping.
Just imagine—if Wang Lingling could help the Li family earn a few hundred yuan, Wang Pingping would at least be able to hold her head high in front of the other daughters-in-law.
