ITBBS Chapter 17

Shen Yao used her spiritual power to locate several black markets. After narrowing it down to two targets, she headed straight for her destination.

She first went to the black market in the suburban area. Although it was already late, she still saw quite a few people.

She noticed that some people would whisper to each other for a moment and then immediately move to another location to conduct their transactions. Everyone was very cautious. Once the deal was done, both parties would disappear without a trace.

This kind of black market had people specifically assigned to keep watch. As soon as Shen Yao approached, a tall, sturdy young man blocked her way.

Seeing that she was a new face, he asked menacingly, “What are you here for? Buyer or seller? Buyers can go straight in. Sellers pay a twenty-cent entrance fee. If there’s a raid, we’ll notify you in advance so you can leave.”

Shen Yao knew the rules of the black market. All those novels she had read in the past weren’t for nothing. She handed over twenty cents and stepped into a very large courtyard.

The courtyard was spacious, and it seemed the black market was doing good business. She saw many people setting up stalls inside, with all sorts of goods on display. One stall even had a lot of antique items, which caught Shen Yao’s interest.

She walked over to an old man’s stall and squatted down. Looking at the porcelain vases, jars, and rare books, she could tell they were all good stuff, not a single fake among them.

“Grandpa, how much are you selling these things?”

The old man had been setting up his stall for several days in a row. Seeing someone finally ask tonight, he quickly said, “These are all good items. If you want them, you can take the whole lot. I want to exchange them for grain. Without grain, it’ll cost three hundred yuan.”

Shen Yao hadn’t expected that the twenty-odd vases and jars, along with over a dozen rare books, would cost only three hundred yuan. It was incredibly cheap.

Knowing that these items were very good, she asked, “Grandpa, how much grain would you want in exchange?”

Zheng Yaozu’s eyes lit up when he heard there was a chance. If he hadn’t run out of money and had no food left, he would never have brought out these antique items to trade.

Even though antiques and calligraphy were now undervalued, he believed that in at most twenty years, these old things would reappear before the public.

“Thirty jin of rice, plus thirty jin of white flour, and two jin of cooking oil and two jin of pork.”

Shen Yao thought it would take more than a hundred jin of grain, but the old man only wanted a few dozen jin of refined grains. Although antiques aren’t highly regarded these days, she knows where the future trend is. “Grandpa, go outside and wait for me for a while. We’ll find a place to trade later.”

“Alright, I’ll wait for you outside the gate.” Then Zheng Yaozu packed up his things and carried them out of the courtyard.

Just then, the middle-aged man running the stall next to her had a sudden inspiration and immediately asked, “Little sister, do you want more antiques? I know someone who has quite a lot of these, and he also wants to trade for some things.”

Shen Yao didn’t expect someone to come to her proactively. She asked with feigned disbelief, “You’re not trying to scam me, are you?”

The middle-aged man grew anxious and lowered his voice, saying, “It’s true. The person I know has quite a bit of wealth, but his situation isn’t good right now. He wants to trade everything away. Sister, if you’re really interested, I can take you to him later. If the deal goes through, just give me some grain.”

“Alright then. You wait for me outside too. But if you’re lying to me, don’t blame me for what happens.” Shen Yao wasn’t afraid of being tricked by the middle-aged man. Her mental ability had reached the fourth level, her martial arts had risen to level five of Yellow Rank, and even her water and wind abilities had reached the third level. She was brimming with power, so she really wasn’t afraid of anyone trying to take advantage of her.

The middle-aged man nodded as he packed up his things. He said, “Don’t worry, it’s true. I’m definitely not lying to you.” He really did know the person, a former big capitalist who had been betrayed by his own wife. Not only had his property been ransacked, but he also ended up with a broken family.

Shen Yao walked around the courtyard once more. Not finding anything else she needed, she approached a young errand boy and said in a low voice, “Who’s in charge here?”

The young man wasn’t easily fooled. He immediately grew cautious. “Why are you asking about our boss?”

“I have a batch of refined grains and pork to sell. I need to see your boss. Here’s a sample. You can show it to him. If he’s satisfied, have him come out and talk to me.” Shen Yao understood his caution. She took out a small bag containing a small amount of grain and handed it to him.

The young man opened the bag, his eyes lighting up. He dashed straight into the house.

Within two minutes, the young man came back out with a young man of about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old. He was around 1.8 meters tall, good-looking, with a hint of arrogance in his eyes.

Judging from his attire, Shen Yao could tell that this man was no ordinary person. To have built such a large black market in Jiang City, he must have strong connections and resources.

Qian Hongfei looked at Shen Yao. Although she appeared to be a thirty-year-old rural woman, his intuition told him that this person was no small fry. He didn’t waste words and said, “My surname is Qian. I’m the person in charge here. I hear you have a batch of grain and meat to sell. How much do you have?”

Shen Yao knew the other person was sizing her up. Her expression remained unchanged as she said calmly, “500 jin each of rice and white flour, two butchered black pigs, 100 jin of soybean oil, and 100 jin of brown sugar. I believe you have seen the rice and white flour. The quality and taste are the best. I wouldn’t be looking for you if I weren’t afraid of the risks of selling them in bulk. It all depends on whether you can handle the load.”

Qian Hongfei was inwardly overjoyed. He hadn’t expected this woman to have so many supplies. It was a good thing he had come out, or he would have missed out on so much food.

No matter how excited he was inside, his face remained composed. “We can handle it. My suburban black market is the largest in Jiang City. If we can’t take it, no other black market can.”

“What’s your price?”

Not wanting to miss such a big deal, Qian Hongfei didn’t dare to offer low prices. “Refined grains are 3.5 yuan per jin, pork and brown sugar are 5 yuan per jin, and soybean oil is 6 yuan per jin. That’s the highest purchase price on the black market.” He could then resell these goods for a big profit.

Shen Yao found the price reasonable. After all, the black market had to make money too. “Alright, but I need ration tickets. Any kind will do, preferably national ones. If you have antique items, that would be even better.” She would need to go to another province for school in six months, so ration tickets were essential.

Qian Hongfei had plenty of antique items on hand, so he didn’t hesitate and said, “Sure. I do have some antique items. Where should we trade?”

“There’s an abandoned warehouse outside the city. We’ll meet there in an hour.” Shen Yao had already scouted the location earlier. It was spacious and very suitable for a transaction.