Chapter 62: Chapter 62 Always Ready to Run
Jiang Changhai deftly loaded the grains onto the cart, creating a clean and tidy little space for his daughter, then cracked the whip and sped down the deserted road.
From time to time, a sharp whistle could be heard, “Giddy up—”
Upon arrival at the school, Jiang Changhai greeted Old Man Zheng and casually requested a bottle of iced tea for his daughter, which Old Man Zheng had brewed.
Old Man Zheng wasn’t upset at all and was very kind to Jiang Mianmian.
After all, who wouldn’t cherish a cute and well-behaved little girl?
As Jiang Changhai watched his daughter’s tiny figure, his heart warmed, feeling that the hardships of the past two days were all worth it.
Without further delay, he hitched Old Niu and headed to the town.
By the time they reached the town, it was already six or seven o’clock.
There were hardly a few people on the main street, but the alleyways were crowded, with everyone clutching baskets or bags and looking cautious, as if ready to run at any moment.
Jiang Changhai was shrewd and quickly found a small alley off the main road, constantly vigilant of any authorities coming his way.
Old Niu’s eyes bulged as he hurriedly weighed down the tickets with a steelyard, fearful that others might see, “You kid, where did you get so many tickets? Don’t you dare get desperate and resort to swindling; that could get you shot!”
Standing at the corner, he approached those with a cautious look and skittish walk, and within a few words, he made a deal.
The batch of grains was of good quality and plentiful.
Jiang Changhai wasn’t cunning and couldn’t be bothered with long bargaining, so he offered a fair price.
So it wasn’t long before he made the second deal after the first, trading all sorts of things!
In less than two hours, Jiang Changhai had traded two bags and collected a good amount in return, seven to eight yuan plus many cloth tickets and meat coupons.
His family couldn’t earn this much from half a year of hard work on the land.
Carefully examining the tickets, Jiang Changhai felt an upsurge of happiness.
If only he could always do this kind of business, how good that would be!
Just then, he saw a gentleman with glasses carrying a small bag of white flour coming over. He peered at the bag of coarse grains and whispered, “Big brother, I have three jin of fine flour, two milk coupons, one meat coupon, and five yuan. Do you think these can get me that remaining bag?”
When the bag of fine flour was opened, the flour inside was as white as snow, without a speck of dirt, clearly a quality product distributed by the factory.
Although he figured he was losing a bit on the deal, the fact that he could close shop quickly swayed Jiang Changhai, who cheerfully took the bag of flour and weighed it, “How about this, give me one more meat coupon and we’ll call it even. There are seventy to eighty jin in this bag of coarse grains. Don’t believe me? Go home and weigh it, it’s enough for your family for two months.”
The man hesitated for a moment but finally nodded, “Deal. I can’t carry this bag back myself, would you…”
Jiang Changhai carefully counted the cloth tickets and the money, sizing up the man for a moment—Truly skinny!
Then he nodded and said, “Then give me an extra dime for delivery. After all, I’m taking a risk bringing it to your house.”
The man clenched his teeth, “Deal. Thanks for your trouble!”
He really couldn’t carry such a big bag of grains himself.
Having sold off the final batch of grains, Jiang Changhai heaved a long sigh of relief, clutching the pocket with the money, overwhelmed with joy.
This trip had netted him twelve yuan, about ten meat coupons and cloth tickets, and the two milk coupons from before.
It could be said that the haul was quite full!
Aside from the cloth tickets, the rest wasn’t of much use to Jiang Changhai, so he counted the tickets and went straight to Old Niu who was well versed in these matters, “Ho, taking a break, huh.”