Chapter 305: Black Market
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
A table was placed in the middle of the street, with nothing on it. In front of the table sat a man. Merchants and pedestrians would approach him with questions. He would look around, then point in a certain direction. The questioner would then head in that direction.
Jiang Xia guessed that because merchants dared not display their wares openly, pedestrians didn’t know who to approach for purchases. The man with the table served a purpose akin to modern-day customer service.
Mischievously, Jiang Xia wondered if this “customer service” would be of any help if one had complaints.
Jiang Chuan and his group, each carrying a basket, stopped at the entrance of the street. They intended to enter, but were stopped by a man, “Sorry, there’s an event taking place on this street. It’s not convenient to pass now. Please go around.”
The man was surprisingly polite, Jiang Xia thought.
Jiang Chuan grasped the situation and pointed to his basket, asking, “Are there any requirements to participate in this event?”
The man glanced at Jiang Chuan’s basket and asked, “Are you here to buy or to sell?”
“Both.”
“To trade, you need to pay. Three coins per person.”
So expensive! Jiang Xia was shocked. The four of them would have to pay twelve coins just to enter. What if they couldn’t sell their goods?
Jiang Xia tugged at her father’s sleeve, hinting they should leave. However, her father had already taken some money from his pocket.
Seeing she couldn’t dissuade him, she quickly asked before her father could pay, “Uncle, do you have a child ticket?”
Jiang Chuan and Zhou Lan exchanged glances, taken aback.
The gatekeeper, unfamiliar with the term “child ticket”, said impatiently, “Per person, three coins.”
After paying, they entered.
Although Jiang Xia made a few remarks about her father’s spending habits, her curiosity quickly shifted to observing the black market’s operations.
She noticed a man with a basket talking to a woman. After a short conversation, the woman inspected the contents of the man’s basket. Subsequently, she handed over a bead to the man, who then gave her his basket.
This seemed to be the trading process.
Jiang Xia observed that the bead was actually a pearl. Although not of the best quality, it was still valuable.
What Jiang Xia didn’t know was that the entire country was facing a drought. Aquaculture farms lacked sufficient water, and many had already gone bankrupt. With no clams, the production of pearls had greatly decreased. As the saying goes, “what is rare is precious,” so the pearl the woman had was worth thirty coin.
The reason for the high entrance fee to the black market is that one can exchange items here that aren’t typically seen in regular markets, and they can sell their goods at a much higher price.
Jiang Chuan was good at doing business, and even though it was his first time at the black market, he was navigating it with ease.
He observed that there were unwritten rules on the black market. Different vendors had their designated areas. For instance, those selling vegetables were mostly concentrated near the entrance of the black market.
Jiang Chuan deduced this because he smelled the fresh scent of vegetables, as well as the fishy odor of fish and meat. But as he ventured deeper into the market, these scents faded, clearly indicating he was moving farther from the vendors.
With Zhou Lan and his two daughters in tow, he approached the man sitting beside the table and politely asked, “Brother, we have some white radishes and fish that we’d like to exchange. Where should we go?”
Jiang Chuan’s guess was right; the man pointed towards the entrance of the black market.
Expressing his gratitude, Jiang Chuan headed towards the vegetable-selling area.
In reality, their initial intent for visiting the black market was to buy items – to see if there were rare commodities that were hard to find elsewhere. However, after spending twelve coin just on the entrance fee, the group lost the desire to shop. They were now focused on selling their goods and making some money first.
Despite standing there for quite a while, not a single person approached Jiang Chuan’s group. Jiang Xia was a bit disheartened, “Dad, look at the other vendors. Several groups of people have approached them in just this short amount of time. We haven’t had even one. Do you think we won’t be able to sell our vegetables?”
Jiang Chuan frowned in thought. “That’s not the case. There must be some details we overlooked. Don’t worry, 1’11 go and ask around.”
He approached one of the busiest vendors in the area.
The man was wearing a cloth hat, and his clothes were stitched from wolf pelts, clearly signifying his affluence..