Sun Xiuhua and Zhang Yazhen stood in the Eucalyptus Forest. They saw a tall man take two steps toward Lin Lan before stopping and cursing under his breath.
"Vixen, slut. No wonder we can’t catch her. Turns out she found a lover to help her sell her stuff."
Zhang Yazhen secretly turned to glance at Li Xiangyang. "I’ve seen that man before. He’s always selling things here. Looks like he’s from town! When did they hook up?"
Sun Xiuhua curled her lip in disgust. "He must be her lover. Who else would help her do this kind of thing?"
Zhang Yazhen nodded and hurried to catch up with Sun Xiuhua. "What do we do? The brigade leader said we have to catch them red-handed. If she leaves, we can’t get her!"
Sun Xiuhua’s face was grim. "We’ll go report them to the joint defense team. If we can’t catch that bitch, catching her lover is just as good."
Zhou Xiaohong and Li Wu watched the two won leave, looking thoughtful.
Just then, Li Xiangyang walked over. Zhou Xiaohong went up to him and pointed after the two won. "Xiangyang, sothing’s not right with those two." She suspected they were the ones who had sent the joint defense team to investigate last ti.
Li Wu also spoke up. "Xiangyang, I’m pretty sure they have a problem with Lin Lan. The way they were looking at her, you’d think they wanted to eat her alive. I’m worried they’ll go report us to the joint defense team."
Li Xiangyang nodded. "Leave your things here, I’ll watch them. You go follow them and see what they’re up to. We should get out of here for now."
Li Wu put down his things and followed Sun Xiuhua and Zhang Yazhen. When he saw the two won turn a corner and head toward the vehicle factory, he cursed under his breath, "Bitches. Next ti you co to the Eucalyptus Forest, I’ll teach you a lesson!"
Li Wu hurried back to the Eucalyptus Forest and told everyone to pack up their things and leave.
After receiving the report from Sun Xiuhua and Zhang Yazhen, Xu Dong led his n to the Eucalyptus Forest, only to find it completely empty.
He led his n out of the Eucalyptus Forest and back to the entrance of the alley. Seeing Sun Xiuhua and Zhang Yazhen still waiting there, he walked over and faced them. "Where are they?"
The two won shrank back. "But they were all here just a minute ago!"
Xu Dong stared at them coldly. "I’ll let it go this ti. Next ti, I’m taking you to the police station." With that, he led his n away.
Sun Xiuhua peeked into the Eucalyptus Forest. "I bet they’re all in it together."
Zhang Yazhen thought for a mont and shook her head. "No, last ti I reported the widow and her son, they ca and caught them."
Sun Xiuhua looked at her as if she were an idiot. "And you still say they’re not? They clearly know there are peddlers here, yet they wait for us to report them."
Zhang Yazhen lowered her voice. "Sister Sun, lots of people sell vegetables around here. An egg sells for two cents more than you get at the cooperative."
Sun Xiuhua’s eyes lit up. "Really?"
Zhang Yazhen nodded. "I saw it with my own eyes. You get a better price for vegetables here than at the cooperative, too."
"I have over twenty eggs at ho. At two cents an egg, that’s more than forty cents. Enough to buy two packs of matches."
After doing the math, Sun Xiuhua looked at her, filled with regret. "Why didn’t you say so earlier?"
Zhang Yazhen looked at her. "They don’t know it was us who reported them. We should co sell eggs tomorrow, too!"
Sun Xiuhua agreed. "Let’s co tomorrow and try it out quietly."
Less than two minutes after the two won left, the sellers returned to the Eucalyptus Forest.
The woods gradually grew lively again, bustling with people selling vegetables, eggs, and trading various ration coupons.
****
Lin Lan left the alley by the vehicle factory and reached the main road. She crossed two main streets and turned into a quiet, narrow lane. The lane contained a couple of dark, dilapidated houses, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that soone was hiding inside.
After rushing all the way, she finally reached the secluded alley. Dragging her heavy feet, she took a deep breath and quickened her pace. Panting, she arrived at the courtyard where the vendors were.
The vendors in the courtyard had already set up their stalls, and there were quite a few custors inside.
Lin Lan rembered what Li Xiangyang had said and knew that the stalls here were managed by soone. Just as she was about to look for Brother Yong, a short, dark-skinned young man approached her.
He glanced at the urea bag Lin Lan was carrying and the carrying fra on her back. "Here to sell sothing? First ti?"
"Yes!" Lin Lan smiled and nodded. "Brother, is Brother Yong around?"
The young man nodded. "He is. Are you planning to set up a stall long-term or short-term?"
Lin Lan smiled. "I have a three- or four-year-old child at ho. I’ll co if I have soone to help watch the child. If not, I can’t make it."
The young man waved his hand. "Then there’s no need to see Brother Yong. I’ll arrange a spot for you. Seventy cents a day."
"Okay, I’ll give you the money now." Lin Lan took the money out of her pocket and gave it to him.
The young man took the money and led her to an empty spot in the second row. "This spot is free today. You can set up here."
"Thank you!"
Lin Lan put down the carrying fra and flipped it over, placing her basket on top. She lifted the lid and pulled back the white cloth halfway, revealing the kidney bean rolls inside.
Then she opened the bag of fried broad beans for sampling and began to call out softly when she saw people approaching.
The man at the next stall pushed up his flat cap, glanced at the kidney bean rolls in Lin Lan’s basket, and gave a surprised look.
Just then, a well-dressed woman walked past Lin Lan’s stall. She turned her head, saw the kidney bean rolls in the basket, and stopped. In a low voice, she asked, "Are these kidney bean rolls?"
Lin Lan nodded. "Yes. I just made them this afternoon." As she spoke, she picked up a small knife and cut a piece for her. "Please have a taste. See if you like it."
The woman took the piece of kidney bean roll, tasted it, and nodded. "How much are they?"
Lin Lan smiled. "Twenty cents each!"
"I’ll take ten!"
"Right away!" Lin Lan took out a paper bag, used a pair of bamboo tongs to pack ten rolls, and placed them in the woman’s shopping basket. "My fried broad beans are also very good. Would you like to try so?"
The woman glanced at the bag Lin Lan offered, picked out a bean, and tasted it. Finding it crispy and crunchy, she looked up at Lin Lan. "I’ll take five bags of the fried broad beans!"
Lin Lan opened the urea bag, took out five bags of beans, and put them in the woman’s basket. The woman paid her and walked off with her basket.
Lin Lan used the tongs to place a few more kidney bean rolls in a prominent spot at the front of her basket. ’Not bad,’ she thought. ’Three yuan from my very first sale. If a few more custors like her co by, I’ll be sold out in no ti.’
Soon, a few more people ca over, tasted her wares, and bought so. But these were all small sales, just a few dozen cents or a yuan here and there.
The man in the flat cap looked at the sponge cakes in his own basin, then at Lin Lan’s booming business, and frowned. ’Dammit, what rotten luck,’ he thought to himself. ’Where did this woman co from? Her food looks good and sells fast.’
Lin Lan wished her business was even better so she could sell out quickly and go ho. She didn’t want to be out too late and trouble the old lady.
Whenever a custor walked by, she would enthusiastically recomnd her goods and invite them to have a taste. Finally, she managed to sell everything just before the market closed.
She quickly packed her things into the carrying fra, hoisted it onto her back, and headed out. Just as she left the courtyard and entered the alley, she saw the man in the flat cap from the next stall standing there, watching her.
Lin Lan ignored him and walked straight ahead, but the man in the flat cap stepped out from the side to block her way. "Hey, I’m not a bad guy. I just want to ask, are you going to be setting up your stall next to from now on?"
Lin Lan glanced at him. "I pay by the day. I co when I have ti, and I don’t when I don’t." With that, she walked away.
"Oh!" The man in the flat cap nodded. After a mont’s thought, he hurried after her again. "Hey, if you’re not coming, could you sell your goods to to sell?"
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