Chapter 327: What a Coincidence
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Auntie Tian, being the director of the country town street office, should be among those with a relatively progressive mindset. However, she still struggled to accept the idea of an unmarried woman.
Jiang Chuan didn’t feel it was his place to comment much on this. In his understanding, getting married at the age of thirty is normal, and even choosing not to marry in one’s lifetime isn’t an issue. But such notions weren’t widely accepted in the 1960s.
He once again realized how feudal the mindset of this era was.
Unsure of how to respond, Jiang Chuan changed the subject, “Auntie, to which village is your daughter being assigned? I’m quite familiar with the village situations and might offer some advice.”
Auntie Tian paused to recall, “I believe it’s Puhshan Village.”
Puhshan Village? Jiang Chuan was taken aback. He hadn’t heard about the current captain resigning. Why was there a new one being appointed?
It wasn’t Jiang Chuan’s fault for being out of the loop. He had left early and naturally missed out on some village updates.
Based on her knowledge, Auntie Tian explained, “The current captain of that village wishes to reunite with his younger brother in the county town. He applied for a transfer back to the county, which took about six months to get approved. He’ll be returning next month.”
No wonder Jiang Chuan saw Zhou Yang at the residential area of the county’s sugar factory. It turned out he had moved there to reunite with the captain’s family.
This news was quite unexpected, and Jiang Chuan needed a moment to digest it.
He initially hoped that his relationship with the current captain would help make the Zhang family’s move to Puhshan Village smoother. But now, with the captain’s impending departure, he must settle matters before he leaves.
At this point, Jiang Chuan didn’t suspect that the personnel changes had anything to do with him.
After leaving the sugar factory’s residential area, Jiang Chuan aimlessly wandered the streets, unsure of where to find the black market. He decided that if he couldn’t find it by nightfall, he’d give up.
He had kept fifteen wild animals to exchange for money on the black market. If he couldn’t find it, his only option would be the supply and marketing cooperative.
Jiang Chuan had come to the county using a permit, so even if he was eager to return, he could only do so the next morning.
His mind preoccupied with the change in the team leader’s position, he had no mood for leisurely strolls. But inadvertently, he stumbled upon the black market.
The entry fee to the black market in the county was slightly more expensive, costing three coin and fifty cents. Without hesitation, Jiang Chuan paid and entered.
This was his third time visiting the black market. Familiar with the layout, he headed straight to the “customer service” to inquire about furniture. Since winter was approaching, he also inquired if they sold charcoal.
It has to be said that the black market offers a wide range of items, catering to almost every conceivable need.
The charcoal on sale cost five coin per basket, two coin more than what’s available in the regular market. Although it’s pricier, the quality of the charcoal in the basket is commendable. It appears long-burning with large, dark chunks.
Jiang Chuan purchased three baskets of charcoal, making arrangements to pick them up from the seller’s place once the black market closed for the day.
Buying furniture followed a similar principle. Vendors couldn’t possibly display large pieces of furniture on site. Instead, they had blueprints ready. Jiang Chuan could select based on these designs or accompany the vendor to choose from available pieces.
Jiang Chuan wasn’t very familiar with the measurement standards of this era, so he decided to visit the vendor’s place to examine the actual furniture before making a choice.
He intended to explore the black market a bit more, selling the wild animals meat he had brought with him, before heading out with the vendor to select furniture.
Selling the wild animals meat went smoothly. Wild rabbits, which usually sold for four coin each, fetched six coin apiece on the black market. Wild chickens were cheaper, doubling in price from one coin to two coin each, earning him a total of fifty coin.
Having made his money, Jiang Chuan was ready to leave with the vendor when he unexpectedly stumbled upon another vendor selling seeds.
The seller had a handful of seeds in his pocket, which he was showing to a potential buyer. Jiang Chuan happened to catch a glimpse of them.
After the buyer left, Jiang Chuan approached the vendor and asked, “How do you sell these seeds?”
The vendor eyed Jiang Chuan from head to toe before asking, “Which kind do you want?”
Jiang Chuan recognized the seeds he had seen earlier as corn and inquired, “How much for the corn seeds?”
The vendor didn’t mention a price but instead said, “Corn seeds can only be exchanged for other seeds. We don’t accept money.”
Jiang Chuan was amused by this. Judging by the vendor’s tone, it seemed he not only had corn seeds but also other varieties on hand..
