Chapter 16

Huang Shengnu stood up and walked towards the gate, Li Dong wanted to remind this girl not to cause trouble since the other party was armed. However, the next scene made Li Dong snort and spit, it seemed that cute girls were the same in any era.

Huang Shengnu also lied about looking for her sister, but the treatment was completely different. The other person could wait standing at the gate, while Li Dong had to squat in the corner, which was quite frustrating. He was only doing this for the sake of 56 Chong, so Li Dong decided to endure it.

Huang Yingnu's actions had already been planned. Huang Shengnu was responsible for attracting customers, while Li Dong waited in the alley to show the goods.

Organized and disciplined, if caught, it would be considered a group crime, speculation and profiteering!

"Go and prepare first." Li Dong, carrying a package and a turtle, squatted at the entrance of the alley.

This place was suitable for a quick escape, with a good view to observe the situation. He was on high alert, ready to run at the slightest sign of trouble. It wasn't Li Dong's fault for not betraying his teammate. Huang Yingnu had nothing on her, so she wouldn't get into trouble, but Li Dong had a lot of stuff, and if something happened, it would be serious.

After a while, Huang Shengnu brought a young girl over, and they chatted as they walked.

"Your clothes are really nice." The girl was wearing a modified gray queen's outfit, clearly a fashion pioneer, but compared to the seven-eighths length, pleated, waist-cinched floral blouse, it was like comparing the sky to the earth.

Now, Huang Yingnu was the brightest star in Chixian, tall, beautiful, and wearing a fashionable 21st-century middle-aged style. Jiang Fengxi, who usually considered herself a fashion pioneer in Chicheng, couldn't move when she saw Huang Yingnu's blouse.

"This is the latest style from Shanghai this year. You won't see it here, not even in the provincial capital. It's your good luck to meet me."

Huang Yingnu started to talk up the blouse, saying it was produced by a large factory, the latest style not even available in the capital.

"My brother just brought it back from Shanghai. He didn't plan to sell it, but he lost his money on the way. Now it's time for school, and I need to gather money for the journey." As she spoke, Huang Shengnu waved to Li Dong, who nodded in understanding, knowing it was his turn to act.

If Li Dong were to pretend to be an intellectual, he would look quite convincing. After all, he had graduated from a good university and had been a high school Chinese teacher for over ten years, so his demeanor was spot on. He was a bit shy, a bit embarrassed, and a bit proud, which made him look charming.

Jiang Fengxi's eyes lit up at the sight of Li Dong, who was over 1.8 meters tall, had a good face, and was wearing a fashionable blouse and a pair of white shoes she had never seen before. The aura of a big city person was evident, dazzling Jiang Fengxi.

The girl saw Li Dong take out a blouse with a different pattern from Huang Yingnu's, and it was indeed beautiful. The fabric wasn't cotton but的确良 (a type of synthetic fabric), which she recognized. She had heard that it was produced in the provincial capital, and it didn't shrink, fade, or lose its shape when washed. It was indeed brought back from Shanghai.

"How much?"

"I don't really want to sell it. Just give me the cost price, ten yuan will do." Li Dong reluctantly said the price they had agreed on.

"Ten yuan is a bit expensive." Jiang Fengxi looked at the blouse, really liking it, but she had only been an apprentice for three years and was now a trainee technician, earning 24 yuan a month, plus some subsidies, totaling about 25 yuan.

Taking out ten yuan at once was a bit of a stretch for her. It wasn't that she couldn't afford it, but it was a bit painful. Ten yuan for a blouse was a luxury at the time.

"Six yuan, okay?"

Jiang Fengxi bit her lip and offered a price she could accept. Six yuan was less than a quarter of her monthly salary.

Li Dong and Huang Yingnu exchanged glances, and Li Dong spoke. "Six yuan is too little. I would have to pay nine yuan at the department store, let alone bringing it from Shanghai."

As he spoke, he seemed a bit angry, and Jiang Fengxi saw that Li Dong was about to put the blouse away, which made her panic. "Wait, I really don't have that much money." She took out a five-yuan note from her pocket.

A two-yuan note, some loose change, and a few coupons. Li Dong glanced at them. "Alright, if you really like it, you can make up the difference. I lost some food coupons on the way. If you have food coupons, I'll accept them."

"Food coupons, I have, I have."

Jiang Fengxi was delighted, taking out half a kilogram of food coupons and half a kilogram of meat coupons, which she had planned to use for buying meat. She gave them all to Li Dong, along with seven yuan. Li Dong didn't ask for the loose change.

Jiang Fengxi was overjoyed, trying on the blouse and nodding in satisfaction. The blouse was really not expensive, cheaper than at the department store and didn't require cloth coupons. She didn't know that when的确良 (the synthetic fabric) was mass-produced, it wouldn't require cloth coupons.

"Great, it's a deal." Li Dong and Huang Yingnu high-fived. They had sold one blouse for seven yuan, half a kilogram of food coupons, and half a kilogram of meat coupons, a good start.

"I'll go look around again." Huang Yingnu seemed to see big meat buns waving at her.

Li Dong nodded, hiding and looking around for any suspicious people. Speculation and profiteering were no joke; it could cost him his life. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead; this was the first time Li Dong had done such a thing.

As a teacher, he had never done anything like this. Though he said he wasn't nervous, he was actually quite anxious. Huang Yingnu, a good model, quickly attracted several female workers, two of whom were third-level workers.

In 1976, their salaries were raised to 36 yuan a month, plus some subsidies, which was quite a lot of money. One offered eight yuan and three feet of cloth coupons, the other seven and a half yuan and three feet of cloth coupons. It was clear that the textile factory had plenty of cloth, and they didn't care much about cloth coupons.

"There are two more." They had sold three blouses for 22.5 yuan. Li Dong thought this was more than an apprentice's monthly salary. He was happy, and the remaining two blouses would fetch about 15 yuan, totaling nearly 40 yuan.

"Someone's coming."

This time, four or five girls came, and Li Dong was a bit nervous. What was Huang Yingnu doing, bringing so many people? "They're really beautiful, the patterns are so pretty."

"The styles are also beautiful!"

"Of course, the latest style from Shanghai. Even the locals in Shanghai might not have worn them yet."

Huang Yingnu's exaggerations became more and more exaggerated, but the girls believed her.

The girls pooled their money, seven and a half yuan, 1.5 yuan each, and five of them also contributed a kilogram of food coupons. They happily took the blouses and left the alley.

"Really beautiful."

"Xiaofeng, your family has a sewing machine, and your sister is good at sewing. We can each make one."

"Good idea."

The textile factory had plenty of cloth, and with skilled hands, making a blouse wasn't difficult. Besides, there were no patents in those days. Li Dong was speechless, thinking that in this era, anyone with the nerve could do business and make a lot of money through speculation and profiteering.

Li Dong had planned to bring more blouses next time, but now he realized that people in this era weren't stupid. He had been puzzled about why several girls would buy one blouse, thinking they would take turns wearing it, but they were planning to copy it.

No matter, he would sell the last one.

The last one was bought by a woman who looked like an official. Li Dong asked for nine yuan and three feet of cloth coupons, and to his surprise, she agreed without hesitation. Li Dong and Huang Shengnu were secretly delighted, thinking they should have targeted officials from the start.

In those days, officials had more money. Li Dong hadn't finished marveling at how easy it was to make money when Huang Shengnu pulled him. "Run, that person just reported us to the security office."

"What?"

"Damn."

"Indeed, a good talker isn't necessarily a good person."

Now, Li Dong had no time to marvel. They ran for a long distance before stopping, hiding at a corner and peeking at the alley. Sure enough, the woman official had brought security officers to the alley where Li Dong had sold the blouses.

"Too dangerous."

The security officers were armed with 56 Chong, and a few bullets could have ended Li Dong's life. Fortunately, they had run fast. Li Dong caught his breath. "Thank you, Comrade Huang Yingnu. Thanks to you, we would have been in great danger if you hadn't noticed early."

"No problem."

They hid in the corner for a while, and Li Dong counted the money in his hand: 39 yuan, plus the 1.7 yuan he already had, totaling 40.76 yuan, plus nine feet of cloth coupons, half a kilogram of meat coupons, and one and a half kilograms of food coupons.

The harvest was bountiful, and Li Dong was in high spirits. Indeed, the greater the risk, the greater the reward.

"Let's go, I'll treat you to big meat buns."