Reborn with a Space: Building a Fortune Amidst Famine

"All the same," Yuanyuan said with a smile.

"I see you're from the farm. What are you here for?"

"Aunt, I'm just asking around. I want to buy cotton seeds."

"I'm really not sure about this. I've always lived in the city and truly don't know.

You can check at the seed station, maybe ask around there. They might know."

"Okay, Aunt, I'd like to buy some meat. Do you know anywhere besides the co-op where I could buy some?"

"Buy meat? No. I've only bought it once this year. And it was lean meat."

"Is there nowhere else to buy it? Eggs would do too."

"It's impossible to buy eggs now. Everything you want is extremely hard to find."

Yuanyuan thought for a moment, then decided to be direct, "Even if I spend more money, it's not possible?"

"There's no meat for sale on the black market either. Eggs, maybe, but I doubt it. Given the current temperature, even the chickens aren't laying eggs."

"Aunt, what's on the black market then?" Yuanyuan said, pulling out a handful of sunflower seeds from her pocket, "Aunt, let's chat and snack on some sunflower seeds."

The Aunt didn't decline, "The black market has mostly food right now, but even sweet potato flour is thirty-five cents. Normally at the grain station, it's only eleven cents."

"That's quite a difference. Isn't there any white flour?"

"There is, but very little. A pound costs fifty cents, and it's not even fancy flour, the bran hasn't been ground out."

"Aunt, where is the black market?"

"Come, I'll show you."

Yuanyuan left the hotel. It wasn't noon yet, so she wandered to the place supposedly known as the black market. Hardly anyone was there, and there weren't any goods for sale.

Just then, she heard shouting from behind her. Turning around, she saw a group of young men with a dog coming her way, all of them looking fierce. Yuanyuan quickly stepped aside, waiting for them to pass.

"What are you doing here?"

Yuanyuan glanced up at the young man, whose nostrils were pointed to the sky, "Comrade, I'm not a local. I'm thinking of going to the seed station; isn't this the road to the seed station?"

"Show me your letter of introduction."

Yuanyuan felt a deep sense of disgust, but she still took out the letter and handed it to him.

"Why is someone from an out-of-town farm wandering around here aimlessly?"

Yuanyuan frowned, "I've already told you. I want to go to the seed station to ask about cotton seeds."

"You're very suspicious, come back with us for a while."

"What makes you think I'm suspicious?"

"Stop arguing, follow us back for investigation."

Yuanyuan was infuriated, but she remained rational. She suddenly noticed the dog being held by the man and then used her intent.

The dog suddenly went wild and bit the man's hand.

"Damn dog, let go of me." The man struggled desperately, trying to shake off the dog. But the dog went berserk, refusing to let go.

The nearby people reacted and surrounded the dog, but none of them tried to drive it off.

Yuanyuan stood aside watching the scene unfold, noting how the man's hand was bleeding heavily.

The man forcefully yanked his hand out, blood dripping down, and then he let go of the dog's leash.

"Hurry up and take me to the hospital."

Only then did the others react. Someone took hold of the dog, and the rest crowded around the man, escorting him away.

Yuanyuan watched as the path they took was stained with blood.

She hadn't expected it to turn out so viciously. At the time, she was just angry, never imagining these people would simply watch the dog bite a person without intervening, until someone finally held the dog. It seemed the dog belonged to their leader.

Yuanyuan guessed correctly; as they left, no one cared about Su Yuan.

This place really was a bad omen. Yuanyuan felt upset, deciding to be cautious here, and if necessary, she wouldn't take action.

Wandering out, she saw a few people glancing around suspiciously.

She quickly left, thinking maybe this place was not a good fit for her.

At the seed station, she asked about cotton seeds, and the yield here was only about a hundred pounds, not even close to what she could get herself, so she gave up.

As she was leaving the seed station, someone called her.

Yuanyuan turned to find it was the middle-aged man from the seed station who hadn't spoken earlier.

"Comrade, what do you want from me?"

"Comrade, I'm just asking. Do you have cotton?"

Yuanyuan froze for a moment, then quickly shook her head, "No, I don't have cotton."

The man was very disappointed, buying cotton had become extremely challenging, and he couldn't find any to make bedding for his daughter's wedding.

Yuanyuan really didn't want to waste time here, so she turned and walked away.

She strolled on the way back, noticing more people since it was already noon. Some were returning home from work while others were out for lunch, much more lively than before.

"Xiao Huang, let's head to the village this Sunday. There isn't much to eat here, and snow is coming, so better prepare some."

"I went last week, but there wasn't anything for sale, not even winter melons."

"Sigh, people must be afraid of hunger again? After all, in those years we still had supplies, but they really had nothing."

Yuanyuan suddenly felt deeply unsatisfied, ignoring the unease in her heart.

"Comrades, I have winter melons, each weighs about ten pounds. If you want them, it's one and a half each."

"One and a half each?"

Yuanyuan nodded, feeling unsure, wondering if she was overpricing them.

"Give me twenty, even thirty if you have."

"Yes, I'll take that many too. Comrade, do you have that much?"

Yuanyuan nodded, "Yes, just come to the alley over there at eight tonight to pick them up."

The two nodded repeatedly, confirming with Yuanyuan three times that each would get thirty winter melons before leaving happily.

Yuanyuan continued to roam. She was truly unwilling to leave empty-handed.

She went to the restaurant, had a steamed bun made with three kinds of flour and a bowl of shredded radish soup. Clear and thin. Quite unpleasant.

Leaving the restaurant, she headed straight to the junkyard. If she found no gain here either, it would mean she and this city were financially incompatible.

The gatekeeper was a middle-aged woman, busy sewing shoe soles.

"Auntie, I'd like to buy some books and some plates and bowls."

"Go search over there yourself. The books need to be inspected."

Yuanyuan nodded and walked over, seeing a large pile, crouching down to look through them. Mostly textbooks, not what she was hoping for.

Despite that, she still collected all the textbooks. If necessary, she would take them back to Zhao Yanli. They knew some words already, but they were really busy and exhausted, so they hadn't learned much.