The next morning.
It was still dark, but Li Weidong got up from his warm bed.
This time, Li Weibin did not wake up.
However, Grandma heard the commotion and walked out with her clothes draped over her.
"You've just arrived in the city and are unfamiliar with the place.”
As she spoke, Grandma gave some money to Li Weidong.
"Grandma, don't worry. When has your grandson ever suffered a loss?”Li Weidong waved his hand and didn't take it.
Yesterday afternoon, his stepmother, Zhang Xiuzhen, had given him money. He went back to the house and counted it. It was 11.80 yuan, which was already a lot.
Moreover, the reason why he wanted money was to give everyone a misconception so that they would not be suspicious if he made food out of thin air.
"Why are you fighting with your brother? It was fine if they were fighting at home, but when they went out, they had to protect themselves. If anything happened, they had to run.”
Grandma glared at Li Weidong and stubbornly put the money into his pocket.
"Alright, I promise to run faster than a rabbit.”
Li Weidong didn't refuse. He grew up with his grandmother and knew her character very well.
Li Weidong took the flashlight and left in a hurry after saying goodbye to his grandmother.
Li Weidong had already asked his younger brother, Li Weibin, about where Pigeon City was. He even asked Li Weibin to take him there as a scout.
Yesterday, after lunch, he had persisted outside for more than five hours. He had accumulated some energy, but he was still freezing.
However, the pain he felt when he saw the five big old pumpkins was nothing.
Pigeon City in the 1960s could be considered a product of necessity.
Strictly speaking, it was illegal, but because of the special nature of this era, in many cases, they turned a blind eye.
Most people preferred to call it a black market. Not only was it chaotic and shady, but the most important thing was that the price was black.
After Li Weidong entered the black market, he turned off his flashlight and began to scan the people squatting on both sides of the road.
Perhaps some people would think that the black market in this era was like the morning market in the future. The two sides of the market were filled with hawkers selling vegetables, and they could buy whatever they wanted.
In fact, the two were not the same concept at all.
Li Weidong walked slowly for more than ten meters. There were only a handful of people in front of him who were actually putting things on display. Most of them were squatting there, either with an empty basket, a few stones piled up, or a few chicken feathers in their hands.
"Uncle, what are you selling?"
Li Weidong came to the middle-aged man who was holding a chicken feather in his hand and asked softly.
"Eggs, only for exchange."
The middle-aged man glanced at Li Weidong and emphasized the last few words.
"Alright, then how do you want to exchange it?" Li Weidong also reacted.
"One catty of noodles." the middle-aged man replied.
Li Weidong didn't stupidly ask if it was an egg or a pound of eggs.
In this day and age, eggs were more expensive than meat, comparable to luxury goods.
Especially in the past two years, the supply of eggs to ordinary citizens was directly stopped. Those who lived in the city, if they did not have relatives in the countryside, could not even see an egg all year round.
In the novel, during this period, an old coachman in the city said, I've forgotten whether the egg is round or square.
This year, although the supply of eggs had been restored, each household only had a quota of one catty per season.
Usually, it was really not easy for ordinary people in the city to eat an egg.
Therefore, although the other party wanted 500 grams of noodles, the price was not outrageous.
After all, noodles cost nine cents per catty.
However, that was only if they had tickets and certificates and went to the grain and oil store.
If one wanted to buy a catty of noodles without a ticket in the black market, it would cost at least 20 to 30 cents.
"Where's the money?"
"No."
The middle-aged man was determined.
"What about the pumpkin? Do you want to exchange it for a top-grade old pumpkin?" Li Weidong asked again.
"Old Pumpkin?"
This time, the middle-aged man hesitated.
Although it couldn't be compared to noodles or dried sweet potatoes, it wasn't as if the old pumpkin couldn't fill his stomach.
In comparison, it was much more affordable than eating eggs directly.
"How do you want it?"
"How about three catties for one?" Li Weidong thought for a moment and said.
This price was calculated by him.
Previously, Zhang Xiuzhen had said that the pumpkin she bought in the black market was eight cents per catty, and three catty was twenty-four cents.
"Four catties."
the middle-aged man said.
"I don't think it's worth three or four catties. I'm an old pumpkin that weighs at least 30 catties. I can exchange it for ten eggs with you, right?”
"Alright."
The middle-aged man nodded.
"Please wait a moment."
After Li Weidong finished speaking, he turned around and left.
Because the black market wasn't safe and it was his first time, Li Weidong was very cautious and didn't take out the pumpkin early.
When he entered an alley and saw that there was no one around, he took out a pumpkin from the game farm's warehouse, covered it with his clothes, and returned the way he came.
"Uncle, please take a look."
The middle-aged man took the old pumpkin and weighed it in his hand. A hint of joy appeared on his face.
Compared to the weight that Li Weidong estimated, the other party was obviously more proficient.
The pumpkin in his hand was definitely heavy.
"Sixth Brother, give this little brother ten eggs.”
At this moment, the middle-aged man said to a figure squatting a few meters behind him.
"Yes."
The figure responded in a muffled voice. From somewhere, he carefully took out ten eggs.
However, Li Weidong was stunned.
Although he had prepared a torn gunny sack, it was used to hold the pumpkin.
There was a place in the game farm, but he couldn't perform a magic trick in front of everyone, right?
"Uncle, do you have a basket? I'll pay for it." Li Weidong had no choice but to ask for help.
"I still have ten eggs in my basket. Why don't you exchange them all? I can give you the basket too." The middle-aged man suggested.
"Uh, that's fine too. Please wait a little longer.”
Li Weidong repeated what he did just now.
The middle-aged man who took the pumpkin looked at Li Weidong with a strange expression.
"Young man, how many pumpkins do you have?”
"No, just two. I was afraid that someone would snatch them, so I asked my father to watch over there.”Li Weidong grinned.
"Alright, I'll come by every other day. If you still have any more pumpkin, come and exchange it with me.”
The middle-aged man nodded and waited for Li Weidong to leave with a basket of eggs. Then, he winked at Sixth Brother.
The latter sneaked into the alley that Li Weidong had just entered.
A few minutes later, he returned to his original spot with a disappointed expression.
After Li Weidong left, he found a random corner and sent the eggs to the game farm. Then, he carried an empty basket and continued to wander around.
He thought it was worth it to exchange two pumpkin for twenty eggs.
After all, it was equivalent to him basking in the sun for two hours.
"Little brother, do you want a ticket?"
Perhaps it was because he was carrying a basket, but Li Weidong deeply experienced the treatment he received at the train station in his previous life.
Li Weidong gave up after asking about the price.
Without food capital, even if you took the food ticket to the grain and oil store, they would not sell it to you.
Moreover, the food tickets had a date. They were basically used in the same month and expired.
Therefore, these extra food stamps were more used to go to restaurants or buy some non-staple food.
Li Weidong's goal was very clear: ready-made food.
Of course, if it was eggs, meat, or oil, he would not hesitate.
Not long after, Li Weidong found a shop selling white flour.
The so-called white flour was actually divided into grades.
The best was the fine noodles, also known as special grade noodles, which were often referred to as 30 or 40 noodles in the future.
Then there was the high-grade flour. Everyone usually called it white flour. The standard was 60 flour. Later generations of families mainly ate this.
As for the rich and powerful fans, they had 70 fans, which was a little worse.
But now, the most they could get was 80 flour. This was a standard that was implemented when food was scarce. The color was gray and the taste was bad.
Even so, it was still a standard fine grain in the present. Who knew how many people could not eat it.
The other party was selling these 80 fans.
80 cents per catty!
It was almost five times the amount of food used for grain and oil.
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