"Daddy, so much money."
Beside the empty basket, the little child looked at the neat stack of small bills in Chen Yang's pocket, his eyes shining.
Although the little one didn't understand the benefits of money yet, seeing his daddy so happy made him happy too.
"Daddy earned money, so he can buy Yan Yan delicious things."
"Daddy will take you to the big store to buy good food later."
Chen Yang tidied up the stall. All sixty jin of fresh mushrooms and six jin of dried mushrooms were sold out. Except for the Zhongshan suit wearer who took ten jin of flour, other customers bought things with money.
After all, in those days, grain was scarce. Even for city dwellers, commodity grain was rationed. However, apart from buying grain, wages could still be spared to buy other food.
"Brother, this must be wild game from the mountain. What's the price?"
After packing the basket, Chen Yang pulled the little child to a hunter who still had several snake-skin bags. The man was muscular and had a full beard, clearly an expert hunter from the mountains.
"Heh heh, this pork is nine mao a jin plus ration coupons. This pork without coupons is at least one yuan a jin. My pheasants and wild rabbits smell much better than pork. I sell them for one yuan and five mao a jin."
"It's hard to get goods like this even once every ten days or half a month. Otherwise, life would be much better."
The man selling wild game looked tough, but when he spoke, he gave Chen Yang a feeling of being simple and honest. He had lived two lives and could tell it wasn't an act. Moreover, people in those days truly didn't have so many schemes.
"Little brother, my name is Chen Yang. I'll probably be setting up a stall here often in the future. Let's look out for each other."
Chen Yang extended his hand to the man. He would definitely come to the city to sell things more often in the future. As the saying goes, more friends mean more paths. Besides, with a hunting expert around, he wouldn't have to worry about meat in the future.
"Chen Yang brother, if you don't mind, just call me Tie Niu. I don't have any other skills, just strength. I've even hunted wild boars in the mountains."
"If you have a chance to visit my village, I'll treat you to a drink."
Tie Niu patted his chest twice. Chen Yang winced. If those two punches landed on him, he'd probably be on the ground.
"Chen Yang brother, your child is so cute. I, Tie Niu, have traveled north and south and been to many places, but I've rarely seen such a cute child. Unlike my daughter, who's as black as a coal ball."
Tie Niu looked at the little child beside Chen Yang and grinned. But with his beard, he looked fine before opening his mouth. When he grinned, it actually scared the little one into grabbing Chen Yang's pants and hiding behind him.
"Thank you, Tie Niu brother, for the compliment. My little wine jar takes after her mother. The child is scared of loud noises, please don't mind."
"This is a pheasant feather shuttlecock I made. If Tie Niu brother doesn't mind, take one back for your child to play with."
Chen Yang casually took a feather shuttlecock from the basket. He had originally planned to sell these, but since the mushrooms were sold out, no one even glanced at them.
Tie Niu felt a connection with him and had praised his child, so he might as well give him one.
"I've hunted a lot of pheasants too, and the feathers are all stored at home. I'm not as skillful as you, Chen Yang brother."
"My daughter will definitely like this shuttlecock. Thank you very much, Chen Yang brother. Next time I come to set up a stall, I'll bring all those pheasant feathers for you. These feather shuttlecocks look so good, it's a waste to just keep them."
Tie Niu gently stroked the shuttlecock with his big hand, clearly doting on his daughter.
"Haha, thank you, Tie Niu brother. I still need to take the little one to the big store to buy some food, so I'll be leaving now."
Chen Yang said goodbye and took the little child towards the big store in the county town. After selling the mushrooms, in addition to getting ten jin of white flour, he now had about ten yuan in his pocket.
Sixty jin of fresh mushrooms, with fifteen jin exchanged for the Zhongshan suit wearer's white flour, the remaining forty-five jin sold for eight yuan and nine mao. Sometimes, Chen Yang didn't fuss over an extra ounce or two.
Six jin of dried mushrooms sold for six yuan. Chen Yang earned fourteen yuan and nine mao from selling mushrooms, plus the two yuan given by Shen Xue, totaling sixteen yuan and nine mao.
After all, Shen Xue worked hard for a whole year and only saved two yuan. Workers in the city who ate commodity grain mostly earned only twenty to thirty yuan a month.
Chen Yang earned fourteen yuan and nine mao in just one morning, not counting the ten jin of white flour. He was naturally happy; this was a huge sum of money.
Holding the little one and carrying the basket, Chen Yang's steps were light, almost humming a tune.
Not long after, Chen Yang found the state-run department store in Liuhe County in the most prominent area of the entire county.
Upon entering, a row of bright slogans made his mouth twitch.
"No unjustified beating of customers!"
That's right, in those days, the salesclerks in state-run department stores were indeed that arrogant. In this planned economy, when most things still required ration coupons to purchase, you really had to curry favor with the salesclerks when you came to buy something.
If I'm unhappy, I won't sell it to you.
Complaints?
There were no such things as complaints.
Even the leaders of the department store had no right to fire salesclerks, as they were all fellow workers.
"Sister, do you have any malted milk extract that doesn't require coupons? I'd like to buy some."
"Yan Yan, quickly say hello to Auntie. Auntie will find you something delicious."
Chen Yang spoke to the indifferent salesclerk as soon as he entered. Seeing that she didn't even look up when he spoke, he quickly called out to the little child.
Although he had money now, buying things without coupons depended entirely on others' moods. Although it wasn't as strict as before, where everything required coupons, and there were some goods outside the plan, it still depended on whether the salesclerk was willing to bother with you.
"Auntie, Yan Yan is very good. Auntie, please help Daddy get something delicious."
Hearing Chen Yang's words, the little child quickly spoke in a clear voice. Although she didn't know what malted milk extract was, she was willing to help Daddy.
"Oh, who is this porcelain doll that ran out? Such a sweet little mouth."
The salesclerk, who had been indifferent to Chen Yang, was stunned and managed a smile when she heard the child's voice.
"Malted milk extract without coupons is five mao more expensive, three yuan and five mao and five fen per can."
Because of the child, the stout salesclerk's attitude towards Chen Yang improved considerably.
"Let's get one can first."
"By the way, get two bottles of black ink, twenty jin of rice, and one jin of White Rabbit milk candy."
A can of malted milk extract was almost equivalent to twenty jin of fresh mushrooms, but Chen Yang didn't hesitate to spend it. If it weren't for the lack of good nutritional products these days, he would buy anything, no matter how expensive, for his daughter to supplement her nutrition.
"Okay, wait here. Don't wander around, and don't touch things randomly." Su Dan Novel Network
The salesclerk said, then walked towards the shelves inside. Nowadays, goods were kept behind counters, not displayed inside like in later times where you could pick and choose.
Whatever you get depends on the salesclerk. Buy it or not.
"Malted milk extract is three yuan and five mao and five fen per can. Ink is three mao and five fen per bottle, seven mao for two bottles. Rice is two mao per jin, so twenty jin of rice is four yuan. White Rabbit candy is three mao per jin. The total is eight yuan and five mao and five fen."
Soon, the salesclerk came back with the items. Chen Yang quickly took out the money from his pocket and handed it over.
"Thank you."
"I see there are ox horn combs on that counter. Can you give me one?"
"These combs aren't cheap, one costs one yuan. Are you sure you want one?"
The salesclerk looked at Chen Yang. Chen Yang's clothes were patched in seven or eight places. Although people were not much better off these days, one yuan was enough to buy five jin of japonica rice. Who would be willing to spend it on a comb?
"Yes!"
But Chen Yang's answer was exceptionally firm. In his previous life, he had never bought a single gift that Shen Xue had imagined, and this was a regret for his entire life. This ox horn comb was the first gift he would give her after his rebirth.
No matter how expensive, he was willing to buy it!