CHAPTER 44: CHAPTER 44: SMALL-TIME DEALINGS 1

When they arrived at the courtyard Zhang Yuan mentioned, they discovered it was a large red-brick tile-roofed house, with three-room side wings on both the east and west sides. The courtyard was surrounded by high red-brick walls, and the gate was a big iron door! You couldn’t see anything inside from the outside.

No wonder Zhang Yuan said it was hidden here.

"Zhang Yuan, did you rent this place? It’s perfect for me, isn’t it?" Bai Xue walked into the courtyard and looked around.

"Silly girl, what’s mine is yours, isn’t it? You can use this place from now on!" Zhang Yuan knew that Bai Xue needed such a secluded place, so he let her have it. He could put his own matters aside for the time being.

"Renting doesn’t feel as secure as buying." Bai Xue pursed her lips and said.

"I’ll try to buy it!" Zhang Yuan wasn’t entirely confident that the owner would sell the house.

Originally, this was the home of the former mayor of Pingyang Town. His father knew the former mayor, which allowed him to rent this house; otherwise, it would have been difficult.

The former mayor was promoted to deputy magistrate of Chenxi County, thus the whole family moved away.

If it weren’t for him mentioning his father, he couldn’t have rented this house! The owner said it was fine to leave it vacant.

"Girl, isn’t this the former mayor’s house?" Wang Cheng, who was following behind, recognized the place.

Bai Xue looked at Zhang Yuan, who nodded.

Wang Cheng observed their interaction and grew even more certain that they weren’t ordinary people. He felt lucky to have found them.

His attitude became more courteous.

"Uncle Wang, let’s talk inside!" Bai Xue noticed Wang Cheng’s change in expression and knew what he was thinking without guessing, but she didn’t explain. She let him imagine freely.

Zhang Yuan came last, turned to close the gate, and then stepped forward to open the main house door.

The main house also had three large tile-roofed rooms, with heated beds in the east and west rooms, and a living room in the middle furnished with a mahogany sofa and coffee table. The kitchen was situated at the back of the living room.

However, in the middle of winter, the house wasn’t heated, making it feel cold.

"Uncle Wang, everything’s been sold, right?" Bai Xue cut straight to the point without beating around the bush.

"More than just sold, girl! Now several people are looking for me to buy cigarettes, alcohol, and tea, almost trapping me at home so I can’t go out! The deposit makes my head spin!" Wang Cheng exaggerated.

"Great! This time I’ve brought you some supplies, but not much! Twenty pounds of white liquor, twenty packs of cigarettes, and two pounds of tea leaves! Plus a hundred pounds of yellow millet! You leave enough food for yourself; if there’s anything extra you don’t need, I can take it back!"

"Oh, no, these things aren’t enough to sell, my little ancestor, and you want to take them away! I’ll pay you for these goods right now!" Wang Cheng felt unsatisfied with the quantity, but he knew the goods were precious; having this much was Bai Xue’s capability! He needed to carefully allocate them, striving to ensure everyone who paid a deposit could buy something. They were wealthy people with strong backgrounds.

Saying that, he took a hundred and eighty dollars from his pocket and gave it to Bai Xue, "Girl, this is the money from last time’s two pounds of tea! You take it first! The goods this time, I’ll calculate and pay you immediately!"

"Alright! Then, Uncle Wang, calculate it first; I’m stepping out for a bit!" Bai Xue said as she got up. When she passed by Zhang Yuan, he unexpectedly handed her a bunch of keys.

Bai Xue was overjoyed, as she had planned to use an excuse to put things in the courtyard. Since the courtyard was so open, it was a bit tricky; but Zhang Yuan understood her well, this must be the side-room key.

She looked over, and Zhang Yuan just glanced east, and Bai Xue knew the key in her hand was for the east side-room.

She nodded slightly, walked out, and went straight to unlock the east side-room door and entered.

The layout of the east side-room was the same as the main house, with east and west rooms and a living room in the middle. However, it was empty, truly empty, except for the heated beds in the two rooms, and the living room was empty with no sofa, no coffee table, nothing at all.

Bai Xue didn’t have time to examine what the kitchen was like; she physically entered the supermarket space, took a glance, and noticed changes in the supermarket space; the trash had disappeared, and the trash bins were shining clean.

The supplies she took out had been restored to their original state, the yellow millet bucket was full again, she checked thoroughly, and everything was replenished.

Overjoyed, she first packed the hundred pounds of millet into a burlap sack and brought it out, then took out twenty pounds of white liquor, twenty packs of cigarettes, and two pounds of tea leaves, and placed them on the heated bed in the eastern room.

Looking at these items and thinking about the upcoming New Year, she also took out five pounds of white flour from the supermarket, pondering she could sell it to Uncle Wang if he wanted it; it’s close to New Year, and they could have a meal of white flour dumplings.

After finishing these tasks and heading to the main house, Bai Xue saw Wang Cheng had already calculated the money and placed it on the heated bed, his face showing an irrepressible smile.

"Girl, Uncle has calculated all the money; it’s all here! Uncle has already deducted a ten percent profit!" He smiled, "And here are some coupons! Industrial coupons are more this time, although there are also quite a few cloth coupons! Food coupons are scarce, and there are no meat coupons." Wang Cheng said awkwardly.

"No problem! Any coupon is fine!" Bai Xue smiled slightly, looking indifferent.

However, she was overjoyed inside; she specifically needed cloth coupons, and the others weren’t of much use to her, as the supermarket had everything she needed.

"That’s good! Uncle was worried he couldn’t explain well, you know. Next time, Uncle might have to exchange small yellow fish for supplies; a friend of Uncle’s missed out this time and definitely needs to buy next time—he has quite a few small yellow fish!" Wang Cheng said.

"Great! But Uncle, this is the last batch before the New Year; the next one will be after New Year’s! If there are other reservations, you need to tell them! If they can wait, let them wait; if not, don’t accept deposits to save yourself trouble!" Bai Xue said, picking up the money on the bed.

"Got it, got it, thanks, girl." Wang Cheng’s expression didn’t change at all when Bai Xue told him this was the last batch before the New Year; he continued to smile.

Bai Xue looked at the six hundred and ninety dollars in her hand, and with what she had plus the hundred and eighty Uncle Wang had just given her, she had nearly a thousand dollars, probably enough to build a house.

"Oh, Uncle, I just remembered, I also have five pounds of white flour; if you want it, it’s one-dollar fifty! I’ll sell it to you!"

"Want, want, want!" White flour! Even if he didn’t eat it, people would fight to buy it, he made another eighty dollars this time and solved a family food problem.

This time, his parents and brothers contributed money to buy food, and his pressure wasn’t as great, making it feel like he was floating when he spoke.

With the New Year approaching, he also wanted to buy it home and have a white flour dumpling meal with his family.

"Alright! Then you can take it with you when you leave; I’ll go out for a while! Come over here to pick them up in the afternoon!" Bai Xue knew Uncle Wang couldn’t take the hundred pounds of yellow millet now; she gave him time to find a cart to transport the goods.

"Alright, alright, then Uncle will go find a cart to bring the goods!"

Bai Xue hesitated but then thought, carts weren’t easy to find, having a cart to pull goods was pretty good. So she nodded.

Wang Cheng excitedly took the cigarettes, alcohol, and tea, probably to store them at home first before returning to get the grains. Bai Xue didn’t mind him.

"Zhang Yuan, let’s go find Sister Qiyue! It’s so cold here; it’s better to stand outside!" Bai Xue said while rubbing her hands.

"Alright! Let’s go! You push the bicycle out! I’ll lock the door!" Zhang Yuan looked at the little girl shivering from the cold, feeling particularly empathetic and finding her adorable.

While she was discussing business with Wang Cheng, he didn’t interrupt even once, always watching Bai Xue’s orderly arrangements and appreciating her mature mind and business skills.