Cannon Fodder in an Era Drama — I Survive with Acting-Chapter 21: Stockpiling

Thankfully, she had taken a shower that morning, so she probably looked normal.

So Fei Jin urged her to hurry up and brush her teeth.

Song Qingya walked over to the mirror. The familiar enamel cup was already filled with warm water, a wisp of steam rising slowly from it. The toothpaste had already been squeezed out.

’Life is truly wonderful,’ she thought.

’My man is so diligent, attentive, and handsome!’

’I can totally accept living in an era without cell phones.’

These simple days were filled with so much happiness.

「In the blink of an eye, the weekend arrived.」

Song Qingya was in an exceptionally good mood and tried on four or five outfits.

She picked up a pink dress, put it on, and spun around twice, but then took it off, feeling it was a bit too conspicuous.

In the end, she decided to wear an inconspicuous long-sleeved shirt made of blue coarse cloth and black pants to go out.

She was going to the market discreetly today, so she naturally couldn’t dress in a way that would attract too much attention.

Fei Jin had a meeting in the morning and could only meet up with her in town in the afternoon.

This gave Song Qingya the perfect opportunity.

The sky had not yet brightened, and the streets outside were still quiet.

Wrapped in a thick scarf, Song Qingya tiptoed out the door.

A cool morning breeze brushed against her cheeks.

Following the clue from Aunt Zhou, she easily found the market’s entrance.

Quite a few people had already gathered in the hidden alley.

The lighting was dim, and the atmosphere felt a little tense.

A thin but sturdy man sidled up to her, a fawning smile on his face.

"Hey, miss, you looking to buy something? I’ve got some good stuff. Want to take a look?"

His voice was low.

Song Qingya had just spent two hundred points last night on a pair of special glasses, specifically so she could buy things at the market.

After putting on these glasses, she could tell if the other person was lying.

Looking through her glasses, she saw the cunning expression on the man’s face and grew wary. She asked him directly, "What do you have? What are your prices? Give me the details first."

The man boasted, "Whatever you want, I’ve got it."

"In that case, I want seeds for wheat, shepherd’s purse, green onions, pumpkin, okra, cabbage... and watermelon. Do you have all those?"

Song Qingya listed off all the vegetable seed names she could think of in one breath.

This stunned the man across from her.

"I do have them, but these vegetables and fruits require different growing conditions."

He shook his head, clearly knowing a thing or two about these seeds.

"Take okra, for example. Not many people around here even know what it is, let alone how to grow it. The climate here isn’t suitable for it."

He suggested, "Why don’t you just buy some cabbage seeds? It’s simpler, and you won’t waste your money. Chinese cabbage is cold-resistant, easy to grow, has a high yield, and is suitable for this area."

"No, I want the seeds I mentioned before. Bring me whatever you have, and we can negotiate the price."

Song Qingya said firmly.

She knew the system hadn’t given her ordinary black soil.

This soil could adjust the temperature and humidity for different plants.

As long as she had the seeds, a high yield was guaranteed. She didn’t have to worry about technical problems at all.

The man looked at Song Qingya as if he were seeing a naive sucker.

In this special era, seeds were a strictly controlled resource.

Even if a production team wanted to get seeds, they had to apply to the relevant departments in advance.

He had gone to great lengths to get this batch of goods and was just wondering how to unload them.

His eyes darted, and he quoted a high price: "Two hundred."

"Twenty?"

Song Qingya asked in return, thinking she must have misheard.

"No way it’s that cheap! Two hundred!"

In this era, two hundred was a whole year’s living expenses for a family of three.

Of course, Song Qingya was no fool.

She said coldly, "Do you think I’m an idiot? Forget it."

"Wait, wait, wait..."

The man hurriedly grabbed her, afraid this rare customer would walk away. "The price is negotiable!"

"Sixty?"

Song Qingya asked tentatively.

"No way, I’d be losing money!"

The man shook his head, refusing.

At that moment, however, Song Qingya suddenly noticed a red "lie" symbol appear above his head. She immediately became vigilant and turned to leave.

Seeing this, the man grew anxious and hurriedly shouted, "Eighty, deal or no deal?"

However, Song Qingya looked up again and saw the red lie symbol was still displayed above his head. She sneered inwardly and kept walking.

Finally, the man seemed to get anxious and gave in. He said in a low voice, "Alright, you win. Sixty it is! I’m really not making a single cent on this."

This time, when Song Qingya looked up, she saw that the red lie symbol above his head had turned blue. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief, knowing he wasn’t lying anymore.

As they made the exchange, the man looked sullen.

He grumbled to himself.

’This girl looks so delicate, who would’ve thought she’d be so shrewd?’

’If I weren’t so desperate to get rid of these seeds, I’d never agree to a deal where I lose money!’

Song Qingya said with a beaming smile, "Boss, since you have seeds, you must have fertilizer too, right? How about selling me twenty bags?"

The man was a little surprised and asked, "Twenty bags? You’re just a girl, can you even carry them?"

Song Qingya smiled faintly and replied confidently, "Don’t you worry about that. I have my ways."

She then arranged a location with the man and told him she would have someone come with a flatbed cart to pick up the fertilizer.

When no one was around, Song Qingya waved her hands and easily loaded the fertilizer into her storage space.

With the glasses granted by the system, she was unstoppable in the market, able to tell at a glance whose prices were the most reasonable and who was a liar.

Not only that, but she also took the opportunity to buy a few industrial tickets.

These were essential for buying big-ticket items like bicycles in the future.

An idea popped into her head.

’It would be great if I could buy a bicycle. That way, it’d be much more convenient to go into town or bring meals to Fei Jin at the base.’

To avoid unnecessary trouble, she bought some other items at the market as well.

White flour was versatile—good for making steamed buns, flower rolls, flatbreads, and more—so she bought five bags to have on hand.

Qi City was located near the north.

Most people there didn’t particularly like eating rice, so two bags of rice would be enough.

「On the street.」

A plainly dressed woman was selling oil she had pressed herself. Seeing Song Qingya, she called out shyly, "Hey there, young lady, care to buy some oil?"

"How much a pound?"

"Ninety cents."

The woman, afraid her price was too high, quickly added.

"If you have grain coupons, that works too. And if you buy a lot, I’ll throw in some homemade pancakes, peanuts, and chili sauce."

’What a bargain!’

Song Qingya had been finding the oil she usually bought to be lacking in flavor.

This oil, however, was a tempting golden color and had a rich, fragrant aroma.

You could tell just by looking that it was pure, unadulterated peanut oil.

"How many more jars do you have? I’ll take them all."

Song Qingya counted out the grain coupons and handed them to the woman.