"Flower market?" Su Qing turned to look at the man who had approached her. She knew Chuncheng’s climate was like spring year-round, and it was famous for its abundance of flowers. In her past life, before the apocalypse, Chuncheng had been home to the largest flower market in the country, which drew massive crowds daily.

’But in this era, could Chuncheng already have a large-scale flower market?’

’Most people aren’t concerned with the finer things in life right now, are they?’

"That’s right, the flower market. But it’s not the kind of flower you’re thinking of." The man chuckled. "We’ve got a lot of good stuff inside. If you can think of it, we can get it."

Su Qing understood immediately. ’So it isn’t the kind of flower market from the future. It’s just a black market with a pretty name.’ She was surprised that the black market in Chuncheng was actively scouting for customers.

What Su Qing didn’t know was that the man saw her as a fat sheep, ripe for the picking. For this trip to Chuncheng, Su Qing was wearing a sweater Fu Yuzhen had knitted for her. The outer clothes were altered from Fu Yuzhen’s own wardrobe, and since Fu Yuzhen had a keen eye for fashion, the style and color were much nicer than average. Coupled with Su Qing’s slender figure, she was a natural clothes-hanger, making the entire outfit look exceptionally chic.

Furthermore, unlike the other passengers getting off the train lugging around large bags, she carried only a single wicker case. It was only natural that the man saw Su Qing as a plump little lamb.

"This is a black market, isn’t it?" Su Qing asked in a low voice. "Do you guys really need to recruit customers at the train station? I’d think you wouldn’t have any trouble selling your goods."

In Su Qing’s mind, black markets just sold food, daily necessities, or ration tickets. If that was the case, why would they need to go around recruiting people to come buy things?

So, Su Qing wanted to hear what exactly this "flower market" of his had to offer. If it was just daily necessities, she wasn’t particularly interested. After all, she wasn’t short on money or ration tickets, so she had no compelling reason to shop at a black market.

"Looks like you’re a sharp one, Comrade," the man said with a smile. "But we’re different from a typical black market. To be honest with you, our ’flower market’ doesn’t sell food or daily goods. We deal in rare and curious items, things you’ve likely never seen before."

With that, the man lowered his voice even more. "For example... raw stones. You know what raw stones are, right?"

Raw stones!

Su Qing’s eyebrow shot up. ’Wow,’ she thought. She remembered the jadeite craze hadn’t started yet. Most people at this time probably had no idea what raw stones even were. ’Looks like someone is way ahead of the curve!’

"They’re stones that might have jadeite inside," the man quickly explained. "Comrade, let me tell you, jadeite is only going to get more and more valuable. If you buy a raw stone, find some jadeite inside, and hang onto it, you’re guaranteed to make a huge profit down the line. So, what do you say? Want to go check it out?"

The man was confident that young women couldn’t resist something like jadeite. They had lured plenty of women into buying raw stones before and made a killing.

’As for whether they’d actually find anything, or how much jadeite might be inside, well, that’s all up to luck. No one ever guarantees there’s jadeite in a raw stone, after all.’

"Alright, let’s go have a look." Su Qing arched an eyebrow. She wasn’t afraid of being scammed. ’If this really is a scam,’ she thought, ’we’ll see who ends up having the worse day.’

"Excellent! Right this way, the van’s over there." The man pointed to a van in the distance.

Su Qing marveled internally. ’Looks like the person running this ’flower market’ is seriously wealthy. A van in the seventies is as rare as a phoenix feather, yet they’re using one for pickups.’

Su Qing followed the man into the van. Inside, besides the man and a driver, there were five or six other women. They all gave Su Qing a friendly nod as she got in, and she returned the gesture with a small smile.

The man sat down in the passenger seat and grinned. "Alright, we’ve got a full car. Let’s get going."

One of the women asked, "How long will it take?"

"Should be there in about twenty minutes," the man replied with a smile, then turned to the driver. "Let’s head out."

"You got it."

As they drove, Su Qing noticed the van was heading out of the city. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one; the same woman who had asked about the time also realized it. "Hey, why are you driving out of the city?" she asked nervously. "It’s getting more and more remote out here. You’re not up to something, are you? I’m telling you, if you try anything funny, you’ll find we’re not to be trifled with."

As she spoke, the woman clutched her handbag tightly, her eyes darting warily between the driver and the man.

"Whoa, whoa, Comrade, don’t get the wrong idea," the man said quickly with a placating chuckle. "The kind of stuff we sell at our ’flower market’... if we set up in the city and got shut down, there’d be no escape. Please understand our position. And relax, I’m definitely not trying to trick you. I swear on it."

"You’re really not lying?" The woman glanced at the passing scenery, her face still a mask of distrust.

"I guarantee it," the man said, practically swearing an oath. "Look, we’re just trying to do a little business. There’s no need to talk about trickery."

As he spoke, the man secretly glanced at Su Qing. He had one thought he didn’t dare say aloud: if he were really a human trafficker, he would definitely look for pretty girls, not someone like her. She’d be impossible to sell.

The man kept this thought buried deep, truly afraid he’d get beaten up if he said it out loud.

"Fine, then. But if you’re lying, I swear I won’t let you off easy," the woman said, staring at the man in warning.

"Right, right, Comrade. I promise I’m not lying," the man said, smiling hastily.

Su Qing remained silent, sitting quietly in her seat. She could sense that the man wasn’t lying. Because of that, she was actually starting to feel a bit excited about this "flower market." ’In two lifetimes, I’ve never bought a raw stone before,’ she thought. ’I never expected I’d be buying my very first one here in the seventies.’

What woman doesn’t like jadeite and jewels? Su Qing was no exception. Prices were low in this era, and she wasn’t short on cash. If she could really find some good raw stones, it would be a perfect opportunity to stock up on jadeite. She could have some beautiful jewelry made later on.

After about twenty minutes, the van pulled up beside an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the city. It came to a stop, and the man smiled at Su Qing and the other women. "Alright, Comrades, we’ve arrived at the flower market. Let’s get out. I’ll lead the way."

Su Qing got out of the van and followed the man toward the main entrance of the abandoned factory. A young man in his early twenties greeted him with a grin. "Brother Qiu, you’re back!"