Chapter 113: Who Sends a Silken Letter from the Clouds—Yun Ji

Train station. After Li Chengxi left, Lin Jingyue picked up her suitcase and immediately went to return her ticket.

Since she’d made the trip to Shanghai, she might as well take a look around.

She canceled her ticket and bought one for the next day. She couldn’t get a seat to An City, so she settled for Su City instead—she had a job to do there.

Her final destination would be An City.

She found a guesthouse near the station, put her things away, and went out to explore.

Compared to small towns, the gap between big cities was evident—the most striking difference lay in the clothing.

Not necessarily more fashionable, but the colors were much brighter.

After wandering for over an hour, she found the Friendship Store and stepped in without hesitation.

She needed to stock up on some women’s supplies; the ones she’d bought at the department store last time were almost gone.

People these days were innocent, and buying such things still made them shy.

The saleswoman noticed Lin Jingyue’s calm face and gave her a strange look.

“Comrade, is something wrong?” Lin Jingyue asked, puzzled.

“No, nothing at all,” the saleswoman replied, unwilling to discuss the matter, hurriedly handing over the goods and taking the payment.

Lin Jingyue left with some confusion, but her attention was quickly drawn elsewhere.

After leaving the Friendship Store, she wandered into the department store and bought everything she needed, finally satisfied.

She returned to the guesthouse with her purchases, tucked everything away in her space, and rested.

In the afternoon, Lin Jingyue changed her outfit: ordinary cotton jacket and pants patched here and there, big cotton shoes, her braided hair pinned up, scarf wrapped around her neck, with her skin disguised and her eyes made smaller and the corners drooping.

Carrying a basket, she jumped down from the second floor of the guesthouse, landing steadily.

Her months with Jiang Xun hadn’t been wasted.

Lin Jingyue brushed off her hands and left with the basket. She’d already mapped out the route while shopping.

She’d also spotted the location of the black market.

She was here for a big deal and headed straight for it. The black market was boldly set right behind the hospital.

The area was a maze of old and new alleys, complicated terrain where it was easy for strangers to get lost.

But if someone reported them, it was also easy to escape.

She didn’t rush in. Lin Jingyue circled the area, and once she had a rough grasp, she went over.

“Selling or buying?” The burly man guarding the entrance glanced at her. The basket was covered with a rag, its contents hidden.

Lin Jingyue tucked her hands into her sleeves and lowered her voice. “Brother, I’ve got a batch of goods…”

The man looked her over—looks could be deceiving—and didn’t immediately refuse. “How much? If it’s just a few dozen or a hundred pounds, we don’t have time for that.”

This black market was sizable, which Lin Jingyue had already observed.

“It’s far more than that,” she said, glancing around and lowering her voice further. “You can look at the samples first.”

She didn’t reveal how much she had.

The man figured it wouldn’t hurt to take a look. He signaled his companion to watch the place, then said to Lin Jingyue, “Let’s talk over there.”

Lin Jingyue followed him without fear.

He led her to a corner that could easily be missed. Without waiting for him to speak, she uncovered the basket. “This is the quality of the rice and white flour.”

The rice she brought was mixed with sand, but its quality still shone through.

The man’s expression shifted—the white flour was of premium grade.

“Sister, how much do you have?”

“Tell me your prices first. For meat, I have pork, chicken, duck, fish, and lamb.” Lin Jingyue looked at him calmly, experienced.

The man thought for a moment. “If it’s just cash you want, rice and flour are one yuan each, pork one yuan ten, lamb one yuan twenty, chicken, duck, and fish eighty cents.”

Indeed, much higher than in Bai County.

“I have plenty of goods and can give you all.” Her tone implied she wasn’t entirely satisfied with the prices.

The man took a deep breath. “How much?”

“Five thousand pounds of rice like this, five thousand pounds of white flour, and all kinds of meat together, over three thousand pounds.”

Wow!

His face changed. “Really?! Can you deliver now?”

“As long as the price is right, we can talk.”

“I’ll raise each price by five fen…no, eight fen!”

Currently, on the black market, good rice sold for about one yuan twenty, pork for one yuan thirty to one yuan forty, sometimes even one yuan fifty—there was no shortage of buyers.

Lin Jingyue considered. “Agreed. If you don’t have enough cash, gold bars or—” She pulled out a jade bracelet she’d gotten from Old Huo through conversation. “Paintings and calligraphy are fine, as long as I like them.”

The man looked at her. “I’ll need time to gather everything. Where can I find you?”

“How long will you need?”

“Two hours.”

Lin Jingyue raised her brows. She’d come to the right place. “In the plane-tree alley behind the train station, there’s an abandoned house. After nightfall, I’ll wait for you there for an hour—if you’re late, I won’t wait.”

“Understood. Sister, may I ask your name?”

“Jin.”

“Sister Jin, it’s a deal. I’ll bring people after dark.”

“All right, you can keep this sample.” Lin Jingyue nodded, then turned and left with her basket.

She could tell the man wasn’t the boss here.

Watching her leave, the man took a deep breath, gave his companion instructions, and rushed straight to their purchased courtyard.

“Brother Lu!”

Inside an old alley house, a man lounged on the sofa, listening to the radio and drinking tea, thoroughly at ease.

He opened his eyes when called.

His gaze seemed to pierce through people, deep and tranquil like a crescent moon in the night sky. He was handsome, with an air of elegance.

“I found a big batch of goods…” the man said excitedly, quickly explaining the situation and handing over the sample to Lu Yunji.

Lu Yunji examined it, raised his brows slightly, and spoke in a low voice. “Is it reliable?”

“It should be, Brother Lu. She has no reason to play tricks—it wouldn’t benefit her.”

Lu Yunji pondered briefly. “Prepare the items. Since she’s interested in antiques, bring some over—but not too many…forget it, I’ll go myself.”

An older sister interested in antiques?

He suddenly wanted to meet her.

Meanwhile, Lin Jingyue returned to the abandoned house she’d mentioned. She’d found it while out—a once-grand home now ruined, likely due to some incident.

She mixed sand into her goods in her space. Honestly, when she was in Qingshan Brigade, collecting sand from time to time was a wise move.

If not for her ability to use her mind, mixing sand into five thousand pounds of rice would have been exhausting. Once done, she counted the meat again.

There was a wild boar she’d caught last time on the mountain; she’d only brought out one, sending some to Aunt Jiang’s family.

The rest was shared among a few people, but not finished.

Quite a lot remained.

[Author’s note]: If we’re to count male supporting characters, Li Chengxi and Lu Yunji are the most important.

But they won’t be useless romantic interests.

In my books, every supporting character, female or male, gets their own story—they’re the protagonists in their own lives. I never write about best friends falling out over a man, or brothers fighting over a woman.

It’s too idealistic, haha. Please don’t mind.