The butcher glared at the old woman and said to Fu Wenwen, "These bones, nine mao five a jin, that's all that's left. If you take them all, I'll give them to you for nine mao a jin, no ticket needed!"
Upon hearing "no ticket," Fu Wenwen's eyes lit up. "Then I'll take them all!"
"Really?" The butcher was stunned, not expecting Fu Wenwen to take everything. "There are over ten jin of meat here, you really want it all?"
"Yes, master, don't worry! I really want it all! And can you give me the offal and big bones?" Fu Wenwen smiled at the butcher.
Seeing that they were all worthless items, and since Fu Wenwen was so decisive, he simply gave them all to her. "Alright."
"Thank you, master, you're such a good person." Fu Wenwen smiled at the butcher.
"What kind of foolish wife, doesn't know how to manage her household! What a spendthrift." The old woman saw that Fu Wenwen hadn't listened to her, gave her a disdainful look, and left in a huff.
"Don't mind her, she's just jealous! She's always hanging around me, just trying to get a bargain." The butcher comforted Fu Wenwen. He knew that old woman well.
She lingered in front of his meat stall every day, waiting for him to sell the leftover ribs, insisting he sell them to her for seven mao and give her this and that. He had long been annoyed by her.
Offal wasn't valuable, but someone constantly eyeing it like her was quite off-putting.
"Okay." Fu Wenwen chuckled.
She hadn't intended to pay the woman any mind anyway. Although there wasn't much meat on the ribs, once marinated and then used to cook rice, they would be fragrant and sticky, saving even oil.
As Fu Wenwen was about to head home with Lin An, she saw several people carrying things, looking around cautiously before entering a small alley.
Fu Wenwen guessed this must be the legendary black market and walked in with Lin An.
In the dark alley, some people stood in corners, some squatted on the ground, displaying items on cloth in front of them. Others, like her, had come to browse the black market. The alley was quiet and wary.
Fu Wenwen saw an old woman holding a basket of eggs under a tree and immediately went over.
"Sister-in-law, are you selling eggs?" Fu Wenwen looked at the basket of eggs. Lin An's current frail state made eggs the most suitable nourishment, so Fu Wenwen intended to buy them all.
"Yes, six fen each, no ticket." The old woman lowered her voice, and Fu Wenwen almost thought she had misheard. "How many do you have?"
"Thirty," the old woman replied.
"Then I'll take them all!" Fu Wenwen said to the woman.
Thirty eggs would be enough for her and Lin An to eat for half a month.
Fu Wenwen took out a dollar and eight mao from her pocket and handed it to the old woman. The old woman carefully took the money and then gave the entire basket to Fu Wenwen.
"My husband wove this basket himself. They're cracking down outside, be careful with the child," the old woman warned before leaving the alley.
As Fu Wenwen led Lin An out of the dark alley, she heard a commotion from within, with shouts of people yelling.
"Run!"
"Don't run! Chase them!"
With no time to look back, Fu Wenwen quickly picked up Lin An and ran, looking around for a place to hide.
Fu Wenwen, carrying Lin An, ran through two small alleys. Seeing no one around, she endured the headache and put a basket of eggs and half the meat into her space.
Afterward, Fu Wenwen's head throbbed so intensely she almost fainted. She leaned against a wall to rest for a while and released Lin An from her embrace.