Chapter 112 - 0112: Returning to the Black Market4_1
After saying this, Wang Zhengguo quickly added, "I’m not saying there is anything wrong with the law of the state. In fact, the establishment of new China, with its principle of equality for all, has been the greatest blessing for us common folk, sparing us from countless instances of oppression. However, some of those enforcing the law after it was put into effect have been too drastic. After all, there are good and bad people in every stratum of society and we can’t generalize."
Feng Qingxue remained silent, not commenting.
Wang Zhengguo sighed, picked up his chopsticks to eat a bit of food, and didn’t continue the topic.
Feng Qingxue didn’t press further. She thought about how great the black market business must be towards the end of the year, and how she might be able to barter food for many good items, thus she set off the next day.
Although we are now in 1961, the drought last year resulted in reduced grain yield, so there are many people in the black market who are in dire need of food.
On her first round in the black market, Feng Qingxue exchanged five pounds of cornmeal for a gold ring inlaid with an emerald, and three pounds of brown rice got her a finely crafted jade snuff bottle and a blue-and-white porcelain plate.
The gold ring didn’t weigh much, but it was finely crafted and the gemstone was of excellent quality. The snuff bottle and the porcelain plate were also quite nice.
She didn’t lack money, but she intended to barter, one side being food and the other side being goods.
In fact, the people in the black market who were willing to exchange jewelry and antiques for grain were few, unless they were at their wits’ end. They feared inciting trouble, and those who were willing to exchange were living in desperation, yet they did not dare to blatantly bring out their items. Each time, it was Feng Qingxue who approached them and asked if they were willing to exchange goods for grain.