Chapter 148: Market

Chapter 148: Market

The training was held in the yard.

Tables and chairs were already set up in the open area.

Director Wang invited Su Zhaozhao and Lu Haoran to take a seat.

Su Zhaozhao declined Director Wang’s offer to sit in the middle, and both she and Lu Haoran chose seats on the side.

Once everyone had arrived, Director Wang introduced Su Zhaozhao and Lu Haoran. Of course, the focus was on introducing Su Zhaozhao, after which he said a few words before handing the floor to her.

There wasn’t any significant difference between training here and training at their own Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

If there was any difference, it was that the atmosphere here felt more harmonious, unlike at their own cooperative where there were people who liked to argue and nitpick.

After all, she had been personally invited by Director Wang from another Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

Anyone with objections would have to keep them to themselves.

Su Zhaozhao followed the standard procedure and completed the training as she had in previous sessions.

After the training, Su Zhaozhao and Lu Haoran didn’t linger. They were eager to explore the market.

Director Wang handed each of them a red envelope.

Then he saw them off and pointed them in the direction of the market.

No sooner had they left the Supply and Marketing Cooperative than Lu Haoran stopped his bike and eagerly opened the red envelope.

“Sister Su, Director Wang put two yuan in!”

For Lu Haoran, who earned just thirty yuan a month, two yuan was equivalent to two days’ pay.

Of course, as a purchaser, he likely had other benefits on the side.

But who wouldn’t want more money?

“This is the easiest business trip I’ve ever been on. I ate my fill and even get travel expenses.”

With a satisfied smile, he slipped the money back into his pocket. “Sister Su, if there’s another chance like this, you have to bring me along again!”

Su Zhaozhao pushed her bicycle and walked alongside him, smiling. “Director Ren asked each Supply and Marketing Cooperative to finish the training this month. With the month almost over, there probably won’t be any more sessions.”

Hearing this, Lu Haoran felt a little disappointed.

Soon, the two arrived at the market.

By this time, the market had passed its busiest hour.

There were staff wearing armbands patrolling the market to maintain order.

Su Zhaozhao and Lu Haoran pushed their bicycles around.

What was called a market was actually an old street. On both sides of the street were houses, and in front of each house were small stalls.

The old farmers selling products either sat or stood, some silently watching, hoping you would stop to buy something, while others called out enthusiastically as people passed by.

Su Zhaozhao saw a craftsman mending a bowl.

The old master, who looked quite aged, was sitting under a roof, holding a cracked bowl in his hands, carefully repairing it.

Next to him was his toolbox.

The ancient craft of bowl mending has been around for over a thousand years, and it was the first time Su Zhaozhao had seen it in person.

Lu Haoran couldn’t figure out what was so fascinating about watching someone mend a bowl.

The master looked up at them and asked, "Folks, need any bowls mended?"

Su Zhaozhao shook her head regretfully. If she had a broken bowl, she would have asked him to fix it just to see how it’s done.

The master was also disappointed, thinking they were potential customers, but it turned out they were just onlookers.

As they say, experts look for the details, but regular folks just enjoy the show. And yeah, Su Zhaozhao was definitely just there for the show.

After watching for a while, Su Zhaozhao pushed her bike and continued to wander around.

"Sister Su, why are you buying this loofah sponge?"

"To wash the dishes."

"Sister Su, why are you buying this brush?"

"To clean the pots."

Su Zhaozhao saw some feather dusters and bought two, one for the main room and one for the bedroom.

The old woman selling them, with two missing teeth, grinned and said, "I've saved these feathers for several years. Every single one is washed clean and dried in the sun. You can use them with confidence, girl, they're not dirty at all."

They were indeed very clean.

Su Zhaozhao ran her hand over them a few times. They felt amazing!

When she spotted someone selling dried mushrooms, Su Zhaozhao practically sprinted over.

"Sister, want to buy some mushrooms? I picked these from the mountains."

Su Zhaozhao was excited to see the mushrooms, but the word 'sister' almost made her reconsider.

It’s no wonder the girl called her "sister"; she looked to be only fifteen or sixteen, with a sallow complexion and patched clothes.

"How much are these mushrooms?"

The girl, who seemed clueless, hesitated before saying, "I just started, I don’t really know... Sister, you can offer a price."

Honestly, Su Zhaozhao didn’t know the price either.

Currently, the Supply and Marketing Cooperatives didn’t sell them, and there were none on the market.

Su Zhaozhao had even asked Xiao Tang before, and he said that mushrooms were considered scarce goods.

Lu Haoran, being a procurer, was quite clear about it and whispered to Su Zhaozhao, "This year's purchase price for top-grade mushrooms is 3.12 yuan per pound. The quality of her mushrooms probably doesn’t even reach Grade C since they’re home-dried and not sorted, so the sizes vary."

But they were all dried perfectly, and they smelled strongly of dried mushrooms.

The buying price of three yuan per jin isn't cheap; a jin of meat costs only six or seven mao.

Retail would be even more expensive.

"How much do you have?" Su Zhaozhao asked.

The little girl said, "About 450 grams. I borrowed my neighbor's scale before coming. If you'd like, I can borrow it again to weigh them for you."

"No need," Su Zhaozhao replied, picking up the burlap bag of mushrooms to test its weight. It felt about right for 450 grams.

"How about I give you three yuan?"

The little girl nodded eagerly and stood up promptly. Seeing that Su Zhaozhao didn't bring a basket or anything to carry them in, she asked, "Big sister, how should I pack these for you? I need to take this burlap bag back home."

Su Zhaozhao then went to another vendor and bought a bamboo basket.

The little girl happily poured the mushrooms into the basket.

She took the money from Su Zhaozhao, tucked it into her coat pocket, and skipped off happily with her burlap bag.

Lu Haoran almost commented that she’d paid too much, but upon second thought, he understood why she did so—she probably gave a bit extra because she saw that the little girl's family conditions weren’t very good.

By the time she finished shopping, Su Zhaozhao had picked up quite a haul, and her bike was loaded down with bags hanging from the handlebars.

She even bought a traditional Chinese rattle drum (a toy with a handle and beads that make noise when shaken).

"Sister Su, your kid is past the age of playing with a rattle drum, right?"

If he remembered right, Sister Su’s kid was in third grade.

Su Zhaozhao shook the rattle drum a couple of times and said, "I figure they’ll get a kick out of it..."

Besides, she loved it.