r18novel Chapter 120 Sausage
Chapter 120 Sausage
In this era of returning to the primitive, transactions have become direct and crude. What maintains the most basic "fairness" is the "fair scale" at the market entrance.
It was actually a huge and old steelyard balance. The rough wooden steelyard was worn smooth from years of use, with blurry markings on it. Huge iron hooks hung at both ends of the steelyard. The standard weights were a pile of roughly polished stones of different sizes, each marked with a weight number in a striking color.
The old man was clearly used to this. He picked up the cloth bag containing the winter bamboo shoots, and Xu Xiaoyan also picked up a sufficient amount of oranges. The two walked one after the other to an empty fair scale.
Without a word, the old man hung his cloth bag on the iron hook on the left, while Xu Xiaoyan carefully placed the oranges into the huge wicker basket on the right.
The old man silently picked out two stones marked "five jin" from the pile of stones and placed them on the left weighing pan. The right weighing bar immediately tilted high.
The transaction fell into a brief silence. Xu Xiaoyan silently took out a few more oranges from the sack and put them into the basket on the right. The old man squinted and stared intently at the slightly trembling scale.
Xu Xiaoyan added one weight, and the scale sank a little; she added another, and it sank a little more... This process was slow and focused, until the weathered scale, under the pull of two nearly equal weights, finally reached an extremely delicate, almost parallel equilibrium, trembling slightly, with no obvious difference in height.
"Alright," the old man finally spoke. The transaction was complete. The two of them reached for the items almost simultaneously. After confirming that everything was correct, the old man carefully placed the oranges into the old basket he had brought. He even took out a dusty old cloth from his pocket and carefully covered it, as if to block out all prying eyes.
Xu Xiaoyan carefully stuffed the five catties of winter bamboo shoots she had obtained into her partially empty burlap sack and tied the sack tightly again.
She nodded slightly to the old man as a farewell, then turned around and merged into the bustling crowd of people, their smells mingling, to continue her "shopping" journey.
Her gaze swept quickly across one stall after another. Soon, her attention was drawn to a rather calm-looking middle-aged woman sitting on a small stool. In front of the woman was a faded plastic sheet, still torn at the edges, on which were neatly piled several bundles of dark brown, dry, and curled seaweed.
Dried kelp! Xu Xiaoyan's heart skipped a beat. This stuff is extremely light, taking up almost no weight, and it is also very durable and does not easily spoil. More importantly, it is rich in iodine and other minerals. Adding a little to soup can not only enhance the flavor, but also replenish the trace elements that the body urgently needs. In this era of lack of vegetables and nutritional balance, it can be regarded as a rare health supplement.
She struggled to push through the crowd of people haggling in front of her, and arrived at the old lady's stall. She squatted down to make her eye level with the old lady and politely asked, "Auntie, how much do you want in exchange for this dried seaweed? I'll trade you some fresh oranges, is that alright?" She tried her best to make her tone sound gentle and sincere.
Hearing this, the middle-aged woman slowly raised her eyelids. She first looked Xu Xiaoyan up and down, her gaze lingering for a moment on the still bulging burlap sack behind her, before speaking slowly and deliberately, her voice carrying a kind of worldly smoothness and calculation. "Oranges..." she deliberately dragged out the syllable, shook her head, and showed a dismissive expression on her face. "Those things are only good for the novelty, sweetening the mouth, but not filling, and they don't keep well. They wilt in a few days. This seaweed of mine, I brought it all the way from the seaside of my hometown, with great difficulty. It's filling, doesn't spoil, and can be used in soups and dishes."
She held up her rough, slightly deformed fingers and gestured towards Xu Xiaoyan, her tone carrying a condescending sense of superiority. "Considering you're a young girl, and it's not easy for you to work so hard on your own, how about this: one pound of my top-quality dried seaweed in exchange for five pounds of oranges. Girl, let me tell you, this ratio is already being considerate of you. If it were someone else, offering you oranges that wouldn't even fill you up, I might not be so happy to trade!"
She deliberately emphasized "care" and "unwillingness," clearly indicating that on her value scale, her durable and culinary dried kelp was far more valuable than those "good-looking but useless" oranges.
The 1:5 ratio offered by the older woman was indeed quite low, clearly indicating a bias towards certain individuals, but it wasn't entirely unacceptable; it was still hovering near her expected bottom line.
She quickly weighed the pros and cons in her mind, then nodded and said calmly, "Okay, ma'am, let's exchange it according to the ratio you mentioned. I'll exchange it for a pound of dried seaweed."
She untied the burlap sack and, under the watchful eyes of those around her, began taking out oranges. The older woman stood up, hunched over, and rummaged through her bundles of seaweed, finally picking out the worst-looking bundle and handing it to Xu Xiaoyan. She kept muttering to herself, as if trying to justify the deal: "Girl, take this. This seaweed is top-notch. Trading oranges for this is definitely a good deal! In a pinch, just soak a handful, make a soup, and the flavor will be so delicious it could even save your life..."
Xu Xiaoyan didn't reply, but silently took the bundle of dried seaweed that smelled faintly of the sea. It was very light and almost weightless.
She carefully rolled it up, stuffed it into the gap in the burlap sack, then stood up, simply said "thank you" to the still-talking old lady, and turned to leave the stall. She didn't actually like the trading atmosphere that was so obviously calculating and superior.
She continued to struggle through the crowded streets, her eyes scanning both sides. Soon, she saw a middle-aged man squatting on the ground, with several open cloth bags casually placed in front of him, filled with light pink shrimp shells that smelled strongly of the sea.
Dried shrimp is very light and is a great natural MSG, good for enhancing flavor. Xu Xiaoyan actually already had some dried shrimp that she had found through previous searches in her own space. Although it wasn't much, it wasn't something she needed urgently at the moment.
She was mainly drawn to the lightweight nature of dried shrimp, thinking that if she could exchange some of her surplus oranges for them in a suitable ratio, she could further reduce the weight she carried and also stock up on another condiment, which would be a win-win situation.
She had just squatted down in front of the stall and hadn't even had a chance to finish asking her questions when the dark-skinned middle-aged man, who had been keeping his head down, suddenly raised his head and impatiently swept his bloodshot eyes over Xu Xiaoyan.
When his gaze fell upon the striking orange-yellow color in her open sack, the muscles in his face instantly tensed, and the corners of his mouth turned down in impatience. Before Xu Xiaoyan could finish asking "How do I exchange it?", he rudely waved his hand to interrupt her, his tone as stiff as a rock, "Oranges? Why are there oranges again! Let's go! This stuff is neither edible nor drinkable, what good is it if it's sweet! You want to exchange it for my dried shrimp?"
He scoffed, extending a filthy finger that nearly poked Xu Xiaoyan's face, and quoted an astronomical figure: "One pound! My dried shrimp, for twenty pounds of your oranges! Not a single one less! Take it or leave it! Don't block my business!" His attitude was extremely rude, filled with contempt and impatience for this "worthless" fruit.
Xu Xiaoyan was taken aback by his sudden rude attitude, and felt a tightness in her chest. Looking at his face and glancing at the dull, even grayish, shrimp shells in his bag, which were clearly not of high quality, she instantly lost all interest in the transaction.
She said nothing, only glanced at the middle-aged man with a cold look, then stood up briskly without a word, dusted off her knees, turned and left without the slightest hesitation.
She felt a little helpless and self-deprecating. She wasn't really that short of shrimp. She was just thinking about "optimizing the configuration" and "reducing weight and increasing efficiency." She weighed the sack on her shoulder, which was still heavy despite the wear and tear, and sighed softly. She decided not to waste any more time and energy on these petty calculations. It was better to find more practical, equivalent, and truly needed items to exchange.
Xu Xiaoyan carried a burlap sack and walked through the market for a while. She asked at several stalls, some selling various beans, some selling dried mushrooms, and one even had several unopened bottles of vitamin pills.
But the result was either that the other party was indifferent and made it clear that they only wanted to exchange for food, compressed biscuits, or instant noodles, and had no interest in even glancing at her oranges; or that although they were somewhat interested, the exchange rate they offered was so outrageous that it left her speechless and completely unacceptable, as if her oranges were some kind of toxic garbage.
The repeated setbacks gradually eroded Xu Xiaoyan's initial excitement and confidence from her success, replacing it with a barely perceptible sense of discouragement and anxiety. Were these oranges really so undervalued? She even began to consider whether to lower her standards and exchange them for something more ordinary and less valuable, just to lighten her burden a little.
Just as she slowed her pace and her heart began to waver, a stall in a relatively inconspicuous corner of the market, but which was exceptionally clean and tidy, suddenly caught her eye.
The stall owner was a young man in his early twenties, wearing an old but faded jacket, and his hair was relatively neatly combed, which contrasted sharply with most of the unkempt and ragged survivors around him.
His eyes were bright and alert, revealing a cleverness and shrewdness that seemed out of place in this apocalyptic world. In front of him was a relatively intact dark oilcloth with few tears on the edges. On the oilcloth, dozens of sausages, which were reddish-brown, shiny, and of uniform thickness, and looked to be of high quality, were neatly arranged like soldiers in formation.
Next to it, a small dish was specially placed with several slices of sausage, thin as cicada wings. The glistening fat and dark red lean meat intertwined, exuding the tempting salty aroma unique to cured meats. In this free market filled with despair and rudimentary conditions, sausages of this quality were practically "luxury" level hard currency!
The young man clearly knew how to attract customers. As soon as he saw Xu Xiaoyan's eyes sweep over him with inquiry and interest, he immediately put on a warm but not obsequious smile and took the initiative to greet her, "Hey young lady, come and take a look! Top-quality homemade sausages! Made with good pork stored up before the apocalypse, with plenty of spices, the taste is absolutely authentic! Delicious and keeps well! If you're interested, why don't you buy some to take home and try? Or keep some on hand, they'll come in handy in a pinch!" His voice was clear and his pace was neither too fast nor too slow. His attitude was also much better than the previous stall owners who were either indifferent or impatient, giving people a sense of professionalism and trustworthiness.
Xu Xiaoyan's heart suddenly skipped a beat! Sausage! This is a top-quality food that is truly high in calories, fat, and protein, and is extremely durable after being cured and dried! Whether it is steamed or boiled directly, or chopped up and cooked with other foods, it can greatly enhance the flavor and energy supply of food.
This is definitely a much more valuable commodity than bamboo shoots or kelp! Without almost any hesitation, she immediately stopped, squatted down, and simultaneously pulled her burlap sack open wider, revealing the bright yellow, plump, and juicy oranges inside. She asked bluntly, "Boss, can I trade these for it? What's the exchange rate?"
Upon hearing this, the young man eagerly leaned over and glanced into Xu Xiaoyan's sack. When he saw that it contained excellent quality fresh oranges, his professional smile froze for a moment, followed by a bitter smile mixed with surprise and helplessness. He shook his head, his tone remaining polite, but the words made Xu Xiaoyan's heart sink. "Young lady, these oranges of yours... to be honest, they are really good quality, so juicy. If this were in peaceful times, I would definitely trade with you without hesitation, and maybe even give you a good price. But... young lady, as you can see, in this situation..."
He pointed to the glistening sausages on his stall, his tone becoming sincere and realistic, with a hint of candor. "To be honest, what I really want to replace this stall with are instant noodles, compressed biscuits, rice, and dried noodles—things that are tangy, ready to eat right away, or that can easily keep you full for half a day after a simple boil. These oranges of yours are delicious, and they smell wonderful, but they don't keep well! In this weather, even if you're careful, they'll dry out and lose a lot of flavor in about half a month. If I switch to this, and I can't find a buyer to sell them quickly, then they'll all be stuck with me. That risk... I can't afford it." He spread his hands, a sincere expression of helplessness on his face.
Seeing that the young man spoke clearly and sincerely, unlike the others who were either arrogant and rude or impatient and easily angered, Xu Xiaoyan felt more favorably towards him and trusted him more. She hesitated for a moment, then followed up on the topic that the other party was most interested in and tentatively asked, "Boss, I understand your concerns. So... if it's in exchange for instant noodles, what's the ratio here?" She deliberately slowed down her speech and observed the other party's reaction.