1novels Chapter 121 Agreement Reached
Chapter 121 Agreement Reached
"Instant noodles?!" Sure enough, the young man's eyes lit up instantly at those three words! His whole demeanor perked up, and he leaned forward involuntarily, his tone filled with undisguised urgency and a desire for confirmation, his voice rising slightly, "Young lady, you...you have instant noodles?!"
His gaze immediately shifted from Xu Xiaoyan's sack to her face, as if trying to confirm from her expression whether she was joking. Instant noodles, which are easy to store and extremely convenient to eat, are so popular and widely available that they even surpass some fresh staple foods that require cooking. They are truly one of the top hard currencies!
Xu Xiaoyan met his burning gaze calmly and nodded, not denying the fact that she owned the instant noodles. She went straight to the point, "Boss, how many pounds of these sausages do you have in total? If... I want to exchange them all, how many packs of instant noodles do you need?"
When the young man saw that Xu Xiaoyan asked so directly and frankly, not only did she not haggle, but she also showed a generous desire to "buy the whole thing," his spirits immediately lifted, as if he had seen a big customer arrive.
He straightened his back immediately, his face beaming with an even more enthusiastic smile, and replied, "Young lady, you're such a straightforward person! You're definitely destined for great things! All the sausages here are homemade, and they weigh a full sixteen pounds!" Fearing Xu Xiaoyan might not believe him, he added, "They're all the real weight, dried thoroughly, with absolutely no moisture added. You can check them on a fair scale anytime!"
He paused, clearly having already figured out the market situation. "To be honest, young lady, in this day and age, meat of this quality is a top-tier commodity! The market price is at least ten 80-gram packs of instant noodles or eight 100-gram packs per pound." He carefully observed Xu Xiaoyan's expression and cautiously gave the final figure: "My sixteen pounds of sausages, in total, you see—it would take one hundred and sixty 80-gram packs or one hundred and twenty-eight 100-gram packs."
Upon hearing this, Xu Xiaoyan remained outwardly calm, but inwardly she immediately began to calculate. She had indeed stockpiled a considerable amount of instant noodles that were nearing their expiration date, mainly in 100-gram packs, which she had previously searched for.
Based on the ratio quoted by the other party, from the perspective of the value of the goods themselves, exchanging these near-expiry instant noodles, which can fill one's stomach but are nutritionally limited, for high-quality meat that is more durable, higher in calories, and has a better flavor and nutrition is not unreasonable. In fact, it can be said that, under the current circumstances, she has gained a considerable advantage. The practical value and scarcity of sausages are indeed worth the price.
The crux of the matter is not whether the exchange rate is favorable or whether she can afford the instant noodles, but rather an unavoidable practical problem—how can she "reasonably" and discreetly produce these four boxes of instant noodles in full view of everyone?
A hint of hesitation and unease crossed her face. Her brows furrowed slightly, and her gaze shifted back and forth between the pile of sausages and the oranges in her sack. She remained silent and did not immediately agree.
To the young stall owner, her demeanor made it seem as if she was carefully weighing whether the price was reasonable and whether there was room for negotiation.
The young man had been nervously watching her expression intently, his heart pounding in his chest. When he saw that she hesitated to nod and instead showed a dissatisfied look, he suddenly became anxious, as if he had been doused with a bucket of cold water.
Although his sausages were of excellent quality, as he had said before, their circulation was not as reliable as that of basic food items. Finding a buyer who might have a large quantity of instant noodles and was willing to buy them all was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! If he missed this chance, he might not get another one. He didn't know how long these sausages would have to sit there before they could be sold off piecemeal.
He gritted his teeth, a flicker of pain crossing his face, but ultimately his desire to sell prevailed. He decided to take another step back and spoke with a tone of utter sincerity, as if he were offering his own flesh, "Young lady, I can see you're genuinely interested in this deal. How about this, I'll give you an even better discount! Consider it making friends! One pound of sausages for seven 100-gram packs of instant noodles! This is truly the lowest price I can offer, the absolute bottom line! Any lower, and I won't even break even; I'll lose everything!"
Pointing to the glistening, reddish sausages on his stall, he urgently assured them, almost swearing to the heavens, "I'm telling you the truth, young lady, these sausages are made from the real, good pork I stored up beforehand, with the perfect lean-to-fat ratio! The seasonings I used were also top-quality stock prepared before the disaster—Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, salt—everything is genuine! I can guarantee with my hand on my chest that there isn't a single bit of bad meat, offal, or any other junk mixed in! Whether you take them back for yourself or keep them for emergencies, you definitely won't lose out! You won't find another place like this, with this taste!"
His proactive price reduction and confident assurances rekindled Xu Xiaoyan's initial intention to give up. Seven 100-gram packs of instant noodles for one pound of sausage—a significantly better deal than the previous eight packs. She was already extremely interested in the sausages, and the price reduction only increased her desire to buy. A voice inside her screamed: "Take it! I must take it!"
Xu Xiaoyan's gaze seemingly unintentionally swept over the area behind the young man, where a slightly dilapidated wheelbarrow with worn edges on its wooden planks, but whose frame looked sturdy and solid, was quietly parked.
The sides and front and back of the handcart were carefully covered with cardboard from who-knows-where, and a thick, dusty cloth covered the top, completely obscuring the inside of the cart, leaving only an opening at the front for easy access to items. This was clearly an important tool used by the stall owner for transporting and storing goods.
A bold and feasible idea flashed clearly through her mind like a lightning bolt in the darkness!
She immediately put on a perfectly timed expression of mixed excitement and practical dilemma, and said to the young man who was looking on expectantly and almost holding his breath, "Young man, to be honest, the ratio you offered is quite generous. As for instant noodles, I do have some, and enough to exchange for these sausages." She then pointed to the handcart and offered her own solution, "But the problem is, I didn't bring those instant noodles with me. I'm storing them in a relatively safe place some distance away from here."
Looking into the young man's eyes, she earnestly suggested, "How about this? I'll borrow your cart to haul the goods over. Just to put your mind at ease, so you don't think I'm running off with the cart or trying to scam you," she said, patting the sack of oranges beside her feet. "I can leave this whole sack of oranges with you as collateral!"
She clearly explained the transaction process: "This bag of oranges weighs at least 120 or 130 pounds. Consider it collateral. Once I use your car to bring back the agreed 112 packs of instant noodles, we'll complete the sausage transaction. One hand for noodles, one hand for sausages, how about that? It's fair to both of us, and you can rest assured."
The young man's eyes lit up when he heard the proposal! He quickly glanced at Xu Xiaoyan's heavy bag of excellent-quality oranges, then looked at his own empty cart that he wasn't using for the time being. The fact that she was willing to use so many oranges as collateral showed that she was very sincere. It seemed that her claim of having a large quantity of instant noodles was probably true!
No matter how you calculate it, he was in a perfectly good position! He agreed almost without hesitation, "Okay! Sister! No problem! We'll do it your way! You're such a straightforward and considerate person! You can use the cart as you like! I'll wait here and won't go anywhere! I'll keep a close eye on your bag of precious oranges too! I guarantee not a single thing will be missing!" As he spoke, he deftly pulled the cart over and deliberately lifted the curtain covering the front completely, revealing the empty cart bed for her to use.
Seeing his enthusiastic demeanor, Xu Xiaoyan felt a little more at ease. She said, "Thank you, I appreciate your help." Then, she carefully moved the heavy bag of oranges, which she considered important collateral, from her shoulder to a conspicuous spot next to the young man's stall.
Next, she put the other burlap sack she had been carrying on her back, which contained the remaining oranges and the bamboo shoots and seaweed she had just exchanged, into the cart. She carefully covered it with the gray cloth again, smoothing it out to make sure that from the outside, no one could tell what was inside, and that it just looked like some odds and ends.
Once everything was ready, she grasped the cold, rough handle of the cart, steadily pushed it, turned around, and walked against the bustling crowd toward the outskirts of the market.
Xu Xiaoyan carefully avoided the crowded people and the debris on the ground, and finally returned to the relatively open area where military vehicles were parked. She first took out the sack containing her family's supplies from the truck bed, lifted it with difficulty above her head, and put it back in her usual corner in the truck bed to make sure it was safe.
After doing all that, she didn't even have time to catch her breath before she gripped the handlebars again, pushed the now empty cart, and headed without hesitation in the opposite direction from the bustling market—to an even more desolate, almost abandoned area on the outskirts of the base.
Her eyes scanned the surroundings warily until she found a relatively secluded corner behind a half-collapsed brick wall. After confirming that there was absolutely no one around and that even the noisy voices from the distant market had become indistinct, like distant background noise, she finally stopped her cart.
Her heart was pounding slightly with nervousness and anticipation. She tried to calm herself down and then reached into the dimly lit truck bed covered with a gray cloth.
In the next instant, as if by magic, one after another, square 100-gram packs of instant noodles with familiar trademarks appeared silently in the empty truck bed, as if being steadily held up by an invisible hand.
To ensure absolute accuracy and avoid any errors that could cause disputes, Xu Xiaoyan focused intently on controlling her mental focus while silently and clearly calculating the quantities in her mind: "One pack, two packs... three packs... four packs... five packs... six packs... seven packs... okay, that's the first pound..."
"Next... eight packs, nine packs... ten packs... eleven... twelve... thirteen... fourteen... this is the second jin..."
She dared not be distracted in the slightest, focusing all her attention on controlling the spatial output and memorizing the quantity, while her ears, like radar, vigilantly detected any unusual movement around her.
This process seemed simple, but it consumed a lot of her mental and physical energy. Fine beads of sweat even appeared on her forehead due to her intense concentration, slowly sliding down her temples.
"...One hundred and nine, one hundred and ten, one hundred and eleven, one hundred and twelve!"
When the last packet of instant noodles landed lightly in the car, Xu Xiaoyan's tense nerves finally relaxed. She let out a long, silent sigh of relief, feeling a thin layer of sweat on her back.
She raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve, and then gently pressed her slightly throbbing temples to relieve her mental fatigue.
After carefully covering it with a gray cloth, making sure it was completely covered, Xu Xiaoyan gripped the handle of the cart again, turned around, and headed back along the way she had come, towards the still bustling market.
The market was still bustling and noisy. When Xu Xiaoyan reappeared on the narrow passage leading to the sausage stall, pushing the small cart that was obviously much heavier, the young man who had been sitting behind his stall, pretending to be calm and sorting sausages, but who was actually restless and like an ant on a hot pan, constantly craning his neck to look at the intersection, almost instantly sprang up like a spring!
Although he had believed in Xu Xiaoyan's sincerity, the bag of oranges was, after all, just collateral. What he really wanted was instant noodles, which could be used as emergency currency. The longer he waited, the more uneasy and anxious he became. All sorts of bad guesses ran through his mind, fearing that the bag of oranges was the final outcome of this transaction, and that he would be disappointed.
At that moment, seeing Xu Xiaoyan truly keep her promise and return pushing her cart—and judging from the effort she was making to move it, and the bulging, angular shape of the cart covered by the gray cloth, clearly filled with a large quantity of square-shaped goods—his face instantly blazed with uncontrollable excitement and elation. His eyes shone brightly, and he forgot all about the sausages on his stall, rushing to greet her, his voice trembling with excitement, "Big...Big Sister! You're back!!"