Chapter 308 - 308: Deal
Jiang Gu gasped when she heard that. How many vegetables would her family have to sell to earn such an expensive bracelet? No, no!
Zhou Lan and Jiang Xia, however, seemed nonchalant. Both had seen luxurious items before and shared Jiang Chuan’s sentiments upon seeing the jade bracelet. Thus, the price was within their expectations.
The man waved his hand, indicating a number two twice.
Jiang Chuan was all too familiar with this tactic. It was an old trick he had used before, to try and increase the price. “Dream on,” he thought.
Jiang Chuan straightforwardly said, “Two hundred, no more, no less. Take it or leave it.” He then prepared to leave.
With that, he turned around and prepared to leave.
Seeing this, the man panicked. “Who negotiates like this?” he thought, feeling cornered with no room for negotiation. He originally hoped for 220, but now was possibly going to miss out on an extra 20.
Had Jiang Chuan genuinely not been interested, the man would have let it go. However, Jiang Chuan was clearly keen on the bracelet but wasn’t willing to pay more. If he missed out on this customer, who knows how long it would be before another potential buyer came along.
The black market in Locust Tree Bay isn’t as thriving as the county’s. Most participants are laborers and farmers, primarily concerned with basic needs, viewing jade bracelets as luxuries.
So, while Locust Tree Bay’s black market had many rare items, there were few who could afford them. Only once or twice had someone from the county specially come to buy such items.
The man gritted his teeth and grabbed Jiang Chuan. “Deal! But 1 want cash, now!”
Jiang Chuan wasn’t fazed. He had just sold their vegetables and certainly had the cash on hand.
The two counted the money on the side. The man, clutching the cash tightly as if fearing it might be stolen, vanished quickly.
Jiang Chuan took the bracelet and walked over to Zhou Lan. He first took Jiang Gu from her arms and placed her on the ground. Then, he took his wife’s hand and slid the jade bracelet onto her wrist. “Dear, 1 love you.”
Reacting quickly, Jiang Xia covered Jiang Gu’s ears and eyes, “Look away and listen nothing it’s inappropriate.”
Blushing, Zhou Lan nestled into Jiang Chuan’s embrace. “We’ve been husband and wife for so long, yet you’re still so romantic.”
However, the joyous smile on her face was unmistakably radiant.
200 coins was no small amount in this era. More crucially, there were many needs for money in Jiang Chuan’s household currently. Ideally, such an amount should be spent on more essential needs.
But, a jade bracelet of this quality isn’t something one encounters often. Perhaps when they have more money in the future, they might not find a bracelet as beautiful as this. That’s precisely why Jiang Chuan was determined to purchase it no matter what.
Jiang Chuan converted the remainder of his money into food stamps. After all, money was only useful in the black market; outside of it, even if one had money, it couldn’t be spent.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Xia found out there were also book tickets available on the black market. He exchanged five coin for book tickets, intending to buy books from the shopping mall later on.
With a thought, Jiang Xia quickly filled up a few baskets with vegetables. Soon after, the group headed directly to the shopping.
Upon their arrival, the store manager, with a face full of excitement, couldn’t help but ask, “Do you have more fish to sell? I’ll buy them all!”
He had previously purchased all of Jiang Chuan’s fish, even leaving a few for himself.
After tasting them, he realized just how delicious the fish Jiang Chuan sold were. Even the fish bones were few, and the soup made from the fish head was even whiter than milk!
He had gifted some fish to the store owner and other government officials. The very next day, his salary was increased, making up for the shortfall he had after purchasing cotton from Jiang Chuan and his family.
After the Jiang family left, he was worried about where he would get more fish. But then, they returned.
However, Jiang Chuan had his reservations. He had previously sold him over a hundred fish, and now, just three days later, he had dozens more. Anyone would be suspicious of where the fish were sourced from.
This year had been a drought year, and nearby villages didn’t have any fishponds. The sudden appearance of these fish was very puzzling.
Brushing it off, Jiang Chuan said, “1 sold all my fish to you last time. Where would I get extra fish from?”
The manager looked a bit disappointed. Following up, Jiang Chuan said, “However, we went to the mountains and collected a lot of wild mushrooms. They’re also valuable and good for health. Would you be interested in buying?” “Of course!” the manager brightened up immediately. In the countryside, there’s a saying that wild mushrooms are as precious as ginseng, and presenting them as gifts would definitely not be looked down upon..