“Sister, I’m in a hurry. If it doesn’t work, forget it.” Lin Zhixia pretended to leave and deliberately took a few steps forward.

“Wait!” the older woman immediately hesitated no longer. Worried that she might lose this big customer and fail to sell all the eggs she brought today, she quickly called her back and gritted her teeth.

“Girl, take them. I’ll sell them to you for 10 yuan and 5 cents!”

Lin Zhixia finally smiled. “Alright, ma’am. Here, 10 yuan and 5 cents—please count it.”

“I’m pregnant and it’s inconvenient. Could you help me carry the eggs to that alley? I’ll have my husband come pick them up.”

The woman took the money and smiled. “Alright.”

“If you need eggs next time, come find me again.”

“Sure.”

After the egg seller left, Lin Zhixia looked around and saw no one. She quickly stored the eggs into her space.

Then she returned to the alley where the black market was.

After walking a few steps, a man on the roadside holding a snakeskin bag suddenly reached out and stopped her.

“Girl, want to buy fish? Freshly caught this morning—farm-raised mud fish. The meat is delicious and perfect for pregnant women to nourish themselves.”

“Not expensive, I’ll give you a cheap price—one cent per fish.”

“Look, they’re all good fish.” The man opened a corner of the bag.

Lin Zhixia leaned in, but before she even saw clearly, a strong fishy smell hit her, making her feel nauseous.

She quickly covered her nose and looked inside. There were over twenty small fish, each not even half the size of her palm.

The smell was overwhelming. Lin Zhixia immediately stepped back and said angrily, “Comrade! Are you treating me like I’m stupid and trying to scam me?!”

The man replied harshly, “Who’s scamming you? If you don’t want to buy, then don’t. Don’t slander me!”

Lin Zhixia snorted and pointed at the bag in disgust. “These are fish nobody wanted—so small they’re worse than fry! There’s barely any meat on them!”

“And you still dare sell them! One cent each? Who are you trying to fool?!”

The fish seller had originally thought that since she was pregnant and looked young, she would be easy to trick and he could sell off the unsellable fish.

Unexpectedly, she was sharp and difficult to deal with. Seeing others starting to look over, he quickly lowered his voice and smiled ingratiatingly.

“Girl, uncle was just joking. Don’t shout like that. You can pay whatever you want and take them all, alright?”

Seeing that Lin Zhixia said nothing, he continued, “Don’t underestimate these fish. They’re perfect for soup or steaming rice.”

“These fish are very lively. Take them home and raise them—one a day, and you’ll have fresh fish every day!”

Lin Zhixia’s space fish pond was actually perfect for raising these fish fry. Once raised, they would grow big and fat.

And with adult fish breeding, she would have a continuous supply of fish.

The moment she saw them, she had already decided to buy them.

However, the man was too greedy—she wasn’t going to be taken advantage of.

“Two cents. I’ll take them all,” she said.

Without giving the man a chance to respond, she added coldly, “If I hadn’t come late today and couldn’t find any fish, I wouldn’t even look at these tiny things—let alone buy them!”

“Two cents it is! Take it or leave it.”

“I won’t sell it if it’s not enough!” the man said, still hesitating.

But Lin Zhixia immediately turned to leave.

“Wait!” he quickly called her back.

“Fine, fine, take them. If it weren’t for the late time today, I wouldn’t sell them this cheap,” he said reluctantly.

He quickly packed the fish and handed them over.

Lin Zhixia smiled faintly, paid two cents, and placed the fish into her basket.

After this, the other sellers saw she was serious about buying and stopped overpricing their goods.

Using constant bargaining and her “walk away immediately” tactic, she managed to buy vegetable seeds at good prices, unexpectedly got two weak apple saplings for free, and even obtained a rabbit caught in a trap, on the verge of death.

After leaving the black market, she went into an empty alley and stored everything into her space.

Before placing the rabbit inside, she even gave it some spiritual spring water.

Almost instantly after drinking it, the weak rabbit visibly recovered.

Lin Zhixia sighed in relief and placed it into the space.

She didn’t intend to eat it right away—rabbits reproduce quickly, so keeping it meant future endless supplies of rabbit meat.

One-time indulgence versus continuous supply—she understood clearly.

Her trip to the black market was extremely fruitful.

She removed her scarf and hat and walked home happily.

Just as she reached the door, she ran into Xiaoyu.

“Xiaoyu, why are you here? Come inside.”

But Xiaoyu pulled her into a nearby alley and asked worriedly, “Zhixia, are you really going to go down to the countryside with the Xie family?”

“Did someone force you? Don’t be afraid. If you don’t want to go, I’ll ask my father to help. He can definitely keep you here.”

Xiaoyu’s father had cheated on her mother and had an illegitimate son. To support that son, he drove Xiaoyu out after indirectly causing her mother’s death. Xiaoyu suffered greatly after leaving home, so she hated her father deeply.

Yet now she was willing to ask him for help for her friend.

Lin Zhixia felt warm inside and held Xiaoyu’s hand. “Xiaoyu, you’re so good to me. Thank you.”

Xie Jingheng, who had hurriedly followed behind, suddenly stopped when he heard their conversation.

When Lin Zhixia was pulled away by Xiaoyu, Xie Jingheng had just returned. He hadn’t clearly seen Xiaoyu’s face and, worried something might happen to Lin Zhixia, he immediately followed.

But he didn’t expect…