It required taking a train to get to the city, but the journey wasn’t too long—just five hours. She took the 4:00 a.m. train and arrived at the city just past nine.
The city was indeed more bustling than the town or the county, but to Bai Jiu, this level of prosperity still felt incredibly backward. She even spotted some foreigners here, though she had zero interest in them. Sooner or later, these people would experience the might of a great nation. Blue Country was no longer the country it used to be. Compared to those who treated foreigners with the utmost reverence, Bai Jiu’s attitude was practically a jarring contrast. Fortunately, no one knew what she was thinking.
After securing a place to stay, Bai Jiu rested in her room for a while before heading out to go shopping. Truth be told, the city lived up to its name—the variety of goods for sale was highly comprehensive. As a woman, she naturally wouldn’t miss out on such a great opportunity.
"Oh my God... buy it!" she cheered to herself.
It wasn’t until the afternoon that Bai Jiu finally put a stop to her shopping spree. Instead of returning to her accommodation, she found a secluded spot to put on a disguise and then sorted out the goods she planned to sell. Since she had far more goods this time compared to the last, she chose a location very close to the train station. It was remote but offered a good vantage point, so she wasn’t worried about anyone harboring malicious intent. She could simply find a densely wooded area and slip into her spatial dimension. This was her safety net. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have dared to come out and sell so many things.
The black market in the city was much easier to find than the one in the county. After all, the city had a larger population. In the struggle to survive, many underground industries naturally emerged. The higher-ups didn’t want people starving to death, so they turned a blind eye. As long as things didn’t get out of hand, they wouldn’t intervene. The people running things at the bottom were also tactful and knew how to read the room. They still took precautions to avoid unwanted attention, but it wasn’t too difficult to track them down.
When Bai Jiu first found the place, she almost thought it was a sting operation set up by the authorities. However, after observing for a good while and seeing people trading with ease, her mind was set at rest.
Finding the person in charge of this black market was quite simple. She went straight to the two guards stationed at the entrance she had come through. No matter the black market, there were always guards keeping watch at the entry and exit points. This wasn’t just to protect themselves, but to protect the entire market.
"I’m looking for your boss." Bai Jiu didn’t disguise her voice, but since her appearance was altered, being this straightforward actually made her look more credible.
"Where are you from?" The guards seemed completely accustomed to people like Bai Jiu who asked for the boss right off the bat. "What’s your business?"
"I’m selling goods. Over a hundred thousand," Bai Jiu said softly, yet the weight of her words was immense.
Sure enough, upon hearing "over a hundred thousand," the two guards’ eyes lit up with sharp intensity.
"What kind of goods?" they probed further.
Bai Jiu curled her lips into a smirk. "You two don’t have the clearance for that." With that, she just smiled and looked at them.
Knowing they had overstepped, the two weren’t offended by her bluntness. "Please follow me."
After winding through a maze of turns, they finally arrived at their destination. Looking at the people coming in and out, Bai Jiu knew that the person running this place conducted business with integrity. Why did she think so? It was because most of the goods leaving directly were loaded onto carts, and the people going inside were merely there to unload. She also gained a new understanding of how the market was developing nowadays. Big cities really were different. They must have caught wind of some news, or else they wouldn’t operate like this...
Sure enough, once she stepped into the courtyard, Bai Jiu finally understood why those incredibly wealthy tycoons in the future got so rich. Guts, audacity, and financial backing—all three were indispensable. If people like them didn’t get rich, who would? Just like the scene before her: the sheer volume of goods stacked inside and out was immeasurable. It truly opened her eyes. From the outside, it just looked like an ordinary courtyard, but stepping inside revealed a hidden world. The goods scattered just in the front yard were roughly equal to the amount she was selling this time.
Upon entering the house, Bai Jiu didn’t meet the so-called boss, but she did meet a smiling manager. The two guards who had brought her in called him Brother Ming. He looked to be in his early twenties at most, but to command such respect from his subordinates, he was likely no ordinary person.
"Brother Ming, she’s selling goods. It’s a huge volume—a hundred thousand," the two reported right in front of Bai Jiu.
Bai Jiu was speechless. Couldn’t they be a little more discreet in front of her?
"Oh, it seems a big deal has come knocking. Are you looking for cash, or..." Though Brother Ming was briefly surprised, he quickly regained his composure. Bai Jiu didn’t miss his subtle shift in demeanor.
"Cash," she declared simply.
Hearing that she only wanted cash, Brother Ming beamed. "Haha, no problem! We’ll take however much you have."
"You’ll have to pick it up yourselves. I don’t deliver." There was no way Bai Jiu was going to haul the goods here.
Brother Ming didn’t seem the least bit bothered by her condition. Perhaps this was how they usually operated.
"No problem. Drop it off anywhere in the city," Brother Ming said with total confidence.
"Alright. Five hundred meters from Zuomulin near the train station." After providing the location, Bai Jiu looked up at the sky. "At ten o’clock tonight."
"No problem," Brother Ming agreed without a second thought. "How much cash should I bring?" In massive transactions like this, it was almost exclusively dealt in cash.
Now it was Bai Jiu’s turn to lose her calm. After mulling it over for a good while, she stated, "Under a million."
That number was a little terrifying. Even Brother Ming was startled by her words. He knew this person was in disguise, but he hadn’t expected her to talk so big.
"Heh, this isn’t something to joke about." Brother Ming’s face darkened.
Bai Jiu realized she had been a bit too eager. "If it’s not a million, it’s at least seven hundred thousand. Do as you see fit. If you don’t believe me, forget it. I’ll just find another buyer." Given her massive inventory, she naturally wanted to offload as much as possible in one go. There was simply too much stuff in her spatial dimension. Even if she shared it with her close friends and family, they wouldn’t be able to finish it in the next twenty years. Therefore, she planned to keep enough to last her for a decade and sell the rest. That way, she wouldn’t find herself short of cash when she needed it.
"Are you reliable?" Brother Ming was still somewhat uneasy. It was an exorbitant amount of money.
"That’s up to you to decide." Bai Jiu shot Brother Ming an amused glance. "Don’t worry. Since I came to you for a deal, I’m certainly not running a sting operation. I’d imagine you guys have at least that much confidence in yourselves." She knew he was worried she was setting a trap.
Sure enough, Brother Ming smiled upon hearing this. "Alright. I trust you."
After Bai Jiu left, the two guards were about to tail her, but Brother Ming called them back.
"There’s no need. Go find the boss." With so many goods, he didn’t have enough manpower here.
Bai Jiu didn’t care how he arranged things on his end. She only wanted his cash.
In the afternoon, Bai Jiu retrieved some food from her spatial dimension and stayed inside the guesthouse. Once the clock struck eight, she quietly slipped out through the window. Fortunately, she was staying on the ground floor, so getting out was no issue.
After arriving at the spot she had scoped out earlier, she looked around. Once she confirmed no one was around, she began taking things out of her space. Naturally, she didn’t leave them at the exact location she had mentioned earlier. Instead, she took a detour into the woods on the right. It was better to be safe than sorry; one could never be too careful when dealing with others.
Clearly, Bai Jiu had overthought it. After taking out all the goods, she headed over to the entry point to wait. Why? Because there was a river right behind the area, blocking any access from that side. Aside from a dirt trail leading from the train station, there was no other way in.
As ten o’clock approached, someone indeed arrived. Bai Jiu stood hidden behind a massive tree.