Scalpers

Her vegetables were fresher than others', each piece crisp and juicy. Regular customers recognized her, and often before she even reached the city entrance, someone would come up to her and ask what she had brought that day.

She gradually figured out the patterns in the market: Wednesday and Saturday mornings were the busiest and the prices were the best.

Mondays and Thursdays are the off-season because they are government supply guarantee days, but if there are rare items such as out-of-season green beans or okra, they can still sell for a good price.

Xu Xiaoyan sat on the sofa, her fingers unconsciously stroking the water glass, her mind still repeatedly considering how she would make a living after arriving there.

Suddenly, she sat up abruptly.

She was so focused on calculating the area, the apartment type, and the 5,000 yuan construction cost that she overlooked the most basic and crucial prerequisite: she needed to first confirm which building she wanted to choose.

Don't go there happily with the replacement documents only to find that all the good south-facing locations with water features in South Zone 1 have been taken, leaving only a few buildings near the road or next to the power distribution room.

Although they are all 200-square-meter villas, the difference between their locations is huge.

The houses in the southeast corner get the most sunlight; in winter, they can get sunshine from nine in the morning to three in the afternoon.

The row of buildings to the west is right next to the main ring road. Not only is there noise from passing cars, but the afternoon sun can make the walls on the second floor scorching hot.

The more she thought about it, the more restless she became. She put her water glass on the coffee table and jumped up.

He took the property ownership certificate out of his pocket, threw it into his bag, then grabbed his shoulder bag and slung it over his shoulder before rushing down the stairs.

Xu Xiaoyan quickly crossed six streets and turned onto the main road leading to the central area. In the distance, she could see the gray-white three-story building of the real estate transaction center, with the words "Fifth Satellite City Real Estate Transaction Center" in large red characters on the roof.

She ran up to it and finally saw how spectacular the view was. The glass doors of the trading center were wide open, but the crowd at the entrance had completely blocked the doorway.

Those inside wanted to get out, and those outside wanted to get in; the two forces were locked in a tangle at the threshold.

Xu Xiaoyan tried to move closer to the edge of the crowd, trying to find a gap to squeeze in.

But as soon as she got close, she was pushed back by a fat woman's elbow. The woman was incredibly strong, and her elbow hit her ribs, making her gasp in pain.

She changed direction again, walking along the side of the wall, intending to sneak to the door along the base of the wall. However, there was a row of people squatting at the base of the wall, saying that they had been queuing for a long time.

She then realized that although the broadcast had only been going on for a morning, those quick-thinking people had already taken action.

She felt a pang of regret. She should have left immediately after listening to the radio; instead, she had spent so long sitting on the sofa calculating the area.

Why do you have to waste this precious window of time when you can think about those things anytime?

Just as she was getting so anxious that a thin layer of sweat appeared on her forehead, a voice came from behind her to the right, with a deliberately lowered tone:

"Hey girl, wanna cut in line? Fifty bucks, and I guarantee you'll be standing at the front desk within ten minutes."

Xu Xiaoyan turned her head and saw a tall, thin man.

He was probably in his early thirties, wearing a jacket so faded from washing that you couldn't tell its original color anymore. His hair was a mess, as if he hadn't washed it for days, but his eyes were particularly bright and darting around.

Xu Xiaoyan cautiously took half a step back; she had seen plenty of people like this peddling "privileges" in the chaos.

Last autumn, someone was selling "government-supplied grain coupons" at the market for ten dollars each. They said that with the coupon, one could redeem fifty kilograms of rice from a designated warehouse. However, when the people who bought the coupons went there, they found that the warehouse did not exist at all.

I later heard that the person was arrested, but very few of the stolen money were recovered.

She instinctively didn't want to talk to this man, but she couldn't help but glance at the impenetrable wall of people at the entrance of the trading center. If she tried to squeeze through on her own, it would take her more than ten minutes, or even two hours, to get to the front desk.

Moreover, the broadcast said that the resettlement plan would take effect immediately, on a first-come, first-served basis, and those good locations would not wait for anyone.

"Fifty dollars, pay after the service?" she asked tentatively.

The man grinned and said, "Girl, what are you saying? There's no such thing as a free lunch. You have to pay first before you do anything."

Xu Xiaoyan hesitated for about three seconds. During those three seconds, she glanced at the wall of people again and saw a middle-aged man whose shoes had been knocked off. He was hopping on one foot, trying to make his way through the crowd.

She gritted her teeth, took out a fifty-yuan bill from her pocket, and handed it to the man who called himself Lao Hu.

Old Hu quickly took the banknotes, carefully folded them, stuffed them into his pocket, and then looked up: "Girl, believe me, you're in for a big surprise today."

Before Xu Xiaoyan could react, Lao Hu had already grabbed her arm and rushed forward, shouting at the same time:

"Make way! Make way! This is official business! Those of you conducting business in front, please make way!"

He led her into the crowd, and Xu Xiaoyan felt that there were people all around her.

Shoulder to shoulder, back to chest, a mixture of smells assaulted their nostrils: sweat, smoke, leftover food, and the strong smell of medicinal oil on someone.

She was swept along by the crowd and could barely stand. Old Hu held onto her arm to keep her in the right direction.

Someone got bumped in the side by Lao Hu's elbow and turned around to curse, "Why are you pushing and shoving? Are you in such a hurry to be reborn?" Lao Hu immediately retorted:

"Why are you telling me what to do? Did you build this road? If you're so tough, stand still and see if the people behind you trample you to death!"

The man was speechless, glared at him, and finally stepped aside to make way for a narrow gap.

Another bespectacled man was jostled by Lao Hu, causing the documents in his hands to scatter all over the floor. As he squatted down to pick them up, he grumbled under his breath. Lao Hu, without turning around, tossed out a remark:

"Hurry up and pick it up, don't block the way. Can you afford to compensate everyone for wasting their time?"

The man looked up, intending to argue, but when he met Old Hu's frighteningly bright eyes, he opened his mouth and swallowed his words back.

The insults never stopped along the way. Some called him a "queue-cutting dog," some called him a "shameless thing," and others cursed him in dialect, saying a string of words that Xu Xiaoyan couldn't quite understand, but the anger and contempt in their tone were clear.

Lao Hu turned a deaf ear, or rather, he selectively filtered out the pure insults, only responding to those remarks that he felt "qualified" to retaliate.

His mouth is just...unbelievable. He dares to say anything, regardless of whether the other person is male or female, old or young. If he feels that the other person is blocking his way or saying something too offensive, he will retort without hesitation.

As he pulled Xu Xiaoyan forward, she kept her head down the whole time, her face burning red. She even heard people whispering among themselves:

"Is that woman with the guy who cut in line?" "Doesn't look like it, the girl's face is all red." "Who cares if they're with each other, they're both bad people anyway."

This is the latest chapter.