Ruling the Historical Romance Novel as the Female Supporting Character-Chapter 318: The Prices Here Are Cheaper Than in Hu City

Su Yijia wasn’t particularly surprised.

The kinds of missions Qin Kaize had done in the past surely required such preparations. He carefully fixed her hair and then put on a wig for her—a style typical of a country man who hadn’t cut his hair in half a year. It looked a bit messy but was just enough to cover most of her eyes and brows, though it would make it a little difficult to see later.

The exposed skin was all coated with a dark, foundation-like substance.

“This is a special material,” Qin Kaize explained as he applied it, “It’s a bit suffocating, but it won’t come off when you sweat or come into contact with water, unless you use a very hot, damp towel to wipe it off.”

Finally, he dressed her in a set of worn, but still intact, hemp clothes.

Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Su Yijia even subtly hunched her back to match the disguise.

"Perfect, my wife is so clever," Qin Kaize praised without any reservation. He then took out a pair of slightly smaller but noticeably men’s size cloth shoes. These shoes had a one-centimeter internal lift, just enough without being obvious since there weren’t any high-top shoes around. He stuffed the shoes with soft cotton to keep them from slipping off while walking.

Once Su Yijia was fully disguised, he started working on his own. They ended up in similarly styled clothes, with the same skin tone, making them look like brothers. However, Qin Kaize added a moderate-sized scar to his brow, completely changing his aura, making him look like a rogue ready to pick a fight.

"It’s already past seven. Is the black market still open?" Su Yijia asked as they headed out.

"It is. The black market here stays open until about 8:30 or 9:00. Being close to the coast, the availability of goods is low. Even those who enforce the rules sometimes rely on the black market to get by," Qin Kaize explained.

Su Yijia tried her best to remember the route, but she still felt a bit dizzy.

However, seeing Qin Kaize so cautious, she suddenly realized how reckless she had been back in Hu City.

Relying on the fact that it was Hu City, with more small businesses and people everywhere, she had never once considered the need for disguise. Even when dealing in the black market, she hadn’t thought twice. And when it came to doing big business with Qiu Yanming, she had still been so careless.

Fortunately, back then, she had been lucky—Qiu Yanming wasn’t a cold-hearted person.

Otherwise, she might never have known how she ended up dead.

With that thought, Su Yijia placed a hand over her chest, pressing down on her rapidly beating heart, which was still pounding with the aftereffects of her fear.

"What’s wrong? Am I walking too fast?" Qin Kaize stopped, concerned.

"No," she shook her head. He had been matching her pace perfectly. She was just embarrassed to admit that she was spooked by her own past foolishness. But Qin Kaize still believed she was tired.

"We’ll rest for a bit. There’s still plenty of time," he said, leading her to a hidden corner and holding her hand gently. Su Yijia took out a cup filled with malted milk from her space, took a sip, and then handed it to Qin Kaize.

After resting for five minutes, they continued on to the black market. They stopped outside a two-story courtyard. Qin Kaize knocked once long and once short, twice, before the door opened. The man who opened it eyed them warily but still stepped aside to let them in.

"Who are you? Who sent you?" the man asked, scrutinizing them.

"Old Six sent us. We have big business to discuss with your boss," Qin Kaize replied, his voice altered. Su Yijia silently marveled at his professionalism. His disguise was flawless.

"What kind of business?" the man pressed.

Qin Kaize took a large box of oil from the basket on his back and also pulled out a pound each of six different fruits.

"It’s a large quantity, we’ll settle the payment today," he said.

The man’s eyes lit up when he saw the fruits. He opened the small lid of the box and, upon realizing it was oil inside, his facial muscles twitched uncontrollably.

"You two, follow me," he said, clearly not interested in the formalities, and moved to report to his boss.

These were good things—things they usually couldn’t get their hands on. How could they let such a valuable opportunity slip away?

"Zhuzi, why did you bring them directly here?" The man sitting at the desk, scribbling numbers, looked up when he heard the commotion. He paused for a moment as he noticed the two men following Zhuzi.

"Boss, they’ve got oil and fruit, and a lot of it," Zhuzi quickly explained.

The man was pleased, but he remained much calmer than Zhuzi.

"Let me take a look at the goods," he said, his gaze fixed firmly on the basket Qin Kaize was carrying.

Qin Kaize took the basket off his back and handed it straight to Zhuzi.

The man examined the items one by one, nodding in approval.

"So, how do you plan to sell it?" he asked.

"I’ll listen to your price," Qin Kaize responded, kicking the ball back into their court.

This caused the man to look at him more carefully.

Most people who came here were eager to sell their goods, immediately offering a price when asked. But the man before him was calm and unhurried—clearly, he was testing their sincerity. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"I can give three yuan per pound for the oil, and six mao for the fruit. How much do you have? I’ll take all of it," the man said.

The fruit was fresh enough that it would last for days, even up to tomorrow or the day after, without spoiling. Moreover, they didn’t just sell on the black market; they had vendors who roamed the streets, selling to families both within the city and in neighboring towns. These rare items would only pass through their hands and disappear in an instant.

"Oil, three yuan three per pound, fruit, seven mao," Qin Kaize immediately offered his price.

Soo Yijia was satisfied with the price for the fruit. However, the oil was another matter. She sold it for three yuan six in the city, but here it was only three yuan three, a full three mao less per pound. That was a big difference. But since Qin Kaize had already quoted the price, it was likely the going rate around here.

After all, the economy in Fusheng was far behind that of Hu City, and there were fewer people with money to spend. Otherwise, oil could barely be found even with a ticket, and the monthly rations at the supply and marketing cooperatives were a struggle to obtain. The price could probably even be lower.

"Alright," the man gritted his teeth, still agreeing. "How much do you have?"

"Oil, one box here, a total of 180 pounds. Six kinds of fruit, each 1,700 pounds," Qin Kaize quoted the numbers, nearly making the man’s legs go weak.

In reality, he had kept another 18 boxes of oil that he didn’t intend to sell to them. The price here was far too low compared to the market in Hu City. His people would be coming in a couple of days anyway, and he planned to ship the oil back to Hu City for resale.

But since he had mentioned a large quantity, it wouldn’t do to withhold too much. If he didn’t trade at least some here, the black market people would be unhappy, and there might be future transactions to consider. No need to spoil the relationship completely.

"Alright, where do we deliver the goods?" the man quickly asked.

"Three miles outside the city, behind the small river in the woods, ten o’clock for delivery," Qin Kaize replied coolly.

"Okay! The oil is 594 yuan, the fruit is 7,140 yuan, a total of 7,734 yuan. I’ll give you 734 yuan now, and the remaining 7,000 will be paid at the time of delivery," the man said, pulling out some cash from the drawer and handing it to Qin Kaize.

Qin Kaize didn’t waste any words. He took the money and left.