Traveling between the 70s and the modern world

Lin Qingyan quickly put on the backpack, pulled Ye Yi who was still in a daze, and turned around and ran in the opposite direction.

At this time, everyone in the black market was in chaos. Many people turned around and ran away, not even bothering to take their belongings. Losing things was a small matter.

In this day and age, being caught with a red armband is more than just losing a layer of skin.

"Stop, everyone stop."

"I told you to stop, why are you running?"

"I see you're still going there."

"Run, why don't you run?"

Lin Qingyan didn't care to look at the road anymore. She just pulled Ye Yi and ran as hard as she could. They ran out of the woods, onto the street, and through alleys one after another.

He stopped only when he stopped shouting and turned around to look back. There was no person with a red armband following him.

The two of them patted their chests, leaned against the wall and breathed loudly.

After resting for a minute or two, Lin Qingyan said to Ye Yi,

"Take off your costumes. Let's leave early and go somewhere else first. It doesn't feel safe here."

"Oh my god, I'm so scared. Is the black market so dangerous?" Ye Yi seemed to have just recovered and said while panting.

"I've been here many times. Apart from encountering red armbands outside before my first visit, I also encountered them face to face this time."

"The black market is so dangerous, why do so many people go there?" Ye Yi was a little confused.

"Because the dangers of going to the black market are worth the risk compared to other things they encounter.

For example, some children are not getting enough nutrition and need to eat eggs or milk to supplement their nutrition. However, nowadays, a family in the countryside can only raise two chickens. People in the city cannot raise chickens at all.

If you want eggs, you have to buy them. If the supply and marketing cooperatives don’t have them, you can only buy them on the black market.”

Lin Qingyan gestured to Ye Yi to keep going and continued,

"Like the elder sister today, she needed brown sugar, but the supply and marketing cooperative was short of brown sugar, so she couldn't buy it, so she had to try her luck on the black market. There are also people like me who take things that others can't buy and make a profit on the black market to earn some living expenses."

“No matter what time it is, the brave ones can seize more opportunities than others. Of course, opportunities and risks coexist in everything. It all depends on what you want.”

Today was the first time Ye Yi came to the black market and she encountered the red armbands. This might make her never dare to come to the black market again. Of course, Lin Qingyan couldn't make decisions for her on these matters. She could only make it clear what needed to be said.

Ye Yi understood that Lin Qingyan was worried that she had a shadow in her heart, so she was trying to comfort her.

She nodded: "We know the truth, but I may have to wait a while before talking about it. I may not dare to do it recently. I am a little scared."

She spoke directly about her thoughts and concerns.

"Yes, you can't come here for a while. The black market may have to move to another place in a while. Whenever you want to come, you can tell me and I will accompany you."

The two men took off their disguises and walked slowly down the street.

"Let's go to the supply and marketing cooperative. Winter is coming soon. Let's see if we can buy some cotton to make a coat."

Ye Yi remembered the last time Lin Qingyan asked her to make a jacket.

"Okay, you can go to the supply and marketing cooperative to see. If the supply and marketing cooperative doesn't have it, I'll find a way for you."

Lin Qingyan suddenly thought of the modern world, where supplies were plentiful and she should be able to buy cotton.

The supply and marketing cooperative in the county town is much larger than the one in the town, and there are many more people coming and going. Of course, the more obvious feeling is that the staff of the supply and marketing cooperative hold their chins higher and roll their eyes more often.

Compared with the sales clerks in modern supermarkets, the service attitude is really different.

"Comrade, do you have any cotton?" Ye Yi looked around but didn't see any cotton, so she asked the staff.

The young girl in front of him looked at Ye Yi, then at Lin Qingyan who was traveling with her, and the backpack on her back.

He curled his lips and said to the staff member next to him: "Here comes another person who wants cotton. He doesn't even look at himself to see if he can afford it."

"That's right. It's winter now. Cotton is such a precious commodity. You can't buy it even if you have a ticket. Besides, it looks like there's no ticket for this."

The two of them were talking to each other and ignored Ye Yi who was asking for advice. Ye Yi's face turned red with anger.

"Comrade, if you are not a staff member here, please ask the staff here to reply."

Lin Qingyan pulled away Ye Yi, who was about to get angry with a red face, and said to the two staff members.

"We are the staff here, can't you see?" The young girl seemed offended and got angry.

"Oh, so you are the staff here. I thought you were just gossiping women on the street." Lin Qingyan was not polite at all.

"Hey, how can you talk like that, comrade? Who are you calling a woman?" The young girl was obviously not married, and she was very angry when she was called a woman.

"Are you sure you are a staff member here?"

"Nonsense, can't you see?"

The quarrel between the two made the noisy supply and marketing cooperative suddenly quiet down, and many people around were looking at them.

"I can't believe this is a supply and marketing cooperative. It was set up by the government to meet the daily needs of the general public. The staff here are there to serve the general public.

How can you not know what your job is? How can you not only not answer when someone asks you about buying something, but also gossip about whether they have money and can afford it? "

Lin Qingyan didn't care what others thought of her. She was very angry now. Ye Yi just asked a question. If yes, it was yes, and if no, it was no. A simple answer would be enough. Why did she look down on others?

At this time, Lin Qingyan saw a well-dressed man walking out of the supply and marketing cooperative. The man looked at this place with a serious expression.

So he deliberately asked, “Is this a request from the leaders of your supply and marketing cooperative, that you can just ignore the inquiries of the people?

Or do you guys answer questions based on how people dress? If they don’t dress well, they don’t have to answer?”

Lin Qingyan's repeated questions almost made the girl across from her jump up in anger. However, the older woman next to her sensed something was wrong and hurriedly held her back.

But she didn't realize her problem, so she said to Lin Qingyan: "Comrade, this is a supply and marketing cooperative, not a place where just anyone can come and act wild."

"What a grand occasion! This is a supply and marketing cooperative, not a place for us to go wild, so my sister asked, 'Comrade, do you have cotton for sale?' Is this going wild?"

"That's right. I was just next to these two girls. They just asked if they had any cotton. You said they should also look at themselves and see if they can afford it."

An older lady nearby who had watched the whole thing from beginning to end stepped forward and said something fair.

"That's right. Every time I come to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy something, I am ridiculed by them. I have to look at their faces when I pay for something."

"Who says it's not true? If the goods were not only available at the supply and marketing cooperative, I would not come here to buy them. I would just get mad every time I spend money."

As the discussions in the crowd grew louder, the man who had just stood in the crowd stepped out.