Time Travel: My Comfortable Life After Going to the Countryside

Wan Wu spotted Liu Xiangyang from afar, stubbed out the half-smoked cigarette in the snow, and strode towards him.

"Brother, I've been waiting for you." His voice was barbed, but his eyes scanned Liu Xiangyang from head to toe.

Liu Xiangyang calmly raised his wrist, the hands of his watch pointing precisely to 12, and handed it to Wan Wu: "Exactly twelve o'clock, not a minute off. What's the rush?"

Wan Wu chuckled, glanced around, and patted his bulging chest with a dull thud: "Dozens of solid goods are all here. Where are your tickets?"

"The transaction will take place here?" Liu Xiangyang gestured with his chin towards the bustling surroundings, then pulled some receipts out of his coat. "We need to find a scale to weigh the yellow croakers; that way, we'll both feel more at ease."

"Brother, you've thought of everything! Let's go to the park over there; there aren't many people there." Wan Wu immediately agreed, then turned to Li Dan beside him and instructed, "Li Dan, hurry up and get the steelyard balance; we'll wait for you at the park over there."

"Okay, sure."

Li Dan responded and shrank his neck as he ran towards the nearby grocery store.

Liu Xiangyang followed Wan Wu and two others across the road and into the park.

Skating figures weaved across the frozen lake, their laughter faintly drifting over. They had found a secluded, sheltered corner to wait for Li Dan.

"Brother, I really admire you." Wan Wu rubbed his hands together, leaned closer, lowered his voice, and his eyes were full of curiosity. "These industrial vouchers, you've got some pretty wild connections. Where did you get them?"

"Ask what you should ask, and ask what you shouldn't ask anyway, it's pointless." Liu Xiangyang's tone was calm, but he shut the question down completely.

Wan Wu was met with a rebuff, but he wasn't annoyed. Instead, he became even more enthusiastic: "Alright, it's my fault for being nosy, brother. I live in the XX area. From now on, whether you have something like this to sell or you want to find something special, just come to me. I, Wan Wu, guarantee that the price will be absolutely fair!" He patted his chest, determined to latch onto this seemingly unfathomable thigh.

"Okay, I've got it." Liu Xiangyang nodded.

"Fifth Brother, the scale is here!" At this moment, Li Dan ran back panting heavily, covered in sweat. He took off his cotton hat, revealing a shiny bald head. Steam rose from his head, making him look like a freshly steamed bun.

Liu Xiangyang's gaze swept over the old scale and its weight, his mental energy passing over them like a gentle breeze to confirm. "Let's begin."

Wan Wu took the scale, pulled out a heavy white cloth bag from his pocket, carefully opened it, and a faint golden light shimmered.

He picked up a small yellow croaker, weighed it in his hand, looked at Liu Xiangyang, and lowered his voice even further: "Brother, let's be frank. This yellow croaker has something mixed in with it, it's underweight. I'll charge you six hundred yuan for this one." He then turned and glared at Li Dan and the other man: "You two, watch yourselves!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Xiangyang looked up and gave Wan Wu a serious look. Although he could use his mental power to check the authenticity of the gold, the fact that the other party had taken the initiative to point it out meant that Wan Wu was a reasonable person, even though he might have been intimidated by so many industrial vouchers and imagined himself to be something else.

But actions speak louder than words, and no one is perfect. Now that Zhao Si is finished, I also need such a channel.

His expression softened slightly, and he nodded: "Okay, let's do it your way."

Finally, the gold weighed 1,100 grams. Wan Wu quickly calculated in his mind: "I still owe you 400 grams, which is 12,300 yuan in cash." He took a worn canvas bag from his companion, took out bundles of banknotes tied with rubber bands, mostly ten-yuan denominations, quickly counted them in front of Liu Xiangyang, and handed them over: "Brother, double-check the count."

Liu Xiangyang unbuttoned his military overcoat, revealing the grip of a Browning pistol on his belt. He then handed over the small cloth bag containing industrial coupons.

Wan Wu caught a glimpse of that cold metallic light out of the corner of his eye. His eyelids twitched slightly, but his smile remained unchanged. He said nothing, took the cloth bag, and carefully checked the contents.

After they finished checking their items, their eyes met briefly in the air. They nodded to each other without saying another word, then turned and disappeared quickly into the park's bare trees and scattered pedestrians in different directions.

After leaving the park, Liu Xiangyang first went to the department store to pick up his bicycle. He then rode through the streets and alleys, carefully making sure there were no "tails" behind him, before turning around and riding towards Daoli Market.

Inside Daoli Market, there was another bustling and vibrant world, filled with the sounds of people and the white breaths of their breath mixed with the smells of various foods and goods, permeating the cold air.

The area is lined with shops selling department stores, food, and seafood; you can find most things available in the market here.

As Liu Xiangyang pushed the cart, his gaze first fell on the halal counter, where the pungent smell of beef and mutton carried a real allure.

He had never eaten beef or mutton since he transmigrated. There were two halal meat stalls in the market, so he chose the safest option.

He changed his outfit, put on a hat and scarf, and went to a stall to buy some beef. After walking around, he quickly put the items into his space, took off his cotton coat, turned it inside out, put it on, took off his hat and put on another one, and then went to another stall to buy some more beef and mutton.

He made this trip four or five times, buying mostly beef, beef tongue, beef tripe, and especially the thick bull penis.

The old saying goes, "You are what you eat." He has already reached the limit of human potential, but he still wants to strive for perfection, starting with the stomach.

As the sales clerks at the halal counter were checking their accounts after get off work, they couldn't help but mutter, "Something's weird today. Why did the beef and mutton sell out so fast? Especially the bull penis. Usually, we can keep a couple to share, but today it was all sold out before closing time. Who the hell bought all the bull penis? Does that son of a bitch even want his wife out of bed?"

Liu Xiangyang then went to the seafood counter, where he bought yellow croaker, ribbonfish, kelp, and other seafood products in batches from different stores, dressed in different ways.

Liu Xiangyang waved his sleeve, taking away a space full of bullwhip and seafood, concealing his merit and fame.

He then moved to the fruit and snack section, where the selection was much more limited, mainly consisting of dark brown frozen pears and a dazzling array of glass jars and cans—the bright red of hawthorns, the golden yellow of peaches, and the pale yellow of apples.

He bought several bottles of everything, and finally weighed out some roasted melon seeds and peanuts, and packed several packets of white sugar, brown sugar and Le Yao's favorite White Rabbit milk candy. This extravagant shopping spree finally came to an end.

Liu Xiangyang glanced back at the scene, which was full of vitality that was rare in an era of scarcity, and sighed inwardly: No wonder everyone is scrambling to get into big cities.

Even in the 1970s, when resources were scarce, the gap in living resources between urban and rural areas was so large that it was alarming. He shook his head and rode his bike back home.