Returning to the small mountain village of '86, intelligence updated daily.

After giving the two gifts, plus the trinkets he had just bought outside, Zhou Rui had already spent 6.3 yuan.

Zhou Rui moved sideways and took two steps to reach the electronics counter.

His gaze finally settled on one thing: a portable transistor radio, branded "Red Star," about the size of a small box.

Next to it were placed signs for "Panda", "Red Lantern", and "Spring Thunder".

This is the most common model in rural towns. There are also larger tabletop radios, but they are only sold in the department store in the county town.

How much is this?

Zhou Rui asked the same saleswoman again, but she seemed unfazed, having already witnessed Zhou Rui "spending money recklessly" once before.

After handing a pack of matches to a villager, the saleswoman walked over to the electronics counter.

"Young man, this isn't cheap. No bargaining, it's 25 yuan."

The saleswoman emphasized that the price was non-negotiable, and then praised the product.

"Don't let its price fool you, it's in high demand. It's loud, has a good signal, and lots of receivers."

The saleswoman was right; the main selling point of the "Red Star" brand radio was its loud volume.

She also said that it's true that there's no bargaining; this item is considered a "big-ticket item" for every household and is very popular.

Zhou Rui didn't bargain earlier because the saleswoman offered him a low price because he was sweet-talking, but that's obviously not going to work now.

25 yuan is indeed expensive. If you convert it into grain, it's about 100 jin (50 kg), enough to feed the Zhou family of eight for half a month.

The Zhou family did have an old-fashioned house before, but life became too difficult, so the old man sold it to supplement the family income...

The sales clerk thought Zhou Rui still wanted to buy it and made a move to take it out of the glass cabinet.

Because she had just seen the two "big unity" bills that the young man had pulled out.

However, Zhou Rui apologized profusely and said he didn't want it anymore. Instead, he used Zhou Ming's quota to buy ten kilograms of "return grain" rice.

After combining the last and this time, their quota of low-priced rice is no longer available.

It cost two yuan, which Zhou Ming carried.

Zhao Qingya was still overjoyed and was about to take the rice, but Zhou Rui refused. Just as he was about to take it himself, Zhou Ming snatched it from her hand.

Zhou Rui just smiled at this, but in the end, he still didn't forget to grab another handful of "White Rabbit" milk candies, a full ten of them.

One candy costs 9 cents, while a regular no-name brand candy costs about 2 cents, so it cost another 9 cents.

The people around stared in disbelief. This was truly a "luxury item." Ordinary families would never buy so many at once to eat as regular candy.

After buying everything, Zhou Rui led the two out of the supply and marketing cooperative.

It wasn't that he didn't want to buy a radio, but that he wanted to wait until next time; right now, he needed to fill his stomach first.

He asked about the price to plan for the next step.

The radio costs 25 yuan. After paying the 260 yuan needed to buy the hunting rifle, there will be 30 yuan left, which is just enough to buy it.

Although this purchase of food and gifts cost a little, the overall difference wasn't significant.

He has already spent 9.2 yuan and has 19.4 yuan left.

Then, at the market outside, Zhou Rui went to great lengths to persuade them, and finally managed to buy 40 jin of rice at a price of 27 cents per jin.

40斤大米花去10块8毛，最后周瑞身上只剩下8块6毛钱。

This time, Zhou Rui didn't let Zhou Ming take it from him; instead, he carried it on his own shoulders.

Forty pounds is a bit heavy, but after ten days of rest, Zhou Rui's physical strength has long since recovered to the level that should be present for someone his age.

None of the three of them strolled through the market; instead, they headed back towards the village.

Qian Sanduo was still weaving with his back hunched over. When he saw the three of them return, he said a few words to Zhou Rui, and Zhou Ming rode the tricycle again.

Zhou Rui provided assistance from behind on the uphill section.

As the afternoon approached, the three of them first took Zhao Qingya home, declined Aunt Li's invitation, and then the Zhou brothers rode their tricycle home.

Zhou Rui unloaded the grain, and Zhou Ming lent a hand. Finally, they carefully packed all the gastrodia elata into the winnowing basket.

Then Zhou Rui rode the tricycle alone to return it to the Zhao family.

In front of the Zhao family's gate, Zhao Qingya held a locked diary with a velvet cover and flipped through it repeatedly in the sun.

Zhao Jianjun was also nearby, and he was quite surprised when he learned that it was Zhou Rui who sent it.

It wasn't that Zhao Jianjun was reluctant to buy it, but rather that he was simply too busy. Moreover, it was obvious that he and his wife were unaware that their daughter liked this item.

Zhou Rui parked his tricycle at the entrance.

Zhou Rui solemnly handed the wrapped wild gastrodia elata to Zhao Jianjun and said:

"Uncle Zhao, thank you for your trouble."

Zhao Jianjun took the wild gastrodia elata, opened it, glanced at it, and then casually weighed it in his hand.

"It's alright, we're all family."

Seeing that Zhao Jianjun hadn't taken out a scale to weigh himself, Zhou Rui couldn't help but remind him:

"Uncle Zhao, why don't we weigh it?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Jianjun laughed and immediately expressed his belief in Zhou Rui, ultimately refusing to take out a scale to weigh the item.

He added that after he took the goods to the county town to sell them tomorrow, he would settle the remaining payment by the day after tomorrow at the latest.

Zhou Rui, of course, had no objection.

Thus, the deal finally entered its final, fruitful stage.

Zhou Rui didn't linger and immediately said he had to go home. After he said goodbye, Zhao Qingya, who had been blinking at Zhou Rui, suddenly spoke up:

"Brother Rui... um, thank you."

Zhao Qingya spoke shyly, and her father, Zhao Jianjun, was initially angry and blamed his daughter.

"Girl, how can you accept someone's gift? Your father didn't give you any money."

Before setting off, Zhao Jianjun specifically gave Zhao Qingya 5 yuan, but she didn't buy anything along the way.

Zhao Qingya was so immersed in her joy that she forgot about this incident.

She stuck her tongue out at her father.

Zhao Jianjun sighed helplessly, then thanked Zhou Rui again.

Zhou Rui smiled and didn't seem to care.

It is only right to reciprocate, and Zhao Qingya's defense of him and her undisguised expression of admiration are perfectly reasonable.

Zhou Rui walked along the country road, enjoying the evening breeze. He was in a good mood, not only because he was finally going to receive his first "huge sum of money".

Also, it fulfilled my younger brother's long-cherished wish, so his mood improved as well.

In addition, he also had ten White Rabbit milk candies in his pocket.

Back home, Zhou Rui went straight to the stove, where Zeng Jiamei had already started preparing dinner.

Making dinner for the whole family of eight every day is quite a task, but fortunately, we have the help of my second aunt, Yang Laidi.

Zhou Rui walked up to his mother, Zeng Jiamei, and covered her eyes with one hand.

"Mom, guess what I brought you?"

"Hey, little brat, are you looking for a beating?"

Zeng Jiamei is steaming rice.

Zhou Rui didn't keep his mother's eyes covered the whole time; he put his other hand into his bag and counted out five candies.

"Mom, it's your favorite milk candy!"

Zhou Rui removed his hand and placed his other hand in front of Zeng Jiamei's eyes.

After handing it to his mother, Zhou Rui walked over to his second aunt, who was washing and peeling potatoes.

"Hehe, Second Aunt, you have one too."

Zhou Rui placed the remaining five in his aunt's palm and then turned and went back into the house.

Today truly proved the intelligence report correct—great fortune, there was a chance to snag a bargain.

The high-end locked diary and the complete set of martial arts novels were all bought at the lowest price.

Now we're just waiting for the remaining balance to arrive...