Carrying her grocery basket, Bai Suxiang stepped out, intending to buy some vegetables as her mother had instructed.
Many shops were closed. According to official announcements, only businesses selling daily necessities were permitted to operate.
Fortunately, she was familiar with the neighborhood and knew a few shops that qualified. She decided to visit them one by one.
To her dismay, she went to three different places, and none of them were open.
She encountered a shop that was half-open, but the interior was completely empty. The owner explained that there was no stock and new supplies couldn't be procured.
Bai Suxiang's spirits sank.
Without essential vegetables, it was as good as running out of food at home.
"No, I have to try my best. Otherwise, how will we manage..."
With these thoughts, she walked along the street.
Suddenly, she heard movement from a corner, as if someone was talking.
"Boss, two cabbages for me!"
Upon hearing the word "cabbage," Bai Suxiang's spirits instantly lifted, and she hurried towards the corner where the sound originated.
As she turned the corner, she saw a large crowd gathered at the entrance.
Everyone was wearing a mask, but no one seemed to care if they were wearing it correctly or safely.
In the face of food, it seemed plagues, viruses, and infections were all unimportant.
Some people were grabbing cabbages, others were taking radishes, and some, regardless of what they saw, would grab anything that looked green and stuff it into their plastic bags.
Seeing this scene, Bai Suxiang didn't hesitate and pushed her way in.
She needed to get some vegetables, anything would do, as long as there were some leafy greens.
"Three catties of cabbage, eighteen!"
"Here, here! And give me that one too!"
"Which one?"
"That one, the one behind you... yes, yes, that one!"
At the checkout counter, someone was talking to the owner.
Although Bai Suxiang didn't find anything particularly strange, she still flinched when she first heard that three catties of cabbage cost eighteen yuan.
After all, for cabbage to sell at such a price was its peak moment!
Yet, even so, the cabbage stall was almost sold out.
Figuring that other vegetables would surely be even more expensive, Bai Suxiang just took a few items, and her basket wasn't even half full.
When it was time to pay, she saw that it was less than a hundred yuan.
The vegetables were outrageously expensive!
As she was leaving the shop with her basket, she noticed a vehicle pulling up, much like a supply truck that would transport goods to a train station.
Bai Suxiang couldn't help but take a second look.
The vehicle stopped steadily at the back door of the shop. One person got out first, followed by another.
They divided their tasks: one person went to knock on the shop's back door, while the other went to open the cargo truck's container.
Bai Suxiang looked closely at the person knocking on the door. It was Hu Tianhan!
"Hu Tianhan!"
Hearing his name called, Hu Tianhan turned his head and looked.
Seeing Bai Suxiang looking at him, he felt a pang of unease, but quickly came up with a plan.
"Why are you here?" Hu Tianhan asked.
"I came to buy some vegetables! What are you...?" Bai Suxiang said.
Hu Tianhan reacted quickly and immediately replied, "Our company arranged for us to deliver some goods to this shop!"
This shop was an investment of his. During this critical period, he had found the supply himself.
In front of Bai Suxiang, he couldn't leave a bad impression.
By framing it as a company arrangement, he implied he wasn't in charge and distanced himself.
If it were someone else, he wouldn't have said this. Instead, he would have boasted that this shop belonged to him and that he had several others like it in Sandong City.
"Oh, is that so!"
As expected, Hu Tianhan's explanation didn't arouse any suspicion in Bai Suxiang.
After all, it was considered work. Even volunteering was something done in one's spare time; everyone had their own lives.
"Oh, right, are the vegetables enough? Let me pack some more for you from the truck!"
Hu Tianhan quickly shifted the focus and said, making a move to get into the truck.
"Oh, it's enough, it's enough. We'll talk about it after we eat. Buying too much will just rot."
Bai Suxiang declined.
"Come, come, move it over here!"
A voice interrupted their conversation. Seeing that Hu Tianhan had business to attend to, Bai Suxiang simply said goodbye and left.
After walking for about three to four minutes, she suddenly remembered that her mother had asked her to get some chives.
She rummaged through her basket but hadn't picked any up.
"Sigh, I have to go back again!"
Complaining, she turned back towards the shop.
Thinking that Hu Tianhan's delivery truck was still there, she decided to get some chives from there and then pay the owner, to avoid the crowd at the entrance.
When she was still about seven or eight steps away from the truck, she heard someone say to Hu Tianhan:
"Mr. Hu, who was that beautiful woman just now! You two seem to know each other!"
"Of course, she's my classmate!"
"Oh, I see. Then next time she comes, I'll take good care of her!"
"Hmph! Take care of her? Does she need you to take care of her!"
Hearing Hu Tianhan's tone, it had become somewhat stern.
"Yes, yes, yes!"
"Just give it to her for free!"
Upon hearing this, Bai Suxiang quickly found a corner and hid. If they didn't charge her for the vegetables, she would be indebted to them.
Her parents had always taught her not to accept favors without reason and not to be greedy for small gains.
"Yes, yes, yes, free... free! But what about the accounts!"
"These accounts don't need to be recorded. Our goods have very low costs, sell them boldly! Moreover, I guarantee that in the entire Sandong City, I'm the only one with the supply!"
As Hu Tianhan spoke, his arrogant nature was once again exposed.
Of course, he could indeed do it.
He had obtained the supplies from the train station without spending a single cent. All he had to do was guard the trucks and deliver the goods, earning money effortlessly.
Looking at the "Volunteer" armband on his arm at this moment, it felt truly ironic.
Bai Suxiang finally understood the reason for the exorbitant vegetable prices:
There were no vegetables at home, so people had to buy from the shops. The supply was tight, and there was nowhere else to buy.
But no one had expected that the instigator of all this would be Hu Tianhan.
"Come over tonight to settle the accounts! I'm leaving!"
"Yes, yes, yes, alright, alright!"
Hu Tianhan said, and then got into the passenger seat of the cargo truck.
The people in the shop began to count the vegetables.
They chatted in twos and threes:
"Brother, you're so lucky, how did you get to know this boss?"
"Hahaha, of course, I'm in this line of work! Let me tell you, these vegetables of his are all brought directly from the train station!"
"What's the difference?" the other person asked.
"What difference? If you don't understand, don't ask foolish questions. This is called having connections, having a network! Without any reason, others can't get the supply, but he can? Others' shops struggle to open, but his can?"
"Sigh, yes, no wonder! To be like this at such a young age is truly enviable! So, isn't this a monopoly?"