Rebirth Counterattack with Space

"I’ll take a jin of oil, no, make it three jins. No Food Coupons needed. Do you have anything else besides oil?" The old lady thought about it and decided to order more; after all, oil wouldn’t spoil, and there wouldn’t be much left after splitting some with her two sons’ families.

"Yes, we do. We have salted wild boar meat, rabbit meat, pheasants, wild ducks, and fish. Besides these, we also have chestnuts, Chinese yams..." Lu Aiguo took out everything from his basket, one by one, placed them on the dining table, and reported their prices.

The old lady was overjoyed, "Wait a second." She quickly called into the inner room, "Old man, come out here."

"What is it? Who are these people?" An old man quickly came out from the inner room, glanced at the three visitors with a hint of suspicion, and immediately became guarded.

The old lady pulled the old man aside and whispered a few words to him. When he looked at them again, the wariness had disappeared from his eyes, replaced with surprise and delight.

The transaction went smoothly because the meat was processed and could be stored for a long time as long as it was hung up. In the end, the family, in addition to the oil, bought ten jins of wild boar meat, two wild ducks, two pheasants, one hare, and three fish. They even bought about five or six jins of chestnuts, but they hesitated over the odd-looking Chinese yams and ultimately didn’t buy any.

Even though Lu Aiguo boasted extensively about the Chinese yams, they still shook their heads, considering them too exotic and unfamiliar, and expensive at one mao and five fen per jin. After all, on the market, most fresh vegetables and potatoes were only about five fen per jin, and even the most expensive vegetables rarely cost more than one mao.

Since they had bought a lot, Lu Aiguo ended up giving them two Chinese yams for free and carefully introduced several ways to cook them. Before leaving, he casually asked the old lady, "Granny, do you know if there’s anyone around here looking to sell a house, or rent one out?"

"I haven’t heard of such a thing, are you looking to buy a house?" The old lady had just scored two Chinese yams from Lu Aiguo, easily weighing over a jin, and was quite pleased, so she was happy to respond.

"Yes. My daughter-in-law is an educated youth returning to the city, and my daughter will start school this year. We want to buy a house near the school to make it convenient for the child to get to and from school," Lu Aiguo said with a bitter smile, knowing it was unlikely to be so lucky to find something useful on the first ask.

"Makes sense; nowadays, there are too many educated youths returning to the city, many with families in tow, squeezing into their family homes. It’s perfectly normal for you to want to buy your own place. However, I really haven’t heard about anyone in this area with an extra house to sell or rent. Maybe I can help you inquire when I have some free time?"

The old lady thought for a moment, then remembered the oil they sold. It’s possible that her relatives and close neighbors might still want to buy some, so she tentatively asked, "How about you come back again in a few days? Bring more oil and meat next time, I’ll help you ask around about the house and see if anyone else wants to buy anything, how about that?"

"Okay, when should we come?"

Lu Aiguo pondered briefly; now there were already many people selling stuff outside, and there were others like him going door to door for business, so the risks were definitely not as great as in earlier years. Moreover, others probably couldn’t obtain the oil they were selling.

This family could buy so much all at once without needing Food or Oil Coupons. They clearly weren’t short of money, but they lacked these coupons. There was definitely potential to develop them into returning customers, and he figured they wouldn’t do something like betraying their information, so he agreed readily.

"How about three days from now, same time? If you happen to come around this area again, don’t forget to knock on my door," said the old lady, clearly delighted that Lu Aiguo had agreed, and she specifically instructed.

"No problem. We’ll come again in three days," Lu Aiguo nodded, packed up his basket, and said goodbye.

"You know, instead of buying a house, you might as well go to a nearby village in the suburbs, find a connection, and get a plot to build your own," the old man suddenly said.

"Get a plot to build a house?" Lu Aiguo, Shitou, and Lu Yun’s hearts all leapt at the same time, their eyes collectively focused on the speaking old man, "But we’re not registered in that village, would that still work?"

"Why not?" the old man laughed, "With the housing shortage in the city, how many are actually selling their houses? It’s better to find someone in the suburbs to get a plot of land and build on it. The land is cheap, for just one or two hundred you could get a plot. It all depends on how you manage it. And though it’s called the suburbs, it’s not really that far from the city; by bicycle, it’s only a ten to twenty-minute ride."

The old man became enthusiastic as he spoke, "But I don’t have any connections for this; I just know people have done it. How to actually manage it is something you’ll have to figure out for yourselves."

"Thank you for that. We really appreciate you taking the time to give us this information," Lu Aiguo said as he put down his basket and took out a salted rabbit to place on the table.

"No need, no need, it’s hard enough for you making a small living," the old man and his wife, upon seeing the rabbit Lu Aiguo brought out, hurriedly declined. By the time they reached the door holding the rabbit, Lu Aiguo and his companions had already stepped out and quickly walked away.

"Oh my, he looked so fierce, but I didn’t expect him to be so good-natured and business savvy," the old lady holding the rabbit watched the three figures leaving in the distance and muttered to her husband, "Just a few words of yours and we’ve got a rabbit in exchange. This one seems even fatter than the one we bought, worth two or three yuan at least."

"What do you know? If they really find a way to get a plot and build a house, then giving them this rabbit is no loss at all," the old man chuckled, looking at the rabbit in his wife’s hands, "You know, old Liu’s fourth son, I don’t know who he asked, but for just over a hundred yuan, he got himself a plot and he’s already laid the foundation."

"Then why don’t you also help out, ask Liu’s fourth son how he managed it?" The old lady looked at the rabbit in her hand and felt tempted. If they helped with the inquiry...

"How can I ask? They want to find something nearby. Liu’s fourth son found someone on the other side of the city gate," the old man looked at his wife disapprovingly, knowing all too well what she was thinking.

"Oh..."

Lu Yun withdrew her spiritual power, relayed what she had heard to Lu Aiguo and Shitou, and then couldn’t help herself, "Actually, I also think building our own house is better than buying one."

"What do you think, Shitou?" Lu Aiguo turned to Shitou.

Shitou nodded, "Building our own would indeed be better, as we can decide exactly how we want it to be. Since others have done it, it’s definitely feasible. So why don’t we find a good location first, and then try to get in touch with local officials to get a piece of land?"