After what had happened, Jiang Si decided to stay in Yancheng for a few more days.
For one, she wanted to see if the police could catch those criminals.
Secondly, the weather had been particularly unpredictable lately.
Just yesterday, the sky had been clear and bright, but this morning, a violent storm had rolled in.
Jiang Si had always been prone to seasickness, and if the ship encountered rough waves during the journey, she’d only suffer more.
Besides, Huo Tingzhou was away on a mission, so even if she went to the military base now, she’d just be stuck waiting at the guesthouse. She might as well take it slow here for a couple of days before setting off.
This was also the perfect opportunity to explore Yancheng in the 1960s and take more photos to send back to Third Uncle and the others.
Jiang Si wasted no time. Over the next two days, she visited every major and minor attraction in Yancheng.
She had brought three rolls of film, but they weren’t enough—she ended up buying more.
During her exploration, she also stumbled upon a black market.
To be honest, Jiang Si hadn’t planned on going anywhere near such a place.
Her space was already stocked with plenty of food, drinks, and supplies, and she wasn’t short on money or ration coupons. There was no need to take unnecessary risks.
But as she was walking one day, she noticed many people carrying baskets coming out of an open-air market.
The scene was so open and casual that Jiang Si mistook it for a state-run market!
Only after entering did she realize this was actually Yancheng’s largest black market.
She had heard from Third Uncle that the political climate in the south wasn’t as harsh as in the north, but she hadn’t expected it to be this relaxed.
No wonder three out of the four pilot cities for China’s economic reforms were in Guangdong Province!
Since she was already here, she figured she might as well browse.
And to her surprise, she actually found something amazing!
The sanitary pads she had been desperately searching for in Hu City but never found—here they were!
They were the straight, cotton type with adhesive backing.
The young vendor was earnest, though his face turned beet red as he explained the product.
"Miss, each pack costs 2.5 yuan to produce. Factoring in labor and other expenses, I can’t sell them for less than 3.5 yuan per pack."
At 3.5 yuan for a pack of 10, each pad came out to 0.35 yuan.
The price was nothing to Jiang Si.
She immediately bought out his entire stock—though disappointingly, there were only 30 packs!
The thought of China not having its own sanitary pad production line until 1982 made her shudder.
Seeing how freely she spent, the young vendor seized the opportunity. "Miss, I also have shampoo from Hong Kong—5 yuan a bottle! I’ve got 10 bottles here."
"Absolutely, I’ll take them!"
Five yuan for a big bottle that would last ages—what a steal!
After a moment’s thought, Jiang Si asked, "Do you have any medicine from Hong Kong? I’d like to buy some."
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust domestically produced medicine, but many drugs from this era, while effective, came with severe side effects.
Take for instance the fever-reducing staple—aminophenazone.
Or gentamicin, terramycin, streptomycin, compound licorice tablets, VC Yinqiao tablets, ribavirin…
If Jiang Si didn’t know better, she might not have cared. But since she did, she wasn’t going to take unnecessary risks with her health.
"Miss, I don’t have any right now, but wait here—I’ll get some for you. Leave it to me."
In this line of work, connections were everything.
Half an hour later, the young man returned with over a dozen medicines from Hong Kong, even providing her with a small medical case.
Jiang Si didn’t stash these in her space. Instead, she packed them directly into her suitcase.
She wasn’t planning on telling Huo Tingzhou about her space, but small things like this didn’t need to be hidden.
If he asked, she’d simply say she bought them in Yancheng.
He already knew she had money and no tolerance for discomfort!
Perhaps it was Yancheng’s relaxed atmosphere that made Jiang Si let her guard down.
The next day, with nothing else to do, she wandered over to a nearby fishing village.
October was peak season for seafood.
Before dawn, the pier near the village was already packed with people buying fish, shrimp, and crab.
Unlike the cautious black market vendors, the fishermen here had no qualms about loudly advertising their goods.
After all, while "private speculation" was forbidden, collective sales for income were allowed!
Fishermen lived off the land and water—if you cut off their livelihood, how were they supposed to survive?
And in this weather, if the day’s catch wasn’t sold quickly, it would spoil by the next day.
Rather than letting it rot and turning it into fertilizer, they’d rather sell it cheap.
So every morning, the pier hosted a small seafood market where everything was not only affordable but also didn’t require ration coupons.
Of course, only nearby commune fishermen were allowed to sell there.
Jiang Si had originally come just to look—after all, Qiongzhou Island wasn’t lacking in seafood.
But when she heard the prices, she couldn’t resist.
Oh my goodness!
Wild yellowlip fish, which could cost thousands per pound in the future, were only 0.5 yuan a pound here!
Wild large yellow croaker—0.35 yuan a pound!
Giant groupers and various wild reef fish—all just 0.4 yuan a pound!
Plump, roe-filled swimming crabs—0.25 yuan a pound!
Single-head abalone, bigger than a fist—0.2 yuan a pound! And if she only wanted the meat without the shell, it was even cheaper.
The shells were actually more valuable—traditional medicine companies bought them for 0.5 yuan a pound.
Jiang Si also spotted plenty of spiny lobsters, sold by weight—those over 8 pounds were only 5 yuan each, while smaller ones around 5-6 pounds were just 2.5 yuan!
As for seafood that was troublesome to handle or easily damaged nets—like starfish, sea urchins, and mantis shrimp—no one wanted them.
At the end of the day, fishermen would crush these, along with broken crabs and spoiled shrimp, to use as fertilizer.
After browsing the market all morning, Jiang Si, posing as a cafeteria buyer, placed a bulk order with the commune leader.
She requested 1,000 pounds each of swimming crabs, butter crabs, mantis shrimp, eel, squid, small octopus, and line-caught beltfish.
2,000 single-head abalones, five baskets each of large yellow croaker, yellowlip fish, and various reef fish, and as many spiny lobsters as they had!
With her spirit spring, anything still breathing would survive.
Even if they died, her space’s preservation function would keep them fresh.
She also ordered 3,000 sea urchins—perfect for sashimi, steamed eggs, or dumplings.
Since she bought so much, the commune leader threw in several extra baskets of palm-sized oysters and assorted sea snails.
Before she knew it, three days had passed.
That morning, both The National Daily and Yangcheng Daily ran a front-page headline…
Upon learning that the group had been rounded up and the authorities had seized a considerable amount of supplies in the process, Jiang Si quietly let out a sigh of relief.
Right after breakfast, she took a bus to Taigucang Pier.
During her days off, Jiang Si had already done some research. She knew there were only two daily departures to Qiongzhou Island—one at 6 a.m. and the other at 3 p.m.
The entire voyage would take approximately 27 hours.
There were five cabin classes available.
The fifth-class cabin was located on the lowest deck, essentially a large communal berth with no view of the sea whatsoever. The smell inside was nothing short of a chemical weapon. Still, it was cheap, costing only 11.8 yuan.
The fourth-class cabin had bunk beds, accommodating 16 people per room. Though still on the lower deck, it was slightly better than the fifth-class cabin, featuring a small ventilation window that made the space feel less suffocating.
The first, second, and third-class cabins were all on the second deck, consisting of 2-person, 4-person, and 8-person rooms, respectively.
Among them, the first-class cabin was the most luxurious, equipped with a small bathroom and toilet—amenities the other two classes lacked. Naturally, it was also the most expensive, costing over 40 yuan.
However, due to the recent heavy rain, many passengers had been stranded, and some cabins had been reserved as "educated youth" seats, making it extremely difficult for individual travelers to secure tickets.
Jiang Si had to resort to an alternative approach. Noticing that the ticket seller was a middle-aged man in his forties, she discreetly pulled out a pack of premium-grade cigarettes from her space.
At this time, premium-grade cigarettes like [Zhonghua] were in limited supply—even with a ration coupon, they were nearly impossible to obtain.
"Comrade, hello. I’d like a ticket to Qiongzhou Island," she said.
"Could you check the earliest available departure for me? I’d prefer a first-class cabin."
She handed the ticket seller her introduction letter, which concealed the cigarettes inside.
The ticket seller was sharp enough to catch on, though his tone remained as indifferent as ever.
"Wait a moment. Let me check for you."
After about five minutes, he turned his head and asked,
"There are no first-class cabins available for the next week. Would a second-class cabin work? The last ticket for today’s 3 p.m. departure is still available."
The second-class cabin was a four-person room.
Well… that would have to do. At least it was better than a hard sleeper berth, which housed six.
Jiang Si nodded and handed over 22.6 yuan, following the price list posted on the window.
To her surprise, the ticket seller returned 3.2 yuan to her.
Seeing her confusion, he patiently explained,
"Military family members get a discounted rate. The total is 19.4 yuan. Here’s your ticket and your change."
Jiang Si was genuinely stunned.
They hadn’t even gotten their marriage certificate yet! Just an introduction letter was enough to qualify for military family benefits? The perks were incredible!
No wonder people in this era said: "When eating vegetables, go for the heart of the cabbage; when marrying, choose a People’s Liberation Army soldier!"
After purchasing the ticket, Jiang Si headed to the nearby post office.
She informed her Third Uncle that she would arrive at Qiongzhou Island the next day and also mailed back some photos she had taken a few days prior.
With everything settled, she swiftly paid and left.
Just as she reached the bus stop, a bus pulled up.
The doors opened, and a crowd of people poured out.
Jiang Si, preoccupied with hurrying home to pack, didn’t notice at all that a pair of eyes were now fixed intently on her—
