Da Fei's prices were a little higher than the ones in the base marketplace, but not by much. Even if it was the black market, it was still inside the Capital city base. The base tolerated its existence, but that didn't mean it let people jack up prices and rob others blind.
So Da Fei bought goods slightly above the base's price, then resold them later at a small markup.
Money didn't flow as fast as before the apocalypse, but a profit was still a profit. If you didn't earn now, there was no telling if you'd get another chance later.
Da Fei saw it as just going with the times, not cheating anyone. And Lao Gao, well, he considered it free goods in the first place. Turning them into contribution points was already more than good enough, especially when the price came out way higher than he expected.
The two agreed to meet at the same spot at four in the afternoon to trade, then went their separate ways.
Back at the shop, Lao Gao shared the news. Lan Jin nodded. "The price is already higher than we thought. Even if we earn less, it doesn't matter. These things cost us nothing."
Funny enough, she and Lao Gao had the same thought.
Lan Jin went to the warehouse in the back and used her will to pull the cosmetics and skincare products from her space. Lao Gao carried them outside to prepare for delivery.
She'd taken out three boxes in total. Two and a half boxes were skincare, half a box was lipsticks and eyeshadows. One skincare box held a hundred bottles. Two and a half boxes made 250 bottles, which came to 4,500 contribution points.
There were eighty lipsticks, another 800 points. The eyeshadows were mixed packs with two colors each. The boxes weren't big or small, so they set them at the lowest rate of five points each. Fifty boxes meant 250 more points.
Add it all up…
That made 5,550 contribution points.
Not bad at all.
Still, it was a one-time trade. A big haul made sense, because if the profit wasn't worth it, who'd risk going to the black market?
…
Once the numbers were settled, Lao Gao and Huang Jinghe headed to the black market at the agreed time. When they arrived, Da Fei was already waiting.
"You got here early," Lao Gao said as they met.
Da Fei grinned. "Better than making you wait. Honestly though, I didn't think you'd bring this much into the base."
Huang Jinghe quickly set the three boxes on the ground. "Da Fei, check the goods."
Da Fei glanced over them, then signaled for one of his underlings to count. The numbers matched what they'd tallied before, and the payment matched too.
The 5,550 contribution points didn't go into Da Fei's private account. Instead, Lao Gao had him transfer it all into Nana's resident account. From then on, Nana's account would serve as a shared fund for the four of them. That dog really was pulling its weight.
As for Nana, Captain Zhang had already taken him away for breeding and training. The dog was busier than the four of them combined, gone from dawn till late, hardly ever around.
But that was another matter.
The trade was wrapped up cleanly, and the two sides went their separate ways.
Lao Gao and Huang Jinghe went back to the shop. Da Fei, meanwhile, took the goods straight to his boss.
He set the supplies on the table, unable to hide his excitement. "Boss, we scored a big haul this time. Rare stuff too. Take a look."
The man leaned forward, then froze when he saw what it was. "Skincare?"
Having skincare in hand wasn't strange, but this much at once was.
Da Fei didn't waste time. "Boss, guess who I got this from?"
He revealed it outright. "Remember back in Capital city? The people who traded a pile of condoms for the base invitation letter? It's them."
The boss's brow twitched. He instantly knew who he meant. "Them?"
"Yeah. They got that letter early, but when I asked, they said they only just arrived. Strange, right?"
"Not strange," the man said. "Their powers are strong. The base noticed early on and sent them to Maolin for missions."
Da Fei had heard of Maolin on the way here, so the explanation made sense. Which also meant…
This boss had been with them the whole time.
That's right. The man who never showed himself back in Capital city, this so-called boss, was none other than Zhou Zhiye. That explained why he knew exactly what Lan Jin's group had been up to lately.
Before the apocalypse, Zhou Zhiye had been a psychiatrist. His family was in business too, though not entirely legitimate. After everything collapsed, he had no job to return to, so he took over the family trade and came up with the black market.
Capable people always found a way to profit. Zhou Zhiye was no exception. He'd built the market from Capital city all the way to the Capital city base.
That spoke volumes about his reach and influence.
But if it really was Lan Jin selling these goods, he couldn't quite figure it out. When they first arrived, they hadn't had a thing on them. They hadn't even been here long, yet now they could pull out this much stock? Hard to believe.
There was only one explanation. Among the four of them, someone definitely had a space ability. That was beyond doubt. The question was, who?
Still, it wasn't worth digging into. Space abilities weren't that rare anymore. Dual-element powers weren't either. What mattered was, this kind of stash was bound to attract attention.
Zhou Zhiye sighed. "They really don't know how to be careful."
Da Fei blinked. "Huh? What do you mean? I'm careful!"
"It's not about you," Zhou Zhiye said. "Forget it. Just sell everything quickly."
"Oh, right."
Da Fei nodded, still a little lost, then carried the products out.
…
The moment Da Fei put the skincare on the market, it sold out across the base.
Nobody cared about brands anymore. In times like these, you took what you could get. If you got picky, you might end up with nothing at all.
Skincare sold out instantly. With so many people and so few bottles, it was gone before it even hit the shelves. But the real surprise came after. Lipsticks and eyeshadows vanished just as fast. Once skincare ran dry, these products went out of stock too.