Chapter 1131: Exchange for Dried Seafood

Liu Chuxue wasn't really skilled at this; in her past life, she'd eaten plenty of dried seafood, but once dried, except for squid jerky, everything else she just lumped together as fish jerky—ha ha, she'd never paid close attention.

The squad leader's wife, perhaps sensing her confusion, quickly smiled and introduced: "This is yellow croaker jerky—made by slicing yellow croaker and air-drying it; mixed fish jerky comes from small fish like small pomfret, croaker, and hairtail, dried and used for soups or stir-fries. Don't worry, our seafood is cleaned thoroughly—take a look."

She pulled out each item one by one for Liu Chuxue to inspect the quality.

Indeed, they were cleaned well; Liu Chuxue smiled: "You're exchanging for that flashlight, right?"

The squad leader's wife nodded happily: "Yes, yes—our old flashlight stopped working after it fell in the water. My husband handles village affairs and often has to walk at night; having a flashlight helps him, and it puts my mind at ease when he goes out."

After the squad leader's wife finished speaking, Grandpa Afu's daughter-in-law also placed her basket of dried seafood on the table.

The squad leader's wife quickly added: "This is Grandpa Afu's daughter-in-law—just call her Spring Auntie."

Spring Auntie smiled at Liu Chuxue and laid out her dried seafood one by one: "This is eel jerky—eel cleaned, lightly salted, then hung to dry; it tastes excellent. These are no-zei jerky—we call them ming-ye dry here; these are no-zei with guts removed, washed, and air-dried."

The rest are shrimp flakes and dried seaweed—how much do you want? If it's not enough, we'll make up the difference with money."

Liu Chuxue flipped through them—all were of good quality, likely because the squad leader and Grandpa Afu had specifically instructed them to pick carefully: "I'll take all of these."

Just as she wondered how to fairly exchange them, she saw Uncle Jiao enter the courtyard with a basket: "Uncle Jiao, you're just in time—help me figure out how to exchange these?"

Uncle Jiao was fair, showing no favoritism; after asking Liu Chuxue the approximate prices of her items: "The flashlight is 1.8 yuan, two D-cell batteries are 0.15 yuan each, plus one industrial coupon—that comes to just under four yuan total."

After all, one industrial coupon could fetch two yuan on the black market: "Sister, your goods are worth about 3.5 yuan—you need to make up 0.5 yuan."

The squad leader's wife was quick: "Fine."

She pulled out a handkerchief from her pocket, unwrapped it layer by layer, and took out a 0.5-yuan note to hand to Liu Chuxue: "Miss, take this—then the flashlight and two batteries are mine."

Liu Chuxue smiled and handed them over: "Yes, they're yours now."

Then Uncle Jiao examined Grandpa Afu's dried seafood: "Haizi's wife, you just need to add another 0.3 yuan."

Grandpa Afu's daughter-in-law reached into her pocket and pulled out several jiao coins: "Now my father-in-law will finally be happy—he's gotten the flashlight he's always wanted."

She took the flashlight belonging to her family, turned it over and over in her hands, her face glowing with delight.

Seeing both families had finished exchanging, Uncle Jiao and his wife quickly brought out their own stored dried seafood: "Liu Chuxue, don't worry—our seafood will surely satisfy you."

Indeed, Jiao family's dried seafood was even higher quality than the squad leader's and Grandpa Afu's—it completely replaced all the white flour and millet she had left in her bag.