After finishing, Wang Mang seemed to pause, looking at his companion, "We still have so much cargo left to deal with. Xu An, we have many people waiting to eat at our base. This matter, we may not be able to join you."
Xu An suddenly remembered that Wang Mang's original intention for coming to the southern base was to sell all his supplies and exchange them for grain.
Those like her and Zhou Haimei were the ones who ended up with lightened burdens.
Just as Zhou Haimei was about to say something, Xu An stopped her. She shook her head at Zhou Haimei, her expression conveying that she was telling the other woman:
Don't force others.
Zhou Haimei suppressed her indignation and turned her head. Xu An, holding Zhou Haimei's hand, turned back to look at Wang Mang and said:
"It's alright, you guys go ahead and busy yourselves. We... will meet again if fate allows."
With that, she led Zhou Haimei towards the central street.
"An'an, we were clearly upset that they were forcibly collecting stall fees, and now they're afraid of offending people, asking us to investigate this matter ourselves."
Zhou Haimei's face was filled with an attitude of condemnation towards the others.
"Alright, don't be angry. They didn't say they wanted our help, it's just that the conversation led to this point. It was always a matter of willing participation."
As Xu An comforted Zhou Haimei, she observed the surrounding scenery. The further they walked towards the center of the central street,
the more she understood why the authorities weren't intervening in the matter of the barbecue stall owner forcibly collecting stall fees.
This area, almost centered around the barbecue stall, had formed the best commercial business district.
One layer was surrounded by another.
Clearly demarcated circles.
The closer they were to the barbecue stall, the more people gathered, and where customer traffic was high, business naturally thrived.
To confirm her thoughts, Xu An bought a sticky rice cake on the outskirts of the third circle.
The shop looked deserted. Including Xu An and Zhou Haimei, there were only three people in total.
The proprietress leaned lazily against the back of her stall, sniffing something with a look of intoxication. She glanced towards the central area.
"Proprietress, how much is this sticky rice cake?"
Seeing a customer, the proprietress retracted her dazed expression. "Ah, you want to buy sticky rice cake? How much?"
Xu An sized up the proprietress. "We only want one skewer."
The proprietress, seeing that the two girls in front of her had attractive appearances and their clothing didn't look too worn, had thought she was about to encounter two major customers.
However, she didn't expect these two to only want one skewer.
"Two contribution points a skewer," the proprietress said to Xu An with a hint of impatience. "Do you want it? Shall I heat it up for you?"
Xu An smiled. "Yes, please. It's just that we don't have contribution points. Can we exchange it with compressed biscuits?"
Upon hearing "compressed biscuits," the proprietress's face crinkled into a smile. "Yes, yes." In her heart, she silently scoffed, thinking these two girls were clearly from out of town and didn't know the value of compressed biscuits.
One compressed biscuit was worth much more than two contribution points.
As she spoke, she quickly and nimbly began roasting the sticky rice cake for Xu An.
The sticky rice cake seemed to be made by mashing glutinous rice, reshaping it into small cakes, and then roasting them over charcoal until the skin was crispy.
Xu An, watching the preparation process, couldn't help but wonder if this proprietress even had any salt. Could this thing be tasty?
But the key wasn't the food itself. Xu An seized the opportunity to strike up a conversation.
"Proprietress, I see that the business in the central street is so booming. Your sticky rice cakes smell so good, why don't you move to the center to sell them?"
Upon hearing this, a smile appeared on the proprietress's face. After all, who wouldn't like to hear praise?
"Oh, it's not that I don't want to go. It's just that the stall fees in the central street are too expensive. However, I hear that those who can go to the central street can earn a month's worth of food money in one night. Alas, even though they have to take a cut of the profits, they at least earn more."
"Earn more?" Xu An asked, following up. "Isn't it all the same stuff? Why would they earn more?"
"Because the people in the central street charge higher prices." The proprietress flipped over a roasted sticky rice cake and continued to cook it.
"Take my sticky rice cake for example. On the outer ring, it's two contribution points each, but in the inner ring, it sells for five contribution points. Tell me, don't they earn more?"
Xu An and Zhou Haimei exchanged glances.
"Haven't you ever protested this exorbitant stall fee? Times are so tough now?"
Before Xu An could finish her sentence, the proprietress shoved the sticky rice cake into her hand. The smile on her face instantly vanished, as if she were looking at something unsanitary.
"You people from the outer city, if you have nothing to do, just leave. You don't understand anything and just worry unnecessarily here."
As if that wasn't enough, she sternly added, "Protest what? You know nothing and are just worrying for others here. Young girls know best how the water tastes. Without the barbecue stall, where would the southern base's night market be? Without them, how could the central street sell at such high prices? You talk about stall fees. If you anger the barbecue stall and they stop coming to the southern base, we won't even be able to sell these two contribution point sticky rice cakes!"
After walking a considerable distance, Xu An still felt a bit dizzy.
Xu An, "I feel like we're the villains right now."
Zhou Haimei, "Me too."
"Did we really meddle too much this time?"
"Anyway, that proprietress sounded full of energy. She didn't seem like she was being exploited."
"Then Wang Mang and the others..."
"Is it possible that Wang Mang himself doesn't know that in the central area, goods can be sold at double the price?"
"Perhaps he knows, he just can't bear to part with those dividends."
"..."
Both of them fell silent.
"So, are we still investigating that barbecue stall?" Zhou Haimei looked at Xu An.
Xu An looked at Zhou Haimei's expression and knew, without guessing, that the other woman was wavering.
"Let's go and take a look. At least we can confirm what kind of meat that is. If it really is..."
Zhou Haimei took Xu An's hand and gave her a reassuring look.
"An'an, whatever decision you make, I will support you."
Xu An nodded, giving a soft "Mm." But her heart remained uneasy.
Even if it was truly human flesh, would anyone really believe them if they exposed it now?
Or, to put it another way, if it was really human flesh, would no one know?
If someone knew, and this barbecue stall could still continue to operate to this day, then what exactly was this southern base doing???
The more Xu An thought about it, the more her head ached.
Without realizing it, she had walked up to the barbecue stall.