Chapter 54: Black Market: An Opportunity for Promotion

"That... Teacher Ran, listen to my explanation."

"It's nothing, hehe, eh~ I just saw you and thought I'd say hello."

Seeing Ran Qiuye shiver with goosebumps on her skin, He Yuzhu thought to himself: People in this era really hate affected, cutesy voices.

Since Ran Qiuye had no intention of chatting more, He Yuzhu naturally wouldn't pester her; he said a few simple words, promised on behalf of Ma Hua regarding the banquet, and then took his leave.

Watching He Yuzhu walk away, Ran Qiuye thought: Could it be that he was in such a rush today because he has something going on with Xu Damao...?

Eh~

Curling her lip, Ran Qiuye quickly walked away.

He Yuzhu looked at the sky, walked to a quiet, deserted alley, took a hat, a face mask, and glasses out of the System Space, put them on, and headed toward the Black Market.

At the entrance of the Black Market, several young men pacing back and forth stopped He Yuzhu. A young man with one eye looking at the sky and the other at the ground asked seemingly casually: "The Heavenly King covers the earth's tiger!" He Yuzhu smiled lightly and replied in a low voice: "Stewed Chicken with Mushrooms."

"The clear breeze brushes the willow branches!"

"May I ask if you are Duan... cough, cough, no, that's wrong, the bright moon shines upon the hearts of men!"

"Earthquakes on the high ridge, a stretch of streams and mountains eternal and beautiful!"

"The gate faces the sea, the three rivers merge and flow for ten thousand years!"

The young man nodded and reached out his hand.

Because He Yuzhu had come empty-handed, he understood and handed over a dime for the entrance fee, and only then did the young men move aside as if they were just passing by.

In this era, everything is supplied based on coupons; even if you have money, without coupons, you cannot buy anything.

However, everyone is different; some people have high wages and few family members, so they want to eat something good, but they don't have enough Meat Coupons.

Some have large families and not enough food to eat, while industrial product coupons for things like bicycles, Sewing Machines, or even combs and sandals are useless to them; they just want to gnaw on an extra steamed bun or drink an extra bowl of thin porridge every day. What can they do? Thus, the Black Market, this special product, was born.

They sell everything here: antiques, gold, rice, flour, grain, oil, vegetables, snacks, all kinds of coupons, pork, rice, cloth, shoes, industrial supplies, and even some stolen goods—for instance, this somewhat familiar bicycle missing its rear wheel right in front of He Yuzhu...

"How about it, brother, buying a bike?" The stall owner was a somewhat thin and small figure; as for his appearance, he was wearing a mask, so it couldn't be seen.

"How much?" He Yuzhu kept stroking the bicycle and asked in a suppressed voice.

"A brand new one is 180 and you still need coupons; this one is missing a wheel, the lowest is... um... one—" The stall owner looked around and said in the same muffled voice.

"Make it cheaper, I happen to have a rear wheel."

"Can't go any cheaper, you won't find this price anywhere else. Look closely, this is a Twenty-Eight Bar!"

"Really can't go cheaper?"

"Really can't go cheaper!"

"Sigh. Then it's a pity about that only remaining rear wheel of mine that was stolen at the Hospital." He Yuzhu shook his head and said with a sigh.

The stall owner was stunned and retreated somewhat sheepishly, saying: "That is a bit of a pity."

"Stop selling. Others have already told me your information. After you leave the Black Market, wait for me at the intersection; don't force me to go to your home to catch you!" He Yuzhu put away his look of regret and said in an official, authoritative tone.

The stall owner was stunned, fell to his knees with a thud, kowtowed, and said with a trembling voice: "I'm sorry, I'm truly sorry, I really can't go on living; the children at home are crying from hunger every day. You are a magnanimous person, please take the bike away. These few things on the stall were all stolen by me; I haven't sold any, today is the first day, I haven't dared to touch a single thing. I'm truly terrified of being poor, wuwu."

Seeing that someone had already noticed them, He Yuzhu hurriedly pulled the stall owner up and looked at the junk on his stall.

Aside from his own bicycle, there were only some seamless steel pipes, wrenches, pliers, pipe wrenches, and other tools that had been used for a long time and were covered in oil stains, so he couldn't help but shake his head.

"Take this, go buy some food first, then stay by your stall and don't move. I'll come find you after I finish walking around. You can choose to run, but next time I appear at your home and take you away in front of your wife and children, don't cry." As he spoke, He Yuzhu took out money and a few Grain Coupons and stuffed them into the man's hand.

On one hand, it was because he was kind-hearted; on the other, it was because he recognized the source of the seamless steel pipes.

Besides the Rolling Mill where he worked, where else could these seamless steel pipes come from?

Of course, the stall owner could choose to take the money and pack up his things to run, but if he really wanted to catch him, as a former official of the Public Security Bureau...

It wasn't certain he could be caught, so he had just scared him a little before leaving.

The stall owner gripped the money and coupons in his hand tightly, his eyes shifting uncertainly, but in the end, he sighed and squatted down where he was.

He Yuzhu strolled around and soon finished a lap of the entire Black Market, stopping in front of a person wearing flat-rimmed glasses, and asked softly: "Do you have yellow croakers?"

"I do. Do you want big ones or small ones?"

"How much per gram?"

"Gram? Four yuan per gram."

"How many do you have?"

"Have... do you have the money to buy them?" The old man said, revealing a suspicious look.

"No money, but I have coupons."

"How many?"

"Here!" As he spoke, He Yuzhu took a large roll of various coupons out of his pocket and handed them to the old man.

"Wine Coupons, Cigarette Coupons, Grain Coupons, Bicycle Coupons, Television Coupons... hiss, Jet Fighter Coupon? Did you make this yourself?" As he flipped through them, the old man was startled. He Yuzhu hurriedly took them back and picked out the messy coupons from inside.

The system is a pit; why does it send him every kind of coupon?

"Cough, cough, that is classified, classified, you understand. Keep looking."

"Oh, I won't ask, I understand. You certainly have a lot of coupons, but without money, I can't buy anything either."

"Just tell me how much these coupons can be exchanged for."

The old man quickly closed his eyes and muttered something, raised his right hand, and began to shake it.

Occasionally he would open his eyes, flip through the various coupons, and then continue shaking his right hand.

He Yuzhu watched from the side, clicking his tongue in wonder. He hadn't expected this old man to be so trendy; could this be the earliest form of "flower hand" dancing?

"Calculated. You have too many of these coupons; I can't use some of them and would have to resell them. At most, I can trade for fish: two big ones and three small ones." After calculating for a long time, the old man finally spoke.

He Yuzhu calculated silently in his heart. Grain Coupons had a slightly lower value, but they were hard currency. Other industrial product coupons were good things you couldn't buy even with money. Like Bicycle Coupons or Television Coupons, ordinary workers now only received one or two a year depending on the economic situation, and they were limited. Buying a bicycle might require ten coupons. With so many of his, this old man was definitely making a good profit off him.

After calculating, He Yuzhu took another handful out of his pocket, handed it over, and said: "If it's a deal, it's a deal; if not, forget it."

Those limited coupons were good things for giving as gifts, aside from trading for money...

The old man flipped through them one by one, shook his "flower hand" for a while longer, and after some bargaining, finally agreed. He reached into the box under his buttocks, fumbled around, and pulled out yellow, golden-shining, long-shaped objects that made one feel high just looking at them, and handed them to He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu placed them in his sleeve, gently bit down on each of the four corners, hmm, that was the taste, and then concluded the transaction.

He turned around and, in a place where others couldn't see, stored them into the System Space; they were easy to lose if carried on his person, and it would cause trouble if discovered, besides, they were too heavy.

As for ration coupons, he wouldn't say he had plenty, but there were definitely not few, though it was a pity that having coupons without money was useless.

He had originally intended to get on good terms with that female clerk at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative and have her help him process a portion, otherwise he wouldn't have generously given her a catty of sugar.

For those who wanted to buy things but lacked coupons, he could just charge a little more and use his own coupons to buy them, and after earning money this way, give her some benefits; now it seemed it was better to exchange for Small Yellow Fish, after all, buying was earning, and since gold trading was currently not allowed in the country, this was hard currency.

He walked to a few more stalls, and He Yuzhu exchanged industrial product coupons for over four hundred yuan, as well as some small jade trinkets, writing brushes, jade pendants, mythical beasts, bead bracelets, plain plaques, gold and silver jewelry, hairpins, and so on; don't even mention it, industrial product coupons were indeed very valuable.

One by one, he tucked them into his bosom and into the System Space, and He Yuzhu strolled back to where he had started.

With money in hand, one's heart is at ease; as he walked, He Yuzhu patted his own head, almost forgetting about the thief.

He turned his head and went to that thief, only to see that person guarding two bags of corn, still squatting in the same spot, with the rest of the items already packed up, looking like he was waiting for him.

He Yuzhu nodded with satisfaction; it was good that he hadn't run away.

"Why didn't you run?"

"Hey, look at what you're saying, how would I dare? Are you done browsing?"

"Hmm, you go, buy a wheel and put it on, here is twenty yuan, go quickly, I'll watch the stall for you."

He Yuzhu took out the money; he couldn't just carry the bicycle home like this.

That person agreed and vanished in a flash, which made He Yuzhu chuckle; he hadn't expected this kid to run quite fast.

Before long, the man ran back, holding a relatively new wheel in his hand, and used his own tools to skillfully install it.

"This... the wheel isn't the same, is it?" He Yuzhu looked and asked.

"Hi, how could it be such a coincidence? Just use whatever is available."

He Yuzhu thought about it, and that was true; his own wheel was still tied to a tree at the Hospital, fine, as long as it could be used, eh? This kid, why did he give the twenty yuan back to him again?

Seeing He Yuzhu's puzzled look, the man laughed and said, "On our turf, how could I let you spend money on a wheel?"

"Oh, oh, then you're quite capable, wait, no, damn it, this wheel of yours is stolen, right?" He Yuzhu nodded, just about to praise him, when he realized.

"Cough, cough, borrowed, borrowed, let's go quickly, shall we?" As he spoke, the man urged him...

Fine, what kind of situation is this.

He Yuzhu carried the man's corn and tools on the bicycle, and the two of them quickly left the Black Market and stopped by the side of the road; just as he was about to speak, he saw that old man, who had his head wrapped up and was wearing glasses, dragging a bicycle without a rear wheel as he walked over from the side, sighing.

He Yuzhu chuckled and hurriedly called out, "Hey, old man, what's wrong with the bike? Need help?"

"Bah! Don't mention it, I don't know which son-of-a-bitch stole my wheel! Bad luck!" The old man looked at He Yuzhu, touched his own face, and finding his disguise was still intact, cursed unpleasantly.

"Cough, cough, meeting is fate, how about I go buy one and replace it for you?" He Yuzhu was stunned and suggested.

The old man waved his hand: "No need, I've taken enough advantage of you today, consider it compensation for you." Saying this, he walked away.

He Yuzhu looked at the man and said, "Good thing I don't even have a wife, otherwise I would have been cursed by him."

The man also gave a smug smile and said, "Good thing I have six daughters, that was close."

He Yuzhu: "...!"

"Let's go, what's your name?" The two resumed their journey, and He Yuzhu asked.

"You can just call me Xiaokang, Yu Xiaokang."

He Yuzhu nodded, took out cigarettes, and after lighting one for each, he sent the things back to Yu Xiaokang's home; watching his wife and children overjoyed at the sight of the corn, Yu Xiaokang turned his head and wiped his eyes.

"Here, I forgot to buy some gifts, and the Supply and Marketing Cooperative is closed too. How about this, Kang, you take this money, ride the bike, and go back to the Black Market to buy meat, wine, vegetables, candy, and some clothes and shoes for the children, buy a little of everything. I'll wait for you here, we'll have a drink tonight, I have something to ask you." He Yuzhu sat down, looking at the chipped tea bowl, the pitch-black house with bare walls, Yu Xiaokang's wife who was sallow and covered in patches, and the barefoot children, and sighed as he gave the order.

"This..." Yu Xiaokang looked at the money, feeling somewhat troubled.

"Go quickly! Do you want to starve me to death? Don't lose the bike." He Yuzhu glared, and Yu Xiaokang immediately took the money, agreeing repeatedly: "I won't, don't worry, even if I lose it, I'll steal it back for you! I promise."

"Get lost!"

Watching Yu Xiaokang scramble away, He Yuzhu turned his head and smilingly coaxed the children.

"Sister-in-law, are the children in school?" The children's faces were washed very clean, but because they were thin, their eyes looked very large.

The oldest of the children was ten, but one couldn't tell at all from their height and build; He Yuzhu knew this was from hunger.

"The oldest, the second, and the third are all in school, otherwise life wouldn't be this hard." Yu Xiaokang's wife was a bit shy, after all, the home was truly not fit to be seen.

The earthen walls were pitch-black from smoke and fire, and in the whole house, besides the heated brick bed, there were only a few tattered quilts.

The pots, bowls, ladles, and basins were all damaged in their own ways.

Except for two tables and two long benches, there was nothing else of value.

It was fine in the summer, and it didn't matter much that the children were barefoot, but in the winter when it was cold, they could only wear tattered single-layered shoes at most, and even the cotton-padded jackets were made of thin, dead cotton and broken rags.

"Gurgle." The children suddenly clutched their stomachs and looked at their mother in discomfort.

He Yuzhu thought of his own childhood, eating others' leftovers and wearing others' hand-me-downs, and with empathy, he turned his head, wiped away his tears, and said softly: "Endure a little longer, your father will be back soon, and he'll come back to make meat for you to eat."

"Please drink some water, be careful, don't cut your mouth." Yu Xiaokang's wife appeared very reserved; after all, He Yuzhu's leather shoes and clothes clearly didn't belong to poor people like them.

"It's fine, we've all lived through bitter days, no need to be reserved. Sister-in-law, sit down, what kind of work do you and Xiaokang do?" He Yuzhu smiled, picked up the cup, and drank it all in one gulp without caring.

"The master of the house burns charcoal at the kiln, I don't have a job..."

"Burning charcoal?" He Yuzhu was stunned; there was almost no greenery left around the capital, where would there be wood to burn charcoal?

"Yes, usually I work for half a year and rest for half a year, so it's relatively leisurely."

"Fine, let's talk about that later. Where are the elders in the family?"

"The elders went back to the countryside to farm."

Through questions and answers, He Yuzhu quickly figured out the situation of this family: poor, truly poor.

Even the cornmeal they ate was often a case of having the current meal but not the next.

The cornmeal here was not the refined cornmeal that everyone ate in later generations, but the kind of coarse flour ground together with the corn cobs; one mouthful could tear your throat, and it was hard to digest and easy to cause constipation after eating.

"Ding-ding." Soon, Yu Xiaokang pressed the bicycle bell outside the house, and He Yuzhu hurried out.

The room was truly too oppressive.

"How did you buy so little, you son of a bitch, who is this enough to feed! Go again, spend all the money, otherwise don't come back!" Looking at the mere scrap of pork and single bottle of white liquor on the handlebars, and seeing that the clothes and shoes he had told him to buy were also not bought, He Yuzhu, with tears in his eyes, kicked Yu Xiaokang and said angrily.

"Please don't be angry, I, I'll go right now." Putting down the pork and white liquor, Yu Xiaokang turned around and left.

Before long, when he returned again, the bicycle was already packed full, and only then did He Yuzhu nod in satisfaction and stub out his cigarette butt.

Returning to the room and sitting by the table, watching the few children shouting and looking happy, He Yuzhu also revealed a smile.

Perhaps, he should do something!

Yu Xiaokang's wife was busily cooking dishes and steaming rice in a flurry.

It had been so many years since they had eaten meat or rice; Madam Yu wiped away her tears, turned her head to look at the children wearing their new shoes, and could no longer hold back her tears as they streamed down.

He Yuzhu and Yu Xiaokang sat by the table eating peanuts and drinking liquor.

"Tell me, where did your seamless steel pipes come from."

As soon as the question was asked, Yu Xiaokang stood up with a clatter and began to explain with a nervous look on his face.