Chapter 277: Black Market Grain Sale

"Sister, just tell me straight, what exactly do you want me to do?" He Yuzhu asked.

Tian Dan lowered her voice and said, "According to reliable intelligence, the Military Statistics Bureau agents lurking in Si Jiu Cheng have all retreated into the mountains, plotting to create chaos on the day of the Founding Ceremony!"

"Retreated into the mountains? Beiping is surrounded by mountains; where are we supposed to look?" He Yuzhu asked, his face full of worry.

"We have analyzed it too; the breakthrough lies in the food supply," Tian Dan said.

"Sister, can't you use radio to investigate?" He Yuzhu pressed.

Tian Dan shook her head: "They are very cunning; they almost never use radios."

"That really is cunning!" He Yuzhu clicked his tongue. "Thousands of people hiding in the mountains—the food they consume is certainly no small amount. Why not send people to the villages near the mountains to ask around?"

"You've hit the nail on the head!" Tian Dan's eyes lit up. "I have already sent people to investigate secretly, and I suspect there is a high probability they will use the black market route."

He Yuzhu had a sudden inspiration and said, "Sister, why don't we take the initiative! If we set up food stalls in the main black markets of Si Jiu Cheng, they will take the bait sooner or later."

"That's a brilliant idea!" Tian Dan made the decision immediately. "Then we act tonight!"

"But I don't even know where the black markets in Beiping are!" He Yuzhu asked deliberately.

Tian Dan squinted at him with a look that was half-smile, half-scowl: "Don't play dumb with me. I investigated you long ago—didn't you often run to the black market when the Japanese were here? Why are you asking me now?"

He Yuzhu sighed helplessly and scratched his head: "Fine, you've outmaneuvered me again. So you spent all that time questioning me just to set a trap for me."

"You'll have to find a way to procure the food yourself!" Tian Dan said.

"Understood, understood," He Yuzhu muttered under his breath, "I'll just have to borrow from the other sister—you're the one setting the trap for me, while she's the one who helps me out of it!"

The corners of Tian Dan's mouth curled up, and she said softly, "Perhaps one day, I'll be able to help you out of a trap too."

"Alright, then let's meet at midnight tonight at Bingjiaokou Hutong outside Deshengmen," He Yuzhu instructed. "You must wear a disguise; don't let anyone see that you're a woman."

At midnight, dark clouds obscured the moon, and the night was as black as ink.

He Yuzhu parked the truck in a hidden spot near the black market. Just as it struck twelve, he saw Tian Dan walking over in men's clothing—yet her brows and eyes still carried a woman's delicate beauty; no matter how one looked at her, she didn't look like a man.

"Sister, put this on," He Yuzhu handed over a mask. "Cover your face."

"How much food did you manage to get?" Tian Dan took the mask and put it on.

"About five thousand catties," He Yuzhu replied. "Dan, you have plenty of experience and a good eye for people; why don't I guard the truck and you handle the selling at the black market?"

Tian Dan thought for a moment and said, "Take me inside to scout the location first, and tell me the rules in there."

He Yuzhu nodded, moved two bags of rice from the truck onto the back seat of his bicycle, and the two of them walked one after the other toward the entrance of the black market.

There were two burly men guarding the entrance; they only let them through after collecting a "gate fee" of two thousand yuan.

Once inside the black market, Tian Dan couldn't help but be secretly startled—it covered quite a large area, with dilapidated houses and broken walls scattered everywhere, which instead served as a natural barrier for the traders to hide their identities.

Many horse-drawn and ox-drawn carts were parked on the perimeter, clearly used for transporting goods.

He Yuzhu was a regular here and was accustomed to the scene; Tian Dan, however, was seeing it for the first time and appeared very excited, her eyes scanning everywhere.

The black market at this time was indeed well-stocked, with everything from food, antiques, and tables and chairs, to firearms and weapons displayed in plain sight—almost nothing was missing.

Tian Dan lowered her voice and asked, "Zhuzi, you come here often; what do you usually trade?"

He Yuzhu chuckled: "Where would I have the spare money to buy these things? It's my sister, Liu Rusi, who likes collecting ancient jade, so I come here from time to time to help her buy some old items."

A hint of skepticism remained in Tian Dan's eyes.

"What's there not to believe?" He Yuzhu added. "Don't rich people all have some peculiar collecting habits?"

"Next time I see Liu Rusi, I'll tell her you were bad-mouthing her behind her back," Tian Dan teased.

"You two don't get along anyway; she might not believe you," He Yuzhu said dismissively.

As they spoke, they had already reached the food trading area. They placed the two bags of rice they had brought on the ground and squatted down beside them to keep watch.

Before long, people came up to ask for prices; they were all small-batch buyers, and He Yuzhu nimbly weighed the goods and collected the money.

In no time at all, the two bags of food were sold out.

The two simply divided the work: Tian Dan stayed in place to watch the stall and greet customers, while He Yuzhu made trips to transport food into the market.

Near two in the morning, four masked men suddenly walked over, their steps steady and their eyes vigilant.

He Yuzhu kept a secret watch and caught a glimpse of guns tucked into their waistbands, and he immediately understood the situation.

One of the big men squatted down in front of Tian Dan and asked in a low voice, "Brother, how much food do you have here?"

Tian Dan raised her eyes and scanned him, her tone steady: "I have as much as you want."

"Great!" The big man's tone lifted. "Shall we discuss the price?"

"Thirteen thousand yuan per hundred catties, not a cent less," Tian Dan refused to budge.

"Deal!" The big man agreed readily.

"I have four thousand catties left on my truck; can you take it all?" Tian Dan pressed.

"Take it all! We'll pay once we've inspected the goods!" the big man replied.

He Yuzhu and Tian Dan worked in tacit cooperation and quickly completed the transaction.

The other party paid the money and even gave an extra "hardship fee," then signaled for people to move the food onto a horse cart and drive toward the west.

The two exchanged a look and quietly followed behind.

After following the horse cart for several dozen miles, they gradually entered the mountainous area.

Tian Dan's stamina was failing, and she couldn't keep up. He Yuzhu stopped and said, "Dan, wait here; I'll follow them and take a look."

"Be careful," Tian Dan instructed.

He Yuzhu used the cover of night to tail them all the way to a dilapidated temple deep in Xishan.

The food on the cart was quickly moved inside by several dozen people who emerged from the temple, and there were faint shadows of people patrolling around the temple.

He Yuzhu quietly climbed a large tree near the temple and observed from a high vantage point: there were about five hundred people in the temple, all carrying Submachine Guns, and their clothing was a hodgepodge, looking like a team thrown together temporarily.

He carefully searched the surroundings to confirm there were no other ambushes before returning the way he came.

"Only five hundred people?" Tian Dan's brows locked tight after hearing He Yuzhu's report. "That's too far off from the thousands mentioned in the intelligence. What on earth is going on?"

"Sister, have you considered that their target of several thousand people might not be the same place?" He Yuzhu reminded her.

Tian Dan concentrated and pondered for a moment, her eyes suddenly clearing: "We analyzed before that they want to create chaos during the founding ceremony, and their targets are nothing more than key facilities like power plants, steel mills, and waterworks—these places are scattered everywhere, so their teams naturally cannot gather together!"

"That's right!" The more Tian Dan spoke, the clearer she became, "There is a large Thermal Power Plant near Xishan, they must be aiming for this place. There is a Waterworks in the north of the city, perhaps another group of people is hiding there too!"

"Then we will wait for them like waiting for a rabbit by a tree!" Tian Dan said.

"Just waiting for a rabbit by a tree isn't enough, we must also search around the major infrastructure," He Yuzhu added.

"I understand." Tian Dan's tone was firm, "We must go back immediately to mobilize manpower, first surround this temple, and then send people to guard the other key facilities!"

In the night, the figures of the two quickly disappeared at the end of the mountain path.

The distant Po Miao still stood quietly under the hazy moonlight, and the people inside the temple were completely unaware that they had long been exposed to the hunter's line of sight.