The neighboring city is close to the Bohai Bay, where an old dock gathers ships coming from the south and north. It can’t compare to the throughput of big city ports, but being small has its advantages. The Black Market here is large and nurous!
Zhang Guoqing, relying on his mory from past visits, sped towards one of the big Black Markets. This place was recomnded by Liu Laosan as a good spot. Most people engaged in reselling have so inside information.
This Black Market is different from small, trivial dealings elsewhere, like a wholesale point for small vendors’ goods. It’s located in an underground cave on the outskirts, not far from where trains frequently pass by. Every day from midnight to three in the morning, snakeheads and vendors co to trade.
Before arriving, he was worried that it might have been shut down. After all, being too conspicuous, no matter how strong the identity of the people behind it, how could they resist the entire larger situation?
However, as he got closer, seeing the occasional cyclists and shady pedestrians on the dirt road leading there, he felt half-relieved.
As for the other half, he still had to find his target.
Zhang Guoqing parked nearby, not too far away, and woke up Zhou Jiao.
"We’re here!"
The couple, taking advantage of the darkness, filled the back trunk with supplies, making sure nothing was left behind. Zhang Guoqing nodded towards her, got out of the car, and watched Zhou Jiao move into the driver’s seat.
"If anything goes wrong, use the sedative. In this place, even if a few people die, it doesn’t matter. If you can’t handle it, just drive back and wait for at the county road entrance."
Zhou Jiao nodded calmly. She had already been on a mission once before, after all. She didn’t know who was really the rookie here. She was just hoping so blind fools would show up. Of course, not to the extent of killing them all!
"I’m heading over. When I co back, I’ll flash the flashlight five tis. Three up, two down."
"Go on, be careful!" Zhou Jiao waved goodbye, struggling to keep a straight face. Every ti she thought about the five flashes signal, she wanted to laugh. Because she’d often seen people in the Black Market signaling with three flashes!
What is three up, two down? It ant Zhang Guoqing would wave upwards three tis and down towards her twice. So mysteriously, making Zhou Jiao unable to hold back her laughter.
Zhang Guoqing, holding a black bag in his hand, quickly stepped inside. After looking around, he fixed his gaze on a middle-aged man he had traded with before.
The man’s bushy sideburns were too striking and standout. Even after years, they remained fresh in Zhang Guoqing’s mory. At their first eting, he thought if the man were ever exposed, shaving clean might make it impossible for even his family to recognize him.
Zhang Guoqing went up and gestured to him, opened the bag, showed him the vodka and other samples inside, and imdiately closed the bag again.
"Brother."
Zhang Guoqing noticed a flash of surprise in the man’s eyes and followed him as he turned around, signaling behind their backs the quantity and price.
Since it’s imported goods, Zhang Guoqing didn’t intend to lower the price. Nowadays, it’s hard enough to find white wine in the market, let alone buy it.
Besides money, this ti he mainly wanted to exchange for national grain tickets. As for other tickets, he didn’t ask for them. Having them would be good; it never hurt having more.
The man hesitated for a mont, then left the stall to a young man nearby and took a large black bag, bringing two people with him, following Zhang Guoqing out the door.
Zhang Guoqing watched as he pulled a cart with rubber wheels from around the corner, a hint of recognition flashing in his eyes. He thought to himself that this man probably had so significant standing here.
The Black Market has its rules, and even more so for large ones. Both parties knew not to ask about the source of goods, nor to use the chance to inquire, or the deal would be off.
Zhou Jiao was sitting in the car not too far away, within less than five hundred ters. When she saw Zhang Guoqing approaching, shaking his flashlight, and spotted the three n with him and the large cart ahead, her eyes lit up.
She moved the car forward a little before they got too close. If the other party offered a good enough price, she wouldn’t mind sending another carload. She regretted earlier not bringing a truck. Of course, she realized there’d be no room for supplies if she cramd a truck into their space.
But who is she? She’s a woman. Zhou Jiao found a perfect excuse for her idle thoughts while waiting. She eagerly hoped soone would try to rob them, but any shadows they passed by sped up quickly away from the car.
Zhang Guoqing nodded at her and noticed she remained quietly in the car. He smiled. His wife was smart; if anything went wrong, they’d try to rob the goods, and they’d have to turn around and beco the robbers themselves!
This couple, with the ntality of "you play yours, and we won’t hold back," exchanged knowing smiles.
Zhang Guoqing opened the back car door, let them inspect the contents, and checked several boxes underneath. Leaning against the car door, he took the black bag from the middle-aged man, opened it, and handed it to Zhou Jiao.
The middle-aged man then took two stacks of ten-yuan notes from his pockets and a pile of grain tickets handed to him by his subordinate, passing them to Zhang Guoqing.
Zhou Jiao quickly verified there were no counterfeit notes, roughly estimated the number, and gave Zhang Guoqing an OK.
Seeing this, Zhang Guoqing stepped aside, allowing them to load the goods, while he walked to the driver’s side, passing the money and tickets to his wife in the car.
In trades like these, speed is of the essence. Quickly, the car was emptied, and one of the young n grinned, pointing at the goods and nodding at the middle-aged man.
Zhang Guoqing guessed he was probably saying the goods were good.
Sure enough, he was right. The middle-aged man waved, signaling the two n to push the cart back, then approached the car, and softly said to Zhang Guoqing, "How much stock do you have, I’ll take as much as you have."
Zhang Guoqing looked at him, "There’s one more carload, half an hour to go back and forth. Is that enough ti?"
Of course, he had more than one carload, but he didn’t plan to sell too much at once. It wasn’t that he feared the others wouldn’t have enough money, but it was too eye-catching. With so many Black Markets in neighboring provinces and cities, he didn’t have to risk lingering here.
The middle-aged man smiled, nodded slightly, indicating that half an hour for another transaction would be fine. It was not yet one o’clock in the morning, and half an hour was just right; too late and it would delay today’s shipnt.
Zhang Guoqing got into the car and waved at him. Watching Zhou Jiao quickly start the car, he realized he had overlooked a detail earlier—he forgot to back the car up. Fortunately, everything went smoothly; otherwise, they’d be slower escaping.
In high spirits, Zhou Jiao humd a little tune, having quickly calculated that they’d made a big profit this ti, especially with a thousand jin of grain tickets making her feel elated.
"Nicely done! Two thousand jin of grain tickets are enough to last for a while."
"I don’t plan to use these grain tickets. They’re for ergencies."
Zhou Jiao nodded and said with a smile, "Alright, I’ll follow your plan. Does that an you’re not planning to sell the coal?"
"No need. Stick to your original plan."
Zhang Guoqing knew his wife’s capabilities. She had already pondered over it repeatedly and only needed him to complent it. They’ve been preparing for so long there’s no need to change it now.
As for why to keep the grain tickets? It was in case they had a mission that took them far away, making it difficult to get food from their space. Or if it was inconvenient outside.
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