Chapter 137 Old Black Brings Back Good News

But the next second, a series of loud knocks slammed on the door, accompanied by a deep, hoarse voice: "Excuse me... is this Xia Qianqian's house?"

That sound!

Xia Qianqian pushed Lu Zheng away: "It's Lao Hei! Lao Hei is back!"

Outside the door, Lao Hei scratched the back of his head, still clutching half a crumpled piece of paper in his hand. It was a simple route map that Xia Qianqian had drawn for him half a year ago.

He circled Xiangyang Village three times before finally finding the entrance to the courtyard. Afraid of having gone to the wrong place, he raised his voice and called out, "Miss Xia? Do you live here?"

His voice was like thunder, extremely penetrating; Xia Qianqian could hear it even through the door, and her ears were ringing.

She walked outside with delight. Ever since she sent him to the provincial capital to gather information half a year ago, he had disappeared without a trace, like a kite with a broken string.

Later, Lu Zheng asked Peng Fei to search for him. The provincial capital was a mixed bag, and after searching for half a month, they only found that Lao Hei had appeared near the train station, and then disappeared without a trace.

She thought Lao Hei had probably met with an accident, but to her surprise, he actually found Xiangyang Village on his own!

The latch clicked open, and in the moonlight, Old Hei, carrying a bulging sack, his dark face weathered by time, grinned at Xia Qianqian, revealing two rows of white teeth: "Miss Xia! I've finally found you!"

Looking at his travel-worn appearance, Xia Qianqian's throat suddenly tightened. What had he gone through in the past six months?

"Old Hei, you must be tired from your journey! Come in and rest, let's talk things over." Xia Qianqian quickly ushered him inside.

Lu Zheng turned around and went to the kitchen to find something to eat, while Xia Qianqian made a cup of hot tea and handed it to him.

Old Hei was clearly starving. He took the rough porcelain bowl and, ignoring the heat, started stuffing the cornbread into his mouth, finishing it in just a few bites.

After he had eaten his fill, Old Hei wiped his mouth and looked at Xia Qianqian with shining eyes: "Miss Xia, it's a success! I've traveled to several cities in the south and finally made contact with the black market there! From now on, we won't have to worry about finding a market for Peach Blossom Spring's goods!"

"Really?!" Xia Qianqian's eyes lit up, and she was so excited that she almost jumped up from her chair.

Lu Zheng quickly caught her, his brows furrowing slightly: "Slow down! Have you forgotten you're pregnant?"

Old Hei then belatedly looked at Xia Qianqian's belly, blushed, and scratched his head as he congratulated her, "Oh! Congratulations, Miss Xia! This...this is truly a joyous occasion!"

He rubbed his hands together and frowned. "But this makes it difficult to get the goods out of the country."

He had planned it all out perfectly: once he had enough goods in Peach Blossom Spring, he would take Xia Qianqian to the trading point to finalize the price in person. But now Xia Qianqian was pregnant and couldn't withstand a long journey.

Hearing Lao Hei's words, Xia Qianqian subconsciously touched her belly, but her tone was very firm: "Going out should be fine. I just saw a barefoot doctor, and the pregnancy is stable. I'm more than five months pregnant now. I'll go before giving birth. It will take at most half a month round trip. I should be able to handle it."

Lu Zheng frowned even more deeply and pressed down on her hand: "No. The black market is a mixed bag, and the docks are full of all sorts of people. You're pregnant; what if you get hurt?"

His voice deepened, and he said with concern, "Don't rush the money. Wait until you've given birth, finished your postpartum period, and everything is settled before you go. A few more months won't make a difference."

Xia Qianqian shook her head: "Time waits for no one. These two black markets are still barely operating now, but who knows what will happen after I give birth? Old Hei worked so hard to get this connection, we can't just watch the opportunity slip away."

These words struck a chord with Lao Hei, who slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Miss Xia is right! Comrade Lu, you don't know, which city didn't have a few black markets before? I've run myself ragged just to find these two, and they're all hiding in dock warehouses, sneaking around. They might get shut down any day now! If this trip falls through, it'll be hard to find another place!"

He became more and more agitated as he spoke: "I've been traveling around for the past six months and have seen too many dealers have had their homes raided. People in the black market are like frightened birds now; they might agree on a land price today and change their minds tomorrow. If we drag this out until next year..."

Lu Zheng fell silent. He knew Lao Hei was telling the truth; the black market was inherently precarious.

It would be advisable to let Qianqian go on an adventure while she is pregnant...

He looked at Xia Qianqian, who was staring at him with eyes that shone like two stars, filled with a pleading yet unyielding stubbornness.

Old Hei suddenly had a brilliant idea: "If you ask me, why don't we get a car? We can drive there; it'll be faster and safer."

Lu Zheng pondered for a moment and looked at Xia Qianqian: "In that case, leave the car to me. I'll go to the provincial capital in the next couple of days and see if I can get a retired jeep from the military logistics department."

"Really?" Xia Qianqian's eyes widened suddenly, and she grabbed his arm in surprise. "You have this kind of connection?"

That's a Jeep! These days, anyone who can afford a car is a big shot.

Lu Zheng's heart stirred at her bright, sparkling eyes. His Adam's apple bobbed almost imperceptibly. His wife was overjoyed, her eyes shining like twinkling stars.

He deliberately put on a stern face and pinched her cheek: "Otherwise, do you think your man just stayed in the provincial capital for nothing?"

"You're so annoying." Xia Qianqian slapped his hand away, but her face lit up with a smile. "Then you'd better hurry! As soon as we get the car, we'll set off!"

Old Hei listened intently, rubbing his hands together.

The night was as dark as if ink had been spilled, and the three of them argued in the room until the wee hours about what goods to bring and how to pack them.

Xia Qianqian slammed her hand on the table and said, "Let's go to Peach Blossom Spring!" She pulled Lu Zheng and Lao Hei into the space and dragged Zhang San and the others out of their sleep. She then rummaged through the warehouse and found all the eggs, dried goods, and off-season vegetables that were piled up. She weighed and repackaged them all.

The warehouse in Peach Blossom Spring was suddenly brightly lit. Zhang San led his men over, and seeing Old Black standing alive in front of them, they immediately surrounded him, asking him all sorts of questions.

"Blackie! You're finally back! We thought you'd been sent to a labor camp!"

"What's the black market like in the south? Is it overflowing with gold?"

Old Hei was overwhelmed by the questions. While packing the bags non-stop, he shouted back, "Stop talking nonsense! Get to work! Miss Xia definitely won't let us down if we make money."

These words energized everyone even more. No one complained of being tired, and they kept busy until the first light of dawn, with two lanterns lit and clanging.

Xia Qianqian was taken inside by Lu Zheng to rest. When it was dawn, she was awakened by the noise outside.

When I went outside, I saw that the sacks in the yard were piled up from the east wall to the west wall, the medicinal herbs were neatly wrapped in oil paper, and even the dried shiitake mushrooms were sorted by size and piled up like a small mountain.

She stared in astonishment, her eyes widening: "You've already sorted out all the goods?"

Old Hei wiped his sweat and grinned, "Yeah, let's try to sell them all this time!"