Chapter 149 Want to buy a car on the black market
As long as there is profit to be made, Lin Sanqi is full of fighting spirit.
Not to mention South China, even going to Venezuela is no problem now.
Southerners have an enterprising spirit in their bones that allows them to be bosses and sleep on the floor. They don’t mind going to the ends of the earth to make money.
While having dinner, Lin Sanqi was thinking about what he needed to prepare for his trip to the south, the first thing being transportation.
You definitely have to take a train to get from the capital to the three southern provinces, but the southern railway network was not well developed in 1959.
For example, in Hujian Province, there was only one railway in the entire province in 1959, the Yingxia Line, which ran from Yingtan, Jiangxi to Xiamen, Hujian Province. Even the provincial capital, Huzhou, had no railway.
Lin Sanqi was going to Putian and Zhangpu. There was no railway access to these two places, and it was unlikely that there were long-distance buses. Lin Sanqi had to find a way himself.
Why was business trips so difficult in the 1950s and 1960s? The hardship lay in the journey itself.
In the days when there were no cars or trains, if you were lucky you could ride on a fellow villager's ox cart, but if you were unlucky you could only walk on foot.
It's not 2013 anymore. You can just call a taxi with your phone. As long as you have money, the taxi will drive you to LS in one go.
Thinking of this, Lin Sanqi thought of the Land Cruiser in his channel space.
It's okay to drive off-road vehicles from modern society in the Northwest region, because the Northwest region is vast and sparsely populated, so there's no need to worry about being seen.
Even if a herdsman occasionally saw it, the off-road vehicle had already passed by at lightning speed, and the herdsman could not see it clearly. If he saw it clearly, he would only exclaim a few times, "It's so damn fast."
But it’s different in the south.
The south is densely populated, with villages one after another, and a dense network of waterways, so cars cannot speed at all.
The key point is that whether it is Hujian, Dongguan or Guangqi, these three provinces are all coastal and border, with many border stations, and the people and local governments are more vigilant against enemy spies.
If Lin Sanqi appeared on the roads in the south driving a strange car, he would be caught in minutes.
So if you want to go to the south, you definitely don't need a Land Cruiser, and several other off-road motorcycles and freestyle motorcycles are also not useful. At most, you can only ride a 28-bar bicycle.
Hundreds or thousands of kilometers on a bicycle? Crazy?
Thinking of this, Lin Sanqi quickly shook his head. After riding a bicycle for thousands of kilometers, does he still want the eggs?
Lin Kucan saw that his youngest son was absent-minded, frowning and shaking his head while eating, so he smiled and advised:
"Qizi, don't worry too much. Although the conditions in the south are a little difficult, it is still the Communist Party's territory after all. What are you afraid of? This is not the era of warlords fighting each other. There won't be too much danger."
Jin Caifeng also advised:
"That's right. Don't be afraid. The worst that can happen is that if the mission isn't completed, we can just quit as purchasing agents. Anyway, you're already working in the hospital now. You have a formal position and are a state cadre. You can definitely change jobs. If all else fails, you can learn medicine from your father. You'll always have something to eat."
Lin Sanqi opened his mouth, wanting to ask his father for help, but finally chose to keep quiet.
He couldn't ask Comrade Lao Lin, "Do you have a car for me?"
Comrade Lao Lin still walks to work and doesn’t even have a bicycle, so where would he get a car from?
I don’t know who the imported cars in my hometown belong to now.
At night, Lin Sanqi, who was lying in bed, felt more and more that something was wrong. He decided to go to the black market to find a solution, so he got up and quietly went to Chaoyang Park.
Lin Sanqi is now well-known in the four major black markets in the east, west, south and north of the capital. He is one of the most important tea and brown sugar suppliers in the black market.
However, Lin Sanqi was cautious and did not sell large quantities of grain.
Food was a very sensitive issue in 1959 and attracted a lot of attention.
Some people just laugh it off when it comes to selling tea and sugar, after all, it has little impact on people's livelihood.
If he dared to sell grain on a large scale, not only would the black market organizers cause trouble for him, but I'm afraid the staff of relevant departments lurking in the black market would also cause trouble for him and force him to hand over the source of the grain.
Chaoyang Park is more lively at night than during the day, and many shady things are sold at night.
Lin Sanqi was walking around slowly with his hands behind his back and a flashlight in hand. In fact, he was looking for people, those big tea sellers.
Those who could buy more than ten or twenty kilograms of tea at a time were almost all prominent figures in the city back then. Now it was only 1959, the period of public-private partnership, and Lin Sanqi felt that these old capitalists must have cars.
After walking around for a while, Lin Sanqi was suddenly patted on the shoulder from behind.
Lin Sanqi was shocked. According to legend, if someone pats you on the back in the middle of the night, it is not a good thing. It could be a wild ghost or a bear, neither of which Lin Sanqi could afford to offend.
"Who? Don't scare me! I'm telling you, scaring others can kill them!"
"Oh my god, when did you become so timid? You usually seem quite brave, selling tea from the state warehouse by the bucketful."
Lin Sanqi heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing the elderly voice, patted his chest and turned around:
"Master Fu, you are a prince of the Qing Dynasty after all. Why do you always scare people in the middle of the night?"
Old Man Fu chuckled and glanced behind Lin Sanqi:
"Boy, what good stuff do you have to sell today? Let me take a look first."
Lin Sanqi's eyes rolled, thinking that this old man has a powerful background. Even though it is a new society now, his family fortune must not have been squandered, right?
Unlike Prince Rui Zhongquan who robbed his own ancestral tomb, Prince Yu Duanzhen who sold his ancestral home (later Union Hospital), Prince Su Shanqi who gave birth to a Han Chinese daughter, Yoshiko Kawashima, Prince Zhuang Zaigong who played supporting roles in theaters, and Prince Keqin Yansen who pulled a rickshaw.
The above-mentioned princes are all famous prodigal princes. Not to mention valuable things in their homes, they are lucky to have a steamed bun.
However, the last emperor's brother Fu Zuo had a good reputation among the people. He did not have any bad hobbies such as eating, drinking, gambling, and watching actors. He usually just wrote and painted at home. He was a cultured person.
Thinking of this, Lin Sanqi pulled Old Man Fu aside and asked in a low voice:
"Mr. Fu, I've run into a problem. Do you think I can buy a car on the black market in Sijiuli?"
Fu Zuo looked at the young man in front of him in surprise:
"Damn it, you're such a jerk! You even dared to buy a car? But would you dare drive it? You'd be caught in no time."
Lin Sanqi quickly covered up and said, "Hey, I want this car to be sent to other places. How can I dare to drive it in this city?"
"You're smart, kid."
Fu Zuo suddenly turned his eyes and asked, "Tell me, kid, what kind of car do you want to buy?"
Lin Sanqi held up two fingers:
"I want to buy a big truck and a small car. But the car should be a jeep. Those sedans that officials ride in are too low-lying and too delicate. They can only be driven in the city. They have to be parked outside the city."
Fu Zuo chuckled and said, "Boy, if I could get these two cars, how would you buy them?"
Lin Sanqi was delighted, thinking that the last prince was indeed different and had great abilities.
"Mr. Fu, we are old friends. You still don't trust me? Just name a price and see if I can afford it."
Fu Zuo was also straightforward: "Okay, I like your straightforwardness. Come with me, I'll show you the car first, and then I'll make you an offer if you're satisfied."
"Okay, let's go!"
An old man and a young boy walked out of the black market and into the darkness. Old Man Fu took the bicycle from an acquaintance and rode Lin Sanqi towards the city.
Half an hour later, Fu Zuo said to Lin Sanqi behind him:
"Kid, we'll be at my house soon. I brought you here because we're old friends. You better be more careful with your words from now on."
Lin Sanqi looked around and saw the trust store where he had bought the furniture. Then he asked:
"Grandpa, isn't this Dongsi North Street?"
"Hey, do you know him?"
"Of course I know him. My father brought me here to buy things and make a fuss. It's that Trust Store."
"You're such a clever kid, I knew I couldn't hide it from you. My home is in Dongsi San Tiao Hutong. Hold on tight, I'm about to turn."
Dongsi San Tiao is said to be an alley, but it is actually a relatively wide road where two cars can park side by side without any problem, indicating that it was a residential area for dignitaries in the late Qing Dynasty.
Old Man Fu parked his bicycle in front of a large house gate. Seeing Lin Sanqi peeking in, he smiled and introduced:
"See? The house in front used to be the home of Fu Kang'an, the Minister of Personnel. Next door is the home of Weng Tonghe, the Minister of Revenue. And under that tree in the distance is the home of Song Jun, the Duke of Wenqing.
This is my home. Next door is the home of Wang Mintong, the cousin of Empress Wanrong. And further away is Meng Xiaodong's home. Do you know Meng Xiaodong? She was an opera singer, known as the Winter Queen. She was originally Mei Lanfang's concubine, and later married the Green Gang boss Du Yuesheng.
Lin Sanqi thought that he was indeed a noble from the previous dynasty. He would be well-known for any name he mentioned.
"Wang Mintong? Is she the legendary most beautiful princess?"
Fu Zuo was a little surprised: "Oh, you heard about it too? Hey, this young lady has wanted to marry my brother since she was a child. She has been waiting for so many years. Alas, it's pitiful."
As Old Man Fu spoke, he opened the door of his house:
"Let's go to my house and have a look. There are good things inside."
In traditional Beijing courtyard houses, the main gate is usually in the southeast corner, with a screen wall at the entrance. The more imposing screen wall may have a small courtyard behind it, which is specially for servants to live in.
But the gate of the Fu Mansion was in the middle, which made Lin Sanqi feel a little strange:
"Master Fu, your gate is different. Why does it feel more grand than the Princess Mansion where I live?"
Fu Zuo said proudly while carrying the bicycle:
"That's right. My gate originally had five doors on the front, with the three in the center openable. There were 63 door nails in nine rows and seven columns. Do you know what rank this person held? A prince? But then, with the advent of the new society, the four side doors were walled off, leaving only the middle door open for entry and exit."
Lin Sanqi thought to himself that poverty really limited his imagination. He guessed that other people's toilets were several times bigger than his living room.
Old man Fu is still bragging:
"See? There are only four families in the entire Dongsi San Tiao. Back then... well, let's not talk about it. Now they are all down and out, barely able to get enough to eat. What a life..."
(End of this chapter)
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