Chapter 29 Going to the Black Market

After leaving the supply and marketing cooperative, Su Mo went to the post office to buy a few newspapers, spending a total of 30 cents.

At that time, most newspapers were 4 cents a copy, and the People's Daily was a little more expensive, costing 5 cents.

Seeing Su Mo buying so many newspapers, Lu Changzheng asked, "Are you buying them to paste on the walls?"

Don't people usually go to the waste station to buy old newspapers to paste on the walls? Could it be that his wife likes to be clean, so she wants to buy new ones?

But in fact, there is no need to use them. The walls in the house are all painted white, so they are clean and don't need to be pasted.

"No. I'm going to submit an article to a newspaper, and I'll buy a newspaper to study and research the writing style first."

Su Mo thought about it, but still didn't tell Lu Changzheng that the original owner had a "non-staff correspondent" certificate and could get royalties.

Although she was confident in herself, what if what she wrote was not adopted? It would be better to wait until she could really get the royalties before telling him.

"My wife is really amazing." Lu Changzheng immediately praised her.

"I haven't even written yet, and you know I'm amazing?" Su Mo glared at him.

"Other wives can only read newspapers with difficulty, but my wife can not only read fluently, but also write. This is not amazing, what is amazing?"

"You are poor."

"Wife, do you want to go shopping somewhere?"

It was already three o'clock, and if she didn't want to go shopping, she would go back. He wanted to bring his wife to their home to get familiar with the environment first.

"How about we go to the free market?" Su Mo said hesitantly, because Lu Changzheng was in military uniform again.

Lu Changzheng: ...

Why does his wife always want to go to the black market?

Although he did not reject the black market, he did not want his wife to go there. First, it was not safe. If she was caught one day, it would be troublesome. Second, it was still not safe. His wife looked like this, it would be easy for people to target her.

But looking at his wife's appearance, it is very likely that she will go there secretly after he returns to the team.

Instead of waiting for her to explore on her own, it is better for him to take her there now and let her know the dangers.

"Okay. But you have to promise me that you can't go on your own. If you want to go, you have to wait for me to come back. If you want anything, just write or telegraph to me and I'll get it for you." Lu Changzheng's expression was serious.

"Okay." Su Mo promised without sincerity.

Lu Changzheng sighed, "Wife, I'm serious. The free market here is not as mature as the sea market, the management is very chaotic, and the degree of danger is far from that of the sea market."

The larger the city, the more black markets there are, the greater the competition, the more mature the management, and the smaller the risk. Because there are more choices, the black market in big cities is more concerned with reputation.

Unlike here, there is only one black market, which is basically a monopoly. Buyers only have one choice, so sellers are naturally arrogant.

Su Mo was silent.

"I'll take you there now, and you'll know when you see it." Lu Changzheng was helpless.

When he suddenly wanted to return to the army, he took his wife with him to follow the army and kept an eye on her.

Lu Changzheng rode a bicycle with Su Mo, and after many turns, they came to the yard of a small bungalow.

Su Mo: ???

Is this the black market? It doesn't look like it.

The original owner's family of three had good jobs, and they had a lot of overseas Chinese vouchers to supplement their income. The tickets were sufficient, so they didn't need to go to the black market at all.

So Su Mo had no impression of the black market at all.

Lu Changzheng saw Su Mo's confusion and explained, "This is the home of my high school classmate and comrade-in-arms. His parents passed away two years ago. When I came back this time, he asked me to come and look at the house."

"I came to clean up the house during the two days you were in the hospital. I found his old clothes inside, so I came to change clothes before leaving."

After saying that, he took out a bunch of keys from his pocket and opened the door to the yard.

Fortunately, he tied the keys to his own key ring, otherwise it would be really difficult to deal with this time.

The yard is not big, estimated to be about 10 to 20 square meters, and the bungalow looks like it has only three or four rooms.

Lu Changzheng opened the door of the bungalow, let Su Mo sit in the living room, and went to the room to change clothes. Because Lu Changzheng had just cleaned up, the house was quite clean.

Su Mo stood in the yard and observed for a while. This place should be behind a factory. There seemed to be a lot of people coming in and out, but there were very few people actually in this area. It seemed that there were only three or four families around, and they were all quite far away.

Mainly because Su Mo had taken a fancy to a dead corner that she had just passed by. There was an abandoned house there, which was quite suitable for hiding.

Lu Changzheng changed his clothes and came out. He took Su Mo on a bicycle to another street, observing all the way, and then stopped in front of a small yard with an open door.

Su Mo looked over and found an old man weaving bamboo baskets in the yard.

"Grandpa, please ask where Grandpa Wang's family moved to?"

Grandpa looked at the two people and found that they were both strangers, so he asked: "Where are you relatives of his? What do you want to see him about?"

"We are from the Red Star Commune. We are getting married in a few days and would like to invite Grandpa Wang to the banquet."

The old man understood immediately that they were getting married and came to buy things, so he said the name of a street.

"If he asks you who told you, just say it was Grandpa Chen."

"Okay, I know, thank you Grandpa."

After Lu Changzheng finished speaking, he rode his bike and took Su Mo to that street.

Su Mo looked confused, "What are you doing?" It was like a secret agent making a move.

"The black market often changes its location. I'm asking where the black market is now."

"How do you know he knows? Has he been asking at this family's place?" Aren't you afraid of being caught?

"Of course not. The people asking for directions in the black market often change. Basically, there is one on every crowded street. Usually there is a strange sign or something black at the door." "It's

so obvious. Aren't they afraid of being caught?"

"Evidence is needed to arrest people. They basically know who are the people in the county revolutionary committee and what are the secret lines. They won't tell you if you ask these people."

Su Mo was silent. It was quite complicated, completely different from what was written in those novels.

In other novels, the heroine can easily find the black market. If she hadn't been brought by Lu Changzheng, she probably wouldn't have found it in a whole day.

It's really cannon fodder. Without the halo, it's so difficult to find a black market.

The two entered the street that the grandfather mentioned. Not long after, an old lady passed by and asked enthusiastically: "You two look a little unfamiliar. Which house are you looking for? Auntie, I'm familiar with this place. I can help you show the way."

"Grandpa Chen asked me to come. I'm looking for Grandpa Wang." Lu Changzheng said.

"Oh, look for Old Wang's house. Turn left and then right in front. There's a crooked tree at the door." The old lady said loudly.

"Okay, thank you, auntie."

Lu Changzheng rode forward as his auntie said. When he passed a courtyard gate, the gate suddenly opened from the inside, and a strong man came out and said to the two people, "Here."

Lu Changzheng stopped, and the two pushed the bike into the courtyard.

Su Mo looked at the door, and there was no crooked tree at all. There were really tricks everywhere.

After the strong man closed the door, he said, "Park the bike here, pay a dime when you leave, cover your face, and follow me."

Su Mo took out a silk scarf from her bag to cover her face, and Lu Changzheng used a handkerchief.

Su Mo sighed in her heart. This black market is so difficult to deal with. She still needs to think about selling things in the black market.

The two followed the strong man into the house. There was a large coat closet in one of the rooms. The strong man opened the door of the coat closet and found a secret door inside. After entering through the secret door, they passed through another room and finally arrived at the black market.

The black market was a large courtyard, and almost every direction was guarded by people. There were many people inside, all with their faces covered, and their voices were very low. Therefore, even if there were many people inside, it would not seem noisy.

"You guys go shopping by yourselves, and come here to find me after you buy." The strong man said, and then he went into the room behind him.

There were still many people sitting in the room, all of them were strong men, and they should be waiting for customers.

It seems that this black market boss is quite powerful and has many followers.

The two of them took a quick walk around the yard first. Su Mo found that most of the vendors were food, mostly grains. There were only three meat vendors, one selling pork and two selling live chickens.

And the one selling pork seemed to be the black market's own stall.

"Do you want to buy some rice?" Lu Changzheng remembered that his wife loved rice.

"No, I have food coupons." Su Mo shook her head. She still had a lot of rice in her room, and she could induce labor with food herself, so there was no need to buy.

"Let's buy some meat. We got the marriage certificate today, so let's treat everyone to some meat." Su Mo said.

The main reason was that she also liked fresh meat.

The two went to the pork stall and cut 4 jin of pretty good pork belly, dividing it into two portions, one for Lu's family and one for Su Mo to take back to the educated youth site.

Pork on the black market does not require coupons, and is 1.6 yuan per jin, which is directly double the price of the supply and marketing cooperative.

4 jin of meat cost 6.4 yuan, which was paid by Lu Changzheng.

"I want to exchange some meat coupons and cloth coupons here." Su Mo whispered.

"I still have 10 feet of cloth coupons and 8 jin of meat coupons. I'll give them all to you. If you don't have enough, you can exchange them again."

Su Mo calculated, plus the 16 feet of marriage subsidy, there were 26 feet of cloth coupons, enough for making cotton clothes. I still have 3 jin of meat coupons, plus the ones given by Lu Changzheng, it is enough to eat for a while, not to mention that I still have a lot of ham, bacon, sausage and canned food in my own space, so I am not in a hurry to change them.

If I can be selected for my writing, then the coupons should not be a problem in the future.

"That should be enough, I won't change it."

Lu Changzheng wanted to know the market price of bicycles and sewing machines in the black market, so he asked a scout.

The man looked at the two of them, called someone over, and took the two of them into a not-so-small room.

This room should be where the black market sells its own goods. There are several large shelves in it, with many things on them.

A person who looked like a small leader came over and asked, "Do you want to buy bicycles and sewing machines?"

"Yes. I want to buy a Forever 26-type bicycle and a Shanghai-brand sewing machine. Do you have them?" The 26-type bicycle is more suitable for lesbians.

"Yes, but you have to wait two days. The price of Shanghai-brand bicycles is more expensive."

"How much?" "

Bicycle 258 yuan, sewing machine 238 yuan." The small leader quoted.

Su Mo calculated in her mind. In the supply and marketing cooperative, a Forever 26-type bicycle sold for 158 yuan with a ticket, and a Shanghai-brand sewing machine sold for 138 yuan with a ticket. The black market does not require tickets, and directly adds 100 yuan to each item, which is also a huge profit.

"If you need it, pay a deposit of 100 yuan first."

"I'll go back and think about it." Lu Changzheng said.

He will go to the supply and marketing cooperative in the city tomorrow to have a look. If it is available, he will buy it from the supply and marketing cooperative. If not, he can only buy it at a high price on the black market.

"Okay." The little leader had no objection. There are indeed not many people who can afford expensive and large items.

The two looked around the house, and Su Mo found White Rabbit milk candy, so she bought a bag.

In the original owner's memory, in Haishi, a bag of this kind of White Rabbit milk candy weighing one kilogram is sold for 1.7 yuan, and here on the black market it is 2.5 yuan a bag.

There was nothing else to buy, and seeing that it was getting late, the two prepared to go back.

At this time, there were already a lot more people than before.

They found the strong man who brought them in before, and the two followed him around to another yard, where their bicycles were also.

Su Mo: ...

This black market is really different from what is described in the books. This black market boss must be a spy.

After Lu Changzheng gave them 10 cents, the two rode their bicycles out of the yard.

Out of the yard, there is another street. It seems that this black market is really connected in all directions.