"Did you see that? Did you see that? Is it anti-inflammatory medicine?"
"Hurry up and hand it over! We can go back and eat when we're done. I'm starving."
"Bang!"
The group felt the room shake, and in a daze, they seemed to see the outer garments on the kang (a heated brick bed) shift position.
What does this mean?
Then they heard someone inside shout,
"Commander, Commander!"
"Bang!"
Now that they'd found a place to make a sound, the sound was unmistakably loud. Not only Cheng Jin, but several others also felt a buzzing pain in their foreheads, and Jian Dan reflexively covered his head.
"Emma, Tiger, what are you doing? Are you running inside and banging your head against the wall? Is there anything there? Hurry up!"
"Commander!"
Cheng Jin was also anxious.
"Do you have it? Hand it over quickly."
There was no more talking inside, but there was obvious dragging, and then a rather large rattan box was slowly pushed out of the kang (heated brick bed) opening.
Around this time, or even back to the Republican era, they were commonly used on trains. They were similar in shape to modern suitcases, but made of woven rattan. They were attractive and easy to carry, and were frequently used by young ladies in the city for getting on and off trains or for short-distance travel.
It's not very practical for things like going to the countryside. Compared to the luggage you would bring to the countryside, this suitcase seems a bit of a waste, even with its fancy design.
Compared to Cheng Jin's expectations, the box was quite large; at least, he was pleasantly surprised.
"This, this is all?"
Just pretend you don't see his questioning gaze. See for yourself, it's nothing.
Someone quick-handed stepped forward, picked up the box, weighed it in their hand, and gave it a shake.
"Commander, it's full!"
Cheng Jin grinned, then heard the person under the kang (heated brick bed) speak again.
"What are you doing? Hurry up and pull it out! This thing is so heavy, are you trying to suffocate me?"
The group turned around suddenly and saw another identical box slowly emerging from the opening of the kang (heated brick bed). They looked at this box, then at that box, and finally at Cheng Jin.
The one closest reacted quickly, kneeling down at the entrance of the kang (heated brick bed) and being pulled out. He was thrown behind him and then remained motionless, staring intently inside.
Fifteen minutes later, Wang Xiaohu emerged covered in dirt and saw several people staring at the box on the ground, while Cheng Jin stood to the side, lost in thought.
"What's wrong? Is something not right?"
They were sent out temporarily, and no one knew what they were for, but the fact that the political commissar came in person meant that they must be very important.
Cheng Jin took a deep look at his niece. If these were all medicines, then this niece's abilities were truly remarkable.
They looked at each other calmly, but inside they were panicking. With their professional instincts, they must have noticed something was wrong, right?
What will you say next?
What can it do?
Such things can be covered up once or twice, and it's fortunate that there are no surveillance cameras now, so even if there is an investigation, there are some great limitations, which is why she was able to take such a risk.
Last time, Cheng Chao helped cover it up, and this time it's for Cheng Chao's sake, but we can't get around Cheng Jin no matter what.
Watching the group walk away, Cheng Jin's slightly excited expression made Jian Dan have a vague idea in her mind, but she still needs to go back and see Cheng Jin and the others' reactions before deciding whether it's worth the risk.
With all these things loaded on the vehicle, it was impossible to feel at ease. By now, it was already getting dark, and it would be completely dark by the time we got back to the camp, so we wouldn't be able to make it to the canteen in time.
However, it's lunchtime here.
Cheng Jin had someone buy some steamed buns and dumplings from the state-run restaurant. Without stopping, the group took turns driving and sped back to the camp.
Cheng Chao was worried and had been thinking about them ever since they left, especially after dinner, repeatedly sending Xiao Wu and Lin Zi out to check on them.
"Are you back? Are you back?"
I have to ask this question almost every few minutes.
As darkness fell and Cheng Chao was on the verge of exasperation, he finally heard footsteps outside the door.
"Hurry up, open the door, open the door, open the door!"
Only after seeing the person enter the house could I finally relax.
After everyone left, Cheng Chao lowered his voice as he looked at the row of small boxes on the ground.
"You took them? So many? No way, all of them?"
She blinked innocently.
"I don't know the exact amount or what's included, and I haven't opened it to check."
"Just tell me, how many things did you promise them?"
Cheng Chao guessed that the simple, weak gesture of raising one hand was...
"Five hundred? No, five thousand?"
"Five gold bars."
Before liberation, the most popular gold bar sizes were the "large yellow croaker" and the "small yellow croaker".
"Big Yellow Croaker" refers to a gold bar weighing ten taels.
According to the old system, 1 jin (斤) equals 16 liang (两), and 1 liang = 500/16 = 31.25 grams. This weight is almost the same as 1 ounce of gold today. Therefore, the "Big Yellow Croaker" gold bar would weigh 312.5 grams today.
Originally, "large yellow croaker" was the standard size, and wealthy families would usually keep a few gold bars as a bottom-level treasury.
However, later on, gold became more valuable than silver (the currency of the Republic of China was based on silver, and the earliest one-yuan currency was priced based on one silver dollar), and ordinary people wanted to buy gold, while the "big yellow croaker" (a type of silver dollar) was obviously too expensive to afford.
Therefore, gold shops cast small gold bars that weighed one tael each (equivalent to 31.25 grams today), commonly known as "little yellow croakers," which were typically played with by middle-class families.
I've subtly inquired about the price of gold during this period. No matter how chaotic things were, compared to jewelry and other precious stones, gold was a hard currency and the most sought-after item in times of turmoil.
Large families, in particular, hoard gold and grain. Even if the family faces misfortune, as long as these reserves remain, there is hope for prosperity.
However, this is all shady business right now. Of course, it can't be compared to the dirt cheap prices that desperate people get when they trade their savings on the black market. But it still has a market price within the industry.
Cheng Chao was surprised to hear this, and looked at the box on the ground with some doubt.
"Girl, how many different medications have you used? Big yellow croaker or small yellow croaker? Did you lose out?"
Don't blame Cheng Chao for thinking this way; gold is now priced at over 20 yuan per gram on the market.
Of course, buyers usually try their best to drive down the price. Unless they're desperate to sell because they can't afford to eat, the price will never be lower than 20.
Cheng Chao silently calculated in his mind that, based on the weight of one large yellow croaker gold bar (312.5 grams), five bars would weigh 1562.5 grams, which would be more than three jin (1.5 kg).
Even at the lowest price of 20 yuan per gram, five gold bars would cost 100 yuan.
Jian Dan's ex-fiancé, Lin Jia, currently earns 28 yuan a month. Skilled workers earn more, around 40 yuan, which is quite high.
At a time when wages are being devalued by 20 or 30 yuan, 30,000 yuan is equivalent to a hundred years' salary for someone else.
The Cheng family is not a poor family; they wouldn't be frightened by such a small thing.
Everyone knows that the Jian family was a wealthy family in the past, so it's not surprising that they could produce gold bars.
"Girl, do you know how much five big yellow croakers cost?"
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