Siheyuan: Game of Red Dust

Chapter 8 Black Market
After Li Weidong returned home, he took out the draft paper and pen he had just bought today and started drawing on them.

According to the agreement with Director Wang, the construction team will arrive tomorrow.

Li Weidong planned to draw the design drawings in advance.

This will save you a lot of work tomorrow.

The Li family has three houses and a back garden.

The main room is the largest, at 60 square meters. The two side rooms are 20 square meters and 30 square meters respectively, totaling 110 square meters. The backyard is also 120 square meters.

There is no other house in the entire courtyard as big as Li Weidong's.

Li Weidong plans to connect the three houses together.

The main room is divided into a living room and a study, and the two side rooms are converted into two bedrooms.

The master bedroom is naturally larger, with a bed, a row of wardrobes, and a dressing table. It will be left for my future wife to use after we get married.

Li Weidong plans to put a bunk bed in the second bedroom. He will inevitably have several children in the future, and this will be just enough space for them to sleep.

Li Weidong plans to lay iron pipes in all three houses. Once he has his own heating equipment in the future, he will be able to heat the whole house.

The winter in Beijing is very cold.

At the same time, the walls and floors inside the house will all be paved with wooden floors.

The design of the three houses is now completed, leaving only the backyard.

In the backyard, two small houses were built to serve as kitchen, bathroom and bathing area.

Build a pavilion in the middle so you can eat in the pavilion in the summer. Don't consider the rest of the space for now, after all, there is no rush.

Thinking of the toilet, Li Weidong was at a loss for a moment.

How to get the groundwater?
In this era, all toilets are dry toilets.

And it's public.

I'm afraid there are only a few families in Kyoto who have their own toilets installed at home.

As for how to drain the water, how to connect the pipes, and a series of other issues, Li Weidong plans to wait for the engineering team to arrive tomorrow and discuss it with them.

Maybe we can run underground pipes and connect to the public toilet outside.

This is also a way.

These walls need to be renovated, including the floor, and Li Weidong also wants to lay wooden boards.

Before I knew it, it was already late at night.

Li Weidong stretched, looked at the dozen or so design drawings on the table, and yawned.

After all, they will be living in the courtyard house in the future. Only when they live comfortably can they be in a good mood, so Li Weidong dare not be careless.

Also, considering future marriage, the design should also take the girl’s thoughts into consideration.

Li Weidong did a rough calculation and figured that renovating the old house, including the kitchen, bathroom, and shower, would cost over a thousand yuan. And that didn't even include the furniture! Li Weidong planned to visit the Trust Store once the house was finished.

It was around two o'clock in the morning and it was pitch black.

The entire city was plunged into darkness.

A dark shadow climbed over the wall of the courtyard's back garden, breaking the quiet night.

The man was wrapped tightly and his face could not be seen clearly.

Walking in the streets and alleys under the moonlight.

There were no entertainment activities in that era, and there were no street lights at night, so people generally went to bed early.

By two o'clock, the streets were almost deserted.

Occasionally, a few crickets chirped one after another, adding a bit of fun to the quiet night.

The figure was as light as a swallow and walked with the speed of the wind. In just two minutes, he passed through three alleys at an extremely fast speed.

His goal was firm, and he kept heading towards the south of the city.

There is a black market in the south of Sijiu City, where they sell things that are not available on the market.

The black shadow paused, looked at the yellowish light in front, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. It seemed that this was the place.

I didn’t expect that it hasn’t been sealed off for several years.

The person who came was Li Weidong.

The black market is still so quiet, and people coming and going are in a hurry, but their goals are clear.

Generally, there are all kinds of people who come to sell, but people who come to buy have different needs.

There is no shortage of rich people here, and there is never a shortage of poor people.

He entered an alley, took out more than 50 kilograms of rice from the space, carried it out, found a place to squat down and wait quietly.

The rules of the black market are that you cannot make loud noises or ask questions at will. If someone wants to buy something, they will naturally talk to you, but you cannot shout or force others to introduce it.

Although there are no explicit rules about this matter, everyone sticks to it. After all, it's not a legitimate business, and no one wants to get into trouble.

Not long after, a figure walked past him, like a ghost.

The flashlight emitted a yellowish light that shone on his rice bag for a moment.

But just as he passed by, the figure stopped and quickly pointed the flashlight at the rice bag again.

Then, the figure squatted down, took a closer look, and asked softly in an unclear tone, "Can I get started?"

"Please."

Li Weidong knows what it means to get started. This is different from identifying antiques in the future, but the goal is the same.

Wherever there are people, there is the Jianghu. And who are the most numerous in the Jianghu?
All kinds of people!

There are countless scams and frauds, and many people make a living from them.

If you are not good at seeing things and get cheated, you dare not complain and can only blame yourself for your bad luck.

There are many people who cheat people by filling bags with high-quality rice, flour, etc., but leaving chaff underneath.

So, if you want to buy a lot, you have to get it first.

So how do you get started?
That is, the buyer rolled up his sleeves and exposed his arms. This was to prove his innocence and to prove that I had no intention of stealing rice.

Then, he stuck his arm into the rice and took out two handfuls from the bottom to see.

If it is a "hybrid", it will definitely be exposed.

The man's eyes lit up slightly, and he looked happy.

Since others have said so, there is a high probability that there is no problem.

However, this matter cannot be sloppy, so I gave a thumbs up and praised: "Open!"

Then, he excitedly rolled up his sleeves and reached under the rice bag.

It took quite a bit of effort before he finally reached the bottom of his pocket, but even if he hadn't taken it out, he had some idea of ​​what it was.

Judging from the texture that feels like it in your hand, it can't be mixed with chaff.

The fact was just as he expected. After pulling his hand out, he found that it was filled with high-quality rice.

However, it is impossible to get it right the first time, so to be on the safe side, I changed the direction and tried again, but the result was the same.

The man nodded excitedly: "Comrade, you are an open-minded person. How much is this rice?"

Li Weidong said calmly, "You know the quality of this rice. I don't want much, 40 cents a pound. I have exactly 50 pounds here. How much do you want?"

There is a difference between ordinary rice and refined rice, but this is grown in space, the quality is excellent, and four cents is really not expensive.

"I want them all." the man said quickly.

Such good rice is sold at the same price as ordinary refined rice, so he is already making a profit.

The point is, at this time of year, there was very little rice available, and the quality was so high, how could he not be happy? He wasn't short of money, so of course he wanted to eat it all.

Li Weidong nodded. "Do you need to weigh it?" "No, I trust you, comrade." The man didn't even hesitate. In fact, he had just silently calculated that there was just enough rice here.

"Straightforward! I like dealing with straightforward people." Li Weidong held out his hand: "Twenty yuan, take this rice."

Without any hesitation, the man took out a paper bag from his pocket and took out two big unity notes from it.

The deal was done, and Li Weidong was about to get up and go to the alley to get another fifty kilograms to sell it elsewhere when the man walked forward and whispered, "Brother, do you have any more stock?"

That style, just like the black business of the afterlife.

Li Weidong raised his eyebrows slightly: "Why, you want to eat it?"

The man was delighted.

From what he heard, it seemed like there was more! But he wouldn't be so foolish as to ask where it came from, as that would be a taboo.

"Brother, how much is there? If possible, I want to eat it all. Is that okay with you?"

Li Weidong looked him up and down, nodded slightly, and whispered, "Come with me, let's go to a place where there's no one to talk."

As the saying goes, don't be afraid of thieves stealing, just be afraid of thieves missing you.

He still has nearly a thousand kilograms of food in his space, but he doesn't dare say it here, for fear that there are eavesdroppers on the other side of the wall.

The man also knew the rules. He glanced around secretly and saw that no one was paying attention to him. He was secretly happy and picked up the bag and followed.

Not long after, the two arrived at an alley.

"How much can you eat?"

Li Weidong didn't waste any words. After seeing that there was no one around, he spoke directly.

Selling things on the black market always carries risks. Selling 50 kilograms at a time is a waste of time, so it's better to sell it to him all at once.

The man didn't answer, but asked, "How much do you have?"

"One thousand" Li Weidong simply said the number.

The man calculated silently in his mind.

Well... four hundred yuan is not a small amount.

"Deal, when and where will the delivery be?"

Li Weidong calculated silently and said, "Twenty minutes later, in Hukou Alley on South Street, how about that?"

"no problem."

The man agreed immediately, said goodbye, and left in a hurry.

Obviously, this person also needs to go back and raise money first. After all, this is not a small amount of money.

Li Weidong was delighted, feeling incredibly relieved. He could process it all at once, saving him the trouble of running back here every day. He'd have to ask him if he wanted more later. The food in the space only harvested once a month, and selling it himself was too much of a hassle. He wouldn't have the leisure time he has now when he was working. It would be much more convenient if he could just keep collecting from him and process it for him every month.

Twenty minutes later.

Li Weidong had been waiting for a long time in Hukou Alley at the South Gate.

After a while, there was a rustling sound. Judging from the footsteps, there should be more than one person.

Sure enough, after a while, the man looked around, and when he saw Li Weidong, especially the sack next to him, he quickly waved behind him and trotted in.

"Brother, the location you chose is really secluded. I live in the old city and often go there, but I didn't expect Hukou Alley to be so complicated."

The man was not angry at Li Weidong's caution, but rather happy.

In this kind of situation, everyone is afraid of something going wrong. If they are discovered before they arrive, then they are doomed.

If something goes wrong and he gets caught, he will faint from crying.

"We're all trying to make a living, so we have to be careful." Li Weidong made up an excuse and looked at the man pulling a tricycle behind him, with another person following him. He gestured directly, "Check the amount, inspect the goods, and settle the payment."

"Brother, you are frank." The man waved his hand, and the man who followed him ran over and worked together to weigh the grain. The amount was correct. Then he opened each bag and checked the sticks.

The method of passing the grain through the stick is to use a hollow tube in the middle to pierce the grain. After pulling it out, you can observe the quality of the grain flowing out and roughly know the quality of the grain.

After checking everything and finding everything was fine, the man took out the money he had prepared long ago and handed it to Li Weidong, indicating that Li Weidong should count it.

Li Weidong counted the money and pretended to put it in his pocket, but actually he put it directly into the space.

The man beamed, clasped his fists, and said in a very chivalrous manner, "Brother, your service is very pleasing to the eye. It's all high-quality refined rice, so I'm taking advantage of you. If you need it again next time, please contact me. I'll be waiting in the alley where we first met. What do you think?"

For such a trustworthy and cautious seller, and the key is the high quality of the rice, he still wants to continue the cooperation.

"Oh? It seems like big brother has some wild ways."

Li Weidong immediately became interested. He had wanted to bring it up as well, but he got there first. However, it didn't matter who brought it up.

The man laughed and whispered, "Outside Dongzhimen, there's an old locust tree. Beneath the tree is a stone block. Draw a circle on the edge of the block with chalk. I'll meet you at the agreed place at twelve o'clock that evening."

"Why don't you ask me how much stock I have? Can you eat it all?" Li Weidong smiled and said nothing.

The man's eyes flashed with gold, and he narrowed them slightly, smiling and saying, "Don't worry, brother. I'll eat as much as you have. I'm just worried that you're out of stock, not that I'm out of money."

"Oh? Really? Looks like I underestimated Big Brother's ability."

He touched his chin and asked, "Do you only accept rice, or everything?"

The man's eyes narrowed into slits and his mouth was wide open in a smile that he couldn't close.

"Tell me what you have first."

He didn't dare to make any promises. If the other party got a gun or something, he really wouldn't dare to take it.

"Be careful, it's not a controlled substance. It's meat like chicken, fish, roe deer, etc. Interested?"

"Of course I have it. As long as it's fresh, I'll take as many as you have."

Even if you can't eat it, you can still find a way to eat it.

This is big business!

He didn't believe it. The other party asked him if he could eat it. Could it be dozens of kilograms of meat?

Li Weidong looked at the roe deer and chickens in the space and thought for a moment. "Tomorrow night at twelve o'clock, still here, about 300 kilograms of roe deer meat and 20 chickens. The roe deer will be dead, and the chickens will be alive. I'll discuss the price after I see the goods. Is that okay?"

"No problem, brother, don't worry, I'll be here tomorrow," the man said excitedly.

"Alright, now that we've settled the payment, I'll be leaving."

Without waiting for the other party to speak, he quickly turned out of the alley in three or two steps and soon disappeared.

At the back, seeing the figure disappear, the person following whispered, "Boss, do you want us brothers to follow?"

The man glared at the other person, and when he realized that the other person was getting scared, he said in a deep voice:
"The speed he just displayed was clearly a warning to us. He was able to obtain so many supplies, which was his ability. Eat what you should eat and don't worry about things that are not your business. This is the rule, and it is also a warning."

"Don't say such things next time, otherwise, you won't have to follow me anymore."

At this moment, a very soft voice sounded: "Brother, see you tomorrow night."

They only heard the sound but didn't see the person, which frightened the three of them so much that they trembled all over. They hurriedly looked in the direction of the sound, but the person was no longer there.

The person who made the proposal earlier was in even worse condition. His calves were shaking and he almost couldn't stand.

"Dong...Dongjia..."

The boss took a deep breath, barely suppressing the restlessness in his heart, and said in a deep voice:

"When you're in the underworld, you have to abide by the rules of the underworld. Helping others is helping yourself. With this lesson, I hope you'll control your mouth and, even more importantly, your heart."

"I understand, Boss. I will definitely follow the rules in the future."

He was really scared. He really couldn't afford to mess with such a ghost-like person.

He has a family. If he misunderstands him and thinks he wants to harm him and follows him back home, then...

The boss looked at him deeply and waved his hand: "Let's go back."

The man pulling the cart didn't dare to say a word for a long time. After hearing this, he hurriedly loaded the food onto the cart and quickly left.

Although he didn't say anything, he was also panicked!
It’s the middle of the night, it’s really scary!
(End of this chapter)