Era: Starting from divorce from female college student

Chapter 179: Changes in the Black Market for Pregnant Women
On the afternoon of May 14, 1959, at No. 35, Dongguanying Hutong.

Mei Chunyan was still confused after taking a shower, especially when she smelled the rich aroma of food. She hadn't smelled meat for a long time, and her throat unconsciously swallowed her saliva.

"Why are you still standing there? Come and have dinner."

Zhao Mancang cooked very quickly, just stir-frying two vegetarian dishes. The rice was taken out from the space and was still hot.

There are also meat dishes, which were prepared in advance. I thought they would be consumed quickly during the trip to sell rutile, but I didn’t expect there would be some left, so it’s just right to eat them now.

Mei Chunyan still came over obediently because her stomach was empty and she was so thin that her bones were visible.

Seeing her like this, Zhao Mancang suddenly slapped his head and said:

"Okay, wait a moment."

After saying that, Zhao Mancang went back to the kitchen and brought out a bowl of white rice porridge. It wasn't very sticky, but it was definitely not sticky either.

"I see you haven't had a proper meal in a while, right? If I let you eat now, you'll definitely suffer later. Drink porridge first, eat less meat, and eat more vegetables. I'll make it for you tomorrow."

After explaining, Zhao Mancang picked up his bowl and chopsticks and began to eat rice, while continuing:

"Can you tell me why you went to rummage through the garbage now?"

Mei Chunyan's eyes immediately turned red when she heard this, but she did not answer Zhao Mancang's question. Instead, she asked him:
"Who are you? I don't know you, why are you so nice to me? I have nothing to give you."

"You're quite alert, little guy."

Zhao Mancang was delighted when he heard this and said:
"You used to have a neighbor named Zhao Mancang. Do you remember him? He was my good friend. It's a pity that..."

He pretended to sigh and continued:

"He told me about you. I've been to Courtyard 18 of Huguo Temple before, but you definitely haven't seen me because I've never appeared during the day."

"Anyway, you have to keep this a secret. Just treat me as your neighbor and elder brother. Don't tell anyone about Zhao Mancang, otherwise, it will bring me trouble, understand?"

Mei Chunyan felt a lot more relaxed after hearing this.

Because she could hear that the person in front of her was very familiar with the affairs between her and Brother Zhao Mancang.

To an ordinary person like her, it had no value at all, but the man in front of her was willing to give her food to eat and clean clothes to wear.

Moreover, the clothes are military uniforms, which clearly shows that he is a decisive soldier.

It is natural for soldiers to gain the trust of ordinary people easily, and Mei Chunyan is no exception.

So she became bolder, picked up the bowl and chopsticks to drink the porridge, and told Zhao Mancang about her family affairs as if nothing had happened.

Something happened to her elder brother Mei Xuesong before the Spring Festival. She herself was not very clear about the details, but her elder brother was diagnosed with hysteria, commonly known as mental illness, by a doctor.

Anyway, it is extremely serious, and is accompanied by three symptoms: identity disorder, dementia and paralysis. I can only stay at home for now.

I lost my job and there is no way to work again.

By the time Mei Chunyan finished speaking, Zhao Mancang had already frowned. "Why did your brother suddenly become hysterical? Did he offend someone before?"

The Mei brothers and sisters are all kind people and would not easily make enemies with others, so this matter is very strange.

"I don't know. My elder brother wouldn't tell me these things." Mei Chunyan was also a little sad at this moment. "It's a pity that Brother Zhao died. Otherwise, he would definitely be able to cure my elder brother."

The outside world learned about Zhao Mancang’s sacrifice from the official announcement before the Spring Festival, which was around the end of January.

But by the end of December, rumors had already spread.

If Qi Zhengze and others had not notified Lin Wan again on the afternoon of January 26, everyone around Zhao Mancang would have thought that he had really died.

Mei Chunyan also heard the news from others, so she naturally thought that Zhao Mancang had sacrificed himself.

After a long silence, Zhao Mancang said to Mei Chunyan:
"Let's eat first. After dinner, let's go see your brother. I'll get you a doctor tomorrow."

"Thank you. Oh, by the way, what should I call you?"

Until this time, Mei Chunyan still didn't know the name of the person who was helping her, and asked embarrassedly.

Zhao Mancang forgot to say his name just now, and now he is laughing.

In Dongguanying Hutong, Zhao Mancang's name is Chen Zhijian, so he can just let the other party call him Brother Chen.

Seeing that she kept eating meat, Zhao Mancang had to remind her again:
"Eat less meat. Don't eat too much greasy food at once. Your stomach can't handle it. Eat slowly tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."

As a result of his reminder, Mei Chunyan stopped eating meat and only ate vegetarian dishes, which made him speechless.

Never mind, it’s fine like this.

However, while the other party was eating, Zhao Mancang suddenly thought of the house he had bought in Caoyuan Hutong.

Although Lian Qiufang is living there now, Zhao Mancang naturally knows what the other party is planning.

He wouldn't have done that if he hadn't been unable to find anyone to help him look at houses.

The house was quite big, with a small courtyard with three entrances and one span, so it seemed much better for Mei Chunyan and Mei Xuesong to move in than to stay in Courtyard No. 18 of Huguo Temple.

After Mei Chunyan had eaten her fill, Zhao Mancang took her away from home.

"Where are you going? Get in the car!"

After going out, the neighbors nearby were still watching the fun, especially the children, who were hanging around the car. It was not until Zhao Mancang arrived that they dispersed in a swarm.

Mei Chunyan wanted to walk back to Courtyard 18 of Huguo Temple, but Zhao Mancang asked her to get in the car.

Although No. 18 Courtyard is only a few hundred meters away, less than one kilometer, the car can obviously give Zhao Mancang greater voice and intimidate the group of monsters in No. 18 Courtyard.

"But Brother Chen, it's so close, we can walk there quickly."

Mei Chunyan wanted to argue a few more times, but Zhao Mancang had already urged her to get in the car, so she had no choice but to obey and got in the car timidly, nervously and at a loss.

During the process of getting into the car, he almost couldn't open the door, which made Zhao Mancang feel helpless and distressed.

After finally getting into the car, Zhao Mancang started the car, stepped on the accelerator a little, and slowly left Dongguanying Hutong.

After the car left, Dongguanying Hutong suddenly exploded and the neighbors all started talking about it.

Many little kids even ran after the car, obviously wanting to go to Courtyard No. 18 of Huguo Temple to watch the fun.

Zhao Mancang didn't expect that in just a short period of time, these neighbors actually contributed about 25 experience points to him. Although it wasn't much, it was very good.

In the alley in front of the gate of No. 18 Huguo Temple, He Yuancun, Feng Xiaoming, Wei Yuanchao, Ma Tingqiang, Luo Wentao and other teenagers were playing, and soon they heard the roar of a car.

The noise of car engines in this era is not small. Although it is not as loud as the vibration of a tractor, it is definitely more than 60 decibels.

So the attention of He Yuancun and the other children was quickly drawn to the car that suddenly appeared in front of them, and they stopped playing games.

As the oldest person in Yard No. 18, Mrs. Liu, who is over 70 years old, was sitting at the door watching the children playing in the distance. At this time, her cloudy eyes also looked towards the alley.

Aunt Luo, Zheng Yuxia, Aunt Feng and others also came out of the yard after hearing the noise, and then saw Zhao Mancang and Mei Chunyan getting out of the car.

No one knew Zhao Mancang, after all, he was Chen Zhijian at that time, but everyone definitely knew Mei Chunyan.

However, the more this happened, the more curious the neighbors became.

Because Mei Chunyan was wearing a very large and loose military uniform at this time, it could be seen at a glance that it should be the clothes of Zhao Mancang next to her.

We are all neighbors in Courtyard No. 18. I have never heard that Mei Chunyan has any relatives who are soldiers?

And the person driving the car was either the driver or the leader.

hiss!
Is the Mei family going to become rich?

Zhao Mancang did not greet these neighbors, but just let Mei Chunyan lead the way.

When he followed Mei Chunyan to the back house, he was stunned.

It was called the back room, but it was clearly a very dark and narrow room. He couldn't help but ask in surprise:
"I remember your family used to live in the two middle rooms. How come you only have half a room now?"

It is not wrong to say that it is half a room, because the room is full of sundries. These sundries are probably things that the neighbors don’t want but are reluctant to throw away. It can be said that this is the sundry room of Courtyard No. 18.

Courtyard No. 18 of Huguo Temple is not small. The front yard alone is home to Mr. Feng Baoyin and his family, Aunt Luo and her family, the Ma family, and Old Lady Liu.

The back house is in the shade and has blocked light, so it is basically a storage room. Few people are willing to choose to live in the back house.

However, the "rent-to-sell" plan introduced last year has shown the current housing shortage in Beijing, and as a result, many back-to-back houses in slums have become popular.

Unexpectedly, the Mei brothers and sisters who originally lived in the back house are now unable to live in their previous house and can only live in half of the utility room.

Deceiving too much!

"Before the Spring Festival, my eldest brother had a hysterical attack, lost his job, and his house was repossessed. If it weren't for Aunt Liu who took pity on us, we wouldn't even have a place to live in the storage room."

Mei Chunyan's eyes suddenly turned red when she heard this.

Before she finished speaking, tears began to fall.

Mei Xuesong was not in the room, and no one knew where he had gone.

Just when Zhao Mancang and Mei Chunyan were trying to find someone, a few children came running out from the Chuihua Gate, grinning at the back as they ran:

"Big fool, come and chase us!"

That was Jin Wendong’s son Jin Jianjun, the two children in the backyard, and Mei Xuesong, who was grinning foolishly in the back.

At this time, Mei Xuesong really looked like a fool. He no longer had the normal dress and expression he used to have. His whole body was still relatively clean, but there were still some dirt such as dust and footprints on his body.

When Zhao Mancang saw this scene, he couldn't believe his eyes. Is this still the Mei Xuesong he knew before?

"Brother!" Mei Chunyan's face changed drastically and she hurried to grab her brother.

The neighbors not far away also happened to come into the yard, and the yard was packed with people.

Neighbors like Aunt Luo and Zheng Yuxia either talked in low voices or stepped forward to help Mei Chunyan, as if they wanted to show a scene of "neighborly harmony."

Zhao Mancang, who was familiar with these neighbors, had a smile on his face and looked at the people in front of him indifferently.

After a quick check on Mei Xuesong's condition, Zhao Mancang already had an idea in his mind.

After putting down the clothes and food, Zhao Mancang said to Mei Chunyan:
"That's it for today. Tomorrow I'll take you and your older brother to see my friend and have him help you treat your older brother."

"Okay, thank you, Brother Chen."

Mei Chunyan was very grateful, but Zhao Mancang smiled and said to her, "If you want to be grateful, be grateful to another friend of mine. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't know you, let alone help you."

After saying that, Zhao Mancang left first.

But what surprised him was that Mei Chunyan actually contributed experience points to him twice, 25 and 10 respectively. It was not much, but it was already quite a lot.

Among the neighbors, family members and friends in the capital, Zhao Mancang had only come into contact with Yuan Yushan and Ma Jiugong, who had the highest experience value. The others had a higher experience value only when they were meeting for the first time.

After he drove away, the entire Courtyard No. 18 was in an uproar.

Neighbors including Aunt Luo, Zheng Yuxia, and Aunt Feng all surrounded Mei Chunyan and started chattering about her.

From the conversation between Zhao Mancang and Mei Chunyan just now, we can know that the latter’s relationship with Zhao Mancang is not very close. It is only because of another friend mentioned by Zhao Mancang that this is the case.

But who is that friend?

Mei Chunyan would not say it was Zhao Mancang. After all, she needed to keep it secret, and Brother Zhao Mancang had already sacrificed himself. What else could she say?
Finally, before the Spring Festival, after her eldest brother became hysterical, only the Wei Hongzhou family in the Central Courtyard and the He family where Cao Liyun lived extended a little help to the two siblings and gave them some food so that they would not starve to death.

As for other neighbors, such as Kim Won-sik and his family in the backyard, their faces were really ugly.

It was obvious that the Jin family had been almost broken up by their own troubles. Uncle Jin was sentenced to three years in prison, Jin Wenjian had already reported to the underworld, Xie Pandi even occasionally suffered from mental disorders, and Jin Wenliang had a criminal record and was now unemployed.

But whenever the Jin family gets the chance, they are still so aggressive and arrogant.

Just like now, seeing that Mei Chunyan has received foreign aid and may be on the rise, Jin Wendong and his wife Fan Yuxiu are licking their faces and trying to please Mei Chunyan. It's really disgusting.

Zhao Mancang was not aware of what happened in Courtyard No. 18, and even if he knew, he would not care.

For Zhao Mancang, meeting Mei Chunyan by chance and helping her was just a small thing that happened easily.

At around nine o'clock in the evening, Zhao Mancang sneaked into Courtyard No. 7, Denglai Hutong.

When Lin Wan saw him, her face was full of surprise and she threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly.

However, her big belly made Zhao Mancang feel a little uncomfortable.

It is now May 14th, and Lin Wan's due date is not far away, so her belly is very big.

"Woo woo, I've been wondering when you'll be back these past couple of days. The baby in my belly seems to be getting impatient."

"Don't get excited. Don't get too excited. You're going to be a mother soon. Stay calm."

Zhao Mancang gently stroked her hair, smiled softly and comforted her.

"I actually want to come back earlier, but I'm afraid it will be too early."

"Luckily I made it in time. Please sit down first. I'll take your pulse and find out the specific date."

She became pregnant in mid-to-early August last year, and the pregnancy was confirmed by Zhao Mancang in mid-September, so the due date can be confirmed to be around mid-to-late May this year.

The pregnancy period of ten months actually refers to a little more than nine months, not the actual ten months.

Many babies are not even born full-term, and are sometimes born prematurely by more than 20 days, one month, etc.

Before Zhao Mancang left in April, he had already taken Lin Wan's pulse and the due date was confirmed to be mid-to-late May.

At this point in time, Zhao Mancang can even determine the specific production time period on a specific day.

After a diagnosis, Zhao Mancang gave a specific time and told her not to get too excited in the next two days and just keep everything as normal.

"However, it would be best if your mother could live here so that she can take care of you."

After a pause, Zhao Mancang continued to ask:

"By the way, are there enough food and meat at home?"

"Well, that's enough."

After the couple cuddled together for a while, Zhao Mancang took out some food and started having a midnight snack with her, under the pretext of giving her unborn baby a meal.

"What kind of dish is this? It smells so good. It feels like it was just cooked not long ago."

Lin Wan looked at the delicious dishes in front of her, her nose twitched slightly, and she immediately spoke with bright eyes.

Unless you suffer from anorexia, you basically have little resistance to delicious food.

At this time, Lin Wan needed a lot of nutrition, so of course she would not refuse such a delicacy.

Zhao Mancang smiled without saying anything and didn't explain too much. He just brought it here anyway, so he just ate it.

Even if she knew about it later, he would explain that he learned it himself.

The delicacies before him were actually the food he had packed up and brought back from a Cantonese restaurant in Hong Kong and Kowloon. They were very delicious and nutritious.

Especially the seafood stew like Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, it is so delicious that it is hard to describe.

While eating supper, Lin Wan complained about her daughter Lin Huijun who had started to be naughty.

It was probably because Lin Wan was pregnant and her temper was sometimes uncontrollable, and Lin Huijun had grown up, learned to read, and even occasionally picked up a lot of swear words while playing with the neighborhood kids. Well, the little brats didn't understand the true meaning of swear words, so Lin Huijun followed suit, thinking that way of speaking was cool and impressive.

It was okay if he said it outside, but when Lin Wan heard it at home, she was furious.

The more they talked about this, the angrier and more excited Lin Wan became. Zhao Mancang had to comfort her with a wry smile: Children need to be taught slowly, and you can't rush things.

"How dare you say that? If the child in your belly bullies me like this in the future, I will definitely beat her. Then you can teach her yourself."

Lin Wan rolled her eyes at him and said with some resentment.

It's certainly not easy for her as a pregnant woman to handle everything on her own.

Zhao Mancang had no choice but to try his best to comfort her. He couldn't afford to offend a pregnant woman.

And only at this time would she show her soft side to Zhao Mancang. She would never do this on normal days.

The couple chatted for a long time until they finished their midnight snack, but Lin Wan said she was full. There was nothing she could do, so she went outside for a walk to digest the food.

As a result, Zhao Mancang and his companion had not even walked around the yard once when the little brat Lin Huijun came out rubbing her eyes.

"It smells so good, Mom, are you eating something secretly? Xiao Hei, where are you?"

As soon as the little brat came out, Zhao Mancang quickly hid aside. He didn't dare to appear in front of the little girl, for fear of being seen by her, which would inevitably cause chaos.

The most important thing is that the KGB has not left the capital yet, so Zhao Mancang certainly does not dare to appear openly.

A small leak will sink a great ship!
Lin Wan was helpless. The little greedy cat's nose was so sensitive that it could smell it. It was incredible.

"Woo woo, mom, you're cheating again"

While Lin Wan was coaxing her, Lin Huijun had completely woken up, and then her olfactory nerves were completely awakened, especially the smell of her mother's body and the corners of her mouth, the aroma of food became stronger.

It is said that people who drink alcohol cannot smell the alcohol, but people who don’t drink alcohol can smell it from a long distance. It’s the same principle.

Zhao Mancang, who was hiding in the dark, laughed when he heard this. The little greedy cat was really greedy and his nose was really sharp.

After coaxing her for a while, Lin Huijun ate some desserts, then she felt sleepy and went back to her room to sleep.

After a while, seeing Zhao Mancang appear, Lin Wan rolled her eyes at him.

Although she knew Zhao Mancang's current situation, she couldn't help but want to give him a hard time. There was no way. She almost lost her patience just now.

Zhao Mancang coaxed her for a while, but her anger came quickly and went away even faster.

In the blink of an eye, it was the early morning of the next day. Zhao Mancang opened his eyes and looked at his wife beside him, his eyes full of tenderness.

Seeing that she was sleeping soundly, Zhao Mancang had to slowly pull his arm out, trying not to disturb her.

But she was a light sleeper and would wake up immediately at the slightest movement.

"what time is it?"

"It's almost dawn, go back to sleep."

"Well, then come earlier in the evening and I'll coax Huijun to sleep early."

Zhao Mancang kissed her on the forehead, then got up and left the room. But after he left, it took Lin Wan a long time to fall asleep.

When Zhao Mancang appeared in Xizhimen Pigeon Market, he did not meet Yuan Yushan and others, so he could not sell food, or more accurately, verify whether Yuan Yushan and Ma Jiugong were experience value tools.

But it doesn’t matter. Even if I can’t see him today, I will definitely see him in the next two days.

Since he didn't meet Yuan Yushan, Zhao Mancang planned to leave, but at this time, he met Meng Deqing.

The latter was a wine dealer. Zhao Mancang had conducted several transactions with him. It can be said that many of the wines he stored in the cellar were purchased from Meng Deqing.

At this time, there were two other people next to Meng Deqing, and the three of them were currently looking to buy food.

"Comrade, I have some food for sale. Do you want some?"

With an idea in mind, Zhao Mancang immediately stepped forward and asked with a smile.

If he guessed correctly, then the two people next to Meng Deqing at this time were probably the old people.

why?

Because before October last year, Zhao Mancang met an old man named Wu Siwei through Meng Deqing. This man had to become a runner because of the "rent-to-sell" policy in the middle of last year.

After all, Wu Siwei was rich and didn't want to continue living a miserable life in Beijing, so he found someone to exchange dollars and tried every means to leave Beijing.

Since Meng Deqing knew people like Wu Siwei, he must also know other people in this group.

Secondly, it is now May of 1959, the winter wheat harvest has passed, and the results are naturally self-evident.

The winter wheat harvest in the north has dropped sharply!

The grain harvest has dropped sharply, and drought continues across the country. The situation is extremely critical.

Although the food supply in the capital is relatively stable at present, it is only like this because it is the capital.

However, as the most sensitive place, Dove City was immediately affected by the consequences of the persistent drought in food prices.

For example, the prices of sweet potatoes, cornmeal, and steamed cornbread, which are staple foods for most people in the north, have increased a lot. Cornmeal used to cost 1.6 cents per pound, but now the price has risen to 1.3 cents per pound.

It increased by 2.4 cents.

It has been less than ten years since liberation, and everyone still remembers how many people died when famine came.

Therefore, even the old people and the youngsters couldn't help but panic.

The old and young have more security than other ordinary people, that is, they know how to make money or hide their money.

Although there is no place like Panjiayuan now, antique trading places such as ghost markets and porcelain factories still exist, and this group of old people and young people all come from a background of dealing in antiques. If they want to forge and deceive people, it will only take a few minutes.

Based on these reasons, the old and young people have money in their hands, so of course they will try to find ways to survive first.

What's more, these people are accustomed to a life of luxury. Even though material control is strict now, all food supplies are rationed and cannot be changed.

But the existence of Pigeon City can still make these people relatively well-off.

"You have food? How much?"

Upon hearing this, Meng Deqing and the other two asked in surprise, but they were not too surprised.

A surprise delivered to your door may not necessarily be a surprise. It might be something that can eat people or even a scam.

These old folks are quite smart. They have been able to work in Pigeon Market for so many years, so of course they haven't been there for nothing. It's always a good idea to be more careful in everything.

Zhao Mancang smiled:

"Of course I have food. I have wheat flour, rice, cornmeal, and sweet potatoes. I have dozens or even hundreds of kilograms of food. The key is whether you can eat it all."

This is not an exaggeration at all!
Not to mention the 12,500 tons of food he brought back from North America, which is 25 million jin. Just the other remaining stocks in the system space amount to more than 10,000 jin, and the variety is very rich.

"so much?"

The eyes of Meng Deqing and the other two suddenly lit up, and then they asked Zhao Mancang a few questions. However, when they learned that Zhao Mancang only accepted gold transactions, their brows instantly frowned.

"Why not charge money? Does it have to be gold?"

There are dozens or hundreds of kilograms of grain, and the price is not too expensive. For example, Zhao Mancang only charges one or two cents for cornmeal, which is a very reasonable price.

But if they only accept gold as a trading currency, it would be very worrying, because gold is not a good thing, and they are not willing to trade it. After all, buying and selling gold privately is illegal.

Well, their coming to the black market is already illegal.

"Yes, it has to be gold. I don't want money. If you still have a lot of gold, you can exchange it with me for cash. The purchase price of gold can be even higher. It's four yuan per gram!"

"Four dollars a gram?"

hiss!
Meng Deqing and the other two couldn't help but gasp, because the price was quite high. After all, the current purchase price of gold on the black market was a little over three yuan, and at most it would not reach three and a half yuan per gram.

The official purchase price of gold has always been three yuan and four cents per gram. The black market price is somewhat different. A few months ago, before Zhao Mancang left the capital, he had told big capitalists such as Yuan Yushan and Wu Zhigui that future grain transactions would be conducted in gold as the currency, and not in RMB.

Therefore, these top middlemen in Beijing worked at full capacity and raised the price of gold by 30 or 40 cents.

Even so, the current purchase price of gold on the black market does not exceed 3.5 yuan per gram.

As a result, the price Zhao Mancang offered now was four yuan per gram?
It has to be said that the two old men and young men next to Meng Deqing were instantly moved.

But at this moment, Meng Deqing suddenly slapped his head and said to Zhao Mancang:
"Comrade, I remember now, is your last name Li?"

"Yes, it's me. Are you Comrade Meng? I didn't dare to recognize you just now."

Zhao Mancang pretended to be hesitant and then suddenly realized something. After the two sides recognized each other, the three people on Meng Deqing's side were immediately overjoyed, because it was easier to talk to acquaintances, and there was no need to be so vigilant.

As a result, the subsequent conversation became much more relaxed and pleasant.

After agreeing to trade in an alley near Xizhimen half an hour later, both parties went their separate ways.

Half an hour later, Zhao Mancang quickly completed the transaction with Meng Deqing and the other two. After the transaction was completed, Meng Deqing pulled Zhao Mancang aside and asked in a low voice about the gold price and the purchase quantity.

"I will take whatever gold you have, and I'll still pay you four dollars a gram."

After hearing Zhao Mancang's guarantee, Meng Deqing immediately agreed with the other party on the trading time for tomorrow.

After the time was set, both parties were very happy.

Zhao Mancang left Pigeon City and went to the Wu Mansion at No. 22 Beigangzi Street.

I originally thought that Wu Zhigui was not at home, but I didn’t expect that he was really at home. When they met, Wu Zhigui and his housekeeper Jin Funian were both very excited.

In the living room of the Wu Mansion, Wu Zhigui looked at Zhao Mancang expectantly and asked in a deep voice:

"Comrade Li, you should know the current situation in the capital, right? I wonder if you can still transport food back? And how much food can you bring back?"

In February of this year, Zhao Mancang had a transaction with Wu Zhigui. A total of one million kilograms of grain were traded, and Zhao Mancang received 29,605.2 grams of gold in exchange.

Because the price of grain at that time was nine cents per pound, to be honest, this price was like giving wealth to Wu Zhigui.

It is precisely because of this that Wu Zhigui is so eager to trade with Zhao Mancang again. After all, the latter is simply the God of Wealth.

"Of course no problem." Zhao Mancang was immediately happy and said with an enigmatic smile:
"It's just that I'm afraid you guys don't have big appetites and can't eat much. And I don't accept RMB, I only accept gold. You understand, right?"

Wu Zhigui and the other man immediately expressed their delight that they now had a lot of gold and were able to consume five million kilograms of grain.

Zhao Mancang was shocked. Five million kilograms of grain was definitely not a small amount. Did the other party really have so much gold?

You know, the price of gold has indeed increased a bit, but the price of food has also increased a lot.

Regardless of whether it is coarse grains or fine grains, the prices on the black market have increased a lot, and the official prices have naturally not changed.

When Zhao Mancang trades with the other party, it is naturally impossible for him to trade according to the official price. It must be priced according to the transaction price on the black market.

In other words, the amount of gold that can be traded for five million kilograms of grain is definitely not a small amount.

At present, there is very little gold in the capital, not to mention the official, and in the hands of ordinary people.

Even if Wu Zhigui has great power, it would be difficult for him to buy much gold from ordinary people, right?

"It's only five million catties of grain. I thought you wanted ten million catties of grain."

Zhao Mancang said this with pretended regret, and Wu Zhigui and the other two were stunned.

My goodness, five million kilograms of grain is not enough?
Wait, could this Comrade Li actually have brought back over 10 million kilograms of grain? Where did he get the food from? Isn't he really afraid of being fed peanuts?

After checking the experience points contributed by Wu Zhigui and the other person, Zhao Mancang felt helpless and speechless. These tools were not qualified at all.

"Alright, five million catties is five million catties of grain. Is our deal still the same as before?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhigui immediately said:
"Yes, tomorrow, we'll do the transaction near No. 45, Hongyan East Road, Sifang Bridge, outside the city. However, five million kilograms of grain is still too much, so we hope to do it sooner."

"Okay, then I'll be there at 2:00 AM tomorrow morning. That time should be fine, right?"

"No problem, then we'll wait for good news tomorrow."

Watching Zhao Mancang's leaving, Wu Zhigui and Jin Funian looked at each other and saw shock in each other's eyes.

Five million jin of grain is not five hundred jin of grain. These are two completely different concepts.

However, Zhao Mancang just said confidently that he would transport so much grain to the vicinity of Hongyan East Road at two o'clock tomorrow morning.

My goodness, who on earth is Zhao Mancang? Where did he get so much food?

No matter what, all this is a good thing for Wu Zhigui and the others.

Zhao Mancang, in a good mood, returned to Dongguanying Hutong. Taking advantage of the early morning, he drove out for a while, then returned to Dongguanying Hutong, and then went out again.

When the neighbors passing by saw this scene, they were all curious. What was going on?
However, Zhao Mancang didn't care about that. After driving to Courtyard No. 18 of Huguo Temple, he saw Mei Chunyan and her elder brother Mei Xuesong already waiting there.

"Brother Chen, where are we going now?"

"Go back to my house. My friend is very busy and it's not convenient for him to interact with outsiders, so going to my house is the most suitable."

Zhao Mancang gave a brief explanation and then asked the brother and sister to get in the car.

After returning to Dongguanying Hutong again, Zhao Mancang brought Mei Chunyan and her brother to the yard, but asked Mei Chunyan to wait in the yard while he took Mei Xuesong into the room.

Mei Chunyan was a little worried for a moment, but still chose to believe Zhao Mancang.

In the room, Zhao Mancang was too lazy to pretend. After taking Mei Xuesong's pulse again, he began to give her acupuncture.

A disease like hysteria definitely requires some external stimulation, and Mei Xuesong has been suffering from hysteria for half a year, so his brain is probably severely damaged.

Therefore, if you want to cure it, you have to use supplementary methods such as diet therapy and drug therapy.

After a while, Zhao Mancang finished the acupuncture, prescribed a prescription, and then took Mei Xuesong out of the room.

During the entire process, Mei Chunyan never met the doctor friend that Zhao Mancang mentioned.

"Xiaoyan, this is the prescription my friend wrote. You can boil the herbs according to the prescription and it will be effective in about half a month."

Zhao Mancang handed the prescription to the other party and took out a stack of RMB and gave it to him:
"I guess you don't have any money, so I'll lend you this little bit. You can use it for yourself first. When you cure your elder brother and he has a job, you can pay me back. There's no rush anyway."

"Oh, I still have some food here, but it's been sitting there for over half a year and is probably going moldy. I won't eat it, so you can have it. The same goes for this meat."

After stuffing the money and the recipe into Mei Chunyan's hands, Zhao Mancang went to the house next door and took out a bag of at least 30 kilograms of rice and more than 10 kilograms of bacon and handed them to her.

Although it is said to be moldy rice, the rice inside is actually very good. The reason for saying this is because we need to consider Mei Chunyan, otherwise, she may not want these foods.

Mei Chunyan was stunned for a moment.

She really wanted to refuse and not take the food. After all, she was not familiar with Zhao Mancang and was not worthy of his help. How could she have the audacity to accept the food?

But her eyes fell on her elder brother next to her, and the words of refusal came to her lips, but she couldn't say them.

So, she expressed her gratitude to Zhao Mancang very sincerely and said that she would definitely return the grain to him in the future.

After saying that, she knelt down and kowtowed to Zhao Mancang.

To be honest, Zhao Mancang didn't expect the other party to do this. Before he could even react, Mei Chunyan had already kowtowed for the first time.

(End of this chapter)