The sky collapsed, and in the blink of an eye, I found myself transported to Nanluoguxiang.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, the view brightened up immediately. Zhao Zhengping led Li Kaixin to sit down on the stone bench in the center of the courtyard.

At this moment, Zhao Yu came out of one of the rooms, carrying a teapot and several teacups.

He walked to the stone table and poured a cup of tea for each of them.

Zhao Zhengping smiled and gestured, "Brother Zhou, please have some tea!"

Li Kaixin didn't refuse and picked up the teacup to take a sip.

He wasn't completely off guard, but he was confident in his medical skills, just like when he had tea with the black market boss last time.

After taking a couple of sips, Zhao Zhengping tentatively asked, "Brother Zhou, are you here alone today? I didn't see you bring any brothers."

"They're waiting not far away." Li Kaixin took two more sips, his tone indifferent. "They just didn't let him come along because they were worried there would be too many people during the transaction."

Zhao Zhengping laughed heartily, his voice steady: "Brother, you're a man of principle."

Seeing that Li Kaixin's tea cup was empty, he turned to him and instructed, "Xiaoyu, refill Brother Zhou's tea."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yu quickly filled his teacup.

Li Kaixin was slightly surprised to see the scene so formal.

However, this atmosphere didn't last long before it was interrupted.

"Xiaoyu, don't just stand there, we can't lift it, come and lend a hand!" Zhao Zhengliang's voice came from the doorway.

"Oh, coming!" Zhao Yu put down the teapot and jogged over.

Li Kaixin glanced at the doorway and noticed the cart was blocked by the threshold, so he asked, "Brother, do you need me to lend a hand?"

"No need, Brother Zhou! You've come here to make a deal, how could I let you do the work?" Zhao Zhengping continued to maintain his composure.

Li Kaixin didn't insist. He knew that these old-fashioned people had a common problem: they cared a lot about their reputation.

However, seeing the three people shakily lifting the cart at the door, he couldn't help but shake his head.

They've been pampered for too long. If it were someone doing ordinary work these days, two strong laborers could easily lift this 500-600 jin (250-300 kg) load.

When the three of them finally managed to push the cart into the yard, their foreheads were covered in sweat.

Zhao Zhengping stood up and said politely to Li Kaixin, "Brother Zhou, please wait a moment while I go and count the items."

"Please go ahead, brother." Li Kaixin nodded, picked up his teacup, and took another sip.

Zhao Zhengping walked quickly to the cart, whispered a few words to Zhao Yu and the others, and the four of them quickly began to count the items.

Before long, Zhao Zhengping returned with a satisfied smile on his face: "Brother Zhou, the quality of the goods you brought is excellent, and the quantity is just right."

"I'm glad you're satisfied, brother." Li Kaixin put down his teacup, stood up, and said, "Shall we settle the bill?"

"Okay!" Zhao Zhengping readily agreed, taking out a black cloth bag from his pocket:

"This shipment is worth a total of 562.5 yuan. According to the black market price for yellow croaker, that's roughly equivalent to three small yellow croakers. Please take a look."

Li Kaixin took the cloth bag, opened it, looked inside at the three gold bars, then put them in his pocket and nodded.

Just as he was about to leave, Zhao Zhengping quickly called out, "Brother Zhou, please wait."

"What's wrong? Is there anything else?" Li Kaixin stopped and turned to look at him.

Zhao Zhengping rubbed his hands together, a smile plastered on his face: "Brother Zhou, I just wanted to ask when we'll set the date for our next transaction? I'd like to ask for a bit more."

Li Kaixin realized that he had almost forgotten about this matter because he was so focused on going to the black market.

He thought for a moment and said, "Let's trade once a week, at this time. Sometimes it might have to be postponed a few days, but I'll leave you a note then. Is that alright?"

"Okay, Brother Zhou." Zhao Zhengping nodded in agreement.

Li Kaixin then asked, "So, how much stock do you need next time?"

"Next time, give me two hundred chickens, just like this time, prepare more than usual." Zhao Zhengping paused, then tentatively asked, "Do you think the price can be lowered again this time?"

"Sure," Li Kaixin readily agreed, then added, "I'll prepare a hundred chickens for you. As for the price, how about I give you a thirty-yuan discount on the total?"

"Then thank you, Brother Zhou." Zhao Zhengping's smile widened.

After Li Kaixin pushed the empty cart away, the four people in the yard looked at the chickens, ducks and rabbits all over the ground and couldn't help but get excited.

Zhao Zhengping rubbed his hands together and said, "This time we can really make a fortune. Those twenty or so before were really not enough to sell."

He never expected these things to be so popular; even if a chicken cost ten yuan, people would still be eager to buy it.

"Yeah! Even if we keep some for ourselves and sell the rest, we can still make at least two or three hundred yuan."

Zhao Zhengqiang also pondered this, and after speaking, he glanced at Zhao Zhengping and joked, "But Zhengping, you had it easy today, you didn't even have to lift a finger."

Zhao Zhengping chuckled: "Brother Zhengqiang, I just need to negotiate the price with Brother Zhou!"

"By the way, for our next transaction, should we call a few more cousins ​​over? We've already had a hard time carrying these 100 in, let alone another 100." Zhao Yu couldn't help but interject.

"Are you stupid?!" Zhao Zhengping was truly exasperated by his nephew's foolishness once again. "Couldn't you have made more trips to carry it? And hired a few more people? Wouldn't that money be enough for all of us families to share?"

Zhao Zhengqiang and Zhao Zhengliang looked at Zhao Yu with hostility.

Although these people have some wealth, they can't just sit around and let it all go to waste.

Especially since they can earn in a week what a worker earns in a month, they can't easily share such a good thing with others.

......

Not far from the courtyard, Li Kaixin immediately put the cart and the three small yellow croakers into the secret space.

They found another secluded spot and took out all the goods they had prepared to give to Hu Laoliu.

After deducting the small portion sold to Zhao Zhengping, there were still more than 400 ducks, more than 300 chickens, more than 400 rabbits, plus more than 2,500 catties of chicken and duck eggs.

With everything prepared, Li Kaixin headed towards the black market managed by Hu Laoliu.

As for why they didn't choose the place where they traded last time, it was because two outsiders had seen it, and they felt uneasy.

About fifteen minutes later, Li Kaixin appeared in front of Hu Laoliu's stall.

Hu Laoliu was lounging in a chair with his legs crossed, humming an unknown tune.

"Brother Hu, why are you so happy today!" Li Kaixin teased.

Hu Laoliu opened his eyes and, seeing the familiar attire, immediately broke into a smile: "Brother Zhou, what brings you here?"

"Shall I leave?" Li Kaixin pretended to turn around.

"No, no, no! I was just joking." Old Hu quickly stood up from the recliner and rushed over to Li Kaixin: "Brother Zhou, are you shipping goods today?"

Li Kaixin nodded and said succinctly, "This time, we'll still settle in gold! The trading venue has also changed. Also, I'd like to buy some receipts."

Next, Li Kaixin announced how much stock she had prepared.

"No problem! Brother Zhou, I'll go prepare right away." Old Hu immediately became excited, turned around and strode away into the distance.

However, neither of them noticed that two people were watching them from the shadows not far away.