Siheyuan (courtyard house): My father, Li Yunlong!

Sure enough, as soon as he approached, the two guards at the door eyed him warily. One of them stepped forward and asked in a low voice.

"Stop! What are you doing? Buying or selling?"

Li Zhenhua answered calmly and composedly.

"I need to buy some things; we're short of food at home."

The guard looked him up and down, and seeing that although he was dressed plainly, he had a calm demeanor and did not seem to be there to cause trouble, he continued to question him.

"Did you have a matchmaker? Or did you bring anything?"

Li Zhenhua shook his head and said calmly.

"I didn't have anyone to introduce me, and this is my first time here. I heard that you can get some food here, so I came to try my luck."

His belongings were all in the system warehouse, so he was empty-handed. The two guards exchanged a glance, seemingly hesitant.

Another guard spoke up.

"You know the rules, right? Behave yourself inside, don't cause trouble, ask the price only after you've looked at the items, and don't make a loud noise."

"clear."

Li Zhenhua gave a brief answer.

Perhaps because he didn't seem like a patrolman or someone there to cause trouble, or perhaps because the black market itself needed customers, one of the guards waved his hand.

"Go in, and keep your eyes open."

"Thanks."

Li Zhenhua thanked him and stepped into the half-closed, heavy old warehouse door.

As soon as you enter, a wave of heat mixed with various smells hits you.

The warehouse was very spacious, but dimly lit, with only a few scattered lanterns and flashlight beams flickering, illuminating the shadowy figures and various items on the floor.

Although the lighting was poor, there were quite a few people; at a glance, there were probably over a hundred.

Most people are taciturn, and when trading, they mostly talk in hushed tones and use gestures. The whole market is filled with a tense and urgent atmosphere.

This is a true microcosm of the black market in Beijing in the early 1960s.

Against the backdrop of extreme scarcity of resources, a hidden corner exists that operates in a gray area, fraught with risks yet sustaining countless lives.

Li Zhenhua mingled in the crowd, his sharp eyes scanning each stall.

The black market in Beijing lived up to its reputation; although the atmosphere was oppressive, the variety of goods far exceeded his expectations.

Besides the expected grains, coarse cloth, and old clothes, he even saw people selling decent mountain products, such as dried fruits like pine nuts and hazelnuts, which were rare items in those days. It seemed that there were indeed some capable people behind this black market.

He carefully observed the trading methods.

Most sellers would squat silently behind their goods, while buyers would approach, and the two would lean in and talk in hushed tones, or tuck their hands into their sleeves and wring their fingers to bargain, all of which was full of the caution and secrecy unique to underground transactions of this era.

After looking around, he got a feel for the prices. Coarse grains were several times more expensive, while refined grains and meat were practically unavailable, with prices ridiculously high.

As he wandered around, he did catch a glimpse of a few familiar faces.

Uncle Yan Bugui was squatting in front of a grain stall, arguing heatedly with someone, his face red with anger, clearly trying to get the most grain for the least amount of money.

In another corner, Xu Damao lingered furtively in front of a basket selling eggs, seemingly trying to find some nutritional supplements.

Li Zhenhua chuckled inwardly. This courtyard house was truly "full of talent." Every family had a representative who would go out late at night just to get a bite to eat.

After looking around, Li Zhenhua made up his mind.

He prepared too much stuff, and bringing it all out at once would be too conspicuous and could easily cause unnecessary trouble.

He decided to test the waters with soybean oil, the easiest and most readily available commodity, to observe the market's reaction and safety.

He found a relatively quiet corner with less light, and under the cover of the shadow of the corner, he took out two old tin buckets (the packaging had been changed) from the system space with a thought. Each bucket was filled with twenty catties of clear and fragrant soybean oil.

He placed the bucket at his feet, leaned against the wall, half-closed his eyes, and adopted a waiting posture no different from other stall owners, but his ears and eyes were constantly watching the movements around him.

The aroma of high-quality oils cannot be hidden, especially in this era when people generally lack oil in their diet.

Not long after, a well-dressed man, who looked like a government official, sniffed the air and came over, asking in a low voice.

"Comrade, how do I change this oil?"

Li Zhenhua didn't even lift his eyelids, quoting a price slightly lower than the black market price but still with an astonishing profit margin, using the black market's common "yuan" instead of the official term.

The man clearly knew his stuff. He shone a flashlight on the oil in the bucket, then sniffed it closely. A look of delight appeared on his face. He barely haggled before readily taking out his money and buying the bucket.

Seeing that there were people trading here, a lot of people quickly gathered around.

Just as Li Zhenhua was surrounded by a crowd, who were asking him all sorts of questions about the price but were hesitant because of his quote,

Suddenly, a clear and melodious female voice pierced through the noisy whispers.

"Comrade, I'll take this barrel of oil."

The crowd instinctively parted to create a gap, and Li Zhenhua looked in the direction of the sound.

The speaker was a tall woman, who looked to be at least 1.7 meters tall. Even though she was wearing a simple dark cotton coat and trousers, her outstanding figure was still evident.

Her face was covered with a common square scarf, revealing only a pair of bright and calm eyes, with a few strands of hair falling across her forehead.

He sounded young, but his tone carried an undeniable decisiveness.

Li Zhenhua quoted the same price as before.

The masked woman didn't even haggle. She simply nodded and deftly pulled out a roll of money from a worn cloth bag she was carrying, counted out the corresponding amount, and handed it directly to Li Zhenhua.

"Count the money."

A low murmur of apprehension and regret rippled through the surrounding crowd.

"Wow! You...you bought it already?"

"Not even going to haggle?"

"Wow, that's really extravagant..."

"Alright, that's all, let's call it a day..."

Seeing that the item was bought so readily, the onlookers, though unwilling, could only mutter amongst themselves and gradually disperse to continue searching for other possible targets.

Li Zhenhua took the money, glanced at it briefly to confirm the amount was correct, and then put it in his pocket.

He was preparing to pack up and leave when the tall woman stepped forward, lowering her voice slightly, with a hint of embarrassment.

"Comrade, I need your help with something. This bucket of oil is too heavy for me to carry by myself. Could you please help me carry it to the alley entrance? My family has arranged to wait for me there."

Her reasoning was reasonable; a 20-pound bucket of soybean oil was indeed a considerable weight for many women in this era.

Li Zhenhua nodded without much thought.

"Okay, no problem."

He bent down and lifted the heavy tin bucket with one hand, seemingly without any effort.

"Let's go, you lead the way."

"Oh, thank you, comrade."

The woman thanked him and then turned to lead the way.

The two walked silently, one after the other, through the dimly lit and bustling black market area, toward the warehouse door.