1940s: I supported my wife and sister-in-law by hunting.

He felt a little panicked. If he didn't spend these paper bills soon, they would probably become worthless and unusable.

Just like those counterfeit banknotes issued back when the dog was still around, they were immediately invalidated as soon as the Russians came. There's still a stack of them at home that we haven't had time to spend. Shanzi's mother said we might as well keep them to wallpaper the walls; they're colorful and look quite nice.

The father and son sat on the sled, chatting idly.

After about an hour, the outline of the town came into view in the distance, and the sounds of people talking and shouting filled the air.

There were indeed many people in the town. The first market after the New Year was held in an open space in the town. Stalls of all sizes were crowded together, selling food, sundries, farm tools, furs and mountain products. All kinds of vendors shouted their wares, and villagers came and went, carrying baskets and pushing wheelbarrows.

Just as his father said, he couldn't see a single woman.

Old Chen led his horse and found a clear spot on the side of the crowd where it wouldn't block the way, and stopped the sled.

Chen Gaoshan then bent down and uncovered the mountain goods that had been covered with old quilts to prevent them from getting wet from the snow. He then unfolded the bundled roe deer skin, wolf skin, and rabbit skin one by one and laid them on the sled so that passersby could easily inspect the goods.

After finishing all that work, he straightened up, patted the dust off his hands, and took a breath.

"Dad, everything's all set up. There's nothing I can do to help here. I might as well take a walk around and see if we can find the cotton and cloth we need, and maybe inquire about guns while we're at it."

After saying that, he didn't stand on ceremony with his father. He stretched out his hand, rubbed two fingers together, clearly indicating that he wanted money.

Without hesitation, Chen Laonian pulled out a wad of Russian banknotes from his pocket and stuffed them into his son's hand.

This money was all the cash in the house. He was determined to spend it all and exchange it for real things like grain, cloth, and cotton. Only when he had real things in his hands could he feel at ease.

He gave Shanzi a stack of bills, and Shanzi still had five stacks left in his pocket. He carried the bills in his pocket, but he didn't feel at ease.

"You can wander around, but come back quickly. Don't wander aimlessly in the market, and don't get into any arguments, especially if you run into Russians. Stay away from them!" Old Chen repeatedly reminded him, pointing to the money in his hand.

"Spend this money as soon as you can, don't hold onto it! These scraps of paper are from those outside swindlers who cheat us ordinary people out of our grain. Whoever is handing out this money is a heartless swindler. Nothing is as valuable as real money!"

Chen Gaoshan stuffed the money into the small, close-fitting pocket sewn for him by the inner lotus flower.

This was his first time entering the town, so it could be considered his first time in the city.

Shops lined the street one after another, with colorful signs sticking out of their doors. There were stalls selling cloth, grain, snacks, fruit, wontons, and general stores filled with needles, thread, and other miscellaneous goods.

As Chen Gaoshan walked around, he observed that it was no wonder people said this place was one of the best in the Far East; even the towns and villages were quite prosperous.

"Big cabbages! Super fresh and juicy big cabbages! One hundred yuan a pound!"

Damn! Money has become so worthless that a hundred yuan can only buy a pound of cabbage. It's practically worthless!

He remembered what Chen Laonian had said before he left.

Five years ago, a hundred counterfeit coins could buy a cow and a calf.

Four years later, one hundred yuan can only buy a big cow.

Three years ago, it was worth even less; at most, it could buy a pig.

But nowadays, if you were to use Russian currency, a hundred dollars wouldn't even buy half a head of cabbage.

In this world, the money in ordinary people's hands is becoming less and less valuable every day. They have all been ripped off by these outsiders, and there is nowhere to seek justice!

The town was bigger than he had imagined. He walked along with the flow of people and soon saw a three-story building.

The small building has a modern style, and the brick structure looks very solid. Two tall Russian soldiers stand at the door, holding long guns and fiercely scanning the passers-by.

This was the police station of the previous dog-day police station. They were driven away, and the place was then taken over by the Russians.

His curiosity got the better of him, and he lingered around the doorway a few more times, wanting to get a closer look at what was inside.

Who knew that after he had only wandered around for a couple of minutes, the two old Russian soldiers at the door spotted him, immediately raised their rifles, pointed the muzzles directly at him, and mumbled something he couldn't understand.

Although Chen Gaoshan couldn't understand a single word, the sense of crisis of having a gun pointed at him made the hairs on his body stand on end.

He turned and ran quickly into the distance, until he was far away and out of the Russians' sight, before stopping to catch his breath.

But he didn't leave. Instead, he crept around the alleys along the street and tiptoed to the back wall of the police station.

A man's sixth sense told him that the place guarded by the Russians definitely contained some valuable loot.

There were few pedestrians behind the police station. He tried to peer inside, but couldn't see anything and had no idea how many people were guarding it or how tight the security was.

But when he thought about how he had been here for a whole month and the space had only contained a wolf pelt, and had been of no use except for killing two sly foxes, he felt frustrated that he could only stay in the village and waste his days with such a heaven-defying treasure. This space was simply a waste.

If there were a bank in this town, he would dare to rob it.

The wall in front of him must be two and a half meters high; he couldn't jump over it or climb over it.

I circled the courtyard wall several times, but I couldn't find a dog hole big enough for a person to crawl through, or even a crack big enough to reach my hand through.

He couldn't get into the yard, and he wasn't sure when the Russians would move the supplies out of the yard, so waiting around wasn't a solution.

Chen Gaoshan gritted his teeth and made up his mind instantly.

They could only act late at night, when the moon was dark and the wind was high, when the guards were most relaxed and it would be easiest to succeed.

He quickly scanned his surroundings, made sure no one was in the alley, and went straight into the space.

As for his father, who was still setting up a stall at the market waiting for him to return.

Dad, I'm sorry to have made you worry for a while.

If we can pull off this job and get all the good stuff inside, our family might never have to worry about food or drink again for the rest of our lives!

Chen Gaoshan stayed in the space, adjusted the time in the space to be synchronized with the time inside and outside, and stared at the current affairs screen in the space.

The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became. If he really didn't go back that night, his father would drive the sled back to the village and tell everyone about his disappearance. His mother, Xinghua, and Lianhua would be so worried if they knew he was missing in town. They might not be able to sleep all night and would be crying and waiting for news of him.

He stared at the screen and sighed, then flashed out of the spatial dimension and hurriedly ran towards the place where his father had set up a stall in the market.

At this moment in the market, Old Chen was guarding his sled. He had just traded two decent rabbit skins with a peddler he knew for coarse salt and soy sauce.

I looked up and saw my son running back, panting.

"You're back! You've been shopping for most of the day. What did you buy?"

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