Courtyard houses: Those who are capable are rewarded, and many children bring many blessings.

It seemed his question had been ignored; he'd asked in vain. Niu Dazhuang had no choice but to ask again.

"I understand, you want to buy some local specialties from Northeast China for your family, but you didn't bring enough tickets," the receptionist said confidently.

Niu Dazhuang thought to himself, "Why is it so difficult to talk to you? When you're out in the world, you might as well be honest." He patiently said, "Sister, let's put it this way, which black market sells more daily necessities, and which sells more medicinal herbs?"

"If you had asked earlier, I would have understood! Go straight east from the main gate, and when you're almost out of the city, there's a black market there. They have all kinds of medicinal herbs."

If you want some deer antler or screaming grass, I can get it for you.

Come to think of it, when people from other places come to Fengtian on business, they usually stay in guesthouses. The guesthouse staff have the most contact with these people from other places.

When traveling for work, people usually want to bring back some local specialties, especially sika deer antlers, which are a favorite among men.

Buying from her is definitely more expensive than buying from the black market, but there's a certain level of security. Especially for someone like Niu Dazhuang who doesn't know anything, he's willing to spend a little more money to buy from her.

But this time, Niu Dazhuang came for the grain.

"Little sister, I want to buy some refined grains."

Upon hearing this, the receptionist looked at Niu Dazhuang as if he were a fool, almost unable to believe her ears.

"What, what did you just say?"

I said, "I want to buy some refined grains."

"Are you kidding me? A driver from Kyoto actually wants to buy refined grains from us?"

"I'm not kidding," Niu Dazhuang said seriously.

"I really don't have any here. Go behind the guesthouse, there's a black market that mainly sells food not far away. Go take a look over there!" After saying that, he grabbed a handful of pine nuts and started cracking them open by himself.

Well, they're really realistic. Seeing that they can't earn any extra money from Niu Dazhuang, they've lost their initial enthusiasm.

I must say, the lives of ordinary people in Fengtian are much better than in Beijing these days, as evidenced by the amount of grain sold on the black market.

Wages are basically the same across the country, and there are many dual-income families here. This is because there were many factories in Fengtian at that time.

For dual-income families, raising three or four children is relatively easy. When the rations aren't enough, they buy food on the black market, mostly rice, but with more wheat flour.

Without strong connections, Niu Dazhuang could only collect the grain little by little. Fortunately, time was frozen in the space, so there was no need to worry about the grain spoiling.

When you come to the black market in Fengtian, you're not afraid of running into people you know. Just take the money and buy whatever you want. Starting from the east end, ask about the price of all kinds of white flour and rice. If the price is right, weigh it, pay, and load it onto your donkey.

This little tricycle can only carry about 400 pounds. Once it's full, Niu Dazhuang pedals it back home.

He found a deserted alley, and in the blink of an eye, three sacks of flour and a sack of rice appeared in his spatial dimension. He smoked a cigarette and then returned.

This time I went specifically for the cured pork.

He didn't even glance at roe deer meat, pheasant, or rabbit; Niu Dazhuang went straight to a pork stall.

Two cuts wide and two feet long, the cured meat was all bought by Niu Dazhuang.

As they were leaving, another tricycle loaded with grain arrived!

There are no black market vendors left; Niu Dazhuang has bought up all the grain. What's left to sell?

The rice and wheat flour here are a few cents cheaper than in Kyoto. Rice costs 35 cents and wheat flour costs 40 cents. This is the price without ration coupons.

The cured pork is cut into pieces, and two cuts weigh about 35 jin (17.5 kg).

They gave me a pound of national grain coupons to cover the transportation costs. Back at the guesthouse, I drank some water, still feeling a bit nervous.

"Why did you come back empty-handed again, Dazhuang? You can't do this. When you left, you were criticizing me, saying that money earned but not spent is just a piece of paper. Why is it that when it comes to you, it's unacceptable?"

Why do we men work so hard to earn money? It's all for our wives and kids! Keeping your wife happy is the key to a comfortable life!

"If there aren't any suitable ones, I'll just buy some at the supply and marketing cooperative when I leave tomorrow."

"Whatever! Go to sleep, you have to drive tomorrow."

Niu Dazhuang lay down on the bed and began to take stock of today's harvest: two sacks of rice, 200 jin; six sacks of flour, 600 jin; and 35 jin of cured meat.

Let's count how much money is left. I spent a total of 348.5, which is the money I usually use to buy cigarettes. I still have a little over 1,000 left.

With grain in hand, there's no need to panic or rush. A few more trips and everything will be solved!

I slept soundly until the rooster crowed three times, and just as dawn was breaking, I got up.

In Fengtian during the second month of the lunar calendar, the temperature was still below freezing, which is when the military green overcoat I brought came in handy.

It took more than half an hour to reach the mining machinery factory.

Gao Chunsheng went to the duty room to boil water, while Niu Dazhuang found a wood-chopping board to roast under the engine.

The Jiefang trucks of that era didn't have antifreeze, so this procedure was necessary to start them.

They poured boiling water on the engine and then heated it with fire. The master and apprentice worked for more than half an hour before Niu Dazhuang finally managed to get the fire going.

The truck started moving, the cab was drafty, and Gao Chunsheng revved the engine to its maximum, black smoke billowing from the exhaust pipe...

I don't know if it was because we were using machinery, but we didn't encounter any carjackings along the way. After four days of clattering and rattling, we successfully returned to Kyoto.

We couldn't rest yet; we had to send the machinery to the Mentougou coal mine in Kyoto. Another day was wasted here.

The mine manager and party secretary of Mentougou Coal Mine personally hosted the master and apprentice for dinner at the company canteen that evening.

Neither the master nor the apprentice was stupid; they frequently toasted the Party Secretary and the mine manager.

At the end of the drinking session, Director Yang patted his chest and said, "Master Gao, Brother Niu, if you need coal in the future, come to me. I can't guarantee more than ten or eight tons, but that's definitely no problem. From now on, don't burn coal briquettes for the winter; those things have low calorie content."

"Director Yang, who burns ten tons of coal all winter? If they really burn that much, how can we even wear clothes in the house when it's so hot!"

"Haha... Brother Niu, isn't it good that you can't keep your clothes on?"

Ha ha--

"Secretary Wang, Director Yang, you've been good to me, so I can't let you off easy. Next time I go to Fengtian, I'll bring back half a catty of deer antler for each of you! Genuine sika deer antler."

"Haha, that's right! Mutual benefit and sharing of resources." No leader is a fool.

We've been drinking all day, isn't that what we're here for?

After making the trip, Niu Dazhuang understood that what makes truck drivers so enviable these days is not just how much money they earn, but also the extensive networks of connections they have.

Now the whole country is on a rationing system. You can get supplies that others can't, and you can do things that others can't. Plus, you're well-informed. Isn't that enviable?

It has both prestige and substance.

After spending another night at the guesthouse, the two of them drove to their workplace, went through the handover process, and then handed the task sheet to Captain Luo.

The master and apprentice dawdled until they had lunch at work before finally taking their day off.