A little madman moved into the courtyard house next door.

There's a saying in Beijing: "The capital city has a front court and a back market." The back market refers to the markets in the northern part of the city.

Tanchang Hutong in the northern part of the city was the location of the black market in the north of the city.

In the past two years, the famine has become increasingly severe, and residents' food rations have been reduced again and again. The rations of pork and cooking oil have also been reduced from half a catty per month to two liang per month.

State-run grain stores no longer sell negotiated grain, except for the grain quotas they are required to meet.

With no grain or pork available in state-run stores, people turned their attention to the black market.

…………

Jin Shangzhi's family used to own a trading company, and they had connections and networks all over the country.

Later, when his father was serving in the government, he offended some officials. His business was shut down, and the family fell into poverty.

Jin Shangzhi became a middleman and gradually built up a group of henchmen. After the implementation of the unified purchase and sale of grain in 53, he began to operate a black market, reselling grain.

As his business grew, Kim Sang-ji completely took control of the black market in the north of the city.

Their gathering place is a secluded courtyard with two entrances behind Tanchang Hutong.

Today, Kim Sang-ji is having a meeting with several of his trusted subordinates at the gathering point.

Huo De, the number one henchman, said, "Brother Jin, what do you think the higher-ups mean? It's been almost half a year since they last investigated our black market!"

Wu Buyuan, the second henchman, sneered, "Huo Dezhuan, isn't it good that the higher-ups aren't investigating? That way we can do business in peace."

"Wu Buyuan, I'm talking to Master Jin, why are you interrupting? Why don't we go practice in the courtyard?"

"Let's practice then. We've been fighting for over ten years, do you think I'm afraid of you?"

Jin Shangzhi said, "What are you two arguing about? We're discussing something! Don't you know what the situation is like outside? State-run grain stores only sell rationed grain. If the higher-ups keep checking the black market every day, where will ordinary people buy grain? If ordinary people can't buy grain anywhere, won't that cause even bigger chaos?"

Wu Buyuan said, "Uncle Jin, the price of cornmeal in the south of the city has already risen to two cents a pound, and we're still selling it for one cent a pound. Aren't we losing money?"

"Wu Buyuan, how can you be so ignorant, like an old woman? Cornmeal is a lifesaver for ordinary people. How long do you think that fifth guy can keep raising the price?"

"But wouldn't that mean we'd earn less?"

"Flour is now selling for two yuan per jin (8g), and pork is selling for eight yuan per jin. How many jin of flour would we need to sell to make the same profit as selling one jin of pork?"

"Brother Jin, you have excellent taste."

"And if ordinary people buy cheap cornmeal from us and have more money, won't they use that money to buy meat instead?"

"Master Jin is wise and resourceful, a master strategist."

………………

Following the address he had found out beforehand, Xiao Sanfeng arrived outside Tanchang Hutong. He found an empty alley and put on the ever-changing mask. To others, he appeared as a middle-aged woman in a cheongsam, and even his voice was transformed into a woman's.

Arriving outside Jin Shangzhi's courtyard, Xiao Sanfeng knocked on the door.

A person came out from inside and asked, "Who are you?"

Xiao Sanfeng took out a can of luncheon meat from his bag and said, "I want to talk business with your boss, Jin."

"Big sister, we don't have any 'Master Jin' here."

"Young man, you should take this can of food to your Master Jin! You can't afford to make up for the seriousness of the matter if you delay things."

The henchman turned and closed the door, while Xiao Sanfeng waited outside.

After a while, the door opened again. A voice said, "I'm Wu Buyuan, elder sister, you have something to tell me!"

Xiao Sanfeng said, "Kid, you can't make the decision on this deal. If your boss Jin doesn't want to talk, then I'll find someone else."

"Alright! Our Master Jin is inside, but we need to check him out before he can come in."

Xiao Sanfeng's ever-changing masks can only alter other people's visual perception; they would be exposed if he were searched.

He said, "I'm just a woman in a cheongsam. You can check my bag, but I don't need to search you." With that, Xiao Sanfeng handed over the bag.

After checking, Wu Buyuan led Xiao Sanfeng into the courtyard.

Upon entering the courtyard, a middle-aged man said, "I am Jin Shangzhi. How should I address this lady?"

Xiao Sanfeng said, "Boss Jin, you can just call me 'sir'."

"What kind of business deal are you going to discuss with me, sir?"

"The canned food from earlier is unlimited in quantity, and the number of large fat pigs is also unlimited."

"I checked the canned goods just now, and the quality is indeed quite good. But these canned goods are produced by Little Baga, and I don't do business with Little Baga."

"Boss Jin, you've misunderstood. I'm from China. You should have heard about Xiao Ba on the radio two years ago."

"Was that done by someone behind you, sir?"

Just when Xiao Sanfeng was about to fall asleep, someone offered him a pillow. He was preparing to fabricate a convincing backstory when Jin Shangzhi imagined a powerful force behind him.

Xiao Sanfeng echoed Jin Shangzhi's words, saying, "That's right, it was done by the forces behind me. Creating such a ruckus in Dongjing is not something an ordinary small force could accomplish."

"Alright, I'll take this deal. May I ask what price you're willing to pay for this meat?"

"Boss Jin knows how scarce meat is right now. Our request is to follow the market price and give you 8% of the retail price."

"Sir, your price is too high. I have a large group of men to support. This small profit would mean I've worked for nothing."

"Boss Jin has his brothers, and I have my friends. If the price is lower than this, I'll find someone else, and 20% profit is not low."

Jin Shangzhi started to calculate in his mind. Pork on the black market was now selling for 10 yuan per jin (1 grams). He had just carefully examined the canned meat; it was all pure pork, and the weight was a full jin.

These canned meats can be sold as pork, with a profit of two yuan per can. If you buy a lot and it's filling, you can make a good profit.

Kim Sang-ji asked, "How much can you provide, sir?"

Xiao Sanfeng said, "We'll deliver goods to you once a week, and Boss Jin can have as much as he wants. But we don't accept cash; we only accept gold bars, jewelry, jade, antiques, and calligraphy and paintings by famous people from ancient and modern times."

"Okay, I'll get ready. We'll make our first deal in five days. I want 2000 of these canned meats."

"No problem. I'll let you know when the canned goods arrive in the middle of the night five days from now." Xiao Sanfeng said and turned to leave.