Uncle Shazhu, a simple-minded man in a courtyard house, persuades people with reason.

The penicillin project involved many aspects that were outside Luo Chengjun's area of ​​knowledge. He Ping'an originally wanted to leave immediately, but Luo Chengjun kept him there, asking questions until late into the night before he finally left.

It was still the same routine: escorting the pretty girl home. Unfortunately, whether it was the embarrassment of being rejected last night or a woman's intuition sensing danger, Bai Ling didn't invite He Ping'an inside this time.

"Beauties are fickle!" After receiving a shy eye roll from the pretty girl, He Ping'an left with regret.

He still couldn't go straight home this time. He had to put the donations he had raised from Wan Jia last night into a designated location for Lao Luo and his men to collect, which would be used as funds to purchase penicillin.

For the next two days, He Ping'an continued to act as a stay-at-home dad, without any trouble. Occasionally, he would tease Bai Ling, or take advantage of the gaps when Bai Ling was delivering information to comfort another pretty girl.

Yes, after having a passionate dream all night, He Ping'an, forged in the 21st century, decided to become a scumbag that everyone envies, achieving both.

Marrying this one isn't easy, marrying that one is difficult too, so why not have both! A man should push himself a little harder from time to time; only in turbulent times can a man's true colors be revealed! Of course, all of this was He Ping'an's shameless self-comfort.

Men's inherent weakness is that they like both and can't let go of either... So far, everything seems to be going smoothly, and things haven't capsized yet. As for the future? We'll see!

As part of the plan, and even as an adversary, He Ping'an was enjoying his leisurely life, while the wealthy merchants were naturally in a state of utter chaos. For example… the philanthropist Wan!

At this moment, Wan Fulin was no longer as composed as before. His face was sallow, his eyes were dull, and the cracked blisters at the corners of his mouth occasionally oozed clear liquid with blood streaks. He had lost all the composure of a century-old grain merchant.

These past two days have been agonizing for Wan Fulin. The money? He can't find it. The thief? There's no lead on him! This time it was for money, but what if one day they take his head? Then what?!

He Ping'an was completely unaware of this, and even if he knew, he would only laugh and call it worrying! If they really wanted to take his head, would they have waited until now?

When the master of the household is in distress, the servants naturally suffer as well. The newly appointed head steward, who had only been in office for two days, paced around Wanfulin's study twice, but dared not go in.

The previous steward worked diligently for 30 years, but was beaten and thrown out of the mansion to fend for himself simply for reporting the theft of 100 bags of rice and flour. He didn't want to repeat the same mistake, but he couldn't ignore the news from outside; he couldn't bear the consequences.

"Who goes there, sneaking around like that... Get the hell in here!"

The butler scrambled into the study, resignedly knelt down and kowtowed, informing Wan Fulin that his acquisition of penicillin had been thwarted.

"Damn it..."

Originally, Wan Fulin had planned to make a fortune by hoarding penicillin, but now that his family's wealth had been stolen, he valued the penicillin business even more. Unexpectedly, another mishap occurred. This time, however, he didn't hold a grudge. He simply dismissed the housekeeper and called his business partners!

As fate would have it, not wanting to be looked down upon by the other families because of the burglary, Wan Fulin specially sent someone to invite He Daqing to his residence to cook, to show that everything was as usual.

Midnight, Jing'an Bookstore...

He Ping'an inquired about the results of the past two days. As expected of an underground party member who had mastered the Kuomintang's secret service, he had made a fortune in just two days by targeting the black market, private clinics, greedy doctors, and drug dealers—wherever penicillin was available.

With such a large-scale purchase of medicine, the price of penicillin skyrocketed as planned. What used to cost one tael of gold per vial now costs nearly two taels, and there is still no market for it.

It wasn't that all the penicillin in Beiping had actually been sold out; He Ping'an simply didn't have that much money. The main issue was that the drug dealers who still had penicillin were no longer selling it easily, determined to wait for a higher price.

"Secretary Luo, Captain He, we've already purchased 12,000 vials of penicillin. However, our funds are almost depleted!"

As He Ping'an and Luo Chengjun's communications officer for this mission, Bai Ling was promoted to temporary secretary, responsible for collecting and compiling information!

"No rush, continue purchasing! Also, notify our comrades in Tianjin to start small-scale, decentralized retail sales of penicillin tomorrow! Remember, it must be done on a large scale!"

Backed by powerful forces, making money is incredibly easy. A simple, almost idiotic, pump-and-dump strategy, with their current stock of penicillin, while they might not be able to sell it all in one go, would still yield an average profit of at least 50%!

He'll buy in large quantities again when penicillin prices drop, making a profit of 10,000 vials of penicillin in one go...

The simultaneous buying and selling left Luo Chengjun and Bai Ling completely bewildered.

"The main purpose of doing this is to fleece retail investors... well, to fleece those drug dealers who have penicillin. Just like the Dutch tulip mania in the 17th century!"

It was too complicated to explain, so He Ping'an had no intention of saying more. Of course, if Bai Ling invited him to her door again late at night, he would still be willing to play the role of a teacher.

He was more worried about the safety of his comrades than about penicillin. At present, the largest intelligence organization in Beiping was still the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (MISS). Such a large-scale operation—purchasing 10,000 vials of penicillin in just two days—would be surprising if the MISS didn't pay attention!

"You're certainly good at business, but when it comes to intelligence, you still have a lot to learn!" When it comes to intelligence, Luo Chengjun is indeed an expert.

The group that bought the medicine consisted of only five unimportant intelligence agents, protected by an undercover anti-espionage squad. The rest were hired helpers employed by those five. After purchasing the medicine, arrangements were made for the five to evacuate Beiping that same day. This ensured their safety while also serving as a smokescreen to mislead the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics and the wealthy merchants.

At that time, the clash between the two parties had become an open secret, and the Communist Party, having bought penicillin, would naturally not sell it again.

Jiang Taigong fished, and those who were willing took the bait. Luo Chengjun bought medicine, specifically to swindle those with ulterior motives!

"An old revolutionary is an old revolutionary," He Ping'an gave a thumbs up, indicating that he would humbly learn from him in the future, and then took the opportunity to reveal that Wan Fulin had invited major businessmen to a gathering that evening.

Luo Chengjun didn't react much to this. Wan Fulin was the first to break down, but that wasn't surprising!

"Now all that's left is to lock down the penicillin supply, this matter..." He Ping'an moved his dry eyes and looked at Luo Chengjun, his meaning self-evident!

"I must have owed you something in my past life! I'll personally handle the guerrilla matter."

Luo Chengjun didn't mind He Ping'an's orders. As an old revolutionary, his awareness was naturally high. Besides, he and He Ping'an were the only two in all of Beiping who could mobilize the guerrillas.

He Ping'an couldn't easily leave while attending university, and the guerrillas didn't have a radio, so he was the only one who could make contact. However, thinking about Bai Ling's mood these past two days, he quickly changed the subject:

"But you also need to do your part, don't just sit around like a big shot all day. I heard from Comrade Bai Ling that you've been hanging out with Lou Bancheng's daughter all the time lately, even having that girl breastfeed your little girl? How leisurely, Young Master He!"

Sigh... Trouble is trouble, it was bound to come sooner or later! A loud drum doesn't need a heavy hammer, He Ping'an naturally understood the deeper meaning in Lao Luo's words.

Before anything even happened between him and Lou Xiaohui, the organization's warnings had already been issued. If this continues… it seems Lou Xiaohui only has one way out!