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

Prosperity, people suffer; death, people suffer!

This statement resonates most deeply with ordinary people today… Since the Kuomintang started its campaign, how many rabbits have been annihilated today, causing grain prices to soar; how many cities have been captured tomorrow, causing the legal tender to depreciate again!

In short, the Kuomintang's radio and newspapers never lost a war, food prices never dropped, and the legal tender never rose! Days passed by amidst the curses of the common people.

Everything went smoothly for He Ping'an. The batch of penicillin borrowed from his spatial storage had already been loaded onto ships and sent to the various war zones. He had already received replies and heartfelt thanks from each war zone!

Meanwhile, the first batch of penicillin produced by the American Zhigongtang arrived in Tianjin. Of course, its effectiveness was uncertain without testing. He Ping'an was forced to once again turn to the black market in Beiping!

Five vials of penicillin for one tael of gold—a price that's considered a steal in China—were snapped up as soon as they hit the black market! Tracking the user's condition, the effects… met his expectations for the drug.

After Luo Chengjun found out, he openly and secretly cursed him countless times as a profiteer. He said he had lost his party spirit, sold substandard medicines, and disregarded human life.

In response, He Ping'an simply retorted, leaving Luo Chengjun speechless. "The Communist Party represents the interests of the proletariat. Are those who can buy penicillin with gold truly proletarians?"

He Ping'an knew that what he had done was indeed dishonest; what he had put on the black market was 4 units of penicillin.

什幺概念呢？现在一支大多10、20万单位；而21世纪一支常规青霉素80万单位，大规格160万！

4 units can indeed cure the disease, but no one knows how many injections are needed. One injection certainly isn't enough!

The consequence of this incident was complete chaos in the penicillin market of Beiping. Penicillin dealers were ruthlessly exploited twice by He Ping'an in a short period of time, with most of them losing everything and nearly wiped out.

Of course, this didn't stop He Ping'an from making money! His penicillin business once again attracted a major buyer in October 1946, when the future North China King attacked Zhangjiakou, and our party suffered a defeat.

At Jing'an Bookstore, Luo Chengjun, with a stern face, warned He Ping'an:

"He Ping'an, I'm warning you, if you dare sell that rubbish again, I'll quit being the Party Secretary and beat you to death!"

"Okay!" He Ping'an agreed readily. At this juncture, with Lou Bancheng personally taking action, the destination of the drugs was self-evident. He was making money for the revolution; he couldn't put the cart before the horse!

"And..." Luo Chengjun added, "You probably have a general idea of ​​who Lou Zhenhua's medicines are for, so try to get the best price possible!"

"Impossible!" He Ping'an refused even more decisively this time.

"Old Luo, I understand what you mean. I can arrange to allocate more penicillin to North China; after all, it's all our own troops. But absolutely not here in Loubancheng!"

He lowered his voice.

"The sudden appearance of large quantities of penicillin in our party's troops has drawn the attention of the Kuomintang leadership, and the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics and the Customs have begun joint operations. During this period, we are seeing comrades sacrifice their lives every day to protect the penicillin transportation network!"

Luo Chengjun's expression turned serious. "I apologize, Comrade He Ping'an!"

"It's alright, their sacrifice was great!" He Ping'an waved his hand.

Luo Chengjun was unaware of this matter; he was merely the secretary of the underground Communist Party in Beiping. Strictly speaking, what He Ping'an had just said already constituted a violation of discipline.

"Giving Lou Bancheng a discount is really not an option. Not only can we not offer a discount, but we'll even have to raise prices under the pretext of strict Kuomintang audits."

Lou Bancheng is a shrewd man; lowering the price now would definitely arouse his suspicion. Penicillin is of paramount importance; we absolutely cannot gamble with a capitalist's conscience!

A heartless capitalist once said that the most important thing about architecture is location!

As night falls, the four-story French-style building in Dongjiaomin Lane is brightly lit. It's a very distinctive building, unprecedented and likely to remain so...

Since its inception, it has been under the jurisdiction of the military and police forces of six countries. Even now, with the Kuomintang being one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, security here is still maintained by the US military police.

The Six Nations Hotel, also known as the "Country within a Country"!

He Ping'an, disguised as an overseas Chinese businessman, pushed aside the menu handed to him by the waiter, casually ordered a few French dishes in fluent French, and then looked at Lou Bancheng across from him.

One wanted to buy, the other wanted to sell, and both were interested in collaborating. After a few pleasantries, their relationship quickly warmed up, and they chatted and laughed like old brothers.

I wonder what Lou Bancheng would think if he knew the visitor was He Ping'an. Anyway, he's very happy now, and taking advantage of his drunkenness, he's inquiring about He Ping'an's background.

"Brother, the government is cracking down on penicillin smuggling lately. I have some influence in the Beijing-Tianjin area, so if you need anything, just ask!"

He Ping'an, also speaking with a thick lisp, chimed in, "Red flower, white lotus root, green lotus leaf, the three religions are originally one family."

Red flower... Hongmen, white lotus root... White Lotus Sect, green lotus leaf... Green Gang!

A knowing glint flashed in Lou Bancheng's drunken eyes. The White Lotus Sect had vanished, and the Green Gang's influence wasn't enough to handle a business this large. Only the Hongmen... the Zhigongtang remained!

At the entrance of the Six Nations Hotel, the "drunk" brothers bid each other a reluctant farewell. The moment the car door closed, Lou Bancheng's hazy, drunken eyes unsurprisingly cleared.

In the rearview mirror, He Ping'an was still waving goodbye in the same spot, but his steps were unsteady, and he probably wouldn't have been able to stand up if the doorman hadn't been supporting him.

"rickshaw... rickshaw..."

A quick-thinking young man managed to get the person onto the rickshaw before the other rickshaw pullers could.

"Let's go!" He Ping'an didn't even have time to say the address before he passed out from drunkenness.

The young man looked around hesitantly, seemingly considering abandoning his VIP passenger. But seeing the gloating looks from the other rickshaw drivers, he stubbornly pulled the person away.

As they approached the vicinity of Dongcheng District, the number of pedestrians on the road became increasingly scarce. He Ping'an, who had been unconscious, suddenly opened his eyes, showing no signs of drunkenness.

"Everything is proceeding according to plan, the amount of penicillin..."

The young man pulling the cart continued to work with his head down, his voice barely audible.

"As per your previous instructions, we will allocate a portion of our supply from North China to meet Lou Bancheng's needs. The medicine should arrive in the suburbs of Beiping within two days!"

"Hmm... circle around a few more times to shake off their tails. After you go back, leave Beiping immediately and operate in Tianjin from now on!"

After speaking, He Ping'an reverted to his drunken state, letting the rickshaw weave through the alleyways. Finally, he jumped into a dark alley and disappeared into the vast night…

At Jing'an Bookstore, looking at the data in her hand, Comrade Bai Ling, a communist fighter, rarely stands up for capitalists:

"Ping An, you're going too far..."

He Ping'an naturally couldn't tell Bai Ling the truth, as that would be leaking organizational secrets. He simply adopted a conciliatory attitude towards dealing with capitalists, while simultaneously currying favor!

"Lou Bancheng's money is too good to pass up! Instead of letting him squander it, we should use it to do something meaningful! Consider it his support for the great revolutionary cause!"