The War of Resistance: From Overseas Chinese Mechanics to King of Nanyang

The Kunming black market was a distorted market born out of the shortage of wartime supplies and rent-seeking by those in power. It was mainly centered around Jinrilou, Nanping Street, and Wujiaba, and its backers were a multi-layered network of local military, political, business and special agents.

In addition to the Central Army, the garrison also included the local Yunnan Army, the air force stationed at the airport, and local intelligence agencies, forming a very complex military structure.

The goods traded in each black market are different. For example, the current Jinrilou mainly deals in daily necessities such as grain, oil, salt, and vinegar. The prices are generally three to ten times higher than the official prices. During the day, it is no different from a normal market, but at night, it becomes unusually active.

All of this knowledge was learned by Huang Zurong from books he bought from the Pindi system, which also contained professional trading terminology.

For example, the person in front of him was a black market errand boy. He came up to Huang Zurong, looked him up and down, and then spoke.

"A caravan driver? (referring specifically to overseas Chinese mechanics) wants rice?"

Upon hearing this, Huang Zurong glanced at the other person and realized that keen eyesight was indeed crucial for surviving in the black market.

"Fine white, if it's mixed with (gold/opium), can you handle it?" Huang Zurong asked in a deep voice.

The "fine white" he mentioned refers to high-quality fine salt (fine grains, white color), which commands a high price on the black market. It is usually more than twice the price of smuggled salt, and can even be more expensive when there is a market shortage.

"How much?" The man asked casually without even lifting his eyelids. To him, these cart drivers weighed at most three to five kilograms, a small amount he could eat with his eyes closed, which is why he seemed so calm.

Upon hearing this, Huang Zurong was somewhat surprised at his good luck. How could he have encountered such a powerful person at random?

"About 100 jin..." After thinking for a moment, Huang Zurong gave a number. Based on his current balance, he could probably still buy about 700 or 800 jin.

Before he came, he had thought about how to maximize profits, and after thinking it over, it seemed that only salt had the highest profit margin.

Other items, such as grain, could also generate some profit, but the profit was too small for him to be interested in, unless he sold them on a large scale, in which case there would be a lot of profit. However, he still knew the saying that "a common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime," so after thinking it over, he decided that salt was the most suitable option.

According to his understanding, the price difference between salt on the black market and the official price is nearly five times. This is just smuggled salt, the lowest quality kind. Refined salt would be even more expensive.

"How much?" The man thought he had misheard and repeated it subconsciously.

"One hundred jin." Huang Zurong suddenly felt a little insecure. Had he underestimated the weight? Was the other person really that strong?

This time, the man couldn't hold back any longer and carefully examined Huang Zurong, wanting to see clearly whether this guy was deliberately making fun of him.

"Is there a problem?" Huang Zurong frowned slightly, a hint of dissatisfaction in his voice, as he felt a little uncomfortable being stared at.

"Hey buddy, are you kidding me? A hundred catties of fine white wine? Do you even know how much that is? Have you ever seen it?" The man's words were full of sneer. Clearly, he didn't believe the other party really had that much. If it were two or three catties, he might believe it, but a hundred catties? Don't be ridiculous. That's almost a quarter of the daily transaction volume of the real estate market recently.

Before Gongguo Bridge and Huitong Bridge were bombed, the daily trading volume of fine white wine was about 1,000 kilograms. After that, the trading volume plummeted to less than half, and now it is even less.

So when someone tells you they have 100 jin of fine white wine, and that they're not from the "salt rat" or "military gang," they're definitely a liar. That's why the man got excited.

Normally, fine salt transactions are mainly small-batch retail sales, with each transaction consisting of one to five jin (approximately 2.5 to 2.5 kg).

Hearing this, Huang Zurong almost laughed out of anger. It's just a hundred catties of refined salt? Haven't you ever seen it before?

The rumors spread twice in later generations that his family had stockpiled over a thousand catties of salt, which they still hadn't finished eating by the time he transmigrated. They estimated it would last them another ten or eight years. A mere hundred catties? Who do they think they are?

"Really?" The man looked at Huang Zurong's expression and felt that he wasn't lying to him. After all, he didn't have any goods on hand, so he didn't have much confidence in his words. Moreover, Huang Zurong's identity as a car dealer also dispelled a lot of doubts.

"Nonsense, if I had no goods, would I be so bored as to come to Jinri Tower?" Huang Zurong finally understood that people can really laugh when they are speechless.

If the other party said 10,000 catties of fine salt, he might not actually have it, but a mere 100 catties is nothing.

Now it was the other party's turn to panic, because they usually didn't encounter any large-scale business here, and suddenly they encountered a big client, and they didn't know what to do for a moment.

"Can you take it? If not, I'll find someone else." Seeing that the other party remained silent for a long time, Huang Zurong frowned slightly. He had originally thought that the other party could take the goods, but now it seemed that he had been thinking too much.

Thinking of this, he had already decided to find someone else. Just as he was about to turn around, another voice came.

"I can accept it, but I need to inspect the goods."

"Okay, please. I only want gold, not fiat currency (the black market doesn't accept it)." Huang Zurong nodded and stated his requirements.

Upon hearing that only yellow goods were required and not cash, the other party frowned, clearly finding this difficult. After all, a hundred catties of fine white wine required a considerable amount of yellow goods, which he couldn't produce in a short time. If it were cash, he could try to borrow it.

"Small-scale peddler?" Huang Zurong noticed the other person's embarrassed expression and immediately understood that this was someone who only dared to do small-batch retail on the black market and dared not touch large-scale transactions. On the one hand, he had no backing, and on the other hand, he had no funds.

Upon hearing this, the man's face darkened. He wanted to refute it, but what the other party said was true, and he stood there stunned for a moment.

Just when he thought he was about to miss out on this deal, he suddenly heard another sentence.

"Don't you want to become a big business? With your small-scale operations, when will you ever get rich? You probably can't even support a woman with this little bit of business."

"What do you want to say?" The man's face darkened. Although his business was insignificant in the eyes of those hard goods dealers, it was enough to support himself and even allow him to relax at "Little Abode" occasionally.

As for keeping women? It's not that he can't, but it's too much trouble, and that's exactly what he hates.

Such a life, in the context of Kunming, is definitely more comfortable than that of the lower class, yet it is considered insignificant in the eyes of the other party.

However, considering that the other party can produce hundreds of kilograms of fine white wine at once, they are indeed qualified to say that.

"I'll give you a chance. Work for me. In three months at most, I guarantee you'll become the boss," Huang Zurong said confidently. He also knew that the other party would definitely not refuse. After all, if you're in the black market, who wouldn't want to grow bigger and stronger?

"I'll think about it." The man was silent for a moment, and did not agree immediately.

"Okay, I'll show you the goods first, but before that, I need to know your name," Huang Zurong asked, looking at the other person.

"Chen Amao".