Siheyuan: Traveling through three years to gain the power of a palm

Chapter 223 Initial Transaction

He Yushui disagreed with the name He Zhaodi, but she had no say as Yang Shufen was very determined.

After having a child, Sha Zhu also experienced the life Xu Damao had. If it weren't for He Yushui and Yang Ergou who worked tirelessly to take care of the child, Sha Zhu would probably have aged a few years.

Even so, Sha Zhu was tormented a lot and always looked sleepy at work every day.

In the blink of an eye, it was the twelfth month of the 60th year.

The city, which should have been bustling, was a bit desolate, with no trace of the lively atmosphere of the New Year in the past.

On the eve of the New Year, Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui took the lead in convening a meeting of the people in the courtyard to discuss the issues of celebrating the New Year this year.

"The Chinese New Year is coming soon. Lao Liu and I would like to wish everyone a happy new year. We hope that everyone will have smooth sailing and all the best in the coming year."

Yan Bugui stood up and bowed.

Everyone responded to him one by one in a very respectful manner.

"I called everyone here this time, not to hold a meeting, but to ask everyone what plans they have for the New Year."

Everyone stared at each other, what were they planning?

In the courtyard, apart from the more affluent Jiang and Xu families, the others were ordinary families. The better-off ones all had urban hukou (household registration) and one or two employed workers. The less fortunate ones, a family of five, had only one urban hukou and one employed worker.

"Uncle Yan, what plans do we have? We'll be lucky if we can have a bowl of dumplings this year."

"Yeah, this year is so bad, let alone dumplings, I'd be lucky if I could just have enough to eat at the New Year's Eve dinner."

"Well, we're doing pretty well in the city. The situation in the countryside is even worse. My cousin's family can barely make ends meet."

Everyone started talking about their family's difficulties. In a nutshell, they had no money and no food, and this year would be difficult.

At this time, Yan Bugui laughed and stood up to tell everyone, "Listen to me, neighbors. We have been trading with them in the black market recently, and we have established a good relationship with them. When I went there yesterday, the people in the black market said they had some pork and white flour and wanted to see if we could eat them. If we can, they will sell it to us at a lower price. Now I come to ask what you think."

As soon as Yan Bugui finished speaking, the crowd became noisy.

Some of them hadn't eaten pork or flour in ages. It wasn't that they couldn't afford pork or flour without coupons, but everyone knew the current situation wouldn't change until at least July or August of next year. Even those who did have meat coupons had mostly exchanged them for grain coupons.

After discussion, only a few families were unwilling to participate, including the Jiang and Xu families.

"Jiang Daniu, Xu Damao, are you sure you don't want to buy together with everyone else? Meat is not cheap on the black market right now. We can save some money if we buy together."

Yan Bugui said that he was not being kind-hearted, but he could get some kickbacks from it.

"No need, we can just wait until the factory pays wages and buy it with meat coupons." Jiang Daniu said in a muffled voice.

Xu Damao also nodded in support, as he had always been with the Jiang family. The other two families also said they didn't need it.

"Okay then, if you're willing to join, let's go to my house to register." Yi Zhonghai suddenly stood up and greeted everyone.

Seeing this, those who did not participate went home.

Xu Damao pulled Jiang Fan out to go to the bathroom.

"What do you think Yi Zhonghai and the others are up to? Are they trying to harm us again?" Xu Damao said nervously.

Jiang Fan glanced at the messy hair on his forehead. Xu Xiao was a real troublemaker. Even with several people caring for him, Xu Damao was still quite troubled. Furthermore, he had been nearly diagnosed with infertility, and his care for Xu Xiao was even more intense, which also caused him considerable mental stress.

"There aren't so many conspiracies and tricks. Maybe they have a change of heart and want everyone to have a good New Year."

"I feel like those three aren't the ones. I have to be careful, and so do you."

Kaba sounded.

Xu Damao's eyes went dark and he fainted.

"You are so mentally exhausted, you should have a good rest." Send Xu Damao home.

As Jiang Fan passed by the central courtyard on his way back to his house, he glanced at the brightly lit Yi Zhonghai's house. He had no idea what Yi Zhonghai and his group were up to, so he decided to take it one step at a time.

At Yi Zhonghai's home, the neighbors were counting on their fingers to calculate how much meat they needed to buy. At this moment, their calculation ability was comparable to that of Yan Bugui in normal state.

Yan Bugui sat by the bed, drinking hot water with a faint smile on his face. The black market people would not provide them with cheap supplies for no reason; this was all earned by him.

Or perhaps he and the people they were dealing with on the black market had reached an agreement, and together they were making some extra money without Yi Zhonghai's knowledge. Perhaps the extra money wasn't much at a time, but if it happened frequently, it would still be a significant income.

For Yan Bugui, who is good at calculating, even if he can save a dollar, it is worth it.

After getting the statistics from the neighbors, Yan Bugui smiled happily. The people in the courtyard weren't rich, but this was a major event that only happened once a year, and everyone was willing to spend money just to enjoy a bowl of dumplings. It's not impossible that some people thought the meat was cheap and wanted to buy more.

"Let's go over there tonight and make an appointment. We'll bring the meat back tomorrow and everyone will have a happy New Year."

At this moment, everyone's face is filled with happy smiles. The Chinese New Year is a very special event for the people in this land.

Jiang Fan put on his makeup and followed Yan Bugui and the other two to the black market. He wanted to see what the trio was up to, and also to see what those old and young people looked like now. Chinese New Year was coming up, and these people would definitely buy a lot of goodies just to save face.

After seeing Yan Bugui and his companions only discussing business in that store from the moment they entered the black market to the moment they left, Jiang Fan felt a bit more at ease. It was New Year's Day, and he didn't want to cause trouble for others in the middle of the night. Proof of absence was difficult to come by.

After watching Yan Bugui and the others leave, Jiang Fan found an old man with ease.

Don’t ask how you can tell, it’s your temperament.

After he explained that he had a batch of high-quality meat and noodles, the man's fear of being dragged into the alley by Jiang Fan immediately disappeared, replaced by a warm smile and a hint of doubt.

However, this trace of doubt completely disappeared after Jiang Fan opened the two cloth bags in his hands.

"My name is Ye Shu. May I know your name?"

"My name is Ji Bochang."

"Uh, nice name."

Ye Shu didn't waste any words, but directly asked Jiang Fan how much rice and flour he had.

"If you want it tomorrow, 100 kilograms of rice and flour. If you wait two days, we can get more, but the maximum is 300 kilograms."

"I want both. Let's hold hands."

Chapter 224 Ye Shu

After the transaction, both Jiang Fan and Ye Shu smiled with satisfaction.

They both got what they wanted, one provided fine food to keep these old folks respectable, and the other provided antique gold to fill their pockets.

After the two men had discussed it, they left the black market separately.

Jiang Fan could feel someone following him.

At the corner, a big hand pressed down on the head of a middle-aged man in his forties with lightning speed.

The man felt as if his head was inside a loud bell, buzzing. His eyes instantly became blurred and he passed out.

Jiang Fan sneered and looked at the man lying on the ground. He began to grope and took out a pistol from the man's waist.

"Haha. People in this world are really not as they used to be."

Jiang Fan flexed his wrist and clamped one hand around the man's neck. With a muffled thud, the man's head tilted and he died.

Jiang Fan didn't know whether this person was sent by Ye Shu or he saw their transaction and wanted to take advantage of it, but he was carrying a gun, so he was doomed!

Jiang Fan waved his hand, and the corpse on the ground disappeared instantly.

Meanwhile, Ye Shu, carrying 30 kilograms of rice, emerged from the black market with a smile on his face. As descendants of the former Eight Banners, their lives weren't exactly easy.

After decades of turmoil, many of them became paupers or even extinct. Only a small number of them managed to save some property and survive, and their family was one of them.

After liberation, Ye Shu's grandfather did not accept that the peasants he once looked down upon enjoyed the same rights as him. He still treated others with a condescending attitude. As a result, he was reported for attempting feudal restoration and was imprisoned.

His father was poisoned to death by his wives because he could not make a choice among his many wives and concubines. Then these wives divided up the gold, silver and treasures and ran away.

At this point, he was the only child left in their family, along with some cold, golden antiques.

Although he had no job, Ye Shu had enough food and clothing thanks to the things left by his family.

But now, in the years of great disaster, it was difficult to maintain his previous life, especially since he was married to a respectable royal descendant. In order to maintain a decent life and not lose face in front of others, he had to sell antiques in exchange for fine grains.

However, Ye Shu was not one of those ignorant dandies. He had some knowledge of antiques. It was unlikely that someone would trade something worth a fortune for two roast chickens.

He went to the black market today to buy more things. Firstly, it was the New Year and these Eight Banners descendants always had to get together and compete with each other. Secondly, his wife was pregnant and needed nutritional supplements.

But as soon as he went to the black market, he was stopped and given absolutely high-quality food. How could he not be happy? To what extent was he happy? A big black scorpion was lying on his back, and he didn't feel a bit.

A few minutes later, Jiang Fan arrived at Ye Shu's home based on the Black Scorpion's whereabouts.

Lifting a tile, Jiang Fan began to eavesdrop on the conversation between Ye Shu and his wife.

"Wife, you know what? Today I... I swear, this is the biggest deal of fine grain on the black market. We might not be able to finish it all. Tomorrow I'll go find others and see if they want it."

Ye Shu shared his joy with Jin Xiuer.

Unlike Ye Shu's joy, Jin Xiu'er was a little worried. She looked at the rice Ye Shu brought back. There was nothing wrong with the rice. Each grain was round, crystal clear and plump, the quality of which would have been tribute in the past.

But that was precisely why she was worried. She was worried that Ye Shu might have been scammed. Not to mention that rice of this quality was rare, even hundreds of kilograms of ordinary rice was not something that most people could afford.

"Brother Shu, aren't you afraid that the other party might have problems? Hundreds of kilograms of high-quality grain and meat are not something that ordinary people can get. And the price he offered is too fair."

Jin Xiuer's words also calmed Ye Shu down. He was usually a cautious person, but this time the surprise was so big that he seemed to have lost his mind.

As soon as he woke up, his forehead was instantly covered with cold sweat.

"But we've already set a date. The transaction will take place on the 27th. If we don't go, it will be difficult for us to find someone on the black market who can sell such a large amount of high-quality grain."

Ye Shu had been roaming the black market for a few days. There were people selling rice and flour, but the quantity was small and the quality was average. It was good food for ordinary people, but for people like them, it was still a little lacking.

The food that Jiang Fan took out was truly top-quality, something that even their family had rarely seen before.

On the rooftop, Jiang Fan was speechless. He had never imagined the farm's food would be so good. While he knew there were differences between different types of food, this was the first time he'd heard the difference was so great. He had originally thought the farm's food was just a little more flavorful. Who could have imagined it would be so good?

My family, who understands? There are people who are doubted because their products are too good.

Shaking his head, Jiang Fan continued to inquire. He was now certain that the person who attacked him was not sent by Ye Shu, so they could continue the transaction. However, it depended on whether Ye Shu had the courage. If he did, perhaps he could ask Ye Shu to help him with his business on the black market.

Ye Shu did not disappoint Jiang Fan. He looked at the rice he brought back, then looked at Jin Xiuer, gritted his teeth and decided to take a risk.

Beat a fight, bike change bike!

"Xiu'er, tomorrow I'll go find your brother and the others and ask them to bring their weapons with me to trade. If all goes well, I'll try to connect with this person. That person can get so much rice, so I think he can also get some other rare items. I'll try to buy some back for you to replenish your body."

"Brother Shu~"

Jiang Fan put the tile back to its original place. He was not interested in watching others show their affection.

Back at the courtyard, Jiang Fan began to consider the possibility of asking Ye Shu to work for him. He wanted to take advantage of the past two years to collect antiques and gold, and his first target would definitely be those old and young people who claimed to be noble and refused to work.

Jiang Fan couldn't go to the black market every day to look for the old and young, the risk was too great. So he had to find a middleman to do this, preferably one of the old and young, and preferably someone who knew a little about antiques.

He originally wanted to ask Xu Damao to do this, but now he decided to give up.

In exchange, Jiang Fan could offer almost any tradable item in the world, as long as the price was paid. To be frank, Jiang Fan alone could support the entire pigeon market and black market in the entire Forty-Nine City.

The power of the system is awesome!

Chapter 225: The First Transaction

The twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month.

Jiang Fan arrived at the agreed location an hour early, hiding in the shadows and observing everything. As the saying goes, one must be wary of others, but one must also have two intentions to harm others.

More than half an hour later, Ye Shu came here with seven or eight people.

Although it was night, Jiang Fan could clearly see that four of them had weapons on their waists. Jiang Fan didn't think they were sticks or anything like that. Even in 20 or 30 years, if two villages were fighting, they would still be able to pull out artillery.

"Brother-in-law, can you do it yourself? Otherwise, I will stay here with you to trade with him to avoid any accidents." said a big man wearing a hat.

"No need, second brother. Just wait over there." Ye Shu refused. He knew that his second brother was worried that the other party would not abide by martial ethics and launch a sneak attack.

"Second brother, wait over there with the gold bars. I've made an agreement with him. I'll give you a signal once I see the food."

"Okay, be careful." Jin Kang took out a pistol and handed it to Ye Shu for self-defense.

Ye Shu was also nervous, as it was his first time conducting such a large-scale transaction.

Time passed by minute by minute.

Ye Shu was a little anxious. The time was almost up, but he still hadn't seen Jiang Fan.

At this moment, Jiang Fan had knocked out the person who came with Ye Shu and took away the gun.