After the mother and daughter cleaned the rooftop, they were covered in dust and decided to go to the bathhouse on Fendou Road for a bath, and then bring dinner back for everyone from the state-run restaurant on Fendou Road.
Chen Lan greeted Xu Mingxuan and Er Zhuang, and then rode her bicycle to Fendou Road with Jiahui, carrying the lunch boxes.
After the mother and daughter had a comfortable bath, they rode their bikes with rosy cheeks to the Fendou State-run Restaurant. Chen Lan secured a table for a while and as soon as she sat down, she prepared to take out money, grain coupons, and meat tickets from her pocket for Jiahui to queue up and buy food. It was then that Chen Lan realized she didn't have many grain coupons left, and especially not many meat tickets.
So, she gave the money, grain coupons, and meat tickets to Jiahui to queue up. Chen Lan already had a plan in mind. She decided to take advantage of Er Zhuang still being in Harbin today and could act as a lookout with Xu Mingxuan at the black market. Thus, she planned to go to the black market again tonight after dark to trade another batch of supplies with Brother Hu, to exchange for more money and tickets for Xu Mingxuan and Er Zhuang to use in the future. It also happened that Er Zhuang was returning to Jiamusi tomorrow, so he could carry more money and tickets for his own safety.
Everyone finished dinner merrily. After the couple saw off Old Man Zhang and his two sons, as well as Old Man Zhang's second brother and his apprentices, Chen Lan informed Xu Mingxuan and Er Zhuang about her plan to go to the black market again tonight to deliver goods.
Xu Mingxuan and Er Zhuang did not object upon hearing this. They both felt that since Brother Hu, who dealt in the black market, lived not too far from the Renmin Hotel, and the delivery location was at the Beifang Building in the Nangang District, they would not be delayed from returning to the hotel to sleep after this transaction.
So, Chen Lan took out the disguises that everyone had used during their previous black market trips from the system warehouse, and let everyone take their respective items to prepare their disguises separately.
Chen Lan and Jiahui took their items and planned to go upstairs together to disguise themselves, while Xu Mingxuan, Er Zhuang, and the other men stayed downstairs on the first floor to disguise themselves.
Chen Lan saw that the house was rather dark, so she left them a miner's hat for lighting, and then took Jiahui's hand and went up to the third floor.
Everything went very smoothly. When Jiayao brought Chen Lan and Jiahui to stand before Brother Hu, Brother Hu was full of surprise. He repeatedly said, "Monkey, quickly invite our distinguished guests to sit, quickly serve tea. Serve the new tea I just got this year – Yiqian Longjing."
Jiayao put on a stern face and said in a low voice, "No need. We don't drink tea. Let's get straight to business now!" After speaking, he turned his head to look at Chen Lan.
Upon receiving the signal from Jiayao, Chen Lan immediately understood and said, "Brother Hu, let's be frank. We have gotten another batch of good goods, and it just arrived in Harbin today. We had dealings with you, Brother Hu, last time and found you to be quite righteous, principled, and you don't cheat outsiders. So, we wish to befriend you, Brother Hu. We are not just talking empty words; we have come with sincerity this time. That is, we can spare some of this batch of goods for you, and you can pick and choose whatever you want. Whatever you want today, we will supply you today. Let this be a token of our sincerity! What do you think, Brother Hu?"
Brother Hu looked at Chen Lan and was quite disbelieving. So, he asked, "Young lady, you truly will supply me with whatever goods I want?"
Chen Lan calmly nodded and replied, "Since our boss has entrusted me to make the decisions, then I can make them. Brother Hu, I can guarantee you now that as long as it is in our batch of goods, whatever you, Brother Hu, ask for, we will absolutely not haggle today."
Upon hearing Chen Lan say this, Brother Hu only believed about seventy to eighty percent, but he still felt like he had hit the jackpot. So, he asked, "Then tell me, what are your specific requirements this time?"
Chen Lan's face remained expressionless as she replied, "Brother Hu, you are a straightforward person. We explained to you last time that we are not from Harbin, and we travel all over the country with a group of brothers to transport goods, so we need a lot of grain and meat tickets. Our goal today is the same as last time, which is to exchange for more national meat and grain tickets. We can also accept some local Harbin tickets."
After listening to Chen Lan, Brother Hu completely believed what she said. He thought to himself that it was indeed true. Doing such large business, one certainly needs to support a group of brothers, and the overall expenses are not small. Coupled with traveling all over the country, one needs to prepare plenty of national grain tickets.
Moreover, wasn't he looking for them to get goods? He had searched several black markets but couldn't find any trace of them. He didn't expect them to come to him proactively today.
With this thought, Brother Hu no longer doubted whether Chen Lan's words were true or false. Sudan Novel Network.
Then, he immediately seized the opportunity to state his requirements. He said, "To be honest, someone has ordered a batch of goods from me, and I've been trying to get them from you these past few days. I sent people to search all the black markets in Harbin but couldn't find you."
Chen Lan saw that he had been talking for a long time without getting to the main point, so she interrupted him and asked, "Brother Hu, what exactly do you want this time? Tell us, if we have the goods you want in this batch, we still need time to prepare."
Brother Hu reached out and touched his nose and said, "I'll be honest with you. The people above me want me to find a way to get a batch of good quality rice, Fúqiáng flour, and cooking oil. I don't know if you have these items in your batch."
Chen Lan nodded and replied, "Yes. How much do you each want? Do you need anything else? Mention it all together."
Brother Hu truly felt like he had hit the jackpot this time, so he said without hesitation, "Fúqiáng flour, twenty thousand jin. Rice, twenty thousand jin. Rapeseed oil, five thousand jin. Pork, two thousand jin. For other items like enamel basins, flashlights, and thermos flasks, you can decide. And for those bottles and jars from last time, two hundred of each."
Chen Lan nodded and replied expressionlessly, "Agreed. The price will be the same as last time. Oil is one yuan and fifty cents per jin, Fúqiáng flour is also one yuan and fifty cents per jin, rice is one yuan and seventy cents per jin, and pork is two yuan per jin. These four items total seventy-five thousand five hundred yuan. For other items, we'll give you ten thousand yuan worth of goods. This makes the total for the goods eighty-five thousand five hundred yuan. You will give us eighty-five thousand yuan in cash and five hundred yuan in grain and meat tickets. Brother Hu, do you have any issues with this arrangement?"