Actually a rookie!
Anderson, who had wandered the streets for over twenty years, understood everything from the blank look on the other party’s face.
For a moment, Anderson wanted to slap his own face.
A gold watch, why the hell did you have to bring out a gold watch.
A gold watch is very precious!
Also precisely because of this, things like gold watches on the market can buy anything, including the extremely scarce “petrol coupons”.
Looking at this guy’s constantly changing expressions, although Li Yi’an didn’t understand what was going on with this guy, he still actively extended an invitation.
“Can I buy you a drink?”
“Buy a drink?
The quota for alcohol isn’t much.”
Anderson said in an uncertain tone.
“Even for diplomatic personnel, it’s the same.”
“Is there a pub nearby?”
Why invite this guy for a drink?
Li Yi’an certainly had his plans.
The existence of the black market implies profits and wealth.
Anyone who has bought hundred-yuan vegetable bundles understands this.
For someone who was figuring out how to strike it rich, this was akin to discovering a New Continent.
However, even a New Continent requires finding someone to ask around.
The scalper in front of him was the best candidate to understand some market conditions; there’s never any harm in that.
“…Petrol coupons, among all the coupons, the most precious are petrol coupons, because almost everyone needs petrol.
It was subjected to controls even earlier than food.
Because of controls, these controlled items like fuel and food appear on the black market, and transactions are very active.
After all, everyone needs them, and ‘petrol coupons’ are ‘hard currency’.
You can use them to exchange for everything: food, luxury watches, gold coins…”
After two glasses of long-lost whiskey went down, Anderson held nothing back, educating Li Yi’an about London’s black market transactions.
This also gave him a basic understanding of it all.
For people with “active minds”, material scarcity and the rationing system were excellent opportunities to seek illegal profits.
Shop owners could often get hold of scarce goods and sell them privately at a markup.
Black market merchants peddled everything scarce on the market in certain streets, and buyers also clearly knew the goods’ origins were illegitimate.
“…Meat, at the port, hundreds of tons of meat go missing every day.
The missing meat naturally ends up on the black market, marked up several times higher, and sold to those who need it, sir,”
Anderson said in a serious tone:
“I know, your diplomatic personnel’s quota is much higher than ordinary people.
You even have a ration of 10 packs of cigarettes a week.
But in many cases, you don’t need these, because they deliver food, cigarettes, and alcohol to your embassy by truck every week.
If we cooperate, I guarantee you can earn at least ten pounds a week.”
In Anderson’s view, this gentleman standing there in line might just be a minor figure in the embassy. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
A dozen or so pounds would surely hold some temptation for such a minor figure.
“Like this bag of food you have, you probably spent 2 pounds, but I can sell it for 4, or even 5 pounds.”
“So what are the best sellers?”
“Cigarettes, and sugar.”
Anderson said straightforwardly.
“Cigarettes must first supply the military, so there are never enough cigarettes on the market to begin with, and you need to buy them with cigarette coupons.
And those few cigarette coupons can only buy a few packs, I mean in a month.
So cigarettes are the best sellers.
As for sugar, well, who doesn’t need sugar?”
While speaking, Anderson directly shouted to the person behind the counter:
“Billy, does your wife need sugar?”
“Do you have any?”
“You see, right?
Every kitchen needs sugar.
Although we have sugar coupons, we can never buy enough sugar.”
“Why?”
“According to the newspapers, it’s because of the German submarines.
They keep sinking merchant ships.
But what is the reality?
It’s because for Downing Street, sugar, milk, meat, including tobacco, are not as important as tanks, planes, and artillery.
They wouldn’t spend precious foreign exchange on these things.
So, they just blame everything on the Germans, and let ordinary people overcome the so-called difficulties.”
Anderson took a sip of whiskey, and then said again:
“Therefore, everyone cannot do without the black market, everyone needs the black market.
Even the guys flying postal planes at the airport, they will load boxes of cigarettes onto the planes in the United States.
A pack of Lucky Strike or Camel cigarettes only costs a dozen or twenty cents in the US, but here it can be sold for at least one pound.”
“The profit is that high?
Then wouldn’t they make a lot of money in one trip?”
Anderson finally figured it out; the guy in front of him knew absolutely nothing about the black market.
“Sir, by the looks of you, you don’t understand the market conditions at all!
Great Britain has controls, and the United States also has controls, just not as strict as here.
But there are quotas too.
Those pilots flying postal planes can smuggle a few, but only a few.
If there’s more, they can’t buy them either.
Otherwise, let alone those pilots, even the sailors at the port would smuggle boxes of them.
You know, a ship is much more spacious than an airplane.
Even if the pilots want to bring more, they might not have that much space, but ships are different.
As long as they want to, they can definitely load a lot, but the problem is they can’t buy as much as they want.” This chapter is updated first at g.com.
Quotas.
So there are quotas for buying cigarettes in the US too!
You can’t just buy however much you want.
No wonder the prices are so firm.
Educated on the market information, Li Yi’an also got a piece of information from this black market peddler.
“You mean, there are planes flying from Britain to the United States?”
“Postal planes.”
Anderson explained.
“Long before the war, there were postal planes flying back and forth between Britain and the United States.
They are planes dedicated to transporting mailbags.
They fly large planes, and can even fly directly from Britain to the United States.
It’s just that, back then, who would have thought that a pack of cigarettes could earn ten times the profit?
It’s a pity they can’t buy enough cigarettes, otherwise, they would definitely fill the whole plane.”
Anderson’s sigh made Li Yi’an’s eyes light up.
He immediately realized that this might be his opportunity, and perhaps this was the real New Continent.
Calculating in his mind, Li Yi’an proactively refilled a glass of whiskey for him, spending a full 7 ration coupons.
It wasn’t until the drink was served that he asked:
“Then do you know where these postal planes land?”
“Just at the seaplane dock on the River Thames.
Who knows?
Compared to those guys, people prefer to buy things from ship sailors.
You can never imagine what sailors will smuggle: cigarettes, white sugar, coffee, etc., everything.
But…”
Since he had been treated to a drink and food, Anderson continued to educate him:
“They don’t want pounds, because pounds can’t buy anything in the US.
They want US dollars, which of course we don’t have.
But watches, cameras, and even antique furniture are their favorites.
There are shops like this everywhere at the port.
Those things can fetch a good price in the US, especially watches and cameras.
You know, those country bumpkins in the US can’t make good watches and cameras at all.
German goods and Swiss goods have always been their favorites, but now because of the war, they certainly can’t buy those things.”
Finally, after two glasses of whiskey, Anderson returned to the main business.
“Sir, do you exactly have petrol coupons or not?
I can offer a high price…”
(END CHAPTER)