“Don’t tell me you’re selling them on the black market?” Lin Ruxia probed.
“How did you know?” Yu Minzhi was a bit surprised. Lin Ruxia shouldn’t have known about the black market—if she did, she wouldn’t have kept coming to the supply and marketing cooperative. The black market had all sorts of goods, including many beautiful clothes. Yu Minzhi had even tested the original owner before, and she really knew very little about it—she didn’t even know the black market here existed. Although she often came to town, she only frequented a few places.
“Of course I have my own sources,” Lin Ruxia said casually. “But I don’t know where the black market in this town is. I can sell you these twenty dresses for ten feet of fabric coupons, sixty yuan, twenty jin of grain coupons, three industrial coupons, and two meat coupons—but you have to tell me about the black market.”
That price was already quite cheap. The original owner spent about twenty yuan plus five feet of fabric coupons for just one dress. Money wasn’t the main issue—fabric coupons were.
The original owner’s husband only received one foot of fabric coupons per month—twelve feet a year. Since he knew she liked dresses, he even traded grain coupons for more fabric coupons, allowing her to buy about five dresses a year. The family’s food mainly came from the work points earned by the Song family and half the money they handed to the parents.
“…Alright,” Yu Minzhi thought for a moment and agreed. “I can tell you about the black market, but you mustn’t tell anyone—especially not the Red Guards. Are you planning to browse, buy, or sell?”
“What’s the difference?” Lin Ruxia asked curiously.
“Of course there’s a difference,” Yu Minzhi explained. “The black market has its own management. Sellers are strictly monitored. If you sell there regularly, it’s fine. But newcomers are watched closely to prevent leaks. If you’re only selling once, you hand your goods to the boss and let him sell for you. If you have a long-term supply, you can make a deal with the boss and sell there yourself.”
“How do you prove you have a long-term supply?” Lin Ruxia asked. She had her “mall,” but couldn’t reveal where her goods came from.
“There are three ways: reveal your source, provide your identity, or hand over a large quantity of goods,” Yu Minzhi said. “For buyers, it’s simpler—you just need someone familiar to bring you in. If you only want to look around, you’ll need a guide and pay them something.”
“What counts as a ‘large quantity’?” Lin Ruxia asked, already considering the black market as a future source of income. After all, selling goods was the only real way to make money now—and she had more than a dozen children to raise.
Yu Minzhi hesitated. She had always thought Lin Ruxia was just an ordinary educated youth—at most, someone who would go there to buy things. But seeing her serious expression, she replied, “For grain, about ten thousand jin. For cloth, about a hundred bolts. I’m not sure about other items—few people choose this method.”
Lin Ruxia immediately felt that the black market in Quan’an Town was quite reliable. She even became curious about meeting its boss.
“I want to meet the boss. Can you take me there?” she asked.
“Yes—but we need to hurry. The market is open from 6 to 10 in the morning and 3 to 6 in the afternoon. It’s already 9:40—it’ll close soon,” Yu Minzhi said, reaching for the bag of clothes.
“Wait.” Lin Ruxia opened the sack and took out a small pouch similar to the one she used for money. Inside were several well-known watches from the 70s and 80s—brands like Omega, Rolex, and Piaget—about ten in total. These would cost four to five hundred yuan each at the cooperative.
Yu Minzhi didn’t dare ask what was inside, only hearing a faint clinking sound. She handed over the money and coupons for the clothes.
“Can my children stay at your house for now?” Lin Ruxia asked.
“Sure,” Yu Minzhi agreed.
“Dabao, can you three wait here for Mom? I’ll go somewhere and come back to pick you up.”
Since the situation at the black market was unclear, Lin Ruxia didn’t want to take risks.
“Mom, how long will you be gone?” Sanbao suddenly became nervous, afraid she might abandon them like another mother in the village once did.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be back in about an hour. If I’m not back in an hour and a half, take this money and go to where we got off the bus, or find a police officer, okay?” She handed them one yuan and a pack of milk candies. “If you’re hungry, eat these.”
She knew their fears, but had no better option.
“We’ll wait here. Come back quickly,” Dabao said, pulling Sanbao’s hand.
“Don’t leave the courtyard before I return, understand?”
“Got it!”
“Let’s go,” Lin Ruxia said to Yu Minzhi.
“The place isn’t far,” Yu Minzhi said as they walked out. “If things go smoothly, we’ll be back in half an hour.”
They stopped at a closed house. Yu Minzhi knocked four times in a rhythmic pattern. The door opened, and an old woman appeared.
“Who are you looking for?” she asked.
“Not looking for anyone—I’d like to borrow some vinegar. Is that alright?” Yu Minzhi replied.
“What?”
“Vinegar,” she repeated several times.
“Oh, vinegar. How much?”
“Two jin.”
“Come in.”
Lin Ruxia was baffled—what kind of code was that?
Inside, a middle-aged man looked at them. “Why did you bring someone?”
“Brother Qi, this is a friend of mine. She wants to meet the boss,” Yu Minzhi said.
“You here to sell? Long-term supply?” he asked, scrutinizing Lin Ruxia.
“I have a batch of goods. Not sure if it qualifies,” she replied calmly.
“The boss is at the market. I’ll take you there.”
He led them into a room, pressed a hidden switch, and the bed slid aside—revealing a small elevator.
After they stepped inside, he handed Lin Ruxia a black cloth. Though surprised at such advanced technology for the era, she obediently covered her eyes.
When the elevator doors opened, the sounds of bargaining and shouting filled the air. Her blindfold was removed.
What she saw was astonishing—a vast underground market, brightly lit with electric lights, filled with people in all kinds of clothing. It stretched as far as the eye could see.
“You go with Brother Qi to meet the boss. I’ll look around. We’ll meet here in half an hour,” Yu Minzhi said.
“Alright.”
Brother Qi quietly observed Lin Ruxia. She wasn’t shocked or overly excited—only mildly curious. He concluded she wasn’t an ordinary person.
“Please, this way,” he said, gesturing.
They walked past several stalls and arrived at a larger shop filled with jade items.
“Boss! Someone from above wants to be a supplier!” Brother Qi called out.
Inside, a pale young man in gold-rimmed glasses, carefully polishing a jade bracelet, spoke without even looking up:
“Oh? What kind of goods? Don’t tell me it’s more second-hand dresses.”
Brother Qi scratched his head awkwardly. “This time it’s different. She says she has a large batch.”
Lin Ruxia realized he wasn’t as shrewd as he appeared.
“I have ten thousand jin of rice,” she said directly.