Chapter Forty: The Shanghai Mantle Clock

Industrial coupons are extremely scarce in large cities; one might even need them just to have clothes custom-made. Without industrial coupons, even the wealthy are truly at their wits' end.

"Has no one asked where they came from?" Zhang Huacheng felt a stir in his heart. If no one asked, he could easily offload the remaining three hundred.

"Who asks questions at the black market? That would be like smashing one's own rice bowl. Besides, a few dozen coupons are just a drop in the bucket for a big city's black market. There are people selling hundreds, even thousands at a time—most of them are relatives of officials doing the selling, so it's no big deal," Qin Xiaodong shook his head.

The black market has its own rules; otherwise, it wouldn't be called a black market.

Zhang Huacheng walked a few steps, stopped to think, then lifted his coat, pulled out a cloth bag from inside, and shoved it into Qin Xiaodong’s hands. "Go sell these for me, but be careful—the origin of these items is unknown and carries a certain risk. As for how I got them, I don't mind telling you: just like the overcoat, I took them by force."

Feeling the weight in his hand, Qin Xiaodong jumped, quickly tucked the bag into his coat, and scanned his surroundings.

"Brother, how many are there?"

"Exactly three hundred!"

"Sss—this son of a bitch must have robbed an official!"

Qin Xiaodong winced with regret as he heard this. If he hadn't wasted time calling others over, he might have intercepted the person himself, and all these coupons would have been his.

Zhang Huacheng thought of the black briefcase, though aside from the Shanghai brand logo, it had been empty of everything but the coupons.

Returning to the morning market, Zhang Huacheng saw the fat woman looking away, her face clearly marked with red handprints—evidently the work of Qin Xiaodong.

"Brother, don't worry. From now on, no one here will dare bother you, but you have to leave on time, or they really will arrest you," Qin Xiaodong said, glaring at the fat woman before reminding Zhang Huacheng.

Zhang Huacheng cut off about five or six pounds of wolf meat and handed it to him. "Take this back to eat. Don't be a stranger."

"Alright, thanks, brother! Rest assured, even if you were caught, I’d be able to get you out!"

Qin Xiaodong accepted it happily.

Hearing this, Zhang Huacheng couldn't help but look at Qin Xiaodong and his group with newfound respect. In this era, the planned economy was the guiding form of national development. To maintain social stability, the government severely cracked down on activities that could cause unrest, including speculation and the "capitalist-roaders," with serious offenses punishable by death.

The fact that they could manage such connections surprised him greatly.

Luo Cheng stood by, helping to shout out the wares. People here knew Luo Cheng, and he was greeted by acquaintances from time to time. The meat sold rapidly.

In less than an hour, it was all gone. Zhang Huacheng glanced at the bulging cloth bag in his arms; it was already stuffed with cash.

He had truly made a fortune.

"Brother, I'm heading off now!" Qin Xiaodong patted his chest, signaling the industrial coupons; he was off to sell them.

"Wait, help me ask around to see who has a mantle clock. New or second-hand is fine; if not, a wristwatch will do too." Zhang Huacheng wanted a mantle clock. He had only learned today that Wang Lin hadn't been sleeping at night for the past two days, just waiting to wake him up for fear of oversleeping. A mantle clock would chime the time, whereas a wristwatch would not.

"Ah?" Qin Xiaodong’s expression turned odd as he looked at Luo Cheng.

Luo Cheng was overjoyed. "Brother, I have one! I have a Shanghai mantle clock, brand new, just a few scuffs from being dropped. If you want it, 120 yuan will do—no, 110 yuan for you!"

A Shanghai mantle clock in the department store cost 120 yuan, but it required a coupon, making it impossible to buy with just money. His had been dropped, and several potential buyers had found it too expensive, so it had never sold.