Li Jianmin stood rooted to the spot.
His eyes widened as he stared at the pile of supplies laid neatly on the floor of Li Shuying's room. For a long moment, he could only look in stunned silence, as if his mind had temporarily stopped working.
It took him quite some time before he finally managed to speak.
"You… you're planning to sell all of this at the black market tomorrow?"
His voice carried both disbelief and anxiety.
Li Shuying calmly nodded.
"Yes."
She gestured lightly toward the goods before continuing,
"I'm planning to sell them at the early morning black market on the outskirts that Uncle Zhang mentioned last time."
Li Jianmin immediately recalled the place she was referring to.
That market was hidden along the old East River Road, on the outskirts of Taonan County.
Li Shuying continued explaining in a low voice.
"We'll have to wake up very early tomorrow."
"According to Uncle Zhang, the market closes before dawn."
"So we must get there as soon as possible."
Li Jianmin nodded slowly, but his expression remained uneasy.
Earlier they had only dealt with white radishes, which was just a common vegetables and not particularly valuable.
But now…
His gaze swept across the supplies again.
There were eggs, chicken, corn flour, and even sweet potatoes.
With so much food, their household could survive for more than a month.
The thought of selling them made his chest tighten slightly.
But he knew these supplies had been taken with the intention of selling them.
Their family simply could not afford to keep such valuable goods for themselves.
Suddenly, another thought struck him.
"How much did all of this cost?"
Li Shuying paused for a brief moment before answering.
"It cost me fifteen yuan."
Of course, that was a lie.
The supplies had come from her system space.
Li Jianmin sucked in a sharp breath.
"Fifteen yuan?!"
His eyes widened even further.
"That expensive?"
He rubbed his forehead anxiously.
"Why did you take goods worth so much money? What if we can't sell them?"
His voice grew increasingly worried.
"How are we supposed to repay the money then?"
Li Shuying sighed inwardly.
If only she could tell her third brother the truth—that these supplies had not cost her a single coin.
But that was impossible.
So she maintained her calm expression and continued with the lie.
"Third Brother," she said patiently, "just look at what we have here."
She picked up one of the eggs and held it between her fingers.
"Eggs… chicken… corn flour."
She looked up at him confidently.
"In times like these, do you really think anyone would let such goods slip through their fingers? Don't worry. We will definitely sell everything."
Her calm confidence gradually soothed Li Jianmin's nerves.
Although he still felt somewhat uneasy, he trusted his younger sister more than anyone else.
Finally, he nodded.
Just then Li Shuying lowered her voice again.
"And make sure you wake up early tomorrow. Also…"
Her tone became slightly more serious.
"Don't alert Second Brother. No one must find out about this."
She paused briefly before adding,
"If Elder Brother or Second Brother knew what we were doing, they would never allow us to get involved in something so… shady."
Li Jianmin gave a helpless smile.
"That's true."
He stretched slightly and said,
"In that case, I should go to bed early..Otherwise we won't be able to wake up before dawn."
With that, he quietly left Li Shuying's room.
Outside, night had already fallen.
The village lay beneath a blanket of darkness.
There were no streetlights along the rural roads, only the faint glow of kerosene lamps flickering from scattered houses.
Yet Li Jianhua was still nowhere to be seen.
Chen Meilan had begun to grow restless.
She walked over to Li Jianguo, her brows tightly knit with worry.
"Why is your elder brother so late today? Did he say what he had to do in the county?"
Li Jianguo shook his head.
"He only told us he had something to take care of and then went his own way."
He frowned slightly.
"To be honest, I'm starting to worry too."
He glanced toward the dark road outside.
"It's already night. The road between the county and the village has no lights at all. It's not very safe to travel this late."
Chen Meilan immediately spoke with concern.
"Should we go to Brigade Leader Liu and borrow the electric flashlight? Then we can go look for him ourselves."
Li Jianguo hesitated.
He was worried about his elder brother as well.
But after a moment he firmly shook his head.
"No, Mother. I can't risk your safety."
He forced himself to sound calm.
"Let's wait a little longer. Elder Brother has walked back from the county alone many times before at night. He will be fine."
Despite his words, Chen Meilan still could not relax.
She stepped outside and stood at the entrance of the courtyard.
Back and forth she paced slowly, her anxious gaze fixed on the narrow dirt road leading to their home.
When Li Shuying and Li Jianmin came out of the house and saw their mother standing there anxiously, they immediately walked over.
"What happened?" Li Shuying asked.
Li Jianguo explained everything in a low voice.
Hearing this, both Li Shuying and Li Jianmin felt their hearts tighten.
They, too, began staring down the dark road.
Waiting.
One quarter of an hour passed… then another.
The night grew deeper, and the village gradually fell silent.
Chen Meilan still stood at the entrance, her hands clasped tightly together as she gazed down the dark path.
At last—after nearly an hour and a half of anxious waiting—Li Jianguo suddenly narrowed his eyes.
"There…!"
He pointed toward the road.
A lone figure was slowly approaching through the dim light.
Though the shape was blurred by darkness, the outline was unmistakably familiar.
Chen Meilan's heart leapt.
Without another thought, she hurried forward and pushed open the wooden gate.
When the figure stepped closer, the weak moonlight revealed Li Jianhua's tired face.
"Jianhua!"
Chen Meilan immediately called out.
"Why are you so late today? I've been waiting for you all this time."
Her voice carried both relief and lingering worry.
Li Jianhua paused for a brief moment at the gate.
His expression looked unusually dull under the moonlight.
"Mother," he said slowly, "I'm fine. I just had something to take care of, so I came back late."
But Chen Meilan was clearly not satisfied with that answer. She stepped closer, her brows knitted together.
"But..."
Before she could finish speaking, Li Jianhua interrupted her.
"Mother, I'm tired. I'll go wash up and rest for a while."
His tone was gentle but firm.
Without waiting for her reply, he walked past her and entered the courtyard.
Chen Meilan stood there silently, watching him walk straight across the yard and disappear into his room without another word.
For a long moment, she remained where she was, her expression slightly troubled.
Behind her, Li Jianmin had witnessed the entire exchange.
He stood there in stunned silence.
Among all the siblings, Li Jianhua had always been the most filial and responsible.
He was the kind of person who would patiently listen even when their mother repeated the same worries again and again.
Yet tonight…
He had cut her off mid-sentence.
Li Jianmin frowned slightly.
"Is something wrong with Elder Brother?"
He murmured softly.
Li Jianguo and Li Shuying exchanged glances.
Both of them slowly shook their heads.
"I don't know…" Li Jianguo muttered.
But Li Shuying remained quietly thoughtful.
Although the night was dark and only his shadow had been visible earlier, she had still noticed something strange.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
Her elder brother's posture had looked… different.
Normally, Li Jianhua always walked with a straight back and steady steps.
But just now—
His shoulders had seemed hunched, and his pace had been slower than usual.
As if he were bearing some hidden pain.
Just as she was thinking about this, she suddenly sneezed loudly.
"Ah-choo!"
She rubbed her nose and muttered half-jokingly,
"Who's talking about me behind my back?"
Not far away, in the main Li household, Li Guofu sat cross-legged on his narrow wooden bed.
In his rough hands lay a small stack of coins.
One yuan and five jiao.
For a moment he simply stared at them.
Then—
A low, sinister laugh escaped his throat.
"Heh… heh…"
The sound carried a chilling satisfaction.
Li Guofu tossed the coins lightly into the air before catching them again.
"Not bad," he muttered.
His eyes than darkened as he spat toward the ground.
"That damn girl, Li Shuying…"
His voice grew venomous.
"Didn't she beat me? And didn't she cause my whole family to suffer by snatching away the twenty yuan allowance her father used to send?"
His lips twisted into an ugly sneer.
"For years I could only scrape together two or three yuan here and there from that money. But now?"
He chuckled coldly.
"Now I don't even care about those twenty yuan anymore."
He rubbed the coins between his fingers as if savoring their weight.
"With her own elder brother in my hands… I can earn far more than that."
His grin widened.
"And I'll make sure he suffers plenty while I'm at it."
Li Guofu leaned back against the wall, looking extremely pleased with himself.
"Li Shuying…"
He muttered mockingly.
"You think you're so capable, don't you?"
"If only you knew what I'm doing to your precious elder brother…"
He burst into another harsh laugh.
"Ah, I would love to see that arrogant face of yours when you find out."
He shook his head slowly.
"But of course…"
His eyes gleamed maliciously.
"I would never tell you."
Before dawn had fully broken, Li Shuying slowly opened her eyes.
For a moment she lay still, listening to the quiet of the house.
When she turned her head toward the small window, she saw that the moon was still hanging faintly in the sky, casting a pale silver glow over the silent village. The night had not yet given way to morning; the horizon was still pitch-black.
"It's time," she murmured softly to herself.
Moving quietly, she slipped out of bed and washed up with the cold water stored in the clay basin. The chill of the water cleared the last trace of sleep from her mind.
Just as she finished, the wooden door of the adjacent room creaked faintly.
Li Shuying stepped out and saw Li Jianmin cautiously emerging from his room.
He glanced around instinctively, as if afraid someone might see them.
"Let's go," he whispered. "It's still dark outside. We'll need to be careful on the road."
Li Shuying nodded and sighed lightly.
"If only we could buy an electric torch soon. Walking out this early in complete darkness is troublesome."
Li Jianmin nodded in agreement.
"You're right."
Without wasting any more time, the two of them quietly entered Li Shuying's room.
Inside, the supplies had already been prepared the night before.
Li Jianmin immediately bent down and lifted the heavy sacks containing corn flour, sweet potatoes, and radishes. The weight made his shoulders sink slightly, but he gritted his teeth and hoisted them up.
Meanwhile, Li Shuying took a woven basket, lining it carefully with dry hay before placing the eggs inside so they would not crack during the journey.
Then she picked up the enamel basin—one containing the prepared chicken—and held one in each hand.
When everything was ready, she nodded toward the door.
"Let's go."
They stepped out quietly and carefully closed the door behind them.
The village still slept.
Only the faint rustling of wind through the trees accompanied their footsteps as they walked swiftly down the narrow dirt path.
What neither of them noticed was that, shortly after they left, the wooden door of the house creaked open once again.
A tall figure slipped out silently.
It was Li Jianguo.
He stood at the entrance of the courtyard, staring at the two shadowy figures moving quickly down the road.
A thoughtful frown appeared on his face.
"I knew something wasn't right," he muttered under his breath.
"But what exactly are they up to?"
He folded his arms briefly before letting out a quiet sigh.
"If they think they can hide things from me…"
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Then I'll just have to catch them red-handed."
With that, he began following them from a distance.
Along the way, Li Jianguo kept carefully hidden behind trees and rocks, making sure not to alert his siblings.
Occasionally, he could hear fragments of their quiet conversation carried by the wind.
Something about selling goods.
Something about prices.
The more he listened, the more puzzled he became.
"What are they talking about?"
His gaze shifted to the bundles they were carrying.
Even in the darkness, he could see that they were transporting quite a lot of things.
"What on earth are they carrying…?"
His curiosity grew stronger with every step.
After nearly half an hour of walking, the faint outline of Taonan County appeared in the distance.
But just as Li Jianguo expected them to enter the county town—
They suddenly changed direction.
Instead of heading toward the town gates, Li Shuying and Li Jianmin took a narrow path that led into the woods beside the old East River Road.
Li Jianguo stopped briefly in confusion.
"What are they doing?"
He muttered softly.
But he continued following them nonetheless.
Soon, something even stranger happened.
As they moved deeper into the forest, Li Jianguo noticed other figures quietly walking along the same path.
Some carried sacks over their shoulders.
Others held baskets or cloth bundles.
No one spoke loudly.
Everyone moved quickly, almost cautiously.
In the distance, Li Jianguo suddenly noticed a faint glow of light flickering between the trees.
The deeper they went, the clearer the glow became.
Eventually the trees began thinning out.
Then—
Li Jianguo stepped past the last row of trees and finally saw what lay ahead.
His eyes widened in shock.
Before him stood a large gathering of people.
Beside the ruins of an old, dilapidated temple, an entire market had been quietly set up.
Dozens of kerosene lamps hung from tree branches or rested on the ground, their dim yellow flames illuminating the area with a trembling glow.
Under that wavering light, the place bustled with activity.
Men and women walked quickly through the narrow spaces between vendors.
Some carried sacks of grain.
Others clutched baskets, bundles of cloth, or wooden crates.
Along both sides of the open ground, vendors sat in rows on the dirt, their goods spread out before them.
There were food supplies, cloth scraps, old tools, and even wild game.
Yet despite the number of people present—
The entire market was eerily quiet.
No loud bargaining.
No shouting.
Only faint murmurs and the occasional rustle of cloth or clink of coins could be heard.
It was as if everyone had silently agreed to keep their voices low.
Li Jianguo looked around in complete astonishment.
"But… isn't private business and trading banned these days?"
He murmured under his breath.
"Then how can such a huge market exist here?"
Just then, a memory surfaced in his mind.
He remembered one of his friends mentioning something once.
A place where people secretly bought and sold goods.
A place that existed outside official rules.
"The black market…"
His eyes widened further.
Was this one of those unofficial trading spots where villagers and small traders quietly exchanged goods before dawn, hoping to avoid the watchful eyes of the authorities?
For a moment, Li Jianguo stood there, completely stunned.
His thoughts were in chaos.
"How did my little sister and third brother even find out about this place? And more importantly…"
His gaze fell on the bundles they were carrying.
"What exactly are they selling here?"
His mind felt utterly bewildered.
Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Li Jianguo carefully blended into the crowd.
Then, keeping a cautious distance, he continued following his two siblings in secret.