Unaware that they were being followed, Li Shuying and Li Jianmin stepped deeper into the clearing, their eyes widening at the sheer scale of the hidden market before them. Compared to the modest courtyard market they had once seen in the county, this place was vast—at least five times larger—spreading out like a silent tide beneath the dim glow of kerosene lamps.
Beneath its weathered eaves, rows of people had gathered, some seated on the ground with their wares laid out neatly, others moving quietly from stall to stall.
Li Jianmin's eyes sparkled with astonishment as he leaned closer and whispered, "Look at the variety of goods here… and so many people. How has this place remained hidden from the authorities?"
Li Shuying allowed herself a faint, knowing smile. With the calm of one who had lived through an entire lifetime, she replied softly,
"Third Brother, places like this are not entirely unknown. The authorities turn a blind eye, more often than not. These are hard years—not enough to eat, not enough to wear. Even officials must find ways to survive."
Li Jianmin frowned, still puzzled.
"Then why operate so secretly?"
"Because it is still illegal," she answered evenly. "There must always be a line that cannot be crossed. Sometimes the market is raided—someone is taken away, made an example of, then released after 're-education.' It is a balance… like walking on thin ice."
Li Jianmin nodded slowly, though confusion lingered in his eyes. After a pause, he asked,
"How do you know all this?"
Li Shuying shrugged lightly.
"I asked around."
They continued walking, observing the stalls. There were indeed many goods—handmade tools, cloth scraps, herbs—but when it came to food, the offerings were sparse. A few villagers sold wild vegetables, some displayed small game or pheasant eggs, and a handful of cautious traders offered coarse grains, likely diverted from state rations.
Compared to the hunger gnawing at every household, it was far from enough.
"Food supplies are still scarce," Li Jianmin murmured.
Li Shuying nodded. "Naturally."
Without lingering further, they found a relatively open patch near the edge of the crowd. Quietly, they set down their goods—the sacks of corn flour, the basket of eggs cushioned in hay, the radishes, and finally, the enamel basin containing the prepared chicken.
They arranged everything simply, without fanfare, and sat down.
At first, no one paid them much attention.
Then the basin lid was lifted.
Not far away, hidden among the trees, Li Jianguo froze as his gaze fell upon their stall. The moment he saw what they had laid out, his breath caught in his throat. "What are they doing?" He murmured.
It was not only him.
Within moments, heads began to turn—first a few, then many. The quiet rhythm of the black market faltered, like a still pond disturbed by a sudden stone.
A ripple of unrest spread.
People began drifting closer, then gathering, their restrained composure cracking under the weight of hunger and disbelief.
At the front of the crowd, an elderly woman stepped forward. Her eyes trembled as they fixed upon the basin. For a brief moment, she seemed to forget where she was.
"I… is that chicken?" she blurted out, her voice rising uncontrollably.
The surrounding crowd stirred sharply.
Li Shuying remained composed. With a faint, polite smile, she replied,
"Yes. Fresh chicken. We also have corn flour, sweet potatoes, eggs, and radishes. What would you like?"
The woman did not hesitate for even a breath. "I'll take all the chicken," she said, her tone firm, almost desperate.
Immediately, discontent erupted from behind.
"What do you mean all?" someone snapped in a hushed but heated voice.
"Are we supposed to stand here and watch you take everything?"
"Exactly!" another added. "There are so many of us—leave some for others!"
The elderly woman turned, her expression sharp despite her age.
"I came first. First come, first served. That is the rule everywhere!"
"And what about fairness?" a middle-aged man retorted. "You think you're the only one who hasn't tasted meat in months?"
The woman scoffed. "Fairness? Can fairness fill your stomach? If you want it, be quicker next time!"
Voices began to overlap, restrained yet increasingly heated. Shoulders pressed closer, and for a moment, the fragile order of the black market teetered and choas irrupted.
Then, from somewhere within the crowd, a low but authoritative voice cut through:
"Enough."
A thin, sharp-eyed man stepped forward, glancing around cautiously. His voice dropped to a whisper, but it carried weight.
"Have you all forgotten where you are?" he said. "This is not a marketplace in broad daylight. Keep your voices down. Do you want to invite trouble?"
The words fell like cold water over the crowd.
The murmurs died almost instantly.
People exchanged uneasy glances, their earlier agitation giving way to caution. The tension did not disappear, but it was forced back beneath the surface.
The elderly woman pursed her lips but said no more.
All eyes turned once again to Li Shuying.
Li Shuying felt a flicker of unease under the weight of so many watchful eyes, yet her expression remained composed, almost indifferent. In a place like this, hesitation invited trouble.
She spoke calmly, her voice low but clear,
"I only have five jin of chicken in total. The most I can do is set a limit—each person may buy one jin."
The middle-aged woman at the front—addressed earlier as Old Ji—immediately bristled. "Only one jin? How is that enough for my family? There are eight mouths waiting at home!"
Li Shuying was about to respond when the sharp-eyed man from earlier stepped forward again, his tone clipped with quiet authority. "Old Ji, don't be greedy. These days, even catching the scent of meat is a blessing. Take what you can and let each person in your household have a bite. That is already fortune knocking at your door."
A murmur of agreement rippled through the crowd.
"Exactly… one jin is already a luxury."
"At least we have the chance to buy it…"
Though disappointment lingered on many faces, no one dared to press further.
Old Ji hesitated for a moment, then relented with a snort. "Fine. One jin, then. How much?"
Li Shuying did not pause. She had already settled on the price with Li Jianmin. "Two yuan and five jiao per jin."
A collective gasp swept through the crowd.
Even Old Ji's eyes widened slightly. Yet no one protested. After all chicken was not merely food—it was a rarity bordering on myth. Even at the state supply and marketing cooperative, one could hardly obtain it for five yuan, if at all.
Without another word, Old Ji took out the money, completed the transaction, and left quickly, clutching her portion as though it might vanish if she lingered.
After that, the market returned to its peculiar rhythm.
The chicken sold out almost immediately.
The eggs followed just as swiftly—ten fen each, and not a single one remained.
Then came the sweet potatoes.
Though priced at one jiao eight fen per jin—slightly higher than usual—no one dared to bargain. The reason was plain to see.
In these years, most sweet potatoes available were shriveled, fibrous, and uneven—many riddled with black spots or half-rotten from poor storage. Some were so dry they cracked open like old bark, their taste bland and coarse, fit more for filling the stomach than for enjoyment.
But the ones laid out before them now were entirely different.
These sweet potatoes were plump, smooth-skinned, and firm to the touch, their flesh dense and rich with a natural sweetness that could be sensed even without cooking. Their color was vibrant, their size uniform—each one a far cry from the pitiful produce people had grown accustomed to.
They looked less like survival rations… and more like a forgotten luxury.
Naturally, they sold out without delay.
Finally, even the corn flour and Radishes were gone.
Li Jianmin quickly began packing up what little remained. His movements were brisk, almost urgent.
Because Li Shuying had already noticed something more troubling.
Though the crowd had thinned, many people still lingered nearby. Their gazes were no longer merely curious—they were calculating.
In such a place, that was never a good sign.
Without counting the money, she quietly tugged at Li Jianmin's sleeve. "Let's go."
They slipped into the crowd, moving swiftly but without drawing attention. Circling around the dilapidated temple, they took advantage of the shadows and, like fish slipping through water, vanished into the darkness beyond the market.
Not far behind, a man straightened and frowned. "Where did they go? I just saw them packing up."
Another clicked his tongue. "Quick as eels. Slipped away without a trace."
He turned toward a young man standing at the center of a small group and asked respectfully, "What do you think, Deputy Company Commander?"
The young man did not respond immediately.
His gaze remained fixed on the dark path where the siblings had disappeared. Under the faint glow of the kerosene lamps, a subtle smile curved at his lips.
No one had seen as clearly as he had.
The girl—no more than thirteen or fourteen—had assessed the situation in an instant and withdrawn before trouble could brew. Calm, decisive… and cautious.
"Clever," he murmured softly.
Lowering his gaze, he looked at the supplies they had managed to purchase—five eggs, ten jin of corn flour, and several jin of sweet potatoes and radishes.
Compared to what they had hoped for, it was little.
Yet compared to what they had endured these past days… it was already a feast.
They were a detachment of fifteen soldiers stationed temporarily in Taonan County. For nearly a week, they had subsisted on thin porridge and coarse buns—barely enough to sustain strength, let alone morale.
Yesterday, even the most disciplined among them had reached their limit.
After making discreet inquiries around the county, they had finally been directed—cautiously—to this hidden black market.
To be honest, they had not expected much.
A small county, after all, could hardly produce anything of real value in such difficult times.
And yet…
The quality of what they had just witnessed far exceeded anything they had seen even in larger towns.
The corn flour was clean and finely ground, unlike the usual coarse mixture filled with husk and grit. The radishes were fresh and crisp, not wilted and hollow. The sweet potatoes were full and unblemished, rich with life.
These were not ordinary supplies.
They were… exceptional.
One of the soldiers let out a quiet sigh.
"What a pity. If we had been quicker, we could have bought more… especially the chicken."
Another nodded in agreement.
"Who would have thought such goods would appear in a place like this?"
The Deputy Company Commander said nothing.
His eyes lingered on the darkness a moment longer before he finally turned away.
Yet that faint smile remained.
"Do you see anyone following us?" Li Shuying asked between breaths, her voice low but urgent as she and Li Jianmin hurried along the narrow dirt path.
Li Jianmin glanced back over his shoulder, scanning the empty stretch behind them before replying, "I don't think so. We've been running for nearly fifteen minutes. If anyone intended to follow, they would have caught up by now."
Only then did Li Shuying slow her pace. She stopped altogether and crouched down, one hand braced against her knee as she steadied her breathing. Li Jianmin halted beside her, his chest rising and falling just as heavily.
The sky above them was beginning to pale. At the far edge of the horizon, a faint wash of orange seeped through the darkness, like ink diluted in water. Dawn was approaching.
For a while, neither spoke.
When their breaths finally calmed, Li Jianmin instinctively touched the pocket where he had stuffed the earnings. The crisp rustle of banknotes seemed almost unreal.
"Should we… count it?" he asked, his voice tinged with both excitement and disbelief.
Li Shuying lifted her head and smiled faintly.
"Let's see."
Li Jianmin glanced around once more. The road was deserted—no footsteps, no shadows lurking nearby. Satisfied, he quickly pulled out the bundle of notes and coins and began counting.
One by one.
Slowly at first… then faster.
His movements gradually slowed again.
His eyes widened.
He stared at the money in his hands as though it might transform into something else at any moment. Then, without a word, he began counting again.
And again.
And again.
Li Shuying frowned slightly.
"Third Brother… how much is it?"
Li Jianmin finally looked up, his expression dazed, almost incredulous. Suddenly, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to her feet.
"It's eighty-three yuan and five jiao!" he blurted out, his voice trembling. "Eighty-three…! How is that possible? We earned more than eighty yuan just like that?"
Even Li Shuying's composure wavered for a moment. Though she had anticipated a good return, the actual figure still exceeded her expectations.
Eighty-three yuan.
In these times, that sum was nothing short of astonishing.
Li Jianmin inhaled sharply, his voice dropping into a whisper as though afraid the heavens might hear him and take it back.
"This… this is what a senior cadre in a steel factory earns in a month… eighty three yuan"
He repeated the number under his breath, over and over, as if anchoring it to reality.
Li Shuying let out a soft laugh, her eyes bright. "Third Brother, this is only the beginning. We'll earn even more in the future."
Li Jianmin's face lit up instantly. He nodded vigorously, a rare, unrestrained joy spilling into his expression. "Yes… yes! If we keep this up, we could become a thousand-yuan household before Mid-Autumn Festival. And by the New Year… perhaps even a ten thousand-yuan household!"
His voice carried the fervent hope of a young man who had glimpsed, for the first time, a way out of hardship.
Li Shuying nodded, her own smile just as radiant.
Yet the joy did not last long.
A shadow crossed Li Jianmin's face as his thoughts returned to the scene they had just escaped. His voice lowered, cautious once more.
"But… will it be safe?" he asked. "When we were packing up, I saw several people watching us. A few even tried to follow. If we hadn't circled the temple and slipped away quickly…" He paused, his expression tightening. "It could have been dangerous."
Li Shuying's smile faded.
She nodded slowly. "That is exactly what worries me. If we continue selling goods in black market, we will attract the wrong kind of attention."
Li Jianmin hesitated before asking, "Then… should we stop?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Li Shuying shook her head firmly.
"No."
Her voice was quiet, yet resolute.
"We cannot stop. Not now. The black market… is not our only option. There must be another path."
Li Jianmin fell silent.
In his mind, he ran through every possibility—state supply and marketing cooperatives, grain stations, private exchanges. One by one, each door seemed to close before it could even be opened.
In these times, private trade was forbidden. To sell through official channels, they would have to explain the origin of their goods—something they absolutely could not do.
After a long moment, he exhaled and shook his head.
"I can't think of any way," he admitted quietly. "Every path leads to a dead end."
Li Shuying, however, only smiled faintly, her eyes carrying a calm certainty that seemed far beyond her years.
"Don't worry, Third Brother," she said. "Since we have chosen this path, we will find a way forward. When the cart reaches the mountain, there will be a road."
She paused, then added softly, "But no matter what, we must continue selling."
Just as her words fell, an angry voice cut through the morning air from behind them...
"And how exactly do you plan to do that?"
The siblings froze.