Siheyuan, my new life

As these people stared in disbelief at the chaotic scene before them, illuminated by their flashlights, a series of exclamations of surprise came from behind them: "What happened? Did the old Huangchenggen Black Market suddenly move away? I was here the night before last."

Hearing the sound, everyone turned around and saw more than a dozen figures carrying flashlights rushing in from behind. The burly man at the front was muttering to himself.

A man in his fifties, following closely behind the man, scolded, "You idiot, shut your mouth!" After saying that, the old man stepped forward a few steps and said with a smile, "Gentlemen, do you know what happened here?"

Among the first group of people to enter the street, a man in his forties or fifties stepped forward and said with a wry smile, "Brother, we just got here too. To be honest, some of our neighbors went to the black market at the old imperial city gate tonight to buy some food, but they haven't returned home yet. We were worried about them, so we came out together to look for them."

The old man sighed after hearing this: "To be honest, we came out to look for some neighbors in the courtyard. They went to the black market in the old imperial city together tonight, and they haven't returned home yet. Their families are really worried, so they asked us neighbors to help them look for them."

Since everyone's goal was to find someone, they lowered their guard and began to patrol the now empty streets together.

Even after walking the entire street, all you see are a few rags that the stall owners used to spread on the ground, some broken baskets and burlap sacks, and a few traces of flour left in the cracks of the bluestone slabs.

At this moment, a man who frequently came here to buy things suddenly spoke up: "I know the courtyard where the old imperial city black market sells grain and pork. Why don't we go and take a look?"

Everyone was completely clueless. Although many had a vague idea of ​​the truth, no one wanted to reveal it, given the anxious expressions of the family members around them. Since someone had made a suggestion, they decided to give it a shot, thinking it was just a matter of taking a few more steps.

So the group of people rushed to the courtyard where the original Liu Sanye lived, but what they saw was an empty courtyard. Even the backyard, which used to be a warehouse, had been cleared out. However, some traces of grain could still be seen on the wooden planks on the floor inside the houses.

The main room in the central courtyard was in complete disarray. The huanghuali wood eight-immortal table was now broken into several pieces, and the several armchairs next to it were also a pile of rubble. There were also many broken plates and wine bottle fragments on the ground, and the two roast chickens had been trampled into minced meat. Under the bright flashlight beam, the large black footprints on them could be clearly seen. A faint smell of alcohol could also be smelled in the room, making everyone who saw it secretly swallow their saliva.

After a quick search of the courtyard house, everyone hurriedly left. After all, no one was a fool. Everything they had witnessed confirmed their judgments. Clearly, the infamous Old Imperial City Black Market had been thoroughly raided by law enforcement tonight. Since the person they were looking for had not yet returned home, he was probably arrested on the spot.

What made these people secretly relieved was that they had not found any bloodstains so far. This meant that the law enforcement agencies had not fired any shots or injured anyone during the raid on the black market in the old imperial city. This alone made them feel a little relieved. After all, these people knew that the people in their courtyards who had not yet returned home were only looking for food in the black market. In the current situation where almost every family was starving, how many families hadn't gone to the pigeon market and the black market to buy food at high prices?

It was precisely because of the reduced share of food supply that almost every household was experiencing food shortages. Therefore, even when law enforcement agencies dealt with ordinary people caught on the black market, they mostly just went through the motions. Criticism and education and confiscation of personal belongings were inevitable, but if you really encountered such a situation, you could only accept your bad luck.

Even when their respective workplaces receive a notification from the police station, as long as the person in question isn't universally disliked, the department head usually just gives a few perfunctory comments and asks for a written self-criticism to get by.

In the past, being caught red-handed on the black market would at least warrant a warning, and if the person involved was a party member or cadre, they would have to make a public self-criticism within their department.

However, with the reduction in the share of food supply, even some minor leaders in law enforcement agencies and other units now have to sneak around to the black market to find some food to feed their families. The higher-ups can only turn a blind eye, after all, they can't just stand by and watch people starve to death.

Now that it has been basically determined that the black market in the old imperial city has been raided by law enforcement, these people can only helplessly head home. Regardless of what others think, the family members of the parties involved are surely praying in their hearts that their family members will be safe and sound and not be harmed.

As this group of people walked out of the Old Imperial City Black Market, they encountered another group of people walking in a hurry. Having learned from their previous experience, someone immediately asked them questions. After confirming the purpose of these people, they directly told them that the Old Imperial City Black Market had been thoroughly investigated and shut down.

On the way back, the group encountered several groups of people hurrying by, and the news that the black market in the old capital city had been raided by law enforcement spread.

Upon receiving the news, the neighbors who had accompanied the person to help search could only offer a few words of comfort before hurrying home. They were grateful for the effort of going out in the freezing cold of the night, and now they were eager to get home, snuggle into their warm beds, and enjoy a good nap, since they had to go to work the next day.

As for the families of those involved, they could only return home with trepidation. The family anxiously awaited dawn, hoping to receive notification from their work unit or neighborhood office as soon as possible. At this point, they could only silently hope that nothing bad had happened to their family members. Although the loss of some property pained them, they understood the principle that as long as there is life, there is hope.