Rebirth in 1958: Getting rich starts from Nanluoguxiang

"Oh?" Lu Jianbang and Wang Guohua were both surprised. Before and after the New Year, the Public Security Bureau cracked down on the black market, arresting more than 3,000 people and sentencing more than 400 to labor reform.

They thought they had curbed the development of the black market in the capital, but after hearing what Dabao said, they realized that the real ghost market was still rampant.

Even food that is strictly controlled by the state is sold in these ghost markets.

Dabao didn't explain too much. What's the big deal about selling grain? There are people selling sons and daughters, and even selling "fake boys".

This is how the ghost market is. The babies sold are all fake. When the buyer unties the baby's diaper, there is a bag of shit. But you can also see clearly that the baby has a "little penis" because the crotch is covered with shit. The buyer can only look but not touch. After paying the money and taking the baby home to wash it, he will find out that it is a girl and the "little penis" is artificial.

So this is the ghost market. The controllers of the ghost market are not ordinary people, and ordinary police cannot move them.

"The backgrounds of Gao Gao and Gou Shiquan are so complicated?" Yu Chengmin was also surprised.

Dabao thought that the situation was even more complicated. Gao Gao and Gou Shiquan were peripheral members of the enemy spy organization. Their main task was to incite rebellion. As for carrying out operations and sabotage, there were special undercover teams responsible for them, so their task was still very easy.

Dabao was thinking about a problem, which was an extension of what he had just been thinking about.

"Do you think the enemy spy organization has already sent people in? If it's just one or two people, it would be easy to hide, but if there are a lot of people..."

Dabao continued thoughtfully, "Isn't the ghost market the best hiding place? No one will investigate or question you here, and no one can see anyone else's true identity. Perhaps..."

Lu Jianbang and his companions' eyes lit up. This was a good direction for investigation, and perhaps they could dig up a big fish.

Dabao put on his hat and said with a smile: "Leaders, I will go explore this ghost market under the imperial city tomorrow."

Lu Jianbang and his companions discussed it and agreed, but they had to send a company of soldiers to wait in the distance. If Dabao was in danger, they could fire a warning shot and these soldiers would immediately rush over to arrest him.

This Dabao didn't refuse...

. . . . .

The ghost market outside Chaoyang Gate stretches along the city wall from north to south. When it is prosperous, it can stretch for two miles. This location is at the eastern boundary of the Imperial City and is one of the four gates of the capital.

There are all kinds of things sold in the ghost market, but they are not categorized. Whoever comes first gets the first chance to set up a stall. Of course, most of the things here are fake, of unknown origin, and illegal.

It was two o'clock in the morning. The sky was dark, with only a little light from the crescent moon. Dabao and Xiaoerduo, dressed in black and with scarves covering their faces, walked leisurely towards the Chaoyangmen Ghost Market.

Last night, Dabao went to look for Xiaoerduo. Xiaoerduo was staying at home and was very bored. When he heard that Dabao wanted him to accompany him to visit the ghost market, he immediately became excited. He was very knowledgeable in this area.

When Lian Hu heard about it, he also wanted to go, but Dabao didn't let him. This second brother Hu was too obviously tall, and there was no one else like him in the whole capital. Once he went, the secret visit would immediately become an open investigation.

Little Ear walked along, talking non-stop.

"The one at Deshengmen is called Beixiaoshi, and the one at Chaoyangmen is called Ghost Market by the common people. This Ghost Market is very old, it existed during the Republic of China.

How should I put it? It's around one or two o'clock in the morning, people start setting up stalls, and at five or six o'clock in the morning, the stalls are all gone.

There are all kinds of things sold here. Some poor people can’t make ends meet at home, so they take their valuable things to the ghost market to exchange for some money to make ends meet.

Some people sell stolen and robbed items here. In short, the items here are all kinds of things. Basically, anything you can think of can be found here.

During the Republic of China, there was a legend about this ghost market that people could find bargains and get rich here.

I heard that Puyi had an uncle named Zaitao, who once set up a stall here. He had a vase in his house, which was said to be from the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. He sold it for a very low price.

Zaitao doesn't know anything about it, but the people who bought it have made a fortune.

Just this one thing has aroused the atmosphere of this ghost market. Everyone comes here to find bargains.

In fact, this legend is not entirely correct. He was a prince and the seventh uncle of Puyi, the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty. What had he not seen?

If someone really has this porcelain and has it on display at home, can they sell it at Liulichang? Liulichang has so many cultural relics, and if you ask every household, how can they not be deceived? Is it possible to sell it at a low price in this place?

This legend is not credible. However, there are many fake cultural relics here.

For example, bronze ware is made by themselves using molds, and then some horse urine is added to make it look old and then sold here.

What else is there? Stolen things. Thieves stole things at night. After stealing, they were in a hurry to exchange them for money. They didn't even go home but went straight to the ghost market to sell them.

There are all kinds of things, for example, this thing is worth 10 yuan, but he sells it for 1 yuan, so it is true that you can find a bargain here, but it is not a big bargain.

I have an old neighbor who likes to play with crickets. He bought a good thing at this ghost market. He bought a cricket gourd. It was the end of 49. He spent a dollar and bought a cricket gourd. He picked up a chance.

What is this cricket gourd? The lid is made of mahogany, with a small crack at the top. There's an ivory core in the middle. I later asked someone who knows about it to look at it, and they confirmed it's genuine, albeit with a flaw. So, it's a great find. I've seen that gourd before; it's from the Qianlong era, passed down from the palace.

There are people selling used clothes, like the Japanese military uniform, water bottles, the cigarettes that soldier Old M smoked, and lighters. They sell everything, but their sources are unknown. Brother, do you think any decent person would have these?

I have an apprentice whose uncle is a cart driver who lives in Qinghe Xiaoying. He bought a Japanese military coat here. This military coat should be the kind worn by officers.

Normally if you buy new clothes made of this kind of fabric in a store, it would be very expensive, but here it is very cheap, extremely cheap.

In fact, this is also fake. The seller bought an ordinary piece of clothing for 5 or 10 yuan. After buying it, he bought a bag of paint, black paint and navy blue paint, boiled them in a big pot, and dyed the thing black.

Those who were selling used clothes had a long line of clothes on display. Under the better clothes there was an old mat, and the tattered clothes were spread on the ground.

The stall owners here never shout, greet, or solicit business. It is all up to the people who go to the market to look and choose for themselves.

But don't think that the stall owner doesn't talk, he is always staring at people. If he thinks you are a fool, he will show you what is next to him, a tall hat box, which will scare you when he lifts it up gently. According to the old rules, don't even call him brother, because officials below the fourth rank had to kneel down and kowtow. It turns out that there is a folded yellow robe and jacket in the hat box, and on it is an official hat with a peacock feather worn by a second-rank official.

There are also people selling arms in the ghost market. I saw it with my own eyes. The seller was holding a toy gun made of wood, painted black. The seller was holding the wooden gun, smoking a cigarette, and his eyes never wandered around.

If someone weighed the wooden gun, a sale would occur, but they couldn't see or inspect the goods. The seller would lower the bag from his shoulder and let you reach in to touch it, unload it, or do whatever you wanted, but they wouldn't let you take it out. They might even let you poke your head in to feel around. Once you agreed on a price, they'd hand over the money and the bag, then disappear into the semi-darkness.

There is a legend in the ghost market, which says that the reason why the bomb that Lao Wang used to assassinate the Regent did not explode was that the bomb was bought in the ghost market, and he made a mistake and deceived people.

In addition to selling people, other living things are also sold in the ghost market. In the early years, there were camels and horses tied under the willow trees by the moat. Some of them had military horse seals on their buttocks, but they were still sold.

The rules of the ghost market are to keep your mouth shut and never ask where the goods come from. If you want to buy, you ask the price; if you don't want to buy, you're asked to leave. If you can't sell, you'll be taken back to the military horse camp before dawn and tied to the horse trough as usual.