There was not much sadness on Elder Hassan's face.
“In the past fifty years, I have lost eighteen relatives, most of whom were killed when the two superpowers attacked our country.
My heart is numb, and I don’t have time to grieve now. I have to turn these supplies into daily necessities for the tribal residents as soon as possible.
After this battle, our tribe's strength has been greatly reduced, and someone will definitely covet this batch of supplies. If we don't exchange them as soon as possible, I'm afraid these things will no longer be ours soon. "
Elder Hassan's words were very plain, but Zhu Yu could hear the bloodshed contained in them.
It seems that even if the same race lives on the same land, the relationship between the nearby tribes is not always peaceful.
Zhu Yu didn't ask deeply about what happened.
He is just a passer-by. Even if it is a cooperative relationship, he cannot handle everything in the tribe.
This tribe will eventually survive and develop under the leadership of Hassan. He would never underestimate the survival wisdom of a local who had survived in such a war-torn place for more than fifty years.
The market is located in the southeast of the tribe, which is towards the Chinese border. It is about seven or eight kilometers away from the tribe.
After arriving, Zhu Yu really saw the ruins nearby. As Elder Hassan said, this place was indeed once a city, but it was destroyed by the war. But now, it is obvious that she has been reborn.
The bustling place and the ruins obviously did not affect the enthusiasm of the people who came here to trade.
The market is not very neat. You can just find a relatively flat place, spread out a piece of cloth, or even the trunk of a pickup truck, and place the things you want to sell directly.
Elder Hassan drove a convoy of four pickup trucks.
If it weren't for the fact that there were only these four old pickup trucks in the tribe, he might have driven a few more.
The car was loaded with not only the equipment pulled from the cave this time, but also the wreckage of the Predator drone.
According to Elder Hassan, it is not just the nearby tribesmen who come to the market to trade.
Some military brokers will also come here to pick up leaks. He believes that the wreckage of the Predator drone will arouse some people's interest.
Hu Guanghui followed him, and he quietly told Zhu Yu that it turned out that there were only three pickup trucks in the tribe.
The fourth one was the one he traded to Hassan. What Hassan traded with him at that time was a large piece of raw lapis lazuli. Hu Guanghui sold the stone for hundreds of thousands, and then transferred it to the school teacher as a year-end bonus.
The pickup truck was bought by Hu Guanghui at a second-hand car market in KS for 20,000 yuan.
It's a huge profit, but both parties are very happy.
This is also called a win-win situation.
Hassan and his convoy stopped at a relatively spacious place.
This place is a bit far away from where everyone is setting up stalls, but after getting off the bus, Hassan explained:
"It's okay, there will be many people coming later. If we set up a stall here, it will attract a lot of people - don't you have an old Chinese saying? You don't have to worry about getting good wine in a deep alley!
It's the same here! As long as there are good things, those who like these things will come here no matter how far away they are! "
It can be seen that Hassan is very confident in what he has come up with this time.
Sure enough, as soon as Hassan got out of the car and put his things out, someone immediately gathered around him.
"Old Hassan, I heard that you recently made a big deal and made a fortune!"
"Yes, old Hassan, you are not being honest! Our two tribes were originally separated from each other. Do you have to show it?"
"Old Hassan, we are old friends. I am not as shameless as some people and want to ask for your things for nothing. But I plan to buy some later. Do you think it will be cheaper for me?"
…
The crowd crowded around Hassan in a few words, obviously jealous that he had eaten alone and wanted a piece of the pie.
Hassan was crowded by so many people, but he was not embarrassed at all. He smiled and said:
"What's wrong? Seeing that our tribe has made a little fortune, are you all jealous?
Old Bagel, in the spring, our tribe is short of food. I want to borrow some from you and pay interest. What do you say?
Haimubuqi, our tribe was short of machinery during the autumn harvest last year. I wanted to borrow your machinery for use. Your answer was to pay three times the rent, and there should be no damage at all! "
Two sentences made the faces of two old men who were almost sixty years old turn red.
Hassan ignored them and continued to point to a strong man in the crowd and said:
"And you, little Bagel, people from your tribe and our tribe found a camp left by the old Americans at the same time years ago. There are few people in our tribe, but did we discover things at the same time?
How did you do it? I just injured my men and threw them back... I didn't cause trouble for you because of your dead Dada. Do you still have the nerve to let me sell your things cheaply? "
…
Seeing Hassan chatting with the heroes, Zhu Yu found it quite amusing.
It turns out that things are not easy for everyone, and it is normal to have fights among each other. It's okay, it's past, but if you want to take advantage of old friendship, Hassan will definitely not be able to bear it.
Another skinny old man with triangular eyes saw that everyone was silent. He stood up and said in a somewhat arrogant tone:
"Old Hassan, what you are talking about is an old story! The current situation is that you have brought so many things. If you don't dispose of them cheaply for everyone, I'm afraid no one can eat these things!
You don’t want to go back if you can’t sell out, right? "
"That's right, if we don't buy it, you won't be able to sell these things!" Someone echoed.
"Old Hassan, we account for 60% of this market! If we don't buy it, you can't sell it..."
"Threatening me?" Old Hassan said with a sneer, "Felimu, you, a hyena who follows a lion to pick up leftovers, are you worthy of threatening me? Let me tell you, today the things in our tribe will not be returned. I sold it to you—even if I take it all back, I won’t sell it!”
After saying that, he ignored these people, pulled out a charged loudspeaker from the car, and shouted:
"Everyone, come and take a look! Brand-new rifles, brand-new old American food bags, and complete sets of tools are all just like they were pulled out of the factory. They are sold at a cheap price! Come and take a look, it will be gone if it's too late!
Come and take a look, everyone..."
The sudden sound of the trumpet immediately attracted the attention of everyone else in the market.
Hearing Hassan's shout, many people quickly ran towards Hassan's pickup truck.
They immediately pushed aside the few people who didn't buy but were nagging.
In the face of survival, these people are nothing!
Once the market is over, who cares?
Hassan glanced proudly at the embarrassed people, raised his loudspeaker again and shouted:
"Don't rob! I'll shoot anyone who dares to rob! Get in line, look at the sign, and if you want anything, line up in front of the sign! The price of the exchange is listed on the sign, no bargaining!"
The mountain people who came with the tribe had already put up signs with the transaction prices of various things in local languages.
Of course, you can also barter, usually for local products such as grain, raw gemstones, ore.
Someone brought black smoke, but the people brought by Hassan drove them out:
"We won't accept this harmful thing!"
The most popular ones are weapons, food and tools. Seeing these things being bought or exchanged one by one, the few people who were still threatening Hassan became anxious. They immediately dispersed like birds and beasts and quickly joined the crowd of people rushing to buy, hoping that everything would be robbed at the end. Before that, change some essentials.
Seeing that Old Hassan's business was booming, Zhu Yu smiled, and Ran Jie, who was also wearing a headscarf, left here and went shopping in the market.
Sure enough, as old Hassan said, there are many things here, all kinds of strange things.
Someone just laid a piece of cloth on the ground and put two old Aka rifles on it, making it a stall.
Some people don't even have a rifle, so they just put a few magazines on a piece of worn-out felt, and then put two grenades on it.
Some people put a stack of cakes on the stall with half a bag of grain next to it.
There are also some who come here with a few sheep for sale.
The people who set up stalls here to sell things basically don't shout much, just waiting to see if anyone comes to buy their own things.
It’s really the only one selling with a loudspeaker like Old Hassan, no wonder it attracts so many people.
The further inside you go, the more strange things you see.
Zhu Yu even saw a fat man in a stall, wearing a turban and a face scarf, and sitting next to him were a row of five or six girls ranging from twelve or thirteen to eighteen or nineteen years old.
The girls were also wearing headscarves and face scarves, their eyes were confused, ashamed, timid, or curious.
There was nothing in front of them.
Zhu Yu thought for a while and then realized that there was a high probability that this fat man wanted to sell these girls.
Can such a business be done here?
Seeing Zhu Yu stamp his feet, the fat man quickly stood up and greeted him enthusiastically.
However, he was immediately stopped by Zac from the tribe who was sent by Hassan to act as a translator for Zhu Yu and the others. Zac held a gun in his hand and said a series of words. The fat man glanced at Zhu Yu and then said angrily. , turned around and sat down again.
He was still a little unwilling, and after sitting down, he winked hard at Zhu Yu and the others.
After taking a few steps, Zach explained:
"This fat man's name is Vitor, and he was in the pimp and human flesh business before the old American came here.
Everyone looks down on him! The people he attracted were most likely to be homeless girls whose families were killed by the Americans during the war.
Despite their young age, many of them have been in the flesh business for several years.
Someone is sick! "
Zhu Yu shook his head and continued walking inside.
He originally thought that Zach was not allowed to do so because of his teachings, but he did not expect that Zach was afraid that he would get sick.
One stall caught his attention. The items sold at the stall seemed familiar to Zhu Yu: plastic toy cars with packaging boxes, toy pistols, and various animal-shaped plush toys.
This thing often appears in some night markets in China!
I didn’t expect that someone would do business here!
Even though there are quite a lot of people shopping around this stall.
But Zhu Yu could tell at a glance that the quality of these things was very poor and the workmanship was rough. For example, on that stuffed toy, some of the threads have not been cut off. If it is squeezed or touched, the threads will easily come off, exposing the stuffing inside.
And those plastic toys combined with cloth are very hard and stuck, and the plastic materials are also inferior, and they will break if you use a little more force.
But for those families who don't have many toys to entertain their children at home, these things are still very attractive.
People with a little spare money would like to take a look and buy one or two for their children.
"The stall owner said these things are produced in China and are high-end toys." Zach translated, "Many people want to buy them."
In this way, Zhu Yu remembered that in the early 1990s, many people shipped large quantities of low-quality clothing and light industrial products from China to the outer northeast.
The shoddy goods were very popular at first. After all, the light industry in Lao Maozi's area was poorly developed.
However, due to quality reasons, the reputation of the entire Huaxia products was directly affected, so that for a long time, Huaxia products were synonymous with inferior products.
"These things are crudely made," Zhu Yu told Zach, "and are easily broken. Over here, these things will be confiscated and destroyed if found.
Even if it is sold, it is very cheap. The combined value of all the things on these stalls may not be worth a rifle! "
"Is it so cheap?" Zach couldn't believe his ears. "He sold them for three pieces, which is equivalent to one rifle!"
"Even if you add shipping costs, it won't be so expensive." Zhu Yu did not include taxes. There is absolutely no way these things could be shipped through customs normally.
Although he knew the price of these things, Zach did not step forward to reprimand the boss.
This thing belongs to a seller's market. If you are willing to fight or suffer, others will definitely not be able to interfere.
After browsing most of the market, Zhu Xin finally found what she wanted.
In the northeast corner of the market, there is an old man who has wrapped himself tightly and only his eyes are exposed, setting up a stall.
Placed on the stall were several small clay figurines, two clay tablets with characters, a roll of parchment, and a small pile of copper coins.
The stall was deserted and no one asked about the price.
Zhu Yu walked over, squatted down, and asked:
"How much do these things cost?"
He could see that the most recent of these things was three hundred years old - the roll of parchment.
Zach hurriedly translated.
"Each kind is exchanged for a bag of grain." The old man gestured at the price.
"Are you crazy? How could it be worth so much?" Zach translated for Zhu Yu without waiting for Zhu Yu's answer. He turned to the old man and yelled, "All of these combined are not worth as much as a bag of food!"
"He is a foreigner, and he knows the price of these things!" the old man said stubbornly, "if these things are taken abroad, they can be sold for a lot of money!"
"This is impossible!" Zach didn't want his tribe's VIPs to be slaughtered by others, so he retorted:
"If you look for any ruins in the mountains, you may find a lot of these things inside! These things are not valuable at all!"
The old man glared at Zach angrily. He felt that Zach had eaten everything inside.
However, he found that Zach looked at him without any guilt.
Obviously, with Zach's current knowledge, he really doesn't know the potential value of these things.
"Then exchange everything for a bag of grain. This is the lowest price!" the old man said dejectedly.
Zach translated the old man's words to Zhu Yu and said:
"Actually, you don't have to change it at all. If you have time, I can find a lot of these things for you."
"Change it." Zhu Yu said, "Just think of it as a charity."
He could see that the old man was severely malnourished.
If I can't change anything this time, I'm afraid I won't live long.
And this old man is not someone like Zach who has not gone to school for a few days.
Zhu Yu guessed that this person was either a scholar before the war, or a researcher or caretaker of a temple or historic site.
Otherwise it would be impossible to say something like that.
Zach turned his head and gestured to a tribesman who was holding a gun to protect Zhu Yu and the others. The man immediately turned around and ran towards the pickup truck, and then came back with a bag of grain.
The old man looked at the bag of grain and then at the things on his stall. He felt a little reluctant to part with it, but in the end he waved his hand and changed it.
But that bag of grain weighed at least thirty or forty kilograms, and the old man couldn't take it away.
Looking at the unkind eyes of those around him, Zhu Yu said to Zach:
"Send two people to help him send the food back."
The old man did not refuse. He stood up and glanced at Zhu Yu, then looked at the things on the stall, and finally left the place staggeringly.
Zach packed up the things on the stall and wrapped them in cloth bags. Ran Jie took them over.
He knew that since the boss had taken action, the value of these things would definitely not be low.
After walking around the entire market, Zhu Yu saw a few more stalls that surprised him.
For example, there was a stall selling powerful weapons.
Individual missiles, heavy machine guns, mortars, etc.
Although business is not very prosperous, there are still many people watching.
Looking at those brand-new weapons, it is enough to guess that the other party, like Hassan and the others, has also found a hidden old American arsenal.
There was also a stall full of various rough gemstones. Zhu Yu opened his eyes to look over and found that some were real and some were fake.
He directly picked out all the genuine products and bought them while the boss laughed awkwardly.
If these things are taken out, the price in the international market will increase three to five times.
But it’s really not that valuable here.
Of course, I'm afraid there will be fewer and fewer days like this in the future. After all, there is peace here, and more and more people are coming here to hunt for gold. The prices of these things that can maintain their value will naturally rise.
When Zhu Yu turned back to Hassan's pickup truck, he found that most of the things Hassan had brought had been sold.
The two tribesmen who brought the old man food back have not returned yet.
After Hassan asked about the situation, he waved his hand and said, "Let's go back. They will find the tribe by themselves."
So several pickup trucks left the market and headed towards the tribe.
(End of chapter)
