ps: Yesterday's father-in-law's birthday, I didn't update it in time, I'm sorry. Now two more in a row

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London, Silver Town Pier.

According to the latest Chinese dictionary, the "black market" refers to a market that has been illegally formed without government approval, and is characterized by the trading of goods that are not allowed to be marketed or the clandestine buying and selling at prices higher than the open market price.

However, the "black market" is not a Chinese patent, and it has almost run through the history of human civilization. Since mankind got rid of ignorance, there has been a black market in every country and in any era. As long as there are things in the world that cannot be bought on the official market, but that are desirable, the black market will not disappear. At most, it's just a matter of quantity, product range, and program.

London is no exception, there is also a black market and a long history. Near Richmond Park in southwest London, there is the oldest black market in London, and it is said to have existed before London, but recently it seems to be showing signs of being replaced. Since the beginning of the war, the black market in the silver town of east London has become more and more prosperous, and since the introduction of rationing, it has become more and more like the first black market in London.

The black market is located in the dock area of Silver Town, because of its proximity to the River Thames, and with this geographical advantage, this place has spontaneously formed a black market in the past few years, and the goods circulating here are mainly smuggled parallel goods from the East. Baker's home is not far from here, and he has been here a few times in the past to buy some parallel goods from the black market, such as the large freezer he now uses in his house, and his Mercedes Benz, which he bought from here.

Baker drove his beloved Mercedes Benz to his wife, Lisa, and after parking the car in the nearby parking lot, he dropped a shilling tip to the guard next to him and took his wife into the black market.

Although this is a black market, everything is sold in the open, and there is no sneaky feel at all, and it looks like a few traditional commercial streets in London.

"Honey, there are so many people here! is it really a black market?" Lisa was a little embarrassed when she saw this scene. Isn't this a black market from what she imagined? Shouldn't the black market be a deal where everyone talks in a low voice and sneaks around the house?

Like now, the road is lined with dense shops, and there is an endless stream of customers coming and going, and the sound of soliciting customers and bargaining can be heard everywhere, and it is very lively. The most excessive thing is that there are still a lot of advertisements hanging at the gates of those shops, such as "The latest arrival of Far Eastern premium flour, the lowest price in London!", "China electrical specials, Desheng brand radio, red light tape recorder, the latest in the world!", "Fresh pork slaughtered in the morning, don't miss it, there is no second one in the whole of London!" ...... And so on and so forth.

Baker laughed, "Hehe, it's normal." The price of parallel goods here is cheap, one to three percent lower than that of similar goods in the regular market, and if you are lucky, you will encounter something that is damaged, and even half of it will be discounted. Isn't it a fool not to take advantage of it? Of course there are more people......"

"Doesn't the government care?" Lisa was a little puzzled.

"Uh, whatever, whatever? Look, aren't there police?" Baker lifted his chin forward. Sure enough, the first few police officers were patrolling the streets, and they were seriously maintaining order. They scanned the surroundings with a keen gaze and quickly caught a thief from the shop. Then he took the thief away with the gratitude of the shop owner.

"This ...... Is this really the black market?" Lisa was even more embarrassed.

"It's a semi-legal black market, and the shops here and even the whole market are backed by big guys, and the water behind it is very deep...... Besides, the market is thriving, and it's good for the local government, so they all pretend not to know that it's a black market. Baker explained in a low voice, "For example, the police, who are here to maintain order, not only have extra bonuses to take, but also can buy things at a lower price, they naturally work hard......"

"Alright, you'll find out about these things later, let's go find the food store now. Baker said. As he spoke, he walked to the side of the road and browsed a street sign indicating the location of various goods.

"Ha, I found it, food ...... Lisa, do you see? It's the silver building, the Holy Light Building, which is the largest food store......

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The Holy Light Building is a seven-story department store, which is nothing in later generations, but it is a very eye-catching building at this time. NOD International Trading occupies five floors here.

"Manager Liu, how is business today?"

"Hehe, it's not bad...... Liu Fan's slightly chubby face was full of kind smiles, and he dealt with this businessman from China in formulaic professional language. "Boss Wang is so good-looking, he must have made a fortune......

Boss Wang said with a grateful face: "Where, where, it's just a little money." It's all thanks to your NOD company, or we Chinese people who don't know each other here......"

"They are all compatriots, they can help when they are outside, it's just a matter of raising their hands. Liu Fan said politely.

The two exchanged pleasantries for a while, and Boss Wang took his leave. After sending off the guests, Liu Fan began to read the text.

Secretary Li next to him said with disdain: "Manager Liu, these businessmen are really dead. At this time, you still dare to run to Europe......"

Liu Fan said without raising his face: "Hehe, don't say that." People die for money, birds die for food, risks and benefits are proportional, and those who dare to come dare to take risks. At this time, they can earn more than they used to make three trips, so why don't they come? If it weren't for the strict card in China, the number of people who came would be at least several times more than now......

Liu Fan, the word Bilong. A native of Zizhou, Sichuan, he was born as a businessman and used to work in a shop at home. After Xingke appeared, he took refuge in Xingke, originally he just planned to do a position like a shopkeeper in Xingke, but he accidentally entered the intelligence department, and is currently working in the Ministry of State Security.

This NOD International Trading Company is on the surface of the industry of the British Godzilla Consortium, but we all know that Desmond, the boss of the Godzilla Consortium, is under President Wen.

Liu Fan's task this time is very easy, and there is no need to take risks, that is, to control the black market in this silver town through the forces of the Godzilla consortium, and use the black market transactions to buy all kinds of precious metals and antiques from the people. You know, Niu Niu has robbed the whole earth, searched the world for hundreds of years, I don't know how many good things in the family, although most of them are concentrated in the hands of their royal family, government and wealthy magnates, but there are also a lot of people who have fallen into the people, as well as those former magnates who have declined in the middle way, although they have declined, but there are always some good things in the family that have not been lost.

If you want to get these things at another time, it will cost a lot of money and price. But now this time is different, this is war, this is troubled times, and long-term wars and troubled times. As the saying goes, "gold in troubled times, antiques in prosperous times", but this sentence is not accurate. If it really comes to troubled times, even gold is not worth much, what is really valuable is food, clothing, medicine, and all kinds of survival materials.

Although Britain has not yet reached this point, it has only been a year since the First World War began, and it is still a long time. What's more, they have already begun to implement the rationing system, and it is easy to go from thrift to luxury, and from luxury to frugality. The British, who are used to living a good life, are so able to endure the days of a few meters in the pot, and they are not poor, but the materials can't come in. The scarcity of survival supplies is enough to make it unbearable for many people before, and they will make wise choices in order to maintain their own living standards.

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The Bakers walked into the Holy Light Building. It follows the model of a supermarket of later generations, with no counters and all items placed in open shelves or baskets for customers to choose. The items are all priced, and the customer will go to the checkout after selecting them. This model was already popular in later generations, but it was a very new affair in this era. This thoughtful and convenient way of shopping attracts a large number of customers, even if it is a black market.

The Bakers were no exception, and they were also attracted to this novel way of shopping. At this time, a young girl wearing a long dress in a waiter's uniform greeted them and smiled at them: "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, are you here to shop? What do you need to buy, you can tell me and I will give you some references......"

"Miss, we want to buy some groceries...... Lisa said.

"Okay, please come with me, the drinks section is in zones 1-3, and the deli area is in zones 4-9......" Fran said politely, borrowing a shopping trolley for them.

The Bakers were blinded by the sheer variety of goods available here. Fran is a competent shopping guide, and seeing that they are coming for the first time, he introduces the products in the store next to each other.

"This is the beverage area, and we have 56 kinds of tea and 23 kinds of coffee...... The best thing is this, the best Longjing tea from China, which used to be a treasure for the Chinese royal family, with an annual output of less than 100 kilograms, and will not be sold at all. Fran pointed to the row of locked glass jars and said, "In the whole of Europe, this store is the only one that sells it, and it costs £99 an ounce......"

"My God, this is several times more expensive than gold!" exclaimed, covering her mouth. Baker's face was not good-looking.

"Hehe, it's less produced than gold, and of course it's more expensive than gold. Of course, we have not only this excellent tea here, but also other deluxe teas, premium teas, and mass teas......" Fran smiled, pointed to another row of glass jars, and said, "This is a deluxe tea, 6 to 20 pounds per ounce, suitable for lords to hold tea parties...... Well, this row is a fine tea with the best of a gentleman's daily drink, and it sells for anywhere from 10 shillings to £5 per pound......"

Damn, that's what the words are. Baker's face finally improved, and the price was acceptable. The deluxe version of the tea is really unaffordable.