With the two thousand yuan borrowed from Zhou Qiang, Wang Xu set off for the county seat.
Everything went smoothly after that. The old classmates exchanged pleasantries, spent over six hundred yuan on a meal at a hotel, and Wang Xu slipped him two cartons of Yuxi cigarettes.
Before dark that evening, a hundred vials of penicillin were delivered. The person driving was said to be a deputy director.
"Brother, penicillin is a prescription drug. You've come to the right person. These hundred vials—only five boxes—if you put them in a town pharmacy, they wouldn't dare sell them to you even if you had the money. Otherwise, if they get caught, their medical license would be revoked." After the business was done, his old classmate boasted even more grandiosely.
From his tone, it sounded as if Wang Xu would be executed by firing squad if he had tried to get these drugs through anyone else.
Of course, when asking for a favor, one must act the part.
Wang Xu played the hype man, and once his old classmate was finished boasting, he smiled and asked, "If I need a lot more, can you handle it?"
"A lot? How many? The entire county uses tens of thousands of vials of penicillin a month. I'm not bragging, but my old man has been the hospital director for twenty or thirty years. No matter how much you need, I can get it for you. Just from the way you talk, I can tell you don't know how deep these waters run." It was impossible for his old classmate not to brag.
However, every Chinese person knows how corrupt the medical system is; if you aren't part of it, you wouldn't believe the stories.
Hearing this, Wang Xu had a good idea of the situation. If there was already a 'loss' of tens of thousands of vials normally, adding a few tens of thousands more probably wouldn't even be noticed.
Calculating it this way, just providing ten thousand vials of penicillin a month to the base would bring in a hundred gold bars, with the cost being less than a tenth of that.
Similarly, by exchanging those gold bars for antiques, treasures like the Misty Rain Painting, he could get at least four or five pieces.
Good heavens, at this rate, a monthly income of over a hundred million was guaranteed. It would be hard not to get rich!
"Old classmate, we grew up together from middle school through high school. We should definitely stay in touch more often!" Thinking of the potential profits, Wang Xu's smile became even more cordial.
His old classmate was named Yang Fu, currently idling around the County Hospital without a proper job.
Hearing this, Yang Fu dangled a cigarette from his lips and nodded noncommittally. "Next time, don't play around with such small amounts. Small business is just boring."
This time, Wang Xu wanted very little stock, so he didn't make much profit. If it weren't for the sake of their old friendship, he wouldn't have even bothered to show up.
Wang Xu caught the drift. Well, this guy was even more unscrupulous than him. Indeed, one couldn't be a doctor without a black heart.
"Next time, at least ten thousand vials to start, maybe more." Wang Xu said with a smile, then frowned slightly and asked, "Reselling prescription drugs... that's not illegal, is it?"
"Stop right there. You can call me fat, but I won't have you calling me a criminal."
Yang Fu had grown up in the hospital and knew all the tricks. He smiled and said, "These drugs are all expired. You're the person our hospital hired to dispose of expired medicine. How could that be illegal?"
"I've become part of your hospital too?"
Wang Xu found it hilarious, but Yang Fu stopped smiling and nodded solemnly. "Yes, you're a contract worker for the hospital; we just haven't gotten around to signing the contract yet."
Today, Wang Xu finally saw what it meant to lie through one's teeth with a straight face.
He was a bit curious—if he brought Yang Fu into the world of lurk, with his professional skills, he could probably become an agent.
At the very least, Yang Fu had already mastered the most important trait of an agent: lying through one's teeth without blinking.
He even fooled himself with that convincing act; he'd definitely be a pro at fooling others.
Looking at his old classmate's serious and righteous expression, Wang Xu really wanted to say: the Underground Party needs comrades like you.
No, the Underground Party wouldn't work. The Underground Party in lurk generally had a very disciplined style; Yang Fu would likely be purged internally.
Hmm, better to go to the Central Statistics Bureau. They need talent like this. Or maybe the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics needs him too.
"Wait!" Thinking of the Central Statistics Bureau, Wang Xu suddenly remembered that Xie Ruolin always wanted to cooperate with him. If he brought back so much medicine, would the man notice something?
Xie Ruolin was like a shark; he could smell blood from miles away and would pounce ravenously.
He had intense curiosity coupled with greed for profit, and his personal abilities were extremely sharp. One really had to be on guard against him.
After some more pleasantries, Wang Xu bid farewell to his old classmate and returned home with the five boxes of penicillin, his mind heavy with thought.
Once home, he took a look. The penicillin came in long boxes of twenty vials each. Not only did the boxes have contact information, but the vials themselves had date stamps.
He held one up to look. Damn, April 2, 2015.
What the hell? The setting of lurk was in the republic of china era, and it wasn't even past 1940 yet.
This wouldn't do. Bringing them over like this would definitely blow his cover. Wang Xu quickly rummaged through his toolbox, pulled out a small file, and filed off the "2015" year stamp.
"There, that's better. Throw away the boxes, file off the dates, and now their origin is untraceable." Wang Xu spent half an hour finishing the task, feeling quite resentful.
Honestly, why do manufacturers have to print production dates?
Even if they do, just putting it on the box is enough. Printing it on the vials too? That's just making extra work for him.
Between borrowing money, going to the county, buying drinks, and filing off dates, the sun was already about to set by the time he finished.
Luckily, the time in the two dimensions was inverted. It was evening in reality, but just morning in lurk.
After tidying the room and hiding the King Wen Lotus Censer, Wang Xu checked the time. He didn't need to sleep; he could head over just in time for the trade... "Steamed buns! Fresh out of the steamer! Hot buns!"
"Wontons! Thin skin and generous filling! One bowl will leave you wanting two!"
It was morning in lurk. The streets and alleys were crowded. Wang Xu waited a long time until a squad from the Gendarmerie passed by. While everyone was looking away, he slipped out of the shuttle gate unnoticed.
Stepping into the republic of china era, he immediately felt a completely different atmosphere.
Hot buns were two cents each, and wontons were five cents.
For a breakfast eaten on the street, you couldn't even spend ten cents.
Of course, if you went to a grand restaurant, there were banquets costing a hundred yuan, which would be ten Silver Dollars.
For the banknotes issued by the Nationalist Party, 10 yuan equaled 1 Silver Dollar.
One Small Gold Bar weighed one tael and was worth around thirty Silver Dollars, which converted to 300 yuan in paper currency.
An ordinary shop assistant earned 4 Silver Dollars a year, while a manager earned 7.
As for the paper money, it fluctuated constantly. Today, ten yuan might get you one Silver Dollar, but tomorrow it might take twelve.
Passing a bun stall on the street, Wang Xu smelled the aroma and felt a bit hungry. He took out one Silver Dollar and ordered three buns to go, planning to eat while he walked.
At the sight of the Silver Dollar, the owner's eyes crinkled into slits with a wide grin.
The owner used the official exchange rate and gave him back over 9 yuan in paper bills. For a breakfast costing only a few cents, he had made a profit of over two yuan just like that.
"Boss, you're quite the profiteer. One Silver Dollar can probably fetch 13 yuan on the black market now, right?"
"Not at all, not at all. It's just a small business, just making a tiny bit..."
The owner smiled obsequiously as he saw Wang Xu off.
Wang Xu wasn't in the mood to haggle over such small change. He shook his head and was about to leave when he suddenly spotted a figure in the crowd that looked quite like Xie Ruolin.
"Xie Ruolin?" Wang Xu frowned slightly and took a bite of his bun without looking.
Must have seen wrong. Xie Ruolin was the type who wouldn't get up early unless there was profit involved. It might be possible to see Yu Zecheng here, but Xie Ruolin wouldn't be out this early if he had nothing to do.
Thinking of this, Wang Xu ate his bun, looking back over his shoulder every few steps as he walked.
From beginning to end, that figure resembling Xie Ruolin never appeared again. It seemed he really had been mistaken.