Selina asked the coachman through the open window.
"Ma'am, you'd better get out of the car and take a look."
"This way your questions will be answered."
Selina listened to the carriage driver's words, opened the door of the carriage and walked out, followed by Chu Long who got off the carriage.
After getting off the carriage, what appeared in front of Chu Long and Selina was a neat and long queue. At the intersection of the street, two men in black suits were checking passes. There were spacious streets around them, but they were
No one dared to force their way through, everyone was waiting step by step, which shows that the strict rules of the black market are deeply rooted in people's hearts.
"This is the first time in my life that I have to wait in line."
"This is unique to the black market. Just come here often."
"Selina, have you been to the black market?"
"Recommended by a friend. He has been to the black market and talked about it."
While the two were talking, the queue in front was moving quickly. Despite the length of the queue, there were many people. However, the two inspectors in front who were responsible for checking passes were very fast. In just a few minutes, seven or eight people passed by.
Yes, it seems you don’t have to wait too long.
Sure enough, Chu Long was not disappointed. In less than ten minutes, it was their turn.
"Sir, Madam, please show your passes."
Two men in black suits, one stood upright waiting for the "tourists" to come forward, and the other held an open book to record every person who came and went.
Chu Long and Selina each took out their own passes and handed them to the man in a suit in front of them. They took the passes handed over by Chu Long, turned Chu Long's one over to the back, and touched the corner of the pass with their hands.
After a while, he handed it back to Chu Long and said the number "111" to another man in a suit beside him.
Selina's picture is "126".
Chu Long found that every time the man in a suit said a number, the other man in a suit would record it.
"Sir, madam, please come in!"
The man in the suit handed back the pass in his hand to Chu Long and the two of them, and indicated that they could enter Foyle Square.
When Chu Long and Selina walked towards the Foyle Square, Chu Long carefully touched the back of the pass in his hand like a man in a suit, and found that he could feel a number in one corner.
The number that comes out is "111".
Feeling the numbers, Chu Long immediately turned the pass over and looked at the back of the pass again with the help of the not-so-bright street lights. However, there were no numbers at all, only the map. Press the location he felt and touched it again.
Look, there are indeed numbers.
"What are you doing?"
Selina had noticed something strange about Chu Long just now, and had been fiddling with the pass, sometimes frowning, sometimes relaxing her brows, as if she had discovered something.
"Did your friend tell you about the pass?"
Chu Long did not answer Selina directly, but asked her questions to support his thoughts.
"Pass?"
Selina hesitated and then said.
“The function of the pass is like a map!”
"Ah! By the way, the previous passes were said to have numbers on the lower right corner of the front. It was hard to spot without looking carefully."
Selina suddenly remembered the conversation she had with her friend, and told Chu Long next to her what she had thought of.
I see
, it seems that the number was originally registered, but this time the black market must have changed, and commemorative passes were issued to "hide" the number.
"Selina, touch the back of your pass and you will find something."
Selina turned over the pass, touched the back, looked at Chu Long and said, "Numbers!"
"That's right! I can't see it yet."
"It looks like the black market will be different this time."
Looking at the pass, Selina suddenly said this.
"There is an old saying in the East: As soon as it comes, let it go."
Chu Long looked at Selina and said.
"What's the meaning?"
“You’re here now, just feel at ease!”
…
In Foyle's small square, almost all the stock shops are closed at night. The small square, which should usually be dark, is now brightly lit as far as the eye can see. All the street lights are on. Not only is it as bright as day, but it is also visible
brightly lit.
The square was filled with box carriages, mostly four-wheeled large box carriages pulled by four horses. People who had passed the inspection were boarding these carriages one after another.
At this time, a voice came over.
"Five pounds a piece."
Chu Long looked in the direction of the sound and found an old man dressed in gray selling something there. There was a stock shop behind him with its door open. People were wearing their own clothes when they walked in, but when they came out they were all
Wearing a dark cloak and an exaggerated mask on his face, he boarded the carriage.
"Didn't it mean that the black market itself prepares free robes for 'customers' to cover their bodies and block their sight?"
Chu Long looked at this scene and asked curiously.
"Who knows!"
Selina also doesn't know what happened, which is different from what she learned!
"This is a disguised charge!" Chu Long said.
"The black market has autonomy and the government cannot interfere," Selina said calmly.
"The masking robe prepared on the black market will definitely be recycled when you get off the bus, and you will not be allowed to wear it forever." Selina looked at the people boarding the carriage in the distance, and then looked at the old man selling the robe.
He said softly to Chu Long: "The robe that the old gentleman sells should be something that can be worn all the time."
“Does the black market still provide privacy services?”
"I don't know, no one will explain it to you in detail."
"I thought your friend would."
"She's not a storyteller."
"Then do you need it?"
"Hiding your identity is also a way of protecting yourself, isn't it?"
After Selina finished speaking, she walked straight towards the old man selling the cloak.
"Actions represent what you are thinking at the moment.
Chu Long also walked towards the old man.
…
Selina directly paid six pounds and walked towards the innermost part of the stock store, where there were large cloaks that covered the whole body and exquisite masks, which could hide the identity without losing the beauty.
"Sir, may I excuse you?"
Chu Long came to the old man and asked.
After collecting money from a customer, the old man looked at the young man in front of him.
"Okay! Young man, what can I do for you?"
Chu Long asked about his doubts
He came out and asked Selina again just like he just asked, except that the subject was changed to the old man in front of him.
"The black robe you mentioned is on the carriage, and it can only be left in the carriage when you get off."
"The robes sold here can be taken away. You can wear them throughout the black market. When you get on the carriage, you only need to wear a blindfold under the mask."
"Not everyone who works in the black market can disclose their identity. They need a layer of 'cloth' to block the gaze of others."
"Young man, do you have any questions?"
"No more, sir."
Chu Long is different from Selina. It doesn’t matter whether the robe is good-looking or not, as long as it is covered, his suit is not conspicuous. It is not as eye-catching as Selina’s dress. Like everyone else, he spent five pounds.
I chose a cloak that was pleasing to the eye and suited my body shape, and a mask that wasn't too weird.
…
On the street outside Foyle's small square, a man holding a civilized staff and wearing a top hat slowly walked towards the queue. He exuded a chill, and anyone who approached him would involuntarily take a step back.
Such things as standing in line never happen to him. Even though he is older, he still has an intimidating aura.
Ignoring the people queuing up with passes in hand, they went directly to the man in suit checking the passes, raised the brim of his hat slightly, and glanced at the man.
"Hello Mr. Toby!"
The man in the suit shook his hands involuntarily, and bowed slightly to say hello to the middle-aged and elderly man in front of him. The other man in charge of registration was so shocked that he almost dropped the registration pen to the ground. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and did not make a fool of himself.
"Good evening, gentlemen!"
"Drink more coffee, it will refresh you."
After saying something incomprehensible, the man walked straight towards Foyle's Square, holding his civilized stick, and ignored the two men in suits.
"call!"
"I just felt like I was being locked up in a funeral parlor, and it was as depressing as death."
"I thought I was the only one who felt it."
The two looked at each other and smiled bitterly, then continued their work.
…
It has to be said that Chu Long and Selina were very lucky. There were only five double carriages in the entire Foyle Square. They were so lucky that they could even try betting on horses!
Getting on the carriage again, Chu Long and the others didn't know where they were going. Anyway, it must be nearby, not too far away. Chu Long and the others had heard of this, and of course it didn't mean that they had never been far away.
There was a time when the black market opened to the sea, and large ferries carried people aimlessly on the sea until the black market ended.
They all say that you need to blindfold yourself, but you only have a short time to take it off by yourself, when the carriage starts to move. The windows of the carriage carriage are sealed, and the windows on both sides are sealed by a thick black cloth.
, sealed tightly. An oil lamp was hung in the carriage so that the whole carriage would not be dark and people would not be irritable because of the darkness.
The carriage kept moving forward. Chu Long didn't know where the carriage would take them. He still didn't know much about the city of London. Even though he had lived here for a long time, he still couldn't do what he did in Dover.
learn.
In the closed carriage compartment, Selina also didn't know where the carriage would be pulled, but what was better than Chu Long was that she could try to guess.
There are two docks, a park, and an orphanage dilapidated by the war nearby that can be used as venues for black markets.
For Selina, no matter where the carriage goes, she will feel at ease because of her "ability".
The carriage is moving forward, and anyone familiar with it will find that the route is going in circles and will only reach one place in the end.
This place is: Fimbull Pier, which is the pier closest to Foyle Square. I usually choose a farther location, but this time I chose a location that was surprisingly close.