One summer, Popescu the American bought one hundred pieces of Italian salami and left them dry. In the autumn, he rolled them in starch and sold them as Sibiu salami. Several were fooled but the rest saw through it and he remained with the stock.

At some point, in the mid ?80s, Popescu was old and somewhat ill, and he had master Fanica, who was much younger, run the whole business. The disco was open on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. I used to come and wash the throwaway cups, which we recuperated in the evening. There were lipstick marks on them, but we washed them with detergent. We prepared the ness cafes and the grapefruit juice. One box of ness-café was enough for 15 cups. Popescu the American made them very weak, so that he could have the rest. Fanica made them even weaker, so that we could have the rest. Instead of 15, he could end up with 35 cups. It was a vaguely coffee-flavored brew that tasted awfully. The same went for the grapefruit juice, which was mere water mixed with sugar and grapefruit juice from Cuban tin cans. We mixed them in big 30-liter milk-cans. Sometimes one can was ours, ?cause he bought the juice at shop price.

In the evening we went to Popescu and gave him the money. After we had our share, we drove him to the Militari area. The journey alone cost 100 lei. At some point, Fanica simply started to reserve part of the products for himself. And I confess, that summer I too provided my friends with beef, pork, bacon and the like.

One winter, Popescu the American gave me a desperate call, that I don?t know how many tons of meat had come in. I sent word to all my friends. When I went to work, they all gave me their lists? I remember I went there with a big empty sack and came back with a full one. (C. V., 129)

It was easy. My fridge was always full: fillet, dry seasoned sausages, hard cheese, butter, everything I wanted. I knew many persons who helped me with the supplies. Like M. I., who worked at the bar of the Polytechnics Institute? I never lacked anything. Nor did anyone I know of. Everyone managed. It was like a sort of network. If I knew someone, somewhere, who could provide me with, say, socks, and someone knew someone else who could sell them cheese, we introduced ourselves to each other?s providers, or we simply had each one provide the other. That was the way. (A.-E.-I., 46)