This chapter discusses the proliferation of domestic cultivation, smuggling and domestic consumption from the end of the first Opium War, in 1842, up to the end of the second Opium War, in 1860. The interwar years were an important period in the social life of opium, because this time saw the ‘extensification’ of smoking. Opium had undergone a process of ‘intensification’ when men of letters invented symbols and values for opium. This process gathered momentum in the late eighteenth century and during the early days of Daoguang. The interwar years would see opium's ‘extensification’, when increased domestic cultivation and smuggling transformed opium into ‘something ordinary’. This is a most crucial phase of consumption. Hao Yen-p'ing summarises the post-war economy: ‘The enormous outflow of silver that resulted from the opium trade dealt a heavy blow to China's economy as evidenced by falling prices and the recession during the second quarter of the nineteenth century.’ Despite this drain, opium smoking exploded. This raises questions over the quick replacement of silver and over exactly why consumption boomed during economic contraction. Not only did foreign opium continue to pour into the country, but also Chinese opium began to compete with it. Both helped to regenerate the economy, and smoking penetrated thoroughly down to the peasantry. The Opium War seemed to have boosted the popularity of opium and brought about a sense of resignation.