sjar Chapter 306 Li Changqing Makes His First Money Following Zhang Yingnian
Chapter 306 Li Changqing Makes His First Money Following Zhang Yingnian
When Li Changqing hung up the old public phone, his face was clouded with worry. He stood on a street in Shanghai, inside a slightly worn-out phone booth with a red frame. The coin-operated phone required coins to be added one by one for each call, and behind him was a long line of people, their impatient eyes fixed on him.
This phone call transcended the bustling metropolis of Shanghai, heading straight for the distant Xing'an Mountains. He dialed Yang Dezheng's number, followed by a long wait, during which he had to look back every now and then, while the people waiting in line behind him rolled their eyes at him.
Finally, the phone rang on the other end, a call from Yang Dezheng. However, the spark of hope was fleeting; not only did he fail to borrow a single penny, but his already meager finances were further strained. The expensive long-distance call charges were too high; Li Ju'an wouldn't lend him a single cent. An indescribable anger burned fiercely in his chest.
In a fit of rage, he slammed his fist into the faded red frame of the phone booth, the impact sending a sharp pain through his knuckles. So angry that his fist turned red, he didn't even notice the pain, cursing, "Damn it! You, Li Ju'an, you really won't lend me a single penny. You bastard!"
He muttered curses under his breath, his eyes glancing out of the corner of his eye at Zhang Yingnian, who was sneaking around inside the public phone booth, eager to see if he could borrow money with this call. Thinking it was such a great opportunity to get rich, he winked at Zhang Yingnian, telling him to wait.
Li Changqing took a deep breath, mustered his courage, and dialed that familiar number with trembling fingers—his own mother's. He was extremely reluctant, fearing that the moment the call connected, he would be met with a torrent of scolding.
As he had predicted, when the old woman answered the phone and heard that it was about doing business and needed money from home, she first asked casually, "How much?" Zhang Yingnian, who was standing beside her, stammered, "Eighteen thousand is enough." Upon hearing this, the old woman sighed softly, her voice full of helplessness and worry.
The old woman sighed and said, "Your father really doesn't have that kind of money. If he really wants it, he'll have to sell our house in the county town. If we sell the house, where will the two of us old folks live?"
Having made up his mind and decided to go all out, Li Changqing said to his mother, "Mom, we don't need to sell the house. We just need to mortgage it to the bank. The bank will transfer some money to me."
Upon hearing this, the elderly woman looked puzzled and asked, "The bank is so kind as to lend us money? You really don't need to sell your house?"
“Really, there’s no need to sell, Mom. You have to trust me.” Li Changqing’s tone was firm. “It’s just a matter of signing a document. The procedure is simple. Just tell Dad later. It’s just a matter of writing something down. It’s not troublesome at all.”
The old woman was a simple, honest rural woman from a poor farming background. She had no idea about the intricacies and complexities of financial lending. But when she heard that her son seemed poised for great things, how could she, as a mother, not support him?
Upon hearing that her son was about to achieve great success, she, as a mother, couldn't let him down, so she quickly agreed: "Okay, I'll talk to your dad. It's just signing a document, what's the big deal? If your dad doesn't agree, Mom will figure something out."
Li Changqing's eyes gleamed with excitement as he nodded repeatedly in agreement, "Okay, Mom, you're truly the backbone of our family. We still need you in crucial moments. With you here, I feel much more at ease."
Hearing this, the old woman felt a surge of warmth in her heart, and a smile involuntarily appeared on her lips: "Of course. I remember when you were little, I even asked the old man in the village to read your palm. He said that our son would definitely achieve great things in the future and would be a very successful person. Just go for it with confidence, Mom supports you."
Subsequently, the elderly couple resolutely mortgaged their commercial property in the county town to the bank, just to raise enough funds for Li Changqing.
Carrying this weighty love and support, Li Changqing embarked on a journey south with Zhang Yingnian. He took the money and went south with Zhang Yingnian to buy small cassette tapes. Zhang Yingnian also heard that there was a business in Hong Kong selling small discs, and thinking that there was money to be made, she urged Li Changqing to find some more money so that they could do both businesses together.
Night fell, and the street corners of Shanghai were dimly lit. Two figures moved among the shadows. Li Changqing and Zhang Yingnian pushed an old but gleaming tricycle. The tricycle was loaded with small cassette tapes and CDs, which shimmered in the dim streetlights. They were selling these small cassette tapes and CDs in the shadows.
They specifically chose to go at night, entering the small cassette and CD shops hidden along the streets. The two men skillfully offered cigarettes, and amidst the swirling smoke, they built rapport with the shop owners. They would offer cigarettes to the individual business owners, smoke a couple, and start chatting. Zhang Yingnian had a keen business sense and could always turn strangers into acquaintances through witty conversation.
He's eloquent and quick-witted. Every few days, the small business owners in the surrounding blocks all get to know the two of them.
These past few days, the local business owners have all had a deep impression of these two men. The first batch of tapes sold successfully, and Li Changqing's face beamed with undisguised joy. He gently stroked the stack of crisp new banknotes in his hand; the large unity banknotes looked especially festive under the dim light, making him overjoyed. Those beautiful large unity banknotes filled him with happiness, a happiness that penetrated his very soul.
"800 yuan! Brother Zhang, we really made money. We made 800 yuan on just one trip, we're rich now."
Li Changqing and Zhang Yingnian stood side by side, weighing the heavy money bag in their hands. Inside were not only the cost of recycling secondhand cassette tapes, but also the reward for their hard work burning tapes. After settling the accounts, besides the cost price of the secondhand cassette tapes, there was also the money from burning the tapes. With 800 yuan deducted from the cost, he could earn three or four hundred yuan, which was a very considerable income.
For the two of them, making a single trip could net them a profit of three or four hundred yuan from a mere eight hundred yuan. This boosted their confidence, and they were overjoyed.
Zhang Yingnian was in high spirits. He waved his hand and pointed generously to the dumpling restaurant in front of him, saying with a smile, "Come on, brother! Today, I'll take you to have a good meal and taste the authentic flavor of our hometown dumplings. This restaurant is really authentic."
"Alright!" Li Changqing responded cheerfully, his eyes gleaming with determination. This trip had been very fruitful, which solidified his resolve to closely follow Zhang Yingnian's lead and go further and further down this path of making money.
He was now determined to make money with Zhang Yingnian. If the first wave was this successful, he was sure to become rich as they expanded to more neighborhoods.
……
At that moment, Li Ju'an was leisurely sitting with Old Zhang from the village's security department, chatting about everyday things. Meanwhile, Sun Weimin and Sun Quande had once again embarked on their journey into the mountains to collect ginseng.
The uncles and brothers of the Sun family chose to stay in the village, planning to go to the market that afternoon to exchange the clubs they had obtained from their mountain rafting trip for real money. The Sun family had lived in the mountains for generations, and although they were a large and prosperous family, they were very united.
The women, including the aunts and sisters-in-law, were scattered across their assigned fields, working hard and sweating profusely. Even the elderly men, not wanting to be left out, wore straw hats and borrowed semi-automatic farm tools from the brigade leader, trembling as they busied themselves in the fields, as if pouring their life's toil into this land.