Reborn in 80: Starting with hunting in the mountains to get rich

Zhang Yingnian sighed and sat in the prison canteen, saying, "I'm really possessed. You two brothers have ruined my life because of this.

Li Changqing watched as Zhang Yingnian was locked in the small solitary cell again and said to him, "Every cause has its effect. You deserve what you did. You have to suffer what you deserve."

The jailer came over and told Li Changqing that someone had come to visit him in prison.

Li Changqing knew that Li Ju'an had arrived.

During his years in prison, apart from his elderly parents, it was his cousin who frequently visited him, almost once a month, to give gifts to the prison staff and arrange better conditions for him.

Looking at Li Ju'an, whose clothes were clean, Li Changqing suddenly felt that his cousin was somewhat unfamiliar.

In the past, it was clearly his relationship with his cousin that was bad, but now his cousin had become his lifeline in the darkness. He couldn't even imagine how difficult it would have been for him in prison without Li Ju'an.

Li Ju'an looked at Li Changqing, whose hair and temples were already turning gray, sighed, and said, "The old man and woman have had their old ailments flare up these past few days, but nothing important has happened. The old man hasn't stopped taking his high blood pressure medication; we've been urging him to take it. The old woman also has benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), and she always complains of dizziness. We went to the hospital, and they said it's vestibular neuritis. This disease requires slow and careful treatment."

Li Changqing nodded sullenly and listened quietly.

Li Ju'an said, "The elderly folks keep asking me when you'll be able to get out. I told them it's hard to say for sure. You should tell them yourself next time you see them. Sometimes you shouldn't make things difficult for yourself. You're going against Zhang Yingnian like this, and you still can't get out early if you behave well. It's not good for you. The elderly folks miss you a lot. The sooner you can get out, the better."

Li Changqing remained silent.

Li Ju'an talked a lot more, mentioning that his second uncle had passed away due to high blood sugar and poor control of his chronic illness. His second aunt was now helping her youngest son's wife take care of their child. He guessed that the second son would take care of his second aunt in her old age and see her off in death, while the eldest son would just contribute some money as a way of showing filial piety.

The second aunt's family is also interesting. In the past, Mingming devoted himself to taking care of his eldest son and daughter-in-law's children, but after the children grew up and moved out, their relationship with the second aunt deteriorated. The second aunt could only live with her youngest son and daughter-in-law.

According to Li Ju'an, there's nothing that can be done about this; it depends on the individual.

After listening to Li Ju'an ramble on for a long time, Li Changqing suddenly looked up and said earnestly, "Thank you, Li Ju'an."

Li Ju'an was taken aback, not expecting his cousin to thank him so formally.

He chuckled twice and said, "Don't mention thank you. You'll be out in three years, won't you? You've had so many years of reduced sentences, so behave well and don't squander them."

Li Changqing looked up and saw that although he was only in his early thirties, he already had deep forehead wrinkles and crow's feet. His weathered appearance made him look like a little old man.

He said earnestly, "Cousin, thank you for taking care of my parents on my behalf. I will thank you when I get out."

Li Ju'an smiled.

He wasn't trying to save his cousin; he was trying to save his past self. He knew all too well what it felt like to be reported and imprisoned. Nearly twenty years of imprisonment in his previous life had tormented him to the point of madness. Now, by helping Li Changqing, he was trying to help his past self.

He also redeemed himself.

……

In 90, Li Ju'an started using a pager. Three years later, in order to make it easier to contact Pang Duolai and others, he switched to a Motorola mobile phone.

The Motorola 3200 he wanted to buy had to be purchased through a waiting list and cost a staggering 2 yuan. He asked Qin Shuang, the owner of a Hong Kong auction house, to help him get one. Pang Duo couldn't buy one anywhere else and had to resort to the black market.

Motorolas are being sold for as much as 35,000 on the black market.

Pang Duo asked Li Ju'an how he bought it, and he was so angry that he jumped up and down, shouting that he had really overpaid.

"I asked Sun Jiarong to pull some strings to keep one for me, but who knew Sun Jiarong was such a sly fox, guess what he did."

"What did he do?"

"Damn it! That bastard Sun Jiarong actually bought a mobile phone for himself and was showing off in front of me, saying it was the last one, and if he got it, I wouldn't have one. What kind of person is that?"

Li Ju'an laughed heartily.

He could only help Pang Duo scold Sun Jiarong: "Sun Jiarong is in the real estate business. Businessmen always go wherever there is profit to be made."

Pang Duolai laughed and said, "Aren't you insulting both of us at the same time?"

Li Ju'an laughed and said, "Absolutely. If you ask me, President Chen is really amazing. His network of connections is incredible. He has so many channels for finding clients that I don't have to put in much effort."

"Are you two still running your quarry business?"

"We're doing it. It's not bad; we've only just started to make a profit in the last few years."

Quarrying requires a high initial investment, and the first few years are unprofitable as the funds are used to cover costs. Only after that do they start to make a profit year after year.

Song Desheng, the Lu brothers, and their goat farm have had a prosperous few years. After tiger bone was banned, goat bone replaced it, and the price skyrocketed.

Song Desheng happily made a fortune, taking over his cousin's share and declaring that he would focus on this line of work.

Pang Duolai said to him, "These days, what industry doesn't make money? If you just have a brainstorm and dare to do it, there are plenty of ways to make money. The bold get rich, and the timid starve."

This was once Li Ju'an's motto. For a businessman, the worst thing is to be timid. Timidity leads to certain death.

Li Ju'an said, "Now the sky is full of gold, and if you can grab it, you'll make a profit. But it will be different in the future."

In future generations, which industry will be profitable? If you fall into a trap, you'll lose your principal and all the profits you've made, leaving you with nothing. And if you're stubborn enough to mortgage your house to the bank, your whole family will be left waiting for the house to be foreclosed, with no one to turn to for help. Those who end up with foreclosed properties are also wronged, suffering for nothing.

Pang Duolai handed over a cigarette, a Double Happiness brand, and said, "Is your daughter in elementary school yet? When my daughter grows up, I can take her to the amusement park."

"Absolutely. My daughter loves amusement parks. Going to the amusement park on weekends is like a daily routine, it's so annoying for my wife and me."

The two fathers burst into laughter.

Of all the brothers, only Chen Xiangqian had a son, and he was even twin.

Chen Xiangqian married a woman he pursued himself; she was very beautiful. In Lu Zhiqiang's words, "A great beauty, but still not as beautiful as our wife."

Li Ju'an and the others laughed heartily. No matter how beautiful the beauties in the world were, their own wives were the most beautiful, and every wrinkle on their faces was beautiful.

Chen Xiangqian's twin sons had just started kindergarten and were quite the troublemakers. Song Desheng, Li Ju'an, and the Lu brothers all brought their daughters, along with Pang Duolai and his daughter. The group sat in the amusement park, watching the children ride the carousel while they chatted and boasted.

Li Ju'an said to Chen Xiangqian, "Nowadays, it's the same whether you have a son or a daughter. You're the only one among us who had a son, aren't you happy?"

Chen Xiangqian frowned and said, "What's there to be happy about? Money is hard to earn these days, and everyone is gritting their teeth and swallowing their pride to make money. These two kids, when they grow up, their work units don't provide housing, so we still have to prepare for housing, and there are dowries for their weddings. Which of these doesn't cost money?"

Chen Xiangqian asked again what kind of business was still profitable. He was worried about his two sons' future, as he needed to earn enough for houses, dowries, and their futures. If his sons wanted to study abroad to get a prestigious degree, the money would just keep flowing out, and he had no idea how much it would all go.

Li Ju'an said, "Let's buy the house first."

"Buying a house now? Isn't that way too early?"

"Not too early, just right."

Li Ju'an knew that in later generations, housing prices would double year after year, skyrocketing like an elevator. The later the years went by, the more it would require emptying the wallets of six adults to afford a house for their child. Who could afford that? Especially since Chen Xiangqian had two sons, everything was doubled.

Lu Zhiqiang laughed at him: "Mr. Chen, you're not short of money. So many people would kill for it, but you'd rather have two sons than not want them."

Chen Xiangqian said disdainfully, "Go away, go away, take it, you want it, you want it. Your son is in the Construction Bank, your daughter is in the China Merchants Bank. Look how happy you are, you can't stop smiling."

Lu Zhiqiang laughed and said, "You can't say that, but if you ask me, you and your wife will probably have to take care of your grandson in the future, helping to take care of him back and forth. Who knows, after taking care of the older one, you'll have to take care of the younger one, and it won't be over yet."

Chen Xiangqian said he was unwilling, but he seemed quite eager for the life of taking care of his grandson in the future.

Li Ju'an chuckled. This guy had no idea that the two-child policy and the three-child policy would be implemented in later generations. He'd probably have to take care of three grandsons and three granddaughters. He wouldn't be able to brag or chat all year round.