Reborn in 1981, starting by smashing my iron rice bowl.

This guy came up behind Liu Weidong, pretending to be nonchalant, but muttered under his breath, "Foreign exchange certificates, foreign exchange certificates, exchange for foreign exchange certificates!"

This guy was one of the earliest scalpers, spending his days waiting outside the Friendship Store to exchange foreign exchange certificates for others, making money by profiting from the price difference.

In the early 1980s, this practice, like exchanging grain coupons for eggs, was in a gray area. If caught by the local militia, one would definitely be detained for a few days, and their foreign exchange certificates would be confiscated.

So when scalpers exchange foreign exchange certificates, they act like underground party members making a meeting, afraid of being caught by the patrolling joint defense team.

Without turning his head, Liu Weidong asked in a low voice, "How much are the foreign exchange certificates?"

Seeing a customer coming in, the scalper perked up and said, "One foreign exchange certificate for one yuan and twenty cents RMB!"

"Heh, goodbye!" Liu Weidong sneered and walked away.

This scalper is clearly taking advantage of Liu Weidong's youth and deliberately offering such a low price to rip him off. Since that's the case, there's nothing to discuss.

Upon seeing this, the scalper immediately panicked and hurriedly chased after him, whispering, "Hey buddy, don't rush off! We can discuss the price!"

Liu Weidong showed no sign of stopping, saying as he walked, "One yuan for one and a half yuan; don't waste everyone's time if it's lower than that!"

"Sigh, at this price, I'm not making any profit at all!" the scalper immediately complained, persistently following Liu Weidong's lead, "Lower it a bit, you have to leave me some room to make a living, right?"

However, Liu Weidong remained unmoved and instead quickened his pace.

The scalper realized that Liu Weidong, though young, was not easily fooled, and could only sigh helplessly, "Fine, fine, one dollar and forty cents it is. How much do you have?"

Liu Weidong then stopped and said slowly, "Seven hundred and eighty yuan!"

The scalper thought he had misheard and asked in surprise, "How much?"

"Seven hundred and eighty!" Liu Weidong said impatiently, "Just give me a straight answer, can we exchange it or not!"

Liu Weidong thought he had at most a hundred or so foreign exchange certificates, but he never expected to encounter such a big deal. The scalper immediately perked up and said, "We can exchange them, we absolutely can!"

As he spoke, the guy pulled out a Casio calculator, frantically pressed a few keys, and then showed Liu Weidong the numbers on it: "Seven hundred and eighty is one thousand and ninety-two, right?"

Liu Weidong nodded and took out the foreign exchange certificates he had recently acquired from his pocket.

The scalper's eyes lit up immediately, and he eagerly reached out to take it.

But Liu Weidong immediately took a step back and said, "Cash on delivery!"

These days, anyone willing to act as a scalper isn't exactly honest; over seven hundred foreign exchange certificates is no small sum. Liu Weidong was afraid this guy would take the certificates and run, which would be a real problem later!

"Hey buddy, you're being too cautious. Go ask around the neighborhood. I, Mao Tou, am known for my trustworthiness. I've done deals worth thousands, let alone a few hundred yuan!" The scalper muttered to himself as he counted out a stack of money and handed it to Liu Weidong.

Liu Weidong then handed the foreign exchange certificates to the other party, counted them, and nodded, saying, "The amount is correct!"

"I told you I'm a man of my word, and you still didn't believe me!" The scalper looked a little aggrieved, carefully putting away the foreign exchange certificates and saying, "Buddy, if you ever need any more foreign exchange certificates, just come to me. I guarantee you won't lose out!"

"Understood!" Liu Weidong nodded and left, satisfied.

When Liu Weidong returned to the village, he found that many people were looking at him strangely, as if he were a fool. Some people were also whispering among themselves, and he couldn't tell what they were saying.

This made Liu Weidong secretly wonder what had happened in the village that made everyone treat him differently, since he had only been to the city.

Just as Liu Weidong was wondering, an old man called out to him: "Weidong, don't go yet, I have something to ask you!"

The old man was highly respected in the village, so Liu Weidong quickly stopped and respectfully asked, "Third Grandfather, what brings you here?"

The old man coughed twice and said, "I heard you're buying matsutake mushrooms in the village for five yuan a pound?"

Liu Weidong immediately nodded and said, "You're right. As long as the matsutake mushrooms are of good quality, I'll take as many as you have at five yuan a pound!"

The old man looked at him with disappointment and shook his head, sighing, "This is actually true! You're such a spendthrift, sigh!"

Liu Weidong then realized why everyone was looking at him that way; that was the problem.

In an era when almost no one buys matsutake mushrooms, Liu Weidong actually offered a high price of five yuan per kilogram to buy them. No wonder the other villagers looked at him like he was a fool, and the Third Grandfather even said that he was wasting his money.

However, Liu Weidong certainly wouldn't explain it to anyone, and he just laughed off what his third grandfather said before going home.

Wang Shujuan was already busy in the kitchen when Liu Weidong smiled and said to her, "Sister, you're back so early today."

"I didn't go to work this afternoon; I was waiting for you at home." Wang Shujuan's pretty face was expressionless as she whispered to Liu Weidong, "I heard you spent a lot of money buying matsutake mushrooms in the village. Is that true?"

"Of course it's true." Liu Weidong readily admitted, immediately pulling out a thick wad of RMB from his pocket. "Look, this is what I earned today dealing in matsutake and pig burr mushrooms!"

Wang Shujuan had originally intended to advise Liu Weidong against wasting money, but the words she had prepared immediately fell silent. She could only stare in disbelief and ask, "Matsutake... can matsutake and pig burrowing mushrooms really earn this much?"

Liu Weidong laughed and said, "Haha, didn't expect that, did you? I'm not stupid. If matsutake mushrooms weren't profitable, I wouldn't have spent so much money to buy them!"

Although Wang Shujuan was relieved, she still had an incredulous expression on her face, which looked extremely cute.

Liu Weidong was also very interested after seeing this, and said with a smile, "Sister, don't you also want to know how I make money with these two things?"

"Yes!" Wang Shujuan nodded gently, her bright and beautiful eyes sparkling with a thirst for knowledge.

Liu Weidong grinned and said, "It's not hard to know. Just let me hug you and I'll tell you, okay?"

Wang Shujuan's pretty face visibly flushed red, and she glared at Liu Weidong coquettishly, saying, "You're just bullying me!"

“How can this be called bullying? If it were anyone else, even if I hugged them from morning till night, they wouldn’t know my secret!” Liu Weidong said confidently, walking towards Wang Shujuan without making a sound.

However, Wang Shujuan simply lowered her head shyly, showing no intention of avoiding him, clearly having tacitly agreed to Liu Weidong's request.

Since that's the case, Liu Weidong naturally wouldn't stand on ceremony and gently pulled the tall and slender Wang Shujuan into his arms.

Wang Shujuan's delicate body trembled slightly, but she quickly leaned softly against Liu Weidong, as if she had already resigned herself to her fate.

Seeing his sister growing closer and closer, Liu Weidong was secretly pleased. If things continued this way, their relationship would soon take another step forward!

However, at that moment, someone suddenly knocked loudly on the door, shattering this warm moment.