I'm back in 1990

The next morning, before dawn, Huang Xiaochuan went fishing again with his fishing rod, fishing gear, straw hat, and stool. Actually, he was just using fishing as an excuse to find some peace and quiet.

Because of what Ge Changli said yesterday, Huang Xiaochuan had awakened a piece of information buried deep in his memory, and he needed to find a place to calm down and think about it carefully.

When we reached a place further away than yesterday, the eastern sky was already beginning to lighten, the night was gradually fading, and the stars were disappearing one by one.

The leaves on the trees and the grass by the river are covered with dew left from last night. This is also the time when there are the fewest mosquitoes, because the dew on their wings prevents these vampires from flying. However, it won't be long before they become active again once the sun rises.

Just like last time, Huang Xiaochuan took out some Tiger Balm and applied it all over his exposed arms and legs. The strong smell of Tiger Balm kept mosquitoes away.

Huang Xiaochuan tossed his fishing rod and gear under a big tree, sat on a stool leaning against it, and put his hands behind his head, cushioning the impact between the tree and the back of his head. A blade of grass he'd casually plucked nearby dangled from his mouth as he gazed at the slowly turning blue sky, his mind racing with thoughts.

With the deepening of reform and opening up, China's stamp market is also undergoing changes.

Last year, in 1989, the state began to allow individual businesses to operate stamp and philatelic products, which was equivalent to fully opening up the private stamp trade.

This year, the government began three consecutive interest rate cuts on deposits starting in April, the largest such cuts since the founding of the People's Republic of China. This means that people's lifestyle of saving money and earning interest has changed.

Therefore, some funds became idle capital in society, searching for new investment opportunities. The Chinese stock market was still in its infancy, underdeveloped, and largely unknown to most people, making the stamp market the best choice. Thus, starting in late August 1990, a large amount of social capital began entering the stamp market to build positions, causing stamps, represented by the 1980 Year of the Monkey, to enter a period of rapid price increases.

Huang Xiaochuan certainly wouldn't let such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip through his fingers. This was a crucial moment concerning whether he could live a life of ease in the future, and frankly, knowing this information in advance was no different from finding money on the street.

The current concern is about capital. The foreign trade agency contract can be signed tomorrow, which means that next week, the deposit that Jiadao Company has in its Huaxia Bank account will be used to pay the first 40% of the payment for the goods.

However, due to the issue of foreign exchange settlement, it is unclear how long it will take for the money to reach the flange factory's account after being converted into RMB.

Even if the money reaches the flange factory's account, figuring out how to legally and legitimately transfer it into one's own pocket is a problem, and all of this requires a process.

This puts a lot of pressure on the market. If the money isn't available by the end of August, the best entry point will be missed. Entering the market after that would mean building a position at double the cost, which would be far too unprofitable.

I also need to consider renting an apartment near the university I'll be attending. Firstly, it would give me some private space, and secondly, stamps aren't suitable for keeping in the school dormitory, as it's inconvenient with people coming and going. Besides, I roughly calculated that the number is quite astonishing.

Having several large boxes of stamps or postal items in the dormitory would be conspicuous and unsafe; renting a house is the only way to solve this problem.

Another more important issue is the safety of funds and personal safety. Receiving goods and setting up warehouses are not major problems, since we won't be getting goods from one company. Diversifying our sourcing is the most reasonable approach.

The key question is, what do we do when we reach the ideal price and start shipping? Huang Xiaochuan frowned.

He quickly came up with a solution: to distribute the goods in a decentralized manner, just like he would with the purchase process.

It's also important to target some large investors. When it's time to sell off a large quantity of stock, you should go to these large investors, because only they have the resources to absorb such a large volume. However, when the stamp market surges, it will naturally attract more social capital. As long as you're not greedy, you'll have plenty of opportunities to clear out your stock.

Use a strategy of small steps and quick progress, breaking down large tasks into smaller ones and then integrating them back into a larger whole. Never be greedy, know when to stop, and never try to earn the last penny.

After contingency plans were made for most of the problems, it was already broad daylight, and people were already spreading fertilizer in the rice paddies not far away.

Huang Xiaochuan then set up his fishing rod. This time, he didn't even bait the area; it was a completely passive fishing method, like Jiang Taigong fishing—wait and see if the fish bites.

How could any fish possibly bite if you fished like that? Around noon, Huang Xiaochuan checked the sun and, feeling it was about time, packed up and prepared to go back for lunch.

With two older sisters at home, the cooking duties fell to them. If Huang Xiaochuan hadn't gone fishing, he knew he'd be dragged off to help with the fire. His grandmother's house still had a traditional old-fashioned stove, usually burning rice straw and wheat stalks; now that it was summer, they used wheat stalks for fuel.

In this kind of weather, those who cook over a fire have a ceiling fan to cool them off, but those who tend the fire have nothing. They not only have to endure the high summer temperatures but also the heat emanating from the stove—a double whammy.

When Huang Xiaochuan finally got home, he saw his eldest sister, Zeng Hong, wearing an apron and busy serving dishes. He immediately guessed that his second sister, Zeng Xia, was in charge of cooking today.

"Big sister, I'm back. Look how coincidental, I'm just in time for dinner."

The two sisters had a clear division of labor, taking turns cooking and tending the fire each day. Today the eldest sister cooked and the second sister tended the fire, so tomorrow the second sister would cook and the eldest sister would tend the fire.

Seeing that Huang Xiaochuan had returned empty-handed again, his older sister Zeng Hong knowingly asked him, "You've been out all morning, where are your fish?"

Huang Xiaochuan pretended not to hear, putting away his fishing rod and gear, and returning his straw hat and stool to their original places. He walked to the table and saw that it was good! There were stir-fried snails today, and they were the same snails he had painstakingly raked away a few days ago. Without saying a word, Huang Xiaochuan picked up a snail and started sucking on it. To be honest, his eldest sister, Zeng Hong, was the best cook in the family; the snails were very flavorful.

Snails are something you can't put in your mouth, because once you start, you can't stop. When Huang Xiaochuan felt that one wasn't enough and wanted to grab a second one, his older sister Zeng Hong slapped his hand away: "You come back and don't even wash your hands before grabbing vegetables to eat? Are you trying to kill me? Go wash your hands right now!"

Huang Xiaochuan reluctantly sucked his fingers as he went to wash his hands. Before leaving, he glanced at the clock on the wall, planning to invite his grandmother out for lunch after washing his hands.

After Huang Xiaochuan accompanied his grandmother from the inner room to the living room, his uncle and aunt had already returned. Huang Xiaochuan helped his grandmother to sit in the south-facing seat and then sat down on his grandmother's right.

It's not that Huang Xiaochuan doesn't understand the rules, but there are specific etiquette rules for sitting at an octagonal table.

There are now six people in the family. If we arrange the seating according to the family's seniority, Grandma will still sit in the south-facing position, Uncle and Aunt will sit to Grandma's left as usual, and the two older sisters will sit to Grandma's right. Huang Xiaochuan will still sit in his old position, facing north.

However, this resulted in what is locally known as the "turtle seating arrangement," which is considered very taboo. Therefore, Huang Xiaochuan occupied the seats where his two older sisters originally sat, while Zeng Hong and Zeng Xia sat in the north-facing positions, thus breaking the taboo of the "turtle seating arrangement."

During the meal, Huang Xiaochuan thought the fish was cooked well, so he ate a few more bites.

His second sister, Zeng Xia, then thoughtfully asked him, "Is this fish delicious?"

Huang Xiaochuan was enjoying his meal so much that he didn't even have time to talk. While spitting out fish bones, he was making "mmm" sounds with his thumb, which meant he was very good at eating.

"Some people are no good at fishing, but they're quite good at eating fish." Second Sister Zeng Xia seems to be in a bit of a temper today!

Huang Xiaochuan, being the kind of person he was, immediately shut his second sister up when he saw she was trying to use the opportunity to make a fuss: "Actually, I don't really like eating fish, but this fish is really delicious today. First, it's because my eldest sister is a good cook, and second, it's because my second sister cooks it so well. Too much fire and it burns, too little fire and it doesn't cook through. My second sister's stove-cooking technique is amazing." Huang Xiaochuan then gave her thumbs up and waved it in front of his second sister, Zeng Xia, a few times.

Grandma, uncle, and aunt couldn't help but laugh as Huang Xiaochuan tried to please his sister in a silly way. The three siblings had always gotten along like this since they were little. Although they would fight amongst themselves at home, they always stood together when they were out in the world.

When Huang Xiaochuan was little, there was a kid who always bullied him because he was a little older than Huang Xiaochuan. Once, he deliberately pushed Huang Xiaochuan down, causing Huang Xiaochuan to scrape a large patch of skin on his leg. Huang Xiaochuan cried loudly, which made his two older sisters very distressed. They asked their aunt to take Huang Xiaochuan to the clinic for disinfection and bandaging.

Then the two sisters stormed into the child's house, each carrying a sickle, and stood guard at the door for an entire afternoon. The child was so frightened that he would avoid Huang Xiaochuan whenever he saw him, since he had two such fierce older sisters protecting him.

So the three siblings have always been very close since childhood. However, Huang Xiaochuan's relationship with his two older brothers is quite ordinary. Firstly, his two older brothers are nine and seven years older than him, respectively. Secondly, Huang Xiaochuan did not grow up with them. Therefore, Huang Xiaochuan has never been close to his two older brothers.

"You're smart enough to know what's good for you. Next time you go fishing, don't come back for dinner if you don't catch any fish." Second Sister Zeng Xia said this harshly before letting Huang Xiaochuan go.

Huang Xiaochuan waved his hand quickly: "No, no, what's so great about fishing? I almost got eaten by mosquitoes, and if I don't catch any fish, I won't get any food. I'm not going."

Huang Xiaochuan was immediately met with two pairs of eye rolls from his two older sisters.

Uncle Zeng Jiahua finished eating quickly, put down his chopsticks, and instructed Huang Xiaochuan: "I've had the finance department replenish all the missing materials. Let's set off early tomorrow morning, and the sooner we sign the contract, the sooner I can feel at ease."

Huang Xiaochuan, who was busy arguing with a pot of snails, replied without looking up, "Got it!"