King of Technology: A Fresh Start in 1983

That day, Zhan Yiling returned to her rented apartment after get off work, put on an apron, and went into the kitchen.

I took out the chive and pork dumplings my mom made from the refrigerator, and was just about to boil water to cook them...

Suddenly, I heard a rapid knocking on the door and was immediately startled.

He quickly went to the door and asked softly, "Who is it?"

"It's me! Open the door."

She immediately opened the door and saw He Fan standing at the door with a suitcase in his hand.

She asked in surprise, "Where are you headed? Or did you just come back from somewhere?"

"I didn't go anywhere, not anywhere at all. I came all the way here from home," He Fan said with a smile.

"Didn't I give you the key?"

As she spoke, Zhan Yiling pulled He Fan inside and closed the door behind her.

He Fan said, "I came here on a whim, and I left in a hurry, so I forgot to bring your key."

Zhan Yiling then asked, "Didn't we agree that I'd come to your house tomorrow? What's wrong? You've only been gone two days, and you can't wait to see me?"

After saying that, she reached for the bag in He Fan's hand and asked, "Have you eaten? I'm about to make dumplings, would you like to eat with me?"

Unexpectedly, He Fan held the luggage bag close to his chest, not letting her touch it.

He said mysteriously, "I haven't eaten yet, I'll talk about it later. I came here because of what's in this bag."

Then, He Fan pulled Zhan Yiling into the bedroom and stood by the bed.

Unzip the bag, lift it up, and turn it upside down.

Suddenly, a lot of money started falling out of the bag.

Stacks of them fell onto the bed, more than a dozen stacks in total.

Zhan Yiling's face was filled with surprise: "Wow! So you just came from the bank, robbed a bank?!"

He Fan immediately picked up a stack of blue-gray banknotes and stroked the portraits of the four leaders on them.

Then they started counting aloud, one stack at a time, thirteen stacks in total.

He said smugly to Zhan Yiling, "Look, I took 30,000 from you back then, and now I'm returning 130,000 to you! How about that, isn't my credit good?"

Zhan Yiling looked at him in disbelief: "This is... the money made from those new shares?"

"Yes, some were sold when it went public, and some are still unsold."

"So, I can only return the 30,000 yuan you initially gave me, with interest."

"The 30,000 yuan I took from your parents later, I'll have to pay them back in a while."

As He Fan spoke, he gestured for Zhan Yiling to stretch out her hands, pick up the thirteen stacks of hundred-yuan bills, and place them in her bosom.

She continued, "I originally wanted to transfer it to your bank account. But after thinking about it carefully, I realized that bank accounts are so flimsy; you can't really feel their weight or substance."

"Besides, those six digits aren't as visually appealing as this, don't you think?"

Holding the heavy stacks of thirteen hundred-yuan bills, Zhan Yiling nodded vigorously in support.

"Of course, that's the most satisfying way to enjoy the visual feast. After you've had your fill, you can save the money in the bank."

She then thought for a moment and spread the money she was holding back on the bed.

He set aside three stacks of cash and stuffed the rest back into He Fan's bag. "I'll take this 30,000 yuan to pay my parents back first."

"Otherwise, every time they see me, they'll keep nagging and hinting at things, it's so annoying."

"There's no need to pay them interest; they'll be satisfied as long as they get their principal back."

"How can that be? You get interest when you put money in the bank!" He Fan took out 10,000 yuan from his bag and handed it to Zhan Yiling. "You have to at least give a token of appreciation."

"Oh, I said no and I mean no. I've already decided that next time I come back from abroad, I'll make a detour to Hong Kong and buy them each a gift."

Zhan Yiling stuffed the 10,000 yuan back into He Fan's bag and said, "As for my money, you don't need to return it to me yet. Use it to continue investing."

"Money will definitely generate more value in your hands than in mine. I only know how to deposit money in the bank."

"As for the money you made from stock trading, there's no need to give it to me; that's all your hard-earned money."

"Seeing you make money makes me happier than anything else."

He Fan suddenly dumped the money from his bag onto the bed and said, "That won't do! This is all the return on your investment."

"We agreed that your money wasn't a loan, but an investment in me. Now that it's more than quadrupled in value, it should all be yours."

"What do you mean by 'borrowed' or 'invested'? What do you mean by 'your' or 'mine'? If you keep saying that, I'll get angry, you believe me?"

Zhan Yiling glared fiercely at He Fan, then smiled and patted his shoulder, "Our relationship is neither a loan nor an employer-employee relationship."

"Whoever needs it can take it. You don't need to calculate interest or dividends with me, understand?"

He Fan pondered for a moment, then pushed the three stacks of money to Zhan Yiling: "If that's the case, you should take your 30,000 back first. I don't want to see you being hesitant when you buy things."

"Besides, the stock market hasn't been doing well lately, and I don't want to invest all my money in it."

"Alright then," Zhan Yiling readily agreed.

He took three stacks of money in each hand and placed them on the table, then stuffed the seven stacks back into He Fan's bag.

Then he picked up the broom and carefully swept the spot where he had put the money.

He said with a smile, "We can't let money taint our pure relationship, and we certainly can't let money stain our pristine sheets."

"Obsessive-compulsive disorder!"

He Fan curled his lip indifferently, but couldn't help but hug Zhan Yiling, press her down on the bed, and kiss her hard.

Then he looked up again and asked mysteriously, "Don't you want to know how much money I have now?"

"No, I've never had a concept of money." As soon as Zhan Yiling said this, she regretted it.

Because it's obvious now that money is the only thing that can prove He Fan's worth and success.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, He Fan wilted like a frostbitten eggplant.

Zhan Yiling quickly said, "If we don't count the monkey stamps, I don't know how much money you invested in stocks in total, I only know that it more than quadrupled."

"Let me give you a rough estimate. Let's say you invested a total of 100,000, it should now be over 400,000, right?"

A proud smile immediately spread across He Fan's face.

He coughed lightly and said with feigned modesty, "After deducting all the expenses incurred in the process, and then deducting the principal from both your family and mine..."

"If we disregard the 100 sets of monkey stamps, just considering stock investments alone, I, standing before you right now, am at least a half-millionaire!"

"What if we add the 100 editions of the Monkey stamp?"

Zhan Yiling then cupped He Fan's head in her hands, parted his hair, and examined it closely. "How exactly is your head structured like this?"

"What's inside? It slips into the circles of the wealthy in Beijing without anyone noticing."

He Fan chuckled, "Alright, alright! Let's make dumplings, I'm hungry."

...