Era: Rise from the Wilderness

"Over 1000 yuan...that depends on the specifics."

The man in the straw hat pondered, "Well then, young man, I understand that you don't trust me."

"How about you come with me somewhere?"

"It's not far, just next to the trust company up ahead. I have a friend who works there, specializing in this. His place is spacious and his prices are fair. We can inspect the goods in person and count the money on the spot, how about that?"

Next to the trust company?

This is a relatively "formal" location, at least better than going with him to a completely unfamiliar place.

Li Yunjing knew that these "middlemen" often relied on semi-public places to conduct transactions, such as the entrance of certain trust companies or nearby shops, forming an unwritten "market".

They even have internal staff who collaborate to find the right customers immediately.

He quickly weighed the options.

With limited time, they need to liquidate most of their treasury bonds as soon as possible to have cash before proceeding to the next step.

"Can."

Li Yunjing nodded, "But it's just the three of us going, don't bring anyone else."

"readily!"

The man in the straw hat slapped his thigh. "Don't worry, it's just the few of us. I know the rules! Let's go, it's not far, just a few steps."

Li Yunjing looked at Lü Ruoxi, asking with his eyes.

Although Lu Ruoxi was nervous, she nodded slightly, indicating that she trusted his judgment.

So the two followed the man in the straw hat who was pushing the bicycle and turned into a relatively quiet side street, heading in the direction of the trust company he had mentioned.

At the end of the alley, there was indeed a five-story building with a sign that read "Bincheng Trust Investment Company". The building was newer than the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China building we had just visited, and the exterior walls were covered with beige tiles.

There is a small courtyard in front of the building, where several bicycles and an old black car are parked.

The man in the hat knew the way well, so instead of going through the main entrance, he led Li Yunjing and Lü Ruoxi around to an inconspicuous iron gate on the side of the building.

He knocked on the door, three long knocks followed by two short knocks, in a rhythmic pattern.

The iron gate opened a crack, revealing the face of a young man who glanced at them warily. Upon seeing the man in the straw hat, he nodded and stepped aside.

Inside was a narrow, dimly lit corridor, with half of the walls painted green and the other half a dirty yellow.

There was a smell of dust and old paper in the air.

The man in the straw hat led them to a wooden door at the end of the corridor and knocked on it again.

"Come in."

A slightly hoarse middle-aged male voice came from inside.

Pushing open the door, you enter a small room, furnished like a small reception room.

An old desk, a few folding chairs, and a filing cabinet.

The windows were drawn with light blue curtains, filtering the light into a somewhat hazy state.

The most eye-catching person was the man sitting behind the desk.

He was around forty years old, wearing a gray polyester short-sleeved shirt, a dark tie, and an ill-fitting navy blue suit jacket with some wear on the collar.

Her hair was sparse, the top of her head was already bald, and the hair around her head was neatly combed.

He wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose. His eyes, though not large, revealed a shrewdness and scrutiny characteristic of a businessman.

"Brother Wang, the person has been brought."

The man in the straw hat nodded respectfully to the middle-aged man, then turned to Li Yunjing, "Young man, this is Manager Wang, who specializes in this. You can talk to him, and he'll be absolutely fair."

Manager Wang didn't get up, but merely raised his eyelids, his gaze sweeping over Li Yunjing and Lü Ruoxi, especially lingering on Lü Ruoxi for a moment before quickly looking away, without any extra expression.

He pointed to the two chairs opposite the desk: "Sit."

The voice was flat and lacked warmth.

Li Yunjing and Lü Ruoxi sat down as instructed.

The man in the straw hat consciously stepped back to the door and stood against the wall, like a bodyguard or a guide.

"Did you bring the things?"

Manager Wang got straight to the point, tapping his fingers lightly on the table.

Li Yunjing didn't answer immediately, but first looked around the room and the person in front of him.

The environment was relatively closed off, but still "formal," unlike a shady operation.

Although this Manager Wang tried to dress like a "cadre," he couldn't hide his shrewdness and subtle江湖气 (a kind of江湖江湖气 is a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) about him.

However, these are often the people who truly have the channels and the power to make decisions.

"I brought it."

Li Yunjing took out the oil paper package from his schoolbag. This time, instead of just taking one, he neatly spread out more than a dozen treasury bonds of different denominations that were about to expire on the table.

Under the dim light, the pale green paper coupons gleamed with a unique luster belonging to that era.

Manager Wang leaned forward slightly, picked up a pair of reading glasses from the table, put them on, and began to examine each photo carefully.

He moved slowly and looked very carefully, occasionally touching the paper with his hand and examining the watermarks and hidden marks against the light.

Lu Ruoxi held her breath, watching nervously.

Li Yunjing remained calm, his gaze fixed on Manager Wang's face, observing his subtle expressions.

About five or six minutes later, Manager Wang put down the last coupon, took off his glasses, and leaned back in his chair.

"The item is alright, and the year is correct, it's from 88 or 89."

He spoke, his tone still calm, "What price are you planning to offer?"

"This guy just said he could give you a hundred dollars for a hundred-dollar note."

Li Yunjing pointed to the man in the straw hat at the door.

Manager Wang's lips twitched almost imperceptibly, as if he were smiling, but it also sounded like sarcasm.

"What Lao Liu is talking about is volume."

"Your batch is too small, only one thousand yuan in denomination."

He held up two fingers. "Ninety-two! That's the price I can offer."

Ninety-two?

The price was much lower than what the man in the straw hat, Lao Liu, had asked for. It seemed that Manager Wang was taking advantage of their eagerness to sell and the fact that they were new faces, so he was trying to drive down the price.

"Manager Wang, this price is too low."

Li Yunjing shook his head, his tone neither humble nor arrogant, "We inquired before we came, and in Bincheng, one hundred is a fair price for something of this age."

"We've come all this way, and we're here with the intention of shipping our goods."

"If you buy them at a value of one hundred, you won't lose money. Next year and the year after, when these treasury bonds mature, you'll make a profit, including the principal and interest."

"Young man, that's not how you calculate things."

Manager Wang took off his glasses and slowly wiped the lenses with a soft cloth without even lifting his eyelids. "Money has a time cost."

"I took your coupons, tied up my funds, and bore the policy risks. I still had to find people and pull strings to redeem them."

"The losses and favors involved all cost money."

"one hundred?"

"impossible."

He put his glasses back on, his gaze, piercing through the lenses, carrying an undeniable air of authority: "Ninety-two, that's the going rate."

"You're too young to understand the ins and outs of this place."

"I think your stuff is alright and you seem like an honest person, that's why I'm giving you this price."

"If it were someone else, they might not even be willing to take it at 91 or 90."