Era: Rise from the Wilderness

The first person to knock on the door was a woman in her forties, wearing an apron with flour still on her hands, who looked at the two strange teenagers warily.

"Hello, Auntie!"

Li Yunjing gave a sincere smile and said in a clear voice, "We are students, working part-time to help collect treasury bonds that are about to mature."

"If you have any unused items at home, we can buy them at 80% of their face value."

"Treasury bonds?"

The woman was skeptical: "My house seems to have a bit of a problem... Why are you accepting this? You're not a scammer, are you?"

"Auntie, you see, we're not scammers."

Lü Ruoxi quickly stepped forward and took out several brand-new ten-yuan bills: "These treasury bonds are just sitting there anyway. If we need money, we can exchange them to solve our difficulties."

Perhaps it was the boy's clear eyes and somewhat reasonable explanation that had an effect, or perhaps it was the reassuring sight of those new bills that made the aunt hesitate for a moment, then turned and went back into the house. After a while, she took out two 10-yuan treasury bonds that were a little wrinkled.

Li Yunjing took the bills and carefully examined the year and expiration date, quickly calculating the due date in his mind. His smile remained unchanged: "Auntie, these two bills are about to expire. I'll take them at 10% of face value, 18 yuan in total. Is that alright?"

The aunt was tempted. This thing had been sitting at home without doing anything, and it still had more than a year left before it expired. She didn't even know there was interest involved. Now that it could be converted into cash without losing much, she thought it was a good deal and nodded.

Li Yunjing gestured for Lü Ruoxi to pay.

Lu Ruoxi quickly counted out 18 yuan and handed it to the aunt, while simultaneously writing in her notebook: Zhangjiatun, a certain household, received two 10-yuan coupons, paid 18 yuan.

Li Yunjing carefully wrapped the treasury bonds in old newspapers and put them into his schoolbag.

First order completed!

Although the profits were small, the successful start boosted morale.

The two looked at each other and saw the excitement in each other's eyes.

They went from house to house knocking.

Some families were quick to accept, rummaging through drawers and cabinets to find long-accumulated treasury bonds, eager to exchange them for cash; others were more wary and required patient explanation; still others simply didn't have them at all, or had already disposed of them.

As the sun rose higher, heat rose from the dirt road.

Sweat beaded on the foreheads and noses of the two boys, but their schoolbags on the back rack of the bicycle gradually became fuller.

Treasury bonds of different years and denominations were neatly stacked inside, each wrapped separately in old newspapers.

At noon, they bought two loaves of bread from a small shop at the edge of the village and ate their lunch with the cooled boiled water they had brought with them, squatting under the shade of a tree.

Lu Ruoxi took out her notebook, and the two of them huddled together, calculating the accounts: how much principal was spent, how many coupons were collected, the approximate term, and estimating the profit.

"Yun Jing, at this rate, we'll soon run out of capital."

Lu Ruoxi wiped her sweat, somewhat worried.

"I'm going to Licun this afternoon. I heard there are a few families there who used to work in the factory and might have 'big money' on them."

Li Yunjing's eyes gleamed. "We'll prioritize collecting those with large denominations and short maturities. Once we've spent all the principal, we'll go to Bincheng and exchange it with that Manager Wang!"

Seeing Li Yunjing's confident expression, her worries lessened a bit.

The afternoon sun was even more scorching, and the cicadas' chirping was hoarse.

The two continued riding along the country dirt roads, going from house to house asking questions, explaining, and trading.

Sweat soaked my back and my lips were a little chapped, but whenever I successfully received a payment, especially a 50-dollar bill that was due next month and was sold at an 88% discount to an old man, the fatigue would be washed away by a huge sense of accomplishment.

As the sun sets, it paints the sky like a magnificent brocade.

The shadows of the two boys were stretched long again, but this time, they were pointing towards home.

Inside their schoolbags, the cloth bag containing treasury bonds had become quite heavy, while the cloth bag containing money had shrunk.

In the evening, the two stopped their bicycles under the old locust tree in front of Lü Ruoxi's house.

Li Yunjing weighed his schoolbag, listening to the rustling sound of the paper coupons inside, and gave Lü Ruoxi a bright yet tired smile: "Today, I've had quite a fruitful day."

Lü Ruoxi nodded vigorously, her face flushed with sunburn and radiant with excitement: "Yes! Tomorrow... shall we continue?"

"continue!"

Without hesitation, Li Yunjing said, "I hope that within a week, we can convert all the money we have into treasury bonds, and then we'll go to Bincheng next week!"

"good!"

Lü Ruoxi agreed, her eyes resolute.

The two parted ways and rode their bicycles home separately.

Li Yunjing faced the evening breeze, his body exhausted, but his heart burning like a fire.

The small shop is the foundation of the family and a source of stable hope; while this "treasury bond" business, which shuttles between urban and rural areas and relies on information and courage, is another lever he is trying to leverage for himself and for his family.

For the next two weeks, except for rainy days, Li Yunjing and Lü Ruoxi went out to buy goods almost every day, and they surveyed the entire town of Fuzhou.

By August, the weather was even hotter, and the leaves, wilted by the scorching sun, slowly curled up.

Cicadas were chirping loudly in the old locust tree on campus, and the bright sunlight was baking the sandy playground, causing distorted and transparent heat waves to rise.

In the past two weeks, Li Yunjing and Lü Ruoxi have finally spent all of their initial capital of three thousand yuan.

Even the few hundred yuan of pocket money that Lü Ruoxi had saved up was used to buy treasury bonds.

The family's small shop also "opened for trial operation" for half a month.

Although the campus is empty during summer vacation, it is never truly silent.

The teenagers living nearby, like wild horses let loose, would bounce the ball around under the basketball hoop every day, and chase after a worn-out soccer ball on the makeshift soccer field. Their shouts and laughter could echo throughout most of the campus.

The sun is at its most intense in July and August. Teenagers who are playing until they are drenched in sweat, their hair dripping wet, and their throats parched are hard to resist the temptation of the faint cool air from the corner store window and the white, cold mist that bursts out with a "whoosh" when the freezer lid is opened.

However, kids these days have very limited pocket money.

Five-cent white sugar popsicles were the absolute staple, while red bean or cream popsicles costing ten cents were considered a "refinement of life." As for those fancy-packaged "doll head" or two-color ice creams that sold for twenty-five or even fifty cents, they were "high-end goods" that only a very few children from particularly well-off families dared to indulge in occasionally.

Therefore, the best-selling items were always the popsicles that cost one cent, and the Bincheng soda that cost two and a half cents a bottle and offered a five-cent refund after the glass bottle was empty.

Often, a few children would pool together a dime to buy an ice pop, taking turns licking it; or they would pool together twenty-five cents to buy a bottle of soda, taking turns gulping it down, leaving the bottle covered in sweaty fingerprints.