Era: Rise from the Wilderness

"Manager Wang, we are sincerely selling, and you are sincerely buying."

Li Yunjing did not back down, her tone both soft and firm: "It wasn't easy for us to make this trip."

"How about we each compromise, four thousand three hundred and fifty?"

"Four thousand two, that's really the most I can ask for."

Manager Wang feigned reluctance.

"Four thousand three."

Li Yunjing insisted on this amount, saying, "Manager Wang, we have a batch of treasury bonds on hand, even more than this. If you keep pushing the price down, we'll have to consider whether there's any point in continuing this cooperation."

The office was silent for a few seconds.

Manager Wang's gaze lingered on Li Yunjing's resolute face for a moment, then looked at Lü Ruoxi, who was standing next to him, her face pale with nervousness. Finally, he sighed and gave her a "I can't do anything with you" look: "Alright, alright, four thousand three it is."

"However, Li, your words are really not like those of a student."

With the price settled, the atmosphere immediately relaxed.

Li Yunjing felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders and a smile appeared on his face: "I learned it all from Manager Wang."

The subsequent counting, accounting, and payment processes went much more smoothly.

Manager Wang called over an assistant, and the three of them counted the treasury bonds together, confirming their face value and quantity.

Li Yunjing and Lü Ruoxi also helped from the side, keeping their eyes fixed on the scene, afraid of making a mistake.

The final confirmed total face value was 4,725 yuan.

Based on the total price of 4,300 yuan, this is equivalent to a discount of about 5%.

For some of these bonds that still have two or three years to mature, the discount isn't particularly high, but considering that the discount was even lower when they were acquired, the profit is still very considerable.

Manager Wang took out cash from the safe, all in denominations of ten and fifty yuan, several thick stacks.

He counted it again in front of the two of them, then pushed it towards them: "Four thousand three hundred yuan, please count."

When Li Yunjing took the money, his heart nearly jumped out of his chest as his fingers touched the thick stack of banknotes.

He forced himself to calm down and, together with Lü Ruoxi, carefully counted each item one by one.

The distinctive smell of banknote ink permeated the air, mixed with the scent of old newspapers and dust, yet it was more intoxicating than any perfume.

Confirmed, four thousand three hundred yuan, not a penny less.

Li Yunjing carefully put the money into the innermost layer of his schoolbag, zipped it up, and hugged it tightly to his chest.

He stood up and extended his hand to Manager Wang: "Thank you, Manager Wang. It's been a pleasure doing business with you!"

"It's a pleasure working with you."

Manager Wang smiled and shook hands with him: "Young Li, if you need anything else in the future, remember to come find me."

"must!"

Li Yunjing's head.

Stepping out of the trust company, the intense afternoon sun was so bright it was hard to open one's eyes.

The streets were bustling with traffic and noise as usual.

But Li Yunjing and Lü Ruoxi felt as if they were in another world, the weight and touch of the schoolbags in their arms so real and hot.

"Yun Jing...we've struck it rich this time?"

Lü Ruoxi's voice was still somewhat unsteady, as if she were dreaming.

"It's alright!"

"After deducting the cost, we actually only made a little over 800 yuan."

Li Yunjing took a deep breath, feeling somewhat dissatisfied.

"That's quite a lot!"

Lü Ruoxi couldn't help but roll her eyes at Li Yunjing.

Eight hundred yuan!

In an era when the average worker's monthly salary was only one or two hundred yuan, this was undoubtedly a "huge sum of money".

"Walk,"

He turned to Lü Ruoxi and said with an astonishingly bright look in his eyes, "Let's go eat first... After we eat, let's go home. Starting tomorrow, we're going to go further and visit other towns. We'll try to convert the money we have into treasury bonds within 20 days and make another big splash."

For the next twenty days, time seemed to be fast-forwarded.

Li Yunjing and Lü Ruoxi were like two tireless worker bees, shuttling through the wider area surrounding Fuzhou Town.

They are no longer limited to knocking on doors one by one.

Li Yunjing's "business acumen" began to operate more meticulously.

With his gradually increasing capital and the confidence gained from his trip to Bincheng, he began to try some more "efficient" methods.

In the neighboring town of Hongqi, he learned that the accountant of the town's supply and marketing cooperative had a large number of treasury bonds that had been assigned as "tasks" in the past and was eager to cash them out to give some benefits to the employees.

Li Yunjing went directly to their door, and after some negotiation, bought up most of the goods at a price slightly higher than the market price but far lower than the bank's redemption rate.

In Hekou Township, which is further away, they heard that several "ten-thousand-yuan households" who used to run transportation businesses had bought a lot of treasury bonds when they had spare money, and now their businesses need to turn over cash.

Li Yunjing arrived with cash and collected another sum of money at a discount of about 10%.

The principal expands like a snowball through rapid buying and selling.

After realizing 4,300 yuan in the second round, the net profit after deducting costs was over 800 yuan.

This sum, plus the original principal, totaled 5,100 yuan, which was quickly invested in the second round of acquisitions.

Their footprints spread to more remote villages, and their acquisition targets expanded from individuals to the "stock" of small groups.

Li Yunjing demonstrated shrewdness and courage beyond his years.

He was no longer the student who needed patient explanations, but more like a young "smuggler" with clear goals and flexible tactics.

He can quickly assess the true value, liquidity, and profit margin of a batch of treasury bonds, and accurately grasp the other party's psychological bottom line during bargaining.

Lu Ruoxi also grew rapidly, becoming his best assistant and "financial director". She remembered every income and expenditure clearly, kept the money safe without any leaks, and made up for Li Yunjing's occasional carelessness with her meticulous attention to detail.

Twenty days, two complete acquisition-payment cycles.

When Li Yunjing finally received a thick wad of cash from Bincheng Trust Company, he was somewhat dazed.

The day before the liquidation, the two were at Lü Ruoxi's home.

The ledger is filled with detailed records of every transaction: date, location, face value of the acquisition, amount of the acquisition, amount of payment, profit... The numbers are clear and well-organized.

Lu Ruoxi's fingers trembled slightly as she moved the abacus beads to make the final additions.

Li Yunjing leaned against the wall, his hands in his pockets, seemingly calm, but his tightly pursed lips and burning gaze betrayed the turmoil within him.

"Snap!" The last abacus bead was put back in place.

Lu Ruoxi raised her head, her face a mixture of unbelievable ecstasy and the pallor of extreme excitement, her voice hoarse: "Yun Jing... has figured it out."

"After deducting all costs, including transportation and meals, the net profit is... 3,521.80 yuan."

Three thousand five hundred yuan!

"well……"

Li Yunjing let out a long, slow sigh. His initial investment was still too small. With the current base, there was no way to get rich overnight!

He walked over and looked at the pile of colorful banknotes of varying ages on the table.

The majority of the bills were ten-yuan "Great Unity" notes, with some fifty-yuan and one-hundred-yuan notes, as well as loose small bills.