Era: Rise from the Wilderness

"well……"

Standing downstairs, looking out at Lü Ruoxi's window, Li Yunjing sighed.

As night fell, dim lights illuminated every household, and the sounds of cooking, television, and children crying mingled together, creating a vibrant, everyday atmosphere.

Li Yunjing walked back to his front door with slightly heavy steps.

The aroma of food wafted over.

"You're back? Where have you been running off to? You're never home!"

He Ling poked her head out of the kitchen, still holding a spatula in her hand. Her tone carried her usual complaint, but her eyes and brows reflected the cheerfulness of the convenience store's good business during the day. "Wash your hands, get ready to eat. Your dad just got back too."

"Yeah, I played with my classmates for a while."

Li Yunjing gave a vague reply and walked straight to his small room.

The room was small, with a hard bed, an old desk, and a simple wardrobe—that was all the family's belongings.

He closed the door behind him, shutting out the noise from the living room.

Standing by the bed, he didn't turn on the light, but stood quietly for a while, using the dim light coming in from the window.

Everything that happened today...

The tactile sensation of a thick wad of banknotes in the trust company, the unexpected yet unforgettable kiss at Lü Ruoxi's home, and the scrutinizing gazes of her parents and their question about "retaking the college entrance exam"...

It swirled in my mind like a revolving lantern.

Excitement, sweetness, nervousness, a hint of barely perceptible humiliation, and a great desire for the future—all these emotions intertwined, leaving him deeply troubled.

Ultimately, these emotions subsided and transformed into a more hardened resolve.

He needs money, he needs more money, he needs enough capital to support him in breaking free from constraints and realizing his ambitions.

The 1,700 yuan I have is just a drop in the bucket.

He walked to the bedside, lifted the somewhat stiff mattress, revealing the old newspapers underneath.

He carefully took out the cloth bag containing all the cash from his arms, untied it, and counted it again in the dim light.

A thick stack of ten-yuan and fifty-yuan banknotes, exuding the smell of ink and sweat.

He didn't hide them all together. Instead, he divided them into several portions.

The largest portion, about 1,200 yuan, was carefully wrapped in paper and stuffed into an inconspicuous gap in the wall tiles under the bed, a gap he had already cleared out, and then covered with other miscellaneous items.

This is his "strategic reserve," which he won't touch easily.

He divided the remaining five hundred yuan into two portions.

I rolled up an old newspaper, got three hundred yuan, and stuffed it into a lining of my backpack.

This is "working capital," used for small daily expenses and emergencies.

He had a little over two hundred yuan left in change. He counted it carefully and found that it consisted of ten-yuan, five-yuan, and one-yuan notes, and even some small change.

He straightened the money and put it into the inside pocket of his pants.

This is "activity expenses," and also a smokescreen to prove to parents that I "have a little money," so as to avoid them suspecting my financial situation.

After hiding the money, he re-lay the mattress, patted it, and there was nothing unusual about it.

After doing all this, he felt a little more at ease.

This money was all he had earned this summer, and it was the first cornerstone of his future plans; he couldn't afford to lose it.

"Yun Jing! Dinner's ready! What are you dawdling about!"

He Ling's voice came through the door.

"They're here!"

Li Yunjing responded, took a deep breath, adjusted his facial expression to make himself look no different from usual, and then opened the door and went out.

The meal consisted of simple home-style dishes.

Stir-fried shredded potatoes, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and half a fish left over from lunch.

Li Hongfeng had already sat down and was pouring wine.

When he saw his son come out, he glanced at him without saying anything, but the lingering resentment in his eyes from his son's "failure" seemed to have been somewhat diluted by the booming business of the convenience store during this period.

"Dad, Mom."

Li Yunjing sat down and picked up his rice bowl.

"The store made about twenty yuan worth of goods today."

He Ling reported happily, "I saw that some students have started buying small stationery items like pencils and erasers. It will definitely be even better when school starts."

"Okay, let's see how things go and do some statistics on the sales of non-staple foods. Then I'll call Wang Gang and ask him to prepare for delivery."

Li Hongfeng nodded, took a sip of wine, and a smile appeared on his face. "By the way, Yun Jing, your procedures for repeating a year are all done. School starts on September 1st, so just go and register."

"You're repeating a year, so you better focus and study hard!"

Stop thinking about those messy things.

"Okay, Dad."

Li Yunjing shoveled food into his mouth, giving vague replies, but his mind was racing with calculations.

There are five days left until the start of school.

He couldn't waste these five days.

"Mom, if the shop gets busy these few days before school starts, I'll go help out."

He looked up and said.

"I don't need you."

He Ling placed an egg on his plate, saying, "I can manage the shop all by myself."

"Take these few days to review your high school books and warm up, so you don't forget everything when school starts."

"oh."

Li Yunjing did not insist any further.

He knew that his parents' minds were now focused on the convenience store, and their requirement for him to "retake the exam" was more of a "must-do" procedure than a genuine hope that he would make a name for himself through it.

After this summer, they may have subconsciously sensed that their son might be taking a different path.

But he still has to go through this "procedure".

For the next five days, Li Yunjing, like a tireless lone wolf, once again embarked on the dirt roads leading to the surrounding villages.

This time, however, he was without Lü Ruoxi's cheerful laughter and careful reminders. He was alone, with only a dilapidated bicycle that rattled everywhere except for the bell, and a schoolbag containing three hundred yuan of "working capital".

In the early morning, he set off into the still-lingering morning mist; in the evening, he returned bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Sweat soaked through his clothes, and dust covered his shoes.

He repeated the actions he had performed countless times in the previous twenty days: knocking on the door, putting on a sincere smile, explaining his purpose, bargaining, carefully counting the treasury bonds, paying in cash, and then carefully putting away the acquired paper bonds.

However, the result was far worse than the last time.

Just like gold panning, the first wave of gold dust that is easiest to find has already been sifted away.

Those who were unfamiliar with treasury bonds, eager to liquidate them, or lacked access to information had mostly already disposed of their inventory during the previous round of "sweeping" by him and Lü Ruoxi.

The remaining people either felt the amount was too small to be worthwhile, or they knew the item could be exchanged for money upon expiration and preferred to keep it as a hoard rather than sell it at a discount. Others were simply too wary and ignored Li Yunjing, the young man who came to their door alone.

He traveled to Zhangjiatun and Licun, which he had visited before, and then expanded to the more remote Wangjiawopeng and Liujiabaozi.

The harvest, however, was meager.