"Our bank is going to cooperate with American Express to launch the quick remittance business. I am the negotiating representative and will participate in the negotiations between the two parties."
"It was before the New Year?"
"The Americans don't celebrate the Spring Festival."
"Well, is the lunatic back?"
Lai Biao: "You didn't contact him in Moscow?"
"I don't dare to contact him. Who knows if he is now considered a comrade on the secret front? Last time, he took dozens of truckloads of instant noodles from me, but he didn't make it clear whether it was his or the country's. If it's his, I have to ask him for the money."
Nan Yi actually knew vaguely that Chen Feng had used the instant noodles he had taken from him to exchange for the Su-27, but he had to pretend not to know even if he knew about it.
"Stop playing dumb. What's the use of a madman asking for your instant noodles?" Lai Biao spat.
"Haha, let's not talk about this. Are you going back for the New Year?"
Lai Biao: "It depends. If the trip to the United States goes smoothly, I can fly directly from New York to Guangzhou. If it doesn't go smoothly, I can only spend the Spring Festival in the United States. What about you? Where will you spend the Spring Festival?"
"It depends on Liu Zhen. If she is busy in Shanghai, she is not busy in Beijing."
Lai Biao asked suddenly, "Liu Zhen hasn't moved in more than six years, right?"
"Well, he's still the vice president. He has quite a few part-time jobs, and half of his time is spent dealing with securities."
Lai Biao said thoughtfully: "Liu Zhen is considered beautiful in the financial system regardless of her academic qualifications or resume. I guess she will make a move soon."
"I don't know. I rarely care about her work." Nan Yi said, changing the subject. "Last year I applied for a PhD in economics at the University of Peking."
Lai Biao: “Working?”
"Um."
Lai Biao: "That's great. When I have enough time, I will take the exam. It will be hard to get by without a diploma."
“When did you get your master’s degree?”
Lai Biao: “Less than three years.”
"That will be soon."
Lai Biao: "Lao Nan, why are you so obsessed with your diploma if you don't work in the company? Do you really want to learn something?"
"It's just for show. It makes you look good when you tell others about it."
Lai Biao spat, "Nonsense, when have you ever cared about face? If face could be sold by the pound, you would have sold it long ago."
"Haha, to tell the truth is to become an expert in the future. Nan Yi, a famous domestic economics expert, suggests: Don't deposit money in Industrial Bank. Lai Biao, an employee of the bank, is dishonest and may easily steal from the bank."
"Haha, I suggest you don't give blind advice."
"Comrade, I suggest you don't keep saying the word 'suggestion' all the time. Suggestions are only for experts. If you really want to make suggestions, I suggest you become an expert first. Once you become an expert, you can make suggestions at any time. However, I suggest you don't make suggestions on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and be cautious when making suggestions on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. I suggest you make more suggestions on weekends. I suggest you adopt my suggestions and use them as a reference when you make your own suggestions."
"Suggestions, suggestions, you have fallen into the advice nest, Lao Nan, why are you still behaving like this?" Lai Biao scolded with a smile.
"Alas, there is nothing I can do. I'm used to it and I can't change it in my lifetime."
Nan Yi and the other were chatting when Wen Wan, who had prepared the meal, came over and called them to eat. "What are you two talking about so excitedly? Wash your hands and eat now."
"Wen Wan, you're the one who cooks every time I go to your house. Why don't you be more courageous for once and let Lai Biao cook for you?"
"I can't count on him." Wen Wan said disdainfully, "When he cooks rice, half of the pan will burn. When he fries an egg, the eggshell will smash into the pan, and the egg white and yolk will be thrown into the trash can."
"Wen Wan, you've been fooled by Lai Biao. He used to brag that his great-grandfather was a royal chef. Because of his cooking skills, he was even named the General of Yangcheng in his later years. It's a pity that his great-grandfather didn't make progress and actually took the exam for the top military scholar just for a woman..."
"Lao Nan, you are really good at making up stories. You are pinning the story of Su Qi'er on me again. Cooking is not a genetic skill in my family. My grandfather can't cook, and neither can my father. It's even worse for me. No matter how hard I try, I can't learn it."
"Come on, there is nothing you can't learn, only those who don't want to learn..."
The three of them came to the dining table with cymbals playing, chatting and eating, it was very lively.
Wen Wan: "Nan Yi, shall we go swimming tomorrow?"
"Just the two of us, without Lai Biao?"
"What are you thinking about?" Wen Wan said angrily.
"Haha, winter swimming, or find a place with hot water?"
Wen Wan: "There's an ocean swimming pool over at Haidian. There's hot water there."
"Okay, come to my place tomorrow to eat glutinous rice balls. I'll make them this afternoon and we can eat them right after we finish swimming."
"OK."
The next day.
At half past three, Nan Yi arrived at the ghost market. He skipped other stalls and only visited the stall that specialized in selling ancient coins.
In the antique business, ancient coins are unpopular, and Yuan Datou is even more unpopular among the unpopular. This thing is not as difficult to identify as porcelain or ancient paintings. Relatively speaking, it is not very difficult to identify the authenticity. If you immerse yourself in it and spend some time on it, it is difficult to be fooled. The popular fakes on the market are mostly used to fool those who don't know much but still hope to get a bargain.
At present, the price of an ordinary Yuan Datou on the market ranges from thirty to forty yuan depending on its quality, and the price is very stable. Under normal circumstances, vendors can only make a profit of one or two yuan from the price difference, and the profit is thin. Generally, they only sell things other than copper coins, and it is rare for someone to only sell Yuan Datou.
Nan Yi came to the first stall and saw a small pile of Yuan Datou coins next to a pile of copper coins, with a few Sun Xiaotou coins mixed in. At the position closest to the stall, a Yuan Datou was displayed alone, with a piece of velvet cloth underneath it.
A very good commemorative coin of the founding of the People's Republic of China, commonly known as "Big Beard". The one Nan Yi saw was made of copper. Well, he had just finished learning about Yuan Datou and immediately saw a fine product.
"Can you get started?"
The Nan Yi Chong vendor pointed at the bearded man.
The vendor looked Nan Yi up and down before lazily saying, "Open the door wide and make sure you know what's going on."
Nan Yi laughed and said, "I want to change a few houses. Tell me about it."
"Okay, you're welcome, sir." The vendor raised his hand and said politely.
Nan Yi picked up the big beard and examined it in his hand, complaining in his heart, "Others get a bargain of "Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains" for three yuan, or a jade seal for five yuan, but why do I only meet smart people here?"
The Big Beard is a treasure among Yuan Datou coins. Zhang Weiquan explained it to Nan Yi in great detail. The Big Beard in Nan Yi's hand is a large open door, with extremely exquisite craftsmanship, vivid characters, delicate and smooth bottom, soft and pleasing luster, perfect appearance and condition, and the possibility of mistaking it is very small.
Despite this, Nan Yi was still careful and tried all of Professor Zhang Weiqun's identification methods, and the final result was still true.
"Name your price."
Nan Yi held the copper coin in his hand, with no intention of putting it back.
The vendor didn't say anything. He raised his index finger and shook it, then stood up and took the bearded man back from Nan Yi's hand.
Nan Yi shook his hands and said with a smile: "Ten dollars?"
"Ten dollars."
"Leave some room. I can't sell it at this price."
"I can't give you that." The vendor shook his head. "If you really want it, I can give you a little bit of money. You can grab as many Yuan Datou as you can from the stall."
"Don't bother with the price. Forget about catching them. Even if we buy out your stall, we won't make much money. Try to make it cheaper. How about eight dollars?"
"I can't give up even a cent. Just do as you said. I'll give you everything I have."
"Really not?"
“No.”
"I'm turning around and leaving. Will you stay?"
"If you don't keep any, it's just ten yuan. No matter what tricks you use, it's the same price." The vendor said firmly.
"I have two elderly people at home and children to raise. My son is very good at studying and will go to a prestigious university in the future. I have to save some money for his education. I'll give him a few cents for the sake of the child."
"Your bargaining excuse is fresh, but he is your son, not mine. Let me give the future flowers of our motherland some face and give him a penny," said the vendor.
"What do you mean, my son's face is only worth one cent? Either give me two cents, or I won't let you go today. Who are you trying to embarrass?"
"People say rich people are stingy. I didn't think so before, but now I have seen it. You look like a big shot. Do you think it's fun to bargain with me for a dime or two?" The vendor was also a sharp-tongued person and did not let Nan Yi off at all.
Nan Yi chuckled, "You also know that I am a big shot. I have even brought my son out. Are you going to give me these two cents or not?"
The vendor waved his hands helplessly and said, "Okay, okay, I'll give in. 9.80 dollars."
Nan Yi laughed, "Let's go, find a bright place, a spit is a nail, don't use your hands, or I will get angry."
The vendor was packing up his stall while replying, "Money is not worth much now. Ten or so can only last for a while. I still need to stay in this area. You just watch me."
Nan Yi waited for the vendor to pack up his stall, then brought his people to his car, opened the trunk and took out a bag, counted out twenty bills from a stack of money, and handed the rest to the vendor, "Count them."
The vendor took the money, counted it twice, and raised his hand to look at the money 1,960 times. It took him three quarters of an hour before he finally handed the bearded man the money to Nan Yi.
Nan Yi checked it and confirmed that it was the one he had just seen. He then asked the vendor for the package to lighten his load, allowing him to leave with just one bag.
After the vendor left, Nan Yi did not return to the ghost market. He had only a few banknotes left in his pocket, and there was no point in going back, so he asked the school beauty to drive him home. Nan Yi sat in the car and admired the big beard that already belonged to him.
If this big beard was not picked up by the vendor at a bargain, there would actually not be much profit to be made. Zhang Weiquan once told Nan Yi that someone sold a silver big beard for 60,000 yuan last year. The copper ones are relatively rare, and 100,000 yuan is about the market price. Nan Yi bought it at the market price, so he was not taken advantage of, nor was he picking up a bargain.
In the morning, Nan Yi went to Xinrongzhai again and showed the big beard to Li Xiangrong. After receiving Li Xiangrong's positive evaluation, Nan Yi put down the bronze beard and continued to look for other treasures.
It would be more appropriate to keep the silver one at the bottom of the box, so I'd better keep the copper one and wait for it to appreciate in value.
After wandering around Panjiayuan for a long time, Nan Yi bought another T-shaped edge coin with very good condition. It was a trial coin minted by Tiangang Mint in the third year of the Republic of China. It has never been put on the market and is quite rare. It was bought for 3,000 yuan, which was a small bargain for Nan Yi.
I also bought a Hongxian Feilong coin, but I don’t know which ignorant ticket office stamped a hard stamp on it with the word "Qiao". Its appearance was destroyed and its value was greatly reduced.
If it can be proved that the character "Qiao" on the silver coin is Qiao Zhiyong from the Qiao family, perhaps its value can be raised further.
Thinking of Qiao Zhiyong, Nan Yi asked among the vendors and found out that it was too late. Qiao Zhiyong had died before the Hongxian Feilong appeared. Even the Hongxian Feilong coin in his hand was related to the Qiao family banknotes, but had nothing to do with Qiao Zhiyong.
I bought it for 500 yuan, and I don't know if I can sell it for hundreds of thousands in the future. If I can't sell it, Nan Yi will have made a mistake. I can use the 500 yuan to buy that team to lose, and maybe it can snowball into hundreds of millions.
…
Ocean swimming pool.
A ticket costs thirty-five yuan, which is equivalent to three days' salary for an ordinary worker. Most people are reluctant to spend this money. There is no scene of dumplings being made, only two or three kittens.
Nan Yi, who deliberately did not bring swimming trunks, suddenly felt a little regretful. After all, there must be a place selling swimsuits in the swimming pool. Nan Yi had planned to supervise his female compatriots with a clear, appreciative and devoid of evil eyes not to buy swimsuits that are too revealing. Now... all his enthusiasm has been wasted .
After splashing around in the water for a few times, Nan Yi and Lai Biao each ordered a glass of watermelon juice for RMB 37, and lay down on the lounge chairs, doing two other things that one can do in a swimming pool besides swimming - showing off their bodies and looking at beautiful women.
There were three women in total in and around the pool, one was 58 years old, one was as handsome as Li Kui, and the only one worth a glance at was his friend's wife. You can imagine how depressed Nan Yi was.
Lai Biao poked the cup a few times with the straw, bit the straw and took two sips, burped, turned to look at the depressed Nan Yi and said, "Are you really sorry about the ticket money now?"
"Two seconds ago, yes, but not now. Look, here comes a girl with long legs. I didn't look up because I was afraid of ruining the good impression in my mind. Biaozi, take a look. Is she a pretty girl?"
Hearing this, Lai Biao glanced towards the entrance of the swimming pool. Suddenly, a sly smile appeared on his face. "Pretty girl, absolutely pretty girl, be brave and look up."
"Biaozi, look at your miserable appearance, there must be thunder." Nan Yi spat and looked up, "Why is this girl here?"
"Hahaha, isn't my cousin pretty?"
"Biaozi, you should be a kind person." Nan Yi complained and waved his hand at Yi Qianxi.
Seeing Nan Yi waving, Yi Qianxi trotted over to Nan Yi excitedly, "Cousin, why are you here?"
"This is a place for rich people to spend money. Why can't I, a rich man, be here? But you, a girl, your monthly salary is enough to come here three or five times, right? Why are you here?"
"I don't just live on a fixed salary, cousin. I'm a famous actor." Yi Qianxi said with a pout.
"Okay, famous actress Yi Qianxi, are you okay for a while?"
Yi Qianxi widened her eyes and said, "It's okay. Where are we going? Are we going to have a big meal?"
"There's no big meal, I'll eat something , and I'll have something to tell you."
"Oh, I'll go to the swimming club first. Please order a drink for me and I'll come up to drink it later." Yi Qianxi said, turned and walked to the swimming pool, and jumped into the water with a splash.
"It's rare. Your cousin is quite simple."
"It's okay now, but it's hard to say about the future. Being too naive in the entertainment industry will only bring you disadvantages."
"Okay, with you here, your cousin won't suffer any loss." Lai Biao said disapprovingly: "Our country has issued US dollar bonds, don't you plan to buy some?"
"You know what? I bought it a long time ago. There were 1 billion in total, and I bought 300 million. That's good enough, isn't it?"
"That's very kind of you. Buy some for me, too. It's up to you how much."
"Let's talk about it later. Your money has been converted into Mexican pesos. It will take some time to change it back."
"Mexican peso? North American Free Trade Agreement? Zapatista riots?" Lai Biao thought for a moment and said, "Will the peso undergo major changes?"
"Hey, Biaozi, that's good. You are very concerned about the international situation." Nan Yi teased.
"Nonsense, my job is related to foreign exchange, how can I not care about it? Do you know when to act?"
"You are talking nonsense. How would I know? I can only predict that there will be major changes. How can I know when the changes will occur? I have to observe the development of the situation and analyze the data, and then things will gradually become clear."
"Tell me when it's clear."
Nan Yi was surprised and said, "What's the point of telling you? It will be too late to join the game after everything becomes clear."
"Our bank does not speculate in foreign exchange. Before the peso falls sharply, we just need to sell what the bank holds."
"Oh, let's go down and have a look around. We can't waste the money for the ticket."
Nan Yi tore off the bath towel covering his body and stood up from the recliner. His two long legs were stretched out on the ground, and his eight abdominal muscles were hanging on his waist. He looked very well-proportioned, with no lack of explosive power and more beautiful. The mermaid lines on both sides were faintly visible.
Lai Biao, with his belly sticking out, came up to Nan Yi and glanced at his waist with envy, "Old Nan, you're wearing something that's blinding."
"Don't be jealous. God is fair. 17,520 hours is almost two years. You were sleeping while I was exercising. You drooled all over your pillow while I was sweating like I had just been fished out of the water. It's not worth it to be jealous for a few seconds and spend so much time on it."
"Lao Nan, you are a bad friend. You are preventing me from making progress."
Nan Yi stretched his bat muscles and said, "Stop it. You and Liu Zhen are the same kind of people. You get excited after only three minutes. You bought sportswear and made a good training plan. But you were excited on the first day, barely persisted on the second day, and couldn't get up on the third day. Who cares? I don't think you, Nan Yi, would dare to say that I'm fat."
"Has Liu Zhen gained weight? I can't tell."
"Sitting in the office every day and riding in the car when I go out, how can I not have a fat belly around my waist? It's getting bigger. It's impossible to lose weight. Instead of losing weight, I might as well change my aesthetic taste. Let me tell you, I really like women with fat belly on their bodies. They look so good."
"Bullshit." Lai Biao spat, lowered his head, pulled his beer belly with both hands, and sighed, "Once upon a time, I also had abdominal muscles."
"Don't think about the past. Sixteen years ago, you only had one."
"At least it's flat. Alas, Lao Nan, we are middle-aged and our youth is gone."
"Okay, regardless of international or domestic standards, anyone under 40 is considered a young person. You can use this to comfort yourself."
Nan Yi warmed up and dived into the water. Lai Biao followed closely behind him, and his big belly came into close contact with the water surface.
In the next few days, Nan Yi spent his daytime wandering around the antique market. He gained some Yuan Datou coins and also collected a few silver ingots. The Dakaimen coins, which were of relatively ordinary quality, had been circulating in the market for a long time and had dozens of silver inspection stamps on them, so the silver ingots had lost their shape.
At the end of the month, Nan Wuwei, who was already on vacation, came before Liu Zhen. He did not stick to Nan Yi, but occupied Nan Yi's workshop and took over the half-finished aircraft carrier model that Nan Yi had been working on for several years, and continued to work on it himself.
Time passed as people prepared for the New Year and sent off New Year’s greetings. With the singing of the song “When I Grow Up I Will Become You”, the last 1.2 billion people on Earth also crossed the year 1993 and entered 1994 completely.
Before the New Year, the regulations came down that fireworks and firecrackers are not allowed in Beijing’s urban areas this year, so the New Year atmosphere will be weaker than in previous years.
After the seventh day of the first lunar month, Nan Yi accompanied Nan Wuwei back to Shanghai. While accompanying his son, he continued to buy and sell Yuan Datou coins in Shanghai. All the affairs of the Nan family were remotely controlled.
Nan Wuwei and Nan Yi would pick them up and drop them off at school using a 28-inch truck to make up for the time the father and son had missed in the past few years.
A special force, the "Iron Abacus Force", has been formed, and the notice of the special recruitment examination has been sent to the provincial and municipal abacus and mental arithmetic associations. Nan Wuwei has obtained the recommendation quota from the association and meets all the requirements for taking the examination, so he is waiting for the arrival of the examination day.
Time passed slowly. One morning after Liu Zhen cried several times and scratched Nan Yi's face until it was covered with bruises, Nan Yi saw the sign of "Home of Honor" at the gate of the old villa. His social status was improved, and he became a military dependent from an ordinary person.
When Nan Yi came to terms with his son's military service, it was already the end of May. Frightened, Nan Yi took a domestic flight for the fourth time and flew to Jinling to inspect the zhuanghua workshop, then transferred to Suzhou to inspect the kesi workshop.
Then, Nan Yi landed at Jiangqiao Airport.
When he arrived in Hangzhou, Nan Yi did not inform anyone. As soon as he got off the plane, he went to the West Lake. In front of the lotus leaves, he ordered a cup of the same Longjing tea as before, spread out a copy of Qianjiang Evening News, and bathed in the gentle breeze of the West Lake.
"Tiger cub, go to the post office and buy two local phones. Use any numbers you want to save some money."
"clear."
Not long ago, the Ma family army sold the formula of "Life Nuclear Energy" to Robust for 10 million yuan in a high-profile manner. The scene was grand, with police cars leading the way, the formula stored in a bank vault, and then the provincial agents were auctioned off. Not only Life Nuclear Energy, but the entire health care product market was heated up.
It has only been five months since 1994, but it has already been established that this year is the year of health products and beverages and foods. When you turn on the TV, the most common ads you see are health products, followed by beverage and food ads. Advertisements for various liquors are also very popular, and ads for color TVs and refrigerators have to take a back seat.
The several health care brands run by Xian Weizhong have always been mediocre. Nan Yi had a lot of advertising and marketing ideas but he didn't give any of them to Xian Weizhong. Xian Weizhong himself had an ambiguous attitude towards health care products. He made a fortune by selling health care products, but he looked down on them and was unwilling to call himself a health care product businessman.
Nan Yi has already told Xian Weizhong that after this year's work, he should sell the brand while it is still valuable and get out of here cleanly.
After reading the newspaper, it was already time for lunch. Nan Yi waved his hand and called the owner of the teahouse over, "Boss, give me some instant noodles."
"What brand do you want?"
"Of course it's Master Fan, it has more beef in it."
"Master Fan, six dollars."
"Doesn't it say five dollars on the sign?" Nan Yi pointed to the price tag of the teahouse.
"That's not Master Fan, it's another master, and there's not enough beef." The teahouse owner used Nan Yi's "car" to defeat Nan Yi.
"Okay, six dollars is six dollars, let's go to Master Fan."
Eating a bowl of noodles at a tourist attraction is a fashionable and luxurious thing. If you go out of the West Lake area and find a noodle shop, you can have at least three bowls of Pian'erchuan for six yuan. If you can't get it right, you can add some oil residue.
After eating a bowl of noodles by the West Lake, Nan Yi and his friends took bus No. 7, got off at the Botanical Garden, spent three yuan for a ticket, went in for a walk, climbed up Beigaofeng through the back door, walked a few miles on the mountain, went down the mountain along the Yang Family Archway, and walked to Qiantang Sheng’s home.
Qian Tangsheng's father passed away. Although Qian Tangsheng went to the Northeast when he was a teenager and was not very close to his father, it was his duty as a son to go home and take care of his father's funeral, which was a major ethical obligation.
The ancestral hall culture in Hangzhou is not strong, so Qian's father's mourning hall is set up at home. After entering the village, Nan Yi asked for directions and came to Qian Tangsheng's home.
After presenting a white envelope, burning incense to Qian's father and drinking some sweet tea, Nan Yi found a corner to sit and watch the chef prepare the banquet, taking a peek at what dishes were on offer.
Nan Yi arrived at the right time. Qian's father would go up the mountain early tomorrow morning, so he wouldn't have to come any later.
"Smoke, smoke."
Just as Nan Yi was wandering in space, a blue West Lake cigarette was handed to him.
"well."
Nan Yi took the cigarette and put it to his ear.
Before Nan Yi and Fayan could exchange greetings, the other party had already walked towards another person.
After staying for a while, when someone came to pass out the second round of cigarettes, Nan Yi couldn't stay any longer. There was still some time before the meal started, and it would be a bit of an eyesore if he stayed any longer.
Walking out of the village and coming to the small river at the entrance of the village, Nan Yi changed his place of stay.
After just a while, Nan Yi saw Qian Tangsheng's daughter Yunmei coming over. He had never paid much attention to her, and Nan Yi didn't even know whether Yunmei's surname was Cui or Qian.