Chapter 81: Meat Strands, Black Silk, All Kinds of Silk

Every shelf of the cabinet was piled with gold, glittering and eye‑catching; in the middle were neatly formed large yellow fish, and there were also gold fragments.

Where did they get so much of it?

Xu Yuexin muttered, of course he didn't ask further.

In their line of work, they are especially averse to digging for the roots.

Fatty, in one breath, took out fourteen large yellow fish and two gold fragments, closed it, then opened another cabinet door, took out a still‑rare electronic scale and set it on the floor.

After placing the gold on the scale, Fatty glanced at the reading, then took another gold fragment from the cabinet and added it to the pan.

"4389.31 grams, which is 87 liang 5 qian 8 fen 6 li."

Having weighed it, Fatty looked up at Xu Yuexin and said, "Take the money."

Xu Yuexin handed the entire Shoulder Bag to Fatty: "Count the money."

Fatty took the bag, tapped it, confirmed everything was correct, then handed money with one hand and goods with the other to Xu Yuexin.

The bag contained exactly 2,540 Great Unity notes, instantly replaced by the heavy gold.

Xu Yuexin, shouldering the bag, hung his head and walked out of the room, hurrying away.

At the courtyard entrance, he saw an old man carrying a basket of old circuit boards, shuffling slowly into the yard.

Xu Yuexin now understood the source of the gold.

They obtained the gold by dismantling discarded circuit boards.

As for where the circuit boards came from, Xu Yuexin guessed they might be from Xiangjiang, where the consumption level generates a lot of electronic waste.

……

Back in the hotel room, Xu Yuexin opened the door, and Chen Yixue immediately rose from the bedside to greet him.

"Are you okay? Did anything happen?"

Chen Yixue examined him repeatedly, fearing any injury.

"No problem at all; everything over there is perfectly legitimate."

Xu Yuexin said casually, tossed the Shoulder Bag onto the bed, and said, "Open it and see."

Chen Yixue exhaled, but did not immediately step forward to open the bag.

"Let me think, it's better not to earn this kind of money in the future."

Chen Yixue, still shaken, said, "You have no idea how worried I was just now."

"The bigger the storm, the pricier the fish."

Xu Yuexin was indifferent, "It's just the primary accumulation stage of capital; what's the big deal?"

Chen Yixue still felt uneasy, shook her head, "It's also my fault for not firmly stopping you."

"Fine, I promise, I won't take risks anymore."

Xu Yuexin patted Chen Yixue's fragrant shoulder and said, "Let's split the gold first."

Having received his promise, Chen Yixue sighed with relief, "Hmm, I also don't want to see you take risks again."

The two sat on the bedside together; Xu Yuexin opened the Shoulder Bag and took out all fourteen large yellow fish and two gold fragments.

"You spent 5,400, which is exactly three large yellow fish."

Xu Yuexin lifted the heavy gold, placed it before Chen Yixue, and said, "Make sure you keep it safe."

Facing the dazzling gold, Chen Yixue took a deep breath.

"So heavy."

Chen Yixue picked up the gold and sighed, "With this much gold, it should be enough to buy a house."

"Where do you want to buy?"

Xu Yuexin asked casually; like Da Yizi, he also had thoughts of buying a house.

"Buy at Tuanjie Lake. I heard the authorities are planning a pilot there, and in a few months there will be commercial apartments for sale."

"Oh… I see."

Three large yellow fish are still far from enough to buy those Tuanjie Lake houses, but Xu Yuexin didn't want to crush Da Yizi's enthusiasm.

"I'm tired of running around; I want to hear you sing a song."

After dividing the gold, he flopped onto Da Yizi's bed and said.

"Hm? What song do you want to hear?"

Chen Yixue asked softly.

"Sing a love song, the kind a woman sings to a man."

Xu Yuexin said lazily.

Chen Yixue sounded slightly helpless, "I knew you had no good intentions."

"Then will you sing?"

"I didn't say I wouldn't sing."

Chen Yixue gave Xu Yuexin a blank look.

Xu Yuexin had a hard day's work; he felt embarrassed to refuse, and kept telling himself in his heart not to do it again.

After a brief preparation, a lingering, heartrending Xiangjiang love song filled the room, and the sweet voice made Xu Yuexin feel as if he were in a dream.

These days, many people secretly listen to Xiangjiang's music via radio, and this phenomenon is even more common within the Cultural Troupe.

As Xu Yuexin listened, he felt Da Yizi's singing style was even more authentic than the original.

……

The day to return to Jing arrived; Xu Yuexin and Chen Yixue, clutching the gold, boarded the train with bags of fruit in hand.

After a long 35‑hour journey, the train stopped at Beijing station.

The first thing Xu Yuexin did after getting off was to check whether the mangoes, lychees, and other fruits were spoiled.

Fortunately, the ice cubes keep the cotton packed, and all the fruits are intact, as fresh and dewy as when they were first bought.

The gold was stored by Xu Yuexin in his shoulder bag.

He kept the shoulder bag pressed to his chest the whole way, and whenever the train jolted, he could feel what the old Cantonese call "ding ni ge fei".

When parting from Chen Yixue, the two promised to meet again when there is news from other publishers.

As long as they keep in touch, sparks will always fly.

After Xu Yuexin got home, he placed the plastic tub of fruit in a shady spot, stored the gold together with the Southern Mountain Old Manuscript, and went to take a shower.

He waited two months for the state to raise the gold price, then cash out for profit.

Of course, when selling gold one must be careful: you can't take that much to a single gold shop, and the shapes should not be too regular.

For example, the big yellow fish in hand should be hammered into gold cakes, so you can tell the shop they're heirloom items.

When Xu Yuexin finished his shower, Chen Qiaoqiao happened to return from the street for lunch.

"Are you back home? Was the trip to Guangzhou smooth?"

"A short separation beats a new marriage," Chen Qiaoqiao ran up to him and asked concernedly, "Did you suffer any mistreatment with food or lodging over there?"

"Very smooth, the food and lodging were great."

Xu Yuexin, wearing a pair of underpants, walked up to her and said, "Come, let me show you a few things."

After speaking, he led Chen Qiaoqiao into the room, and, under her expectant gaze, opened the plastic tub and lifted the layers of cotton.

"Is this lychee? This… should be mango?"

Seeing these fruits she had only ever seen in picture books, Chen Qiaoqiao felt very curious.

"Correct, these are mangosteen and pineapple."

"I'll show you how to open it."

As he spoke, Xu Yuexin picked up a mangosteen, squeezed the shell with his palm, cracking it open to reveal the snow‑white flesh inside.

"Here, try it."

Xu Yuexin said to Chen Qiaoqiao.

Chen Qiaoqiao took two slices of flesh, put them in her mouth, and her expression changed: "So sweet!"

"Come, eat all of these."

Xu Yuexin handed the remaining mangosteens to Chen Qiaoqiao, saying,

"You eat too."

"I've had enough to eat in Guangzhou."

Xu Yuexin crouched, dragged out from under the bed the box containing the Southern Mountain Old Manuscript, and opened its bronze lock. As the box opened, the mangosteen in Chen Qiaoqiao's hand fell to the floor with a "pop".

"These… are these gold? Where did they come from?"

"Bought them; I'll sell them after a while."

Xu Yuexin calmly reassured, "Don't panic, they're all legitimate goods."

"I just think the state will raise the gold purchase price soon, so I arranged to buy some."

"Really?"

Chen Qiaoqiao didn't know why Xu Yuexin made such a judgment.

Of course, she still hoped Xu Yuexin's prediction would hit the mark.

"That's obvious, just wait and see."

Xu Yuexin slightly raised the corner of his mouth and whispered into Chen Qiaoqiao's ear, "If my judgment is correct, you'll have to…"

Chen Qiaoqiao's face flushed instantly.

"Just got back, and your head's already full of this."

Chen Qiaoqiao lightly poked Xu Yuexin's forehead with a finger and cooed, "You're hopeless!"

…

After returning from Guangzhou, Xu Yuexin slept for several days until the sun was high in the sky.

This was truly a good rest! One day, Xu Yuexin got up from the bed, stretched lazily and said,

"I can't sleep any more today; I've arranged to meet the editors of Contemporary and October Magazine today to discuss the publication of The Wreath Under the High Mountain and The Horse Herder."

"In the morning I'll see Contemporary, in the afternoon October, both at the community tea house."

After finishing with the October editor, night had already fallen; Xu Yuexin went home, ate, washed up and went to sleep.

"The next two days I still have to meet the editors of Duck Green River, Yan River and Shanghai Arts; the workload won't be less than today."

Two days later, Xu Yuexin finally finished meeting all the publishers' editors and settled the publishing matters.

This time it was still paid per print run, and in just three days Xu Yuexin earned a full 2,800 yuan.

When he returned home with the print‑run payment from Shanghai Arts, his parents told him some news.

"The city is planning to consolidate all coking plants and form a Coking Group."

"Your father's expertise matches; the organization decided to send him to the group as Executive Deputy General Manager."

Wu Yan said gently to her son and daughter‑in‑law, "The group headquarters is in West City, too far from our home, so I have to go with you to take care of your dad."

"Ranran will start boarding school tomorrow. You two at home must look after your own lives, stay healthy, and don't argue over anything."

"Qiao Qiao, eat more regularly to get good nutrition; Yuexin, when you write novels you also need to rest, especially your lumbar and cervical spine."

Xu Qiang added gravely from beside, "You also need to study well and strive to become the professional talent the Communist Party and government need."

"I'll give you the coking plant's phone number; if anything really happens, call me at the street office."

After speaking, Xu Qiang took a small notebook from his pocket, tore a sheet, wrote the phone number on it, and handed it to Xu Yuexin.

"Got it, Dad. You also need to rest while working at the Coking Group, don't overexert."

Xu Yuexin replied.

"That won't do; the Communist Party and the government have entrusted this position to me, and I cannot betray that trust."

Xu Qiang chuckled and said, "If we ought to struggle, we must struggle."

"Besides, I'm representing the school in a token position; if I were perfunctory, others' impression of our school would also be poor."

Uh, seeing his father's overly ambitious demeanor, Xu Yuexin actually felt a bit ashamed.

"The child just wants to remind you to take care of your health."

Wu Yan laughed, "Health is the capital of the revolution; what he said also makes sense."

The family talked until late night before parting; the next morning Xu Qiang and Wu Yan packed several simple garments and luggage and left.

Xu Yuexin helped his parents carry the luggage, disregarding their objections, called a taxi, and paid the fare for them in advance.

They took a regular city route, with no traffic jams, so the driver could instantly estimate the fare precisely.

"Next time, don't order a taxi for us."

Before getting in, Wu Yan still reminded, "Wasteful."

The taxi sped away, and Xu Yuexin walked home, looking at the blue sky and taking a deep breath.

The newly established Coking Group is a municipal state‑owned enterprise, a bureau‑level unit, and he has become the second generation.

Moreover, for a long stretch from now on, only he and Chen Qiaoqiao will remain at home.

Does that not mean… all the dreams he had at the start of his marriage can now come true? Black stockings, flesh‑colored stockings, all kinds of stockings…

Xu Yuexin, a bit excited, immediately went home, took out several Foreign Exchange Coupons, and headed straight for the Friendship Store.

……

That afternoon, in the bedroom.

Chen Qiaoqiao picked up a pair of black stockings, looked at Xu Yuexin with puzzlement and said, "I don't usually wear this color; why did you buy it?"

"Wear them at home for me to see."

Xu Yuexin encouraged, "Give it a try; you'll definitely look great in it."

Chen Qiaoqiao understood.

He was certainly thinking about that kind of thing again.

No wonder whenever I wear white stockings, he gets so worked up…

"I won't wear them; it's too embarrassing."

Chen Qiaoqiao disdainfully tossed the black stockings aside, her cheeks reddening like a ripe apple.

"Then try this."

Xu Yuexin, unhurried, said, picking up the flesh‑colored stockings and slipping them into her hand.

Even if set in later times, not every woman can accept black stockings; take it slowly.

It's about advancing one move each day.

Chen Qiaoqiao examined the flesh‑colored stockings, thought they were fine, and lifted her skirt to put them on.

"Really nice."

Xu Yuexin ran his hand over his wife's long, straight, flesh‑colored beautiful legs and said, "Your legs are made for stockings."

"Hmph, praising me like that?"

Chen Qiaoqiao, fluttered by his touch, deliberately lifted her face and said.

"Of course, that's the highest compliment."

Xu Yuexin said, then got up, embraced Chen Qiaoqiao, planted a kiss on her neck, and his hands began to act mischievously.

"Oh… we haven't eaten yet."

Chen Qiaoqiao blocked Xu Yuexin's large hand, weakly leaning into his embrace and said.

"Not having eaten is perfect; I'll feed you right away."

Xu Yuexin grinned mischievously, unbuttoned Chen Qiaoqiao's blouse, and pushed her onto the bed…

……

The next morning, the flesh‑colored stockings Chen Qiaoqiao had worn were boldly laid out on the balcony.

Actually, Xu Yuexin had wanted to tear them yesterday, but recalling that they were imported goods bought with a full 100 Foreign Exchange Coupons, he ultimately couldn't bring himself to do it.

It's like the later Balenciaga logo socks: those who dare tear them never have the genuine product; the ones that get torn are certainly counterfeit.

One can only say that the domestic synthetic‑fiber industry must become self‑reliant! Only then can he tear to his heart's content!

After Chen Qiaoqiao went to work on the street, Xu Yuexin went to see Wang Meng, asking about the approval issues for overseas publication.

The reply was that the relevant departments had already approved it, and no policy risk remained.

Xu Yuexin then took a calming pill, and after finishing lunch at Wang Meng's place, returned home to continue writing "Great Ming 1566".

Since returning from Guangzhou, he has been slacking off and slacking off, yet altogether still wrote tens of thousands of characters.

After writing for another two hours in the afternoon, Xu Yuexin organized all the manuscripts and planned to launch the serialization of "Great Ming 1566".

However, regarding the serialized novel, Xu Yuexin also has an urgent problem to resolve.

(End of chapter)