Chapter 345: Stumbling Upon a Windfall

Arriving at the Postal and Telecommunications Bureau, many people are hunched over the counter sending letters.

"Comrade, could you weigh how heavy this package is?"

"Hey hey, don't be impatient; I'm swamped right now, wait a moment."

"Comrade, is my address written clearly?"

"You don't know whether it's clear yourself! Hey hey, have you affixed enough stamps? Four cents for domestic, eight cents for out‑of‑town."

"Also, your ration coupons need to be packaged separately; you have to get special registered mail…"

The counter staff were swamped, so Lu Cheng waited a bit longer, and finally bought two complete sets of four stamps each, themed "National Industrial Studies Grand Celebration," each stamp with a face value of eight cents.

Just as he was squatting to stick the stamps, someone behind him pushed forward, shoving Lu Cheng to the other side of the counter.

Lu Cheng didn't bother to argue, quickly mailed the letter, and hurried to find Sun Yan Hong; normally the courtyard is crowded, but today Sun Yan Hong took a day off, giving a chance for them to be alone.

Just as he finished affixing the stamps and was about to hand over the envelope, his gaze was suddenly drawn to a corner of the counter.

The counter was glass, and that corner was slightly cracked; Lu Cheng wasn't attracted by the broken glass, but by a stamp pressed there.

Perhaps to prevent it from moving and injuring someone, they casually used a discarded stamp as a cushion.

A stamp isn't remarkable, but Lu Cheng paid special attention because this stamp was entirely red, and the map on it bore seven yellow characters—"Nationwide Rivers and Mountains Red."

When he saw this eight‑cent stamp, Lu Cheng instantly squinted, and after a brief look, noticing that the stamp was a ring larger than ordinary ones, his heart began to race at that moment.

Although he didn't know much about stamps, he had seen the "Nationwide Rivers and Mountains Red" stamp in later news.

The memory is vivid not only because the stamp is wholly red and vivid, but also because the "Nationwide Rivers and Mountains Red" stamp is one of the nation's three most treasured stamps.

It seems that at a 2012 China Guardian auction, a perfectly preserved stamp of this kind sold for over seven million, breaking the record for a single‑stamp auction price.

The "Nationwide Rivers and Mountains Red" was designed in 1968, divided into the Large Red Piece and the Small Red Piece.

The two versions exist because the Large Red Piece was too big to be approved, making its stock extremely scarce; it was later reduced in size to become the Small Red Piece.

Even so, the Small Red Piece is very valuable, but Lu Cheng saw the rarer Large Red Piece, of which only eight were known at the time.

It was once speculated up to ten million per piece.

The one Lu Cheng saw was indeed the extremely rare Large Red Piece.

Imagine finding ten million on the street—what a feeling that would be?

Surely it would be excitement; that's exactly how Lu Cheng feels right now.

Is today's luck a bit too good? He thanks his sister for letting him come to mail the letter.

Of course, it could also be because it's in the Capital City; otherwise, after so many years of issuance, the stamp would be impossible to find.

Seeing a ten‑million‑valued stamp casually shoved into the table corner, Lu Cheng inwardly exclaimed that it was a waste of a treasure.

"No, I have to get it!"

If I don't get it, I won't be able to sleep at night.

"Comrade, are you sending the letter? Why are you letting go?"

"Oh, oh."

Lu Cheng snapped back to reality and handed two letters to a woman in her forties.

While the woman sorted the envelopes, Lu Cheng knew he must not appear overly excited, or it would raise suspicion.

So he pretended it was unintentional, slowly sliding his hand toward the table corner, subtly lifting the glass a bit, and his other hand could already touch the stamp.

His heart couldn't help but race again; this was ten million!

Just as he was about to pull out the stamp, the woman suddenly glanced over.

"Hey Comrade, don't take that stamp; I use it to cushion the table corner. I didn't notice the glass was cracked—what if someone gets hurt?"

Lu Cheng dared not forcefully take it; nowadays every stitch belongs to the collective, and forcibly taking it might backfire.

"I've checked the address; it's fine. You may leave now."

The woman said something, and Lu Cheng wouldn't just walk away—if he left, he'd take the ten million with him.

"Comrade, why aren't you leaving yet? Don't block the front; can't you see there are still so many people behind?"

Lu Cheng scratched his head; directly taking it was impossible, so he could only ask for it.

"Hello Comrade, could you give me this stamp?"

Seeing Lu Cheng point at the stamp, the woman frowned and asked, "What do you want it for?"

"I... I have a use for it."

"Oh, you're mistaken; this is a discarded stamp, it's useless. I still need it to cushion the table, so hurry up and leave."

Watching the ten‑million‑valued stamp being used as a table cushion, Lu Cheng felt a pang of heartbreak.

But the woman refused, and Lu Cheng had to say, "Then how about I pay for it? It's only an eight‑cent stamp, I'll give you the money."

Lu Cheng reached for the money, but his behavior only made the woman more suspicious.

A discarded stamp may not be worth much, but it can't be used on an envelope—what good is it?

The woman pulled out the stamp and examined it closely; indeed it was a useless discarded stamp.

Lu Cheng, seeing her take it out, thought she was willing to sell, and hurriedly handed over money with one hand while reaching for the stamp with the other.

But the woman became alert, pulled back abruptly, and gave Lu Cheng a strange look.

"What exactly do you want it for? Let me tell you, don't think about having me copy the stamp or engage in any forgery."

Seeing the woman had misunderstood, Lu Cheng quickly explained, "No, no, how could I forge anything? I want it for collection. I'm the type who isn't interested in other things, only in stamp collecting. Look, for the Industrial Studies Grand Celebration stamps, I buy two copies at once."

At that time, people hadn't yet developed a stamp‑collecting awareness; it wasn't until the 1980s that philately gradually became a craze, peaking in the early 1990s.

Thus the woman was even more puzzled: "Collecting? What's worth collecting… I won't sell it. This is unit property, and it's discarded; if I sell it to you, how can I balance the accounts?"

To protect public property, the woman was very cautious.

Seeing that words were useless, Lu Cheng secretly smeared saliva on his eyes and began to sniffle.

The woman stared blankly and said, "Hey, young Comrade, what's wrong with you? Why are you suddenly crying?"

"I… I just saw you and suddenly thought of my sister."

"Your sister? What's wrong with your sister?"

"My sister, she, she…"

Lu Cheng choked up and could not speak.

This made the woman instantly understand something, and she tentatively asked, "Your sister is gone?"

Lu Cheng gently nodded.