Chapter 781: My Pride Matters

As soon as Xu Damao entered his home, he recounted the story of He Yuzhu buying jade today to his wife, Liu Sanmei.

After listening, Liu Sanmei's eyes widened into perfect circles: "Damao, according to what you're saying, this He Yuzhu is truly no simple man! Going to the United States to buy stocks back in the forties and actually making money, and then keeping it hidden for over thirty years without letting a single word slip. Now that the Reform and Opening-up is here and no one cares, he finally speaks up... and all those wives of his have come running back too. This man... he's really a goddamn miracle worker!" She patted her chest, "It's a good thing you stopped messing with him, otherwise we wouldn't even know how we died."

Xu Damao slumped onto the sofa and sighed: "I won't lie to you, I have that feeling too. For all these years, I've been like a clown, hounding He Yuzhu every single day. So tell me, shouldn't we scrape together some money and have Dajinya help us buy stocks? He Yuzhu said those two stocks could increase more than tenfold in ten years. He even said the stocks he helped his cousin buy back then increased over a thousandfold."

"A thousandfold?" Liu Sanmei gasped, "Then how much money must his cousin have?"

"In my opinion, she's earned at least several hundred million US dollars."

"How is that possible!" Liu Sanmei's jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

Xu Damao counted on his fingers: "One hundred thousand US dollars multiplied by a thousand is one hundred million. Liu Rusi came from a wealthy family; she must have invested at least several hundred thousand US dollars, right? Calculating it now, wouldn't that be several hundred million?"

Hearing that He Yuzhu had helped others earn so much money, Liu Sanmei felt an itch in her heart like a cat clawing at it. She leaned in and urged: "Damao, we have at least two million People's Currency on hand now. If we go to the black market to exchange it, we could get four or five hundred thousand US dollars. How about... we take out two hundred thousand and let Dajinya help us buy?"

Xu Damao frowned and thought for a moment: "Putting so much money in Dajinya's hands, I'm still a bit uneasy."

Liu Sanmei's eyes darted around: "Doesn't Dajinya have a house?"

Xu Damao glared at her: "He's helping you buy stocks, and you want him to mortgage his house for you? Are you asking for a favor or forcing someone to hang themselves?"

Liu Sanmei quickly waved her hands: "That's not what I meant. I'm saying his parents are still around and the house hasn't been sold, so he shouldn't be able to swallow our money, right? If you're really scared, we don't have to let him buy that much. Let's just buy fifty thousand US dollars worth?"

Xu Damao pondered for a while: "Fifty thousand US dollars is a bit low. How about a hundred thousand? That's just the price of flipping a few fake bronze artifacts."

Liu Sanmei slapped her thigh: "Fine! If it really can increase tenfold, even if the money we have goes down the drain, we'll at least have a nest egg for our old age."

The next day, Xu Damao took the money and went to find Dajinya.

As soon as Dajinya saw him, he greeted him with a grin: "Uncle-master, what's up? We just met yesterday, and you're missing me already today?"

Xu Damao didn't stand on ceremony and got straight to the point: "Dajinya, do you acknowledge me as your uncle-master?"

"Uncle-master, what kind of talk is that? Of course I acknowledge you!"

Xu Damao pulled one hundred thousand US dollars out of his bag, stacked it on the table, and asked: "I introduced you to that man He Yuzhu yesterday. What do you think of him?"

Dajinya thought for a moment, dropped his smile, and said seriously: "The way he carries himself, and the sense of pressure he exudes unintentionally—one look and you can tell he's been a leader. Hu Bayi's assessment is even higher; he says this man has a spiritual root and might be able to glimpse the future. He even treats the few letters He Yuzhu wrote like treasures, not even letting the rest of us see them."

A chill ran down Xu Damao's back: "With you saying that, I'm breaking out in a cold sweat. Could he really be a fox spirit in disguise?"

Dajinya laughed: "I was born under the red flag and raised in the new society; I don't believe in that superstitious stuff. Just tell me, why do you think those two stocks He Yuzhu mentioned can make money?"

Xu Damao sat down and explained in detail: "I won't hide it from you, I once investigated this kid He Yuzhu very carefully. He has about one wife and three female confidantes, and those women have so much money now they can't even count it. That cousin he always mentions, Liu Rusi, is in trade, and I hear her assets are in the hundreds of millions of US dollars. Then there's Lou Xiao'e, the daughter of Lou the Half-City; she's doing real estate development now and also has hundreds of millions. Even his sister He Yushui, who opened an entertainment company with his confidante Zhang Shuying, is doing incredibly well. So I reckon that when he told Hu Bayi about those two stocks, it was probably because he appreciated Hu Bayi. He's never said a word about these things to us childhood friends who grew up with him."

Dajinya's eyes lit up as he listened: "You know, Hu Bayi is quite interested in him too; the two of them could be said to appreciate each other. Uncle-master, if you dare to invest over a hundred thousand, I can't be a coward either. I've already sold the things in my shop and can scrape together one hundred and fifty thousand US dollars. I'm going to gamble too—I'll invest one hundred thousand just like you!"

Xu Damao nodded: "He Yuzhu isn't one to brag, but he said he earned a lot of money for his cousin, so that can't be false. We're going all in this time—let's place our bets!"

As he was leaving, Xu Damao turned back to urge him: "Nephew-master, this money is my coffin fund, you must keep it safe for me!"

Dajinya curled his lip: "Uncle-master, do you think I'd swallow your hundred-plus thousand US dollars? My courtyard is still there, and my parents are still there!"

Only then did Xu Damao pat his backside and leave with peace of mind.

On the other side, Chen Xueru was indeed an old hand at business.

She had predicted that He Zheng would run into trouble, and the trouble had indeed arrived.

On August 19, 1986, the Soviet Union government forcibly implemented a new decree—foreign trade settlements were to be calculated strictly according to the official exchange rate.

With this single stroke, of the ten thousand US dollars in payment he was supposed to receive, He Zheng didn't even get half.

Even having strong connections like Kajia's was useless.

This time, He Zheng had organized seven million US dollars worth of goods to be shipped to Moscow.

Relying on the care of Kajia's husband, they had passed customs without inspection and had a green light all the way; a barter deal that should have been perfectly secure had crashed precisely because of the foreign exchange settlement.

It could be said that all the money He Zheng had earned over the past two years was lost in this one go.

Although Kajia's husband was a Deputy Bureau Chief of the Moscow police, he could only stare helplessly in the face of a national financial decree; there was nothing he could do.

After receiving the news, He Zheng sat alone in his office for a full half-day.

Tianzhen pushed the door open and walked in, comforting him cautiously: "A Zheng, I know you have high aspirations. This time it was just bad luck, it's not your fault. Why don't you... go ask Dad what to do?"

He Zheng sighed and said with a bitter smile: "My dad has been waiting to see me make a fool of myself for a long time."

Tianzhen was stunned: "How is that possible? You lost so much money all at once, how could he watch you make a fool of yourself?"

He Zheng lowered his voice: "My mother told me in secret that my dad really hopes I'll stumble a few more times while this business hasn't grown big yet. He said only then can I stay steady, and I won't make bigger mistakes when I'm doing big business in the future."

Tianzhen shook her head: "Dad is such a strange person, how could he have such thoughts?"

He Zheng sighed: "Actually, my mother is a genius at business, but even she admits that when it comes to grasping social changes, she is far behind my dad."

"But our company doesn't even have working capital now, what are we going to do next?" Tianzhen's face was full of worry.

At this moment, Bang Geng knocked and walked in. He glanced at He Zheng and said nonchalantly: "A Zheng, I know a Boss Chen who makes furniture and is also in this line of work. When I had a meal with her last time, she said we should go to Hong Kong to buy property; it can make big money. I thought her analysis was very sound. Our company should transform too; the Russian business isn't easy to do."

He Zheng smiled bitterly: "You don't know yet, I lost everything over in the Soviet Union."

Bang Geng waved his hand dismissively: "Go ask Siqiang for it! He has plenty of money. See this? The Patek Philippe watch he gave me is worth eighty thousand People's Currency, I hear. You have one too, right?"

He Zheng slapped his own face hard: "I have my pride!"

"Pride, my ass!" Bang Geng glared, "Siqiang taught me since I was a kid that when a person is poor, pride is the least valuable thing. When you're starving, backbone is worth nothing. Bow when you need to bow, sponge when you need to sponge—staying alive is what counts!"

Tianzhen also chimed in to persuade him: "A Zheng, Brother Bang Geng's words are blunt, but they make sense. You should hurry and go talk to Dad."