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墨書 Inktalez
On the streets of Beijing in 1996, the originally safe and prosperous scene looked somewhat different to Jiang Yizhou. Even though in his previous life he had never come into contact with items worth so much money, not even those that might be worth that much in the future.
In his previous life, earning nearly ten thousand a month barely allowed him to survive in Beijing, and he could not even entertain the thought of having a Beijing household registration or buying a house. Jiang Yizhou felt like a salted fish who had lost his dreams, working diligently but without hope.
In this era, this was probably the best way for him to seize the opportunity to make a fortune.
“Uncle, I’m back.” Nervously, Jiang Yizhou gently opened the courtyard door, which was only closed. Arriving at his home, he knocked on the window and called out to Jiang Maode, who was lying on the bed and seemed to have fallen asleep while listening to the radio.
The old man rubbed his eyes, got up from the bed, and upon seeing Jiang Yizhou’s unusual expression, didn’t ask much and quickly let him in.
“How did it go?” The old man wasn’t as anxious as Jiang Yizhou; perhaps he had no concept of collecting items or maybe his fifty years of experience made him view everything with indifference.
Jiang Yizhou looked around to confirm there were no outsiders. In this era, there weren’t many surveillance cameras anyway, so he finally relaxed but then began to worry for no reason.
Had he bought too much all at once? Maybe someone had noticed him. Would it have been safer to make several purchases instead?
He hadn’t been in this era for long, but his concept of money had indeed changed. One yuan could buy a hearty breakfast; pork cost only one or two yuan per jin. The same big brother phone cost over ten thousand yuan, with installation fees for a phone running into thousands each year.
Some products still matched wage levels, while others had skyrocketed in price. Perhaps collecting was just such a trade!
Jiang Yizhou comforted himself and then pulled out a packaging box from under his cotton jacket and placed it on the table. “Uncle, I’ve already bought the items!”
The old man looked at the box filled with Phone Cards and truly couldn’t understand how such things could make money.
“Ah, since you’ve bought them all back, come with me to work at the construction site tomorrow!”
Jiang Yizhou nodded, then seemed to consider something before asking, "Uncle, is there a convenient place to hide things?"
"You can just leave it anywhere. Do you really think someone would come here to steal? If you're worried, just nail it under the bed board. You shouldn't be moving it around all the time, right?"
Jiang Yizhou scanned the room. There wasn't a better way to deal with such a large item, so he could only nod in agreement.
"Yi Zhou, make sure to work hard in the future!" Jiang Maode changed the subject and started chatting casually. "Your parents sent you out here so you could find a partner sooner, right? Just look at how hard it is for those back home to find a wife while working the fields. A few acres of land barely makes any money, and they still have to pay taxes. Farming has no future!"
The old man seemed somewhat sentimental as he took out a cigarette from his jacket pocket and found a box of matches on the bedside table. He struck one lightly, and a flame ignited, lighting his cigarette before he flicked the match away.
"Your family is doing well; your parents are in good health, but they refuse to leave their hometown because they can't let go of your grandparents. This year you came out to work; your sister, I remember her name is Er Ya, right?"
Jiang Yizhou had no choice but to chat with the old man; he would be here for at least a few more months and couldn't avoid it. With the money for rent, he might as well buy a few more phone cards!
Listening to the old man talk like this made him realize that since coming to this era, he had been focused solely on making money and hadn't thought much about his family. After all, seeing them again would likely be during the next Spring Festival or at best during the summer; there was plenty of time to think about how to handle his relationship with them.
"Uh..." A bit dazed, Jiang Yizhou thought about his hometown and family. His family's conditions weren't great; they were farmers of that era, none of whom could read. Only he and his sister could; Jiang Yizhou had attended school until fifth grade before dropping out, while his sister Er Ya was diligent in her studies and was now in her third year of junior high...
"Yes, Er Ya, hahaha!" Thinking of his adorable sister made Jiang Yizhou deeply feel the affection he had for her from the original owner's memories. Moreover, now when Jiang Yizhou mentioned his sister, he couldn't help but smile just like before. Having a sister felt pretty nice.
"Er Ya is doing well; she's much more ambitious than you are as an older brother. If she can get into a vocational school later this year, she'll have a stable job with benefits!" Jiang Maode couldn't help but express his admiration.
Compared to this family, his own situation was quite tragic. His parents had passed away early, leaving him as a poor child forced to venture out on his own. After earning some money, he managed to marry a wife, but that didn't last long either; she left him. After that, he lost the drive to explore and had been stuck in this local construction team for nearly ten years.
Jiang Yizhou listened with a smile but suddenly felt something was off when he heard certain words. He interrupted the reminiscing old man, "Uncle, does that mean Er Ya is going to vocational school?"
Vocational Student Before 1996, vocational students were quite sought after because they were included in the guaranteed job placement system. Although they couldn't compare to university students, many families, especially those from rural areas, found it difficult to support the tuition and living expenses of both high school and university. Thus, choosing a vocational school was understandable.
However, this year marks the first year that job placements for vocational students have been canceled. For students who relied entirely on guaranteed placements, this was a heavy blow. University students at least have a degree to fall back on; how can vocational students compete with them? There is no comparison.
"What’s the point of not going to vocational school? High school costs nearly a thousand yuan per semester, not including various other fees. Just look at how hard your Second Uncle's family has it for your cousin to attend high school! If it weren't for your cousin's good grades reducing the fees, his parents would have had to sell blood!"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Maode didn't know how to respond. If they could support a university student who succeeded, it would be worth it, but he feared...
"Er Ya is just a girl; what’s the use of her studying so much? You’re getting older now; you should be worried about getting married. If that girl drags out three years of high school and then four years of university, what will happen?"
Jiang Yizhou felt sorrowful about the elderly's ingrained preference for sons and the emphasis on continuing the family line. However, he didn’t blame them; the entire 1990s was one of the hardest times for farmers. Many were driven to suicide under immense pressure, and countless Villagers were forced to venture out into the world.
In such circumstances, supporting a child through high school and university is a heavy burden that is hard to bear, even for families without debts or with seriously ill relatives.
He decided that at least he should ensure his sister has the money to attend high school!
Jiang Yizhou felt that he now had a worthy goal to strive for.
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