But selling vegetables only earns a dollar or eighty cents a day at most. Fang's mother needs to be hospitalized, receive IV fluids, and take medicine, which is simply not enough.
Feng Yucai earned more money selling vegetables than Fang Shilan, so Fang Shilan shamelessly begged Feng Yucai to take her along to sell vegetables.
I've walked through wind and rain, rolled in dirt and mud, and set out in the middle of the night under the stars and moon, only finishing when the rooster crows.
The two of them really suffered a lot, but they earned much more money than before.
In this process, the two of them helped each other out, and gradually developed a mutual respect and appreciation for one another.
Fang's mother and Grandma Feng were delighted and often helped out, hoping that Feng Yucai and Fang Shilan could get married and become a family.
Feng Yucai and Fang Shilan tacitly agreed that the other was the one who would accompany them through the rest of their lives.
To get married, you need a house.
Birds need to build a nest before they can incubate their chicks!
Fang Shilan and her mother lived in a house of only three square meters. Feng Yucai and his grandmother were in an even worse situation, as they could only rent an attic room to live in.
Feng Yucai counted the more than one hundred yuan he had saved, feeling worried. When would he be able to move into a new house?
Just as he was frowning in worry, Fang Shilan brought him some exciting news.
In eastern Zhejiang, not far from Shanghai, the market for Japanese white pine bonsai is extremely hot. Prices change almost daily. If someone can buy a few Japanese white pine bonsai, they don't have to do anything; they can make a fortune in just a few days!
Feng Yucai also got excited, "How much does a five-needle pine bonsai cost?"
Fang Shilan had already inquired about it. "I heard from Lao Huang that his wife's grandfather lives there, and a pot of five-needle pine bonsai can sell for several hundred yuan! His wife's cousin pooled his money to buy one, and within three days, the price had doubled!"
Feng Yucai gasped in astonishment, "Making that much?"
Even if it's 200 yuan a pot, if the price doubles, that's 800 yuan, and you make a net profit of 600 yuan!
Feng Yucai, his head spinning, rubbed his hands together to calm himself and Fang Shilan down. "How could there be such a good thing in the world? Isn't this like a pie falling from the sky?"
He always felt that good money-making opportunities would never fall into the laps of ordinary people.
Besides, what use is this five-needle pine bonsai?
It's not even worth a few hundred dollars!
Fang Shilan wasn't one to believe everything she heard. "I heard that Japanese white pine bonsai can sell for tens of thousands of yuan when exported to Japan! But there are only so many bonsai available now, so whoever can grab one will make a profit."
This reason is very convincing.
Feng Yucai slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Let's do it! Fortune favors the bold! If we just rely on selling vegetables now, we'll never be able to afford a new house in our entire lives!"
The construction of new buildings on the Bund is in full swing, even on holidays. I heard that every house there has a window facing the Huangpu River.
As a Shanghainese, owning a house there would be my lifelong dream.
The two of them pooled their money from various sources, and Fang's mother even sold a gold ring that she had kept hidden away, raising a total of 350 yuan.
With dreams of getting rich, the two boarded a train to eastern Zhejiang.
But sometimes, fate is just that unkind.
The two had just gotten off the train when they were doused with a bucket of cold water.
Because, in eastern Zhejiang, the only thing people talk about is the five-needle pine.
So, as they listened intently, all their hopes were shattered like bubbles.
Five-needle pine bonsai have already risen to two thousand yuan a pot!
This refers to trees that are young and of poor quality!
As for those bonsai trees that are quite old, the prices are higher than they can imagine!
Feng Yucai and Fang Shilan were both bewildered, their legs feeling like lead, unable to move.
Fang Shilan squeezed out a sentence, "How about we go back?"
Going back now would only mean losing the cost of a round-trip train ticket, but not going back would mean incurring accommodation and food expenses.
Thinking of his grandmother's hopeful eyes and Fang's mother's frail body, Feng Yucai gritted his teeth, grabbed Fang Shilan, and walked forward.
"Since we're already here, we might as well give it a try, just in case!"
What if you can find cheap five-needle pine?
What if another opportunity arises?
Staying here at least gives us a chance; if we leave, the two of us will be poor in Shanghai for the rest of our lives!
And just like that, Feng Yucai really encountered his opportunity.
After listening to Feng Yucai's story, Li Xiangdong was completely baffled. "Your academic foundation is excellent! I don't believe you couldn't get into university!"
A high school student who can fix all sorts of problems with combine harvesters would be able to get into a regular vocational college, even if he doesn't get into a top university.
Feng Yucai gave a wry smile. "The day before the exam, my aunt cooked a meal, and the next day, as soon as I entered the exam hall, I started having diarrhea."
Zhou Hongsong was dumbfounded. "Your aunt gave you croton oil? No! Why would she do that? Wouldn't it benefit her if you got into university?"
Feng Yucai's voice was low, "I guess they're afraid that if I become successful in the future, I'll fight her family for the house!"
He had tossed and turned countless nights trying to figure this out, but in the end, it was Grandma Feng who helped him understand.
His aunt was petty and narrow-minded. The thing she valued most in her life was that little house, and she couldn't tolerate anyone taking a part of it away from her.
"All right!"
Li Xiangdong then asked another important question.
"Who did you borrow the five thousand yuan from?"
Since Feng Yucai wanted to curry favor with Li Xiangdong, he couldn't hide anything from him.
"One day, when we were asking around on the street if we could find any cheap five-needle pine, someone came up to us and lent it to us."
"stranger?"
"right!"
"That's strange. Five thousand yuan is no small amount; it could buy two houses in Yanjing. This person doesn't know you, so why would he lend you five thousand yuan for no reason?"
Fang Shilan smiled wryly, "Their interest rates are high, five yuan a day!"
Zhou Hongsong laughed, "He wants to earn interest from you? You can just run away with his principal! Let's see who loses!"
Feng Yucai said, "Those guys are ruthless! They took all our letters of introduction and wrote down our home addresses. And, and..."
He leaned closer to Li Xiangdong and Zhou Hongsong, "They caught someone trying to run away with the loan money, and they broke both of his legs!"
At that time, the man's wailing terrified Feng Yucai and Fang Shilan, giving them nightmares for several days.
Li Xiangdong had a gut feeling that something was wrong.
Who has the enormous capital to do something so risky and with such low returns?
The more he thought about it, the more something seemed off.
Do you remember what the person who lent you the money looked like?
Fang Shilan took out a piece of paper torn from her notebook, on which was a sketch of a person drawn in pencil.
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