Winter of nineteen eighty-two.
There was continuous drizzle outside the window, hitting the bluestone road.
The twelfth month in Guangzhou was not that cold. Song Desheng was wearing a windbreaker and sitting in the corner of the restaurant. He was holding a piece of braised pork with his chopsticks, but he couldn't get it to his mouth.
His heart felt heavy, as if it was being pressed down by a huge rock, and he couldn't breathe.
"Boss Song!"
"Oh no, Boss Song!"
A young man in a raincoat hurried in, looking anxious.
"Since last night, the price of scrap steel has suddenly dropped, and it is three yuan lower than the price we bought it at..."
Song Desheng's heart instantly sank to the bottom.
"It's over, it's over, it's all over..."
After the opening up, he brought all his assets to the square to invest and do business. In the first two years, he made more than 100,000 yuan by selling clothing and electrical appliances. It goes without saying what more than 100,000 yuan meant in the 1980s.
But for him, it was not enough, far from enough.
He invested the hundreds of thousands of dollars into the steel business, and his assets instantly exceeded one million.
After tasting the sweetness, he invested another million yuan, but he didn't expect that the steel price would suddenly plummet in the middle of the year. He lost more than 800,000 yuan and was left with only a hundred thousand yuan in his hands.
With this amount of money, I cannot enter the steel market again.
After much investigation and inquiry, he learned that the price of steel dropped because the price of scrap steel had increased.
He always believed in his own judgment and bought all the scrap steel and hoarded it.
Sure enough, the price kept rising day by day, doubling, tripling, quadrupling...it seemed that he would be able to return to the peak of one million again.
"Boss Song, you should have sold it three days ago..." The young man cried anxiously, "You even borrowed money from the bank for this batch of scrap steel. The money you got from selling it at a low price can only barely pay off your debts..."
He couldn't bear to listen any longer and left the restaurant in a hurry.
The rain outside was getting heavier. The cold rain hit his face, mixing with his tears, cold and bitter.
He walked aimlessly on the street, his heart seemed to be hollowed out, empty, without direction and hope.
He didn't know how long he had been walking or where he was going.
He only knew that he had to leave, leave this place that made him fail!
Song Desheng spent three days to process all the scrap steel that was thrown at him. He used the money he earned to repay the bank loan, and then he sold his house in Guangcheng and paid the wages of several employees...
He took his luggage and boarded the train back to Lake Province.
The sound of car whistles echoed in the night sky, like heavy sighs.
Song Desheng found a seat by the window and sat down, leaning his head against the cold glass, looking at the night scene passing by outside the window, with mixed feelings in his heart.
I came here three years ago, full of energy and enthusiasm.
Now, it ends in disgrace.
The passengers on the train were of all kinds. Some were talking in low voices, some were resting with their eyes closed, and some were chewing dry food. The carriage was filled with a mixture of the smell of sweat and food, which made people feel a little suffocated.
Song Desheng only had a little over a thousand yuan left in his pocket, which was all his property. He didn't dare go to the dining car and could only hold tightly to his backpack, which contained a few sets of clothes and some documents.
Opposite him sat a woman holding a child about two or three years old in her arms. The woman looked a little tired, and the child was twisting restlessly, patting the woman's shoulders with his little hands.
Watching this scene, Jiang Wanyue's figure suddenly appeared in front of Song Desheng...
He came to the South probably because of Jiang Wanyue.
He wanted to surpass her and stand higher than her, but he failed...
He quickly shook his head and drove the figure away.
"Do you need help?" Song Desheng asked with a smile.
The woman raised her head, a trace of gratitude flashing in her eyes: "No, it's just that the child is a little fussy."
Song Desheng stood up, took a backpack from the luggage rack, took out a pack of biscuits from it and handed it to the woman: "Give the child some biscuits, maybe he will be quieter."
The woman took the biscuits and thanked him repeatedly: "Thank you so much, Xiaobao, say thank you uncle!"
Song Desheng waved his hand, indicating that you're welcome, and then sat back in his seat.
He watched the woman gently feed the child biscuits. The child's crying gradually subsided, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise.
Just then, there was a sudden commotion in the carriage.
A middle-aged man yelled that his wallet had been stolen.
The passengers in the carriage all lowered their heads to check their luggage, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.
Song Desheng subconsciously touched his pocket, his heart sank, and he quickly opened his backpack.
I saw that the things inside were in a mess and the wallet was nowhere to be found.
"How could this happen..." Song Desheng muttered to himself, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
The woman noticed something was wrong with Song Desheng and asked with concern, "Comrade, what's wrong with you?"
Song Desheng smiled bitterly and shook his head: "My wallet was also stolen."
The woman's expression suddenly became complicated. She looked at her child, then at Song Desheng, with a trace of guilt in her eyes: "I'm sorry, it's all because of me that you..."
Song Desheng waved his hand and interrupted the woman: "No, this has nothing to do with you. It was my own carelessness."
Although his voice was calm, he felt as if something was blocking his heart and felt extremely uncomfortable.
All his money was in it, and now he was literally penniless.
After three days and two nights, the train slowly pulled into the station in Lake Province.
Song Desheng dragged his heavy steps out of the exit of the train station, and was greeted by the humid air unique to Hubei Province. He looked up at the sky, which was gray, just like his mood at the moment. He took a deep breath to cheer himself up.
Just then, a group of people came over from the other side of the station.
They were dressed in neat uniforms, and a familiar figure was clustered in the middle.
Song Desheng's heart skipped a beat, he could hardly believe his eyes - it was Jiang Wanyue.
Jiang Wanyue was wearing a well-tailored Mao suit and had short hair, looking capable and elegant.
She had a relaxed smile on her face as she was talking to a group of leaders around her. She looked glamorous and full of energy.
Song Desheng's heart seemed to be tugged by something, and he subconsciously wanted to dodge, but it was too late.
Jiang Wanyue's gaze inadvertently swept across Song Desheng, then retracted.
She didn't recognize the person in front of her at all.
She has never seen this man since she went to Beijing to attend university and develop her career. Four years is enough time to forget a person's appearance.
She looked at the general secretary of the Railway Bureau beside her and said with a smile, "It's quite embarrassing to ask the secretary to come and greet me personally for such a small matter."
The secretary waved his hand and said, "In the 1970s, it was you who proposed to build a store at the railway station. This move was recognized by the higher-ups. Now the economic income of our Hubei Railway Station ranks first in the country. It is all thanks to Director Jiang. Come in, please. Let's chat for a while."
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