Mixed in 1980

Chapter 135 "Age of Awakening" released

Chen Fan opened the envelope and took out the telegram inside. The content was very brief. It basically told Chen Fan that he had made a profit of 4,000 from his investment of 10,000 and asked him what to do with the money.

Should I invest in it and continue doing this business, or withdraw from the cooperation and send it to him?
"This money is too easy to make, isn't it? Are there any risks in doing this?" Xu Jinqiu watched from the side and couldn't help but worry.

I invested ten thousand and made four thousand in more than a week.

Is this speculation?
This is indeed the case. Gu Haiyang is an engineer at a TV factory. The factory receives a batch of unplanned TVs every month, so there is a lot of room for maneuver.

As a senior engineer, Gu Haiyang's status is already very high. After getting acquainted with the leaders there, he will naturally be able to get in touch with these things.

It wasn't Gu Haiyang who did it alone, but a group of people were doing it. Gu Haiyang was just a financial contributor and a member of the group. If something really went wrong, it would be difficult to trace it back to him.

"There are certainly risks, but they can't be traced to us. Let Lao Gu use the money first. When he saves enough capital, we will withdraw."

What Chen Fan wants to do is to hold on to Lao Gu, not just for the money: "I will send a telegram to Lao Gu tomorrow, asking him to pay attention to his own safety."

Xu Jinqiu hummed, "I still say the same thing, just don't get yourself into it."

"Don't worry, I'm just helping Lao Gu."

Chen Fan scratched his young wife's nose lovingly and said, "When the money comes back, we will buy all the paintings and calligraphy. When the courtyard is renovated, we won't have to worry about having no place to put them."

"Still buying?" Xu Jinqiu was stunned.

The first batch cost 450 yuan and bought 18 paintings; the second batch cost 1000 yuan and bought 40 paintings, which could not be packed in a large box.

"Why not buy it? Spending this money won't affect our lives. If the price of art goes up in the future, that will be a huge profit. Wife, do you know Picasso?"

Xu Jinqiu hummed and rolled her eyes.

After all, I am a college student.

"Picasso and Qi Baishi were from the same period, both were master painters. Do you know how much Picasso's paintings are worth?" Chen Fan asked.

Xu Jinqiu shook her head slightly.

Zeng Ali and Zhao Yuanyuan were listening on the side, and now they also showed curiosity.

"In the early 5s, when Picasso was still alive, his paintings cost about 73 US dollars. After Picasso died in , the price of his paintings skyrocketed. This year, it has exceeded one million US dollars per painting!"

All three girls were stunned!

For people who only earn a few dozen yuan a month, it is hard to imagine why someone would spend so much money to buy a painting.

"They are all master painters, but here they only cost a dozen yuan per foot. Why are the prices in the West so high? To put it bluntly, the West is richer, and when people have money, they will pursue all kinds of things, and art is one of them."

"When our economy develops and a group of wealthy people emerge, these calligraphy and paintings we have stored may be able to be sold for millions, or even more."

Xu Jinqiu was stunned for a while, and the first thing he said when he came to his senses was: "How about buying more?"

Chen Fan was speechless. This girl was also very realistic.

Zeng Ali immediately said that he would take out another 500 yuan, and even Zhao Yuanyuan reluctantly proposed to buy another 300 yuan just to try his luck.

The two girls don't need this little money now.

The society has gradually printed 10 more copies of the teaching aids it publishes. Together with the income from advertising, the income from each book is 4200 yuan, and they can get 42 yuan.

Eighteen books cost 756 yuan!
Zhao Yuanyuan was the most excited. Although she came late, she did not miss out on any share of the money. She really became a little rich woman. When she was happy, she would call Chen Fan: Brother!
Chen Fan was very disgusted. This girl was very realistic. When dividing the money, she just said that her "brother" was just a temporary worker.

"It's up to you to do whatever you want, as long as it doesn't affect your life. Investing in calligraphy and painting takes time."

The first major increase in calligraphy and painting prices occurred in 87 and 88. In 87, many works by famous artists rose to thousands of yuan, and by 88, the price had doubled again.

After entering the 1990s, prices have been rising year by year, and began to take off in the new century, reaching millions, tens of millions, or even over 100 million yuan.

"We are still young and can wait!"

The three girls were all very interested in this matter, but after Chen Fan said it, they didn't take it seriously. Buying paintings was just a small amount of money for them, and it would take a long time to sell paintings. It was just a little spice in life.

Time quickly arrives on December 12th!
People's Literature Magazine is published again. Readers of "The Most Beautiful Youth" are undoubtedly a little regretful. The book has been completed, the story has ended, and there is always a sense of emptiness in their hearts.

This book made many people aware of a spirit: the Saihanba spirit!
In reality, there is also a group of people who are still quietly planting trees in Saihanba, continuing this spirit until Saihanba is restored to green mountains and clear waters...

But a new story has begun!
"The Awakening Age" is also a work by Chen Fan, so let's take a look at it first. Maybe it's another novel with a similar theme.

But when I saw it, my scalp went numb!
The book describes a desperate era and a group of great people...

"It turns out that the theories we memorized by rote in political classes were once truly regarded by a group of people as their lifelong ideals and beliefs, for which they fought and sacrificed."

"Too romantic! How could a group of people who are the backbone of a country and are trying to turn the tide not be romantic? They are full of passion, anger, sadness, but also full of flaming hope and optimism!"

"The images of the teachers in the textbooks suddenly became three-dimensional and full, no longer just a dry description and a black-and-white photo."

"They wake up first, but die first!"

…The speed at which “Awakening Age” spread was far beyond Chen Fan’s imagination. Although only seven chapters had been serialized, it had already generated heated discussions.

Not only readers, but also the media!

There was obviously a driving force behind this, because within a very short period of time, various book reviews of "Awakening Age" appeared in various newspapers.

Xu Jinqiu came back with a pile of newspapers and sat in the living room with a silly grin on her face.

The last time I collected newspapers for Chen Fan, we had only known each other for a short time. Not long after "The Most Beautiful Youth" was published, it was attacked by a large number of scar literature writers.

After the publication of "Awakening Age", the situation was completely opposite. It was all praise, and at school, almost everyone, including classmates and roommates, was discussing the book.

Discussing that different era, a group of "sage"-like gentlemen seemed to have "awakened" among themselves.

Her teacher came to her today and said, "Your Chen Fan has done something really remarkable!"

"hey-hey……"

With a silly smile, Xu Jinqiu stood up, went to the kitchen to steam the rice, and then started cooking. When Chen Fan came back, six dishes and a soup were already prepared.

Zeng Ali parked his bicycle, washed his hands, and came over to help serve the dishes: "Qiu'er, what day is it today? Why are you preparing such a sumptuous meal?"

Xu Jinqiu grinned and said, "Celebrating the publication of Chen Fan's "Age of Awakening."

"We should really celebrate. The students and teachers at Kyoto University have been discussing The Awakening Age these past two days. Many students are so excited."

“It’s similar in our school.”

Xu Jinqiu arranged the dishes and took a bottle of Maotai from the cabinet: "It's getting cold, let's have a few drinks to warm ourselves up. Chen Fan, get a few cups."

Chen Fan brought four cups over and rolled his eyes at Zhao Yuanyuan who was sitting on the side: "You are so lazy. When you get home, at least move a little."

Zhao Yuanyuan shivered. "I'm cold. It's such a horrible weather. It snows as soon as it's said it would. I almost froze my hands when I came back by bike."

"You're just lazy!"

Chen Fan took the white wine from Xu Jinqiu and filled up the cups one by one: "How are the people in our club? No one is going to class wrapped in a quilt, right?"

Zeng Ali took over the conversation: "Everyone has made money, and then wrapped in a quilt to go to class, which is a slap in the face of our club, but there are still many in the school."

"There's nothing we can do about it. The society is limited in size and we can't help everyone."

Chen Fan raised his glass, and everyone drank a glass first. Then he asked, "How much money do we have in our club account now?"

"After the club's funds came in, we only spent some of them on our trip to Shanghai. The rest of the funds were barely touched. There were about 15,000 yuan."

“Then spend some of it.”

Chen Fan picked up a piece of meat and put it into his mouth. After swallowing it, he said, "Let's have an event on New Year's Day. Don't do something flashy. Let's do something real."

Zeng Ali looked at him.

Chen Fan continued, "We can find a canteen to cooperate with us and organize everyone to make dumplings. Eating hot meat dumplings in the middle of winter is more interesting than just watching the show."

"We can also have some performances. We can build a small stage in the cafeteria. It doesn't have to be so formal. We can ask the members to perform some simple programs and watch the performances while making dumplings. It will be fun."

"Will people hate me?" Zeng Ali frowned.

Everyone's life is hard. They all go to the cafeteria to eat and eat vegetarian food. But a bunch of you are eating meat-stuffed dumplings, singing and dancing. No one would feel comfortable seeing that.

"Prepare enough materials. No matter who comes, everyone can participate. What matters is the atmosphere."

"Are you crazy? There are more than 8,000 people in our school. If there are free dumplings to eat, everyone will rush over. No amount of money will be enough to spend them."

"Not all of them will come. Some will go home, some will go out to play. It would be good if half of them can come. Not everyone is interested in group activities."

"Even if half of them come, it's still a huge expense. You can't stand seeing the club have money, right?" Zeng Ali rolled his eyes and couldn't help complaining.

"Where does the club get its money? It's true that we make the teaching aids, but we can make money because we use the name of the school. Otherwise, would the publishing house and the pen factory give us money?"

Chen Fan raised his glass and clinked it with Zeng Ali: "The club should give back to the school when it makes money, and our members will also have a sense of honor."

"If it was a company, and a group of old employees were given money to share and use it to support their families, everyone would be happy. But it's different for students. They want this kind of spirit."

"Okay, I'll go and negotiate tomorrow." Zeng Ali agreed reluctantly. He finally had some free time recently, but after this incident, he couldn't even take a break.

The most annoying thing is that I am busy while Chen Fan is idle!

Zeng Ali and Zhao Yuanyuan were busy for several days, but Chen Fan took the manuscript of "The Matrix" from Zheng Yana and flew directly to Hong Kong with Xu Jinqiu.

What made Zeng Ali angry the most was that before leaving, Chen Fan said, "Sister, if you can organize this event, your ability will definitely improve a lot."

She finally realized that they were treating her like a beast of burden.

PS: The first update is here~
(End of this chapter)