Returning wealthy individuals develop their hometowns and become rich in the 1980s

"oh!"

Liu Kun raised an eyebrow and said "Oh," looking at Zhou Wenbo, who had come several times before. He thought to himself, "What respectable person would hide away and be afraid to show their face?"

But no matter what he thought in his heart, he couldn't say it out loud. There was no reason to turn away business when it came to him. It wasn't like Liu Kun had a grudge against money.

"Since it's inconvenient for your friend, I can bring the money myself. You can at least tell me where your friend lives," Liu Kun casually closed the notebook recording exchange rates and looked at Zhou Wenbo.

"We're staying at the Yingbin Hotel," Zhou Wenbo replied in a low voice. Liu Kun thought he had misheard. "The Yingbin Hotel on Haibin Road in the city?"

"Um!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Kun became highly vigilant, wondering if Zhou Wenbo was trying to lure him into the city for a double-cross, or if this guy was sent by someone from the black market dealing in foreign exchange. Liu Kun narrowed his eyes and asked, "Wenbo, your friend is already staying in such a high-class hotel as the Yingbin Hotel, and he still comes to me to exchange foreign currency?"

"To tell you the truth, I studied a foreign language for a few years before, specifically Japanese. A few Japanese businessmen came to inspect our city and wanted to invest, so I was asked to be their translator and work for them for a few days." At this point, Zhou Wenbo leaned closer to Liu Kun and whispered, "Brother Kun, you don't know, these bastards from Japan are damn stingy."

"The banks in our city only gave him a 93% exchange rate, which he thought was too low, so he asked me if I could get him a higher rate. Hehe, Brother Kun, that's when I thought of you. I told that damn Japanese guy to give me a 96% exchange rate, and the rest, you know what I mean, hehe!"

Liu Kun's doubts vanished. He pointed at Zhou Wenbo with a wicked grin, as if to say, "You little rascal, you're not being honest." "Well, you do know what the Japanese say. It's a good thing we've been liberated for so many years. If it were before, someone like you would have been arrested, labeled a traitor, tied up, and taken to the market to be shot!"

"Hahaha!"

Blackie, Pepper, and their gang of underlings all burst into laughter. Zhou Wenbo was being amused by these roughnecks, and although he was indignant, he didn't show it on his face. He just kept touching his nose to show his embarrassment and annoyance.

If this were in the past, if I were really working as a translator for Japan, someone like you would be trying to curry favor with me, but I'd kick you into a ditch and make you eat shit.

After laughing, Liu Kun looked at Zhou Wenbo and asked, "How much do you want for that radish? Name your price first so I can bring it over."

"Can I exchange it for US dollars directly?"

"Name your price first, then I'll tell you if it's possible."

"How many US dollars can three million Japanese dollars exchange for?"

Upon hearing this, Blackie blurted out, "So many!"

Hearing Blackie's ignorant and exaggerated exclamations, Liu Kun paused in his cigarette-holding hand, looked at him and said, "A hundred only gets you 98 cents? What the hell are you talking about?"

Blackie thought for a moment and realized, "Hey, it really is. Damn, I thought it was three million Chinese yuan. This sudden exchange for Japanese currency has caught my attention. I misheard."

"In Chinese currency, I'll give you 29,400. In US dollars, it's 239 Japanese dollars to one US dollar, so I'll give you 12,555 US dollars," Liu Kun quickly calculated with a pen and casually announced the numbers.

Zhou Wenbo nodded without hesitation, "Okay, I'll come over this afternoon. You should prepare the money first, he only accepts US dollars."

After seeing Zhou Wenbo off, Liu Kun whispered to Hei Pi and Hu Jiao about their trip to the city that afternoon. Meanwhile, Lao Liu from the district bureau, dressed in plain clothes and driving his "Zhao Ye Bai" car, arrived in Jiping Town.

Standing at the entrance of Dongmen Old Street in Jiping Town, looking at the narrow alley that could only accommodate one handrail, Lao Liu couldn't help but frown. Lao Liu was actually very familiar with this place; he was from Xiazhai in Jiping and had been here many times before.

He was dressed casually today, in his usual faded civilian clothes. He led another policeman to a breakfast stall and sat down, gazing at the bustling mahjong parlor not far away.

The breakfast stall owner came over and asked what he wanted to eat. Old Liu casually ordered a bowl of plain porridge, a dish of pickled vegetables, and a braised egg. When the stall owner brought the food over, Old Liu pretended not to understand and asked, "What's that over there? Why are so many people going in and out?"

"You're not a local?"

"I'm from Xiazhai, and I've never seen this place before," Old Liu replied casually. The stall owner smiled mysteriously, "It's where people play cards."

"So many people come to play cards," Old Liu said, shoveling porridge into his rooster-shaped bowl. "Brother, have you ever gone inside to play?"

"No, I don't have that much money," the stall owner replied with a smile. Old Liu asked again, "How much more money could I possibly charge you for a game of cards?"

"What you see is going to play cards, but there's more to it than meets the eye. Don't ask too many questions; it won't do you any good. In short, don't go," the stall owner warned.

The stall owner clearly knew something. Well, he'd been setting up his stall on this old street for years, so he must know something. Old Liu then changed the subject and continued chatting, "I heard that Liu Ergou from our village made over a hundred here on the old street. When I asked him, he said he won it playing cards."

"We're really close friends. He secretly told me he invested in something, and I heard it pays out ten dollars a month for every hundred dollars invested. Do you think it's true, stall owner?"

The stall owner smiled as he glanced at the passersby, then lowered his voice and said, "If you believe this nonsense, you'll be swindled out of all your money!"

"Let me tell you, don't believe it or ask those who invested. If you ask them, just say you made money, and they'll definitely try to get you to join them," the stall owner said, sitting there with his legs crossed, his flip-flops swinging back and forth, a cigarette between his fingers.

"I've been selling breakfast here for so many years. Let me tell you, these people you're talking about caused a huge scene in front of this card room a while ago. Do you know why?"

Old Liu shook his head, indicating he didn't know. The stall owner continued, "The funds dried up, and they couldn't pay those people any returns. They couldn't even get their principal back. They're a bunch of scammers."

"Brother, how do you know so much?" Old Liu's question almost broke the stall owner's defenses, because his wife had also been fooled. A few days ago, he had beaten her so badly that she went back to her parents' house and cried. Otherwise, the stall owner wouldn't be here all alone, and he hadn't even finished washing the bowls piled up in the basin.

Seeing the stall owner's strange expression, Lao Liu, who already knew the inside story, did not ask any further questions. Instead, he silently lowered his head. The policeman who came with him had a smile on his lips, trying not to laugh out loud, but his shoulders were still shaking.

"Eat all you want, but don't try to hold back your laughter. If you dare spit it out, I'll teach you a lesson," Old Liu glared at the policeman opposite him. The policeman smiled and lowered his voice, "Captain Liu, I've realized you're really not suited for chatting with people at the grassroots level. You're likely to kill the conversation with your style!"

"Get out! Eat your porridge!"