Era: Rise from the Wilderness

As the morning mist dissipated, the bright sunlight streamed down.

The house was quiet; both parents had gone out, each busy with their own things.

Li Yunjing returned to his room and closed the door.

He didn't act immediately, but instead stood in front of the mottled dressing mirror and carefully examined himself.

The boy in the mirror still had a touch of immaturity in his eyes, but the calmness in his gaze and the occasional sharpness that flashed were already beyond what one should expect at his age.

He needs to be more "mature," or at least appear to be an "adult" capable of handling things independently.

He opened the old camphor wood wardrobe in his parents' room, inside which hung a few "decent" clothes belonging to his father, Li Hongfeng.

A nearly new white shirt, neatly ironed; a pair of navy blue polyester trousers with a perfectly straight crease.

These are all clothes that my father usually wears.

Li Yunjing took off his t-shirt and shorts and put on a shirt and trousers.

The clothes were a bit too big, the shoulder line drooped down, and the trouser legs were also too long.

He looked in the mirror, carefully tucked the hem of his shirt into his waistband, then found his father's old belt, wrapped it around his waist one more time, and tightened it just enough.

Then, he rolled up his shirt sleeves, revealing his forearms; and folded his overly long trouser legs up twice.

The image in the mirror suddenly changed.

The oversized clothes concealed the boy's thinness, adding a touch of casualness yet composure.

His slightly mature clothing, paired with his calm gaze, actually gave him a mature air that belied his age.

He looked in the mirror, adjusted his expression, and tried to make the deliberately maintained "mature" look more natural.

Then, he pulled out a thick wad of money from under his pillow.

The more than 300 yuan I won from Gao Fu yesterday, plus the change I had left over.

He carefully counted out three hundred, wrapped it in a clean handkerchief, and put it in the side pocket of his trousers.

The remaining change was placed in another pocket.

Once everything was ready and the door was locked, he pushed his old "Forever" brand bicycle out of the yard.

The July sun was already quite scorching, and the white shirt was somewhat dazzling in the sunlight.

He hopped on his bicycle, the chain making a slight "creaking" sound, and rode towards the place he had agreed to meet with Lü Ruoxi.

The agreed meeting place was in front of the post office in the town center, where there was a large locust tree with dense shade, a good place to meet someone.

When Li Yunjing arrived, Lü Ruoxi was already waiting there.

Today she wore a pale yellow short-sleeved shirt with a light blue skirt, standing in the dappled shadows of the trees, looking as fresh as a gardenia with morning dew.

When she saw Li Yunjing riding over, Lü Ruoxi was taken aback at first, then her eyes widened slightly, and a look of surprise flashed across her face.

She looked him up and down at his "strange" yet slightly mature outfit, her lips moved as if she wanted to laugh, but she held it back.

"Why...why are you dressed like this?"

After Li Yunjing parked the car, Lü Ruoxi couldn't help but ask in a low voice, her eyes full of curiosity and confusion.

"When doing things, you have to do them properly."

Li Yunjing gave a vague explanation and didn't say anything more.

"What do you need me for?"

Lu Ruoxi's eyes widened, and she asked curiously.

Li Yunjing did not answer directly, but the mysterious smile on his lips deepened.

He straddled his bicycle, one foot on the ground, and glanced back at Lü Ruoxi, his eyes carrying a rare slyness and an undeniable air of authority for a young man.

"Want to know?"

"Come with me and you'll find out."

He patted the back seat of the bicycle. "Get on, I'll take you somewhere."

Lü Ruoxi hesitated for a moment.

She looked at Li Yunjing's still slender but straight back, outlined by his oversized shirt, and at the unwavering confidence on his face that came with age. In the end, her curiosity overwhelmed everything else.

She gave a soft "hmm," then sat sideways on the back of the bicycle, carefully gripping the metal frame under the seat with both hands.

As for her own bicycle, it was locked under a tree.

"Hold on tight."

Li Yunjing gave a reminder, pushed off hard with his foot, and the bicycle nimbly drove away from the shade of the trees in front of the post office and turned onto the slightly remote dirt road on the south side of the town.

This road leads to Xiatun, located south of the town.

The road wasn't good, full of potholes, and the bicycle bounced along, kicking up fine dust.

On both sides of the road are endless farmlands, where corn stalks have grown tall and green, exuding a humid and hot atmosphere under the scorching sun.

Further away, you can see some low, dilapidated brick and adobe houses; that's Xiatun.

What are we going to Xiatun for?

Because of the bumpy ride, Lü Ruoxi subconsciously stretched out her two fair arms and wrapped them around Li Yunjing's strong waist.

A sweet smile graced her flushed face.

She asked softly from the back seat, the wind ruffling her hair.

"Pack up."

Li Yunjing, facing the wind, said in a slightly unsteady voice, "There used to be a clay mine in Xiatun, which was quite popular for a while."

"When the mine was doing well, they even gave out treasury bonds as a bonus during holidays."

"Later, the mine dried up, the workers were laid off, and life became very difficult."

"At times like these, the scraps of paper that's been lying around at the bottom of the drawer might just be worth exchanging for cash to tide you over."

Lü Ruoxi understood, and her heart skipped a beat: "You're going to collect treasury bonds?"

Lu Ruoxi's father was the branch manager of the Agricultural Bank of China, and her mother was a director. She had a deep understanding of finance from a young age.

As soon as Li Yunjing revealed his purpose, Lü Ruoxi guessed it with a high degree of accuracy.

"Um."

Li Yunjing responded with a nod and offered no further explanation.

Through Lü Ruoxi's question, he knew that the girl had guessed some of the truth.

Lü Ruoxi is far, far smarter than that good-for-nothing Gao Fu.

The bicycle turned onto the dirt road in Xiatun, where the scenery on both sides was even more dilapidated.

The plaster on the walls of many houses has peeled off, revealing the yellow mud underneath.

The yard was piled with scrap iron and broken planks, and the clothes hanging on the clothesline were all patched up.

Occasionally, an elderly person would sit on the doorstep basking in the sun, their eyes vacant; a woman would laboriously wash clothes by the well, and when she saw these two "well-dressed" strangers riding in, she would cast curious yet wary glances at them.

The air was thick with an atmosphere of decay and desolation, a stark contrast to the bustling town center.

Li Yunjing parked his car in a relatively open space with several old elm trees providing shade.

He told Lü Ruoxi to wait under the shade of a tree, while he took out a small, simple megaphone made of rolled-up cardboard from the bicycle basket, straightened his shirt, and took a deep breath.

Then, he walked to the center of the open space, raised the paper megaphone, put it to his mouth, and shouted in a deliberately high-pitched voice, with a touch of street hawking, yet trying hard to keep it clear:

"Time to collect treasury bonds!"

"Do you have any spare treasury bonds at home, from 1987, 1988, or 1989?"

"Cash only! Fair price!"

"Anything you urgently need money for, or anything you don't need, you can take out and exchange it for cash!"

A crisp yet somewhat unfamiliar shout broke the dull silence of Xiatun in the early morning, echoing among the dilapidated houses.