Rebirth: My college entrance exam score was stolen? I turned the tables and made a billion.

Zhao Xiaojun nodded.

The two then parted ways. Liu Guangming pocketed the money, pulled the cart, and turned to walk towards the supply and marketing cooperative.

The midday sun was scorching, and even a dog on the street didn't want to move around much.

Liu Guangming found a state-run restaurant, spent 50 cents on a bowl of shredded pork noodles, and while he was at it, he grabbed 5,000 waxed paper cups and two large bags of gauze from the supply and marketing cooperative.

1:30 PM.

Liu Guangming pushed a cart full of supplies and arrived at the entrance of the farmers' market on time.

Zhao Xiaojun, Liangzi, and the others also arrived. The five of them were sweating profusely, but they were all in high spirits and none of them complained.

"Brother, all two thousand catties of melons have been selected! After weighing, we're just waiting for you to pay!"

On the other side, Xiao Jun came up and pointed to the mountains of watermelons piled up in the market.

"You did a good job."

Liu Guangming took out some money from his pocket and handed it to the shopkeeper. "Separate the cups and gauze, and quickly pack the crushed ice into buckets. Let's spread out as planned!"

The group quickly sorted out the supplies and pushed the heavy carts to their respective locations.

Watching his brothers' energetic backs as they walked away, Liu Guangming patted his money bag.

In these three days, after deducting the money spent, I have saved more than two hundred yuan.

However, most of them were one- or two-cent banknotes and coins, which were a heavy wad of cash in the canvas bag. They made a clattering sound when you walked, which was really eye-catching.

"I need to save it first."

Liu Guangming made up his mind.

Back then, the security in county towns wasn't as good as it is in later years. Carrying a few hundred yuan on your person could easily lead to trouble if you were targeted by thugs lurking around.

Moreover, I need to go to the business registration office in the afternoon to get a certificate, and it's inconvenient to have my pockets bulging.

Liu Guangming walked along the main street toward the Industrial and Commercial Bureau. Before he had gone two streets, he saw a green sign with white lettering erected by the roadside.

Agricultural Bank of China County Branch.

Pushing open the heavy glass door, the ceiling fan overhead spun rapidly, slightly dispelling some of the summer heat outside.

It was just past two o'clock, and the lobby was deserted, with only two people queuing at the window.

Liu Guangming walked to an empty window at the very edge.

"Comrade, open an account and deposit money."

Liu Guangming placed the heavy canvas bag on the counter.

The female clerk inside the glass shop was knitting with her head down. Upon hearing this, she raised her eyelids and glanced at Liu Guangming.

Seeing that he was wearing a faded old T-shirt, plastic sandals, and smelled of watermelon, I immediately frowned.

"Opening an account costs at least five yuan. Do you have your ID card with you?"

The female clerk's voice was indifferent, and she didn't stop knitting.

"I brought it."

Liu Guangming took out his ID card from his pocket, slipped it into the groove at the bottom, and then untied the drawstring of the canvas bag.

"Splash—"

A large bag of loose change was poured directly into the iron trough.

One-mao and two-mao banknotes were crumpled into a ball, mixed with fen coins, 5 mao coins, and a few da juan bills.

They were piled up haphazardly into a small mountain, completely filling the iron trough.

The sweater in the female clerk's hand fell to her lap with a "thud".

She stared wide-eyed at the pile of loose change, her face turning green.

"What are you doing?"

The female clerk suddenly stood up and raised her voice.

"So much loose change, and you didn't even tie it with a rubber band! How am I supposed to count it? I'm not depositing it. Take it home and sort it out before you come back!"

Back in 92, bank employees had the most secure jobs imaginable. They were always arrogant and haughty when dealing with ordinary people who came to deposit ten or eight yuan.

They dislike doing time-consuming and laborious tasks like counting change.

Liu Guangming wasn't annoyed; he tapped the table through the glass.

"Comrade, which national regulation says that small change cannot be deposited?"

"I earned this money one bill at a time; it's legal income. If you find it troublesome, you can call your supervisor out, and I'll sort the money out for him in person."

The female clerk choked.

These days, there aren't many people who dare to stand up to the bank teller.

The key point is that they made it so clear.

She looked Liu Guangming over a few more times and saw that although the young man was poorly dressed, he was calm and composed and showed no fear. She couldn't help but feel uneasy.

"Alright, alright, I guess I'm just unlucky!"

The female teller reluctantly sat down and pulled all the loose change inside.

There was no one else in the hall, so she had to patiently sort through them one by one.

The more she thought about it, the greater her surprise became.

I thought he was just a junk seller, making at most a few dozen yuan.

As a result, several large bills were counted out, and the one-cent and two-cent bills were piled up into several thick stacks.

It took almost twenty minutes.

"That's two hundred and seventeen dollars and fifty cents in total. Should we deposit it all?"

When the female clerk spoke again, her tone had completely changed.

More than two hundred yuan!

She works at the counter here, and her monthly salary is only a little over seventy!

After deducting expenses, I can only save about thirty yuan a month.

How old is this young man? How come he can take out so much money to deposit all at once?

Save everything!

Liu Guangming nodded readily.

Of course, even though he said he would save it all, he still kept twenty yuan with him.

In other words, his current net worth is 237.5 yuan.

"Okay, I'll get it done for you right away."

The female clerk deftly tapped the stamps.

A moment later, a large red passbook stamped with a red seal was handed out from the slot.

Liu Guangming checked the numbers and then put them in his pocket with satisfaction.

With this passbook, I can deposit all the spare change I receive from now on, which puts my mind at ease.

After leaving the bank, Liu Guangming went straight to the local industrial and commercial bureau.

The county's industrial and commercial bureau is located in a two-story gray brick building on Zhongjie Street.

Unlike the deserted streets outside, the registration and licensing department on the second floor was packed with people.

With the policy shift, savvy people in the county town flocked to apply for individual business licenses, filling the corridors with smoke and noise.

Liu Guangming squeezed into the office and saw a middle-aged clerk wearing arm sleeves waving a pen, sweating profusely, with various forms piled on the table.

"Line up! Don't push! Those who didn't bring a letter of introduction from the village committee, go back and get one! Those without a business premises, go to the neighborhood committee to get a stamp!"

The clerk yelled at the top of his lungs.

Upon seeing this situation, Liu Guangming immediately understood what was going on.

If you follow the normal procedures of queuing, obtaining certificates, and waiting for approval, it would take one or two days to get the license.

That won't work!

Instead of queuing, Liu Guangming turned around and went downstairs, where he bought a pack of Hongtashan cigarettes for four yuan and fifty cents at the sales point across the street.

When he returned to the second floor, he took advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention and went directly to the side of the desk.

"Comrade, you've worked hard."

Liu Guangming, with his back slightly bent, discreetly placed the unopened package of Hongtashan cigarettes under a blank form and gently pushed it to the clerk's side.

The clerk was getting impatient when he caught a glimpse of that red package out of the corner of his eye, and his pen paused for a moment.

He looked up and sized Liu Guangming up and down. Seeing that he was a well-behaved young man, his expression softened considerably.

He subtly swept the cigarette into the drawer with his arm, and the clerk coughed, "What kind of license?"

"Food retail, selling cold drinks and watermelon juice, etc. We usually move around the train station and cinema, without blocking the road, purely to help people cool off in the heat."

Liu Guangming handed over his ID card in an extremely polite tone.

"I'm responding to the national call to make a living on my own. I just don't understand the rules here, so I'd like to trouble the leaders to show me the way."

The clerk felt comfortable being addressed as "leader".

In addition to the bag of Hongtashan cigarettes costing four yuan and fifty cents, the clerk glanced at the ID card.

"From Laogou Township? Okay, now we're encouraging economic revitalization, it's a good thing to find your own way to make a living."

"However, the management of these mobile vendors is quite strict, and you need to be careful about food hygiene."

As the clerk spoke, she pulled out a form.

"Can you sign here? Fill in the basic information. Write 'Retail of cold drinks and fresh fruits' for the business scope and 'Mobile stall' for the business method."

Liu Guangming took the pen and quickly filled out the form.

The clerk didn't even look at it carefully before taking the official seal and stamping two bright red stamps on the form and a blank "Individual Business License".

"Pay one dollar for processing fees and take it. Be more disciplined in the future when doing business."

"Of course, thank you so much, boss!"

Liu Guangming paid the money, carefully folded the business license that still smelled of ink, and put it into his pocket.

With this certificate, he is no longer an "unlicensed vendor" who can be exploited at any time, but a legitimate individual business protected by national laws!