Chapter 53: The Sky is About to Change

In October, the forest farm had entered the fire prevention period. The broadcast room had upgraded to a more powerful speaker; when Li Jie shouted inside, the whole area within a few miles could hear it.

Hearing the broadcast, Li Xian quickly kicked Li Pi, who was busy with the nets, and hopped onto his motorcycle to return to the forest farm.

Despite the short distance, Li Xian had to ride for more than ten minutes to reach the forest farm's broadcast room. By the time he arrived, the call had already ended, and the caller had said they would call back in half an hour.

Li Xian was puzzled. Since Zheng Weishi had taken over all the renovation business, he had rarely been contacted by clients. According to Li Jie, the call was not from Zheng Weishi but from a young man.

Unable to guess who it might be, Li Xian decided not to dwell on it. Since the caller would call back soon, he waited.

Noticing that Li Jie seemed to be dressed up more carefully than usual, Li Xian was curious. Sitting at the desk in the broadcast room, he asked, "Is there something special about today?"

"No, not really." Li Jie blushed slightly.

"Not really? That's hard to believe!" Li Xian laughed. Although Li Jie liked to look good, she usually dressed very simply, wearing only a couple of polyester shirts for work. But today, she was wearing a dress that Li Xian had bought for her on October 1st. Her short hair was pinned up, giving her a particularly fresh look.

"Oh, Second Brother!" Li Jie turned away, her face red. "I'm going to Gaoming's house tonight."

Oh!

Li Xian understood now. She was going to meet her future in-laws!

It must be that Gaoming had gone home and told his family about being caught by Li Xian in the woods. This was a good sign. Li Jie and Gaoming had been classmates since childhood and were considered childhood sweethearts.

However, Gaoming's family was considered wealthy in the forest farm, while Li Jie's family was comparatively poor. Thus, Gaoming's family had always been opposed to their relationship. The couple had been secretly together for two years, which had been quite difficult for them.

In these times, without a confirmed relationship, men typically wouldn't allow women to visit their homes. Since Li Jie was going to Gaoming's house today, it seemed like their relationship was moving forward.

Li Xian was happy for her and gave her some advice on manners and being diligent once she arrived, among other trivial matters. Afterward, the phone on the desk rang again.

He picked up the receiver.

On the other end was an unfamiliar voice, which first introduced itself and then got straight to the point.

The caller identified himself as Sun Dazhi, the son of the old man Sun from the retired personnel office. He was visiting his father during the National Day holiday and had heard that Li Xian had a batch of aluminum ingots for sale. He wanted to discuss a purchase.

Hearing this request, Li Xian's heart skipped a beat.

He didn't respond directly to whether he would sell, but instead asked, "Brother Sun, may I ask what you need these aluminum ingots for?"

"Ah… Well, I have a friend who runs an injection molding factory in Ice City. But the business isn't doing too well, and he wants to make some aluminum tableware to improve sales…"

Listening to the hesitant response on the other end of the line, Li Xian sneered inwardly.

Burning paper offerings at a grave—are you trying to fool a ghost?

An injection molding factory making tableware is feasible, but would people really buy aluminum tableware? This seemingly flawless explanation had many flaws in Li Xian's eyes. The only remaining possibility was that the person was like him, having anticipated or already known that aluminum ingots would definitely rise in price!

Given the way the other party was lying and deceiving, it was highly likely to be the latter.

Although the 14th National Congress had not yet convened, some people in the south who were sensitive to policies or involved in power centers had already learned a lot of internal news and were preparing. They aimed to get a share when the economic reform tide came in.

While Sun Dazhi didn't fit the second scenario perfectly, the ways of these official families were unpredictable.

This strengthened Li Xian's belief that the batch of aluminum ingots would be part of his original accumulation.

"Sorry, Brother Sun, I can't sell the aluminum ingots right now." He decisively declined.

The other party wasn't easily deterred, probably knowing that the purchase price for aluminum ingots was 60,000 yuan, and directly offered a price he thought Li Xian couldn't refuse: "Wait a moment, brother. My friend is really in a hurry. The current market price for these twenty-odd tons of aluminum ingots is about 30,000 yuan. I'll give you 70,000 yuan. You'll make a 10,000 yuan profit in just a few days. How about it?"

Hearing this, Li Xian snorted with a smile.

70,000 yuan?

If you offered 170,000 yuan, I might consider it!

He briefly responded to a few questions, ignoring the continued entreaties, and hung up the phone.

Seeing Li Xian hang up and remain deep in thought, Li Jie and Li Pi were puzzled.

"Second Brother, who was on the phone? What's this 70,000 yuan thing about?"

Li Xian waved his hand, not going into details.

However, having received such a call, his mind was now preoccupied. He wasn't at the forestry bureau, and he hoped nothing would go wrong with his precious aluminum ingots.

After some consideration, he decided to head back immediately.

He called Zheng Weishi, advising him to keep a close watch on the aluminum ingots and that he was heading back right away.

Old Zheng grumbled about becoming Li Xian's gatekeeper but took the advice seriously, telling him to rest easy.

After hanging up, Li Xian felt somewhat reassured. He took Li Pi back home and, regardless of the time, hopped on his motorcycle and rushed to the forestry bureau.

At the rest home, Zheng Weishi, who was cooling off with a large fan and a tea cup, was bemused to see Li Xian return in such a hurry.

"Is your batch of aluminum ingots really that precious? Look at how scared you are."

Li Xian waved his hand and took out the keys from his pocket. He entered the two storage rooms and was relieved to see the white aluminum ingots safely stored there.

After locking the warehouse doors, he joined the old man and gulped down the tea from the large cup.

"Hmph, with someone eyeing the aluminum ingots, how can I not be cautious?"

Li Xian had not detailed the phone call to Zheng Weishi earlier. Hearing about it now, the old man stopped fanning himself, sat up from his rocking chair, and asked, "So, your batch of aluminum ingots can really increase in price?"

Li Xian chuckled, "It's not that it can increase in price; it has already increased! Just at noon, Sun's son called me and offered 70,000 yuan to buy these twenty-odd tons."

"Oh?" Zheng Weishi's eyes flickered. "Sun's son… I remember he works at the Industrial Bureau in Ice City. If he's interested in your aluminum ingots, that means…"

"That's right." Li Xian nodded and tapped his head with his finger.

"The sky is about to change!"