Chapter 74: The Danger of Greed

Since the 14th National Congress, everyone at the rest home knew that Li Xian's batch of aluminum ingots was valuable. However, when they actually saw the colorful stacks of money, they were still stunned.

No one knew better than they did how Li Xian managed this batch of aluminum ingots. Reflecting on their initial attitude towards the young man who used all his savings to buy the ingots, they felt a deep sense of embarrassment.

Back then, it wasn't a matter of having one's head squeezed; it was like turning lead into gold! A mere 60,000 yuan turned into over 170,000 in a month—almost tripling! These days, even highway robbery couldn't make such a profit!

Watching Li Xian gather the stacks of money and the heavy travel bag, the old folks couldn't help but marvel at how money could be earned so easily without breaking a sweat. It was astonishing how quickly one could become a ten-thousand or even hundred-thousandaire!

Amidst the exclamations, Zheng Weishi approached Wang Linhe, who was sitting in front of the activity room. With a smirk, he asked, "Linhe, what kind of job do you think this kid must have to manage this?"

Wang Linhe, chewing his words, remained silent.

Indeed,

In the blink of an eye, money that ordinary people would take a lifetime to earn was just handed over. If judged purely from the material rewards, not only in the forestry bureau but even in the city or province, such a sum was quite impressive!

Looking at Li Xian meticulously counting the money, Wang Linhe felt uncomfortable.

The times have truly changed...

Perhaps it was a joyous occasion, and Li You, recovering soon after collapsing, embraced the bundle of money Li Xian had collected tightly. He held it closer than he did on his wedding night with Zou Ni.

This drew a scolding from Li Daoyun, who chided him for his lack of composure.

Yet, despite the scolding, the old man's eyes kept drifting towards the travel bag. Li Daoyun, from a landlord family, had experienced a period of glory with high walls and cannons before the Japanese occupation. But since then, life had been turbulent. Now seeing Li Xian's rise, the Li family's prospects shining brightly, it was hard for him not to feel excited.

As he pondered how far this 170,000 yuan could go in terms of present-day currency and stroked his sparse goat beard, he felt pride in his grandson's achievements.

At 8:30 a.m.

Xu Maohé, who had hurried to the Agricultural Credit Union to withdraw 30,000 yuan, handed the remainder of the payment to Li Xian. Then he set about finding transportation and people to move the aluminum ingots from the two warehouses.

The others who had come with him could only watch the gleaming aluminum ingots with loud sighs of regret before departing in disappointment.

Seeing the aluminum ingots being loaded onto the truck methodically, Xu Maohé took out a pack of cigarettes and approached Li Xian.

The cigarettes were premium Shilin, a brand Li Xian had never smoked, and he wasn't much of a smoker.

However, he was quite familiar with this brand because its sibling, the black-stick Shilin produced by the Yunnan Qujing Cigarette Factory, had once set a record for cigarette prices.

How much was it?

28,000 yuan a pack! A pack of cigarettes could buy a QQ car, which sparked quite a controversy at the time.

In an era when ordinary cigarettes cost only a few yuan, pulling out such a pack was definitely a mark of having some capital.

Seeing Li Xian accept the cigarette, Xu Maohé quickly handed him a lighter and said, "Boss Li, where did you get these aluminum ingots? Are there any left?"

Li Xian exhaled a puff of smoke and glanced at him. "They're all gone. If I had more, I wouldn't have placed an ad in the provincial newspaper. If I had 100 to 200 tons, I could make even more by selling them in the south."

Hearing this, Xu Maohé was taken aback. Seeing Li Xian reveal his process, he smiled and said, "Boss Li, you're a sharp one. I was vague before. Let's be clear: how much did you buy these ingots for? Made a good profit, right?"

Li Xian smiled slightly. "Mr. Xu, you overestimate me. I only bought them because the market was booming. It's just a modest profit."

Seeing that he couldn't extract any useful information from Li Xian, Xu Maohé grinned and said, "I just wanted to make friends. You're perceptive; you held onto these ingots until now despite the crazy price rise. That shows you understand the market."

With that, he threw the remaining half of his cigarette on the ground and stamped it out. "You wouldn't believe it. There's a fool in the Industrial Bureau of the provincial capital who helped a Jiangsu guy trade 300 tons of standard aluminum. Just like yours. That idiot was swindled by a couple of drinks, sold at 3,000-4,000 yuan a ton.

He made 60,000 to 70,000 yuan recently, boasting all over the place. Now that the price has soared to over 7,000 yuan, he's fallen out with that Jiangsu guy. Desperate, the Jiangsu guy even called in some underworld contacts, and—"

Xu Maohé made a stabbing gesture with his hand. "The guy ended up with his intestines all over the place."

Hearing this, Li Xian's pupils contracted. "The person you're talking about, is his surname Sun?"

"Ah! Does Boss Li know him?" Xu Maohé asked, surprised.

Indeed...

The saying goes, "Those who use swords and knives die by them."

Li Xian sighed, reflecting on how small the world is and feeling a mix of emotions.

Sun Dazhi, Sun Dazhi, you've calculated everything but never factored in fate and human nature!

Hundreds of tons of aluminum ingots bought for 3,000-4,000 yuan a ton could yield a million in profit. What does a million mean in today's purchasing power? It's comparable to ten million in twenty years. Playing the market on such a scale and still falling into pitfalls—life's too long for that.

It's true that "men die for wealth, birds die for food"—ancient wisdom isn't to be taken lightly!

As Li Xian mused, the aluminum ingots were soon loaded onto the truck.

Xu Maohé handed Li Xian a business card and left, advising him to call if he went to the provincial capital. Li Xian didn't pay much attention.

In this line of work, relationships are intricate and backgrounds are ambiguous. As a small player, it's best to avoid getting entangled unless absolutely necessary.

This world is too dangerous; selling toilet paper is much more straightforward!