Chapter 6 – Future brother-in-law
Feng Yu skillfully drafted two contracts. Both in Chinese and Russian. There is no computer to print the contract. This made him not used to it. Both parties to sign the contract happily. Feng Yu only provided a black bear worth about 10,000 RMB and through negotiations, exchange it for 20,000 rubles and 7,000 RMB. Even the skinning and treating of the hide is done by the international hotel.
Yu Chunyuan wanted to exchange the rubles with Feng Yu directly but was Feng Yu refused. In the late 1980s, China’s foreign currency exchange rates might not be the official rate. He clearly remembers that his future brother-in-law has ways to change foreign currencies to RMB.
After Feng Yu left, Kirilenko’s translator arrived. The translator learned that Kirilenko had bought a black bear’s hide with 20,000 rubles and told him that he was cheated. The translator said that if Kirilenko wants, he is able to acquire a black bear hide with 5,000 RMB!
Kirilenko was furious. He is cheated by that Chinese kid. But he got over it quickly because the hide is obviously new will be convenient for him to boast. If he were to buy a bear hide which is a few years old, he can always get it back in Russia. Nonetheless, if he meets the boy again, he will teach him a lesson!
“Are you going to meet your cla.s.smates? Is your cla.s.smate male or female?” Feng Xingtai looked at his daughter and asked suspiciously.
“Dad, which girl will come and meet sister at this time of the year? I’m guessing that it’s my sister’s boyfriend. Just nice you are around. You can judge the boy’s character and see through his lies with your years of experience.” Feng Yu said, making his father very proud.
“Well, you’re right. It is normal for your sister to find a boyfriend at her age. But his character must be good! Xiaoyu, can’t tell that you actually studied hard in school.you are able to converse well with Russians and even drafts a contract in Russian. That look on Manager Yu’s speechless face is priceless!”
“Of course! I am your son!” Feng Yu replied, making Feng Xingtai happier.
Earlier, his son had negotiated with the two Russians and the manager of the International hotel on the price of the bear, resulting in the bear being sold at a higher than expected price. More importantly, it was the way those people at International Hotel looked at them. The Feng family finally have someone outstanding!
Feng Xingtai tugged on the rope to start the tractor and the engine roared. Feng Yu silently shook his head, the tractor is still using the old rope pull to start the engine. One could dislocate the shoulders while pulling the rope.
Now with this money, he can guarantee that even if the family does not do farming, they will still become the richest family in the village next year!
Feng Xingtai drove his tractor with Feng Danying’s directions for half an hour and he saw a lad standing by the roadside, wearing a thick cotton-padded jacket. In his hand, he is also carrying a military coat.
“Dad, stop the car, Li Shiqiang is there.” Feng Danying tapped on her father’s arm. Yesterday after Feng Yu made his phone call to the hotel, Danying also gave Li Shiqiang a phone call. Missing Li Shiqiang, Danying followed along to Bing city to see him.
“Danying, it’s cold, put this coat on.” ”Seeing Feng Danying come out from the tractor, Li Shiqiang hurriedly ran over and used the army coat to cover Feng Danying.”
“Cough!” Feng Xingtai cleared his throat loudly. He is happy that this boy knows brought his daughter a coat. But he was very unhappy to see him putting the coat on his daughter in front of him.
“Hi Uncle, my name is Li Shiqiang. I am a from Bing city. I returned here to work after demobilizing from the military last year. I work at the Post office nearby. You must be Xiao Yu. Your sister often tells me about you.”
“Hi, Brother Li.”
Feng Yu smiled, at the same time secretly shook his head. His father must be furious when he hears Li Shiqiang’s sentence. By saying he heard a lot about Feng Yu from his sister, implies that they have been together for a long time. If Feng Xingtai did not come to Bing city to sell the bear, he could still be unaware of this relationship.
Sure enough, Feng Xingtai’s face became a lot more serious. He scans Li Shiqiang from top to toe. Li Shiqiang is not tall. Only around 1.75 meters, but he looks very spirited. Working in a post office, a government servant. Not bad. But seeing his daughter behind his back left him very dissatisfied.
“Uncle, it’s nearing noon. Come over to my place for lunch.”
Feng Xingtai hesitated, to eat at his house. This means both parents meeting.
Feng Yu Seeing his father’s hesitation and egged:“Dad, let’s go. I happened to have some things I need to ask Brother Li.”
Feng Yu thought of the big event happening this year which could double his money several times.
But for this to happen, he needs a very trustworthy person and there is someone that fits the bill here.
“Ok. But there is no need for lunch. We will just drink something and be on our way.”
Seeing Li Shiqiang’s parents waiting downstairs, Feng Xingtai felt flattered. He felt that this Lee family is not bad.
“Mr. Feng, let’s go upstairs. This must be Danying and Xiaoyu. You both have inherited Mr. Feng’s good looks.” Lee’s father said, praising the three of them in one sentence.
Feng Xingtai did not feel anything when Manager Yu of International Hotel address him as Mr. Feng. But now, Lee’s father address him as Mr. Feng, he felt very respected and a smile appeared on his face.
On the stairs, Feng Xingtai still felt a bit uncomfortable. There are not a lot of buildings on their farm and village. Fortunately, there is a small shop downstairs and Feng Xingtai brought some canned food and malt drinks as gifts. It is not nice to visit someone’s home empty-handed.
Once in the house, Feng Yu looked around. The house is not big. The usable area is more than 50 ping. It is even smaller than their farmhouse. At least their house at the farm still has a front yard and small garden.
Feng Xingtai chatted with Lee Fu happily. Mrs. Lee brews some tea, and serve them some melon seeds and sweets before going back into the kitchen to start cooking. Her son had brought his girlfriend and also his girlfriend’s parent home for the first time. No matter what, she has to prepare lunch for the guests. Furthermore, it is the new year now.
The two fathers were happily chatting. Feng Yu pulled Li Shiqiang to one side.
“Brother Lee, you work at the post office?”
“Yes, did your sister tell you. You want to buy monkey stamps? I tell you, now the monkey stamps are worth almost 50 RMB per piece. It’s not worth it. If you want other types of stamps, I am able to help you.”
Lots of people had approached Li Shiqiang to help buy Monkey Stamps. But there is nothing he can do as the stamps are no longer in circulation.
“No, I want to ask about Treasury bonds. Are you able to help me buy Treasury bonds?”
Feng Yu just remembered Monkey stamps. Unfortunately, it is already too late. The golden age for stamp investment had pa.s.sed. Even he invests now, the returns are not big.
In his last life, there is someone who made his first bucket of gold from Treasury bonds. He became a millionaire in one year, using only 20,000 RMB as his initial investment.
“Treasury bonds？ What do you want that for? The repayment time is long and cannot be exchanged for money. I worked in the Post office and was forced to buy dozens of dollar worth of treasury bonds. If you like, I can give you a 10-dollar Treasury bond as New Year money!”
For someone earning only 80 RMB a month, 10 dollars is a lot. But for his girlfriend, Li Shiqiang must be “willing” to give Feng Yu 10 RMB.
Feng Yu looked at Li Shiqiang’s uneasy smile.
“Brother Li, I don’t want your treasury bonds. I just want to buy some treasury bills, can you help? I want to buy the Treasury bills from your colleagues and friends. I can buy whatever you can find.”
Li Shiqiang felt surprised. Is Danying’s brother stupid? I already told him that Treasury bills are worthless yet he still wants to buy!
Translator notes: Treasury Bond is a debt security issued by a government to support government spending.
"Chinese government bonds were first issued in 1950 by the Ministry of Finance. The issuance was terminated in 1958, but resumed in 1981, primarily to address a shortfall in funding for national construction projects. The market remained quite small for many years but has rapidly grown into one of the world’s largest government bond markets in recent years." (Bai, Fleming and Horan, 2013)
Bai, J., Fleming, M. and Horan, C. (2013). The Microstructure of China"s Government Bond Market. SSRN Electronic Journal.