Chapter 53

Ten-thousand-yuan households!

As Lin Yuqing listened to Xu Junran and Cao Junwei's conversation, her heart felt as if it were being tossed by a massive wave.

To her, the term "ten-thousand-yuan household" seemed to have a magical quality that compelled her attention. In Wude County, a small place, let alone a ten-thousand-yuan household, there wasn't even a single decent building. Not to mention the prosperity of the capital, people mostly walked to and from work. If a family had a bicycle, they were already considered well-off. People like Cao Junwei, who drove a car, were rare even in the entire city of Quanzhou.

She didn't know that the young man who was laughing and joking with Xu Junran, if he really went to Quanzhou, would indeed be someone even the Quanzhou Party Secretary would have to treat with great care.

Xu Junran looked at Cao Junwei with a bitter smile and said helplessly, "Brother Wei, I'm currently the deputy secretary of the Li Family Town Commune in Wude County."

"Oh?" Cao Junwei was taken aback, glanced at Xu Junran, and then nodded as if he understood something. "I see. If you need any help, just let me know. We're family, after all. No matter how powerful the Huang family is, I, Cao Er, am not afraid of them."

A warm current welled up in Xu Junran's heart. He knew that Cao Junwei was speaking from the heart.

With the memories of his adoptive father's life and his own past life, Xu Junran knew how deep the bond was between the Cao brothers and his adoptive father. Or rather, if it weren't for the emotional wounds and his unwillingness to involve his good friend in his troubles, his adoptive father might have left Wude County in his past life.

From what Xu Junran knew in this life, there were six people in his college dormitory. Apart from Cao Junwei's older brother, Cao Junming, who entered politics, two others also chose politics, while the other two went abroad and joined a newspaper, respectively. Along with Cao Junwei, who often visited their dormitory, these six people were the main force in avenging his adoptive father in his past life. They attacked the Huang family from various fronts—politics, business, and public opinion—ultimately using a leadership change to prevent Huang Zixuan from entering the central government and completely bringing down the Huang family.

"Brother Wei..." Xu Junran's expression suddenly became strange as he remembered the famous blue pill from the future. He cleared his throat to calm himself and continued, "Do you think the state will let you and the other speculators keep making money like this indefinitely?"

Cao Junwei was taken aback and laughed nonchalantly, "What are you talking about? We—"

Before he could finish, he suddenly froze, stepped on the brake, and turned to look at Xu Junran. "Junran, are you saying this is going to go bad?"

Xu Junran didn't speak, but he recalled certain events from his memories. In 1986, due to price controls, the production of color TVs plummeted. Around 1988, the state allowed a 20% price fluctuation for color TVs, making the market a target for speculators. Countless speculators entered the market, including Cao Junwei. However, less than a year later, to stop "black market transactions," the state re-controlled the distribution system and prices, leading to a simultaneous decline in production and demand. Following this, the crackdown on "official speculators" became a slogan. To eliminate "official speculators," the central government decided to unify prices, eliminating the price difference. However, the conditions for price reform were not actually in place, leading to a wave of panic buying and severe inflation. In the end, with the dissolution of the red alliance near China and the dramatic changes in Eastern Europe, the lack of light industrial consumer goods in those regions led speculators to gradually move abroad and eventually disappear in the tide of the market economy.

In his memory, Cao Junwei fell during the severe crackdown in 1989.

"Brother Wei, listen to me. It's fine to do this a few times, but if you do it too much, something will definitely go wrong. You can't rely on your father's connections forever, can you? Besides, even though your brother is staying at the school now, he will eventually enter politics. What if you get caught up in this and it affects him? What will you do then?"

Since they were not outsiders, Xu Junran directly shared his thoughts with Cao Junwei.

Cao Junwei didn't speak, his face turning somewhat gloomy. If Xu Junran had said this before he started speculating, he might have taken it to heart. But now, he had made a lot of money from speculation. Xu Junran telling him to stop, especially in front of a beautiful woman, made Cao Junwei somewhat annoyed. If it weren't for their good relationship and Cao Junwei's genuine affection for Xu Junran, he would have already lost his temper.

Cao Junwei forced himself to remain patient, suppressing his anger, and said with a stern face, "Junran, where did you hear this?"

Clearly, he felt that Xu Junran had changed significantly after returning home, and in less than half a month. Previously, Xu Junran knew he was speculating but didn't react so strongly. Now, he was actually advising him to stop. There must be something behind this.

Although he wasn't yet one of the top "princelings" in the capital, Cao Junwei was not stupid. Otherwise, he wouldn't have become one of the first people to make a fortune during the reform and opening-up. Despite his limited education, he was very sharp and understood that there must be a reason for Xu Junran's unusual behavior.

Xu Junran couldn't help but laugh bitterly. He couldn't tell Cao Junwei that in a few years, the state would crack down on this, and he would lose everything. If it weren't for his father's efforts to save him, he might have even been executed.

"Brother Wei, look at this." Xu Junran thought for a moment, took out a newspaper from his bag, and pointed to an article, speaking calmly.

It was a newspaper from June, featuring an urgent notice issued by the central government in mid-January, conveying the instructions of the Politburo Standing Committee on taking emergency measures against smuggling, embezzlement, and the theft of state property by some officials. The Politburo Standing Committee emphasized that this serious issue, which damaged the Party's credibility and threatened its survival, must be addressed with determination. On March 8, to combat economic crimes, the 22nd meeting of the Fifth National People's Congress Standing Committee passed a decision to severely punish serious economic criminals, amending and supplementing relevant articles of the Criminal Law. In mid-April, the central government's documents pointed out that the fight against serious economic crimes and the struggle against corruption were crucial to the success of China's socialist modernization and the rise and fall of the Party and the state. This struggle would be long and arduous.

"Brother Wei, think about it. Even the Chief Designer has spoken out. How long can the speculators keep going?" Xu Junran looked at Cao Junwei's increasingly pale face and said seriously, "In the process of achieving the Four Modernizations, we need two hands. One is to persist in the policies of opening up and invigorating the domestic economy, and the other is to resolutely combat economic crimes. The old man's words are profound. When the time comes, who can stop it?"

Cao Junwei was now sweating.

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