I'm back in 1990

Chapter 214: The Divorce Rate Has Risen

Huang Xiaochuan had just stepped out of the phone booth when he ran into Qin Yu's aunt, Dong Qin. Standing next to her was a woman much older than her, and the two looked quite alike.

Qin Yu's aunt was stunned when she saw Huang Xiaochuan. The woman next to her also noticed Qin Yu's aunt's unusual behavior and followed her gaze to Huang Xiaochuan, who was standing in front of them.

Since they had run into each other, Huang Xiaochuan politely greeted Qin Yu's aunt, Dong Qin.

"Happy New Year, Auntie!" After greeting her, Huang Xiaochuan smiled politely at the woman next to Dong Qin, which also counted as a greeting.

Dong Qin didn't know how to respond to Huang Xiaochuan for a moment.

Seeing that the other party didn't respond, Huang Xiaochuan added, "Auntie, I'll be going now, goodbye!"

After speaking, Huang Xiaochuan left without waiting for Dong Qin's response. Dong Qin stared at Huang Xiaochuan's retreating figure, lost in thought. Dong Rong tugged at Dong Qin's sleeve and asked, "Who is that young man? He looks like I've seen him somewhere before, but I can't quite place him."

Dong Qin gave a wry smile. "Of course you recognize this person. You've seen his photo, haven't you?"

"You've seen the photo; this is the boy Xiaoyu likes."

Dong Rong raised an eyebrow: "So it was him?"

Then she said regretfully, "This boy is really handsome, much better looking than in the photos. He's mature, steady, and so polite. No wonder Xiaoyu likes him so much."

Dong Qin asked in surprise, "Didn't you say you were going to teach this kid a lesson? Why are you praising him now?"

"What's there to lecture me about? I've asked around and figured it out. It was all just Xiaoyu's wishful thinking from beginning to end, so I can't blame her. I just feel it's a pity. Although her family background isn't great, the guy himself is quite good. Wouldn't it have been wonderful if he and Xiaoyu had gotten together?"

"Sis! I'm really impressed by you. But now I finally know why. Our Xiaoyu is just too shy. If Xiaoyu were as shrewd as you were when you were pursuing my brother-in-law, he might already be your future son-in-law."

"Oh! I was just saying. When we call Xiaoyu later, let's not tell her about this."

"Do you think I'm stupid? I definitely won't tell."

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, the stock market speculators usually don't come out at this time, but this year is different. These people who are used to speculating gradually gathered at the entrance of the stock exchange, which was already closed for the holiday. As more and more people gathered, a message quickly spread among these speculators and investors: stock subscription certificates.

A pile driver was vividly recounting the news he had received to his companion.

"Oh my god! Do you guys know what happened? I heard the city originally planned to issue ten million subscription certificates, but as we all know, they didn't sell well at first. They only started selling well in the days leading up to the Lunar New Year, but it was too late, and they stopped selling them!"

Then the man whispered, "My neighbor's cousin's uncle works at a securities company. According to inside information he heard, sixty stocks will be listed this year. That's awesome! The odds of winning a subscription certificate will be high!"

"What are the prices of those stocks now? They're skyrocketing. As long as you win the subscription certificate lottery, you can buy the original shares. It's a sure thing that they'll multiply several times after listing."

Those surrounding him nodded in agreement, and at that moment, some couldn't help but feel annoyed.

"If I had known that only so many subscription certificates were issued, I should have bought a few hundred to keep on hand. Sigh!"

This person's words resonated with those around him. Almost no one here had bought the subscription certificate. They initially thought it was a scam and went around telling others not to buy it. But now, looking back, it's clear this wasn't a scam at all; it was obviously a government handing out money to the people. Unfortunately, the opportunity was missed, but thankfully, there's still another chance.

These people are all smart, and some of them have already started quietly buying back the subscription certificates at a higher price since the first day of the Lunar New Year.

The crowd dispersed, enthusiastically promoting "1990, I'm Back!" They then proceeded to their respective territories to begin their buyback plans.

"Hey friend, do you have a subscription certificate? I'll buy it at a high price!"

"How many banknotes?"

"Registered ones are 55 each, unregistered blank ones are 60 each. My price is the fairest. How many do you have?"

The person who was stopped shook his head, a hint of regret rising in his heart. Why didn't he buy two tickets before the New Year? It wasn't like he was short of money; he had just received his bonus. Sigh! A sum of extra money gone!

"Chi Na, you don't have any? If you don't, why are you even talking to me? You're wasting my time."

"What's wrong with that? It's not a big deal to ask. What kind of attitude is that?"

"My friend, you'd better run! I don't have time for your idle chatter, goodbye!"

The piling mold maker continued his search for the next target: "Hey! Friend, do you have any subscription certificates? I'll buy them at a high price!"

On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, the purchase price for these piling molds was written directly on the cardboard boxes with a brush, saving the trouble of asking each one individually.

This resulted in cardboard boxes scattered all around the stock exchange, with a person standing behind each box. The prices on these boxes were basically the same, but they had increased slightly compared to yesterday.

The cardboard sign reads: "High price buyback of purchase certificates. Certificates with registration information are 70 each, 10 or more consecutive certificates are 75 each, blank certificates are 85 each, 10 or more consecutive certificates are 90 each, large quantities are negotiable."

However, very few people came to sell subscription certificates. The vast majority of them were children who stole subscription certificates from their homes to sell in order to exchange for game tokens to play games or buy fireworks.

On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, the contents of the cardboard box changed to "High-price buyback of purchase certificates: 150 for each certificate with registration information, 180 for ten or more consecutive certificates, 170 for each blank certificate, 200 for ten or more consecutive certificates, large quantities can be discussed in person."

On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, the message written on the cardboard box changed again.

"We buy back subscription certificates at high prices. Certificates with registration information are 180 each, ten or more consecutive certificates are 200 each, blank certificates are 200 each, ten or more consecutive certificates are 230 each, and large quantities are negotiable."

The seventh day of the lunar new year!

On the eighth day of the lunar new year, Huang Xiaochuan, who had returned to Shanghai yesterday, made a special trip to visit bank branches and the stock exchange.

What he saw and heard made him want to cheer, but he couldn't, because the time wasn't right yet.

Huang Xiaochuan walked the streets and alleys, and heard that the hottest topic of conversation was subscription certificates and stocks. Now all the people in Shanghai knew that subscription certificates were not fraudulent certificates, but golden certificates to make money. Many people were regretting that they had missed a great opportunity to get rich, but they never thought about how indignant they were when they echoed the crowd and fueled the rumors that subscription certificates were fraudulent certificates.

The family of the bespectacled man who resold 100 subscription certificates to Huang Xiaochuan is currently going through a divorce.

The woman cried with a wronged expression: "How was I supposed to know that these subscription certificates could now be worth 300 yuan each? You had to sell them, and so did your mother. You can't blame only me."

The mother-in-law's attitude completely changed now. 30000 yuan! She'd never earned that much money in her entire life, and it had just slipped through her fingers, gone! She was heartbroken, and she turned her resentment towards her daughter-in-law: "If you hadn't told me the 'wealth certificate' was a scam, would I have let my son return it?"

The bespectacled man was very firm: "Wenjuan, don't blame me. Think about Xiaoning (the child). I feel that as long as we don't divorce, I'll never get rich in this life. Please let me go. I'll move to the school today to give you time to calm down and think about Xiaoning's future!"

This is tantamount to saying that his wife is a spendthrift and a jinx.

The bespectacled man decided to get a divorce and, as a last resort, took a leave of absence to start his own business, but first he had to get a divorce.

This scene unfolded in many households in Shanghai as the price of the subscription certificates continued to rise. However, after the second lottery, when the subscription certificate price reached an astonishing figure, even families that had previously been able to maintain composure began to quarrel, all because of money.

The subscription certificates brought many Shanghai residents a windfall, but they also artificially inflated Shanghai's divorce rate by two percentage points this year.

The world depicted by Sijiucai (a pseudonym) can be found in "1990 I'm Back".