Fu Hengzhou's Little Calculations

Because he had previously asked some upperclassmen and learned that this route led more directly to the city, many students chose it to sneak into town, and it was not easy to get caught when they returned.

Deep in the woods, Xue Chen had only walked a short distance before he saw rows of buildings, filled with an array of goods. However, the colors in this era were rather plain, nowhere near as vibrant as those on Hong Kong Island.

Xue Chen took a pager slightly larger than a matchbox from inside his clothes. After pressing it a few times and reading through the messages, he walked up to a small shop. "Ma'am, can I use your phone?"

"Thirty cents a minute." The shopkeeper glanced at Xue Chen's clothes and lazily lifted her eyelids.

"Here's five dollars. Can I call Hong Kong Island?" Xue Chen handed over another five dollars as he asked.

"Yes." The shopkeeper pointed at the rate chart on the table. "Calls to the numbers listed here cost fifty cents a minute."

Xue Chen nodded. At this time, although telephones had become fairly common, not every household could afford to have one installed. The monthly fees were simply too expensive for ordinary families, so it was reasonable for the shopkeeper to charge so much.

Xue Chen dialed the number. An operator picked up, asked where he wished to call, then connected him to the Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan line. After two beeps, someone answered on the other end.

"Hello, who is this?"

Hearing the slightly deep male voice on the other end, Xue Chen let out a soft breath. "It's me, Xue Chen. Did America send me a message earlier saying there was something urgent?"

Xie Tian was silent for a moment before immediately growing excited. "Brother Xue, you finally called back! Didn't you invest in a movie before? It's coming out in a couple of days. That screenwriter Li asked whether I had your contact information. He wanted to know if you'd attend the premiere."

"The premiere? Give him a call. I still have military training here, and it wouldn't be easy to ask for leave when school has only just started. If you're interested, go take a look for me," Xue Chen said.

"Alright, Brother Xue. Once your military training is over, or when winter break starts, you have to come over here. That one month last time wasn't nearly enough for us to spend together," Xie Tian said cheerfully.

"Alright." Xue Chen's pager sounded again. He opened the message and saw: "Mr. Fu Hengzhou hopes Xue Chen will call as soon as possible."

"By the way, Brother Xue, the stock market has been fluctuating again lately. Which stock do you think would be the safest to buy?" Xie Tian suddenly asked, then listed all the recent stock trends.

Xue Chen understood what Xie Tian meant. Last time, he had told him to invest some money in the stock market and make a profit. He had probably grown restless again lately. "If the fluctuations you mentioned aren't too drastic, I suggest buying Zhongsheng. Its gains aren't especially high, but it's stable. And if I'm not mistaken, it'll hit a small peak in the latter half of this month, then gradually start rising. Its growth rate is lower than other stocks of the same type, so it's easier to pick up a small bargain."

"Ah, so that's how it is. Alright, I'll buy this stock. Brother Xue, how many shares should I buy?" Xie Tian continued asking.

"It's fine to put in a million and play around with it. There's no need to invest more than that. Because of the recent stock market crash, there won't be much capital flowing in afterward," Xue Chen explained patiently.

He gave him a thorough explanation.

Xie Tian hurriedly said, "Alright, alright, Brother Xue, you're right. I'll listen to you. Is there anything else I should keep in mind?"

"No. Oh, tell Jisheng that the properties I asked him to buy don't have to be limited to Hong Kong Island. Places like Kowloon Peninsula are fine too, including land."

Xie Tian nodded with the phone tucked against his ear. "Don't worry, I'll tell him."

Before hanging up, Xue Chen went on to explain the stock market situation to Xie Tian, warning him not to invest blindly and to judge according to the circumstances.

"Beep beep—" The pager in his hand rang again. It was another message from Fu Hengzhou. Xue Chen hesitated for a moment before finally dialing that incomparably familiar number.

Fu Hengzhou's Little Calculations

It was evening. The afterglow of the setting sun spread across the mountain forest, while flocks of birds returned to their nests in the distance, chirping as they flew.

"Beep beep beep—" A white custom-made telephone on a desk rang inside a luxurious office.

Standing before the window, Fu Hengzhou looked outside with a smile on his face. He had waited half an hour for this call. Now that it had finally come, his wait had not been in vain.

"Fu Hengzhou? Long time no see." Once the call connected, Xue Chen spoke first.

Fu Hengzhou chuckled. "Yes, it's been a long time. I've been hoping to call you, but unfortunately, you're such a busy man."

Hearing the hint of complaint in his voice, Xue Chen recalled telling him before that he could call whenever something troubled him. "You know how it is. We have to undergo a month of military training as soon as we start here, and that big thing you gave me before was too conspicuous. Although the atmosphere here has only just improved, it would still be easy to get labeled a capitalist. So for the time being, we can only talk on the phone this way."

"Hmph." Fu Hengzhou accepted the explanation. "Fine. In that case, let's talk business."

Back when Fu Hengzhou had approached Xue Chen about investing together, Xue Chen had clearly refused. But Fu Hengzhou still wanted to be involved in every one of his investments. After all, if he wanted to get close to someone and form an inseparable bond with them, he had to seize every opportunity to tie himself to that person.

"If you mean the VCD investment, I can give you ten percent of the shares. You know that Qin Zhou has been managing that investment lately, and I can't make decisions about their shares." Xue Chen thought Fu Hengzhou wanted to discuss their previous deal again, so he stated it plainly.