Qi Zhiguo left the State-Run Canteen carrying the morels Li Long had given him, walked briskly twenty or thirty meters, and turned into an alley beside a courtyard. After looking around to make sure no one was there, he set down the bag of mushrooms and took the envelope from his pocket.
His palms were already sweaty. He did not know whether it was from nerves or the meal he had just eaten.
His hands trembled a little. The envelope flap was folded shut, and he failed to pry it open twice. Growing impatient, Qi Zhiguo simply tore it open and tipped out the money.
What a thick stack!
The envelope fell to the ground, but he ignored it. Holding the money in his left hand, he spat on his right fingertips and excitedly began counting.
One, two, three... fifty-one notes?
That wasn't right, was it? That couldn't be right, and it shouldn't be, either. It should be a round number, shouldn't it?
He counted again. Fifty notes.
Five hundred yuan!
That was a huge sum!
Qi Zhiguo's current salary was a little over seventy yuan. This was more than half a year's pay!
Had the money really come this easily?
Five hundred yuan would not buy a courtyard house, but it brought him much closer to his goal. Buying a single-story place with an inner and outer room outside the city center would be no problem.
I've saved a little money myself. If I add that...
He suddenly remembered that Comrade Huang, who had called him, seemed to have said he would also pay him an introduction fee if the deal went through.
Although Comrade Huang's fee would most likely be smaller than Li Long's, would the combined sum let him buy a courtyard house like Old Chen? Once