The Lin family simply didn’t have that kind of money.
Lin Sui’s younger brother was in high school and still had tuition to pay. Last year, her grandmother had fallen seriously ill, leaving the family with more than 2,000 yuan in unpaid debt. They were dirt poor.
Liang Fengjiao didn’t want to agree, but the Zhang family were the local bullies. If they handled this badly, there would be endless trouble afterward.
Lin Sui thought to herself that this agreement was only temporary—she already had another plan.
“Fine, I’ll pay it back. But I need some time.”
Zhang Dongliang frowned.
“How long?”
“Half a month. Leave this 1,000 yuan with me. In fifteen days, I’ll return the full 3,000 yuan.”
“Deal. Half a month. Otherwise, you’ll still have to marry me.”
Lin Sui slapped him hard across the face.
“In your dreams! Don’t ever bring up marrying you again!”
Zhang Dongliang yelped. Although furious, when he looked at Lin Sui’s lively, beautiful face, he couldn’t bring himself to do anything to her. He had his family carry the betrothal gifts back home instead. They could always use them again.
After the Zhang family left, Liang Fengjiao wore a miserable expression.
“Three thousand yuan… Where are we supposed to get that kind of money?”
Lin Sui shot her a glare.
“Now you realize it? Did drinking feel good?”
“Give me back the 1,000 yuan I gave you before.”
“What for?”
Liang Fengjiao clutched her pocket tightly.
“To make money, of course. Otherwise, how are we going to pay Zhang Dongliang back?”
The only way to turn 2,000 yuan into 3,000 within half a month was the stock market.
It was September 1988.
The stock market in Shanghai had just begun to boom, and several newly issued stocks would later soar to unbelievable heights—some increasing more than tenfold.
In her previous life, she and Gu Shaonan had once studied historical stock market data together. Both had sighed over how wonderful it would have been if they’d had money to buy those stocks back then. With a little luck, they could have earned far more than just 3,000 yuan.
So she had to make a trip to Shanghai.
And half a month later would also be the day she first met Gu Shaonan.
After returning from Shanghai, she would pass through the county town and wait for him at the same place where they had met in her previous life.
Cuizhu Township was located in Nanfeng County, part of Nancheng, more than 400 kilometers from Shanghai. Transportation had begun improving by then, with three direct long-distance buses to Shanghai every day.
What Lin Sui never expected was to run into Gu Shaonan at the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
Separated by the surging crowd, she saw the excitement lighting up his handsome face.
He and his cousin were debating whether to buy Qianke or Jintiantian stock.
Finally, he said,
“Let’s go with Qianke.”
At that moment, Lin Sui knew.
Gu Shaonan had been reborn too.
Jintiantian would rise faster in the short term, but if held longer, Qianke would deliver even greater returns. Its price would climb from 1.3 yuan to 15 yuan by the end of the following year.
That was exactly like him.
In their previous life, Gu Shaonan always spent a long time weighing every decision. He wasn’t decisive, but he looked at problems more comprehensively and focused on the long term.
Lin Sui, on the other hand, was always the one to make the final call. Once she decided on something, she acted immediately.
Their personalities complemented each other perfectly, which was why they had been able to build a life together.
Thinking that Gu Shaonan probably wasn’t desperate for cash and wanted to maximize his profits, Lin Sui didn’t go over to warn him. She decided to save the surprise for the day they officially met again.
A strange sense of wonder filled her heart.
Rebirth actually existed.
And somehow, both of them had been given a second chance.
Surely, in this life, after they married, they would become successful much sooner than before.
After buying shares of Jintiantian, Lin Sui didn’t rush home.
She stayed with her former coworker Xu Li for a week, then traveled around Guangzhou, enjoying the boundless energy of her youthful body once more.
The cities of the late 1980s were like bamboo shoots after the rain—bursting with life, chaotic yet vibrant, overflowing with opportunity.
That year, the government’s failed price reform triggered nationwide panic buying.
Gold jewelry and other hard assets disappeared from store shelves overnight. Department stores were packed with endless lines, and some goods changed hands several times in a single day, with prices multiplying severalfold.
Lin Sui had considered joining the speculative buying frenzy herself.
The problem was, she couldn’t compete with everyone else.
Buying stocks was much easier.
Apparently, many people had reached the same conclusion and poured into the stock market.
During that time, the stock she’d bought rose from 3.5 yuan to over 24 yuan—a sevenfold increase.
Part of that surge was driven by rampant inflation.
From 1988 to 1989, prices skyrocketed at an astonishing rate. By the end of 1989, some goods had become more than ten times as expensive as before—something few people could have imagined.
With so many investors flooding into the market, Lin Sui had no trouble selling her shares.
Her original 2,000 yuan became 14,000 yuan.
After repaying Zhang Dongliang 3,000 yuan, she still had 11,000 left.
She kept 3,000 yuan for daily expenses and invested the remaining 8,000 yuan in Qianke stock.
Qianke would eventually rise more than fivefold as well.
She hadn’t seen clearly that day and had no idea how much Gu Shaonan had invested or whom he’d borrowed the money from.
Back then, his family was genuinely poor.
They were also farmers living near the county seat.
His father had died when he was young, and his widowed mother had raised seven children all by herself.
That was why Gu Shaonan was so devoted to his mother.
He had one older brother, four older sisters, and one younger sister.
His eldest brother married early, but his sister-in-law was difficult to deal with. Soon after the wedding, seeing so many younger siblings still needing to be fed, she demanded the family split up.
During the division of property, she even took the pot lid, leaving Gu Shaonan with nothing but the pot itself.
Despite those hardships, all the siblings eventually grew up.
His four older sisters pooled their money to help him attend junior college.
Back then, a junior college diploma was highly valued.
After graduation, he was assigned a technical position at the county shoe factory.
At this point, Gu Shaonan had been working there for less than a year.
Lin Sui’s uncle happened to be the factory director’s driver.
In her previous life, she had gone to see her uncle for help and happened to meet Gu Shaonan outside the factory.
He seemed to have offended someone and was being beaten up by a group of men.
Unable to stand by, Lin Sui shouted for help, attracting nearby police officers, who rushed over and rescued him.
Gu Shaonan was handsome, and Lin Sui had always been bold and fearless.
It was love at first sight.
Besides, she wanted to get married quickly to free herself from Zhang Dongliang’s harassment, so she took the initiative to pursue him.
As for Gu Shaonan…
She was only his second girlfriend.
His first love—his unforgettable “white moonlight”—had been Chen Qinghe, whom he’d met in junior college. She lived in neighboring Ning County.
Lin Sui never knew why they had broken up.
Nor did she care to find out.
After collecting her profits, she happily went shopping in the city.
The crowds were so overwhelming that she could barely squeeze into the stores.
It was a classic seller’s market, with demand far exceeding supply.
To someone who had come from the future, it was enough to make her drool.
Mobile phones already existed—the bulky “brick phones”—but they were outrageously expensive.
Completely unaffordable.
At a duty-free shop, Lin Sui managed to grab an Osmanthus-brand wristwatch.
Since she would soon be meeting Gu Shaonan again, she wanted to dress up and leave him speechless.
She bought a fashionable puff-sleeve blouse, a lightweight jacket, two pairs of jeans, and a dress.
She also bought Gu Shaonan two dress shirts, two pairs of slacks, and a suit.
He would need them sooner or later anyway.
Then she found a respectable-looking salon and got her hair permed into glamorous, loose waves.
Passing a bookstore, she bought her younger brother two books and a fountain pen.
Finally, she picked up powdered milk for her grandparents and bought all sorts of miscellaneous gifts for Liang Fengjiao and Second Uncle Lin’s family, stuffing everything into a bulging travel bag.
After adding it all up, she had spent more than 800 yuan.
Then she headed to the bus station and bought a ticket home.
It happened to be the exact same day she had first met Gu Shaonan in her previous life.
To make sure everything lined up with the original timing, she even stayed at her uncle’s house for another two hours.
Her uncle had bought a single-story house from an acquaintance the previous year.
He wasn’t home.
Her aunt worked at the bus station, leaving only her two mischievous children—the younger cousins—who had just returned from school.
Lin Sui even cooked them a meal before heading out.