Chapter 30: The Middle-Aged Man

"Hello, may I ask if you still have any individual treasury bonds?"
Arriving at the Suiyan branch, Wu Ya walked straight to the counter with the sign and leaned forward to ask.
Individual treasury bonds?
The clerk was stunned and looked over in response to the voice.
It turned out to be a child!
"You want to buy individual treasury bonds?"
She couldn't help but double-check.
In those days, constrained by the social environment, people's thinking was still locked in fixed patterns.
Trust in the collective!
So, in the early days of listing, although treasury bonds were being hyped everywhere and everyone knew it was a good thing, entering the market carried risks and required caution.
Which kind of treasury bond should one buy to guarantee a profit without loss?
This became the center of endless debate among the public!
Ultimately, the prevailing mindset of the era won out.
The call for collective bonds to appreciate grew increasingly strong, overwhelming all dissent, irrefutable.
This directly led to the price of individual treasury bonds plummeting.
Before they even began to sell, the price had already dropped fifty percent below the original value.
Moreover, the trend was clearly still downward!
At this moment, this child wanted to buy individual treasury bonds?
"Yes, I want to buy individual treasury bonds!"
Wu Ya replied firmly and decisively, making the clerk pause again.
Is this boy out of his mind?
Now, collective treasury bonds are soaring.
Prices were literally changing by the day!
No—
By the weekend, prices could shift every few hours!
This child, instead of following the crowd and buying collective treasury bonds, wanted to go against the trend?
Either his head was filled with water, or his courage knew no bounds.
"Where are your parents? Let your parents come and buy."
But out of a sense of responsibility, she kindly advised Wu Ya.
This child must not know the market.
He had rushed over, eager to be clever and act grown-up.
"My parents sent me; they specifically wanted to buy individual treasury bonds! They're at work and can't come, but they're anxious to buy, so they sent me."
Helpless, Wu Ya casually gave an excuse.
She meant well; he couldn't reject her kindness.
"How much do you want to buy?"
The clerk changed her tone and asked again.
Since it was approved by his parents, anything else she said would be pointless.

But—
"Twenty thousand!"
Twenty thousand?
Boom!
The words landed like thunder.
Not only did they stun the clerk, but everyone nearby who heard was equally shocked.
Good heavens.
Twenty thousand—how rich must one be to come up with that?
The daily sums passing through here were at most a thousand or two.
Yet this boy, this eighteen or nineteen-year-old kid, wanted to buy twenty thousand in treasury bonds with a single sentence!
What has the world come to?
A crowd of several dozen middle-aged people in the whole lobby, none as wealthy as this child!
Suddenly, a wave of sorrow swept the hall!
Does hard work even matter?
Half a lifetime, and still not as successful as a child!
"Are you sure your parents want you to buy individual treasury bonds, and not collective ones?"
The clerk, regaining her composure, asked again.
This was too sensational.
Such a large sum, spent on individual treasury bonds that were plunging and showed no sign of recovery?
Isn't this courting total loss?
Does his family own a mine?
Even so, they shouldn't squander money like this!
"Auntie, I'm sure. If you don't believe me, you can call them."
Wu Ya spoke as he wrote a phone number on a slip of paper and handed it over.
In those days, most families couldn't afford a landline.
Besides the high call fees, installation was a huge expense.
So, as the clerk took the number, most of her doubts were dispelled.
"Alright, I'll handle it for you."
She said, then began processing the paperwork.
Her face quickly lit up with delight!
This was a major client.
Because of the mass sell-off of individual bonds by the public, the bank saw more withdrawals than deposits, leaving their cash reserves dangerously low.
For this reason, the bank made significant incentives for employees.
By three days later, anyone who sold individual bonds totaling a thousand would be rewarded twenty.
Cumulative totals were awarded at the end of the month.
But now, everyone was only selling, not buying.
Who would spend money to buy?
Given the situation, almost no one could manage it!
But now, she had done it!
And reached twenty thousand in one go!
Feeling blissful, blue bills flashed before her eyes.

"Thank you for visiting."
Soon, Wu Ya completed all the purchase procedures and left the bank.
But as he walked out, right behind him—
"Hahaha, I met the God of Wealth today! He gave me a four-hundred yuan bonus this month! To celebrate, I'll treat everyone to popsicles!"
The clerk could no longer contain her excitement.
She raised her voice, announcing her impressive achievement.
A four-hundred yuan bonus.
In those days, that was equivalent to a month's salary!
In an instant, she was drowned in envious gazes from the whole lobby.
"My goodness, a four-hundred yuan bonus, calculated at one thousand per transaction, that's twenty transactions!"
"Yes, twenty! That's twenty thousand! That's a fortune!"
"It's definitely wealth! But to throw money away like this—that's the richest of the rich!"
In those days, the biggest treasury bond buyers would spend only two or three thousand at most.
But today, someone had spent twenty thousand in one go!
A new record.
Especially since it was on individual bonds!
Twenty thousand, all at once!
This isn't wealth—it's madness!
Everyone envied the clerk, each thinking the same thing:
Why didn't that fool come to me to buy?
In the midst of the commotion—
The door to the bank lobby creaked open from outside.
A middle-aged man around thirty-eight or thirty-nine walked in.
"Say, whose young master spent twenty thousand on individual bonds?"
"Ask Li Yanyan! She handled the transaction, so she must know the name."
"Hey, Yanyan, give us a hint—let us satisfy our curiosity."
"Yeah, tell us!"
Urged by the crowd, the clerk wore a proud smile, basking in their admiration.
"Ahem."
She cleared her throat and glanced around.
Then, in what she believed was a tempting tone, she said, "That boy's surname is Wu! As for more details, for the sake of client confidentiality, I can't reveal any more."
The middle-aged man who had just entered suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"Surname Wu? Never heard of anyone so rich in Weiling City."
Twenty thousand, spent on individual bonds?
A bold move, a grand gesture.
Even bolder and more daring!
Such a person should be well known in Weiling City.
But he had never heard of him.