When Old Blade agreed, Li Junsheng was secretly elated but tried not to show it on his face.
He had made the right bet!
After his rebirth, the first deal was finally sealed.
But Li Junsheng didn't dare to be too happy yet, as the deal was only verbally agreed upon - it was still just the first stroke of the eight.
Old Blade patted Li Junsheng's shoulder with a smile, and Li Junsheng shook hands with him, his excitement barely contained.
"Let's consider ourselves friends now. Next time you come to the black market, remember to wear a mask. There are many people with prying eyes there, and if someone who has a grudge against you sees you, they'll definitely report you."
Li Junsheng nodded. This was his first time at the black market, and he had indeed overlooked some of the rules.
Old Blade's reminder was genuinely for Li Junsheng's benefit!
If Chen Dazhu happened to see him there, he would definitely not let him off privately.
After making the arrangements with Old Blade for their next meeting, Li Junsheng was blindfolded and escorted out of the black market once again.
When Li Junsheng returned home, he found the house empty.
His father Li Guojun and mother Wang Xiuhua hadn't come back yet, and Chen Dazhu and Ma Yulian were nowhere to be seen.
Li Junsheng was glad for the peace and quiet!
Checking his room, he found the bedding and wardrobe in disarray, clearly indicating that Ma Yulian and Chen Dazhu had been searching for his money after he left.
They probably never imagined that he had already used that money to buy the scrap copper from Director Zhou!
The favor at the factory had only cost him eight dollars.
At midnight, Li Junsheng dressed in all black and went out, successfully meeting up with Old Blade on the street.
He had brought a car and a few reliable men. Together with Li Junsheng, they weighed and loaded all the scrap copper that Director Zhou had stored at home!
Director Zhou never showed up, having gone to his mother-in-law's house to avoid suspicion.
He had only left Li Junsheng with a key.
Old Blade's men included scouts, and the entire operation was conducted with great caution.
Both Old Blade and his men were completely covered up, their facial features hidden, and Li Junsheng was similarly disguised.
Dressed in black, they wouldn't be easily spotted in the dark.
Li Junsheng and Old Blade's men quickly loaded everything onto the truck.
Then Old Blade pulled Li Junsheng into the car and quickly left the scene.
The car drove to a deserted area with no streetlights before Old Blade finally stopped.
"You saw how much the stuff weighed. I'll pay you three dollars per pound. You can get out and go home on your own after this."
Old Blade counted out four thousand five hundred dollars for Li Junsheng!
A thick wad of cash that Old Blade slapped directly into Li Junsheng's arms.
"Count it."
"No need, I trust you!"
Li Junsheng shook his head, straightened out the money, and quickly put it in his pocket.
This amount of money, in this era, was enough to make people wildly jealous.
Old Blade smiled, holding the steering wheel, and said to Li Junsheng, "If you have more goods, contact my men, we'll make money together!"
"Alright, I won't keep you. You'd better leave while it's still dark."
Li Junsheng pushed open the car door and got out.
He stood aside, watching Old Blade and his men drive away.
With over four thousand dollars in his pocket, Li Junsheng didn't dare linger outside.
He quickly returned home, making sure to lock the door behind him.
Ma Yulian had returned home by dinner time!
But she and Li Junsheng barely spoke, each sleeping in their own room.
She was sound asleep in the bedroom, while Li Junsheng quietly returned to his small room, carefully locking the door behind him.
Li Junsheng didn't dare let Ma Yulian know about the money, or she would definitely try to take it by any means necessary!
He didn't even dare turn on the light, using a flashlight from his bedside table instead. Pulling the blanket over his head, he counted the money in the dark.
He spit on his thumb and forefinger to make counting easier, carefully checking each bill for counterfeits under the flashlight.
Luckily, all the money was there and genuine.
Old Blade had been honest with him!
With four thousand dollars in his pocket, Li Junsheng lay down on top of the money, his mind wandering.
Such a large sum was something he had never dared to dream of having!
After deducting the seven hundred fifty dollars he had paid Director Zhou for the scrap copper, he had made a net profit of three thousand seven hundred fifty dollars.
Three thousand seven dollars! How many people would work their entire lives to earn that much?
Take Chen Dazhu for example - at his age, he only had a thousand dollars in savings.
When Li Junsheng asked him for two hundred dollars, he had to wrack his brain to come up with it.
Not to mention Chen Dazhu, just think about Li Junsheng himself!
Even as a worker in a state-owned factory - a job that was already considered good compared to ordinary people - he had never seen three thousand dollars at once.
"People shouldn't be too honest..."
Li Junsheng muttered to himself, thinking about his past life when he had been honest all his life, always trying to be a good person!
What had it gotten him?
Nothing good, that's for sure. He had been schemed against by Ma Yulian and Chen Dazhu, losing his job and becoming estranged from his son.
In the end, his own son was ungrateful, while he was sick and frail, ultimately being killed by Chen Dazhu and Ma Yulian.
In this life, he vowed never to repeat those mistakes!
Li Junsheng felt that he was finally on the right path.
Today's profit of three thousand seven dollars had made him even more determined!
Reborn into this life, he needed to be more daring. He needed to continue with this business.
He needed to expand it, to make a real name for himself.
Tonight would be a sleepless night.
The excitement and shock of making three thousand seven dollars in one night, along with his determination to make a name for himself, made Li Junsheng feel like he had been injected with adrenaline.
He carefully hid the money, then lay down in bed, gradually calming down.
Yes, business was important, and money was important, but everything had to be done legally!
Otherwise, no matter how much money he made or how big his business grew, it would all be for nothing in the end.
Lying in bed with his hands behind his head, even in the darkness, you could see his bright eyes.
No longer the dull, zombie-like eyes of before.
After careful consideration, Li Junsheng had a rough idea of how to make his business legal.
First, the scrap copper from today was surplus material, waste from excess production.
Director Zhou had approval authority, and Li Junsheng just needed a legal identity to buy the material through him.
Officially recycling and reusing it before reselling it - wouldn't that be both legal and reasonable, avoiding suspicion?
As long as no one was suspicious, Li Junsheng wouldn't have to worry too much about where he sold the material!
The first step was to figure out how to get a legal identity.
Otherwise, no matter how clever his plans were, they would be useless!
With a legal identity, Director Zhou would be happy to cooperate, selling him the material after approval, which would be much better than taking risks by selling through middlemen to the black market.
Director Zhou would understand this!