Chronicle of the 70s

Qin Xi thought for a moment, then walked to the bed, pulled Li Xianglu into his embrace and said, "Grandpa doesn’t want us to buy too many houses. I will be entering politics in the future, and if you were to join the bank, you would need to be even more cautious. Trouble ensues when the properties under your name don’t match your actual income."

Li Xianglu nodded and said, "I know. This apartment is in Grandpa’s name, and that larger one over there is under my name. Plus, didn’t Dad allocate a two-bedroom apartment to us? We haven’t moved in, though. You just don’t need to have any properties under your name; buying one for Qin Zhen would be enough."

Qin Xi nodded and said, "That could work. I’ll discuss it with Grandpa first. Count how much gold we have from what I gave you last time. I plan to sell some after a while."

Many people were planning to go abroad, and although China had established diplomatic relations with countries like the United States, there was no direct policy for currency exchange. The best method was to carry gold out of the country, which is universally solid currency and can be exchanged for local currency in any country.

Therefore, for the past six months, gold prices have skyrocketed. From the initial price of eight yuan, it has increased to over twenty-nine yuan. These are the bank’s official prices; the black market price is at least starting from fifty yuan.

When Qin Xi and Li Xianglu got engaged, he brought out a batch of gold, which included large pieces and some smaller ones. Li Xianglu felt that most of the gold that Grandpa had asked Qin Xi to exchange for money had been kept by Qin Xi himself. She remembered clearly; it was two thousand yuan more than what the bank offered. People aren’t fools; naturally exchanging was to make a profit, and giving more was unlikely, unless Qin Xi was adding some of his own money.

However, these were now trivial matters, as all the gold belonged to Li Xianglu.

After discussing with Grandpa the following day, the old man agreed too, suggesting that they melt down and refine all the gold unearthed while building the house, and make them into standard gold bars for easier storage. As for the issue of exchanging them, it was up to them to manage.

In the afternoon, Li Jianqing had prepared all the firewood, washed his hands, and came in to see his sister stewing food in a large clay pot on a small stove in the living room. Lifting the lid, he saw chicken frames and fish in a particularly rich broth and laughed, "What are we eating tonight?" He had gained at least seven or eight jin recently, and if he returned to the military, he probably would not be able to keep up with the training.

Li Xianglu said with a smile, "We’re having a hot pot tonight: meatballs, small crispy meat, and half a cooked chicken. I’m getting the soup base ready first." Saying this, Li Xianglu glanced outside.