Evan Ford knew very well that as long as he sat down, he could grab a handful of trump cards.

The problem now was that he first had to go from having nothing to holding enough chips to enter the game—the more, the better—only then could he take a seat at the table and not miss out on those trump cards.

[Ultimately, what I urgently need right now is a windfall.]

After writing this sentence, Evan Ford stood up and lit another cigarette. He tore off that piece of paper, lit it, and burned it to ashes.

The future might hold many uncertainties, but at least for now, when he looked up, he could see the road ahead clearly and could strive to take this first step well.

……

……

Brian Clark and the other roommates came back early from the dance party before it ended, because they were worried about Evan Ford.

Tonight, Grace Young also went to the dance, together with some young teachers from the student affairs office. She was already distancing herself, and it seemed she was intentionally spreading and clarifying the current relationship between her and Evan Ford.

At the very least, Brian Clark and the others soon heard people discussing at the dance that Grace Young and Evan Ford were no longer involved.

So, they hurried back.

“What’s going on? Not a sound.”

“Seems like he’s asleep.”

“Could he have committed suicide?”

“…He’s breathing.”

“Check again, has he been crying?”

“Did he drink?”

“None of that, he’s sleeping soundly.”

“…This guy really has a big heart!”

Chapter 5: The 1992 Fortune Certificate

In the morning, while his roommates were still sleeping, Evan Ford was holding an old radio in the open area downstairs, constantly tuning the frequency.

Stocks—he was looking for information about stocks.

In his previous life, Evan Ford, like most people, had heard a lot about stocks but rarely participated, especially in the early stock market—most people missed out.

But that didn’t stop him, like everyone else, from later learning about a few major booms and some miracle stocks.

[The stock market in 1992 could probably be considered the first time this country mass-produced millionaires.]

This was a sentence Evan Ford recalled last night. It wasn’t exact, but it shouldn’t be far off. What did a million mean in this era?

In these two years of the early 1990s, the concept of a “ten-thousand-yuan household” was already far less valuable than in the 1980s. The terms “hundred-thousand” and “million-yuan household” had also emerged, but the phrase itself still existed and was still a symbol of wealth for ordinary people.

Later, a professor from Beijing Normal University published a research report, suggesting that, considering various factors—M2, prices, social status, etc.—a “ten-thousand-yuan household” in 1986 was roughly equivalent to having 2.55 million in 2016.

Now it was January 1992. Evan Ford thought about it. Although it definitely wasn’t that exaggerated anymore, three or four hundred thousand should still be worth it.

So, a million at this time…

A tycoon, a super tycoon… windfall, an absolute windfall.

The problem was, Evan Ford had only heard that buying stocks at this time meant making money, but he didn’t know the specific operations, nor how much capital was needed, so he planned to find out.

“Zzz… hiss…”

The static kept crackling. Evan Ford listened intently and, intermittently, caught a few words:

[Shenghai… stock subscription certificate… January 19th… 30 yuan… on sale… certificate… lottery to subscribe for newly issued stocks…]

Suddenly, a term buzzed in Evan Ford’s mind:

[The 1992 Fortune Certificate]

This must be it, right?

No matter how the stock market operated now, this stock subscription certificate had to be right. Sales started on January 19th, so when did it end? Probably not long after.

What’s today’s date?

January 20th.

Now Evan Ford finally realized that on the day he got dumped in his previous life, something even more important happened—the issuance of the 1992 Fortune Certificate.

He also finally understood what he had missed during those days when he was acting like a Qiong Yao drama protagonist, wallowing in heartbreak and sorrow…

He had missed the opportunity given by the times. A special, and even in this era full of opportunities, still extremely rare chance to rise quickly.

Low investment, short cycle, quick results, high returns… For someone who needed to start from scratch, such an opportunity was too suitable, and too rare.

So, this time he absolutely couldn’t miss it again. Thirty yuan per certificate, cheap…

No, actually, it was expensive, considering the wages at this time.

And those who really made a fortune definitely didn’t do it with just one or two or a hundred certificates.

“Certificate… lottery to subscribe for new stocks”—new stocks meant the primary market, and flipping them into the secondary market would make money, with no need to worry about market fluctuations. So, he needed to buy as many certificates as possible—the more, the better.

Money—where to get the money?

Evan Ford felt his pocket: 62 yuan and 70 cents. Not poor for a student, but far from enough.

Borrow?

Most of those roommates and friends were even poorer than him. As for those he met later in his previous life, maybe one or two were already doing well now, but borrowing money from them now? Even if he could find them, he’d probably get beaten up.

He could only try to get it from his parents.