But envy is just envy—most people never even get the chance to get in on it. After all, there were very few stocks available, and you had to line up all night to fight for them. Ordinary people didn’t have the money, nor the time to quit their jobs and run off to Shanghai or Shenzhen to go all in on this. So, there was simply no way to get any!

These two were probably just people longing for what they couldn’t have.

But that’s not important… What’s important is, stock subscription certificates?

David Brooks just froze for a moment, and then suddenly, as if a jolt of electricity ran through his mind, an idea popped up.

His eyes lit up instantly.

Damn, which novel did I read this in? January 1992, there seemed to be a batch of stock subscription certificates that were first unsellable, and then the government suddenly approved a large number of new stocks to go public, and the price of these certificates skyrocketed dozens of times?

No, wait, it was something like 160 times!

Among the public, these stock subscription certificates were called the “’92 Get Rich Certificates”!

Whoa… damn!

It was like suddenly opening the door to his memories, or like a long-ignored room had all its dust swept away by a sudden gust of wind, revealing its true face…

David Brooks could no longer hear what they were saying. He just felt all sorts of ideas and memories bursting out in his mind, one after another, impatient to be noticed.

That’s right, this year is 1991!

The big events about to happen aren’t just limited to the ’92 Get Rich Certificate, are they?

Wasn’t the Soviet Union going to collapse this year?

It must be this year!

But it’s already almost the end of November, and there’s still no news—at least, the original host had no memory of this major event, so… at the latest, it’ll be December, and it’s definitely going to collapse!

Right, I remember now, from what I learned, it should be in the twenties of December!

In fact, the upheaval in Eastern Europe had already started two years ago, and for the past two years, people had been hotly discussing this topic!

Ah, at most there’s only a month left—the last chance to study abroad in the Soviet Union…

Of course, I’m not going.

But people always say after the fact that the collapse of the Soviet Union let global capital feast, and apparently there was even a legend in China of someone who traded canned food for a whole airplane—Theoretically, in times of great turmoil like this, it really is a golden opportunity to make a fortune in chaos. Especially since, as the textbooks say, whether it was the former Soviet Union or later Russia, their light industry was very underdeveloped—they lacked all kinds of food and consumer goods!

Right, and… isn’t the Old Man about to go on his Southern Tour?

Ah, that’s right, I remember the way people recorded it later—they all said the Old Man was going south to spend the Spring Festival!

Whoa… damn!

David Brooks was completely stunned.

Suddenly, he had this strange feeling that he was about to witness history.

The scroll of history was about to slowly unfold before his eyes…

And then, what other big events were about to happen?

Right, the Old Man’s Southern Tour basically set the tone for the country’s future development, ended more than a decade of debate over socialism versus capitalism since the start of reform and opening up, and after unifying everyone’s thinking, people really did start to focus single-mindedly on making money, racing ahead at full speed! And right after that came the 1994 tax-sharing reform, and then the Southeast Asian financial crisis!

It was also in these years, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, that America’s military pressure was greatly reduced, so they released their internet technology for civilian use, and the internet technology revolution officially began!

And the entire 1990s was basically America suppressing Japan’s semiconductor industry, while at the same time helping Europe’s ASML and South Korea’s semiconductor manufacturing industries get on their feet.

After the Southeast Asian financial crisis, once Western capital had gorged itself, there was a massive internet stock bubble! And then came the internet crash in early 2000!

Whoa… damn!

To be honest, David Brooks hadn’t been that interested in these things before. It was only during the pandemic, when he was bored out of his mind, that he happened to come across a blogger on Douyin, and that got him started. Later, when the Russia-Ukraine war broke out, it became a top trending topic, and David Brooks unknowingly started following a bunch of internet bloggers, diving deep into reviews and analyses of the past thirty years of global development.

Most of what he knew about the 1990s actually came from those internet bloggers’ explanations.

But now… I’ve come back to 1991!

Yes, it’s this stock subscription certificate!

In just a few months, a 160-fold profit—an opportunity like this, no matter how many years go by, you’ll never find a second one. Even the internet bubble wasn’t this wild!

Unconsciously, even though David Brooks was straddling a motorcycle, he straightened his back without realizing it.

He couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement!

Even his breathing quickened a bit.

“Old Cao?”

Just as he was getting excited, he suddenly heard someone call his name. David Brooks instinctively turned his head, froze for a moment, and then suddenly burst out laughing.

That person had also stopped his motorcycle and was getting off with a look of surprise and delight.

His name was Samuel Wright, the original host’s high school classmate and best friend.

People say even Qin Hui had three friends, let alone the original host, who was just a bit reckless but actually had a good heart and was very loyal. After three years of high school, he had a few real close friends.

Among them, he and this Samuel Wright were especially the worst students.