After finishing the porridge, Gu Kun lay on the bed to recover from his injuries, while quietly thinking about a way out.
1994 was really a good year to start a business. His first reaction was to go north to China to open up the seafood business market.
On January 1 of that year, the Central Bank of China officially announced that it would no longer issue RMB foreign exchange bonds, and the dual-track exchange rate system officially ended——
People in China may not pay much attention to this policy. But for foreign businessmen who are interested in exporting goods to China, this policy is worth a lot of money.
Prior to this, the official exchange rate of the RMB was very strong.
In December 1993, 1 U.S. dollar was only exchanged for 5.7 yuan in foreign exchange coupons, but in January 1994, the exchange rate dropped to 8.6 yuan for ordinary renminbi. (On the black market, foreign exchange coupons are 50% more expensive than ordinary renminbi, but the official planned price
It’s 1 for 1)
So in January 1994, if there are foreign businessmen with a keen sense of smell who are willing to do unplanned export business to China and are willing to accept RMB, the money you receive will be half of what you received last month in an instant!
Of course, if you transport the RMB directly, there will be no profit, because the RMB exchange rate has depreciated.
But if you use these RMB to purchase materials directly in China, you will make a lot of money, because the purchasing power of RMB within the country has not declined.
The flow of information was not fast in 1994, so almost no foreign trade businessmen in Nanyang have noticed this business opportunity. If Gu Kun can get a drink and be the first person to sell Malay specialty seafood to eastern Guangdong Province, he will definitely make a lot of money.
One stroke.
After understanding this, Gu Kun felt that the future was bright.
But what follows is some operational difficulties.
First of all, our fishing boat is too small. It is only 11 meters long, more than 2 meters wide, and has a maximum load of more than ten tons. The boat is made of a wooden shell and an iron keel. It has a 30-horsepower diesel engine and can also use sails. And this boat is 80
In the early 1990s, the boat was left behind when my parents were still alive. It was already 15 years old and was in quite a state of disrepair.
If the ship cannot withstand the wind and waves, it will not be able to sail through the South China Sea to Guangdong.
It seems that before going to Guangdong, I have to find another way to make extra money and buy a big ship to do things.
When he talked about making extra money, Gu Kun naturally thought of his old job in his previous life - he could first go to the nearby Java Sea to pick up "trash" and sell it for money.
Before his rebirth, Gu Kun had been involved in the business of salvaging hydrographic detection equipment for more than ten years. He had countless Oceania destroyers and frigates castrated by accidents, and he also accidentally salvaged several unmanned submarines.
In addition, a lot of confidential information was due to be declassified in later generations, so he had a clear understanding of the relevant historical records of the Nanyang and Indian waters.
He knew that as early as the 1980s, the Oceania Navy often dropped sonar on the Java Sea southwest of Lanfang to guard against the Lucians.
Although the Java Sea seems vast, there are not many channels that are deep enough for submarines to dive deep, so it is enough to focus on a few trough areas.
If the Lucians send nuclear submarines south from Vladivostok and want to enter the Indian Ocean through Malacca or the Sunda Strait, they will inevitably be intercepted and recorded by sonar deployed in the trough between the Natuna Islands and the Tamerlan Islands.
.
However, these devices have now become real marine debris.
Because Lucia disintegrated more than two years ago. Other major countries in the Asia-Pacific region are now very friendly with Oceania.
So Oceania suddenly found itself drawing its sword and looking around at a loss. All it could do was put the swords and guns in the warehouse and let the horses go to the south.
The latest batch of sonar was thrown away in 1991 and has not been maintained or used for at least three years.
As a fisherman who loves the sea, in order to protect the environment, Gu Kun should recycle these abandoned objects both emotionally and rationally.
However, Gu Kun is still too weak now and doesn't want to be targeted, so this kind of business cannot be expanded and he can only give it a try and then stop.
Because if you sell one occasionally, it can be explained that it was accidentally cut by a fishing boat's trawler. If you sell more, it cannot be explained as a coincidence.
The most important thing is that the people of Lanfang don't want this thing, because Lanfang has no national defense.
The products shipped nearby can only be sold to Malaysia. And Malaysia is not ambitious enough, so it cannot sell at a high price.
After thinking about it again and again, Gu Kun made a decision in his mind: This time when he goes to sea, he will cut off as many as he can find, but he will only take one for the time being. Find a place to hide the rest and plan for the future.
As for his legitimate source of income, he mainly relies on the seafood fishing business to cover it up.
After thinking about everything, Gu Kun did as he said and immediately carefully checked the condition of his ship to see if it could go to sea tomorrow.
After the last time we went to sea, there was still a lot of diesel left. A round trip to the west to the Tamailan Islands was only 200 nautical miles, which was enough.
However, it encountered a storm this time and was slightly damaged. Simple repairs would cost thousands of ringgit.
In addition, this trip to sea is expected to take a week. Gu Kun needs to leave enough food and living expenses for his sister, and he also needs supplies himself.
He decided to find someone to borrow money from.
…
Half an hour later, Gu Kun walked over to his neighbor Liu Min's house.
Liu Min is the "Uncle Liu" Gu Pan mentioned. He is forty years old and was their father's comrade-in-arms. His family is now quite wealthy, with tens of thousands of ringgit in savings, a two-hundred-ton fishing boat, and three or four employees.
Sailor helper.
It's just that Liu Min was afraid of his wife after marrying, so he never helped the descendants of his comrades.
Because of the strong wind, Liu Min did not go to sea, and his whole family was there.
Seeing Gu Kun, Liu Min didn't dare to say anything immediately, but his wife Wang Han smiled and greeted: "Hey, Xiao Gu, sit down, don't be polite to aunt."
"Auntie, you can do it yourself, no need to greet me." Gu Wan didn't dare to let the other party bring tea or water.
Liu Min stole a glance at his wife and asked softly: "Xiao Gu, what's the problem?"
Gu Kun didn't talk nonsense: "Uncle Liu, I have no choice. I don't have any food left at home, and I ventured out to sea and suffered a disaster. This time I learned a lesson and would like to ask you to borrow some money, 2,000 ringgit, and return it within a month."
If you can’t pay it back, you’ll charge me the interest…”
Upon hearing that it was borrowing money, Wang Han immediately interrupted:
"Xiao Gu, it's not that my uncle and aunt won't help you. It's not easy for your uncle either. Even though our family is big, we still owe a loan. There is no income in the windy day, and we are losing money every day. The bank won't follow suit.
If you're being reasonable, you still have to pay off the mortgage next month..."
The Gu family's wooden-hull motor sailboat would cost between fifty and sixty thousand ringgit if it were newly built, but it is a second-hand boat that has been used for 15 years, so it would only cost more than ten thousand ringgit to sell it.
The Liu family's boat weighs 200 tons, is covered with iron sheets, and has an electric noose trawler. Added up, it is worth at least more than 400,000 ringgit. Therefore, the Liu family's financial resources cannot afford to buy the boat in full.
, you will definitely owe some mortgage debt.
Wang Han uses the excuse of mortgage to silence borrowers, and this has failed time and time again.
Gu Kun didn't want to chat with the woman, so he made an offer to Liu Min directly: "Uncle Liu, I won't borrow the money in vain. I've thought about it. If I can't get my money back this time, it means I'm not a business man. I'll join him in the future."
You, help you run into the sea.
If you feel that my abilities are not worth your gamble, then I can only go to Uncle Lin."
The Uncle Lin that Gu Kun mentioned was another friend of his father's back then. Unfortunately, he was also poor. Now, he can only use it as a bargaining chip to balance his speech skills.
Hearing what Gu Kun said, Wang Han's eyes immediately lit up.
She knew that Gu Kun was a good seafarer and had good potential. The reason why the harvest in the past two years was poor was mainly because the Gu family's boat was too poor.
If Gu Kun is willing to give up setting up his own business and work for Liu Min, then the Liu family will be much more comfortable.
"Since you are in such a difficult situation, my uncle and aunt can't just die without saving you," Wang Han agreed with a smile on his face, and pinched his husband, "You bastard, why don't you give the money to your eldest nephew!"
Liu Min obediently dug out twenty 100 ringgit notes from the cabinet at home.
…
After getting the money, Gu Kun first went to the only grocery store on the island and purchased enough living supplies for the brothers and sisters for a month. He also drove the boat to a nearby dock and paid for the repairs.
After all these were done, he went home. There was still 700 ringgit in cash left, so Gu Kun decided to split it into two, leaving 200 for his sister for emergencies and 500 for himself. In case there was still money to spend later, he couldn't
Leave no margin.
When Gu Pan saw him coming back, he happily came out to greet him and took over the large and small bags to count.
"Twenty pounds of fragrant rice, fifty pounds of palm powder, thirty pounds of bananas, two pounds of palm oil, and lemongrass and mint leaves..."
Looking at these foods, Gu Pan feels at ease.
Palm starch is the sago commonly found in Cantonese desserts.
Even in Malaya, the price of palm flour is more expensive than fragrant rice.
However, in Lanfang, because most of the islands are too small and the land is highly saline, rice cannot be grown and only beach species such as coconuts, palms, and plantains can be grown, so sago here is cheaper than fragrant rice.
Poor people who can't afford to eat often boil palm powder and knead it into dumplings to eat, which tastes similar to the pearls in pearl milk tea. The only difference is that the pearls are as big as a fist, and you will be full after eating two or three in a meal.
As for the oil used for cooking, it is also oil squeezed from oil palm, because other oils have to be imported.
Vegetables cannot be grown on coral islands, so vitamin deficiencies can be solved by relying on tropical spices such as mint and lemongrass, or by eating fruits instead of vegetables.
The most common one is banana, which is both filling and full of vitamins. Bananas here are as cheap as dirt. One ringgit can only buy one and a half kilograms of fragrant rice, but ten kilograms of bananas.
While Gu Pan put away the food and made dinner, he also asked his brother about his plan.
Of course, it was impossible for Gu Kun to tell the truth to his sister. He had a full dinner, made up some excuses, and then fell asleep.
A full night's rest made him feel energetic when he woke up the next day, and some of the pain seemed to have subsided.
The body of a 17-year-old is very resilient.
However, he felt very hungry. After getting up, he drank five bowls of cold fish porridge left over from last night. He felt that his appetite had increased greatly after his rebirth, and he didn't know where all the energy was spent.
After finishing his porridge, Gu Kun went to the nearby dock to bring back the boat he repaired yesterday.
The wind at sea today has dropped to Level 5 or 6, making it a suitable day to go out to sea.