Chapter 39 Zhan Jianjun and the Monkey Stamp
In Cheng Kaiyan’s opinion, the short two days of the weekend passed very quickly, whether in the 1980s or in later times.

It was over in the blink of an eye.

I rested after getting an injection on the first day, and listened to the radio and rested on the second day.

Today, I took a few days off due to illness and did not go to work.

Early in the morning, the weather was still gloomy and the courtyard was wet.

Cheng Kaiyan took a radio and placed it on a bench. While listening to the weather forecast, she did radio exercises for primary and secondary school students under the eaves of her house to exercise.

He had been tortured quite a lot in the past two days, and now that he was feeling better he thought about exercising.

As for why it is not Teacher Ma’s Hunyuan Xingyi Tai Chi?
Because Cheng Kaiyan didn’t know whether this thing actually worked or not.

However, Teacher Ma really has a family background in this art, and this Hunyuan Xingyi Tai Chi does have the effect of exercising the body and stretching the muscles and bones.

Otherwise, an old man in his sixties or seventies can be full of energy every day and can recover after being knocked out. If it were an ordinary old man, he would probably have to stay in the hospital for half a year.

It is said that Teacher Ma joined the army after graduation to avoid going to the countryside, and was admitted to university in the first year after the resumption of the college entrance examination. He is now studying at Nanyang Normal College. In two years, he will be a reserve cadre for the provincial and ministerial departments. He has stepped on all the lucky nodes.

After Cheng Kaiyan finished a set of radio gymnastics for primary and secondary school students, she quickly wiped her sweat with a dry towel, thinking, “I’ll teach this to old man Qi Gong later and try it out.”

“Jingle Bell……”

The sound of a bicycle bell came from outside the yard, faintly.

Xiaowei Hutong is a large alley with a heavy flow of people.

The Central Academy of Fine Arts has not moved out yet and is still here. Students pass by every morning and evening.

“Kaiyan, are you feeling better?”

The wooden and iron door of the Zhan family next door was pushed open.

A thin, bespectacled middle-aged man came out with a washbasin in his hand and a white dry towel on his shoulder.

With a big wave of his hand, there was a snap, so fast!
The water in the enamel basin was splashed out, splashing a large amount of water in the courtyard.

“Good morning, Uncle Zhan!”

Cheng Kaiyan greeted him and said, this is Xinyu’s father.

The Zhan family, like the Cheng Kaiyan family, is an educated family.

Zhan Jianjun is a teacher at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, while Aunt Wang Qiang is a dancer.

Professor Zhan Jianjun was hired as an associate professor by the Central Academy of Fine Arts last year. After the Oil Painting Department of CAFA restored the studio system this year, he was promoted to full professor and also served as the director of the third studio.

At the same time, his oil painting “Qiongzhang” participated in the Asian Modern Art Exhibition held in Japan this year.

The oil painting “Dusk” won the Class A Award for Outstanding Art Works in Beijing City, and he is a leader among contemporary oil painters at the Central Academy of Fine Arts.

Even when he was undergoing labor reform, he was invited by his superiors to paint a particularly famous oil painting, “The Five Heroes of Langyashan”, because of his superb oil painting skills.

The picture in the first volume of the sixth grade textbook in later elementary schools is this oil painting.

“Much better. It will be fully recovered in a day or two.”

Cheng Kaiyan replied with a smile, thinking about Huang Yongyu’s monkey stamp in her mind, and she would ask about it later.

“That’s good. By the way, I bought a few packs of White Rabbit candy yesterday. I’ll go get you a pack to replenish your body.”

Uncle Zhan smiled and nodded. He had watched Cheng Kaiyan grow up.

After Zhan Xinyu was born, he and his wife Wang Qiang were busy with work.

When she was one or two years old, it was basically Cheng Kaiyan who took her out to play, so the relationship between the two families was very good.

“Then I won’t be polite. Uncle Zhan, you know that any food in my room has been eaten up by that girl Xinyu.” Cheng Kaiyan said speechlessly.

In this era of material scarcity, White Rabbit milk candy was regarded as a nutritional health product. Its slogan said: “Seven White Rabbit candies are equal to a glass of milk.”

This is also the reason why Zhan Jianjun suggested that Cheng Kaiyan take White Rabbit milk candy to nourish her body.

“Haha, you are my older brother, I will let Xinyu do the hard work for you later, you just need to order her around.”

Hearing Cheng Kaiyan’s complaint, Zhan Jianjun burst into laughter.

“By the way, Uncle Zhan, was this year’s commemorative monkey stamp designed by Mr. Huang Yongyu from CAFA?”

Cheng Kaiyan simply asked him directly.

“This year’s stamps were indeed designed by Professor Huang. I guess they will be issued next month. So, do you want to collect stamps?”

It is not surprising for Zhan Jianjun, as new stamps are issued basically every year.

Moreover, there are a lot of philatelists in places like Beijing and Shanghai. Some good stamps are sold out as soon as they are issued. There is no such thing as unsaleable stamps. The queues are several blocks long.

Of course, this was only limited to these economically developed areas. It was rumored that a cadre of a post office in Jiangcheng bought 15 sets of monkey stamps out of his own pocket because he couldn’t sell them. He put them in the house and forgot about them until he took them out and looked at them in the 2000s.

Wow, hundreds of thousands of dollars per set!
Make a fortune!

Cheng Kaiyan also planned to buy a few sets to store in the house. However, in Beijing, if Cheng Kaiyan queued up to buy them normally, he would most likely not be able to buy them.

“Yes.”

Cheng Kaiyan looked at Zhan Jianjun with anticipation in her eyes.

“Okay, how many sets do you want? I’ll talk to Professor Huang and ask him to get some for you.”

“Not much, just get ten sets.”

Cheng Kaiyan tentatively stretched out two fingers and made the shape of a cross.

The issuing price of the 80 edition Monkey Stamps was 8 cents, a full edition of 80 stamps was 6.4 yuan, and ten sets were yuan, more than one month’s salary.

“Okay, you’re still buying a small amount. Some stamp collectors buy dozens of sets.”

Zhan Jianjun nodded and agreed, then went home, got a bag of White Rabbit snacks, threw them to Cheng Kaiyan, and went out.

“Ten sets is considered a small number? It seems that even in the 1980s there were many rich people!”

Cheng Kaiyan shook her head and didn’t care much about the number. Ten sets were enough.

He doesn’t have that much money no matter how much more he has, right?

Moreover, it will take at least seven or eight years to realize the cash, which is too long. There is no need to throw all the cash flow into it. Just buy ten houses.

Like in some period novels, some protagonists would rather not eat and spend all their fortune on buying monkey stamps. It’s really unheard of.

Returning to the bedroom, Cheng Kaiyan took out all the money on hand from the desk and began to count it.

After returning to the city, I handed over the fifteen hundred yuan I had to my mother, and she gave me ten yuan as pocket money for two months.

I wrote more than 10,000 words for Night Submarine and earned fifty-one dollars and sixty-four cents.

I went to work and got paid ten yuan.

I eat and drink at home without spending any money, and I buy things without spending any money either, as my mom pays for everything.

Apart from food, which costs a few cents in the morning and one or two dimes at noon, Cheng Kaiyan’s monthly expenses are only six or seven yuan, which is basically nothing.

During this period, he also gave Sister Shang Cui fifteen yuan.

He counted the banknotes in his hand; the total amount was fifty-one dollars and seventy cents.

“This money is not enough. I have to wait until next month when I get paid or when Fangcao sends me the manuscript fee. It’s 300,000 words! Ten yuan per thousand words means 3,000 yuan. It’s not a dream to get rich overnight!”

“The manuscript will arrive in two days, right?”

……

in the afternoon.

Jiang Ting came on a bicycle.

When I heard that he was sick, I went to see him with some beef, mutton, malted milk and other supplements.

It’s not a broken bone, just a fever or a cold. Why is my aunt making such a fuss?
But it is enough to show that Jiang Ting cares about him.

Well, Cheng Kaiyan was a little touched, and thought: “I will give birth to a little fairy in the future, and let her honor you.”

In the next few days, Cheng Kaiyan recovered from his illness and returned to work as usual.

As it is near the end of the semester, there are no classes.

Cheng Kaiyan would go to the library to borrow books during the day, and then go back to the office to make a pot of Dahongpao tea that she got from Ye Shengtao, and drink it while reading.

“Professor Jiang, Cheng Kaiyan, Director Fang said there is a meeting in the office.”

Outside the office door, Lin Xiaohong knocked on the door and came in and shouted.

The meeting lasted half an hour and only discussed two things.

Final exam invigilation, poetry competition.

Cheng Kaiyan has also been assigned a job as an invigilator for next week’s college students’ final exams, but she doesn’t know what the job is yet.

The poetry competition will be publicly reviewed and graded in the school auditorium after the final exams.

After grading, first, second and third prizes will be awarded and the results will be published in the school newspaper for teachers and students to appreciate.

Then we will have winter vacation at the end of the month, prepare New Year’s goods and celebrate the New Year.

“But the time is a bit conflicting. When the poetry competition is being awarded, I guess Jiangcheng will have received a letter. Then I will have to stay in a guesthouse in Jiangcheng.”

Cheng Kaiyan thought to herself.

The condition is not very good, like brain fog.

If you use the air conditioner too much, I guess…

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(End of this chapter)