Chapter 30 The Legend of the Master and Disciple: Wine and Monkey Stamps

...

Li Jianguo's home was on the first floor, a small two-bedroom apartment of only thirty square meters.

In previous years at this time, the house would have had a cold stove and a quiet kitchen, with very little New Year atmosphere.

Li Jianguo was a workaholic and had no children.

His wife was in poor health, and for the two of them, a simple meal of dumplings counted as celebrating the New Year.

"Knock, knock, knock."

"Who is it? On New Year's Eve..."

Li Jianguo opened the door, draped in a cotton-padded jacket.

When he saw it was Lin Xi, his perennially stern, dark face first registered a look of surprise.

Then his eyebrows shot up, and he habitually prepared to scold him.

But seeing the tip of Lin Xi's nose red from the cold and the things he was carrying, the words at the tip of his tongue turned into a mumble.

"You little brat, why are you running around instead of staying in the dormitory?"

"Master, I'm all by myself, so I came to mooch a meal."

Lin Xi grinned, making himself at home as he squeezed into the room. "Shiniang!"

"I've brought you some good stuff!"

Inside, Shiniang was kneading dough. Seeing Lin Xi enter, she was so happy she hurriedly wiped her hands on her apron.

"Oh, Little Lin is here!"

"Sit down, sit down!"

"Old Li, hurry and pour the boy some tea!"

That night, the dim incandescent light in the Li household seemed much brighter than in previous years.

The originally lonely house gained a touch of life because of Lin Xi's presence.

Lin Xi rolled up his sleeves and rolled out the dumpling skins with agile movements.

Shiniang wrapped the dumplings while Li Jianguo sat to the side mincing garlic.

Occasionally, the sound of sparse firecrackers drifted in from outside the window.

In the livestream room, over a hundred thousand viewers accompanied Lin Xi through this New Year's Eve of 1980.

["Tears in my eyes. This reminds me of my grandfather. New Year's back then was really like this—no cell phones, no Spring Festival Gala, but the heart was warm."]

["The way Shiniang looks at the Streamer is truly like looking at her own son."]

["Old Li might be stubborn, but look at him—he secretly gave the only chicken leg to Lin Xi."]

The steaming dumplings were served, and as soon as the Maotai bottle was opened, the sauce-aroma filled the air.

"Master, Shiniang, Happy New Year." Lin Xi raised his glass, his expression solemn.

"This past year, thanks to Master looking out for me, I would have been kicked out of the base long ago."

"Stop talking nonsense." Li Jianguo clinked glasses and took a sip, his eyes lighting up.

"This wine... is damn mellow."

Shiniang smiled as she picked up food for Lin Xi. "Little Lin, don't listen to your Master."

"He was just muttering your name yesterday, saying you're a natural talent, just a bit too slick."

"Being slick is good." After a few glasses of wine, Li Jianguo's face was as red as Guan Gong's, and he began to open up.

"In this world, honest people lose out."

"You have ability and you're slick. In the future, this Aerospace City..."

"Even this country, will have a place for you."

He looked at Lin Xi with drunken eyes and suddenly reached out his rough hand to give Lin Xi's head a firm rub.

"Lin Xi, remember this."

"No matter how high you climb or how big an official you become, even if you become a Chief Designer."

"As long as you still have technology in your heart, and our rockets..."

"I will acknowledge you as my disciple."

Lin Xi's heart trembled.

Looking at this old man who had dedicated half his life to cold metal, his nose felt a bit stingy.

He nodded heavily and downed his glass in one gulp.

"Master, don't you worry."

As the alcohol took effect, the atmosphere became grand and heroic.

Borrowing the liquid courage, Lin Xi poured out the idea he had been holding back for a long time.

"Master, for that fan after the New Year, let's not make an ordinary one."

Lin Xi used his chopsticks dipped in wine to draw on the table.

"We'll use a turbocharged blade configuration!"

"And create a laminar flow duct!"

"What?" Li Jianguo's eyes widened.

"Are you crazy, kid? What kind of machining precision would that require?"

"If the dynamic balance is even slightly off, it'll turn into a Flying Guillotine when it starts spinning!"

"That's why I need you!" Lin Xi flattered him.

"Besides your 'Human CNC' hands, who else could lathe it?"

"Heh..."

Li Jianguo grinned with the excitement of a technical fanatic facing a challenge.

"Fine!"

"As long as you dare to draw it, I'll dare to lathe it!"

That night, the master and disciple finished a bottle of Maotai over dumplings and spent the whole night dreaming of the stars and the sea.

...

New Year's Day.

Lin Xi wasn't woken up by the sound of firecrackers, but by the frantic notification sounds from the livestream room in his mind.

["Streamer! Wake up! Don't sleep anymore!"]

["Today is February 16, 1980! The first day of the Year of the Gengshen Monkey!"]

["Have you forgotten something important?!"]

["The Monkey Stamp! The T46 Monkey Stamp is being issued today!!!"]

["Are you not going to claim the transmigrator's basic welfare?!"]

Lin Xi snapped upright in bed, his head buzzing. The hangover headache almost made him lie back down.

The Monkey Stamp!

Damn! I almost forgot about that!

That was a 'myth' in the world of philately, and an essential 'dungeon' for any reincarnator to clear!

A single stamp had a face value of 8 cents. A full sheet of 80 stamps cost 6.4 yuan.

Doesn't sound like much?

In 2025, the auction price for a full sheet of these Monkey Stamps started at 1.5 million yuan!

One in good condition could even fetch 2 million!

Even if he wanted to sell it in the 90s, the price was over 100,000 yuan per sheet!

"I'm going to be rich, I'm going to be rich!"

Lin Xi didn't even bother washing his face; he grabbed his cotton-padded jacket and rushed out.

The sky outside was just beginning to brighten, and the streets on New Year's Day were deserted.

The ground was covered with the red paper remains of last night's firecrackers, and the air was thick with the smell of gunpowder.

He pedaled his bicycle, rushing toward the Base Post Office like a bolt of lightning.

The post office doors had just opened.

Inside sat a yawning young female clerk, looking gloomily at a stack of stamps on the counter.

"Sigh, having to work on New Year's Day is really bad luck," the clerk grumbled.

"The higher-ups too, they just had to force-allocate these Monkey Stamps."

"Each person has to sell 15 sheets. If they don't sell, we have to pay for them ourselves."

"What a mess!"

"Comrade, Happy New Year!"

A gust of wind swirled in, and Lin Xi leaned panting against the counter, his eyes gleaming.

"I want to buy stamps!"

The clerk was startled. Seeing it was a young man, she rolled her eyes irritably.

"It's the New Year, what are you shouting for?"

"Mailing a letter?"

"Not mailing a letter, collecting stamps." Lin Xi pointed at the stack of T46 Monkey Stamps.

"Those monkeys, give me some."

"You mean the 'Year of the Gengshen Monkey' stamps?" The clerk's eyes lit up, and her tone changed immediately.

"Yes." Lin Xi pulled out a handful of Great Unity bills bills from his pocket and waved his hand grandly.

"Give me 10 sheets!"

The clerk froze for a moment. "How many?"

"10 sheets! Full sheets!"

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely sure! Hurry up, I'm in a rush!"

"Oh my!"

"Comrade, you really have great vision!"

The clerk rushed out from behind the counter, her enthusiasm giving Lin Xi goosebumps.

"These Monkey Stamps were designed by a master!"

"Painted by Master Huang Yongyu! It's the Golden Monkey presenting auspiciousness!"

Fearing Lin Xi would back out, she nimbly counted out ten full sheets.

"Ten sheets in total." The clerk quickly calculated the bill.

"6.4 yuan per sheet, so 10 sheets is 64 yuan."

64 yuan.

Two months' salary.

Lin Xi didn't even blink. He paid, took the goods, and left.

In the livestream room, the bullet chat had gone insane.

["Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! Streamer, can you mail some to me?!"]

["64 yuan just bought a future 15 million?!"]

["This is faster than robbing a bank!"]

["The clerk suddenly feels a surge of providence leaving her body!"]

["This move by the Streamer, I'm willing to call him the 'Time-Space Thief'!"]

Walking out of the post office, Lin Xi took a deep breath of the chilly air.

These 10 sheets of Monkey Stamps were his future fallback plan.

Even if he couldn't make it in the aerospace system in the future, even if his business failed...

As long as he kept these few pieces of paper, he would still be a wealthy man in the 21st century.

"I'm set."

Lin Xi patted his chest, a smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

...

Back at the dormitory.

Lin Xi found a tin box, packed the stamps inside, and hid them at the very bottom of his cabinet.

The long-term layout was complete. Next, it was time to get down to real business.