Chapter 1271 - 1143: Gold Rising

Chapter 1271: Chapter 1143: Gold Rising

One leaf falling heralds the arrival of autumn.

With the departure of midsummer, the autumn breeze begins, and October’s golden autumn steps forward, marking a good season for harvest.

As the mountains and fields are covered in red leaves, the eldest grandson of the second branch of the Zhang Family was born with a loud cry.

The red-faced baby cried like a little monkey, bringing tears of joy to Aunt Zuo and delighting the family members waiting outside the delivery room.

Following the first page report in the newspaper at the beginning of the year, advocating that each couple have one child at most, the pace of family planning was intensifying.

And having a son as the firstborn significantly reduced the pressure, especially since Zhang the Second and his wife were undoubtedly partial to sons over daughters.

Upon hearing the news, Zhou Jiao arrived to see Lin Juhua so excited she couldn’t form a complete sentence, forgetting her earlier remarks about how having a granddaughter would also be great.

As for the overly happy Zhang Minglei, he was genuinely commendable, his mind completely on his wife in the delivery room, much like Jiao Jiao’s husband back in the day.

When Zuo Lin and his son, along with Zhang Guoqing, arrived in a hurry to glance at the newborn, they remembered that a group of female comrades had forgotten to share the good news with the folks back in the Northeast.

Not to mention Zhang the Second’s elation on the other end of the phone, time slowly moved to the end of the month.

Soon it was early November, when a significant event drew the world’s attention to Yi Country.

On the 4th of this month, Yi Country seized the United States embassy and held 66 diplomats and civilians as hostages.

This action shocked the entire world.

After all, post-World War II, the United States was the world’s leading power, with only the Old Russians daring to confront them, and rarely any other country challenging the United States.

This move by Yi Country was equivalent to slapping the United States in the face.

The pride of the Americans was well-known worldwide, and suddenly all eyes were on the United States, waiting to see when they would take action.

During the nation’s self-praise of peace and harmony, Zhou Jiao focused more on the international gold futures market.

Will the United States go to war?

What is it to her? She’s not American, and it doesn’t concern her even if the United States falls.

This situation indeed stirred up waves across the United States, with many Americans clamoring for war against Yi Country, causing panic.

Their government, however, didn’t explain much about this, only condemning Yi Country extensively in the media every day and urging the release of their diplomats and civilians.

This had nothing to do with Zhou Jiao. Amidst the two countries’ bickering, gold prices saw a sudden surge from a slow rise.

At the beginning of the month, the price of gold was still at 390 US dollars per ounce, and by December, it had soared to 470 US dollars per ounce.

In his thirties, Heizi once again found Zhou Jiao.

"Sister Jiao, Brother has sent another telegram, this time more urgent with three ’urgent’ notes."

Zhou Jiao couldn’t contain her laughter, "Is it that big of a deal?"

Heizi looked at her speechlessly.

"Alright, just reply with one word: wait!"

Heizi uncertainly asked, "Really?"

"I’m still cooking."

Heizi scratched the back of his head and laughed, "Will a war really break out? I heard on the news that foreigners are all talk, cowardly. If it were us, we would’ve acted a long time ago."

Hearing this, Zhou Jiao smiled without speaking and changed the subject.

A few days later, at the end of December, amidst external speculation of whether the United States would act, another shocking event happened worldwide.

——The Old Russians attacked Afghanistan.

Not only did they attack, but they also acted decisively, invading a foreign country and even occupying its capital.

The events of these two months left the world in a daze.

Many so-called experts around the globe started clamoring: the Third World War is about to break out.

As events unfolded as expected, Zhou Jiao couldn’t stop smiling all day, with melodies and tunes often on her lips.

"Jiao Jiao, it rose again."

Zhou Jiao squinted her eyes with joy, gesturing grandly, "Mom, just wait! Soon, I’ll take you to sweep up the Friendship Store."

"Alright, mom will help you find out more."

Miao Lishan, who was closely following her daughter’s investment in gold futures, started mingling with old friends in news agencies to get the first-hand information, despite usually avoiding social engagements.

Zhou Jiao understood her mother’s intentions, especially that her concern over gold’s rise was more about her daughter’s reputation.

Yet, she couldn’t tell her there’s no need to find out, as she already had a grasp of the situation.

As expected.

Since the Old Russians eagerly initiated the warfare, gold prices surged again, with unprecedented increase.

As the time crossed into the first New Year of the 1980s,

gold prices had risen to nearly 730 US dollars per ounce, nearly doubling from the price when Zhou Jiao started buying, continuously setting historical highs in gold prices.

Seeing it was nearing the historical peak of 850 US dollars, it was time to settle, and before notifying Miao Tianming, Zhou Jiao still had something to take care of.

That weekend, Zhang Guoqing called Yi Jiefang, Wan Dayong, Geng Dazhi, and Ding Datou, stating to meet at the old residence without fail.

Thus, the five old buddies gathered once again at the old residence, each carrying snacks and special supply liquor for a reunion.

Upon meeting, they didn’t rush into serious business and first indulged in a meal.

Having eaten their fill and quenched their thirst,

Yi Jiefang patted his stomach and looked at Zhang Guoqing, "So, what’s up? If you need us, just say the word."

After prolonged contact, this fellow from the South often blurted out with a Northern accent, causing his children to mix up the southern and northern pronunciations.

The other three nodded in agreement.

Zhang Guoqing laughed heartily.

Yi Jiefang spread his hands, glanced at everyone, and joked, "Look, he’s touched and turned dumb again."

Zhang Guoqing shot him a look and seriously said, "No more nonsense, gold has risen this much, and my wife wants to sell it. What do you guys think?"

Yi Jiefang blinked, puzzled, and replied, "What’s there to think about? Whatever my sister wants to do, let her do it. To be honest, we didn’t even expect to get that money back when we handed it over."

"What kind of talk is that? Who is my wife? Is she a pushover? If she doesn’t nibble a piece of capitalist meat, is she still a socialist successor?"

The four of them rolled their eyes at the arrogant Zhang Guoqing in sync.

"Hey, what’s that attitude?"

"Alright, your wife is great, and she’s badass all right?"

"This guy’s level has soared again." Wan Dayong nudged the other three, "What’s being henpecked? Bragging about it sometimes is the highest realm."

Ding Datou snorted with laughter, "You’re not much different, if your wife makes plain cabbage soup, you’d praise it to the skies."

As soon as he said this, everyone burst into laughter.

There you have it, birds of a feather, two of a kind!