The First Volume of Natural Beauty Chapter 18: A Night of Snow in a Small Building (Part 1)

  At the beginning of the new year, everything was bustling. The town government had already started formal work on the eighth day of the first month. On the fifteenth day of the first month, which was also the Lantern Festival, Tang Yi received a call from his mother in the office at noon. His mother, Xiao Jinhua's voice was very excited, and her first sentence was: "Little Yi, come, Mom wants to give you a kiss!" Then there was a "smacking" sound on the phone, probably because she was kissing the receiver.

  Tang Yi was startled, what's wrong with his mom? He had never seen her so flustered in the past.

  "Xiao Yi, mom believes your true faith is not wrong, haha, made money, and mom accidentally sent a pen war fortune." Tang Yi looked at the calendar on the wall, "February 29th", just yesterday the Gulf War was announced to be over, after the United Nations army bombed Iraq for thirty-eight days, it only took four days to end the ground battle, the elite Iraqi Republican Guard had no power to fight back, stunning all military analysts at that time.

  "I didn't think the war would end so quickly, haha, my old mom has been shorting oil futures all along, and this time she's made a killing!" Xiao Jinhua's voice was exceptionally excited, Tang Yi smiled, at that time not many people in the country truly understood futures, but by the 21st century, even if you didn't play stocks or futures, you would still have some general understanding of it.

  Going short, also known as selling short, because futures are not spot transactions, you can sell short and buy short. In other words, even if you don't have the goods in your hands, you can still sign a contract with someone to sell the goods at a high price, and then buy back the goods when the price falls to close the position, which is called selling short.

  The Iraq War broke out, and oil prices soared. Everyone knew that when the war ended, the price of oil would fall. Everyone knew it was best to buy on dips before the war ended, but buying futures contracts meant having to close positions when they expired. How long would this ground battle last? If it dragged on for a long time, you'd lose money just from closing positions every time. Who could have predicted that the ground war would end in just four days? To be sure, before this war, some Eastern scholars even thought this was going to be another Vietnam War, with the US paying a terrible price in ground fighting and possibly withdrawing due to heavy casualties and domestic pressure.

  Four days ended the battle, only afraid that Tang Yi believed, and also half-believed, half-doubted Xue Jin Hua, who believed in his son for the sake of believing.

  When the US announced the end of the Gulf War on January 28, oil prices plummeted by more than $20. To put this into perspective, oil prices were only around $10-15 per barrel at the time, and had risen to over $30 during the war, resulting in a profit of nearly 200% for those who short sold.

  "Mom, how much money did you make?" Tang Yi knew that his mother's trading company was small, even if she really believed in herself and put all the funds into the futures market, she wouldn't have made a lot of money.

  "Haha, earned this much......" Xiao Jinhua smiled complacently, and only after stretching out his hand did he realize that his son was not in front of him. He coughed and drew out his voice to say: "One... hundred... million!"

  Tang Yile's eyes widened slightly, "One million? Some doubtfully asked: 'US dollars?'"

  Xiao Jinhua smiled and said, "Of course, Mom had mortgaged the company beforehand, betting on your vision. If we lose the company, it proves that your vision is shallow. How can I trust myself to run a business outside if I have to return home to take care of you? Just like what Dad said! But unexpectedly, you really have a good plan!" Xiao Jinhua laughed heartily, while Tang Yi felt warmth in her heart, not expecting her mom to think this way, which was probably another clever move.

  "Mom, today is the 15th, I thought you were thinking of me and called!" Tang Yi suddenly complained, trying to ease the palpitations in his heart.

  "Fifteen? Ah, it's really fifteen, I was so busy that I forgot, Xiao Yi you don't know, those few white employees under me looked at me with eyes as if I had a problem in my brain, but after yesterday, they all looked at me with worshipful expressions, haha, old mom has truly held her head high for once." Xiaojin Hua's thoughts were jumping around fiercely, obviously still not calm from the excitement.

  "By the way, I've sent you some money. You can buy whatever you like and consider it this year's New Year's gift." Xiao Jinhua paused for a moment before continuing: "I've sent the money to Beijing, so Old Master should be able to take care of it soon." At that time, international personal remittances were not very convenient, Western Union had just started cooperating with the postal service after its separation from telecommunications, and even in Yanqing City, there was no Western Union outlet, so Xiao Jinhua could only send the money to Beijing and then have it transferred to Tang Yi's account.

  Before hanging up the phone, Tang Yi roughly discussed the situation in the Soviet Union with Xiao Jinhua. Although Tang Yi had also vaguely heard that the US's Vanta plan was the mastermind behind the collapse of the Soviet economy, first, there were many rumors and no definitive conclusion. Second, he couldn't appear to be omniscient in front of his mother, so Tang Yi didn't say much about these things either.

  However, Tang Yi clearly knew that after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the ruble had a significant devaluation. In the first quarter after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the decline reached 900%. Later, when issuing new rubles, it seemed that one new ruble was exchanged for 1,000 old rubles, but in fact, according to the exchange rate of US dollars and new and old rubles, the old ruble had fallen by 14,000 times.

  So Tang Yiyu jokingly said that if the Soviet Union were to dissolve, the ruble would definitely depreciate greatly. If they could get high-interest financing in the Soviet Union now, or obtain a large loan from the Soviet State Bank, and use the rubles on hand to purchase materials, privatization certificates of the Soviet Union, or even directly exchange them for US dollars, then when the Soviet Union dissolves and the ruble plummets, they would definitely make a huge profit. He also joked that if Old Master was willing to put in a good word for his mother in front of his old friends in the Soviet Union, they could borrow a huge sum of money, and this war fortune would be nothing compared to it.

  Of course, Tang Yi finally smiled and said: "Look at me, this is almost like a fool's dream, as if the Soviet Union really wants to dissolve, mom don't laugh at me."

  Xiao Jinhua didn't smile, her voice gradually lowered: "Xiao Yi, Mom is not by your side, you have to take care of yourself, don't spend all day thinking about politics, don't...don't get too tired..."

  Tang Yi nodded vigorously, saying in a low voice: "Ma... Happy Lantern Festival..." Wanting to say something more, but feeling his nose turn sour, he couldn't speak anymore... The phone fell into a slightly melancholic silence on both ends.

  In the afternoon, Tang Yi received another call, unexpectedly from Qi Jie's younger brother Qi Jun. He carefully mentioned on the phone that today was Yuanxiao Festival and they would have dinner together as a family tonight. He said his parents were repeatedly urging his sister to get married, and tonight they might invite men introduced by others to meet with his sister. Tang Yi laughed and said, "That's a good thing! Your sister should also find a boyfriend!"

  Although Tang Yi hung up the phone, he couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable. However, work was keeping him busy and he didn't have time to dwell on it, so before long, he had put the matter out of his mind.

  ……

  On a winter day, the northern region gets dark especially early. When Tang Yi came out of the bank, it was not yet six o'clock, and the night had already fallen. The streets were filled with lights, and the colorful lanterns shone brightly, making the entire city of Yanshan look like a dreamy and beautiful place. In comparison, the moon in the sky seemed dull and dim. The streets were crowded with people, and folks from all over the countryside came to the city to have fun and admire the lights. The Lantern Festival in Yanshan started on the 15th and lasted for half a month. Today was the last day, the 30th of the first lunar month, and many people who had not had a chance to see the lanterns before also rushed into the city on this final day.

  After wandering around the street for a while, Tang Yi unknowingly arrived at Longjing Restaurant. The sign outside the restaurant read "Closed Today". Inside the small restaurant was warm and cozy, with misty glass separating it from the outside. Tang Yi saw several people sitting at a round table inside, including Qi Jie, who looked stunning. Besides Qi Jun, whom he knew, there were two elderly people, presumably Qi Jie's parents. There was also a spirited young man wearing a black leather jacket, looking sharp and full of energy.

  Suddenly remembered Qijun's phone call that day, this little guy is the object arranged by Qi Jie's parents for her, right?

  Tang Yi furrowed his brow, stood silently for a moment, gazing at the smiling Qi Jie inside, smiled slightly, and turned to walk into the crowd.

  Watched a video at the Workers' Club, and only found out when checking in that the guesthouse was fully booked. Tang Yi let out a wry smile - it seemed like he was having a streak of bad luck, even drinking water could get stuck in his teeth. Was he going to have to spend the night on the streets? At that time, the government guesthouse in Yan Shan wasn't too bad an environment, but those small, miscellaneous hotels were not somewhere Tang Yi wanted to stay - it was almost better to just wander around the streets for a night instead.

  Look, it's already past nine o'clock, the street lights are flashing, and there are fewer and fewer tourists. Tang Yi stood beside the lamp box in front of the iron gate of the reception building, sighing, really can't do anything but find a cleaner hotel.

  "Tang... Tang Yi? How are you here?" The woman's clear and charming voice was very familiar, no need to turn around, Tang Yi knew who it was. He let out a sigh in his heart, the county town was indeed small, just stepping out for a moment could lead to an encounter like this.

  Turning back, Qijie was walking towards me with a surprised look on her face, wearing a black leather coat today, with black silk stockings tightly wrapped around her slender legs, and exquisite black leather boots, adding a few more mature and charming touches to her already sweet appearance.

  Tang Yi never easily revealed his emotions, and smiled: "Why are you watching the lanterns alone?"

  Qijie walked up to Tang Yi's side, warmly linking her arm with his, and scolded: "Then who can I go with? Besides, it's been so long since we've seen each other! You come to the county town without even visiting your sister!"

  Her slender body was warm and cozy, which helped drive away some of the chill. Tang Yi looked her up and down, smiling: "You're dressed really nicely today, how come? Did you dress up on purpose?"

  "Hey, sister, when was I not beautiful? You just didn't notice... Hmm? I think your words are a bit off!"

  Tang Yi scratched his head and scolded himself for being useless. Why did he have to speak in such a sour tone?

  "Heh heh, jealous? Qi Jie sized up Tang Yi's expression and suddenly let out a giggle, "What? You know someone is introducing me to a potential partner? Don't want me to get married?"

  She laughed a few times, seeing that Tang Yi's expression was not right, and quickly restrained her smile. She leaned in close to Tang Yi's ear and whispered: "Don't worry, I'm getting rid of him... This guy is annoying, always using my parents' name to find me at this small restaurant!"

  The words were ambiguous, and Tang Yi's heart was suddenly filled with laughter. What was she to him anyway? Why did it feel so strange?

  Qijie blinked her charming eyes and asked: "Hey, what are you doing standing here alone like an idiot?"

  Tang Yi smiled wryly and said, "Bad luck? The guest house is fully booked, I was just about to find a small inn to spend the night."

  "Impossible! The small inn is too dirty." After thinking for a moment, she smiled and said: "Or, come to my place and make do for one night?"

  Tang Yi hesitated, but Qijie didn't care whether he agreed or not. She pulled him by the arm in the direction of a small restaurant and said: "What's the point of standing around? It's freezing outside, and the lights aren't anything new or interesting to look at. Let's just hurry back home and warm up!"

  The small restaurant was a two-story building rented by Qijie, with several empty rooms on the second floor used as storage rooms. Qijie also lived and ate at the restaurant, and her bedroom was in the westernmost room, tidy and elegant, with cosmetics lined up on the dresser, a purple bedspread on the double bed, and a table lamp casting a soft pink glow, accompanied by a faint scent of perfume, giving off a somewhat romantic atmosphere.

  Tang Yi pushed open a storage room, looked at the messy things inside, and brought them along, frowning: "How can I sleep like this?"

  Qijie smiled and said, "Who told you to sleep here? You're sleeping in my room." Tang Yi was taken aback and stuttered, "I, I'm not used to living with others..." After finishing speaking, he almost gave himself a big slap on the face. What kind of thing was he saying? Why did he become like an idiot in front of her?

  Qijie ate and laughed: "Who slept in the same room with you? You look so beautiful! I'll go downstairs to set up a bed, Xiaoling doesn't come home sometimes, so I bought a spring bed and put it in the storage room, didn't you see?"

  Tang Yi's old face turned red and he hastily said: "I'll go downstairs and sleep on a makeshift bed instead."

  "That won't do, there's only electric heating downstairs, the doors and windows are not tight, the wind is howling, it's freezing cold in the early morning, you're delicate and tender, how can you stand it?"

  Tang Yi couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time, was this the tone of someone trying to persuade herself to stay in her room?

  "It's settled then, you take a bath and get some rest early, aren't you taking the 6 o'clock train tomorrow?" Qijie said as she introduced him to the layout of the second floor. Right next to her room was the bathroom, equipped with an electric water heater for showering. Tang Yi smiled: "Why no bathtub? I haven't had a relaxing soak in ages." This was true, Tang Yi still missed life in the 21st century. Qijie rolled her eyes at him: "Wait till you buy one for me, see if this place is big enough to fit it?"

  In the town, after all, it's a public bathhouse. Tang Yi hadn't felt this comfortable washing up before. Looking at the hot water rinsing off his well-defined muscles, Tang Yi smiled to himself, seemingly reborn with a more robust body and vigorous energy that was almost intimidating. He had once written reports for an entire night, and the next day he was still spirited and refreshed, without any feeling of fatigue.

  Applying "Lishi" shower gel all over his body, Tang Yi felt a bit strange. These were Qijie's personal toiletries, right? He took another look around the bathroom, and in this narrow white space, Qijie washed up every day? A seductive image of a woman bathing appeared in Tang Yi's mind, and he quickly shook his head to dispel the distracting thoughts.

  Rinsing off the shower gel, Tang Yi struck a few poses in front of the steamed-up mirror, before slowly drying himself with a towel. On the washbasin, a brand new toothbrush had been squeezed with toothpaste and placed neatly next to the cup. Tang Yi's heart warmed up, Qi Jie was indeed meticulous, he must have helped him prepare it when he cleaned the bathroom earlier. At that time, he had wondered if there was something going on that he couldn't see, as someone had been bustling around in there for a while.

  Just after brushing his teeth and spitting out the water in his mouth, the light bulb in the bathroom suddenly flickered a few times before going out, plunging the small room into total darkness. Tang Yi hastily shouted: "Hey, stop messing around! Can't see anything!" Only then did he realize that outside the bathroom window, the entire county town had fallen into an eerie and silent darkness, and the street lamps and neon lights were gradually extinguished.

  How could the power be cut off in the first month, and it was also the closing day of the Lantern Festival. Tang Yi shook his head, reached out to feel for a towel, but accidentally touched a soft pile of clothes. Suddenly, with a "pa" sound, something fell to the ground. Tang Yi suddenly remembered that these were his own underwear, which he had taken off and placed on top of the washing machine next to the sink.

  "Ah!" she exclaimed, squatting down to feel around. The ground was wet and soggy, her underwear was completely soaked through. Just then, Qijie shouted from outside, "What's going on? I haven't even called out yet, it's just a power outage, what's there to be afraid of?"

  Tang Yi stroked the damp underwear in his hand, a bitter smile on his face. This was what they meant by "when it rains, it pours" - not only did he have a leaky roof, but also a broken boat that encountered a headwind. Today, he was truly out of luck.

  "Hey, I told you to hurry up and come out after washing. I'll just wash my face, brush my teeth, and quickly lie down while it's still a bit warm. If we wait any longer, the downstairs will be freezing!"

  Tang Yi was so embarrassed, hesitated for a long time, he couldn't stay here until his clothes were dry, right? He stuttered: "I say Qi, Qi Jie, do you have any spare underwear at home? I, I accidentally got my underwear dirty..."

  "Huh?" Qijie exclaimed, then burst out laughing: "Hey, I'm telling you, are you intentionally taking advantage of me? Where do I have men's underwear? Or should I wear your underwear instead?"

  "Never mind!"

  "Alright, let's do it this way. I'll make the bed and then go downstairs. You quickly get under the covers, and I'll come back to air out your clothes." After a while, Qijie had an idea, and Tang Yi thought about it too, and could only agree that this was the best solution.

  After waiting for a while, I finally heard Qijie's high-heeled shoes clattering as she walked downstairs, chuckling to herself: "Hey, hurry up, or else I'll come back upstairs and you'll be the one who misses out, don't blame me if that happens."

  Tang Yi ignored her teasing, and upon hearing the sound of her footsteps getting closer to downstairs, he hastily opened the door, took a few swift steps into Qijie's room, lifted up the quilt, slipped inside, and then used his hands and feet to smooth out the soft quilt before loudly shouting: "Alright! You can come up now!"

  This time Qijie didn't enter the house to tease him, listening to the rustling sounds in the bathroom, it should be Qijie helping him tidy up his clothes.

  The quilt was light and warm, a goose down double bed, the bed was a soft Simmons mattress. It seemed that she was quite good at enjoying life. Tang Yi had been lying on the hard board bed in the town government dormitory for more than a month, and it was rare to enjoy the small capitalist lifestyle of the past.

  The quilt was fragrant, it was the scent on Qijie's body. Tang Yiguang lay down, smelling the faint fragrance by his pillow, and couldn't help but have a wandering mind. In the bedroom, a candle was lit on the dresser, its soft light bringing people a hint of nostalgia.

  "Hey, the clothes are all hung out to dry, they should be dry by tomorrow morning. You go to bed early, I'm going too!" Qi Jie's figure appeared at the bedroom door, her face full of smiles as she looked at Tang Yi.

  Tang Yi felt increasingly uneasy under her gaze, as if she could see his bare body under the quilt.

  "Then I'll go down." Qijie smiled and prepared to go downstairs. Tang Yi nodded slightly, but suddenly remembered something: "Qijie, isn't the power out? Can we use the electric heater?"

  "Nonsense, can you use it or not? You still have a bit of conscience, knowing to think of me. But don't worry, just one night, and it'll be over." Qi Jie smiled indifferently.

  Not to mention the electric heating fan, now the radiator on the second floor is also gradually cooling down. The whole city has lost power, there are no blowers, and the boiler can't be lit at all. Tang Yi also feels that the indoor temperature is dropping bit by bit, and he can't help but frown: "I think this head of the power supply bureau doesn't want to do his job! Isn't this a big mistake on the last day of the Lantern Festival, isn't it a smear on the county committee?"

  Qijie smiled and said: "Alright, alright, save these for when you're at the meeting again, no need to bother this ordinary person like me with them."

  Tang Yi was speechless, but who made himself unreasonable now? It's not good today, there's nowhere to go, and his clothes got wet. He even couldn't open his mouth to ask her to switch places, this anger had to be swallowed.

  "Get up and get dressed, otherwise neither of us will be able to sleep, stuck in this room all night..."

  "What's it to you, anyway?" Qijie gave him a withering look and turned to clomp downstairs.

  The faint sweet scent lingered in Tang Yi's nostrils, making him toss and turn with insomnia for the first time. It was as if he had been placed in a seductive woman's bed, and that strange feeling refused to dissipate. With a "whoosh", the candle flame flickered a few times before gradually extinguishing itself, plunging everything into darkness. Outside the window, the full moon shone brightly like water, casting a faint glow on the bedhead. As his eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, every object in the room became visible under the moonlight, adding an air of mystery and beauty.

  Tang Yi didn't know how many times he had turned over, and in a daze, he heard the faint sound of footsteps coming from downstairs, slowly reaching the second floor. The door creaked open, and a cold wind blew in, followed by a black shadow that flashed inside. Tang Yi was startled, and when he looked closely, under the moonlight, Qi Jie's face was slightly pale. Her hands were clasped together in front of her chest, rubbing them while exhaling, apparently unable to withstand the cold.

  Tang Yi couldn't help but burst out laughing: "What? Didn't I tell you to stay in this room? You had to go and suffer instead."

  Qijie slammed the wooden door of the bedroom shut with force, her whole body still trembling. Tang Yiqi said: "Is it that cold?" Qijie was wearing quite a lot, and had even draped a black leather jacket over her shoulders.

  Qijie said in a bad mood: "I only have this quilt, and I don't like to cover Xiaoling's quilt, so you wear your clothes and lie down on the first floor for a while!"

  The heating had long since gone cold, and although the bedroom was warmer than downstairs, it wasn't much better. Qijie paced back and forth, trying to shake off the chill, when suddenly she let out a loud cry: "Forget it! Being embarrassed is better than freezing to death!" With that, she took off her black leather coat and tossed it onto the dresser, then rushed over to the bed, kicked off her woolen slippers, and in one swift motion, lifted up the quilt and dove under the covers.

  Tang Yi was startled and almost jumped up, fortunately the double quilt was wide enough, Qiao Jie occupied less than half of it, and pressed a quilt between them, saying: "Don't worry, I won't touch you! Let's get through the night like this, it won't ruin your chastity!"

  Tang Yi smiled wryly and said: "I'm afraid of ruining your reputation."