Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 313 Do you believe me?
The group settled into their motorcycles, and the rider turned to look at Chen Fan, asking, "Where are we going now?"

Chen Fan thought for a moment, "Since we're here at the cotton mill, why don't we go check out the cotton mill's retail store?"

As the largest textile enterprise in the Yunhu area, their stores must have a lot of good fabrics, right?
Zhang Juemin and Zhang Wenliang looked at him strangely, and were about to speak when the rider in front gave him a thumbs up and nodded repeatedly, "Good choice, I wouldn't have thought of it if you hadn't told me."

Zhang Wenliang immediately asked, "Are there any special considerations for the cotton mill's retail outlets?"

The rider turned around and said to them, "I don't care about the finer things, but I do care about the less-than-fine ones."

The Zhang brothers were a bit confused and didn't understand what he meant.

Chen Fan, however, seemed thoughtful. "You mean, they'll take the 'defective products' to the retail store to sell?"

He recalled that state-owned factories usually had their own retail outlets. After the liberalization of the plan, these outlets became one of the factories' important sales channels, and a large amount of goods were sold through this direct retail method every year.

In addition to the regular products, there is another type of product with an "even longer history" in these stores: "defective products" or "second-class products" produced during the production process.

Even under a planned economy, there were quality requirements for the products that were to be delivered. If there were too many defective products, the factory leaders had to take responsibility.

However, no factory can achieve a 100% pass rate. Those "defective products" are not accepted by the superiors and are left for the factory to handle itself.

Factories generally handle this in two ways. The first and most common way is to give employees "welfare items".

However, factories that produce consumer goods can handle this directly, while companies that don't produce direct consumer goods have to find their own ways to absorb it.

This leads to another approach, namely, the company's dedicated retail outlets that sell "unplanned" products.

The so-called "unplanned" products are not the kind of products outside the planned tasks of the 80s, but rather products produced in quantities exceeding the planned quantity by means of "waste materials" added in batches by superiors based on the task volume, and by the factory's own efforts to obtain more raw materials during the execution of production tasks.

The rider just said there are no fancy things, only things that are "unpretentious." Does that mean those things that are "unpretentious" are "defective products"?

Sure enough, the rider smiled and nodded, "Yes."

He paused for a moment, then explained, "In addition to the initial spinning workshop, the cotton mill later established textile companies and dyeing and finishing companies, so in addition to cotton yarn, their products also include various fabrics."

Compared to other companies, they also have more substandard products. On the one hand, they use substandard cotton yarn and coarse cloth woven with old machines. This kind of cloth has many small bumps and feels very uncomfortable to the touch. If sold as normal products, no one would buy it.

On the other hand, there are the normal defective products produced by textile companies. These products are of better quality, and some may just be dyed badly, which does not affect their use at all.

These two factors combined result in a higher number of defective products. Defective products will appear as soon as the machines are turned on, which is why the store always has no shortage of these 'unrefined' fabrics for sale.

He turned to look at the three of them and said with a smile, "If your requirements aren't that high, you can go to the cotton mill's retail store. This kind of fabric doesn't require cloth coupons, and the price is lower than normal fabric."

Zhang Juemin immediately said, "Don't want cloth coupons? Then what are you waiting for! Go, go, go!"

Zhang Wenliang nodded quickly, "Let's go now. It's almost noon, and if we go any later, all the good fabrics will be sold out."

As for Chen Fan's opinion, there's no need to ask; going to the cotton mill's retail store was something he just suggested.

The rider immediately started the motorcycle and sputtered off.

We turned around at the next intersection and drove straight along the main road. In less than five minutes, we stopped in front of a large bungalow with eight storefronts.

Chen Fan looked up, but his first glance wasn't at the huge "Yunhu Cotton Mill Storefront" sign. Instead, he looked at a road sign on the side of the road and muttered, "Factory North Road?"

If he remembered correctly, Jiang Lili's home was here, and he had even called the convenience store at the entrance of her alley to look for Jiang Tiantian.

Upon hearing his voice, the rider turned off the engine and removed the key, saying, "Yes, this is Changbei Road, meaning the road north of the cotton mill."

He then pointed to the other side of the road, saying, "That's the staff dormitory area of ​​the cotton mill. There are dozens of rows and hundreds of dormitories in this area, housing thousands of people. Almost half of the cotton mill's staff live here."

Then he pointed to the back of the store, "There is a dormitory area behind there, but it is for cadres. They are all two-story buildings, very impressive. There are few units in the whole region that can compare to them."

Chen Fan got out of the sidecar and smiled naturally, "Really? That's pretty impressive."

He then walked towards the store.

At that time, no one was buying anything in the store; they were the only customers.

However, the four sales clerks behind the counter didn't even glance at them, continuing to talk to themselves.

Chen Fan glanced at it casually and unexpectedly spotted a familiar face.

Isn't this Sister Liu?

He had changed his clothes, was wearing a white textile worker's hat, and had a strong smell of iodine on his body, clearly indicating that he had been to a clinic for treatment.

He saw the person, but didn't take it seriously. This person had never seen him before, so what was there to worry about?

Without being called upon, Zhang Juemin and Zhang Wenliang went to look at the fabrics on their own, while Chen Fan slowly examined them with his hands in his pockets.

This store is not small; each small cubicle is over 20 square meters, and all eight large rooms have been opened up, totaling nearly 8 square meters, not much different from the Xinhua Bookstore we just visited.

However, there were only a few products on the counter: cotton yarn, spun thread, sewing thread, coarse cloth, and fine cloth.

Then it was gone.

There were few varieties, but a large quantity. And just as the rider had said, there were no "careful" ones, only "unrefined" ones.

For example, sewing thread, the kind used to thread a needle, is wrapped around a large spool of thread and placed on the ground in front of a sewing machine. It can last a long time, and garment factories use this kind of thread to sew clothes. People who have sewing machines at home also use it frequently.

This kind of thread must be of uniform thickness to pass smoothly through the eye of the needle. However, the sewing thread here has many knots of varying sizes that are visible to the naked eye. It's okay with a large needle, but with a small needle, you'd probably have to use a section, cut it off, and then rejoin it, which would be incredibly annoying.

There was also coarse cloth. This coarse cloth was not much wider than the homespun cloth woven by the rural commune members themselves on a loom. The homespun cloth was only about 70 or 80 centimeters wide, while this coarse cloth was slightly wider, exactly one meter. I don't know what kind of machine it was made of.

The last piece of fine cloth, however, looked even and well-organized, and seemed to be of good quality. But upon closer inspection, one could see that the colors were uneven, indicating a problem with the dyeing and finishing process.

Such products are probably not wanted by most people in the city who are slightly particular about their appearance. Only people who are short of money or who lack fabric in the countryside would not mind.

There are quite a few people in the city who buy this kind of fabric, but it can only be used to make clothes that are worn underneath, so that outsiders can't tell the difference. But why use such good fabric for clothes worn underneath?

Zhang Juemin looked at it carefully, then glanced at the price tag on the counter. Fine cloth was 35 cents a foot, and he was immediately tempted.

35 cents per foot is the price of the most common cotton cloth. Fine blended cloth like this usually costs around 50 cents. Moreover, this is finely woven industrial cloth, with a width of 1.4 or 1.5 meters, which means that for the same length, it takes twice as much cloth as homespun cloth.

At this price, it's almost the same price as homespun cloth. How could you not be tempted!
After whispering a few words to Zhang Wenliang, Zhang Juemin walked up to the sales clerks who were still chatting and politely asked, "Comrade, do you need a coupon for the cloth here?"

The woman, Sister Liu, turned around impatiently and said, "No."

Then she continued rambling on, "I've had the worst luck of my life today. That rat scratched me several times. If I hadn't dodged quickly, my ear would have been bitten off. I've suffered a huge loss. Old Li has to give me an explanation for this."

Zhang Juemin stood there speechlessly. "Comrade, I want to buy cloth."

Sister Liu turned her head and said, "Buying fabric is no big deal, you keep talking about it, it's like you're bewitching me."

A younger man standing nearby couldn't stand it any longer and quickly came over, gesturing to Zhang Juemin, "Old comrade, what kind of cloth do you want?"

Zhang Juemin almost fainted. "I'm only in my 30s, not even 40 yet. Am I that old?"

However, since the other party was polite, he couldn't get angry and could only follow along sullenly.

Chen Fan also stood in front of the fabric counter, wondering if he should buy some fabric.

The problem is that these ruined fabrics are truly heartbreaking to look at.

How did it get ruined?
While he was having some doubts, he kept his ears perked up, listening to Sister Liu arguing with someone.

"I only suffered this because I was running errands for Old Li. If he dares not to pay me back, I'll go find Deputy Director Li. Hmph, so what if he's a leader? I'm a poor peasant from eight generations ago, why would I be afraid of him?"

Someone nearby advised, "Why bother, Sister Liu? It's been said since ancient times that the common people can't fight against officials. Even if you're not afraid of him, there's no need to offend him."

"So all this suffering was for nothing? Let me tell you, it's not that simple. And that brat, if she hadn't been so stubborn, would I be suffering like this today? No way, I'm not letting her get away with this..."

Chen Fan frowned slightly, then quickly straightened his brow, casually selecting fabric while continuing to listen to the situation on the other end.

Finally, a cotton-silk blend fabric was chosen. The color was a yellow that had been dyed badly, somewhat resembling khaki in later times. Although it was a bit uneven, it should be usable if it was cut, or it could be made directly into underwear, undershirts, or even lining.

This fabric is soft and breathable, and is considered a high-end fabric. Even the inferior version is not cheap, costing 5 cents per foot.

Chen Fan silently calculated that making a set of adult clothes would require about 7 feet of fabric, with slight variations depending on body size. At 50 cents per foot, it would cost 3.5 yuan per person.

It's alright, acceptable.

He then stepped forward and said to the salesperson, "Comrade, could you please get me 50 feet of that kind of fabric?"

The sales clerk had been secretly watching Chen Fan the whole time; she had never seen such a handsome and energetic young man before. When Chen Fan came over and said he wanted to buy fabric, she was startled and smiled at him, "50 feet? You're not mistaken?" Chen Fan didn't say much, just took out his money, counted out 25 yuan and put it on the counter, smiling, "Look, I've already taken out my money, so it can't be wrong."

His three companions watched him together, and Zhang Juemin muttered, "Here we go again!"

Zhang Wenliang gasped and whispered to his elder brother, "That's why we can't let him go out shopping."

They each bought 6 feet of cloth, intending to make a set of clothes, but Chen Fan, on the other hand, immediately asked for 50 feet. How many clothes could that make?

Seeing that Chen Fan was serious, the sales clerk was very happy and immediately said with a smile, "Okay, but you should put the money away first. I'll write you a receipt, and you can go over there to pay and give the money to the cashier. I'll get the fabric for you right away."

She said she would fill out a form first, tear off the form and hand it to Chen Fan, then take down the only piece of cotton-silk blended fabric from the display case behind her, pick up a ruler from the counter and measure it foot by foot.

Chen Fan took the receipt to the cashier to pay, glancing at Sister Liu who was still rambling on and on, ignoring the other two who were clearly getting impatient.

When one of them saw Chen Fan coming over, he quickly ran over to collect the money, issue a receipt, and handed it back to him.

Chen Fan did not deliberately delay or eavesdrop on the news.

There's no need to eavesdrop at all; just standing in this store, you can hear Sister Liu's shouting even from the corner.

One minute she's demanding compensation from Lao Li, the next she's saying she's going to cause trouble for Jiang Tiantian.

It's that old Li and his dad live separately again. My house and old Li's house are in the same alley. I'm going to go find him tonight...

Chen Fan remained outwardly calm as he watched the sales clerk measure his fabric.

As they continued measuring, not only did Chen Fan notice something amiss, but even Zhang Juemin and Zhang Wenliang developed feelings of jealousy.

Is this quantity available?

She measured and yielded a little at a time. It was supposed to be 50 feet in total, and she yielded 50 times. That's probably an extra two feet.
Does being handsome mean you can do whatever you want?

What happened next made their eyes widen in fury.

When the saleswoman finished measuring, she saw that there was only a little bit left. She simply pulled out the wooden board, rolled up the cloth again, and said, "It's fine as long as there's a little bit left. It saves me the trouble of cutting it."

Zhang Wenliang stood there, staring blankly, muttering, "Is that just a little bit? It's at least two feet!"

Zhang Juemin gritted his teeth, "That's four feet in total, and two yuan!"

Even the rider shook his head and smiled wryly, silently taking out a cigarette.

It turns out that being good-looking really can be a meal ticket.

The sales clerk deftly rolled up the fabric again, folded it once more, tied it with a thin strip of cloth, placed it on the counter, and pushed it towards Chen Fan, saying, "Comrade, your fabric is ready."

Chen Fan held the cloth bag in his hand, casually handed over two White Rabbit candies and placed them on the counter, saying with a smile, "Your craftsmanship is excellent, please have a candy."

The saleswoman unwrapped the candy, put it in her mouth, and kept smiling foolishly as she watched Chen Fan's retreating figure. Beside her, Sister Liu continued her incessant nagging.

Once outside, Zhang Juemin and Zhang Wenliang both sighed in unison, their hearts filled with a thousand words, yet they didn't know where to begin.

Chen Fan ignored them, quickly walked to the motorcycle, put the cloth in the sidecar, looked around, and whispered, "Master, where's the nearest public restroom?"

The driver immediately pointed to the back of the store, "It's inside the cotton mill."

He paused for a moment, then hesitated, "But it's not easy to get into the factory area."

Chen Fan pointed to the opposite side, "There should be some over in the dormitory area."

The driver immediately nodded, "There must be one there, I'll take you there."

He then got on the motorcycle.

Chen Fan quickly waved his hand, "No need, no need, I can go by myself."

After saying that, he took off running, quickly crossed the road, and disappeared into the alleyways of the dormitory area.

When he returned, he saw the same scene again.

The three men squatted together on the curb, smoking, their eyes filled with melancholy.

Zhang Wenliang: "The dormitory area is too big, are you lost again?"

Zhang Juemin said, "It's been more than half an hour. If you don't come back soon, we'll have to go and search every toilet one by one."

The driver didn't seem particularly emotional, but simply asked, "Mr. Chen, where are we going next?"

Chen Fan adopted a relaxed posture and waved his hand, "Put everything else aside and buy you the 'Self-Study Series on Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry' first."

The driver was deeply moved and quickly stood up, saying, "No need, no need, just go ahead. Anyway, my home is right here, I can go anytime."

Chen Fan thought for a moment and then smiled, "Well then, do you know where the secondhand shop is?"

In big cities, they're more formal and call it a "trust store," but in Yunhu, sorry, it's just called a secondhand store—take it or leave it.

The driver immediately laughed and said, "Of course I know. Some people can't get tickets, so they go to secondhand stores to buy things. They have radios, watches, bicycles, sewing machines, and other big items. And that place isn't far from our health department, it's in the old town, so if you don't have anything else to do, it's very convenient to go back after you've finished browsing the secondhand stores."

The so-called old city area refers to the main urban area of ​​Yunhu City before the founding of the People's Republic of China. In contrast, the "new city area" gradually developed in the late 50s. Many enterprises and institutions, including cotton mills, were located in this area, which was a place that everyone envied.

Decades later, this place will become Yunhu's "shantytown," an object of everyone's disgust.

Chen Fan laughed and said, "That's perfect. The Central Bookstore is also in the old town, right? Let's go to the Central Bookstore to buy you some books first, then go to the secondhand store, and then go back to the guesthouse."

This time, the driver didn't refuse, nodding and smiling, "Perfect, we can finish the race in that direction."

Then everyone got on the motorcycle, which sputtered and sputtered as it headed back.

We got off at the Central Bookstore first, and the driver successfully bought the only set of "Self-Study Series on Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry".

I never expected that even the Central Bookstore only kept one set. I guess other Xinhua bookstores either don't have any or only have one set.

Thinking of this possibility, Chen Fan silently lamented for the educated youth in Yunhu.

You probably can't keep up with the students from Lujiawan!
After leaving the central bookstore, drive a short distance forward and turn a corner, and you'll find the secondhand store.

Chen Fan took the lead and went in, followed closely by the driver and Zhang Wenliang. As for Zhang Juemin, he cautiously stayed on the motorcycle to guard the items.

The characteristic of "small cities" is that the stores are large but the products are few.

This secondhand shop is no exception; with a business area of ​​nearly 500 square meters, less than one-fifth of the space is actually used for displaying items.

There's only one counter at the back; the rest is an open area. Bicycles and sewing machines of varying ages are placed on the open ground outside the counter, along with furniture of all sizes, neatly arranged in categories.

However, the quantity is rather pitiful, and the variety is also limited.

Chen Fan simply walked around the furniture once before giving up the idea of ​​finding a bargain.

The best wood is only camphor wood, is there any point in picking it up?
Could it be that all the rosewood, golden nanmu, and other precious woods are in the trust stores in the capital?
With a soft sigh, Chen Fan went back to look at the sewing machine and the bicycle.

There weren't many of these items, but compared to furniture, they were quite good. After careful selection, I chose a bicycle and a sewing machine, spending a total of 150 yuan. Considering the price of new items, it was a steal.

Zhang Wenliang was puzzled and pulled Chen Fan aside to ask in a low voice, "You have a horse, why do you need a bicycle? And a sewing machine, can you make clothes?"

Chen Fan answered in a low voice, "The sewing machine is for my own use. I really know how to make clothes. The bicycle is for our Captain Yang. You don't know, he's been hoping for a bicycle for more than ten years. Unfortunately, he had enough money but no ration coupon. That bicycle, which is about 80% new, looks pretty good. I'll take it back to him. He'll definitely want it."

Zhang Wenliang was a little conflicted, "What if he doesn't want it?"

Chen Fan shrugged. "Then I'll just keep it for myself. I'll ride a horse one day and a bicycle the next, alternating between the two."

Zhang Wenliang pursed his lips and suddenly asked, "No, how much money do you actually have on you?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Fan suddenly realized what was happening.

Oh right, I just built a house and I'm currently in debt, so I can't be too extravagant.

He shook his head regretfully, "Sigh, after buying the bicycle and sewing machine, all my savings, including the money I got in advance for the business trip, are gone. I'm really penniless now!"

I was silently comforting myself, thinking that there weren't any good watches here anyway, so I could try again next time.

Zhang Wenliang simply looked at him quietly, "Do you think I believe you?"

(End of this chapter)