Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 507 Huai Guojiu

In his room at the Jinjiang Hotel, Chen Fan took his wicker suitcase, opened it, and put all his clothes on the bed. Once the suitcase was empty, he slowly started picking at something at the bottom.

Anquan came over to watch the commotion and asked, "What are you picking at?"

"Pick out the card."

As soon as Chen Fan finished speaking, he placed a small copper piece on the bed, then one after another, for a total of four.

Finally, use a copper plate to wed the gap in the bottom of the suitcase and gently pry it up.

As the wooden board was removed, the security guard's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "So much money?"

Chen Fan looked at the neatly arranged bundles of 50 banknotes and sighed softly, "A total of 5 yuan, all my life savings are here!"

He received over 20,000 yuan in royalties and over 20,000 yuan in bonuses, totaling just over 50,000 yuan. He didn't deposit this money in a bank; he kept it all at home. He brought it all with him this time, and even made a hidden compartment in his suitcase for it.

Hearing Chen Fan's words, An Quan couldn't hold back any longer, his eyes practically shooting out of their sockets. "If I remember correctly, you should have been penniless this time last year!"

You made 5 yuan in just one year, and you still say you're not a prodigy?!
Chen Fan tilted his head and thought for a moment, "That's not right. By this time, I had already sold a big pot of turtles and made more than 100 yuan, okay?"

Although I spent most of it that day and only had a little change left in my pocket, I wasn't penniless.

Anquan was slightly taken aback. "Didn't Lao Zhang say you only made a few dozen yuan?"

Chen Fan blinked. Had he let something slip?

He then took out money and casually changed the subject, saying, "Speaking of which, there aren't many big soft-shelled turtles this year, just small ones. When I get back, I must make a suggestion to Secretary Yang that we absolutely cannot continue to catch soft-shelled turtles without any bottom line. If necessary, we should build a pond to raise them, otherwise the soft-shelled turtles will be eaten to extinction in a few years."

Anquan shrugged. "Actually, it's fine. There are many places in the neighboring county that don't know how to cook soft-shelled turtle. They have plenty of soft-shelled turtles there. You can buy several big ones for one yuan. There's no worry about not having enough to eat."

Chen Fan looked up at him. "Is that even possible?"

So that's how the economy flows?

He took out the money he needed, then sealed the wooden board, inserted the copper plate back in, and put the clothes back in their place.

Anquan looked at the suitcase, which was almost big enough to fit a person, and suddenly said, "You didn't take enough. 3 yuan is only enough to buy a house. You still need to buy furniture."

Chen Fan put the 30 bundles of banknotes into the canvas bag, slung the bag over his shoulder, patted his chest, and said, "It's okay, I still have some change here, enough to buy furniture."

Upon hearing this, An Quan fell into deep thought.

How much furniture would you need for a three-story building?

Moreover, anything worthy of this house must be high-end; even buying it from a secondhand store would cost a considerable amount of money.

So he was carrying a few hundred or a few thousand yuan in "cash"?
Looking at his bulky cotton coat, Anquan really couldn't make a guess.

Chen Fan put his suitcase down, stood up and said, "Let's go. It would be best if we could finish the formalities today, buy the furniture back, and then we can check out tomorrow."

As he spoke, he glanced around the room, shook his head, and said with a sigh, "Eight yuan a day, that's enough to buy a house in a year, it's too expensive!"

Safety,"……"

……

The procedures were completed quickly. Since the owner had signed a power of attorney, and under the guidance of Officer Wang, paid 30,000 yuan, the local street office housing management office completed all the procedures in just half an hour, and Chen Fan became the new owner of this villa.

After leaving the neighborhood office, Officer Wang led them to a secondhand store.

Chen Fan stood at the store entrance, looking left and right, and finally exclaimed, "Wow, it's huge!"

If it's a regular shopping mall, there are many bigger ones than this. For example, the No. 1 Department Store I visited just a few days ago is much larger than this.

For a secondhand store, an operating area of ​​over 1,000 square meters is quite considerable.

The largest secondhand store in the Yunhu area is less than 500 square meters, and most of the space is empty, with only a small portion occupied by display cases. Unlike here, the entire store is packed with people, and you can't help but want many of the items inside.

Anquan stood next to him, looking quite smug, and said while smoking, "This is the 'State-Owned Trade Trust Company Secondhand Store,' also known as 'Huaiguo Old' because it's on Huaihai Road. The store covers an area of ​​over 1,000 square meters, and there are no restrictions on the scope of business. As long as it's secondhand, including clothing, watches, shoes, hats, high-end tableware, musical instruments, furniture, and so on, you can find it all here."

He suddenly changed his tune, saying, "And besides used goods, we also have new goods here, all of which are brand new and don't require coupons."

Chen Fan turned to look at him, somewhat puzzled. "New goods without a ticket?"

Wang, the clerk next to him, said with a smile, "Actually, these are export products produced by manufacturers. The ones that can't be sold are sold domestically. Since they're not in the production plan, they're put here to be sold as secondhand goods. But the quantity and the number of times are not many, it depends on luck."

There's another point I haven't mentioned: if you happen to find a rare, in-demand item in limited quantities, it won't even reach the counter. It'll be snapped up "along the way," and ordinary consumers will hardly have a chance to see it.

Chen Fan suddenly realized that these were leftover export orders.

I wonder if we'll run into each other today.

What intrigued him even more was that, besides agricultural products, mineral raw materials, and oil, what else could be exported these days?

It should be noted that since 76, the policy of "invigorating the domestic economy and opening up to the outside world" has been implemented. Since then, the export volume has increased year by year, but he was completely clueless about what kinds of products were available.

After all, he didn't study foreign trade, so it's normal that he didn't know.

Anquan added, "Besides export goods that are now being sold domestically, there are also many defective products from local factories that are being disposed of as secondhand goods."

Chen Fan didn't react much; he wouldn't buy defective products anyway.

After finishing his cigarette, Officer Wang led them into the shop.

As soon as we entered the store, Officer Wang said, "Take a look around first, buy whatever you want, I'll go find someone, and then we'll meet up over there. If you need anything else, I'll take you to the warehouse."

Chen Fan looked at the direction he was pointing and saw that it was an empty space in the corner, so he nodded and said, "I understand."

He then pulled out two packs of cigarettes and stuffed them into Officer Wang's hand, laughing, "Don't misunderstand, this is for that friend's help. I can't let you suffer a loss when I ask someone for help."

Officer Wang smiled, didn't refuse, took the cigarette, and left.

Chen Fan then strolled around with An Quan.

As the security guard said, this place is truly diverse; you can find all sorts of things here.

But that's not the point. What really pleased him was seeing so many signs in the store that said "enthusiastic service."

(The interior of the former Huai Kingdom, with enthusiastic introduction)
Chen Fan stood still and, taking advantage of his height, looked around. Compared to the crowded watch and electronics counters, the musical instrument counters were much less crowded, so he walked over there.

Anquan followed beside him and asked curiously, "What musical instrument do you want to buy?"

Chen Fan shrugged. "That depends on what instruments he plays."

Safety? "So arrogant?"

Chen Fan approached the musical instrument counter and saw that there were quite a few instruments inside, including those from ancient and modern times, both Chinese and foreign.

Just then, an older man was hunched over and peering inside. "Excuse me, sir, could you tell me about that accordion?" The sales clerk remained seated, "Sure, it's 8% new, 120."

The older man was satisfied. "Thank you, please issue the invoice. I'll take this."

The sales clerk then twisted her body to stand up and lazily pulled out the receipt book to issue an invoice.

There are no "flying orders" as rumored. There are people here who are responsible for selling goods and collecting money. You can directly place an order, pay, and take the goods at the counter.

The older man walked away happily with his accordion in his arms. The accordion was 8% new, but it only cost 120 yuan. He got a great deal!
Perhaps it was because Chen Fan was tall, or perhaps it was because he was handsome, but when the saleswoman looked up, she saw Chen Fan's face and her eyes lit up immediately. She greeted him, "Young man, what kind of musical instrument are you looking to buy?"

Although Chen Fan didn't look at her, he automatically responded to her voice and turned around with a smile, "Big sister, is there a grand piano here?"

The saleswoman nodded and smiled, "We're the largest secondhand market in Huaiguo, even in Asia. How could we not have pianos? Not only do we have them, we have several."

She pointed to the back of the house and smiled, "The best thing is a Steinway three-legged piano imported from the United States inside. It's too big to take out, but the style is very nice. It's estimated to be 8% new, and the sound is also good. The price is 220 yuan. Do you want it?"

Chen Fan nodded repeatedly, "Yes."

As for inspection, there's no need for that at all. There's no such thing as passing off inferior goods as superior ones these days. If it's a defective product, it will be clearly stated. There's no room for bargaining here either. Since that's the case, we should just be straightforward.

Seeing Chen Fan's straightforwardness, the saleswoman clapped her hands with delight, "Oh my, he didn't even check the goods, he's such a straightforward person."

He immediately called for help, saying, "Come here, bring out that piano we took back the day before yesterday."

Chen Fan blinked, thinking that it would be fine to carry it out first and put it in the corner, and deal with it together later.

Then he looked around and suddenly noticed something.

What about safety?
I immediately turned around to look, but unfortunately there were too many people, and they were all bundled up tightly in the middle of winter, so I couldn't see anyone at all.

At this moment, another salesperson said, "Are you looking for your colleague? I saw him go to the daily necessities section. A batch of defective products arrived today. Someone was shouting over there just now, and he heard it and ran over. I guess he's grabbing the goods in the crowd right now."

Chen Fan could only twitch his lips and curse inwardly for being so greedy and forgetting his friends.

Forget it, I'll just have to rely on myself.

随后在大姐的热情介绍下，陈凡又花80块买了一架小提琴、花60买了一架手风琴、10块钱一把红得发紫的二胡、50块钱的古琴、55块钱的古筝、30块钱的吉他……

Basically, Western musical instruments are all imported, while traditional Chinese musical instruments are all domestically produced.

Actually, those Western musical instruments are quite old, but they are well-maintained and look brand new inside and out. Otherwise, where would all these imported musical instruments come from these days?!

Although there are many people visiting Huaiguo Old Town, most of them are just there to "join the fun" and "find a bargain". Some people will run around more than ten times with a small notebook in order to find the "lowest price" for a bicycle. In comparison, how many people have seen a big spender like Chen Fan who "spends a lot of money"?

When they finally saw one, they were all stunned and stopped buying anything, just gathered around to watch the spectacle.

Seeing this, Chen Fan had no choice but to give up the idea of ​​continuing to shop. He asked the salesperson to pack all the items together with the piano before going to find other things.

The counters were packed with people, so he could only move around between the containers.

(The interior of the former Huai Kingdom, with many people)

Fortunately, thanks to my height advantage, I can see what's inside the counter even if I'm standing behind the crowd.

No watch, but a clock? I'd like one.

Hmm, let's put another wall clock on the second floor.

Huh, they sell radios too?
Chen Fan squeezed into the crowd, looked around at the "high-end appliances," hesitated for a while, but still didn't make a purchase. He decided to wait a while; there would be more fashionable dual-cassette recorders available then, and there was no need to waste money on this now.

I kept wandering around, and after going in circles for most of the time, I finally found a furniture store.

Chen Fan spent a long time browsing through the items, and finally only picked out a Ming Dynasty rosewood long table, which could be used as a display table or a desk, priced at 60 yuan.

He really wanted to ask if they had the complete set of this mahogany console table, but unfortunately the salesperson was a man, so his charm failed him. He could only wait for the results from Manager Wang.

Finally, they returned to the agreed-upon corner, where the musical instruments they had bought earlier were already placed, ready to be loaded onto a truck and transported away at any time.

Chen Fan squatted in front of the piano, and not long after, he saw An Quan carrying a very large cardboard box and moving it towards him.

Anquan was already covered in sweat. When he finally saw Chen Fan, he cried out for help, "Hurry up and help me, I can't move it anymore!"

Chen Fan stepped forward to help him move the cardboard box to the ground. When he saw what was inside, he was stunned and turned to look at him. "You bought a new house, and you moved all this junk in?"

"What junk? These are all good stuff!"

Anquan was indignant. "I even bought one for you too, otherwise just getting the ration coupons for all this stuff would have been a real hassle."

As she spoke, she waved her hand and said, "Didn't that saleswoman who sold musical instruments like you a lot? Go ask her for a cardboard box, and we can split it."

Chen Fan glanced at him with a dark expression. "Since you're going to stay at my place before you move, why don't you go back and split the rent then?"

Safety patted his head and said, "That makes sense."

He then squatted down and excitedly counted them. "Look, this is a brand new stainless steel lunchbox, even better than an aluminum one. It's just that the corners are a little dented, but I'll tap it and it'll be as good as new."

He lowered his voice and chuckled as if he had found a treasure, "It only costs 50 cents. If you go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy a new one, it will cost 1.5 yuan and you will need a coupon. Do you think it's a good deal?"

Chen Fan was slightly taken aback. "So cheap?"

He looked down at the contents of the cardboard box. "That's definitely a good deal."

He then squatted down and started rummaging through the pile.

"Absolutely," Anquan said smugly. "The pricing of defective goods here is regulated. They're usually priced at one-third of the price of new goods, and you don't need a receipt. Every time a shipment arrives, it's a mad rush. If I hadn't been quick-witted just now, I might not have been able to snag one!"

Chen Fan gave him a perfunctory thumbs-up and rummaged through the contents to see what was inside.

There were all sorts of pots and pans, including four bright red phoenix enamel basins and two enamel spittoons with the same pattern...

Looking at the spittoon, Chen Fan couldn't help but fall into deep thought. "Old An, my house has three toilets, why are you buying me a spittoon?"

Anquan was stunned for a moment, then looked up at him. "Oh right, my house is also going to have a toilet installed. Why do we need to buy a spittoon?"

He grabbed four spittoons with both hands, his brow furrowed deeply. "Can I return them?"

Chen Fan shrugged. "Oh well, at worst I can use it as a trash can. It's not like it's completely useless."

Anquan chuckled dryly, tossed the spittoon aside, and pointed to a pile of things in the box, saying, "Look at the rest, they're all useful."

At this awkward moment, Officer Wang finally walked over with a man in his thirties.

Anquan quickly tugged at Chen Fan, "Come on, let's go pick out some furniture for you."

(End of this chapter)