Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 689 Buy Something
After finishing their business, Zhou Zhengdong picked up his briefcase and left. In his words, he had met many people during the negotiations a few days ago, and he wanted to strike while the iron was hot and maintain good relationships, as they might come in handy in the future.

Regular interaction is essential for building strong relationships and ensuring that resources are readily available. Last-minute cramming is not the way to build good relationships.

However, it won't affect tomorrow's schedule.

The three have decided to leave for Shanghai tomorrow, partly to look at houses, and partly to establish connections in Shanghai in preparation for setting up an office.

As for the office in Beijing, the location has already been decided. It's in the four-story building next door, which combines office and accommodation, making it extremely convenient.

At this moment, Zhou Yali took the key and, accompanied by Liu Juan and Ma Lan, took the two little monkeys and the dog Xiao Hei to check out the surroundings.

Although it's Dad's office, who knows, maybe one day she'll open a company in mainland China, and she can put it here then. Anyway, Dad has more than enough space in such a big house.

If all goes well, the offices in Beijing and Shanghai will be open after the Spring Festival.

These offices differ from businesses; they don't require approval to set up. You just need to hire a few people to act as employees and register with the relevant authorities—it's somewhat like a "registration system."

After the three of them left, Chen Fan sat for a while, picked up the phone, and dialed a long-distance number.

He then put down the microphone and waited while smoking and drinking tea.

The radio next to them was playing the news.

The main topic these past few days has been the meetings. Almost every day, key information has been released, some of which is new, and some of which was previously widely rumored and has now been confirmed.

In short, there is currently an atmosphere in society that is poised for change, yet also hesitant and timid, while carrying a sense of hopeful anticipation.

This can be roughly divided into two types. People with regular jobs, or those in relatively good circumstances, especially those with side businesses in cooperatives, all adopt a calm and collected attitude, observing the situation regardless of external changes.

This is somewhat similar to the original Yunhu.

Without Chen Fan as a variable, Yunhu area would have been among the worst performers in every social change over the next 20 years.

For example, Guanghan in Sichuan announced the dissolution of the people's communes in 1980, while Nanhu Commune was not dissolved until 84, which was roughly the time when the last batch of communes were dissolved.

It can only be said to be the last batch, not the last one. Because decades later, there was still a commune, namely Zhoujiazhuang Township in Jinzhou, Shijiazhuang. It had always been a large collective model, and the commune members were still paid work points for their labor, and I heard they did a pretty good job.

Then came the investment promotion boom of the 90s, but Yunhu missed the boat. It wasn't until the state-owned and collective enterprises in the city and county were on the verge of collapse that Yunhu finally embarked on the path of attracting investment.

After that, things naturally became much less efficient; they shouted loudly, but few companies actually showed up.

Even if they do come, most of them get ripped off badly, with no shortage of demands or bribes.

It wasn't until after the new millennium that many locals who had gone out to work or do business returned to their hometowns to set up factories, the business environment improved significantly, and with the rise of the real estate market, large companies from other places exchanged investment for land, that the so-called economic development zones began to show some promise.

Yes, and there's also part-time work.

The major social trends of the late 1980s, such as "going to sea to go to the islands" and the early 1990s, such as "going south to work" and "speculators", did not affect most people in Yunhu.

It wasn't until the mid-1990s that a small number of those who had gone out returned with money, and the vast majority of people, upon seeing this, finally woke up from their dream and began their belated journey of working.

Therefore, sometimes abundant natural resources are not necessarily a good thing. When one is free from worries about food and clothing, it is easy to foster a complacent mentality. On the contrary, difficult conditions can inspire more fighting spirit.

The second reaction besides observing the changing circumstances is to "take a desperate gamble."

Those who are unemployed, or even unable to find work at a street-level tea stall, have no choice but to find ways to make a living on their own.

Either a group of people with no background or experience get together and mess around, and after a few years they all end up in jail, or they try every means to find sources of goods to set up stalls and fight guerrilla warfare across the country.

At that time, a term that has existed since the Ming and Qing dynasties will become popular again: "street vending".

The term "street vending" inherently carries a hint of mockery and banter, emphasizing a carefree attitude; wherever a person goes, they simply drop their belongings on the ground, and the stall is open for business.

The first truly self-employed individuals emerged from among them. These street vendors, struggling to make a living from all corners of the country, formed the cornerstone of the development of China's private economy.

Chen Fan leaned back in his chair, thinking about what the future might hold. A moment later, the phone next to him suddenly rang.

He snapped out of his daze, threw away the cigarette butt, picked up the microphone, and put it to his ear. "Hello."

"I'm Qi Yong. Are you Writer Chen?"

Chen Fan immediately smiled and said, "Captain Qi, hello, it's me. It's been a long time. How are you doing?"

He just called Qi Yong, the deputy captain of the Liaoning hunting team. He was the one who led the team when he went to FAW to hunt tigers.

Two days ago, Chen Fan promised Zhou Zhengdong that he would prepare some medicinal herbs for him to make medicinal wine. Since he also wanted to make something for himself, he thought of going directly to the hunting team to get the first-hand source of the goods. Not only would the price be lower, but he could also prepare it himself, which was better than trying his luck at the pharmacy.

Phone calls aren't cheap, so after a few brief pleasantries, Chen Fan asked, "Captain Qi, has the team made any progress lately?"

Qi Yong laughed and said, "There's definitely been a good haul. What's up, are you looking to buy something?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "I can't hide it from Captain Qi. I want a few tiger bones, preferably patellae, as well as deer antlers, ginseng,..."

After listing a string of medicinal herbs, Chen Fan added, "Also, if you have any large hides, you can bring some. Small ones are unnecessary; we don't need them. We only need the large ones, tiger skins, bear skins, anything will do."

Qi Yong listened and took notes. When Chen Fan finished speaking, he looked at the half-page and looked somewhat troubled. "Writer Chen, since you've come to me, I'll definitely do whatever I can for you."

However, the things you need are not only numerous in variety, but also in large quantities. Our hunting team doesn't have that much stock, so we'll have to go to the provincial import and export company, but they need to earn foreign exchange..."

As he spoke, Qi Yong himself felt embarrassed, and gritted his teeth, "Well, let me think of a way..."

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Fan laughed and said, "It's alright, it's alright. I know about foreign exchange. Here's what we'll do: foreign exchange is no problem. Can you ask the import and export company if they can ship the goods directly to me? I can send the foreign exchange payment first."

Qi Yong was a little confused, "You have foreign exchange?"

Chen Fan laughed and said, "I definitely don't have any. Even if I could earn foreign exchange, the dollars wouldn't end up in my hands. But I have a relative in the United States, and he's the one who wants most of these things, so he'll naturally pay for them."

Upon hearing this, Qi Yong couldn't help but laugh and say, "Oh, I see. Then it's alright. Don't worry, as soon as you receive the money, I'll arrange to ship the goods to you immediately."

Autumn is the peak hunting season. Before the heavy snow, hunting teams from various provinces frequently go into the mountains. In addition, the preparation of the food takes a lot of time. As a result, the provincial import and export company has the most abundant supply of goods right now. If it were any earlier, the warehouse wouldn't have so much stock, and if it were a few days later, these goods would be shipped to Hong Kong and sold all over the world through domestic trading companies in Hong Kong.

Chen Fan had timed it perfectly, which is why he made the call at this moment. Captain Qi and his team would also be going back into the mountains, making it much harder to find them again.

Qi Yong then gave Chen Fan the payment method and wrote down the delivery address before hanging up the phone.

Looking at the time, it's around 3 PM now. Jiang Lili and Jiang Tiantian are definitely not home. I'll have to call them again tonight.

However, nighttime is peak time for long-distance calls, especially international calls. In the long-distance telephone exchange building in Beijing, the lights are on almost every night. Hopefully, things will go smoothly.

Chen Fan stretched and decided to take advantage of the remaining time to buy some antiques.

I had originally planned to buy some antiques, but then I met Mr. Huo and then painted murals for the Taoist temple. By the time I finally finished all that work, Zhou Zhengdong and the others had also finished their meeting, so it's been delayed until now.

As I picked up my car keys to leave, I ran into Zhou Yali and the other two returning home.

Seeing the keys in Chen Fan's hand, Zhou Yali's eyes widened. "Where are you going to sneak off to?"

Chen Fan's face fell. "I just went out to buy some things, why are you making it sound like I'm doing something wrong?"

Zhou Yali raised an eyebrow slightly, "What are you buying? I want to go too."

Chen Fan didn't care, "Then let's all go."

Half an hour later, Zhou Yali stared wide-eyed at the shop sign and asked in a low voice, "Is this what you meant by buying something?"

Liu Juan and Ma Lan also looked through the shop window with curiosity. So this is what an antique shop looks like?

(Interior view of the antique shop)
Chen Fan hummed twice and laughed, "Antiques are still things, you know. Last time you even bought a prince's mansion on the side."

Zhou Yali blinked and turned to look at him. "Brother, are you buying this for the Prince's mansion?"

He clapped his hands as he spoke, "Ancient buildings deserve antiques, how wonderful!"

Chen Fan glanced at her and said, "You're overthinking it. If you want it, buy it yourself. I bought this for studying and collecting."

Zhou Yali's eyes flickered slightly. "At worst, I'll pay, and I'll pay for yours too."

Hmph, I'll put it on the tab after I pay, and then deduct it from my brother's account when I get back!

Chen Fan snapped his fingers. "Leave it to me!"

As he said this, he was about to walk in.

Then they were stopped.

The sales clerk was quite polite. "Sir, you must be from out of town. This is an antique shop, a foreign exchange earning unit, and we only serve foreign guests. If you're interested in antiques, you might want to check out Liulichang."

This is Wangfujing. This shop is the Wangfujing Antique Shop, which was introduced by Manager Hou of Rongbaozhai. It is said to be the largest antique shop in Beijing.

Chen Fan was somewhat surprised, "Aren't antique shops the same?"

The sales clerk chuckled, "What you're saying is true. Of course, there will be differences depending on the type of guests you're serving. Think about it, this is a place for receiving foreign guests. If we were to also serve domestic people, and something like what happened at Wangfujing and Dongfeng Market in 72 were to happen again, who could bear the responsibility?!"

72 years?
Zhou Yali blinked and asked softly, "What's up, bro?"

Chen Fan said "Uh," and replied, "I don't know."

At this moment, Liu Juan leaned in and said, "I know, I know."

The sales clerk was about to explain when she saw that someone in the group knew the answer, so she stopped talking and stood smiling at the door, like a Buddha.

Some people might ask, why are the staff at places that cater to foreigners so good-tempered?
The reason, of course, is that it has been screened.

In the past, there have been many cases of foreign guests complaining about poor service. Some people have set rules for staff in places that cater to foreigners. But others have said, why should we use so many messy rules to restrain our own people? Are foreigners superior?
Whether it was high or not was another matter. At that time, the service standards in China were indeed hard to define, and it was difficult to set rules. So some leaders came up with a solution: they specially selected a group of people with good tempers and transferred them to foreign-related venues.

Surprisingly, this method worked quickly.

These selected employees are not only obedient and strictly abide by service regulations, but they also greet their own people with smiles, which is completely different from the service staff in ordinary units.

After that, the number of conflicts dropped sharply, and this method was quickly adopted.

If this were in the past, not even two or three years ago, someone like Chen Fan who just barged in would have been lucky if they hadn't called security to drive him away, let alone patiently explain things. You're overthinking it!

Liu Juan briefly explained, "That year, a Romanian tour group visited. They split into several groups and went to several places. Some went to the Forbidden City, some went to the Summer Palace, and others went to Dongfeng Market and Wangfujing."

Then, in Dongfeng Market and Wangfujing, there were many of our own people, some of whom mistook them for Soviet revisionists and tried to stop them and argue with them.

Nothing serious happened afterward, but I heard that from then on, any foreign visitors had to be accompanied by one of our own people.

Chen Fan blinked, feeling a little incredulous.

Wangfujing Department Store needs no introduction. Dongfeng Market is actually Dong'an Market, which was the most popular market in Beijing back then. Before Wangfujing Department Store was built, it was considered the commercial center of Beijing.

So, in a place like this, foreigners are stopping people and wanting to debate?
Doesn't that sound a bit surreal?
Shaking his head, Chen Fan came to his senses. Regardless of whether it was magical or not, he decided to solve the problem at hand first.

Without saying a word, he gestured to Zhou Yali, "Passport."

Zhou Yali realized, "Oh right, I am a foreign guest!"
He immediately took out his passport from his bag and handed it to Chen Fan.

Chen Fan held it in his hand, waved it at the salesperson, and said with a smile, "This is an American friend, and the rest of us are her companions. She came to buy antiques today, and she will pay in US dollars."

The sales clerk glanced at the passport, confirmed it was in order, chuckled, stepped aside to clear the doorway, and gestured, "Please come in, everyone!"

(End of this chapter)