Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 106 Pager

"A pager can only receive information; it cannot send information outwards." The store salesperson began explaining the details of using a pager to Yan Hui.

"Even the most advanced one won't work?" Yan Hui still hadn't figured out how to use a pager.

"That means it has a Chinese character display, which means it can display Chinese characters. But just like before, it can only receive, not send."

"Oh, let me take a closer look." Yan Hui examined it carefully.

All the pagers here come with a clip and a chain, just like my cousin's.

Each pager has a unique serial number. At Jianye, contacting the pager involves two methods.

Dial 996 + pager number to reach a human operator. The caller can leave a message here. The person initiating the call needs to call the human operator, leave a message, and then hang up. The human operator will send a code to the pager.

The person who receives the code simply finds a phone, calls the operator, says the code, and hears a message.

There is another mode that does not require a human operator. You dial 997 + the operator number, and the pager that is contacted will receive this phone number. Then you can call back.

The latter is simpler, but if the caller is using a landline, they'll have to wait. Those with mobile phones don't have this problem. They can simply dial 997 to contact someone, then go about their business and wait for the other person to call them back.

Simply put, after receiving a message, a pager usually needs to find a phone to call back.

After careful consideration, Yan Hui felt that the Han display was not very meaningful.

It's really meaningless to just pass on those few words unilaterally; Yan Hui isn't a subordinate like Brother Liu.

For someone like accountant Liu, who has to wait for the boss's orders at all times, sometimes it is indeed necessary for the boss to make things clear, and he can choose not to return the call.

However, Yan Hui wants to be his own boss, and he still needs to rely on the phone for communication. A pager with basic notification functions is sufficient; he'll still need a landline for the long term. Once he has the money, he can simply upgrade to a mobile phone.

After much deliberation, Yan Hui spent a little over a thousand yuan to buy a Bird pager, which was half the price of a Motorola.

After making the purchase, Yan Hui began filling out forms to apply for services from the operator. The store handled all the paperwork from start to finish; all he had to do was pay the fee, and Yan Hui chose to pay the monthly fee.

As Yan Hui filled out the form, his heart was pounding. The thought of being able to carry a pager around from now on made him feel like he had already reached the pinnacle of life!
After the start of the year, the price of pagers was reduced once, and many people came to buy them. Yan Hui even saw someone buy three at once, supposedly waiting for their value to appreciate.

This shop is located inside a large shopping mall, and people coming and going all seem to be looking this way. That's how it is with pager counters; anyone who dares to sit here must be someone with some skill.

Yan Hui filled out the form very carefully. At this moment, a man and a woman, who looked to be about the same age as him, came over and held hands.

"Xiaoyu, I told you I'd give you a pager for your birthday. You can choose one yourself, and I'll pay for it." The boy was wearing an Adidas tracksuit, and you could tell at a glance that his family was quite wealthy.

Yan Hui was startled by the words and quickly turned around to look. He realized that he didn't recognize either of the two people and then felt relieved.

"Pagers are too inconvenient and too conspicuous in our school. I can't accept this." The girl shook her head.

The girl was wearing a blue and white school uniform; it was unclear which high school she attended, but the clothes were very clean. She was very pretty, and the simple uniform looked like a designer brand on her.

“I have a pager, so I can contact you on weekends too,” the boy said, seemingly unconcerned about the money.

"Forget it, forget it. Once we both get into university this year, I'll ask my dad to buy me a phone." The girl pulled the boy away. "A phone?" The boy nodded, walking away. "That's true. If your dad won't buy you one, I will."

Yan Hui watched the person walk further and further away, feeling furious. "Damn it, what are you pretending for when you haven't bought anything?"
Although it doesn't look like bragging, it still makes me angry.
It's outrageous for high school students to be holding hands in public.

Yan Hui, who was initially agitated, calmed down immediately and cooperated with the shop staff to complete the formalities.

Yan Hui wrote down his pager number on a sticker, clipped the pager to his belt, and walked a few steps outside. Several people looked at his belt, and his confidence returned.

He first went to his cousin's shop, but found that his cousin was not there, so he left the shop door open and wandered around within a few dozen meters.

The shop didn't put a single penny in it, so as long as Yan Hui didn't go too far, he would be fine.

After looking around at several shops, someone came looking for me.

The visitor was a young man in his thirties, not very tall. He looked into the house and, finding no one there, began to look around.

Upon seeing this, Yan Hui quickly ran over and asked, "Hello, are you looking for someone?"

"Who are you? Who is the owner of this shop?" The man's accent was clearly from Putian.

Yan Hui doesn't speak Putian dialect, but since the distance isn't too far, he can understand it with difficulty.

"My brother? I don't know either. Have you called him?" Yan Hui asked.

"Oh, it's your brother. I called him, but he didn't answer." As soon as the man heard Yan Hui's accent, he knew that Yan Hui and his cousin were from the same place.

"Then tell me what's wrong."

"Okay, then tell him to call me when he gets back." The man said, handing over a business card.

"Okay." Yan Hui accepted the business card.

After the man left, Yan Hui took a quick look around and found that the business models of the entire market were basically the same.

After waiting for over an hour, no one came to talk, and his cousin still hadn't returned. Yan Hui roughly understood that if he wanted business here, he had to actively seek it out; waiting in the shop every day was indeed a bit difficult.

After looking around for a while, Yan Hui saw acquaintances like Brother Lü, as well as several Suzuki 50 trucks and a truck.

This is not a traditional Jiefang truck; it's even larger than a Jiefang truck. The words "STEYR91" are written on the lower right corner of the front of the truck. Yan Hui only recognizes English letters and has no idea what model it is.

However, with such a large vehicle sandwiched between flatbed trucks and small vans, it was indeed too conspicuous, and no one dared to block its way; they all gave way.

After a while, his cousin came back, and the first thing Yan Hui asked was about the car.

“Those are all cars belonging to a big boss. This car is called a Steyr. I heard it's an Austrian truck imported from Jinan. This thing is powerful!” My cousin exclaimed in amazement. Then he saw Yan Hui’s pager. “Great! Wearing this makes me feel much more energetic!”

"Hey, that's right!" Yan Hui's face lit up with joy upon hearing this.

(End of this chapter)