Reborn in 1981, starting by smashing my iron rice bowl.

Liu Weidong chuckled and said, "Manager Wang, I've shown you the money and the industrial invoices, so why do you think I'm joking?"

Manager Wang quickly said, "Comrade, what I mean is, are you really going to buy the Phoenix brand? It's several tens of yuan more expensive than other brands, you should think it through!"

In the 1980s, there was a hierarchy of contempt among bicycle owners.

Simply put, owners of branded cars within the province look down on owners of cars from other brands, owners of national branded cars look down on owners of branded cars within the province, and owners of nationally renowned branded cars look down on owners of nationally renowned branded cars.

The distinguished owners of Phoenix brand bicycles are undoubtedly at the top of the hierarchy of contempt.

At that time, there were three best bicycle brands in the country: Phoenix, Flying Pigeon, and Forever. Among them, the Phoenix brand bicycles produced in Shanghai were the most popular.

Back then, riding a Phoenix brand bicycle was like driving a luxury sports car in later generations – it was a matter of great prestige!

However, Phoenix brand bicycles are also the most expensive, costing more than thirty yuan more than ordinary brands. That's roughly equivalent to a month's salary for an average worker, no wonder Manager Wang reminded Liu Weidong of that.

However, for Liu Weidong now, a few dozen yuan is nothing. He smiled and said to Manager Wang, "It's alright, I'll just buy the Phoenix brand!"

Since Liu Weidong was so determined, Manager Wang didn't waste any words and quickly called another salesperson to issue Liu Weidong a receipt.

After Liu Weidong paid 185 yuan and an industrial ticket, he finally got his hands on a brand new Phoenix brand bicycle!

Many customers cast envious glances at Liu Weidong. This young man could afford such a nice car at such a young age; his family must be very well-off. They wondered if he was married yet, and wished they could introduce him to the daughters of their relatives and friends.

Liu Weidong didn't take the bicycle seriously at all. He just smiled and said to Manager Wang, "Manager Wang, my friend and I suffered such a great injustice in your store. Shouldn't we at least get some compensation?"

There have been many arguments between customers and sales staff in the past, but no one has ever made such a request before, so Manager Wang was quite surprised and said, "You want compensation too?"

Liu Weidong said matter-of-factly, "We are customers, not here to cause trouble. We have been wronged for no reason. Your shopping mall should at least offer some assistance, right?"

Manager Wang said helplessly, "What you said does seem to make some sense. What do you want?"

"I don't ask for much, just a bicycle raincoat will do." Liu Weidong laughed, "Don't worry, I'll definitely pay you, it's just that I don't have any industrial coupons on hand right now, could you make an exception?"

Raincoats are industrial products, and therefore require industrial ration coupons. Liu Weidong didn't want to waste his precious industrial ration coupons on a mere raincoat, so he took the opportunity to make this request.

Knowing that Liu Weidong only wanted to save on an industrial voucher, Manager Wang, who had expected him to make exorbitant demands, secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He still had that much power, so he immediately agreed.

Manager Wang quickly had a salesperson bring over the raincoat, and after taking the money, he personally escorted this troublesome guy out of the mall to prevent him from causing any more trouble.

"Thank you, Manager Wang." Liu Weidong smiled happily, "I've decided to be your friend, and I hope we'll have the opportunity to cooperate again in the future."

"Definitely, definitely!" Manager Wang agreed on the surface, but after seeing Liu Weidong and Hao Jianjun off, he muttered to himself with a bitter smile, "Finally got rid of this debt collector. Hopefully, we'll never see him again!"

However, Manager Wang has no idea that fate will soon bring the two together again.

"Phoenix brand, hey, Phoenix brand!" Hao Jianjun muttered to himself, looking at Liu Weidong's new bicycle with envy on his face.

This old, rattling bicycle, except for its bell, has always been Hao Jianjun's pride. After all, there aren't many bicycles in the whole village, and even if it's old and broken, it's still the envy of the young people in the village.

However, compared to the brand-new Phoenix bicycle next to it, Hao Jianjun's bicycle was nothing. The two bikes together were like a plucked chicken standing before a real phoenix—not even worthy to carry its shoes!

Liu Weidong got annoyed after a short while, pulled the brakes to stop, frowned and said, "You've been muttering to yourself the whole way, are you ever going to stop?"

"Phoenix brand, Phoenix brand, this bike is really awesome!" Hao Jianjun seemed to be bewitched, muttering to himself. He stared intently at Liu Weidong's bicycle, practically drooling.

"I can't stand you!" Liu Weidong shook his head helplessly, stepped off the road, and said, "Come on, let's switch!"

"Wh...what?!" Hao Jianjun was immediately surprised and stammered, "Brother Wei...Brother Weidong, you're not kidding, are you? You really...really let me ride this new bike?"

Liu Weidong frowned and said, "Stop talking nonsense. Just ride it when I tell you to, so you don't keep talking!"

Hao Jianjun immediately beamed and said, "Oh, Brother Weidong, you're so good to me, even better than my own father!"

"Don't talk nonsense, or Uncle Qiang will beat you to death!" Liu Weidong glared at Hao Jianjun and quickly switched cars with him.

"Oh dear, it's just the two of us here. As long as you don't tell, how will my dad know?" Hao Jianjun muttered as he rode his new bike, his face beaming with happiness. "Wow, as expected of a Phoenix brand bike, this feels so different, it's amazing!"

At this moment, Hao Jianjun felt that he had reached the peak of his life. Many pedestrians on the street looked at him with envious eyes. He was really proud!

"Stop talking nonsense and let's go. We still have to go to Gonggeng Village!" Unable to bear the sight of this guy's smug look, Liu Weidong left after saying this.

"Hey, hey, Brother Weidong, wait for me!" Hao Jianjun shouted, quickly catching up and asking, "Why aren't we roasting sunflower seeds and going to Gonggeng Village?"

"Just go when I tell you to, why all the nonsense? Remember, don't say anything careless when the time comes!" Liu Weidong reminded Hao Jianjun, and soon left the county town and arrived at Gonggeng Village.

Upon hearing that Comrade Liu from the machinery factory had come again, village chief Ma Yongxian rushed to the village committee to meet him.

Thanks to Liu Weidong this year, half of the raw melon seeds left by the village collective were easily sold, and each household received a few extra yuan.

Therefore, Ma Yongxian was very enthusiastic towards Liu Weidong, and said with a big smile, "Oh, Comrade Liu, welcome to our village!"

As they were talking, Ma Yongxian noticed the brand-new Phoenix bicycle and said with envy, "No wonder you're a city person working in a state-owned factory, only you can ride such a nice bicycle!"

"Village Chief Ma, you flatter me. No job is superior or inferior; we are all contributing to the country." Liu Weidong said politely, then turned to Ma Yongxian and said, "To be honest, our factory's employees are very satisfied with the sunflower seeds they received. Even other factories have seen this and want to get some of the same benefits. The factory leaders asked me to come and ask if our village has any more sunflower seeds to sell."

Liu Weidong had come to buy sunflower seeds again, and Ma Yongxian was immediately delighted, saying, "Yes, of course we have them. There are about 1,200 jin of sunflower seeds left in the village. How many do you want?"

Liu Weidong pretended to ponder for a moment, then said in a deep voice to Ma Yongxian, "I want them all!"