Volume 4: The World of Great Conflict Chapter 0510 Knives and Knives from New York
The next day, Nan Yi and Ye Qi met at the door of the Friendship Store. Ye Qi took out the foreign exchange coupons from his pocket and waved them, and the two walked in together.
The doorman at the store door didn't care or ask any questions.
Today, the Friendship Store is no longer exclusive to foreign guests. Theoretically, anyone can walk in as long as they hold foreign exchange coupons. All customers who use foreign exchange coupons to shop are welcome here.
Starting from September 1980, a short commentary titled "The sign 'For foreign guests and overseas Chinese only' should be taken down" was published in the Beijing Daily. Later, some Chinese people received some foreign exchange coupons from their relatives and friends overseas, or sold their foreign exchange to the country and received a certain amount of foreign exchange coupons in return.
In this context, Friendship Stores were gradually opened to the general public with restrictions, and foreign exchange coupons became a special pass for people to enter "Friendship".
This is the official statement. In fact, according to what Nan Yi has learned, it is because foreigners have stayed in China for a long time and have a thorough understanding of the consumption standards here.
In addition, you can always encounter Chinese people who secretly try to exchange foreign currency with them in shops, hotels and restaurants. In the beginning, they exchanged currency at a price slightly higher than the official rate, but now they directly exchange currency at a rate.
Foreigners with RMB in their hands naturally know where to spend RMB, and the holders of foreign exchange coupons have changed invisibly.
You see, the foreign exchange coupons are concentrated in the hands of Chinese people. If they are not used for shopping, the foreign exchange coupons will not circulate. Then what is the point of printing this thing?
Just last month, in June, the Friendship Store also launched "night market tickets", which are open to Chinese people at fixed times in the evening with tickets.
The night market coupons are about the same size as food coupons. They are yellow pieces of paper with the words "night market coupons" printed on them. Like foreign exchange coupons, they have now become hot commodities in the hands of scalpers.
Bragging also needs to have substance. If you brag to your friends: "I watched the NBA last night, and Manchester United's Beckham's three-pointer was so damn cool..."
How embarrassing it would be to brag about this.
Whether they wanted to see something new at the Friendship Store or to accumulate bragging capital for themselves, they would make up their minds, spend some money, get a coupon from a scalper, and go to the Friendship Store to have a look. They would be so excited that they couldn't sleep all night, and the next day, with bloodshot eyes, they would brag to whoever they met in class.
If you accidentally blow too much, people will take out their savings of several years to buy a washing machine, refrigerator or something... Oh my god, I'm at a loss!
In fact, by this year, more than 70% of the sales of Friendship Stores began to be contributed by Chinese people, because Chinese people either buy large electrical appliances or go to the tobacco and alcohol counters to "purchase goods".
Among the speculators nowadays, apart from those who speculate in approval documents, those who speculate in cigarettes are the ones who make the most money.
"I'm going to the tobacco and alcohol counter, what about you?" After entering the Friendship Store, Ye Yi turned and asked Nan Yi.
"I'll go look around the craft counter and see if there's anything for sale."
"You are not sick, are you? You came here just to buy a scratcher."
"What's it to you? I have plenty of money to burn." Nan Yi spat and walked towards the handicraft counter.
The day before yesterday, Liu Zhen accidentally dropped a Hetian jade scratcher on the ground. Without this thing, Nan Yi's sleep was affected. No matter what time it was, as soon as Liu Zhen felt itchy on her back, she would call Nan Yi to help her scratch it.
Yesterday, Ye Wei mentioned coming to the Friendship Store, so Nan Yi thought about coming over to look around and see if he could find something similar.
Liu Zhen was used to using Hetian jade, so Nan Yi couldn't just dismiss her with one made of bamboo.
Nan Yi looked at several counters before he saw an object that looked like a tickler. Judging from the material, it should be carved from ivory, and the patterns on it were very delicate. After a while of looking, Nan Yi finally realized that the object carved on it should be a water phoenix [jacana].
"It's strange. Why carve a water phoenix when there are so many other options? Not many people know about this thing."
Nan Yi muttered to himself, and then said to the salesperson, "Miss, please take out this ivory scratcher and let me have a look."
Speak the human language to people and speak ghost language to ghosts. Speaking Cantonese at the Friendship Store can save you some trouble.
"Sir, this is not a tickler, it's an ivory pipe." The salesperson replied, first took out a mat and spread it on the glass of the counter, then took out the ivory pipe and placed it on it.
Nan Yi leaned over and looked at it for a while, then picked up the pad and looked at it carefully in his hand.
"Miss, how much is it?"
"Two hundred and seventy dollars."
"It's not expensive, it's not expensive, please pack it for me, I'll buy it."
After putting the money on the counter, Nan Yi waited for the salesperson to issue the receipt. He checked the product name and the seal, and only kept the receipt after confirming that they were correct.
Nan Yi must keep this receipt carefully. Without it, this ivory pipe will turn into yellow mud in your crotch if you can't keep it in order in a few years.
After buying the things, Nan Yi was too lazy to go shopping anymore, so he walked out of the Friendship Store directly and found a seat at the door to wait for Ye Qi to come out.
Nan Yi leaned his back against the wall and looked around. He saw a Toyota sedan without a license plate on the road, moving forward in a jerky and frog-like motion.
Looking at the big red flowers tied on the rearview mirrors on both sides of the car's hood (not next to the windows), Nan Yi thought that this car should be newly purchased, but he didn't know which private car it was in the country.
So far, private individuals in the country do not have the right to purchase cars. If they want to buy a car, they have to apply for it, and it is impossible for "ordinary people" to get approval.
Just in March of this year, a peasant woman who raised chickens and sold eggs in the Beiqiji Commune in Beijing was specially approved to buy a car because of her outstanding performance in selling tens of thousands of kilograms of fresh eggs to the state. She became the first farmer in the country to own a car.
This incident caused quite a stir, and was reported by both the Mouthpiece and the Associated Press.
The car in front of me is decorated with red and colorful decorations, so I guess it can be put on the table and talked about, but I don’t know if it belongs to a private person.
"What are you looking at?"
Ye Qi was holding a box of Maotai in his hand, and there were three packs of foreign cigarettes on the box.
"I'm looking at cars. See? It's a new Toyota. It only costs a few thousand dollars after all the paperwork is done. How about getting one?"
"Get one? This is a car, not a piece of paper. If you want to get one, just do it. I'm not that showy. Hurry up, the sun is shining brightly, and it will burn you soon."
Nan Yi thought for a moment and said, "Can you drive?"
"Yes, of course I would. I drove the Liberation Army when I was in the army."
"Okay then, I won't take you to Qinghe. Just follow me and I'll drive the whole car for you."
"Nan Batian, you are not teasing my buddies by making them cough, are you?" Ye Qing couldn't help but ask.
"It's not like I'm giving it to you as a gift. I'm just letting you drive it first. When Qinghe International Company is registered, the company will also have to provide a car, and you can drive it then."
"That's great, my buddy also got a car."
Nan Yi took Ye Qi to the foreign-related office building, handed an unused car to Ye Qi, and also gave him a stack of oil coupons.
Ye Wei drove the car and happily rushed to Qinghe.
…
During the day, Nan Yi ran around. As night fell, he found a place to eat something and then rushed to the Workers' Stadium.
A few days ago, the Great Wall Cup International Football Championship was going on, and Nan Yi didn't have time to watch it. There was a friendly match with Yin Lang tonight, and he didn't want to miss it.
As soon as the game started, the Chinese team pressed towards Yin Lang's half with great momentum. The four giants passed the ball to each other, and in the blink of an eye, they sent the ball into Yin Lang's penalty area.
In the Nehru Gold Cup, the dwarf who was awarded the title of Chinese football hero dribbled the ball forward desperately. After attracting the attention of the players of Yinlang team, he unexpectedly passed the ball to No. 2, one of the four Vajras.
The dwarf was incredible. With his crucial goal, the team defeated Argentina, the champion of the previous World Cup, and created history in which the Chinese team beat the world champion team.
No. 2 moved the ball forward, looked at the goal of Yinlang team, kicked the ball with his left foot, and the ball rolled straight towards the goal of Yinlang team.
The ball goes in!
When a goal was scored, people in every corner of the stands shouted faint slogans, "China rise up, Chinese football rise up." Someone led the rhythm, and slowly more people joined in. In the end, the entire stands were filled with deafening shouts.
Amid the deafening shouts, Nan Yi turned his head and said to Xian Xiuyun beside him, "How much did you make up?"
"ah?"
"I want to know how much these agents cost." Nan Yi raised his voice.
Xian Xiuyun leaned close to Nan Yi's ear and said, "It didn't cost any money, I just gave them the tickets."
"The village is too busy, so I called you back from New York to help. You won't have any objection to me, right?"
"How could that be? I haven't been back to China for a long time. I'd love to be able to come back and stay for a few days. Besides, isn't Xiongqi the biggest project in the village this year? It's my duty to come back and contribute a little."
"That's fine."
Nan Yi watched the game while talking to Xian Xiuyun, but after a while, he became too lazy to watch anymore.
After scoring a goal, Yinlang's team panicked for a while but then stabilized their position, constantly running and passing the ball. The ball kept circling in the Chinese team's half, and they made threatening shots from time to time.
It was just that Yinlang's team had bad luck and the ball could never get into the net.
"It's a friendly match, and then it's garbage time." Nan Yi sighed, turned around and continued to talk to Xian Xiuyun: "What do you think, will you come back immediately after graduation, or do you plan to stay abroad first and come back after you get the title of an internationally famous designer?"
"I haven't decided yet, but Calvin Klein of CK personally gave me an offer and wanted me to work for CK after graduation."
"He is considered your senior brother, right?"
"Yes, he graduated from our school."
"This concerns your future, so you need to think about it carefully. There are some things I'm going to tell you, but you just need to keep them to yourself. Don't tell anyone else yet."
"Brother Nan Yi, you tell me, I will definitely not tell anyone else." Xian Xiuyun agreed.
"Perhaps in five years, or maybe eight years, Wenchangwei will adopt a route that combines the shareholding system and the contracting system. Most of the current enterprises in the village will be contracted out to individuals in the village in the future. As long as they pay a certain amount of contracting fees to the village every year, the rest of the money they earn will belong to the contractors themselves."
"Ah? Contracting? How will the village's welfare system continue?"
"Not all enterprises engage in contracting. One or two enterprises will remain in the village. Besides, there is still contracting fee. In addition, I have other plans in mind. Maybe all the people in Wenchangwei will become landlords in the future.
So, even though the village paid for you to study in New York, you don’t have to think about returning to the village to work and repay the village. You need to change your mindset. When you want to build your own brand in the future, you can just let the village’s investment company invest in it.”
"Brother Nan Yi, are you dissatisfied with certain people in the village?" Xian Xiuyun asked quietly.
"Not really. It's just the general trend of the world. After a long separation, there will be reunion, and after a long reunion, there will be a long separation. After the marriage, the brothers have to separate and live separately, not to mention that they are from the same ancestral hall. It is said that it is not the lack of wealth that is worrying, but the inequality. But even if we treat everyone equally, it may not satisfy everyone. This big pot of rice cannot last long."
"After the contract is signed, will you not care about it?"
"Haha, after ten years, we, the first generation of pioneers, should step down and it's time for your generation to step up and lead Wenchangwei to move forward."
"Haha, brother, how old are you? In ten years, you will be in your early thirties, right?"
"It has nothing to do with age. In the eyes of your generation, Weimin and I belong to the older generation. When the 1990s come, you will be the new generation of the 1990s, and it will be your turn to carry the banner."
By the 1990s, Nan Yi would really retreat to the second line in Wenchangwei and let Fan Hongdou continue to play with them.
"Okay, let's not talk about the future, let's focus on the present. The Olympics will start on July 28 and end on August 12. Once the Olympics are over, if nothing unexpected happens, Xiongqi Beverage will become popular in China.
As for the factory, the village committee had already discussed it and decided not to build it in the village. They had found several candidate sites, but had not yet decided where to build the factory.
Go back tomorrow, visit several places, and then choose the one you like the most, and give me a reason for your choice. "
"Okay, I'll fly back tomorrow." Xian Xiuyun said.
"Well, I don't want to watch it anymore. The ball keeps going back and forth, but there's no shot. I'm going to try to get my ticket refunded." Nan Yi stood up, brushed his back and said.
"It would be strange if they would retreat."
"If they don't retreat, I will cry in front of them." Nan Yi said as he walked further away.
Xian Xiuyun looked at Nan Yi's back, blinking a few times, as if thinking about something.
…
"Cousin, why don't you eat?"
In the western restaurant of the Friendship Hotel, Yang Shanqing and Yang Kaiyan sat opposite each other and enjoyed western food.
"Some time ago, I found a very good restaurant in New York. I ate a lot for several days in a row and gained several pounds. I need to pay attention to my figure."
Yang Kaiyan was used to speaking English, so it took her a while to switch to it. When she spoke, she would always mix a few English words in Chinese that she couldn't react to at first.
"Cousin, you know I can't recognize all 26 English letters, can you please not speak English?"
"Sorry, I'm still not used to it. Shanqing, what are you busy with recently?"
"Me." Yang Kaiyan asked, which was exactly what Yang Shanqing wanted. "I'm working on a clothing wholesale market project recently. In Qinghe Town, I saw two old factories in Changhe Woolen Textile and planned to renovate them into a wholesale market.
Cousin, the clothing business is booming in every part of Beijing now, but there is no wholesale market. We either go to International Village, Nansan Street, or to Yangcheng and Shencun to purchase goods. Once my clothing market opens, business will definitely be booming.
but……"
"What?"
"I understand this word. Cousin, you are doing something for me, right?" Yang Shanqing said excitedly.
Yang Kaiyan nodded and said, "Yes, but what?"
“Lack of money!”
"Do you want to borrow money from me, or do you want to get a bank loan through my dad?"
"It doesn't matter what happens. I am optimistic about the future of the wholesale clothing market. I believe that I will make back my money soon."
"You are my brother. If you are short of money, I can always give you a few thousand or ten thousand. But what you are talking about now is a business. I cannot lend you money just based on your one-sided words. Tomorrow morning, you come to pick me up and take me to the Changhe Woolen Mill you mentioned."
"Okay, okay, cousin, I'll pick you up early tomorrow morning." Yang Shanqing nodded hurriedly.
"Don't go too early. I just flew back and have to adjust to the jet lag. Wait for me in the lobby at 9:30. I'll go up first if you're tired." After Yang Kaiyan finished speaking, she immediately stood up and left.
Nan Yi returned to the old villa and felt a little hungry, so he went to the kitchen to get half a bowl of cold rice, soaked it in boiling water, and ate it with the leftovers.
While eating, he was flipping through the Afrikaans version of Moody.
Nan Yi's Afrikaans level can only be described as beginner-level and proficient. It is still a bit difficult for him to read novels and he has to look up the dictionary from time to time.
"Nan Yi, who are you pretending to be studying for? Eat quickly, and then come and watch TV with me."
"You can say I'm fake, but you can't say I'm not working hard. Can't you see that I'm eating hard?" Nan Yi pushed the dictionary aside and said.
"Okay, okay, you study hard, okay? Now you study hard to eat, and in three minutes, come over here and study hard to watch TV with me or to give me a leg massage."
"Piao, keep floating! The harder you float now, the harder you will fall in the future."
"Humph, I'm not floating as hard as you're letting out the line, but waiting for you to reel it in. Hurry up, come over here and practice when you're done there."
"Yes, yes, here it comes."
