Sales on credit

  Zhu Tiejun and his entourage, accompanied by Schumann, visited the 27-story building with great enthusiasm and took a stiff pose for photos in front of Haizhu Square. During the photo shoot, there was a small episode where everyone took turns holding Zhu Tiejun's artificial leather handbag as a prop, carrying it in their hands like a business traveler on an official trip. The handbag had a picture of the Bund and the words "Shanghai" written on it, making people think that the owner of the photo was someone who had been to Shanghai and seen the world.

  After strolling through Haizhu Square, Schumann took everyone to the Nanfang Building department store. As soon as they entered, people were shocked by the dazzling array of goods. At the semiconductor radio counter, everyone saw for the first time that their familiar semiconductor radios not only had a small square shape but also various other shapes and designs, including one radio in the shape of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, which made people fall in love with it at first sight.

  "This is the largest department store in Guangzhou, with a wider range of goods than Wangfujing Department Store in Beijing. Everyone can take their time to browse and see what they can bring back for their families." Schumann said professionally to the crowd.

  "Can't afford it, can't afford it." Rong Qingsheng looked at the price tags of the goods on the counter and shook his head repeatedly. "These things, just take a look, can't afford to buy them."

  In the end, everyone just bought some candies and snacks to bring back home for their kids. Kong Haijiang was a model husband, who reluctantly spent eight bucks on a printed scarf for his wife, muttering to himself as he paid: "Sigh, I'll definitely get scolded by my wife when I get back."

  Although they didn't buy anything, everyone was still excited to walk through the entire department store, marveling at the wealth of Guangzhou people and fantasizing about how they would spend their money if they ever became rich.

  In the evening, Schumann arranged a sumptuous dinner for everyone and explained that this was also paid by the Spicheren company. Everyone tasted authentic Cantonese cuisine, including Guangdong-style seafood, etc., but at that time, the price of seafood was not as high as in later generations, and six people together spent less than 80 yuan.

  At the time when a group of people in Hanhua Factory were eating and playing happily, Lin Zhenhua had arrived at the Second Light Industry Guest House under the guidance of the driver. He asked clearly about the rooms where Lan Wufeng and Qi Zhongmou lived at the service desk on the first floor, and then went upstairs directly.

  Lin Zhenhua hadn't even reached their living quarters when he heard a burst of laughter filling the air. As he drew closer, he saw Qi Zhongmou sitting in the middle of the room, puffing on a cigarette, and boasting to several fellow travelers who shared the same room. Qi Zhongmou was indeed a marketing genius - within just half a day, he had already successfully made all the other travelers in the room revolve around him.

  "Qi brother, aren't you going out?" Lin Zhenhua stood at the door, knocked on it and called out.

  Qī Zhòngmóu turned his head to look, saw it was Lín Zhènhuá, hastily stood up and went forward: "Ah, Lín young brother has arrived, please come quickly."

  He said, picking up a pack of remaining Luhe cigarettes from the table and handing it to Lin Zhenhua: "Lin, have one?" Then he turned his head back to a passenger with a smile: "Sorry, can I borrow a cigarette from you?"

  Lin Zhenhua waved his hand, pulled out a pack of peonies from his pocket, tore open the seal, and handed out the cigarettes to the people in the house one by one: "Smoke mine, everyone. First meeting, my surname is Lin. If there's anything in the future, please take care of me."

  Those who can live with Qi Zhongmou in the same room are naturally all poor people. Seeing Lin Zhenhua's young age, he casually took out a pack of cigarettes and lit one up, and everyone couldn't help but feel a sense of reverence, flattering him and asking about his work unit and other things. Lin Zhenhua chuckled: "Alas, it's all just messing around, doing some small business in the county town."

  After finishing the cigarette, Lin Zhenhua pulled Qi Zhongmou and Lan Wufeng out of the room together and came to the front of the Jeep downstairs.

  In the process of Lin Zhenhua's rotation, Lan Wufeng had not spoken at all. Even when others nodded to him because of his relationship with Lin Zhenhua, Lan Wufeng only responded indifferently and did not show any enthusiasm like Lin Zhenhua. Seeing this, Lin Zhenhua secretly sighed: This little brother is fine as a fighter, but if he were to take care of his own business, it would probably be a case of misplaced trust.

  "Lin, is this the car you managed to get?" Qi Zhongmou asked in surprise as he saw the Jeep driver nodding at Lin Zhenhua. Being able to obtain a Jeep for his own use in Guangzhou, Lin Zhenhua's capabilities were indeed terrifying.

  Lin Zhenhua said, "Qi brother, to be honest with you, I'm just a factory worker. However, some of my friends are doing business and they want to help me out by giving me some goods to sell when I go back, so I can earn some extra pocket money. This time I came to Guangzhou, one of the purposes is to pick up these goods. As for this car, it's also borrowed from a friend."

  "Lin is really sociable. In this day and age, having one more friend means having one more path to take. With a group of friends like yours, you'll definitely have great prospects in the future."

  Lin Zhenhua said, "Brother Qi, you also saw that my brother and I are completely unfamiliar with Guangzhou. We don't know how to transport these goods back to Jiangnan Province. So, I was wondering if Brother Qi could help us out a bit and guide my brother on how to contact the trucking company and handle the loading process."

  Qī Zhòngmóu hesitated for a moment, then said: "Lin, this is a bit of a difficult situation. To be honest, I also have some connections in Guangzhou, and getting a car permit or something like that shouldn't be too hard to arrange. However, you know how things are these days - everything has a price tag on it. If I'm not able to do someone a favor, they might not be so willing to talk to me either."

  Qī Zhòngmóu's words, Lán Wǔfēng couldn't understand, but Lín Zhènhuá knew exactly what he meant. At that time, most people didn't know about business matters, but later on, these rules and unwritten rules in the business world had become common knowledge, even for someone like Lín Zhènhuá who was a researcher in an ivory tower. Lín Zhènhuá knew that Qī Zhòngmóu meant that these relationships were something he had invested in cultivating, so if he let Lín Zhènhuá use them for free, he would definitely be at a loss.

  "Qī brother, how about this? You come with me to take a look at my goods first, and then we'll discuss the rest of the matters later, okay?" Lín Zhèn Huá said.

  "No problem." Qi Zhongmou said with a smile, as a man with a strong business mind, he would not let go of any opportunity.

  Three people got on the jeep and arrived at the railway freight yard. Lin Zhenhua handed over the delivery note to the administrator of the freight yard, who checked it and then led them in front of a pile of goods, saying: "These are your goods."

  "Is all this your merchandise?" Qi Zhongmou stared at the pile of goods, his eyes widening in shock. He saw that among the goods, there were twenty or thirty large cardboard boxes, each about two feet square. From Qi Zhongmou's perspective, it was clear that these boxes contained imported industrial products worth over 10,000 yuan. In those days, when peddlers went to Guangzhou to buy goods, they usually only carried one or two large canvas bags on their backs; no one had ever transported such a large quantity of goods in boxes before.

  Lin Zhenhua picked out a few boxes, unpacked them, and let Qi Zhongmou watch. The more Qi Zhongmou looked, the more frightened he became, almost having an impulse to strangle Lin Zhenhua to death and then grab these goods and run away.

  In one box, thousands of electronic watches were neatly stacked. Even at the lowest market price, with each watch selling for 8 yuan, these watches could be sold for 30,000 to 40,000 yuan. In another box, microelectronic calculators with electronic watch displays were piled up. Such goods are still rare in the market, and if they are sold to units at a price of 20 yuan each, it is absolutely no problem.

  There was also a box of goods that made Qi Zhongmou puzzled, it was a whole box of sunglasses, with styles that were not much different. Lin Zhenhua took out a pair of sunglasses, removed the packaging, and put them on Lan Wufeng. The large lens suddenly covered half of Lan Wufeng's face, paired with his cool expression, he looked exactly like a little Marlon Brando.

  "These sunglasses are quite nice, but who would spend money on this stuff?" Qi Zhongmou shook his head, "Lin brother, I think it's better to buy more electronic watches with that money."

  Lin Zhenhua smiled: "Qi brother, I have inside information that this glasses will be very popular after June. At that time, you can sell it for 20 yuan a pair and it will definitely sell out quickly."

  "Me?" Qi Zhongmou was taken aback, "Lin, you're not saying that you want to transfer these goods to me, are you?"

  "Qī brother, if you're interested, I can transfer some of it to you." Lín Zhènhuá said.

  "I'm very interested!" Qi Zhongmou was overjoyed. The market for electronic watches and calculators was excellent at the moment, and these goods were all imported from Hong Kong, most of which were smuggled goods. To get them in bulk, it would take a lot of trouble. If Lin Zhenhua was willing to sell some to him, he would be more than happy.

  "As for the price, I don't know much about it, does Brother Qi know?"

  "The wholesale price on the black market, electronic watches are 2 yuan each, calculators are 5 yuan, as for these sunglasses... actually nobody has ever bought them before, I'm not too sure," said Qi Zhongmou.

  Lin Zhenhua nodded, and on the way he had asked the driver before, and the price the driver said was about the same, it seemed that Qi Zhongmou did not cheat him. According to Lin Zhenhua's later reading of Qi Zhongmou's biography, Qi Zhongmou was a very astute businessman, but he attached great importance to his credit in daily life and was not the kind of person who would betray his trust for small gains.

  "Brother Qi, if you're interested, I can lower the price by another 20% for you. The electronic table will be 16 yuan, the calculator will be 4 yuan, and the sunglasses will also be 4 yuan," said Lin Zhenhua.

  Qī Zhòngmóu hesitated and said, "The price Lin gave is indeed very favorable. However, I'm afraid I won't be able to afford the calculator and sunglasses. I only have over 200 yuan left in my hand, at most I can only take down a 100-yuan electronic watch."

  "If I lend it to you, Brother Qi, would you want it?" Lin Zhenhua said.

  "What?!" Qi Zhongmou and Lan Wufeng exclaimed in unison.