1979 Golden Age

"How come you know the price so clearly? It means you want to buy it too!"

"I, I don't want to buy it, why don't I just take a look?"

"Stop making noise, let me say a few words..."

Chen Jianjun usually doesn't express opinions, but whenever he wants to say a few words, he has already made up his mind, saying: "Don't even think about TV. With our family's strength, we simply can't get it. Only people with connections can watch it.

There’s no need to buy a bicycle. Your mother doesn’t use one. I ride the one from my workplace.

I think I should buy you a watch. You are not young anymore, so it is convenient to have a watch. "

"Hey, that's right! Wear a watch and you'll be able to see it wherever you go."

Yu Xiuli agreed.

"Watch, okay, then buy one."

Chen Qi nodded. A person's fortune can be changed by wearing items. He is very experienced in this.

Just like in his previous life, he originally had bad luck, but then he bought a Patek Philippe watch and a Maserati. Oh, his luck changed instantly. There were always girls saying that the air conditioning in the car was not good, and they would take off their clothes when they got up, which was very annoying...

"As for the tape recorder..."

Chen Jianjun scratched his head and suddenly laughed: "Actually, I also want to buy it. I was planning to save some money, but now is the time."

"Chen Jianjun, do you want face? If you use your children's money to satisfy your own selfish desires, where is your party spirit?"

Yu Xiuli scolded.

"Okay, okay, it's the same for whoever buys it. That's settled, a watch and a tape recorder." Chen Qi said with a smile.

"How much does this cost? It will be gone in the blink of an eye." Yu Xiuli felt distressed.

"If I don't make more money, it will be 800 today and 8,000 tomorrow." Chen Qi comforted her.

The common impression people have about this era is that of poverty.

It is true that people are poor, but depending on the location and group, some people are quite rich at this time, such as workers in large factories, employees of state-owned enterprises in good positions, and cadres of a certain level...

Their salaries are high, and they don’t have much to spend money on. The employer pays them all!

Naturally, you can save money.

Of course, if you look at it nationwide, especially in rural areas, it would be unbearable to see. It would be good if farmers can see money after working hard for a year.

…………

There are many brands of watches, the more famous ones are Shanghai brand and Seagull brand, and there is also BJ brand in Beijing.

The Shanghai brand is about 120 yuan.

Chen Jianjun didn't get a ticket for the watch yet. He only had tickets for a tape recorder, so he bought the tape recorder first.

Last year, the Ministry of Commerce organized an "inspection team to Hong Kong" and purchased 10,000 cassette recorders at a price of HK$93 each. They shipped them back and priced them at 200 RMB each (at that time, 100 HKD was approximately equal to 30 RMB).

People started queuing in the afternoon and by the next morning the counter was crushed.

Today is Sunday, day off.

Now it is a single holiday, but it became a double holiday in 1995, and it was not really implemented until 2024.

A family of three went out together to go to the city department store on Wangfujing Street.

This is the first large department store in New China. Zhang Binggui works here. Is there anything Zhang Binggui doesn’t know? A salesperson selling candy, a national model worker, and a representative of the National People's Congress is more popular than any other star.

When he took a bus, someone offered him his seat. When he went to take a shower, someone rubbed his back. He was seriously ill and was hospitalized. National leaders visited him one after another. After his death, the department store erected a bronze statue in the square, with the leader's inscription: "A ball of fire leaping across China"!

The products here are the most comprehensive, and there are many people here on Sundays.

The three of us followed the flow of people in and walked around casually without rushing to buy.

The first floor is a place that sells cream, shampoo, etc., but there is a special counter for Zhang Binggui to sell candies. The crowds of people crowded forward, proud to buy candies that he grabbed with his own hands.

He has a unique skill called grabbing.

The customer asked for 2 taels, and he would get 2 taels if he grabbed it. He asked for half a catty, and he would get half a catty if he grabbed it. It is said that he usually practiced with pebbles and practiced hard.

Labor is the most glorious. This is not just talk in this era. Zhang Binggui and Shi Chuanxiang are both role models. Some people say that they have a staff and give you a staff to make you dig out shit every day. What do you do?

Chen Qi also wanted to take a look, but couldn't squeeze in, so he had to give up.

After wandering for a while, I arrived at the counter selling tape recorders. There were actually a lot of people here - Chen Qi felt a little amused. It felt like, "Isn't it because the economy is not good and making money is difficult? Why are everyone richer than me?" "

Due to the friendship between China and Japan, the first batch of foreign brand home appliances to enter the mainland were Japanese, such as Panasonic, Sharp, Hitachi, Sanyo, etc.

The tape recorder we are familiar with is a very large one that can hold two cassettes and several speakers. Now it is a single card, which can only hold one cassette tape. It is small but very thick, like a big brick. (Pictures at the end of the article)

The three of us were lucky enough not to encounter any shortages, and finally spent 200 yuan on a Sanyo single-card recorder.

"Oh my god, this thing costs 200 yuan!"

"Why don't you just rob it? It's more expensive than a bicycle. We're not a wealthy family. Sooner or later you will be ruined."

Yu Xiuli kept nagging, and Chen Jianjun couldn't help but said: "Our family only adds a big item in a few years, and we don't buy it every day. Our wages are okay, and our son is also successful, so it won't be a problem."

"That's right, spend it when it's time to spend it!" Chen Qi said with a smile.

"You two have surrendered to capitalism without even looking at it."

His parents still wanted to continue shopping, but Chen Qi was too lazy to move, so he left first with the box in his arms. Everyone was envious and looked at him passionately. This was the most beautiful boy.

After going downstairs and just out of the door, someone suddenly pulled him. Chen Qi was startled, thinking he was being robbed. He turned around and saw a guy wearing a hat with shifty eyes and a sharp voice.

"Dude, did you just buy a tape recorder?"

The other party saw that he was alert and smiled: "Don't worry, I'm doing business... Do you want tapes?"

Tapes!

Chen Qi's eyes lit up and asked: "Do you sell tapes?"

"Go and have a look?"

"It's too far for me to go."

"I'm doing long-term business, I can't cheat you, let's talk over there."

The other party took him to a relatively secluded corner, opened his clothes, and took out tapes one by one like Doraemon's pockets.

"10 yuan a box!"

"Why don't you go and rob it?"

"I'm all from the south, you know, I earn my money through hard work."

The other party was very enthusiastic and introduced: "Look at this, this is Teresa Teng, the most popular now, everyone in the south listens to her."

Chen Qi flipped through it, "When Will You Come Back", "Seeing Smoke Again", "Don't Pick Wild Flowers on the Roadside"... all of them are familiar, with simple covers and rough packaging, but at least they are tapes.

"Are there any by Liu Wen Zheng?"

"What about Sam Hui?"

"No Roman Tam either? You dare to sell goods when you don't have anything?"

"You are an expert!"

The other party was shocked.

Chen Qi, haha, I'm just a passerby like you, do I have to pretend to be a pure lamb?

The other party slapped his thigh and said, "Okay, for your professionalism, 8 yuan a box, take it!"

Fuck, smuggling really makes money!

8 yuan, a person can live for a month

If Chen Qi hadn't cheated, he would probably be digging for food in the fields. He bought three boxes of Teresa Teng's works and left with them in his pocket.

He received 800 yuan in royalties, 50 yuan in subsidies, and Yu Xiuli gave him 30 yuan before he went to Beijing Film Studio. His total assets were 880 yuan, a lucky number. Now he spent 200 yuan on the tape recorder and 24 on the tapes, leaving 656 yuan.

That said, he didn't plan to hand over the money he earned to his parents. He just saved money to marry a wife.

At night.

It was late at night.

Chen Qi locked the doors and windows, lit a candle - because the power was out again, he put the brick on the table and turned down the volume. My parents sat on the bed, suddenly looking very solemn. In the candlelight, a voice that was extremely soft and beautiful that I had never heard before came out:

"After we part tonight, when will you come back? After drinking this cup, please have some snacks. How many times can you get drunk in your life? Why not wait for joy... Hey, drink another cup and finish it..."

(Thanks to the leader of 2 taels and 6 coins!

No more...)