In the early 1980s, Guangzhou lacked the splendor of towering skyscrapers, but had a more profound cultural atmosphere.
The Guangzhou dialect can be heard everywhere on the streets, and dense fleets of bicycles occupy the streets of Guangzhou, big and small.
Liu Meiyu rejected Yao Shunliu's suggestion to find a guesthouse to stay in and went directly to Yangcheng Hotel, which was a landmark building in Yangcheng at that time.
They asked for two rooms, Yao Shunliu lived in one room by himself, and Lu Changzheng was smart this time and carried his marriage certificate with him.
Yao Shunliu had come to Guangzhou so many times, but this was his first time staying in a hotel, and such a grand one at that. He felt a little nervous when he gave the money.
"How about you two just stay here, and I'll go find a guest house nearby."
Yao Shunliu felt that he did not fit in with the magnificently decorated Yangcheng Hotel and that he was more suited to staying in a guesthouse or something like that.
"Brother Yao, stop wasting time. Let's meet in the lobby later and go out to find something delicious."
Liu Meiyu directly threw the key to him, leaving no chance for him to get entangled.
Isn't the money to be earned to be spent? Liu Meiyu thought, this is just the beginning. In the future, all kinds of star-rated hotels will pop up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. When Boss Yao goes on a business trip, he can't keep staying in a guesthouse.
"I'm not going, so you two can go. Your sister-in-law has gone out to pack some dry food for me. I'll be waiting for you in the room." Yao Shunliu said firmly.
Going out for a meal with several people would cost a lot of money. Now that Yao Shunliu is doing business, he is even more stingy than before. He always feels that if he spends one cent less, he can earn two cents more, which hurts him.
Liu Meiyu knew that it would not be easy to change Yao Shunliu's ideas in such a short time. He believed that everything should be done step by step. In Yao Shunliu's view, being a partner of a clothing store might be the glorious pinnacle of his life. But he didn't know that for Liu Meiyu, this was just the starting point.
Lu Changzheng didn't care where he lived. Anyway, his wife made all the decisions on this trip, so he followed Liu Meiyu and experienced the feeling of being arranged by others.
"What are we going to eat later?" After returning to the hotel, Lu Changzheng quickly packed up and asked his wife with a smile, his face full of anticipation.
Although coming to Guangzhou with his wife was for serious business, it was a special experience for Lu Changzheng, who wanted to spend some time alone whenever he got the chance.
"Eat whatever is available." Liu Meiyu replied casually while changing clothes.
The winter in Beijing and the winter in Guangzhou are two completely different seasons. The cotton coats they wore before setting off could no longer be worn before they reached Guangzhou. Liu Meiyu changed into clothes suitable for February, April and August, wearing a base layer inside and a long Dacron shirt as a coat outside, flared pants and small leather shoes underneath. After shedding the bulkiness of the thick cotton coat, her curvaceous figure was immediately revealed.
Moreover, the way she was dressed had a bit of Hong Kong style, her long hair was flying, her temperament was otherworldly, and coupled with that delicate face that had remained as beautiful as ever for ten years, Lu Changzheng couldn't help but be infatuated with her, and his desire to go out suddenly didn't feel so strong anymore.
Liu Meiyu didn't notice the man's expression. After she finished dressing herself, she looked at herself in the mirror with satisfaction and urged the man, "Let's go. Let's take a walk after dinner. Come back and rest early. We have to start working tomorrow."
"Okay, come back early and rest!" Lu Changzheng nodded and followed him out obediently.
When Liu Meiyun went out dressed like this, people would just think she was a Hong Kong businessman coming from across the sea to invest. And the Lu Changzheng walking next to her with a righteous look on his face was of course her bodyguard!
They said we could eat whatever was available, but when Liu Meiyu came out, they didn't want to be so casual.
Thinking of a well-known old Cantonese restaurant in later generations, Liu Meiyun took Lu Changzheng to find the place.
The Cantonese restaurant which was located in the most prosperous area of the city center in the future was now an inconspicuous small private restaurant in a small alley. From the chef to the proprietress, they were all authentic Guangzhou locals who spoke Guangzhou dialect and warmly invited Liu Meiyun and the others to come in.
Lu Changzheng didn't understand a word the proprietress said, but he saw his wife smiling and ordering a few dishes in Mandarin, as if there was no problem at all.
"Meiyun, do you understand Yangcheng dialect?" Lu Changzheng asked curiously.
"A little bit," Liu Meiyu closed the menu and explained, "When I was in the art troupe, there was a girl from Guangzhou living in our dormitory. She always liked to teach us to speak Guangzhou dialect. After listening to her a lot, we learned a little bit."
Lu Changzheng had no doubts and nodded in agreement, "I can speak a few words of Guanzhong dialect, too."
The troops were full of comrades from all over the country, and it was not uncommon for them to speak two different dialects. Lu Changzheng felt that his wife seemed to adapt very well no matter where she went. In comparison, he was like a country bumpkin, and even had to ask his wife to pack a lot of food for him when he ordered dishes.
Liu Meiyun ordered crispy barbecued pork, pineapple buns, red rice sausage, and Cantonese-style roast goose, all of which became her favorite signature dishes when she visited this Cantonese restaurant in later life.
She had a limited appetite, and most of the food went into Lu Changzheng's stomach. Even the soup had to be mixed with the rice so that she could eat it cleanly.
When Liu Meiyun asked him how it was after the meal, he rubbed his belly and said unsatisfiedly: "It's OK, but it's not spicy enough and not tasty enough."
“…”
Well, it wasn't tasty enough, and you almost licked the other person's plate clean.
After leaving the Cantonese restaurant, Liu Meiyun saw that it was still early, so she took Lu Changzheng to the Pearl River to take a ferry.
The Pearl River ferries in the early 1980s were completely different from the luxury cruise ships that cruised the Pearl River at night in later generations. The iron-hulled ships of the Suilun 2 series carried workers who wanted to cross the river to and from work every day. When it was time for the factory to get off work, the banks of the Pearl River were filled with workers queuing up with bicycles, densely packed.
When Liu Meiyu and her friends arrived at this time, it was not yet time to get off work, so there were not many people around, and they quickly bought tickets and boarded the boat.
Although there were no magnificent skyscrapers and dazzling night lights on both sides of the Pearl River in the early 1980s, those old buildings still had a unique ancient charm.
Lu Changzheng could not understand the complex look in Liu Meiyu's eyes as she sat on the ferry and looked at the old buildings on both sides of the river. He just thought that his wife liked taking a boat ride, and he was thinking about taking her to the park to row a boat after returning to Beijing in the spring.
…
After returning to the hotel from a stroll outside, Liu Meiyu wanted to go to bed after taking a shower, but Lu Changzheng was in high spirits.
Liu Meiyu didn't want to get used to him at first, but every time she saw the man's pitiful eyes, she would easily soften her heart.
The next day, Lu Changzheng looked very satisfied and showed all kinds of courtesy to Liu Meiyu.
He was the one who peeled the eggs, fed the soy milk to her, and even took the cloth bag that Liu Meiyuen sewed herself and carried with her.
"Lu Changzheng, that's enough. You'll have to carry big bags later!" Liu Meiyu couldn't stand the man being so disgusting. She glared at him and hurried downstairs to the clothing wholesale market in Yangcheng.
Although it is called a wholesale clothing market, it is actually just a spontaneous gathering place for vendors. Small stalls are next to each other, and the cardboard boxes and mobile racks on the ground are piled with all kinds of new styles of clothes. Lu Changzheng was dazzled by the sight.
You don’t know until you go out. Only after coming to Guangzhou did I personally feel how profound the influence of the spring breeze of reform is.
The styles of clothes sold by clothing vendors in Guangzhou are very different from those displayed in supply and marketing cooperatives and department stores in inland cities. Not only are the colors and styles more eye-catching, but the prices are also cheaper. Many of them are piled on the ground and sold directly in dozens. No cloth coupons are required. It is simply incredible.
Liu Meiyu walked around for a long time, looking at every stall, but she didn't find anything she liked.
Lu Changzheng and Yao Shunliu followed behind her. The stall owners saw that Liu Meiyun was not only good-looking, but also had two "bodyguards" following her. She had a strong aura, so they didn't dare to shout at her.
Finally, Liu Meiyun walked to a stall and asked, "Boss, how much is this sweater?"
"24, it looks very good on you." The boss had a bag on his waist, which was bulging inside. He did not hold back at all and directly and enthusiastically promoted his sweater to Liu Meiyu.
"Touch it and feel it. It's very warm. I guarantee you won't feel cold in winter~"
The stall owner spoke broken Mandarin and turned the sweater over and over to show it to Liu Meiyu.
"Boss, tell me a wholesale price." Liu Meiyu touched the soft sweater and picked and chose in the box, looking very experienced.
The stall owner was stunned for a moment, then surprised.
His sweater has been here for several days and no one has come to ask about it. When he inquired, even the wholesale price was too high. He couldn't sell it locally, and those who came from other places to buy it left after asking the price.
"If you can take 20 pieces away, I'll give you 18 each," the boss said tentatively.
Liu Meiyun glanced at him, put the sweater down, and said in a crisp tone: "15 each, I'll take 100."
"How...how many? 100 pieces?" The stall owner was shocked, wondering if he had heard wrongly.
Even outsiders would think the sweaters were too expensive, but the woman in front of him wanted to buy 100 of them. What a concept, he only had 120 in total...
"You have to pay the deposit first, and I'll give you an invoice. The goods are right behind." The man pointed to the small house behind him.
Liu Meiyu nodded, and Yao Shunliu, still in a daze, quickly paid the deposit.
A sweater that cost 15 yuan each, but Liu Meiyu bought one for 1,500 yuan in one go with just a few words. Yao Shunliu was really worried that it would be difficult to sell such an expensive item in Beijing. After all, the bell-bottom pants he sold before were only a dozen yuan each, but the cost price of this sweater was so expensive. If he took it back to Beijing, it would cost at least 20 yuan.
Yao Shunliu was worried about the lack of sales, while Lu Changzheng saw a vendor nearby reducing the price of a sweater from 24 to 15 and was amazed at the profit.
It was only at this moment that he began to understand why Liu Meiyu had to buy a shop and come to Guangzhou in person to select goods in order to open a clothing store.
"Boss, can you get down jackets here?" Liu Meiyu looked around the whole street and saw that only this stall had more winter clothes, so she asked with the mentality of giving it a try.
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