In the teahouse, in Li Cheng's exclusive tea room, there was an old-fashioned tape recorder on the table. The fact that this tape recorder was old-fashioned was in relation to Li Cheng.
To Li Cheng, this thing was just an antique. The market was now flooded with CD players, VCDs, and DVDs shipped from the south, where the electronics industry was well developed. People had lost interest in tape recorders.
Back in the day, a three-wheeled device and a ring was a standard wedding accessory for young people. One of the three wheels was a tape recorder. The tape recorder factory was once very prosperous, and its Plum Blossom brand single- and dual-card recorders were popular throughout China.
However, they failed to keep up with the pace of the times and were left far behind, and today they are in a situation where they can't even afford to eat.
Li Cheng pressed a button on the recorder, and the tape in the slot started to spin. Then, the song "You are always too soft-hearted, too soft-hearted" came out from the recorder.
At this time, the people sitting around the tea table all laughed. For them, listening to the tape recorder did not seem to be an outdated thing.
"I remember when I was in high school, I lied to my family and told them I was using it to learn English in order to get them to buy me a single-cassette recorder."
Weng Xiaozhu said this while shaking her head in self-mockery.
Meng Jianghong asked, "Did your family buy it for you?"
Weng Xiaozhu shook his head again and said, "How is that possible? Back then, this thing cost more than a hundred yuan. Oh, and it was the kind that was much simpler than this one."
Meng Jianghong smiled and said, "My first tape recorder was a single-card, imported one. I bought it when I got married. The first thing I did when I got home from get off work was listen to the tape recorder. I even learned to dance to the music it played. Thinking about it now, I was very happy back then."
Han Dayuzi turned down the volume of the tape recorder a little and said, "You all don't know, right? When I opened my first roast duck restaurant, I bought a tape recorder from the tape recorder factory. At that time, I knew someone in the factory, so I got an insider price. Then I put the tape recorder in front of the store and played pop songs every day to attract customers------"
A tape recorder brought back countless memories for these people. Weng Xiaozhu recalled her ignorant high school days, Meng Jianghong recalled the infinite sweetness of her wedding, and Han Dayazi recalled the hardships and difficulties when he made his first pot of gold.
But Li Cheng never really had his own tape recorder. He remembers the first time he heard a song playing from it was in the cafeteria of the welfare home.
"Click", Li Cheng pressed the button and the singing in the tape recorder stopped.
"Three of you, if anyone still wants this thing, I have plenty. Feel free to take it."
Weng Xiaozhu and the others all shook their heads and said, "You keep it for yourself, I don't want it------"
Li Cheng added, "Forget it. I'm going to have them sent to the big market in the countryside. I'll sell them all for fifty yuan each, and I'll also throw in a few tapes of popular songs."
"Haha, Mr. Li is selling tapes and tape recorders!" Han Dayazi said with a smile.
"Then what do you say we should do? We still have over 3,000 units in the warehouse. We can't just throw them all away."
Li Cheng touched the tape recorder and thought that it was such an outdated thing that he might not be able to get rid of it even if he went to the market in the countryside.
Li Cheng had already visited the local market and found that there were still a few tape recorders available. However, they were all small and stylish. The bulky but high-quality models like this were almost nonexistent.
If it were brought to a rural market, people might buy one for the low price. After all, this tape recorder has radio functions, so even if you don't listen to tapes, it's still nice to use it as a radio.
"I think going to the country market is a good idea. Why don't we go there on Sunday and set up a stall to sell tape recorders?"
Meng Jianghong started laughing as she spoke, and I don't know what she was thinking about.
Weng Xiaozhu said, "Not really. I think this machine is pretty good, but the design is a bit old. I'd better sell it to those audio-visual stores at a lower price."
Han Dayuzi also said: "Yes, I know a video store owner. I will call him and see if he wants it."
Just as Han Dayuzi was about to make a phone call, Li Cheng said, "I just gave it to you for free, but you didn't want it. Do you think anyone would buy it?"
Han Dayazi thought about it and put his phone aside.
"There are over 3,000 of them, filling up an entire warehouse. So, we need to get rid of them as quickly as possible and get as much money as we can. Otherwise, I'm afraid we'll really have to throw them away."
As he spoke, Li Cheng opened the tape slot of the recorder, took out the tape, took a look at it, and said, "Pirated copies are everywhere on the street. This thing will disappear in the future."
Weng Xiaozhu said, "Yes, nowadays people listen to music on CD players, and the sound quality is better than this."
Li Cheng glanced at her and said, "CD players will become obsolete in the future. Don't be fooled by the fact that they cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars now. It won't be long before no one will buy them."
Weng Xiaozhu quickly asked, "What if I want to listen to music?"
Li Cheng fiddled with the tape while saying, "It depends on where you listen to it. If you're at home, you have many options, like a computer and speaker combination, or a dedicated player. If you're in the car, you can use CDs, USB drives, or dedicated music software. Of course, this is the most convenient, but you'll need a pair of expensive headphones."
As he said that, Li Cheng put down the tape, picked up Han Daya's cell phone and shook it.
The three people were stunned. They believed what Li Cheng said was true, but they didn't expect that there would be so many choices in the way of listening to music in the future.
Meng Jianghong said, "So, tape recorders are really going to become antiques in the future?"
Li Cheng nodded and said, "This is its last glorious moment. From now on, it will only live in your memories."
Hearing this, the three of them were filled with emotion. After all, that priceless tape recorder had accompanied them through many happy days.
Seeing the three people's expressions of emotion, Li Cheng knocked on the table and said, "Well, the tape recorders' mission has come to an end, but the people who made them are still waiting for their meals. Everyone, what are your ideas for this supermarket we are going to build? Tell us now."
The three of them looked at each other, and Han Dayuzi was the first to speak: "I don't have any brilliant ideas, I'll just listen to you."
Li Cheng glanced at him and said, "What do you mean by just listen to me? You are one of the shareholders. You have the obligation to make suggestions for the development of the supermarket."
Han Dayuzi touched his forehead, thought for a moment, and said, "I think it's better for me to listen to you. If you ask me to pay, I will pay. If you ask me to work, I will work. Oh, don't you want to send someone to the countryside to sell tape recorders? I'll go. Anyway, the driving school has people and cars."
Upon hearing this, Li Cheng, Weng Xiaozhu and Meng Jianghong all laughed helplessly.
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