Dong Sanmei knew that her younger brother and sister-in-law were joking with her, and she didn't take it seriously. She only wanted to stay at her parents' house until the day she got married.
The third sister lives on the third floor, and Dongqing and his wife live on the second floor. There are toilets and bathrooms on all three floors, so it's very convenient for them to live together. They just eat together.
Li Yuzhu went to the restaurant and bought some dishes. The siblings ate lunch at their own home. From now on, this place will be their maternal home and also their neighbor's home. Living together will allow them to take care of each other.
A month later, the new tricycle factory officially started production and produced the first batch of fully enclosed tricycles.
This vehicle is very attractive, with a dark blue paint job. It has two seats in the driver's cab, plus soft seats, and offers the driving experience of a car at the price of a tricycle.
In 1986, many farmers had money in their pockets, especially those who ran small businesses. Families with 10,000 yuan were not particularly rare at that time. A village would have one or two such households. Many families could still come up with a few thousand yuan. It was really incomparable to two years ago.
In this day and age, people who farm or work generally don't buy tricycles, firstly because they're not very useful, and secondly because they don't have that much spare money.
Even if a family has a few thousand yuan, they are reluctant to buy a car. Many families still need to use these savings to repair houses, build houses, and get married. Each family has its own needs and arrangements.
It's 1986 now, after all. Nobody does business and nobody has much money. Nobody would buy a tricycle to use for farming.
So in those days, tricycles were sold to business people who would go to fairs to sell clothes, run small transport services, sell vegetables, or pick up passengers in urban and rural areas.
These kinds of people usually have some savings. If their savings are really not enough, they will borrow some money to buy a car because they urgently need it. After all, they make money by buying cars.
Therefore, the sales of tricycles improved after 1985. The key reason was that there were very few tricycle manufacturers at that time, which led to a supply shortage of tricycles.
It's always true that scarcity drives up prices. No matter what kind of product, if too many people make it, it becomes worthless and very difficult to sell. Isn't that exactly the case with Dongqing's porcelain business?
In the mid-1980s, everyone was looking for ways to do business. Many people didn't know what kind of business would make money. Wouldn't they just follow along and learn?
Dong Qing's approach is to withdraw while others take action; he always stays ahead of the curve.
Therefore, no matter what business you do, you can't always follow in other people's footsteps and make them follow you. Only in this way can you seize the initial business opportunities. Following others in business will always be a bad strategy. Dongqing has done this.
When you see others making money, they've already made a fortune. Because you're not the only one following the trend; many others can see the profitable businesses you see. If you can follow the trend to do business, others can too. Nobody's a fool these days.
Of course, simple tricycles can last until after 2000 without any problem. At that time, they will gradually enter every household. In the 21st century, they will be used as carts for farming because everyone will be able to afford them by then.
However, by then the simple tricycles would be phased out, and the four-cylinder, high-power, fully enclosed tricycles would officially take the stage. Everything has its time to appear and its time to be eliminated; no business is static.
Therefore, Dongqing can only produce semi-enclosed and fully enclosed single-cylinder diesel engine motorized tricycles. High-power luxury tricycles also have sales in this era, but the sales volume is too small. The key is that the cost is too high, and more than 90% of families cannot afford them.
Even if some families can afford it, they may not necessarily buy it. After all, you only buy a car if you need it; what's the point of buying such a big car if you don't need it?
The semi-enclosed and fully enclosed single-cylinder tricycles currently in production are still hand-cranked. It's not that we lack the technology to produce electric starters; rather, electric start vehicles are more expensive, so many people choose hand-cranked starters. This is the main reason why electric starters are not being produced for the time being.
Dong Qing said, "These days, fully enclosed tricycles don't sell very well, so production has to be limited. Our company has only recently started, and if we have too many unsold vehicles, we'll be in a financial bind. We have to produce according to market demand and mass-produce semi-enclosed tricycles."
Semi-enclosed tricycles with single-cylinder diesel engines have lower production costs and are smaller than fully enclosed tricycles in all aspects, resulting in lower production costs and lower selling prices.
It's not that people don't want to buy fully enclosed tricycles, but rather that they can't afford them economically. They don't have that much money in their pockets, so how can they buy one? After all, it was 1986, and a fully enclosed single-cylinder tricycle cost more than 8,000 yuan, which many families really couldn't afford.
Chen Hong said, "Okay, I've got that in mind."
Dong Qing suddenly asked, "How's things going with you and Su Wei? Haven't you thought about marriage?"
Chen Hong said, "Su Wei came back from driving this morning, and I told her to go back and discuss it with her parents. Her parents still don't know about my marital status. As long as her parents agree, we'll get engaged immediately."
Dong Qing said, "In my opinion, your marital status is not important. As long as Su Wei loves you, that's enough. As long as you both have love in your hearts, no one can separate you. You might just take some detours."
Li Yuzhu remained silent for a long time before smiling and saying, "Brother Chen, my husband and I were your matchmakers, so please invite us to your engagement! We hope Su Wei will become our sister-in-law soon."
Marriage can bring about such disruptive changes. Su Wei often calls Li Yuzhu "sister-in-law," which is ironic, because after she married Chen Hong, she ended up becoming the sister-in-law of Dong Qing and his wife. Who can truly understand the ways of the world?
Chen Hong said with a smile, "I also hope that Su Wei can become your sister-in-law soon."
After lunch, Su Wei said, "Dad, Mom, please sit down. I need to discuss something with you."
The parents sat down opposite their daughter, and Su Wei said, "Dad, Mom, I'm going to drive a car the day after tomorrow, and I'm thinking of getting engaged to Chen Hong tomorrow. You two don't have any objections, do you?"
The mother said, "Chen Hong is a really good boy. Let him get engaged; your father and I have no objections."
Su Wei then recounted Chen Hong's marital status, saying, "I've never dared to tell you two before, but Chen Hong was married once before. His wife was also a factory worker, and she died during her postpartum period. People say that men who have lost their wives are cursed to bring misfortune to their wives, but I don't believe in that. I truly love Chen Hong, and I hope you two can grant us your blessing."
The parents never dreamed it would turn out this way. After hearing this, they remained silent for a long time. People born in the 1940s are still quite superstitious.
After a long pause, the mother said, "Chen Hong is indeed a good boy, but you can't completely believe in these things, nor can you completely disbelieve them. How about this, I'll find a fortune teller this afternoon to compare your birth dates and times. If the fortune teller says it's acceptable, your father and I won't object. Go to the machinery factory and ask about Chen Hong's birth date and time, then come back and tell your mother."
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