Chapter 34 This is going to cause trouble! (Two-in-one)
According to the management regulations, Wang Xiao is not allowed to enter the Friendship Store.
The Friendship Store was originally established to serve foreign visitors and earn foreign exchange.
The sign with white background and red lettering at the entrance of the store clearly states: This store welcomes foreign guests; unauthorized personnel are not permitted to enter.
Although the sign inevitably evoked images of certain things and prohibited certain types of people, Wang Xiao was grateful for the rule at that moment: without it, she wouldn't have accomplished anything today.
The store security guard meticulously checked everyone's passports. When it was Wang Xiao's turn, she presented her work ID and a letter of introduction stamped with her company's official seal, but the guard still shook his head, unwilling to let her in.
Fortunately, Russian is no longer in demand these days, and the shop assistants speak English, Japanese, and Arabic but don't understand Russian, so the security guard reluctantly let us in.
Wang Xiao himself didn't seem to notice anything, but the Soviet guests frowned first, and it was Wang Xiao who had to comfort them: "It's alright, go inside."
Turning her head, she called to Tang Yicheng, who had followed her out of concern, "Then wait here for a while, we'll walk around for a bit and then come out."
Tang Yicheng muttered to himself: I don't believe you're hiding something!
There were at least seven or eight women in the group. Do you think I don't know how you women shop? I'll be thankful if we can get out before dark.
He really wronged the women.
The shopping group moved much faster than he had imagined; everyone was rushing through, just skimming the surface.
Why? Is it because the store doesn't have enough items?
No, not at all! A huge amount, spanning four floors! They have everything from imported appliances and spirits to candies and chocolates. Suzhou double-sided embroidery, Hangzhou brocade, and Snow Lotus cashmere sweaters are just some of the many items on display. To put it simply, almost anything you can find in a modern shopping mall can be found here.
Logically speaking, it should be able to attract customers' attention.
However, these Soviet guests had already been exposed to a variety of goods at the People's Department Store a few days earlier and had a full understanding of the richness and diversity of Chinese daily necessities, so they didn't find these other items particularly appealing.
Besides, the items at Friendship Store are so expensive.
The same towel was half the price they saw at the People's Department Store.
No wonder this shop doesn't serve Chinese customers. It's different from the Little Birch Shop in their country. This shop is deliberately designed to rip off fat customers. The Friendship Shop isn't friendly at all, and Chinese people aren't ripping off other Chinese people.
Wang Xiao: ……
This is actually the truth, and it was also the original intention behind the founding of the Friendship Store. On the one hand, it was to make life more convenient for foreigners in China, and on the other hand, it was to earn foreign exchange, so it was bound to be expensive.
But today, you dare to slap this high hat on me, I really don't dare to wear it.
Even a few years back, the People's Department Store had to kneel down and call the Friendship Store "boss." Ordinary cashmere sweaters, and even bicycles and watches, were hot commodities, requiring ration coupons to purchase.
Not to mention color TVs and refrigerators, being able to get tickets for those is a real feat.
It is because these young industries developed rapidly, coupled with the failure of the price reform in 1988, that factories had excess capacity and a large number of household appliances and daily necessities were stockpiled, which gave you the misconception that Friendship Store was not as good as People's Department Store.
Even now, imported home appliances, whiskey, Marlboro cigarettes, and the like are exclusively supplied by Friendship Store.
However, the Soviet guests were completely unimpressed.
If it were someone else, they would probably have the problem of not being able to spend the foreign exchange certificates they exchanged for rubles in China, except at Friendship Stores.
But they encountered Wang Xiao, who was very amiable and easy to talk to. This Chinese engineer was incredibly resourceful; he had connections in the shopping mall and could help them buy cheap towels and bath towels.
Even with whiskey, Soviet university students who had tried Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) unanimously agreed that the latter was more cost-effective and that they didn't necessarily have to pursue capitalist foreign liquor.
Since that's the case, whoever is foolish enough to be taken advantage of should be the one to suffer the consequences; they're not going to do it.
When they reached the antique and collectibles section, the Soviet guests showed even less interest. The secretary of the Youth League Committee earnestly emphasized to Wang Xiao, "This place should be closed down, just like our Little Birch Shop. Although our Little Birch Shop was despised by the people because it became exclusively for the privileged in our country, your Friendship Shop is different; but anything that is not open to ordinary citizens should not exist. People should be equal, and that is socialism."
Wang Xiao smiled and said, "Our country is already discussing this issue and will fully open it up."
It doesn't really matter whether it's open or not.
The Friendship Store's prestigious status was due to its special supply system; once supplies became plentiful, it naturally came down from its pedestal.
Even if it wanted to lower its proud head then, people might not care to look at it again.
In a sense, this also demonstrates how money defeats power. Of course, privileges won't disappear; they will simply shift to other places.
What Wang Xiao needs to do is to seize the opportunity to buy some rare items before it leaves the Friendship Store and collect a bunch of cultural relics.
She was completely ignorant about everything, from jade and porcelain to lacquerware and calligraphy and paintings.
As for finding bargains by looking at celebrities? Haha, that's giving her too much credit. She only knows one of the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou," Zheng Banqiao.
Hmph ╯^╰ She's unreasonable yet arrogant; she's just that ignorant and incompetent.
Therefore, her method for selecting cultural relics is simple and straightforward, focusing on two principles: cheapness and aesthetic appeal.
I definitely have to buy a snuff bottle, because a snuff bottle only costs thirty or forty yuan in the store. They look quite small and exquisite, and it's quite interesting to hold and play with them.
There are also Yixing teapots, with simple and rustic designs, costing only fifty or sixty yuan each; I'll buy ten of them too.
Compared to those, calligraphy and paintings are indeed more expensive, mostly costing three figures. She bought two pieces each of the 100-yuan, 200-yuan, and 300-yuan price ranges, none of which were by artists she recognized.
The most expensive item he bought was a blue and white porcelain vase. The name was so complicated that Wang Xiao didn't even have time to read it carefully. He just thought it looked nice and spent three thousand yuan to buy it.
The shop assistant kept glancing at her furtively and even greeted her in Japanese.
Wang Xiao had no choice but to honestly reply, "My Japanese is very poor; I only know a few polite phrases."
She learned it while watching anime.
The shop assistant blushed and quickly explained, "You're practically buying everything! I thought you were a Japanese customer. They call it a shopping spree; they come in, point at things, and buy everything on the counter."
Wang Xiao thought it was normal. As a region that had been influenced by Tang culture, it was perfectly normal for the Japanese to recognize the value of these cultural relics.
There aren't many people on the mainland interested in these things now. The prices listed at the Friendship Store are ridiculously cheap for Japanese people. If she had the money, she would buy them all.
Unfortunately, she had no money.
Even though she had secretly taken all the rubles from the Soviet guests and exchanged them for daily necessities like towels and bath towels, she still had very few foreign exchange certificates, only a mere fifty thousand.
Because her Soviet guests were not wealthy either, they generally brought about two or three thousand rubles with them when they went abroad to buy goods for their relatives and friends, which was almost a year's salary for most Soviets.
Fifty thousand yuan seemed like a lot, but after buying dozens or hundreds at a time, Wang Xiao's money was gone in no time. With the last three thousand yuan, she got a large flowerpot full of flowers and dozens of small, plain-colored bowls. Putting Qianlong's aesthetic and Yongzheng's aesthetic together, haha, absolutely amazing.
Actually, there was a pretty big bottle, but it was expensive, costing 30,000 yuan. Wang Xiao didn't know whether it was good or bad, so she decided to buy this batch of treasures first and then use foreign exchange certificates to buy more when the second wave of Soviet customers came.
She was quick; by the time the customers visited, she had already selected the goods.
So when the shop finished packing and helped load the food onto the car, these Soviet young men and women were shocked, not understanding why Wang Xiao was so eager to be taken advantage of.
Wang Xiao could only politely explain: There was nothing she could do; some items were only sold at the Friendship Store, and she was buying them for someone else.
Everyone looked on with sympathy, and the secretary of the Youth League Committee blinked his long eyelashes and looked at her sincerely with his big blue eyes: "Let's work together to eliminate privilege."
Wang Xiao nodded seriously: "That's right."
Yes, let's wait until she's finished picking up the scraps and then it's over.
Those who want to make money always hope to earn more than others.
Otherwise, how would the difference between having more or less money be shown?
Tang Yicheng was terrified.
Oh my god!
He knew that lesbians were shopaholics, but Wang Xiao wasn't just any ordinary lesbian. How could she be even more frenzied than the Soviet customers? She didn't buy anything and left empty-handed.
These piles and piles are all hers!
Sigh, it seems he'll have to make another trip. He can't really expect Wang Xiao to carry all this stuff home.
Chen Yanqiu was just as terrified. As Dr. Chen watched the boxes of things being carried home, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
When she saw boxes of bowls, plates, and bottles, she wondered why her daughter had taken the Soviet guests to a general store, and blurted out, "Why are you shopping there? Let's go to the Friendship Store."
Wang Xiao looked at her spoils with delight and casually replied, "I bought them from the Friendship Store. Mom, look how cheap they are! So many, and only 50,000!"
Dr. Chen stood there dumbfounded, and after a long while, he clutched his chest and asked tremblingly, "How...how much?"
"fifty thousand."
"You bought it."
"Yes!" He nodded vigorously, put his hands on his hips, and looked up at the sky.
Impressive, isn't it? Your daughter even knows how to snag a bargain.
"You brat!" Doctor Chen grabbed a feather duster and swung it at Wang Xiao's back. "Fifty thousand! You wouldn't even get fifty thousand if you sold your parents for pork!"
Wang Xiao was suddenly hit and tried to run away, but bumped into the door frame. She cried out in pain, clutching her foot.
Dr. Chen was startled. Forgetting about scolding this spoiled child, she quickly rolled up her trouser leg and looked at her: "Oh dear, you naughty girl, come on, come on, Mom will take you to the clinic to get your medicine."
Her first-aid kit was empty; she'd been too busy to restock it.
Wang Xiao didn't care, since the opening wasn't that big.
She may have been vain since she was a child, but her grandmother raised her mainly by feeding her and raising her roughly, so she didn't really live a refined life.
Chen Yanqiu glared at him: "Are you kidding me? What if your leg gets infected and rots?"
When she was young, she met a young worker who injured his leg but didn't take it seriously. As a result, he developed a leg abscess, and even with expensive antibiotics, it was too late. He died of toxemia at a young age.
Wang Xiao was startled and muttered subconsciously, "Mom, don't scare me, it's not that serious."
Chen Yanqiu was already making a move to carry her on her back: "How could it not be? Hurry up, Mom will take you to the hospital."
Wang Xiao was so frightened she almost fell over on the spot.
Are you kidding me? Carrying her on your back! She's 21, she'll be 22 after the New Year, she's not two years old.
"It's too much to ask me to walk by myself."
"Why are you being so stubborn? Just listen to me!"
As the mother and daughter were struggling, the bathroom door opened, and Tang Yicheng said in a small voice, looking very conflicted, "Auntie, let me help you help Wang Xiao."
Actually, he didn't mind carrying people on his back, but men and women shouldn't be too close, especially at a girl's house, so it would be awkward.
Chen Yanqiu and her daughter Wang Xiao were so startled they almost jumped up on the spot. Tang... Tang Yicheng, what's he doing here? Didn't he leave after helping carry the boxes upstairs?
"I went to the toilet, I already told you."
Yes, that's true, but at the time Dr. Chen was in shock at the fact that her daughter had brought several boxes home, while Wang Xiao was in a state of euphoria, as if he were walking on cotton. Neither mother nor daughter paid any attention to him.
Tang Yicheng urged, "Auntie, let's go, let's get to Wang Xiao's infirmary as soon as possible."
It's better to do it sooner, otherwise the scab will fall off.
Normally, Wang Xiao would have declined Tang Yicheng's offer. There was no need; even if she absolutely had to go to the factory clinic, Dr. Chen could simply take her there on his bicycle.
But now that she has discovered that Tang Yicheng overheard her conversation with her mother, Wang Xiao has no choice but to bring him along.
As they went downstairs, Chen Yanqiu couldn't help but complain to her daughter: "You brat, why are you getting all that junk? You could have at least bought an imported DVD player."
She swallowed the 50,000 yuan back, and who knows what outsiders would think of her family if they heard that.
By the way, where did that brat get 50,000 yuan in foreign exchange certificates? Foreign exchange certificates are worth about 30% more in the real market than RMB of the same face value. That means 50,000 yuan in foreign exchange certificates would cost 65,000 yuan abroad, and that's a fair price. If you're really ruthless, you can get them for 70,000 or 80,000 yuan.
How did Dr. Chen know all this?
Sigh, in the 1980s, anyone who was doing alright and living in a big city, who didn't try to get a few foreign exchange certificates to enjoy some foreign food?
Oh my, going in was like seeing a spectacle. The streets were all gray, blue, and black, men and women dressed the same, while the clothes sold in the shops were the kind of fashionable clothes only the heroine of "Romance on Lushan Mountain" could wear.
They also have imported candies! The taste and packaging are different from what we sell in our malls—they're so pretty! Serving them out to entertain guests makes a really impressive impression.
But after all those trips to the Friendship Store, she only spent a few thousand yuan in foreign exchange certificates, and even bought a TV and a refrigerator.
No, Chen Yanqiu felt suffocated at the thought of exchanging 65,000 yuan for this pile of junk.
That brat! She said she wouldn't appreciate money if she didn't spend it, but when she does, she spends a fortune!
Once her foot is fixed, a feather duster is essential!
Chen Yanqiu yelled at the person who got on the bicycle, "I don't think you're going to get any better!"
Wang Xiao quickly tried to clear his name: "Mom, what are you thinking? I was just helping someone out. I bought those things on behalf of the various township and county governments in our province and their factories."
Chen Yanqiu sneered: "Are you kidding me? I'm not senile yet, why would they need these things? I might believe you if you said you'd buy them foreign liquor and cigarettes."
Wang Xiao immediately criticized Dr. Chen: "Mom, you're underestimating people. The local governments that come to our Jinning Grand Hotel for investment promotion meetings are all genuinely doing practical things; they're the ones taking the opportunity to eat and drink extravagantly."
Chen Yanqiu had six or seven thousand yuan tied up in debt, and in front of outsiders, she couldn't even care less about spoiling her daughter: "I don't look down on them, but tell me, why would they need this junk if they're doing something worthwhile?"
"Gifts, of course," Wang Xiao said seriously. "There are too many monks and not enough porridge. There are only so many foreign investors, and every government and factory wants to attract them. So they have to use all sorts of tricks. These foreign investors have money and have seen all kinds of good things. They won't even care about the fancy dishes we offer. So we have to find another way and cater to their tastes. What do foreign investors like? They like old objects, cultural relics, and things that carry Chinese culture. They like things from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and overseas Chinese communities."
But the cultural relics are all displayed in antique shops and friendship stores, specifically for sale to foreigners. The local government doesn't have foreign exchange certificates, so they can't buy them. They come to me for help, hoping I can use my connections to buy a few pieces so they can give them away as gifts, as a way to build goodwill.”
Tang Yicheng suddenly realized: "So that's why you had the Soviets send people over to transport the goods. You were after their rubles!"
He was truly impressed by Wang Xiao.
She was the most efficient person he had ever met. When she did something, she aimed to achieve at least three different results.
Besides transporting goods, these Soviet university students who came to China also served as billboards for department store counters. Now, they're even providing foreign exchange certificates to buy cultural relics, helping the investment promotion delegation.
That's absolutely amazing.
Wang Xiao thought to himself, "This is nothing. It's just a side effect."
Ever since she saw the Friendship Store sign, she had been planning to make a fortune.
The preferred way to exchange foreign exchange certificates is to exchange them for US dollars, even though the newspapers mentioned cracking down on the resale of foreign currency certificates and that they were referring to US dollars; however, Wang Xiao discovered through conversations with foreign businessmen at the investment promotion conference that Hong Kong dollars could also be exchanged for foreign exchange certificates.
Some Hong Kong businessmen joked that it was fortunate everyone had the same face, otherwise he would have to wear a jacket like a blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigner with the words "No Foreign Exchange Certificates" printed on it to keep out the mainlanders who swarmed around him like flies, wanting to exchange their foreign exchange certificates for his.
Wang Xiao immediately grasped the key point: it wasn't just US dollars that could be exchanged for foreign exchange certificates; other foreign currencies were also acceptable.
She then went to the bank under the pretext of needing to entertain foreign guests, and found that this was indeed the case.
The Provisional Regulations on the Management of Foreign Exchange Certificates promulgated by the State in 1980 only stated that foreign currency must be exchanged for foreign exchange certificates in order to be used domestically, without specifying which country's currency the foreign currency was.
US dollars, Japanese yen, Hong Kong dollars—these are all acceptable, and rubles are naturally fine too. It's just that there have been fewer Soviet citizens coming to China in recent years, so the bank staff were initially taken aback.
Wang Xiao was confused when he heard the reply.
Although she knew very little about this period of history, she had heard about the ruble’s sharp devaluation in the 1990s, which turned people’s life savings into worthless paper overnight. Since foreign exchange certificates are so popular now, why is no one exchanging rubles for foreign exchange certificates to make money?
She thought and pondered for a long time before coming up with an explanation that she could barely accept.
Firstly, as goods in the market become increasingly abundant, places like Friendship Stores, which are exclusively for foreigners, have gradually lost their appeal to ordinary people.
Even if imported goods are temporarily unavailable, there are affordable domestic alternatives on the market.
As for antiques, well, only a tiny minority in China are currently interested in them, otherwise she wouldn't have the audacity to dream of finding a bargain.
As a result, the privileged status of foreign exchange certificates, which represented "only I can buy them," naturally diminished.
Secondly, the easing of Sino-Soviet relations only occurred in the 1980s, and the real boom in speculators didn't happen until after the collapse of the Soviet Union. After the collapse, the ruble depreciated rapidly, giving speculators no time to react.
Thirdly, it is estimated that the time left for foreign exchange certificates as tokens is not long, and they may soon disappear from the historical stage.
All of the above points to one thing: if Wang Xiao wants to make this money, she has to act quickly.
Coincidentally, she was doing business with the Soviets. They were all brothers and sisters in the socialist family, so they naturally had to share what they needed.
As for why she didn't just have someone bring rubles to settle the account? Because the Soviet Union didn't allow people to take large sums of cash out of the country.
Besides, if it were settled in rubles, how would she make money?
Does she expect her to pay out of her own pocket to exchange for foreign exchange certificates to buy cultural relics? She's insane!
She's not an expert, so whether she can successfully snag a bargain is a big question mark. Even if she doesn't lose money, she'll likely only make a little pocket money, and it'll be difficult to sell in the short term.
It's like investing in the stock market; if you're not a professional in this field, you should never put all your savings into it.
Of course, those who do this professionally might end up worse off than being scammed.
Cough cough.
As for the claim that she bought cultural relics as gifts for the local government, she wasn't exactly making it up. If someone offered a high price, she wouldn't hold onto them; she doesn't know anything about collecting.
Tang Yicheng chuckled at Wang Xiao's calm demeanor and added with a smile, "Yes, yes, it's killing four birds with one stone! You're also going to sell our specialties to the Soviet Union. That's really impressive!"
Wang Xiao puffed out his chest proudly: "It's so-so. The main thing is that everyone is very enthusiastic and trusts me a lot. I can't let down the trust of the people."
Dr. Chen's feelings were somewhat complicated. She couldn't say that her daughter's behavior was wrong. Having grown up in a collectivist environment and worked in a large factory her whole life, she had to admit that her daughter's spirit of trying to serve the collective in every possible way was right.
But she always felt something was off.
Under the influence of these subtle emotions, Chen Yanqiu muttered to herself, "What's so special about this? I really don't understand these people. They can actually treat it like a treasure. If I had known they liked this, I would have kept it when your dad and the others were using it to power the stove."
Wang Xiao couldn't believe his ears: "What? Light a stove?"
“Yeah, that’s right.” Chen Yanqiu had already started pedaling his bicycle. “It’s nothing unusual. There are plenty of people selling scrap and recycling raw materials.”
Wang Xiao almost fell off his bicycle.
When we have money tomorrow, we'll buy wontons. What's a little drinking and throwing away of a bowl?
Her parents are the real big shots who think money is just worthless.
She sincerely advised, "Mom, please don't say this in front of outsiders again."
It's easy to get someone to put a sack over your head.
You didn't just miss out on 100 million, you missed out on 1 billion!
Haha, she regrets that she wore it too late, otherwise she wouldn't have needed to be a first-generation entrepreneur, she would have been a second-generation rich kid directly.
Chen Yanqiu retorted confidently, "What's so special about these? You can't eat them or drink them. Are they just for show? There are plenty of pretty things out there. It would be better to have more iron; at least it would be useful."
In her eyes, these things were just like diamonds. As an excellent production worker, she had also visited jewelry companies, but she still couldn't understand why diamonds were so expensive.
It's just a stone, at most a shiny stone. The artificial diamonds next to it are much shinier, so why should it be cheaper?
Wang Xiao was overjoyed.
That's right, that's right, diamonds are known as the biggest marketing scam.
Before transmigrating into the book, she bought ten diamond rings made in Henan province. Tsk tsk, each one cost several hundred yuan, and she thought they were prettier than those costing tens of thousands of yuan.
Gold is still more practical.
Dr. Chen's face lit up instantly, finding joy in treating her daughter like a best friend: "Exactly, exactly! Only a fool would treat such a thing as a treasure."
Tang Yicheng rode behind Wang Tiejun on his bicycle, listening with amusement. He was riding Wang Tiejun's bike.
Wang Tiejun is on night shift tonight. Since it's close to the factory, he walks there most of the time, especially now that it's cold and windy; walking is more comfortable than riding a bike. Tang Yicheng can use the bike that was left behind.
Wang Xiao wondered why this person had followed them to the infirmary, and Chen Yanqiu glared at him: "What? He's been running around so hard, and you won't even let him have dinner before he leaves?"
Now that she was already at the factory, she was too lazy to go home and cook dinner, so she simply bought two good dishes at the canteen and made do with that.
Tang Yicheng blushed deeply. He was worried that Wang Xiao's mother wouldn't be able to support her, and since he had nothing else to do, he came along.
He really wasn't trying to freeload.
Of course, you can eat it along with the food; after all, you have to eat eventually.
Wang Xiao sighed, “How can there be nothing wrong? You should at least keep an eye on things at the department store counter and contact me anytime if anything happens. Only when those coats and binoculars are sold can the soap factory and toothpaste and toothbrush factory get their payments back. Don’t forget, our commissions depend entirely on that.”
Tang Yicheng blushed even more and shook his head repeatedly, saying, "I don't want to."
This batch of soap, toothpaste, and toothbrushes is worth 50,000 yuan. At a 2% commission, that's 1,000 yuan. That's more than a recent college graduate's annual salary.
Previously, at the hotel, he had managed to visit quite a few places, and even if he had to swallow his pride, he could still accept a 2% commission.
But now, doing business with the Soviets, he hasn't done anything except occasionally helping out with odd jobs. Is he really going to get the same 1000 yuan commission as Wang Xiao? Even a city wall wouldn't have his thick skin!
Wang Xiao concluded definitively: "Alright, take it if I tell you to. There's a lot to do later."
Having led teams before, she knew that the most basic and core principle for maintaining team stability was ensuring that team members had something to eat.
You're making people work like drug dealers for the price of selling cabbages, and all you want to do is call them "family." They just want to slap you across the face.
She only has Tang Yicheng as a team member she can barely use right now, so she definitely has to win him over.
Chen Yanqiu also chimed in, "Yes, take it, it's yours."
Dr. Chen is very clear about this. It's only natural for salespeople to take commissions; that's how it's done all over the country, and it doesn't mean they're taking advantage of the collective.
Tang Yicheng was no match for the mother and daughter, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree.
He wondered what else he could do, otherwise the 1,000 yuan commission was too hot to handle.
When the doctor on duty saw Chen Yanqiu coming over, he immediately stood up with a smile: "Perfect timing, you can cover for me for a while, I'm going to the cafeteria to get some food."
Actually, there's usually nothing much going on in the infirmary, it's just that having someone there makes you feel more at ease.
Chen Yanqiu readily agreed: "Sure, I need to get my Xiaoxiao's feet fixed. By the way, if you have soybean and pig's feet soup today, could you get me a serving? It'll be good for nourishing the girl. If not, pork rib soup will do too."
As she spoke, she handed the meal tickets to her colleague.
Currently, you don't need food coupons to eat in the steel plant's canteen. Employees are given meal coupons regularly, ranging from one mao, five mao, one yuan, two yuan, to ten yuan. These meal coupons can be used as cash throughout the steel plant area—no, to be precise, throughout the entire plant area.
It is evident that anything, as long as it is backed by power, can be empowered to be converted into currency.
Wang Xiao was terrified that the on-duty doctor would come and see her; it would be too embarrassing. Did she really need to go to the infirmary for something like this?
Fortunately, the person was in a hurry to get dinner and didn't have time to be polite. He took the meal ticket, grabbed the enamel mug, and went out. Just then, someone came in, and he immediately pointed inside: "There's someone here, come in."
The person who came in was an acquaintance, a Soviet university student.
Why would they come to the steel plant's medical clinic at this hour?
Because they were staying at the steel mill's guesthouse.
The chemical institute doesn't have its own guesthouse, and the leaders are worried about leaving people in guesthouses outside, fearing that something might go wrong.
Wang Xiao simply arranged for everyone to stay in the steel plant's guesthouse. Firstly, it was close by and the guesthouse was inexpensive; secondly, the steel plant was like a small society with its own security department, and to exaggerate a bit, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a paradise.
These days, public security is a serious problem. Even in a big city like Shanghai, hotel thefts, robberies, and murders have made the news.
Everyone felt at ease staying at the steel mill's guesthouse.
If they're staying at a guesthouse, why are they going to the clinic? Are they sick?
Cough cough, no.
They came to buy canned fruit.
Based on the principle that "canned yellow peaches cure all diseases," the clinic also sells canned fruit. Previously, as a nutritional supplement, this was a good thing that could be bought without a ticket, only with a doctor's diagnosis certificate.
It doesn't matter now, as long as I pay.
Soviet university students did indeed love sweets; the money they earned as models in shopping malls was mostly spent on canned fruit, aside from buying alcohol.
Wang Xiao watched them eat sugar pastries and canned sweet soup, and she was really worried about their blood sugar; but they were eating so happily that she didn't say anything.
Her mother was disinfecting the wound on her ankle, so she couldn't get up to greet people. She could only smile and say hello, gesturing to Tang Yicheng with her eyes.
Tang Yicheng quickly stood up and went to get some canned fruit. There were mixed nuts, lychees, oranges, and yellow peaches; he wondered which kind the two ladies wanted.
The female college students discussed it briefly, and one of them took a yellow peach while the other took an orange.
Then, the two girls, with a particularly good heart, didn't leave with the canned food, but instead went to Wang Xiao to inquire about her injuries.
Wang Xiao was so ashamed that he wished he could transform into Tu Xingsun on the spot. Was it really necessary to make such a fuss over such a small injury?
Just as she was about to quickly pull her foot back, she suddenly heard Tang Yicheng exclaim, "Comrade...you...what's wrong with you?"
The light brown-haired female student standing to Wang Xiao's left fell to the ground. The jar she was holding broke, spilling thick sugar water and fruit pulp all over the ground, and the pastry she was holding was also scattered in pieces.
Her eyes were wide open, her mouth was agape, and she looked like she couldn't breathe. Even though it was the middle of winter, her forehead was covered in sweat.
Oh my god, Wang Xiao was terrified.
This is?
Poisoning?!
Are there really spies causing trouble, and it's going to escalate into a diplomatic incident?
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Regarding foreign exchange certificates, the information comes from the internet. The explanation in the article about exchanging rubles for foreign exchange certificates is A-Jin's understanding; A-Jin truly doesn't know the facts, and the information isn't that specific. What is known is that foreign currencies such as US dollars, Japanese yen, and Hong Kong dollars can be directly exchanged for foreign exchange certificates, but the regulations governing the scope of foreign currencies don't specify which are included. In the 1990s, the Shanghai Friendship Store did indeed host foreign guests from a Soviet song and dance troupe, who snapped up towels and bath towels.
If you wear these and find that rubles cannot be exchanged for foreign exchange certificates, there's nothing I can do about it, cough cough.
Regarding foreign exchange certificates: Information is sourced from the internet.
For those born in the 1990s, the foreign exchange certificates that ceased circulation in 1995 are probably something they've never even seen. But in China during the 1980s and early 1990s, this special currency issued by the Bank of China was, to the Chinese people at that time, something akin to Bitcoin today.
To explain what foreign exchange certificates are, we must first talk about international trade and foreign exchange.
Trade between different countries is usually settled in US dollars, except in some special cases where goods are exchanged. In order to use for international trade, countries need to hold a certain amount of foreign exchange assets that can be readily converted into foreign currencies; these are what we commonly refer to as foreign exchange reserves.
At the beginning of the reform and opening up, the demand for foreign exchange on all fronts increased dramatically: the introduction of technology, the purchase of production lines, and the import of various goods that we could not produce ourselves all required foreign exchange to pay for.
At that time, our foreign exchange mainly relied on export trade. Before the reform and opening up, the Canton Fair, which started in 1957, was China's only window for foreign trade.
However, the development of export trade was also fraught with difficulties. When I was in school, the professor who taught international trade was a veteran of foreign trade. Whenever he talked about the foreign trade work back then, he couldn't help but sigh. The factors that led to the sluggish export growth at that time mainly came from three aspects.
1
We lack high-quality core products. We still need to import many modern industrial products.
2
Among the light industrial products that have the opportunity to be exported, "the textiles have monotonous and similar patterns, the cartoon characters are not cute, and the floral colors are red and green, so many can only be sold as cheap products in Europe."
3
The exchange rate issue. In 1980, the exchange rate was 1 US dollar to 1.49 Chinese yuan. This meant that if the cost of a product was 6 yuan, its export price had to be higher than 4 US dollars. At that time, countries already facing foreign exchange shortages could not provide export subsidies as they do today, resulting in goods positioned as inexpensive being priced high.
Clothing products exhibited at the Canton Fair in the 1980s
Faced with numerous difficulties in developing export trade, they sought solutions through other channels, such as special supply stores.
Since the reform and opening up in the late 1970s, the number of foreign tourists traveling to China for business and leisure has gradually increased. Special stores such as Friendship Stores have emerged to meet this need—they gather a portion of the scarce goods that normally require coupons and sell them to foreign tourists at prices higher than domestic prices, thereby generating foreign exchange.
Li Xihu, former director of the Special Supply Department of the Ministry of Commerce, had been engaged in the business of special supply goods and overseas Chinese friendship stores for many years. He once told the following story: An African student went to a friendship store and bought two cartons of "Great China" cigarettes. He could resell them and earn enough for his living expenses for a month, but as a result, the country basically did not receive any foreign exchange.
What does this mean? Let me give you an example.
Let's say I come to China and exchange $100 for 150 yuan at an exchange rate of 1:1.5.
Then I used 150 RMB to buy some rare items that were hard to find elsewhere at a special store.
After leaving the store, I sold the item for 250 RMB.
Then I spent 50 RMB on food, drinks, and entertainment.
When I left China, I exchanged the remaining 200 RMB back into US dollars.
As a result, the country not only failed to retain foreign exchange, but also lost more than 30 US dollars in foreign exchange!
Let's say I come to China and exchange $100 for 150 yuan at an exchange rate of 1:1.5.
Then I used 150 RMB to buy some rare items that were hard to find elsewhere at a special store.
After leaving the store, I sold the item for 250 RMB.
Then I spent 50 RMB on food, drinks, and entertainment.
When I left China, I exchanged the remaining 200 RMB back into US dollars.
As a result, the country not only failed to retain foreign exchange, but also lost more than 30 US dollars in foreign exchange!
To address this situation, foreign exchange certificates came into being.
Foreigners entering China would exchange their own currency for special foreign exchange certificates, which they would then use to make purchases at Friendship Stores.
Before leaving the country, exchange the foreign exchange certificates back into the local currency.
(Foreign tourists exchanging foreign exchange certificates at a Bank of China counter)
The introduction of foreign exchange certificates alleviated the difficulty of earning foreign exchange in the special-supply store system to some extent. However, the price difference and the scarcity of in-demand goods that required certificates to purchase still existed.
On the one hand, foreigners are anxious because the prices are much higher than those in ordinary stores.
On the other hand, people are anxious because they can't buy the goods that are right in front of them but because they don't have the ration coupons. For example, they have prepared the money to buy a refrigerator for their wedding, but they can't buy it because they don't have the refrigerator coupons.
With demand on both sides, a black market for reselling foreign exchange certificates naturally emerged.
Reports from 1987 on relevant departments cracking down on the resale of foreign exchange certificates.
Foreigners privately exchange their foreign exchange certificates for RMB, and then go directly to cheaper ordinary stores to buy common goods.
Chinese people bought foreign exchange certificates and went to the Friendship Store, which was originally only open to foreign guests, to buy scarce goods that they were not eligible to purchase before, or they went directly to the bank to exchange them for foreign currency. At that time, the amount of foreign exchange that individuals could exchange when going abroad was pitifully small, and they could only "supplement" it by collecting foreign exchange certificates.
As more and more people try to obtain foreign exchange certificates, a black market for reselling them has emerged. These black marketeers typically wait for customers near places like the Overseas Chinese Hotel, hotels catering to foreigners, and the Bank of China. They approach people and ask, "Want to exchange money?" or "Want foreign exchange certificates?" Once an agreement is reached, the two parties find a back alley to make the transaction, while cautiously checking for police presence.
After the transaction is completed, foreigners can use RMB to spend in more stores, while Chinese people can use foreign exchange certificates to buy large items such as imported color TVs and refrigerators.
In the hands of scalpers, foreign exchange certificates are worth 30% more than RMB of the same face value. This price difference makes "currency trading" a highly profitable "profession," and more and more people are risking imprisonment to join the ranks of scalpers.
Some people also used this to commit fraud. At the time, a popular term was "cutting the money," which referred to those who secretly pocketed a portion of the money.
It's said that there are quite a few "foreign exchange masters" on Yabao Road. One man once allegedly traded enough money on Yabao Road to create a three-story building. Years later, he was arrested and, during interrogation, was asked to recount the entire trading process. He claimed that 2,000 RMB, after being counted by him, was reduced to only 1,500 RMB when returned to the police. Throughout this process, the police, with their eyes fixed on him, failed to detect any discrepancies.
In order to regulate the money market, on December 29, 1993, the People's Bank of China announced that it would stop issuing foreign exchange certificates from January 1, 1994.
In the last two days of December 1993, an unprecedented buying frenzy swept through major foreign trade stores in Beijing. The shelves of the Friendship Store were almost emptied, and the cigarette counter on the first floor was packed with people pulling out handfuls of small bills from their pockets, calculating which cigarettes they could buy to spend their last penny…
In fact, with the liberalization of market supply, the goods in Friendship Store were no longer scarce, and foreign exchange certificates were no longer so important to ordinary people. Before the issuance of foreign exchange certificates ceased, television tickets, refrigerator tickets, and bicycle tickets had already gradually disappeared from the historical stage.
Having foreign exchange certificates was equivalent to individuals escaping the planned economy era of rationing. Driven by enormous profits, people's enthusiasm for foreign exchange certificates at that time was no less than that for Bitcoin today—the difference being that Bitcoin is for obtaining huge returns, while foreign exchange certificates were more about realizing "I have the right to buy this thing."
In today's world of abundant resources, this kind of qualification may be difficult for young people to understand.
As for collecting foreign exchange certificates to exchange for foreign currency, there is even less need for that – nowadays China has the world’s largest foreign exchange reserves, and many people even skip the step of exchanging foreign currency when traveling abroad: they simply use Alipay in foreign shopping malls.
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