Outside the repair shop, there were onlookers gathered to watch the spectacle.
The experienced worker and the two new employees stood obediently, as if being punished by a teacher, not daring to move.
Only Xiao Liu, who had worked for Xu Kailin the longest, desperately tried to stop him.
"No way! You can't take this color TV away!"
A man with thick eyebrows and large eyes shouted righteously, "Get out of the way!"
Xiao Liu flinched.
But thinking that if these people took the color TV, it would be difficult for the boss to get it back later, he stepped forward to stop them.
As a result, it was knocked over by the person moving the TV.
Gu Wei's car pulled up nearby, and the three of them witnessed the scene.
Xu Kailin jumped out of the car before it had come to a complete stop.
Gu Wei and Li Bin also got out of the car and quickly followed.
"Xiaoliu, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Brother Xu."
Xu Kailin helped the man up, his gaze sweeping over the two men, one fat and one thin, and instantly guessed their identities.
The man, with his hands behind his back and chin raised, glanced sideways at Xu Kailin, who was clearly drunk, as well as the handsome Gu Wei and the white car. "You're the shop owner, huh?"
Xu Kailin suppressed his anger, forced a smile, and took out an open pack of cigarettes from his down jacket pocket. "Yes, comrade, here, have a smoke."
The man swatted the cigarette away. "Don't give me that! You know your problem is serious."
Xu Kailin looked down at the cigarettes that had fallen to the ground, straightened up a bit, and adopted a humble, inquiring posture, "Excuse me, what's the problem?"
"There are too many problems! Come with us!"
"No, the New Year is almost here," Xu Kailin said softly. "Comrade, you know Brother Jia, right? We were drinking together the other day..."
The man's expression changed.
Xu Kailin leaned closer and said a few more words.
Then the man waved his hand and left with his men.
There was nothing exciting to see, and those nearby and those passing by all dispersed.
"Pah!" Xu Kailin spat fiercely on the ground, then looked at Xiao Liu and the other three people who were too guilty to look up, a glint of malice flashing in his eyes.
Gu Wei gazed at the azure winter sky and the black ash from burning coal, his feelings a complex mix. He didn't know what to say in this situation.
Li Bin sighed, "It's really not easy to run a business."
Xu Kailin smiled wryly, "This is nothing."
Because of what he unexpectedly witnessed, Li Bin changed his original plan to stay for a few more days and decided to take the second-hand color TV back by train the next day.
However, before leaving, he wanted to buy some things for his family.
1986 was the Year of the Tiger, and Gu Hongjie was born in the Year of the Tiger. Since it was his birth year, Gu Wei wanted to buy him some red clothes and asked Li Bin to bring them back first. If they were to be put in the clothes after the purchase and delivery, it might take a long time.
The two men went shopping with a shared goal in mind.
Soon, they were all carrying large and small bags.
As Gu Wei walked, he saw a crowd of people gathered ahead.
Almost everyone who squeezed out of the crowd had their hands full; the paper bags they carried were printed with the words "Fool's Melon Seeds".
He instantly revealed a playful smile.
Surprisingly, the provincial capital also started holding a lottery event quite quickly.
Li Bin, eager to find out what was going on, quickened his pace and went over first.
When Gu Wei arrived in front of Li Bin, he excitedly pointed to the red paper standing to the side.
"Brother Gu, look! Buy two jin of Silly Melon Seeds and you get a lottery ticket. The draw is in May, and the first prize is a Shanghai-brand car worth over 20,000 yuan! If I won, that would be great! It would save me the money I would have spent on the car!"
Gu Wei glanced at Li Bin, whose eyes were shining, and then at the people around him who were eagerly buying things. He felt as if he were the only one who was sober in a world of drunks.
"There's only one top prize nationwide, the odds of winning are too small."
"Why not gamble for fun when we have nothing else to do? We'll definitely need to buy sunflower seeds for the New Year anyway, so who knows, we might just hit the jackpot!" Li Bin thought his plan was brilliant and decided to queue up to buy more.
The amount of money spent on sunflower seeds was a drop in the ocean for Li Bin, and Gu Wei didn't say anything more.
He found a quiet spot nearby and, while observing the enthusiastic crowd, recalled the information he had found.
In early January 1986, Silly Melon Seeds launched a nationwide sales promotion with prizes, the grand prize being a Shanghai-brand sedan worth over 20,000 yuan.
In the 1980s, consumers who had never seen such a huge prize were immediately aroused, and in just three months, the profits of the Silly Melon Company reached millions.
Such a grand spectacle is bound to cause a stir.
Sure enough, the good times didn't last long, as a document explicitly prohibited all sales activities with prizes.
Even if they won the prize, they couldn't claim it, so the sunflower seeds they had sold started to be returned. This disrupted the production and sales plan, causing a large backlog of sunflower seeds, severely damaging the company's cash flow, and resulting in a complete loss of all their capital.
Li Bin ended up buying 20 jin (10 catties) of sunflower seeds and received 10 prize tickets.
Gu Wei could tell that if the two of them hadn't brought a lot of things and hadn't been away from their hometown, Li Bin would definitely have bought more than just these.
Later, when they went to have dinner with Xu Kailin, Li Bin brought up the matter again.
Xu Kailin smiled after hearing this, "Is that so? Then I'll ask my mom and the others to buy some too. Brother Gu, have you bought any?"
Gu Wei paused in his teacup-swirling motion. "No. I seem to have no affinity for these prize-winning sales promotions, so I'm too lazy to participate."
It's unclear when exactly, but the trend of sales with prizes has begun, and Silly Melon Seeds undoubtedly boasts the highest prize value and the most attractive offerings.
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