Chapter 60 TV
For a Toyota car engineer, 100 foreign exchange coupons are just a small amount of money, which is the cost of a dinner with colleagues.
However, for the Chinese at that time, 100 foreign exchange coupons was a lot of money. If you went to the door of the Friendship Store to find a hawker who made foreign exchange coupons, you could exchange it for 330 yuan, which is equivalent to ten months' wages for ordinary workers.
In China in the 1980s, there was a big gap between the official exchange rate of foreign exchange and the private exchange rate. For example, the exchange rate for one dollar was 1:3 in the official exchange rate, while the exchange rate in the private black market was 1:10.
According to this exchange rate, more money can be exchanged on the black market. If ordinary people have dollars in their hands, they will definitely go to the black market to exchange them. Who will go to the government?
However, the reality is that most people still exchange foreign exchange through the official government, because there is such a magical thing as foreign exchange certificates.
Ordinary people exchange U.S. dollars on the black market, in exchange for renminbi, and if they go to an official institution to exchange, they exchange for foreign exchange vouchers.
Foreign exchange vouchers can be used to buy imported goods in foreign-related stores, but RMB cannot be used in foreign-related stores. When people had foreign exchange at that time, they definitely wanted to buy imported goods that RMB could not buy, rather than domestic products that could be bought with casual spending. .
Therefore, as long as they are not particularly short of money, after ordinary people have foreign exchange, they will go to official institutions to exchange foreign exchange certificates and then buy imported goods.
100 yuan foreign exchange coupons, you can't buy any big items in the Friendship Store, at best you can only buy non-staple food such as Hershey's chocolate, Marlboro cigarettes, or buy imported clothes, etc. Buyers are not enough to use electrical appliances , so Li Weidong temporarily collected the 100 yuan foreign exchange coupons.
After Kato Masakura was sent away, Li Weidong's translation work officially ended.
Zhou Fulai was still very interesting and applied for a translation grant to Li Weidong.
Zhou Fulai personally handed an envelope to Li Weidong and said, Mr. Li, you have been working hard these days. There is 50 yuan in it, which is a translation allowance for you.
Then thank you Zhou Ju. Li Weidong was not polite and accepted it directly.
The foreign trade department must have a special fund for foreign affairs reception, and squeeze 50 yuan from it for translation, which is also a normal expenditure.
Zhou Fulai went on to ask: Mr. Li, would you like to spend a few more days in Jinmen? Go for a walk around, or buy something to take home? After the foreign guests leave, although I can't arrange for you to continue living in Lishunde, our foreign trade Bureau Guest House, you can stay as long as you want.
Zhou Fulai is also a sensible person. He knows that when people from small cities come to Jinmen for business, it is equivalent to traveling at public expense, visiting scenic spots, buying some goods that are not available in small cities, and even carrying a refrigerator back home.
Li Weidong thought about it and said, I've already visited all the interesting places in Jinmen. I plan to go to Wuhe Shopping Center tomorrow to see TV sets. TV sets in Jinmen should be cheaper than ours. We That kind of small place, there is no department store yet.”
You want to buy a TV? Zhou Fulai continued, Have you brought enough money? A color TV costs 1,000 yuan!
Don't buy a color TV, it's too expensive, just buy a black and white TV. Li Weidong replied.
Black and white TVs cost 500 yuan, right? Zhou Fulai said.
Maybe the 12-inch ones are cheaper, right? Li Weidong continued: I still have 100 foreign exchange coupons in my hand, which should be enough if you count what I have with me.
Forex vouchers? Zhou Fulai's eyes lit up. However, he didn't ask where Li Weidong got the foreign exchange coupons. These days, as an interpreter for foreign guests, it is common for foreign guests to hand over 180 yuan of foreign exchange coupons.
Mr. Li, if you want to buy a TV, I have some solutions. Our state-owned 712 factory in Jinmen is related to our foreign trade bureau. If I buy a TV from their factory, it will be at the ex-factory price.
For a 14-inch black and white TV, about 100 foreign exchange coupons are enough. Zhou Fulai said.
Li Weidong instantly understood that Zhou Fulai was interested in the 100 yuan foreign exchange coupons.
The state-run 712 factory originally produced radios, but later switched to TVs. Although the TVs they produce are not as famous as Panda TVs, their sales in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region are still very good.
Li Weidong thought about it carefully. If 100 foreign exchange coupons were exchanged for RMB, it would be 330 yuan, and he could not buy a domestic black and white TV. It would be better to give these 100 foreign exchange coupons as blessings, which can be exchanged directly. a TV. This also counts as what is needed.
Thinking of this, Li Weidong took out the 100 foreign exchange coupons and handed them to Zhou Fulai: Director Zhou, I have to trouble you about the TV!
Well, I'll go and contact the 712 factory for you right away! Zhou Fulai's expression was as bright as a flower.
...
Li Weidong sewed the 25 million yen cashier's check on the innermost layer of the clothes, then carried the TV and boarded the train back to Qinghe.
On the green-skin train, there are not a few people carrying large and small bags, and all kinds of snakeskin sacks are the most mainstream luggage.
The carton of Li Weidong's TV was obviously different, but when everyone looked at the pattern of the TV on the carton, they all showed envious expressions.
Being able to afford a TV in 1985 is definitely a symbol of the rich. In the eyes of those around him, Li Weidong has already achieved the four modernizations ahead of schedule.
The wealth is not exposed, this TV seems to be a bit dazzling! Li Weidong secretly said in his heart.
The 14-inch black-and-white TV, although the screen is not large, is very heavy, and it can't run fast when others move it away. Li Weidong is not afraid of others thinking about it. What he is worried about is the 25 million yen cashier's check hidden in the clothes.
In the 1980s, social security was not as good as in later generations. In places like trains, where there were many people and police officers, although no one robbed openly, pickpockets were always indispensable.
Li Weidong was trembling all the way, and finally arrived at Qinghe smoothly.
...
In the family courtyard of the transportation company, next to the stone pier at the gate, Wang Lei is showing a square box in his hand, surrounded by a group of friends watching.
Have you seen it, this is Sanyo's tape recorder, put the tape in it, and press the switch, it can make a sound! Wang Lei showed off to the people around him.
In 1985, although tape recorders had already appeared, they were not widely used. At that time, tape recorders were all imported. Better two-channel tape recorders cost more than 300 yuan, and cheap ones cost more than 100 yuan.
Most people are reluctant to spend one or two hundred yuan to buy a tape recorder to listen to songs, so most of the people who buy a tape recorder are people who want to learn foreign languages.
Wang Lei didn't know where he got a second-hand Sanyo tape recorder. This tape recorder is like a big black turntable, monophonic, can only hold one cassette, has no radio function, and cannot be recharged. It uses two AA batteries. . However, this did not prevent Wang Haibin from showing off to everyone.
Brother Wang, let's play it, let's listen to it! Someone next to him said.
Okay, let's listen to a song for you! This thing costs batteries! Wang Lei said, pressing the recorder switch.
The Yangtze River, the Great Wall, the Yellow Mountains, and the Yellow River are heavy in my heart, no matter when, no matter where, my heart is the same...
My Chinese Heart sounded on the tape recorder, and as the singing sounded, the surrounding friends suddenly quieted down, as if immersed in Zhang Mingmin's singing.
Wang Lei looked complacent, and he enjoyed this swaggering feeling.
At this moment, Li Weidong passed by with the appearance of a TV.
Wang Lei saw Li Weidong from a distance, and he deliberately turned up the volume of the recorder, as if to demonstrate against Li Weidong.
However, the box of the TV set in Li Weidong's hand is very conspicuous, and the TV pattern drawn on the box can be seen from a distance.
Isn't that Li Weidong? What is he holding in his hand?
It looks like a TV!
Li Weidong bought a TV!
The people who originally surrounded Wang Lei immediately ran to Li Weidong's side.
Li Weidong, is this a TV? Someone asked.
Yeah, I went on a business trip to Jinmen and came back after a little TV. Li Weidong replied with a smile.
I saw that the friends followed Li Weidong and walked into the family home. They wanted to witness the unboxing of the TV with their own eyes.
TV sets are much more fragrant than tape recorders. With TV sets, who would listen to tape recorders?
In a blink of an eye, everyone was gone.
Only Wang Lei stood there alone, holding a big black brick in his hand, looking sultry.
