Chapter 68

"Who cares what kind of life you want? I want to write a few big characters, one character for one yuan. Will you do it?" Lin Qiangsheng said to Qi Wei.

Qi Wei looked up and asked, "How many characters do you want?"

"Emancipate the mind, seek truth from facts, economic construction, reform and opening up!" Lin Qiangsheng loudly recited.

Qi Wei counted and his eyes lit up. "Twelve characters, twelve yuan. I'll do it!"

Lin Qiangsheng thought for a moment, counted again, and said to Chen Yao with doubt, "Sixteen characters, right?"

Chen Yao also nodded seriously. "Yes, sixteen characters!"

"Sixteen yuan! Even better! Since I took this job, I haven't done modeling anymore. This month is a bit tight." Qi Wei chuckled.

Lin Qiangsheng nodded. Qi Wei had a girlfriend, so they must be a bit tight.

Qi Wei didn't have extra drawing paper, so the two of them took a car to the city's department store. This time, Chen Yao also came along, and the girl happily looked around the store.

After picking out 16 sheets of drawing paper, Qi Wei said, "Alright, I'll go back and draw it for you. Come to pick it up tomorrow morning."

Lin Qiangsheng took out one yuan and gave it to Qi Wei, saying, "Take the bus back yourself. I'll go shopping with my girlfriend."

Qi Wei glanced at Chen Yao, saw her blushing, and said with a teasing smile, "Oh, I see. Hehe, okay, I'll go back myself."

Watching Qi Wei leave, Lin Qiangsheng looked at Chen Yao and took her hand.

Chen Yao struggled a bit and said softly, "Qiangsheng, what are you doing? There are so many people!"

"Shopping, what's there to be afraid of!" He pulled Chen Yao to the clothing floor.

"Wow! This clothing is so expensive!" Chen Yao exclaimed, seeing a white cashmere sweater on display.

Lin Qiangsheng glanced at the price. "52 yuan, not bad. Does your brother's salary have 52 yuan?"

Chen Yao bit her lip and said, "So expensive! Who would buy it!"

The saleswoman behind the counter looked at them and said, "This is for domestic sale, not many pieces. If you want to buy, buy it. If not, step aside!"

Lin Qiangsheng glanced at the saleswoman, then pulled Chen Yao, who was pouting, to the fur coat counter. He pointed to a deep red women's mink coat and said, "Get me a mink."

The saleswoman looked at the young couple and asked, "Do you have a ticket? This mink coat requires a ticket!"

Chen Yao tugged on Lin Qiangsheng's hand and said, "Forget it, don't buy it! 110 yuan, so expensive! We don't have a ticket."

Lin Qiangsheng smiled at Chen Yao, leaned close to her ear, and said, "No worries, I'll buy it for you. I don't mind the cost!"

Chen Yao smiled and nodded, her face turning red.

Lin Qiangsheng took out a small notebook from his backpack, which contained various purchase tickets. He found a fur ticket, took out 110 yuan, and handed them to the saleswoman.

The saleswoman looked at the ticket with doubt, then nodded and said, "Alright, wait, I'll get it for you."

The saleswoman's attitude was still like that, as if she were the boss. Lin Qiangsheng shook his head; even after buying something, he didn't get any respect, not even a smile.

This was all due to equality! The customer didn't owe the saleswoman anything, and the saleswoman didn't get anything from the customer, so they were equal.

Chen Yao happily took the mink coat, and Lin Qiangsheng asked her to try it on. The girl shyly took off her cotton coat and quickly put on the mink.

"How does it look?" Chen Yao turned around, happily asking Lin Qiangsheng.

Lin Qiangsheng saw Chen Yao wearing the deep red mink coat, but with a gray-black homespun pants, which looked extremely mismatched.

Lin Qiangsheng smiled and said, "Let's go find a pair of pants!"

They went to the pants counter and picked out a pair of bell-bottoms. Bell-bottoms had been popular in Europe and America for a while and were now in the waning phase. But they had only just started to appear on the counters in China and hadn't yet become widely popular.

"Is this good?" Chen Yao turned around in the deep blue bell-bottoms, the flared legs like flowers, gently swaying with her movements.

"This girl, you look really good in these pants!" The saleswoman's attitude improved a bit, which was normal.

Lin Qiangsheng saw Chen Yao in the outfit and immediately felt she looked radiant and graceful. He smiled and said, "Not bad! Chen Yao, you look great in this. Let's get it."

Since they had bought the outerwear, they might as well buy the innerwear as well. Lin Qiangsheng took Chen Yao to the cashmere counter, where a different saleswoman was working, and picked out a set of off-white cashmere sweater and pants.

"Qiangsheng, will your family say anything about you buying so many clothes for me?" Chen Yao held the mink coat and asked Lin Qiangsheng timidly.

Lin Qiangsheng shook his head and said, "No, they won't. I do this and that, do you see my parents say anything?"

Chen Yao smiled and said, "They're afraid you'll get into trouble again, like last year when you got beaten up."

Lin Qiangsheng laughed and patted his head. If he hadn't been hit, he might not have been reborn. He didn't know if it was a blessing or a curse!

As they walked to the first floor, a commotion suddenly broke out ahead. Many people rushed to the front counter.

Lin Qiangsheng immediately grabbed a young man and called out, "Brother, what's happening up front?"

The young man, looking anxious, shouted, "They're selling TVs! A new batch of TVs has arrived. Hey, don't pull me!"

The young man hurriedly shook off Lin Qiangsheng's hand and ran forward.

Lin Qiangsheng pulled Chen Yao to the side. They saw many people rushing forward, pushing and shoving, and buying things like they were in a fight!

Lin Qiangsheng and Chen Yao looked at each other, and he said, "Buying TVs is so lively!"

Chen Yao nodded in agreement.

They slowly moved forward and saw the male salesperson at the TV counter shouting, "Don't push! Buy with tickets! First come, first served!"

His shouting didn't help; as soon as he said "first come, first served," many people who wanted to buy TVs immediately started shouting.

"I was here first, give me one!" "Give me one first, I have the ticket and money! Give it to me!"

"What the hell are you pushing for?!" "I'm not pushing you! It's the people behind me!"

"Then why are you poking me with that thing?!"

"..."

In less than half an hour, the new batch of TVs was sold out.

"Are there any more, comrade?" A middle-aged man who didn't get one asked the salesperson.

The salesperson replied irritably, "No, none left!"

The middle-aged man said sadly, "Sigh, I need this for my wedding dowry! I finally found a bride, and her family wants a TV. What should I do?"

The salesperson said, "There are two that don't work. Do you want them?"

The middle-aged man's eyes lit up. "How do they not work?"

"They got damaged during transportation. They don't show pictures, only sound. Do you want to buy them?" the salesperson said.

The middle-aged man nodded quickly. "I'll buy them, I'll buy them!"

The salesperson smiled and called for someone to bring out the two broken TVs from the warehouse. He said, "I'll tell you, find a good electrician to fix it. Maybe it will work."

At this moment, someone else called out, "I'll buy the other one!" The young man took out the ticket and money and slapped them on the counter.

The salesperson's eyes lit up, and he smiled and nodded. "Alright, I'll sell it to you!"

The young man didn't haggle and quickly packed the TV and carried it away.

While the middle-aged man was hesitating, another person jumped in to buy it. They argued, and in the end, the middle-aged man couldn't compete with the newcomer, who directly handed the money and TV ticket to the salesperson.

Chen Yao asked in surprise, "Broken TVs, people still buy them!"

Lin Qiangsheng nodded and said, "Shortage of goods, tight supply! It's a seller's market now! The people have no choice!"

Lin Qiangsheng knew that at this time in China, even broken fans and washing machines were snatched up by customers. Even if they were broken, they had to buy them, or they wouldn't get anything!

This was the best time. In the southern coastal areas, many people had already taken action! Catalog King Ye Jianhua had already started taking photos of goods produced by small workshops to promote his photography business! He later joked that he was more than twenty years ahead of Alibaba.

Lin Qiangsheng shook his head and sighed to himself. Unfortunately, they were in the inland area, where the mindset was not as open as in the coastal regions. The wave of the new era rose and fell quickly, disappearing without a trace!