Chapter 199 Friendship Store
In fact, without Zhu Lin and Gong Xue saying anything, Li Changhe could guess what their good news was.

"Is there any news? Did your art troupe release the people?"

Li Changhe said with a smile.

Gong Xue nodded gently: "I called my mother's unit this morning, and she said that the group contacted me and agreed to second me to participate in the filming of the movie. The crew is waiting for me in Shanghai, and I have to report to the crew before the 20th."

"Since you don't want to go back, the group will have to agree even if they don't agree. But after the filming of this movie, you will probably be criticized when you return to the group."

"Just criticize me if you want. I'm just like that in the group anyway."

Gong Xue didn't care at the moment. She had already let it go these days.

Why is it that everyone else is fine but she is stuck?

"It's no big deal. As long as you don't want to be promoted, they can't do anything to you."

"The most important thing in the system is promotion, which involves your various benefits. As long as you are not tempted by this, there will be no problem."

“Let me put it this way. In another year, even if you resign from the system, there won’t be any problem.”

Li Changhe said with a smile.

In the 1980s, material rations would only become more and more abundant, while the role of coupons would become less and less important, and the importance of money would become more and more important.

In contrast, the importance of work within the system will be greatly reduced, and business will become the mainstream.

"Go, don't listen to his nonsense. Nowadays, movies are made in studios. You can only transfer, not resign."

At this time, Zhu Lin refuted Li Changhe's words without hesitation.

Without an identity within the system, there is no way a film studio would want you to make a movie.

"But there is one more thing. If Xiaoxue wants to go back to Shanghai, she needs to buy a train ticket, but she doesn't have a letter of introduction."

"Do you want her to go back to the art troupe to cancel her leave and get a letter of introduction, or something?"

Zhu Lin also pointed out a current problem.

It would be too obvious if I went back to the art troupe to cancel my leave at this time.

This means that Gong Xue has been paying attention to this matter in Beijing. Otherwise, no matter how you explained, she would have agreed to let you be seconded to the crew, and now you have come to Beijing again.

"That's it, simple!"

"I'll arrange a train for you later!"

Li Changhe heard this and said with a smile.

"what?"

When Gong Xue heard what Li Changhe said, she looked at him in surprise.

Zhu Lin was also a little surprised: "Do you have a solution?"

"One of my classmates has a family member who is an official in the Ministry of Railways. This is just a small matter for him!"

Li Changhe said with a smile.

There is a new guy in their Economics Department, Class of 78. His family works in the Ministry of Railways. This year, many people in the Economics Department bought tickets and he helped them.

For some long distances, this buddy directly arranged sleeper berths for them. Although he didn’t mention the social status of their family, this buddy just said one sentence.

As long as it's about the railway, he can do it!

Now Gong Xue is just returning to the Magic City, which is no problem for that guy.

"If it's a family within the Ministry of Railways, this wouldn't be difficult."

She also knew people from the Ministry of Railways, and it was she who exchanged Li Changhe's sleeper ticket to Hulin.

The Ministry of Railways has its own system, and many of their railway people do not need letters of introduction or money to travel.

See which bus has a connection, tell the staff and get on board directly. These are all hidden benefits.

"Then Xiaoxue doesn't have to go back to the art troupe. She can just take a bus and leave in two days."

"By the way, you also said there was something good. What was that?"

Zhu Lin then asked Li Changhe again.

Without the worry of the return ticket, Zhu Lin remembered the good things Li Changhe had said when he came back, so he asked Li Changhe.

Li Changhe took out the cash box with a smile, placed it on the coffee table, and then gently opened the lock.

pat!

The cash box popped open, revealing stacks of foreign exchange certificates inside.

"What is this? Foreign exchange certificates?"

Zhu Lin curiously picked up a stack of foreign exchange certificates that looked similar to the Great Unity ones and asked in surprise.

"Correct!"

"These are all in denominations of one hundred, which means one is equivalent to one hundred yuan?"

Zhu Lin looked at the face value of 100 written on it and continued to ask curiously.

"That's right!"

"But the biggest surprise is not this, but this!"

Li Changhe took out the top property certificate.

Zhu Lin took it and looked at it curiously, then looked at Li Changhe with surprise in his big eyes.

"Have you bought a house?"

"I happened to go to the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office today to report on my work, and I mentioned it to Mr. Liao by the way, asking if I could buy an Overseas Chinese House."

"I never thought that Mr. Liao agreed, so I bought it with foreign exchange coupons!"

"Look, I've got all the keys."

Li Changhe took the key out of his pocket and showed it to Zhu Lin.

"Really?"

"Is it the Overseas Chinese Apartment over in Huayuan Village?"

Zhu Lin asked Li Changhe with surprise in his eyes.

"Correct!"

Li Changhe nodded.

"Then let's go check it out now. We have nothing to do now anyway!"

At this moment, Zhu Lin no longer cared about the hot weather outside and just wanted to go and see the house.

This is their house and will be their home in the future. Moreover, they bought it themselves, not allocated by the state.

"That's fine. I can also get some foreign exchange coupons and go to the Friendship Store to buy some things. There's nothing in that house!"

"We have to match the furniture ourselves!"

Li Changhe thought about it and decided that since he was going into the city anyway, he might as well go to the Friendship Store to do some shopping.

After all, there is nothing in the house now, just painted walls and paved floors.

After all, it was a house sold to overseas Chinese, and in this era it was considered to be well-decorated, not unfinished.

"Okay, let's pack up and go quickly."

At this moment, Zhu Lin couldn't wait any longer.

Li Changhe then took out a stack of money from the cash box.

"Do you need to take so much? These are all in 100-yuan denominations. You must have taken tens of thousands."

Seeing Li Changhe took out so much money, Zhu Lin asked in surprise.

"This is a fine that needs to be paid. I will mail it to the border control office later."

"The clothes and watches I brought back were over the limit, so I not only had to pay the tax, but also a fine."

"We can go and hand it in together later!"

Li Changhe said to Zhu Lin with a smile, then stuffed the money into his bag. After thinking for a while, he also put a kitchen knife in it.

These days, we have to be on guard!
"Let's go. Let's ride our bikes to the post office first, then go to Garden Village, drop off the bikes at Garden Village, and then go to the city."

Huayuan Village is just south of Li Changhe's home. In fact, you can get there by walking along the road towards the drama troupe from the west.

However, considering Gong Xue's current situation, they definitely couldn't go that way, so Li Changhe and the others took Baiyi Road in the east. The three of them rode their bicycles to the post office to remit money, and then braved the hot sun to come to the Overseas Chinese Apartment.

"call!"

Although there was a thin layer of sweat on his head, Zhu Lin's eager heart could not be stopped.

I walked up the stairs to the fourth floor and opened the door. What came into view was a spacious and large four-bedroom apartment.

Although it is the top floor, it is not very hot in here because there is an insulated attic upstairs.

"so big!"

Gong Xue followed in and said in shock.

The housing situation in Shanghai is actually more tight than in Beijing. The average housing area per person is only 4.9 square meters. For example, Gong Xue's family, who lives in an old house in an alley, does not even have as much space as the living room of this house.

Gong Xue was already amazed by Li Changhe's two-bedroom apartment, but now she was even more shocked by the large four-bedroom apartment in front of her.

To be frank, in the whole of China today, except for a few villas for big shots, Li Changhe's four-bedroom apartment is already the top-notch residence.

“Is this the kitchen?”

"Living room, dining room, these are four bedrooms?"

Zhu Lin had already walked in and started looking at everyone one by one.

"Well, there's a staircase over here?"

Zhu Lin was a little surprised when he saw the stairs in the corner.

"There's also a loft upstairs that can be used as a utility room, but it's probably going to be very hot."

Li Changhe said with a smile.

"The floor of this house is already laid, so doesn't that mean we can just buy the furniture and move in?"

There is even a stove installed in the kitchen, and it is a gas stove. In this era, it is indeed an extremely high-end configuration.

"Let's go to the Friendship Store and buy something!"

Li Changhe said to Zhu Lin.

"Well, haven't we checked out the Friendship Store yet?"

After Zhu Lin finished shopping, he heard that they were going to the Friendship Store and said with a smile.

"I haven't been there either. We can go now."

Not to mention Zhu Lin, even Li Changhe has never been there.

In the early days of the Friendship Store, the guests received were divided into foreign guests and domestic guests. Foreign guests, as the name suggests, were foreigners.

To put it bluntly, internal guests are high-ranking officials, and cadres at the bureau level and above can enter.

However, this practice was only implemented for a few years. Later, when the country was short of supplies, domestic guests were no longer entertained. Only foreign guests were entertained, and they could enter with passports that could prove their identity.

During this period, foreign guests could only enter on their own with their passports, and were not allowed to bring family members or relatives.

Moreover, the Friendship Store did not supply goods openly at that time, and the quantity available to foreigners was also limited.

At that time, there was only one place in the country that continued to entertain foreign and domestic guests, and that was Shanghai.

It was precisely because Shanghai started this precedent that after the shortage period of a few years was over, Friendship Stores across the country basically opened up to Mainland guests again.

The above also turned a blind eye.

But it was still difficult for ordinary people to get in. At that time, many curious people just stood at the door and looked inside through the window.

This situation continued until the reform and opening up, that is, this year, when the authorities began to encourage foreign exchange earnings, and then some changes took place.

The requirements for identity level are not that strict. As long as you have foreign exchange coupons and identity proof, you can enter.

Li Changhe's identity certificate was issued by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office.

The three of them parked their bicycles downstairs, then walked out the door and got on the bus directly.

It was not rush hour, so there were fewer people on the bus. Li Changhe escorted the two women to the back and found a seat.

Zhu Lin and Gong Xue sat down and he stood aside.

The car drove forward and arrived at Jianguomenwai Street, which is the address of Beijing Friendship Store.

The only foreign-related store in Beijing is the Friendship Store. Unlike Shanghai and Guangzhou, in addition to the Friendship Store, there are also Overseas Chinese Stores, Foreign Trade Companies and many other foreign trade stores.

Although there is only one store, it also has its advantages. It is large and has a wide range of products. It has four floors and has everything you need, so you can shop in one place.

At the entrance of Friendship Store, Li Changhe showed his foreign exchange coupons and identity certificate to the guard, then led Zhu Lin and Gong Xue in.

“So many things.”

Unlike the counters in department stores, the Friendship Stores of this era are all filled with glass counters, and there are exquisite shelves behind them displaying various products.

All of these products are the highest-end products at home and abroad.

Because at that time, the Beijing Friendship Store had a loud slogan.

[We have the best products on the market; we must have products that are lacking in the market; we must also have popular foreign products! ]

The selection of waiters here is stricter than that of hotels in Beijing, and it is said that all of them can speak English and Japanese.

"Wait a minute, what is this?"

Li Changhe was a little shocked when he saw what was displayed in the central hall. Is this thing available now?

"Hello, comrade."

The waiter at the side hurried over and greeted politely. His attitude was much better than that in the department store.

“Isn’t this thing an electric car?”

Li Changhe asked in amazement as he looked at the car on display in the center of the hall, which was 90% similar to later electric cars.

When the waiter heard Li Changhe call out the name of this thing, he nodded immediately.

"Yes, this is an electric bicycle made by Suzuki of Japan. It can be pedaled or powered by electricity."

"There's a battery box here. Once you plug it in, you can run on electricity. The battery box can run about 30 kilometers."

"If you want to charge it, you can take the battery box off and take it home to charge it!"

The waiter introduced it to Li Changhe enthusiastically.

This electric bicycle is different from those in later generations. It needs to be temporarily plugged in and the circuit must be connected to the battery box before it can be powered and run.

"What if this thing spontaneously combusts?"

Li Changhe asked curiously. He remembered that electric cars had caught fire many times in his previous life.

"Ah? Spontaneous combustion?"

Just at this moment, a man came over and started talking to Li Changhe in a babble.

After hearing this, the waiter immediately translated for Li Changhe and said, "Comrade, this is Mr. Ichiro Sanben, an engineer from Suzuki. He said you don't have to worry about spontaneous combustion. The insulating material used on the outside of their battery box will not burn."

"Does he understand Chinese?"

Li Changhe was a little surprised.

Then that Sanben Ichiro started talking incoherently again.

"Mr. Ichiro Sanben said he can understand Chinese, but he can't speak it very well yet."

"He said if you are concerned about the safety of this type of electric bicycle, they still have motorcycles, which are still in the warehouse at the back and have not been unpacked. If you are interested, they can unpack them for you to have a look."

"Motorcycles are powered by gasoline and are safer than electric bicycles."

"Forget about the motorcycle, how much is this electric bicycle?"

Li Changhe asked the waiter curiously.

Now he and Zhu Lin are still in school, so buying a motorcycle would be too conspicuous. But this electric bicycle looks similar to a bicycle, so it's worth buying.

The main reason was that Li Changhe thought it would be convenient for him to pick up and drop off Zhu Lin.

If you really live in the Overseas Chinese Apartment, it will be far away from Xiaoxitian, and it will be difficult to go back and forth by bicycle.

It would be much more convenient to have an electric car at this time.

(Electric bicycles really existed back then. Someone took a photo of them and they were riding them in the 80s!)

(End of this chapter)