Hello 1983

  Chapter 254 Friendship Store

  At this moment, Liu Qingshan really wanted to laugh three times: Hahaha, we also have a house in the capital.

   Negotiated the price, agreed to come over tomorrow, go to the street and go through the relevant procedures with the housing management office, and then everyone returned to the old hater's uncle's house together.

   Boil hot water and make a pot of high-quality tea. According to the old hater, master uncle, in summer, you must drink hot tea to sweat, and you must not keep it.

  The three of them drank hot tea, wiped their sweat, and discussed future plans.

   It wasn't Liu Qingshan who was most excited, but Uncle Lu:

   "Qingshan, I've decided. I'll do what you said. I'll start working hard here in the capital, and I'll buy my own house in the future!"

   This is stimulated.

  It's understandable when you think about it, this is the capital, and people all over the country are trying to squeeze in with their heads sharpened.

  Liu Qingshan gave him a thumbs up: "Uncle Lu, your dream will definitely come true."

   "I am, I am!"

  Old Maoer is also in a hurry. Although he is not very clever, he is not stupid. This nephew bought a house without blinking his eyes. He is a person who does great things.

  He also decided: follow his nephew.

   "Uncle, without you, we can't do this business."

  Liu Qingshan also directly gave a high hat: "Our business requires you to ride a tricycle and wander around the city of Sijiu every day."

  The old hat was really useful: "Boy, your uncle also ate and saw it when he was young, and the old things at home have gone to sea."

   "What about these things?"

   Liu Qingshan and Master Lu asked in unison.

  Old Mao spread his hands together: "It's all over."

   Aren’t you a tickler for fun? Master Lu’s face was full of disappointment.

  Liu Qingshan was full of confidence: "Master, let's collect it all over the world!"

"it is good!"

  The other two also roared loudly, their small team of scratching old objects was officially established.

  Liu Qingshan felt that this name was not up to standard, so after thinking about it, he chose a more prestigious name: Material Cultural Heritage Rescue Group.

  Old Maoer also showed his arrogance: "Come on, do one!"

  The three of them held the big blue bowl, bumped into each other, and then they were burnt together and grinned, hehe, silly...

   After lunch, Liu Jinfeng and the other sisters were all revived, and Gao Wenxue took them to Wangfujing.

  As for the square that Xiao Lao Si is looking forward to, I still wait until tomorrow morning to watch the flag raising, and then go shopping by the way.

   Liu Qingshan and his newly formed three-person team are going to make a vote first, striving for a successful opening or something.

  Confidence is a good thing, but both Liu Qingshan and Master Lu are smug, so they can't go door-to-door and ask: Is there any second-hand goods for sale?

   Not to mention, in the old society, there was such a business, collecting old things in the streets and alleys, and they were called "playing small drums".

   At this time, the role of the old hat was revealed, riding a tricycle, pulling two people, wandering around for a while, and then stopped under a plaque.

  Liu Qingshan looked up, and saw the mottled four characters "Entrusted Store" on the signboard.

  He just remembered that after the founding of the People's Republic of China, pawnshops were abolished, and state-run entrusted shops came into being.

  For second-hand goods that are not needed at home, or if you are in a hurry to spend money, you put them in the entrusted store and sell them on your behalf. The store charges a certain handling fee.

   If you're looking for second-hand goods, this is the place to go, they're all old.

  The old hat also raised his finger and pointed: "Dongdan, Xisi, Beixinqiao, and Caishikou, these four consignment stores are the largest, and there are many others left. Occasionally, there are old items for sale here."

  After speaking, he shook his head and sighed: "It's a pity, we can't get in the Friendship Store, and it's useless to get in. There are no foreign exchange certificates, so we can't buy anything. There are really antiques there."

  The amount of information in these words is a bit large, Liu Qingshan thought for a long time before he got a vague impression.

  Friendship Store, to put it bluntly, is dedicated to serving foreign guests. In addition to providing some foreign goods, it also sells some domestic specialties.

  After the re-opening, there was a shortage of foreign exchange. In order to earn foreign exchange through export, many antiques such as porcelain that foreigners love were also placed in the Friendship Store and sold to foreign guests.

  At that time, the domestic currency management was strict, and the circulation of foreign currency was prohibited. In this way, in the 1980s, "foreign exchange certificates" came into being.

  Foreigners entering the country must convert their foreign currency into foreign exchange certificates, and within a certain range, use them at the equivalent value of RMB.

  Because foreign exchange certificates can be used to buy some in-demand commodities that cannot be bought with ordinary money, foreign exchange certificates were very popular at that time.

  Hearing that the Friendship Store sells antiques, Liu Qingshan is also a little itchy, but he doesn't have foreign exchange certificates in his hand, and this face is not easy to use, so let's go to the entrusted store first.

  Whether it is a friendship store or a consignment store, they are all products of the times, and they will gradually disappear or decline in the future. Liu Qingshan still cherishes the opportunity to shop around.

   Entering the store, Liu Qingshan was stunned, and saw half-new TVs and radios head-on. A big wooden clock or something, and even a bicycle in the corner, the permanent brand.

   What about the antiques?

  The old hat master explained to him in a low voice: "These are the common things. For the remaining old things, you have to touch them slowly. Come around when you have nothing to do. Maybe you will come across them someday."

  Liu Qingshan finally figured it out, it seems that this business really needs people like Uncle Shi and Master Lu to do it for a long time.

  Turning around in the store, apart from a few pocket watches, there is nothing to catch the eye.

  Things are not expensive, just like the very old big clock, which only costs 10 or 8 yuan, but even if you buy it and store it for decades, the room for appreciation is very limited.

   "Let's go, change a house."

  Old Master Master Mao set off again on three rounds, wandering from Xicheng to Dongcheng. There are also entrusted shops in Dongdan.

   I went in and turned around again, and it was similar to that over there. There were a lot of old things, but unfortunately there were no collectible antiques.

   "This thing has to be touched, there is no rush."

  Old Master Master Maoer saw that Liu Qingshan seemed a little anxious, so he comforted him a few words.

  Liu Qingshan also understands the truth, the main reason is that his stay in the capital is limited, to see if he can make a few deals with his own hands, and it’s just a good start.

   "Uncle Shi, why don't we go to the Friendship Store?" Since there must be antiques there, of course Liu Qingshan moved his mind.

  Old Mao shook his head: "It's useless to go, you can only walk around the door, and you can't even get in."

  Liu Qingshan smiled: "How will you know if you don't try?"

   More than an hour later, a tricycle was parked at the entrance of the Capital Friendship Store outside Jianguomen.

   A young man in a suit and leather shoes got off the car, wearing brown glasses, with an extraordinary bearing.

   "Xiao Shanzi, if you pretend to be an overseas Chinese, you won't be arrested by the police."

  The coachman, Old Hat, whispered to the young man.

   "Just put your heart at ease."

  Liu Qingshan tidied up his suit, looked up, and saw the six big red characters of "Capital Friendship Store" above the main entrance.

  The entire store is a small four-story building, which would be very common in the future, but in this era, it is a sacred place in the hearts of Chinese people, because here, you can buy all kinds of in-demand products that cannot be bought elsewhere.

  There are several cars parked at the gate, which is very rare in other places.

  Perhaps because Liu Qingshan has an extraordinary temperament, some people really regard him as a returned overseas Chinese.

  A young man pretended to pass by Liu Qingshan casually, and asked softly: "Hi sir, do you have any extra foreign exchange certificates to exchange?"

  Because foreign exchange certificates played a very important role, there were special foreign exchange certificates at that time.

  Liu Qingshan shook his head, and walked towards the gate, followed by two generals: Master Lu and Lao Maoer.

   "Hi sir, welcome, please show me your ID."

  A middle-aged man at the door greeted him very politely, but the procedures that should be performed must be performed.

  Liu Qingshan spread his hands, and a string of English came out of his mouth, as if he couldn't understand Mandarin.

  The middle-aged man is really not simple, and he also speaks proficient English, chatting with Liu Qingshan: "Sir, welcome to the Friendship Store, where did you return from?"

With a reserved smile on his face, Liu Qingshan replied in English: "I'm from Hong Kong Island, I'm sorry, I can only speak English and Cantonese, but don't worry, Hong Kong Island returned in 1997, so I'm going to study from now on. Putonghua."

   After finishing speaking, he extended his hand to the middle-aged man enthusiastically, and greeted with his tongue out: "Thunder Monkey."

  The middle-aged man was also amused by him, and reached out to shake hands with Liu Qingshan:

   "Sir, what you said makes sense. It can be seen that you are a patriotic overseas Chinese. You are welcome to return to China. I wish you a pleasant journey in China."

"sure."

  Liu Qingshan nodded: "The motherland has changed a lot and developed very fast. Seeing all this, as an overseas Chinese, I feel extremely gratified."

   "I am coming back this time, and I plan to invest in the capital and contribute my own strength to the construction of the motherland."

  Liu Qingshan talked eloquently, while the two middle-aged men behind him were so nervous that they didn't dare to speak out, for fear of revealing their secrets and being caught together.

   "Welcome, welcome, the motherland needs people of insight like you!" The middle-aged man was also quite enlightened, chatting with Liu Qingshan happily, and the chat was very lively.

   "Ahem!" Old Maoer couldn't help coughing twice, reminding Xiaoshanzi not to play too much.

  Liu Qingshan then smiled: "Oh, sir, let's talk later, my grandfather loves antiques from our motherland the most, I will go in first and see if I can help his old man fulfill his wish."

"Please!"

  The middle-aged man stretched out a hand, and did not ask Liu Qingshan for any documents.

   This also made the two brothers behind secretly heave a sigh of relief. They were about to step up to keep up, but they were stopped.

  Liu Qingshan smiled and said in English again: "This is the appraiser I hired. This is to help carry things. I can take responsibility for them."

   "Okay, please come in." The middle-aged man did not continue to stop, and the three of them really just mixed in like this.

   In fact, in two years, the Friendship Store will be open to Chinese people, but the consumption in it is still foreign exchange and foreign exchange certificates.

   Entering the store, the three of them turned upstairs and downstairs. Looking around, the products here are indeed more high-end than outside. Imported color TVs, refrigerators, etc. are dazzling.

   There are also chocolates, foreign wines, foreign tobacco, cigars, etc. that cannot be seen outside at all. Liu Qingshan also found Coca-Cola here.

  In addition, there are also foreign watches, jewelry, etc., which are simply not seen on the market.

  Of course, there are also many domestic boutique goods here: gorgeous silk, exquisite porcelain, and even elegant cheongsam, all for sale.

  Those things might be coveted by others, but Liu Qingshan didn't care much, and went directly to the special counters selling antiques.

  In this era, people don’t have any awareness of cultural relics protection, and many antiques are put on the shelves in such a blatant manner, just in exchange for foreign exchange.

  Exchanging resources for development is an old path that many countries have gone through, and it is really helpless.

  In terms of antiques, Liu Qingshan is a stickler, while Master Lu has long been straight-eyed. Even old hats who know a little bit stretch their necks to check the items on the shelves.

  Most of them are porcelains of various shapes. If they can be placed here, there must be no fakes, and there may even be a possibility of picking up leaks because they don’t pay much attention to them.

  Things are all good things, but the price is also good, the old hat muttered: "The price is outrageously expensive!"

  Liu Qingshan looked at those labels, with the name of the item on it, and the price below, followed by a string of zeros.

  The cheapest ones are several thousand, while the expensive ones are tens of thousands. You must know that foreign exchange certificates are equivalent to RMB, and they are exchanged at the People's Bank of China one-to-one.

  Even in the black market, the exchange price of foreign exchange certificates is even higher. Otherwise, how could there be the first batch of scalpers who dumped foreign exchange certificates.

  Liu Qingshan also figured it out a bit: This must be a deliberate increase in price. Anyway, he is facing rich foreigners or overseas Chinese, who will buy it or not.

  However, in his opinion, these antiques are really not expensive at all. If they are bought, they may return hundreds of times and thousands of times in profit in the future.

   Unfortunately, the foreign exchange in his hand is also limited.

  Grandma’s, it seems that you need to collect foreigners’ wool to make it.

  Looking across the store, he saw a few foreigners, all of whom were high-spirited, and turned into fat sheep in Liu Qingshan's eyes.

  Well, especially that hair is wool curly, the most similar.

  Although Liu Qingshan doesn't know how to do it, he is the head of the three people, responsible for communicating with the waiters, taking down the items on the shelves, and asking Master Lu to help.

   As expected of a foreign-related store, the waiters speak good English and can communicate with Liu Qingshan.

  After inspecting a few pieces of porcelain, Master Lu quietly poked Liu Qingshan, muttering in a low voice:

   "The big enamel bowl I saw just now, on the label it says it was an imitation of the Republic of China, but I think it should be a genuine product from the Manufacturing Office. It's best to take it down."

  Liu Qingshan looked at the label of that big bowl, the price was 3,000 yuan, which is really not cheap.

  However, if Master Lu is not mistaken, it is possible to sell this thing for 30 million after several decades, so it must be taken.

   Just when Liu Qingshan was about to pay, the big fat sheep in Liu Qingshan’s eyes just now, the foreigner with wool rolls, yelled in American English:

   "Wow, this large cloisonné enamel bowl is a beautiful work of art, I want it!"

  (end of this chapter)