Back To The 80s-Chapter 371 - 381: There is a Problem_1

Gu Xiaobei had settled the printing matter. With time to spare, he wondered about checking out the cost of television advertisements. He did go to inquire and was taken aback by the price.

At this time, television advertisements simply meant displaying a few lines of text on the screen, accompanied by an emotionless voice of the announcer: "Notice, a certain market is opening, all goods are high-quality and affordable, pre-order now." Surprisingly, they charged per character, with each character costing dozens.

After hearing this, Gu Xiaobei slinked dejectedly out of the television station, deciding to wait until he had more money before considering television advertising again.

He then moved on to retrieve his bicycle from the shed but found the rear tire flat and beyond repair. With a sigh, he had no choice but to push it home.

The July sun blasted down on him, and it felt as if it could scorch him raw. After walking awhile in the sun, Gu Xiaobei felt too hot. So he found a shady spot under a tree, parked his bike, and decided to take a short break.

As he sat fanning himself and looking idly around, he saw Jiang Jiayan and a man dressed in army green, coming along the side by side.

Gu Xiaobei couldn’t help but marvel at his continually crossing paths with Jiang Jiayan. He quickly eyed the soldier beside her. There was something odd about him; Gu had seen many soldiers, but none looked as eccentric as this one.

Jiang Jiayan also spotted Gu Xiaobei. She raised her chin high and walked in a haughty manner right past him. With white high-heels on, she intentionally tread heavily, making as much noise as possible.

The blazing July sun had melted the newly laid bitumen road. Jiang Jiayan, having to take a path under the sun to avoid Gu Xiaobei, stepped heavily, and her thin high-heels sank into the softened bitumen.

Seeing the scene unfold, Gu Xiaobei turned away, failing to suppress his amusement.

Jiang Jiayan, a bit embarrassed and angry, yanked her foot out of the road, only to have the cheap artificial-leather sole of her shoe completely come off, leaving just the upper part on her foot.

Gu Xiaobei bit his lip to hold back laughter at the sight of this. He watched as the uniformed man first moved Jiang Jiayan to a sheltered spot, then went back to retrieve the stuck sole. As the uniformed man bent down to pick up her shoe, Gu Xiaobei keenly observed that the man’s little finger had a long fingernail.

Once the uniformed man had retrieved the shoe, he went over and whispered a few words to Jiang Jiayan, apparently trying to cheer her up. Once done, he helped her hop away on one foot.

After the spectacle was over, Gu Xiaobei continued pushing his bicycle home.

Upon entering his courtyard, he saw his daughter tottering around. Whenever she seemed about to fall, the dog Dahuang would catch her by a strip of cloth tied to her back in his mouth. He would then lay down on the floor so that she could softly land on him. Each time this happened, she would laugh delightedly.

"How did you suddenly learn to walk? Our Xiaopang is amazing." Gu Xiaobei abandoned his bike, ran over to pick her up, and smothered her with kisses and praise.

Wen Xiuqing laughed nearby, saying, "It’s all thanks to Dahuang. Xiaopang wanted to play with Dahuang, and when I quietly let go of her hand, she actually took several steps to chase him. The moment Dahuang saw Xiaopang about to fall, he quickly laid down on the ground for her to land on. Xiaopang was overjoyed, and she’s been practicing since."

Holding Xiaopang’s hand, Gu Xiaobei said, "Come on, let’s take a few more steps for mommy." He let go of her hand, squatted down and moved back a couple of steps, and gestured for Xiaopang to come to him. Xiaopang’s eyes crinkled in joy as she beamed, and she began to totter towards him.

When Lu Zhanguo returned in the evening, Gu Xiaobei had Xiaopang show off her new walking skills. When Ji Xiangdong and Bai Xiaolan came over, Xiaopang had to perform again for her uncle and aunt. Gu Xiaobei wished the whole world knew that her daughter could walk now.

After dinner, when carrying the children home, Gu Xiaobei couldn’t resist laughing and describing to Lu Zhanguo how Jiang Jiayan had made a fool of herself that day. Then she suddenly asked, "Are soldiers allowed to have long fingernails?"

Lu Zhanguo was taken aback, "No, they are not. Why?"

Lifting Mo Wang, who was getting heavier by the day, Gu Xiaobei replied, "I saw one who had a pinky nail at least a centimeter long."

Lu Zhanguo recalled the impersonators who had been causing trouble and decided it was time to look into the matter with Wu Guangzhi.

The investigation was simple. After a few days of surveillance, they caught Huang Minghua, the fake soldier. No one expected that Huang Minghua would turn out to be Zhong Zhi’s brother-in-law. Upon hearing the news, Zhong Zhi nearly choked on his own rage. You could guard against outsiders, yet thieves lurked within. It was a severe slap in the face.

According to Huang Minghua, he had been preying upon young women by exploiting their blind adoration for heroes. He had created a fake identity as a war hero to cheat them out of their money and bodies.

When Jiang Jiayan found out, she nearly fainted. She was in the process of seeking a divorce from Song Tiezhu and felt smug about finding a hero as powerful as Gu Xiaobei. She would’ve never imagined losing money and getting swindled in this manner.

Once Song Tiezhu was made aware of the situation, he no longer sought to salvage their marriage and immediately agreed to a divorce. Jiang Jiayan was dumbfounded. It was as if her chickens had flown the coop and the eggs had been smashed.

Zhong Zhi was mortified and didn’t feel he could face staying in the squad any longer, so he requested a transfer or a discharge.

After a meeting, the military district decided to issue a reprimand to Zhong Zhi and denied his transfer and discharge requests. Zhong Zhi finally settled down.

Once the advertising pages were printed, Gu Xiaobei sent Chen Zhao and three others to the train and bus stations. They were to approach people who seemed like potential customers to recommend and introduce their products. If they were uncertain, they were to inquire more. Whoever brought in a customer would receive a reward of three yuan.

Gu Xiaobei knew that if he wanted to take it easy, he would have to raise capable generals. This required spending money as one could not expect horses to run while not letting them eat grass.

When Chen Zhao and his group learned that they would receive three yuan for bringing in a customer, regardless of the size of the purchase, they were eager to start. For them, just talking and earning money was a godsend. They split up into two groups, two to the railway station and two to the bus station. Unfazed by the summer heat or long hours, they set out to pull in customers.

When Chen Zhao and his group started attracting customers, the first batch of goods from Lu Aiguo arrived. The food items included Beijing instant noodles, fish skin peanuts, and fig powder. The rest were cloth, tea, daily domestic goods, toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap boxes, and more, even enamel basins made of stainless steel were included. However, there was no branded or characteristic goods.

Seeing the tea from Lu Aiguo, Gu Xiaobei once again had the idea of collecting black tea.

Lu Zhanguo and Ji Xiangdong came to help unload the goods into the storeroom. Meanwhile, Qin Li tallied the goods as Gu Xiaobei calculated the cost, adding the purchase price, freight, and labor charges, to calculate the suitable wholesale price.

At this time, Gu Xiaobei was the first to engage in private wholesaling in the provincial city. All the rest were state-run department stores with a centralized distribution system, splitting goods to various supply and marketing cooperatives for sale. In terms of pricing, they could not be as flexible as Gu Xiaobei.

After crunching the numbers, Gu Xiaobei set the prices, finalized the accounting record, then directed Lu Zhanguo and Ji Xiangdong to put some samples on the retail display shelves. The white shelves filled with colorful, diverse products added an air of cleanliness and orderliness.