Reborn in the 1980s: Recapture My Devoted Husband-Chapter 617 - 598: Shanghai Trip
Looking around, only the pan-fried buns seemed decent.
After the meal, the two walked around the streets and found a nice guesthouse to settle in.
An international hotel, inside was quite clean, no vouchers needed, just a bit pricey; a single room cost five yuan a day. Fortunately, Lin Wan wasn’t short on money, so she was naturally willing to stay somewhere nicer.
When booking the room, the receptionist even asked for their marriage certificate, luckily they brought it along.
The room on the third floor was further inside, with an extra window allowing good ventilation. Surprisingly, it even came with a TV, something Lin Wan hadn’t anticipated.
"It’s quite nice," Han Yi nodded in agreement after looking around.
There was hot water and other amenities, just no private bathrooms; they were shared on each floor.
Luckily, there was a place to shower. The two took a quick shower and had a good night’s sleep.
...
At eight, they found a breakfast stall downstairs and grabbed a simple breakfast before Han Yi led Lin Wan to a trading area in the city.
In Shanghai, besides state-owned stores, there’s also a trade area bustling with many shops and merchants, very prosperous. Additionally, there’s a foreign trade section selling imported goods straight from overseas. After days of drifting at sea, the prices are quite steep!
Today they didn’t plan to find manufacturers but to explore the city’s malls instead.
Last time, Han Yi caught a criminal who fled here, so he was quite familiar with the trading district.
The shops here sold clothes much more stylish than those in S City or Z City, mostly foreign products.
Han Yi found them all similar, but compared to Lin Wan’s knack for picking clothes, he was way off. Yet, seeing the vast variety of things, even Han Yi’s eyes lit up.
"Do you like anything? If you do, just buy it." They came specifically to explore Shanghai with enough money. "This dress looks great, want to try it?" Han Yi pointed out an elegant European-style dress in the shop. It was off-white, with good drape and lace trim at the bottom. The dress had an additional layer of tulle on top, a simple V-neck design on the upper body, sleeveless, looking quite sophisticated.
"It’s indeed very beautiful." Even Lin Wan, who’s skilled at making clothes, found herself fond of the dress.
"How much is this dress?" Lin Wan inquired about the price.
"Forty yuan each, European goods, loved by young ladies and wives alike. Miss, would you like one?" The shop owner, a middle-aged woman with the usual shrewdness of a businessperson, said.
Forty yuan wasn’t expensive for Lin Wan; she’d sold winter clothes for the same price. But she wouldn’t agree to whatever price was quoted. She knew there was profit margin, "Too expensive, make it cheaper, I’ll take it for thirty yuan!" Lin Wan frowned, "You see this dress, the white color gets dirty easily, and the buttons aren’t to my liking..." She negotiated while critiquing the dress with a picky expression.
Hearing Lin Wan’s words, the salesperson’s face darkened, seeing these two dressed so smartly, she thought they’d be generous with money, not expecting them to be calculative!
"Young lady, thirty yuan is too little. Such beautiful foreign goods can’t go for such a low price. How about this, I see you’re serious about buying, and I’m sincere about selling, thirty yuan is really low, but if thirty-five yuan works for you, you can take it?" The woman, her eyes gleaming, smiled at Lin Wan.
"Thirty yuan, sister, if you don’t sell, I’ll look elsewhere..." Lin Wan smiled while being well aware that the price she offered was profitable.
As she spoke, she tugged Han Yi to leave, "Ai Yi, let’s go and look around, we’re just getting started anyway."
"Hey... young lady, don’t be so hasty, you see, if the price isn’t suitable, we can still negotiate. Fine, this dress is the last one left, I see you’re serious, thirty yuan it is, but outside, such a price can’t be mentioned, it’s really too low..." The woman quickly caught Lin Wan and started packing, talking non-stop about how she’s losing on the sale...
Seeing this, Lin Wan didn’t say anything further, promptly took out three big bills from her wallet and handed them over.
Han Yi secretly smiled, feeling quite enlightened; women are fierce bargainers. He had prepared to pay but was stopped by Lin Wan pinching him.
Saved ten yuan just like that?
"Alright, young lady, exactly thirty, do visit again!" The woman took the money, smiling so widely her eyes turned into slits.
Lin Wan dragged Han Yi to visit a few more stores, buying the snow cream Saozi mentioned, and also a piece of clothing for both her and Mom. Even Han Yi’s brother and father didn’t miss out; the brother would frequently wear them, but Han Yi and his father seldom wore casual clothes.
So she bought them each a foreign trench coat, costing over fifty yuan each.
Lin Wan didn’t buy much because the clothes were similar, seeing them once, she could make them herself, mostly missing the fabric used. She wondered if there were fabric manufacturers around.
Apart from clothing, there were many selling appliances here. TVs and refrigerators were sold by quite a few. TVs came in all sizes, both black-and-white and color were available, prices varied greatly. It’s not about finding one; it’s about having the money. Refrigerators that were hard to find in S City had two stores selling them here.
Mom mentioned wanting Dad to get one for her a few days ago. It’s probably tough to get, requiring foreign exchange certificates, and even then, not guaranteed supplies.
"Ai Yi, let’s take a look" not to buy but checking them out is fine.
"Sure."
They chose a store with more brands and went inside.
Xiangxuehai single-door refrigerator 125 liters for 685 yuan, Shuanglu brand double-door refrigerator for 1200 yuan, Bai Xue refrigerator for over 800, imported Hitachi, Toshiba, Panasonic, and Haier for at least two to three thousand yuan, but all don’t require certificates, just direct payment.
"Comrade, we’re not locals, if we buy one, do you have ways to ship it back?" Lin Wan asked curiously.
"Where are you from, comrade? We deliver to various cities, but it’s a bit slow," the store owner said.
"S City."
"Oh, that’s not close."
The store owner was surprised, causing Lin Wan to secretly roll her eyes; if it were close, they wouldn’t be bothered.
"However, if we deliver there, it’s about the quantity. Merchants around here are connected; if anyone needs something sent to whichever city, they’ll organize and tally everyone’s goods, rent a truck to haul them together. The shipping fee per item is fifty yuan, which you’ll have to cover. If miss wants one, leave a phone number, and if a truck heads to S City, I’ll call. How does that sound?"
Lin Wan raised her eyebrows, this method was good, "What’s your payment method?"
"To be honest, miss, it’s our first meeting, it’s not that we don’t trust you, but in doing business, we emphasize trust, worrying more about untrustworthy clients. Shipping these goods isn’t easy, if they arrive and you don’t want them, it’s alright to haul them back, but the shipping fee must be covered by the buyer since we don’t provide transportation service. Offering you convenience and assembling a truck is purely for the sake of selling more units."
What the owner said made sense; generally, asking for fifty yuan upfront would make many hesitate, fearing the owner might be a scammer.
But Lin Wan paid; if he were a scammer, she’d consider it bad luck and a lesson. If not, and they did call, she’d benefit.
The refrigerators here were much cheaper than the one Mom bought; if they did deliver, she’d save at least over two hundred yuan.
"Ai Yi, what do you think?" Lin Wan still sought her husband’s opinion.
Han Yi shared the same thoughts as Lin Wan, "Store owners doing business, a refrigerator’s profit far exceeds fifty yuan, let’s pay."
The owner’s face lit up, many outsiders wanting to buy things hesitated upon hearing about upfront payment, then cautiously walked away.
Rarely encountering such trustful people.
"Miss, young sir, rest assured our machines are guaranteed in quality; I believe in long-term business relations, selling one unit means selling to your friends and family. I’m hoping old customers introduce more business; if there’s a vehicle, it’ll definitely be shipped to you. The machine’s genuinely new; if it performs well, help recommend us more in your region. We guarantee delivery with a vehicle. And it’s covered by three guarantees. But refrigerators really rarely break, lasting five to eight years without issues."
