Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 869 First Year of High School

February 22nd, Friday, the seventh day of the first lunar month.

Zhou Zhengdong and his entourage set off as planned.

This time, Chen Fan learned his lesson. He wore a blue cloth baseball cap with the brim just covering his eyes, and then wrapped a large gray scarf around his eyes, leaving only a small gap for his nostrils to breathe.

He wore an ordinary blue cloth jacket, over which was a cotton-padded coat—a common way of dressing these days. Below, he wore baggy black trousers and fur-lined work shoes.

Dressed like this, aside from Jiang Lili and Jiang Tiantian who would recognize him even if he were reduced to ashes, no one else would recognize him even if they passed by him.

Zhou Yali, dragging her suitcase and holding her boarding pass, followed him and muttered, "You really think you're a big star, dressed like this, it's unbelievable."

Chen Fan kept his eyes straight ahead and said in a low voice, "Stay away from me."

The voice was a little soft, and Zhou Yali didn't hear it clearly. "Huh?"

Chen Fan sneered, "Stay away from me."

Zhou Yali dragged her suitcase closer. "What are you saying? Hey, when you're talking, can you take your scarf off? I can't hear you."

Chen Fan flicked his sleeves, ignoring him, and carrying a bag of urea he had finally managed to obtain, filled with various local specialties he had bought yesterday, he ran towards the plane like the wind.

Just as Zhou Yali was about to run after him, Jiang Tiantian, who was carrying a birdcage, grabbed her and said, "Have you forgotten what he said before we left: stay away from him?"

As she spoke, she glanced at Chen Fan's back, her eyes full of smiles, "He's just an ordinary passenger now. We're all dressed up, and walking with him will easily attract attention."

Jiang Lili dragged her suitcase over and said irritably, "I think he's been smart all his life but made a foolish mistake this time. These days, there aren't any ordinary passengers on airplanes. They're all either leaders or family members of high-ranking officials. Who dresses like him? He might as well wear a mask."

Zhou Zhengdong and Zhao Wanru followed casually, overhearing Jiang Lili's words, and couldn't help but laugh, "What I'm more curious about is, where did he find this outfit in just one night?"

Jiang Lili suppressed a laugh and said, "I asked a hotel staff member to change it."

Zhou Zhengdong clicked his tongue, shook his head and sighed, "This kid is getting more and more unpredictable."

Zhao Wanru smiled and said, "I think it's great. Don't you think he's only 20 years old? I thought he was too mature and steady before, lacking the vigor of a young person. But now it's good. He's more playful and more like a young person."

Zhou Zhengdong was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, and his brows furrowed as he watched his eldest nephew climb the gangway.

A few seconds later, his expression suddenly relaxed, and he grinned, saying, "Other people become more mature after getting married, but he's the opposite. After getting married, he's become even more playful."

After saying that, he gestured, "Let's go, let's go. Don't talk to him later. Let him play the role of an 'ordinary passenger'."

Chen Fan boarded the plane, still in the first row. He plopped down, stuffed the bag under the seat, and watched as passengers came in one by one. No one recognized him, and he finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

Soon after, Zhou Zhengdong and the others also came up one after another.

After everyone had put their luggage away, Zhou Zhengdong sat down next to his eldest nephew, took off his hat and scarf, shifted his position slightly, and said with a deliberately chuckle, "Oh dear, this fellow villager is wearing a lot of clothes. Is he a little weak and therefore very sensitive to the cold?"

Chen Fan's face darkened as he mentally retorted, "You're the one who's weak! Why would you need my tiger bone wine if you weren't weak?!"

But since he's my uncle after all, I have to give him some face. Oh well, I won't hold it against him.

He glanced around and saw that no one else was coming up. Everyone else had taken their seats. He leaned over to Zhou Zhengdong and whispered, "Uncle, you fly around all year round. You're either going to America, Paris, or Tokyo, and you come back to the mainland several times a year. Don't you find it inconvenient to fly around so frequently?"

Zhou Zhengdong looked at him and asked, "What kind of trick are you up to now?"

Chen Fan: "How can you call it a wicked idea?..."

Just then, a middle-aged man walked into the cabin, glanced around casually, and suddenly paused, then his eyes lit up. He walked up to Chen Fan and whispered, "Writer Chen, are you going to Beijing?"

Chen Fan was stunned and stared blankly at him. "No, even in this state, you can still recognize me?"

The man chuckled and said, "I didn't recognize you."

As she spoke, she pointed to Zhou Zhengdong beside her, and the three radiant Zhou Yali... well, including the still-beautiful Zhao Wanru, and said with a smile, "I recognize them. I was on the plane from Jiangnan provincial capital to Shenyang last time. Since they're all here, the last one must be you."

Chen Fan cupped his hands in a gesture of respect and said, "Brother, you're amazing. I admire you."

He paused for a moment, then said softly, "I'll have to trouble you to keep this a secret, thank you so much."

The man laughed and said, "No problem."

Then I searched my pockets and found a stack of business cards.
Yes, I see clearly, it is indeed a business card.

These days, people in mainland China actually use business cards?!

It seems there are indeed such people, but they are usually from foreign affairs units, mainly to facilitate communication with foreigners, so he is also a person from a foreign affairs unit.

The man took out a business card and handed it to Chen Fan, saying with a smile, "This is my contact address in Beijing. You can come find me when you have time, and I'll treat you to Donglaishun."

Chen Fan took the business card and looked at it, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. "You work at a bank?"

my country once had several major banks, including the Bank of China and the Bank of Communications, which existed during the Republic of China era. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the China Construction Bank was established to develop infrastructure, and the Agricultural Bank of China was established to develop agriculture.

However, for a period of time, all other banks ceased to exist, leaving only the People's Bank of China and rural credit cooperatives to provide the most basic financial services to ordinary people and various organizations.

Essentially, it involved deposits and large-sum transfers. Loans were nonexistent, and even private remittances were conducted through the post office, so the role of finance at this stage was minimized.

In addition, some departments of China Construction Bank were retained and merged into the People's Bank of China to be specifically responsible for the management and allocation of project construction funds, but they no longer operated commercial banking business, and naturally, their signboard disappeared. The Bank of China was retained in Hong Kong and continued to exist as an institution for international foreign exchange settlement, while its mainland branches were basically closed or converted into People's Bank of China branches.

Bank of Communications has suspended operations.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China?

Sorry, that wasn't the case back then.

It was only after the higher authorities decided in 84 that the People's Bank of China completely separated its commercial banking business and transformed into a banking management agency that this part of the business was separated and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was established.

The Bank of Communications was only reinstated in 87.

Then, at a meeting at the end of the year before last, the old political commissar said, "We must use banks as a lever for economic development and technological innovation, and we must make banks into real banks." This marked the beginning of financial reform.

Then, on February 23, 1979, Xiyuan issued a notice to immediately reinstate the Agricultural Bank.

In March, the Bank of China was separated from the People's Bank of China, its establishment in mainland China was officially restored, and it was designated as a state-designated foreign exchange bank, while also exercising the functions of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

Also in that year, the Bank of China established the first overseas branch of the People's Republic of China: the Luxembourg Branch.

The man in front of me is just an ordinary section chief at the Bank of China.

Unless you're at the section chief level, you can't get on the plane.

Seeing Chen Fan's surprised expression, Jin Boyuan chuckled and said, "He does indeed work at a bank, and his job is related to foreign exchange management. The last time I went to Jiangnan Province, I was there to check on the foreign exchange management situation. That's when I discovered that you, Writer Chen, are a major foreign exchange earner."

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "You're too kind."

Jin Boyuan smiled and waved his hand, "Then you rest, I'll find a seat first."

He had just finished speaking and was about to leave when he suddenly stopped, turned around, and whispered to Chen Fan, "There's something that should be related to you. I'll let you know first."

Chen Fan was slightly taken aback, and looked at him, asking, "What is it?"

Jin Boyuan glanced at Zhou Zhengdong beside him, then turned back and whispered, "The matter is quite important, but it's not exactly a secret. Now everyone who needs to know knows. In a few days, once it's confirmed, at most in a month or two, the official announcement will be issued."

Our bank has already printed a batch of foreign exchange certificates and will issue a notice at an appropriate time. From then on, the use of foreign currency in any situation will no longer be permitted in China. All foreign nationals entering the country must exchange their foreign currency for foreign exchange certificates before they can use it.

He paused for a moment, then looked at Chen Fan and said, "When I was working in your provincial capital, I noticed that you seemed to have a lot of foreign exchange under your name?"

Chen Fan blinked and nodded. "It's about tens of thousands of US dollars. It's all royalties paid by the small notebook company."

There's no need to be too specific about whether it's tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions.

Jin Boyuan smiled and nodded, "I understand the situation. There's definitely no problem with the money. I'm just reminding you that once the notification is issued, you need to exchange that money for foreign exchange certificates at our bank. Otherwise, it will just be a pile of worthless paper."

Because if it were used outside, it would be a violation of regulations, and would be confiscated and subject to penalties.

Chen Fan took a deep breath, then looked up and smiled, "Thank you, thank you for reminding me. I'll definitely redeem it as soon as I get the notification."

Jin Boyuan then smiled, waved, and turned to leave.

Zhou Zhengdong watched him walk inside, and when he found a seat and sat down, their eyes met, and he smiled and nodded.

Then he turned back to Chen Fan and asked in a low voice, "What did he mean by that foreign exchange certificate he mentioned earlier?"

Chen Fan clicked his tongue and said softly, "It means that now it is no longer allowed to use foreign currencies such as US dollars directly in China. You can only exchange foreign currency for foreign exchange certificates first, and then use the foreign exchange certificates to make purchases."

For example, if you've entered the country and are carrying $5,000 in cash, intending to spend it all in mainland China, you'll need to exchange that money for foreign exchange certificates at the official exchange rate. You can then use these foreign exchange certificates to make purchases in mainland China.

Zhou Zhengdong was a little confused. "Dollars exchanged for foreign exchange certificates? If I have these foreign exchange certificates, can I buy anything I want? Also, wasn't there a remittance certificate for overseas Chinese? What's the difference between this foreign exchange certificate and the remittance certificate for overseas Chinese?"

"The difference is huge."

Chen Fan chuckled and said, "Overseas remittance certificates are like vouchers. Having one only means you're qualified to buy certain in-demand goods. You still need to add cash to make the transaction go smoothly."

Foreign exchange certificates, on the other hand, can be used directly as money, just like when we used to use US dollars to make purchases at Friendship Stores. There is no difference between them and other forms of currency.

Furthermore, the issuance of foreign exchange certificates broke the rule that foreign currency could not be used in non-foreign-related venues, and vouchers were no longer required.

For example, in a regular department store, you need a TV ticket to buy a television and a bicycle ticket to buy a bicycle. But with foreign exchange certificates, you don't need any certificates; you just pay the full price, and the item is yours.

In fact, China had previously implemented foreign exchange controls, meaning that foreign currency could not circulate freely within the country and could only be used in certain special foreign-related venues.

After obtaining foreign exchange certificates, they were nominally only valid in specific locations, but in reality, they could be used for shopping and consumption in any situation.

Because as long as you take out foreign exchange certificates, the clerk will accept them. Even if one person doesn't accept them, there are plenty of other people who want them. Even if you have to pay extra or add a coupon, people will still scramble to get them.

This effectively expands the scope of use of foreign exchange certificates, allowing them to be used for payment in any situation.

However, no one usually does this!

Who doesn't know that foreign exchange certificates can be used to buy imported goods and in-demand items? What fool would use such a "superior" currency to buy vegetables at the market?

Even though you don't need coupons to buy groceries, isn't that a waste?!

A simple example illustrates the value of foreign exchange certificates. Even when the issuance of foreign exchange certificates was about to cease, they were still worth more than 30% more than the local currency on the black market.

It's important to understand that by then, ration coupons had been completely abolished, and the "superior" status of foreign exchange certificates had almost disappeared. However, they still needed to be exchanged at a premium because some foreign-related venues and duty-free shops did not accept local currency and could only be purchased using foreign exchange certificates.

Back then, they were still priced at a 30% premium, which shows how valuable foreign exchange certificates were when ration coupons were still widely needed in the 80s.

At this moment, Zhou Zhengdong understood what Chen Fan meant, and he frowned, saying, "According to what you're saying, wouldn't foreign exchange certificates be a second currency running parallel to the local currency zone? And even above the local currency in status?"

You need a ticket to buy things with local currency, but you don't need one when you use foreign exchange certificates. Isn't that a superior system?
Chen Fan shrugged and smiled, "Your understanding is very accurate; that's exactly what I mean."

Zhou Zhengdong frowned even more, turned to look at him, and asked in confusion, "But just now, what that person said was that foreign exchange certificates were going to be issued, without explaining much. How do you know so much?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "Because I received the news a long time ago."

I knew it all along.

Even before he transmigrated, when he was reading the novel, he knew that foreign exchange certificates would be issued on April 1st of this year and would continue until June 30th, 1996. Foreign exchange certificates had a higher actual value than ordinary currency in the domestic financial sector.

Therefore, even the people at the State Administration of Foreign Exchange don't understand this as well as Chen Fan.

It's just that these kinds of things can't be said to outsiders.

Simply saying that you received the news a long time ago isn't exactly lying, is it?

(End of this chapter)