Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 2754 A New Era, A New Beginning (Second Update, Please Subscribe)
On the small square table sat two dishes and a soup: braised ribbonfish, pork stew with kelp, and a bowl of egg drop soup with oil floating on top. The dishes looked simple, but they were actually quite complex. The addition of a few bananas on the side made it even more elaborate.

"Jianjun, when it comes to food, you have to be from the railway."

Looking at the food on the table, Wang Fuguo couldn't help but sigh:
"With just these two dishes, not to mention other people, even the head of the compound wouldn't have many families that can afford to eat them."

What he said wasn't an exaggeration, because only the railway offers such convenience, making it easy to obtain various supplies from different places. This convenience is unmatched by local areas.

Ribbonfish and kelp are both seafood, and inland areas you'd have to queue for them. As for bananas, there's even less chance of getting them, because stores don't sell them at all. These were all distributed by the railway as a welfare benefit for people to keep for the Lunar New Year.

Only on railways can you find all sorts of things from all over the country, so when it comes to food, only railway companies can get ingredients from all over the country.

Even Wang Fuguo, who works in a government agency, is very envious of this, as such hidden benefits are something many people envy.

"That's one of the advantages of the railway. You can buy anything along the way when you go to Guangzhou.

Chen Jianjun was quite direct. He had just finished a train journey from the provincial capital to Guangzhou and only got home in the afternoon. As soon as he got back, he called Wang Fuguo to get together. The two were high school classmates, had been sent to the countryside together, and returned to the city together. One of them got a job at the railway, while the other was arranged by his family to work in a government office.

So, Chen Jianjun would often invite Wang Fuguo for a drink whenever he had free time. Of course, he had his own reasons for doing so.

"By the way, I saw something new when I went to Guangzhou this time."

Chen Jianjun seemed to remember something, put down his chopsticks, turned and went into the inner room. A moment later, he came out with a glass in his hand, smiling at Wang Fuguo and saying:
"Look at the good stuff I brought back from Guangzhou this time."

"glass?"

Before Wang Fuguo could finish speaking, Chen Jianjun flung his hand and smashed the thermos to the ground. With a loud crash, the thermos hit the concrete floor and rolled twice before coming to a stop.

Wang Fuguo was so startled that he immediately put down his chopsticks, leaned forward abruptly, his eyes widened in astonishment as he stared at the cup on the ground, and instinctively cried out:

"Chen Jianjun! Have you gone mad? You just smashed such a nice cup like that!"

But the next second, he stopped speaking, his face showing even greater astonishment. He took a few steps closer, bending down to examine the object, his tone filled with disbelief:
"It's not broken? It really isn't... Is this the SEA double-walled insulated mug?"

Wang Fuguo immediately understood what it was. He had heard his father and his superiors at work talk about this kind of unbreakable glass. He had initially thought they were just bragging.

“Hey, if we’re talking about knowledge, you have to be Fuguo. You don’t know, even our train conductor doesn’t know about this.”

Chen Jianjun smiled and casually picked up the cup, placing it on the table, his tone tinged with smugness:

"How about that? Impressive, right? This isn't your average cup; it's incredibly durable. No, not just durable, it's practically unbreakable! You tell me, that's fucking amazing! Even a glass cup like this can't be broken!"

"That's right. That's why when it comes to quality products, foreign goods are still the best. I know about it from my father and my boss at work. They said these unbreakable glass cups are made by SEA, which is high-tech from abroad..."

Wang Fuguo quickly reached for the cup, carefully holding it in his hands, turning it over and over to examine it closely, repeatedly muttering to himself:

"This is a great thing, a really great thing... Tell me, how come this glass can't be broken? I heard that only leaders have such good things. Ordinary people can't get their hands on it, let alone have the connections."

While speaking, he looked at the glass as if it were some rare treasure, and didn't even bother to eat the food on the table.

Then, Wang Fuguo looked at Chen Jianjun and said:
"Jianjun, where did you get this cup? How much did it cost? Is it really from SEA?"

Chen Jianjun smiled and said:
"Yes, this is a double-walled glass thermos made by SEA. When I came to Guangzhou Station this time, I heard people talking about this thing. They said that in many places right now, it is a very sought-after item, and you can't necessarily buy it even if you have money."

"That's right, only a few high-ranking leaders here have this kind of cup."

Wang Fuguo, holding his cup, said:

"You mean, I can buy it in Guangzhou? I bet something this good can't be cheap, at least ten ten-yuan notes, right?"

His tone carried a hint of uncertainty. Ten large banknotes, which is one hundred yuan, meant that an average worker's monthly salary was only thirty or forty yuan. One hundred yuan was equivalent to two or three months' wages, which he considered an exorbitant price.

Upon hearing this, Chen Jianjun couldn't help but laugh out loud, his tone tinged with a hint of teasing:

"Ten sheets? That's just the cost price!"

As he spoke, he became even more confident, and his tone even carried a hint of showing off, after all, this cup was worth ten yuan.

"Wha...what? The cost price is already ten ten-yuan notes?"

Wang Fuguo was so shocked that he sat bolt upright, his eyes wide open and his mouth agape, speechless for a long time. After a while, he finally came to his senses, his voice filled with disbelief:
"My goodness, the cost price is only one hundred yuan? If someone were to buy it, wouldn't it be even more expensive? That's outrageous!"

Seeing his shocked expression, Chen Jianjun couldn't help but smile again and said:
"It's not outrageous. Right now, these kinds of cups sell for HK$90 each in Hong Kong. In Guangzhou, there are businesses that specialize in selling these imported goods, and the prices there are much higher, around HK$80 to HK$100 each. The exact price depends on where they are made."

He paused, then added:
"Those made in SEA are a bit more expensive, while those from other parts of Southeast Asia are slightly cheaper, but the brands aren't as prestigious as those from SEA. After all, SEA is a developed country. The one I have here is a genuine SEA-made Xinuo double-walled glass thermos, and the cost price was exactly one hundred dollars."

Then he looked at Wang Fuguo and said:
"Tell me, if the people around here had the chance, would they be willing to pay for it themselves?"

"Of course I'd! Why wouldn't I? A hundred yuan isn't a lot, but... this cup is something special."

Wang Fuguo's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this. He leaned forward and asked urgently:
"Such a sought-after item? Can you even get your hands on it?" "It's different in Guangzhou than here. If you have money, you can buy anything there."

Chen Jianjun put down his teacup, lowered his voice, leaned forward slightly, and said in a seductive tone:

"If we could transport these cups from Guangzhou to our provincial capital, we could sell them for at least 200 yuan each, and if we were lucky, we could even sell them for 250 yuan each."

Think about it, the officials and business leaders in our provincial capital are all concerned about appearances and practicality. These double-walled glass thermos cups are not only attractive and durable, but also rare, unlike enamel mugs which are so common. They're all willing to buy them, so there's no worry about them not selling.

"200 yuan each?"

Wang Fuguo's heart pounded wildly, and his voice trembled. Although his family had arranged a job for him, the monthly salary was only a little over forty yuan. He worked hard for a month, but he didn't earn as much as he would earn from selling a cup. Even if he saved every penny, he couldn't save more than a few hundred yuan a year.

Thinking of this, he leaned forward slightly, his gaze fixed intently on Chen Jianjun:
"Jianjun, you're telling me all this, are you thinking of doing this business?"

Chen Jianjun smiled, picked up the wine on the table, took a sip with Wang Fuguo, ate a bite of food, put down his chopsticks, looked at Wang Fuguo, and said seriously:

“It’s not that I want to do it, it’s that we should do it together. Think about it, I work on the railway, running the direct train from the provincial capital to Guangzhou. I can bring goods with me every time I go back and forth. You know a lot of people, and these people are all potential customers. You have connections, so you don’t have to worry about not being able to sell them.”

He paused, then continued:

“Let’s pool together a few thousand yuan and go to Guangzhou to buy a few dozen cups to test the waters. After deducting the purchase price, travel expenses and accommodation, we can earn at least a few thousand yuan, which is more than we earn in a year of working.”

If we do well, we can stock up more in the future. We can sell not only thermos cups, but also other in-demand daily necessities, like foreign-made electronic watches. Then we can make a fortune!

Chen Jianjun's words were like a pebble thrown into the still waters of Wang Fuguo's heart, stirring up a thousand waves and completely moving him. He slammed his hand on the table and said:

"Alright! Let's do it!"

Seeing that Wang Fuguo agreed so readily, Chen Jianjun smiled and nodded.

"Good bro, that's generous! By the way, how much money can you raise? I can raise about 2000 yuan."

"2000 yuan?"

Wang Fuguo's eyes widened, his face full of surprise, and he couldn't help but say enviously:

"You're something else! You've only been working for a few years and you've already saved so much money. You're really keeping a low profile!"

Chen Jianjun smiled but didn't say anything. He simply picked up his teacup, took a sip, and a hint of barely perceptible smugness flickered in his eyes. Having traveled extensively on trains, he was quite worldly-wise and possessed a better business sense than most. He often carried in-demand products, earning a small profit from the price difference – that's what he'd accumulated in the first six months of his job.

He had his eye on the thermos business for a long time, but he hadn't found a suitable partner. Wang Fuguo had a wide network of connections and was a reliable person, so there was no one more suitable than him.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Wang Fuguo didn't ask any further questions. After pondering for a moment, he said:
"Since you can scrape together 2000 yuan, then I'll contribute 3000 yuan!"

3000 yuan is no small sum. Although surprised, Chen Jianjun was not taken aback. After all, Wang Fuguo's parents had just been reinstated, and the back pay alone would probably amount to tens of thousands of yuan per person.

A few thousand yuan is a small amount of money for him.

The two hit it off immediately and discussed the specific details on the spot: Wang Fuguo would go to his work unit early the next morning to get a letter of introduction, because a letter of introduction from his work unit was required to buy train tickets and accommodation when going to other places, and having a letter of introduction would avoid unnecessary trouble; after arriving at the destination, they would purchase goods together, and book round-trip train tickets and guesthouses in advance to ensure that they could purchase goods smoothly after arriving in Guangzhou without delaying the process.

That evening, when Wang Fuguo left Chen Jianjun's house, he was carrying the thermos that Chen Jianjun had given him, feeling both excited and apprehensive.

All the way there, his mind was filled with thoughts of his thermos...

When he got home, his father, who was watching TV, saw him holding a glass. His eyes lit up, and he immediately stood up from the sofa.
"A double-walled glass thermos... This is an imported product from SEA. Where did you get this thermos? Not just anyone can get their hands on one."

The old man held the cup in his hand, examined it for a while, then placed it on the table, stared at his son, and asked:

"You didn't receive this as a gift from someone, did you...?"

Before the old man could finish speaking, Wang Fuguo interrupted:

"Dad, with my seat, who would send me anything? Besides, no one sends you anything like this, so how could it be my turn? Jianjun brought this back from Guangzhou. He heard that everyone is into this now, so he specially bought one and asked me to bring it to you as a token of his respect."

Hearing his son's words, the old man's serious expression softened, and he said:
“Look at Jianjun, look at him. He’s been more sensible than you since he was a kid. He hasn’t forgotten me even when he’s at work. We can’t just take this stuff for nothing. By the way, we have some Jinhua ham that our company gave us. You should send some over to Jianjun later, and tell him to come over for a meal sometime. I haven’t seen him in a while…”

Wang Fuguo nodded and said:

"Okay, I understand."

After successfully appeasing the old man, Wang Jianguo asked again:
"By the way, Dad, I might have to go to Guangzhou on a business trip in the next few days. Is there anything you'd like me to bring back for you? You fought in Guangzhou with the army back then, right? You must have a lot of old comrades there. Do you want me to bring you some New Year's gifts or something, to wish them a Happy New Year on your behalf? Didn't you say that Uncle Zhang's son passed by here last year and even made a special trip to visit us?"

The reason Wang Fuguo mentioned his old comrades-in-arms is that he understands that this business may seem profitable, but it is not actually that easy to do. If it were easy, someone would have already done it. What if something goes wrong when you get there and you get caught and charged with "speculation and profiteering"?
However, the old man has connections over there, which is probably why Chen Jianjun called him. That kid... is shrewd!
“Going to Guangzhou? That would be wonderful! I came back to Guangzhou back then because I wanted to go back to my hometown. There are so many comrades there… This is perfect. It’s almost Chinese New Year. If you go, you can bring some things for your old buddies and get to know them. They are all my comrades-in-arms, the ones I’ve risked my life for!”

Hearing the old man say this, Wang Fuguo's face was full of smiles. At this moment, he was filled with anticipation for this trip to Guangzhou...

(End of this chapter)