Back to the teenage years

Chapter 559: Meeting Yu (asking for monthly ticket subscription)

When the spring thunder of Jingzhe fell from the sky and split the dense dark clouds over the North China Plain, Zhang Yunqi was already standing in the mottled light and shadow of the Shenwu Gate of the Forbidden City.

Raindrops dripped down the Chiwen, splashing tiny spots of light on the six-hundred-year-old gold bricks. He looked at the heavy, blurry, and strangely modern scene in front of him, and suddenly remembered this passage: "The walls of Yuan Dadu were built of rammed earth, which is much easier to dismantle than reinforced concrete."

This is Yanjing during the Jingzhe period in 1996.

The long spring breeze that started blowing in 1979 has been blowing for 17 years and has blown into the steel jungle of the East Third Ring Road of Yanjing, a century-old city.

There are factories of all sizes and chimneys of varying heights here, which have made great contributions to the revitalization of China's heavy industry and the improvement of the air pollution index. But now, most of them are in a paralyzed state, like a giant corpse waiting to be dismembered and buried.

This afternoon, bulldozers rolled through the alleys of Nanluoguxiang in the drizzling spring rain. The soil brought up by tree roots was mixed with broken pieces of cricket pots. An old neighbor squatted outside the lime line of the demolition office, staring at the Toyota advertising slogan "There will always be a way when the car reaches the mountain" on the telephone pole. The teacup in his hand shook half a cup of broken tea, and he muttered dejectedly: "What kind of thing is this?"

Thirty kilometers away, the China World Trade Center, with its main building as high as 330 meters, towers in the sky, with its dazzling glass curtain wall piercing the sky! This modern landmark of the 90s, this Tang sword tempered with capital, seemed to be telling the old man in silent language: "What kind of thing is this!"

In front of the glass door of the China World Trade Center, rickshaws were flowing in an endless stream. Cui Jian's hoarse voice pierced through the rain, and the sound of raindrops shattered in the chorus of "Nothing". A programmer, with a pirated Windows disc tucked under his arm, was bargaining with a vendor selling "A Brief History of Time" under the eaves, and next to him was the noise of pirated discs of "Titanic".

At the entrance of McDonald's not far away, a beautiful shopping guide in cheongsam was smiling and shouting "Welcome" in English to the customers coming in and out. Her tone was so sweet that it could make people urinate diabetes in a minute. A trader in Pierre Cardin came out of the door and tapped on the window of a Mercedes-Benz with his mobile phone. A girl with gaudy lipstick snuggled in his arms, pointing at an old man selling cheap small items on the roadside, and jokingly said "practicing stalls" as "going into the sea".

This is Yanjing in 1996.

This is the first time Zhang Yunqi visited Yanjing in the 90s.

As for this century-old famous city, after he landed at the Capital International Airport and drove through half of the city, he suddenly had a feeling that Yanjing at this time was like a damp firecracker, smoldering in the cracks between the market economy and institutional fission.

As soon as they arrived in Yanjing and checked into the hotel, Wang Guibing went to contact the industrial information personnel on behalf of Zhang Yunqi, while Hu Zhibiao and Wang Xiaokai took the personnel from the operation center to prepare for the new product marketing activities of Aiwa Electronics.

Hu Zhibiao was already clear about Zhang Yunqi's idea. In terms of marketing, he had to focus on the "super error correction" function, and in terms of channels, he had to win over shopping malls of all sizes in the capital. Therefore, in addition to local promotion, large-scale trade fairs and CCTV advertising, Hu Zhibiao came up with a marketing strategy of local TV station advertising + shopping mall bundled sales, intensively placing advertisements on TV stations in North China and other regions, and signing a "sales betting agreement" with local shopping malls, promising to double the rebate if sales exceed the target, in order to stimulate the enthusiasm of the channels.

In its previous life, Aido was very successful in marketing under the leadership of Hu Zhibiao. Zhang Yunqi was not careful about this aspect, but Hu Zhibiao's shortcomings were as obvious as his strengths, that is, he was prone to over-marketing and neglecting the basic skills of the company. His supply chain and cash flow management were extremely poor, which led to Aido Electronics' lack of product and technological moats in its previous life. In particular, his price war and low-price strategy were able to quickly capture the market, but in the end it went bankrupt due to over-expansion and broken capital chain, and Hu Zhibiao was imprisoned as a result.

Zhang Yunqi didn't want to be sent to prison by Hu Zhibiao.

Therefore, he divided the entire Aiwa Electronics into several major sectors, with Yu Lin in charge of channels, Liu Ming in charge of technical research and development, and Liu Dongsheng in charge of product production. He only let Hu Zhibiao work in the market operation sector. This can be regarded as the maximum degree of risk reduction and the best use of talents.

Of course, Zhang Yunqi didn't want to get involved in these overly specific matters. Even in the 996 era, those who died from overwork were workers. If he, as a boss, died of exhaustion in the 90s when the market environment was so relaxed, it would be regarded as a shame for the industry by capitalists.

Zhang Yunqi had nothing to do, and Chu Jian didn't know he had come to the capital. Classes were still going on. Li Yufei was resting in the next room, but he didn't want to knock on the door, and he had to go to Peking University later. After thinking about it, he finally wandered around the Forbidden City alone.

The weather was not very good. As soon as he arrived in Beijing, it started to rain. The red of the Forbidden City walls looked a little gloomy under the lead-gray sky. Tourists crowded under the eaves, and the water drops from the umbrellas formed a bead curtain, blurring the reflection of the Jinshui Bridge.

Zhang Yunqi walked around alone, passing through Taihe Gate, Shenwu Gate, Wuying Hall... The flying eaves and corners were still majestic, and the moss-covered bronze lions were heroic and handsome. When the fine and dense rain flooded over the Nine Dragon Wall, the moisture from six hundred years ago seemed to be climbing up his trouser legs along his feet.

It was almost evening. After enjoying the rare tranquility of the northern spring for a few hours, Zhang Yunqi took out his cell phone and sent a text message to Chu Jian: "Is get out of class over?"

Not long after, Chu Jian replied: "I just finished class. I'm going back to the dormitory to put my bag down. I'm going to have dinner with my roommate later. How about you?"

Zhang Yunqi typed: "I didn't go to Xiangda today."

Chu Jian replied, "Is the company busy again today? Yes, I am busy every day. It's so tiring. I have to have a good meal tonight to reward myself."

Zhang Yunqi typed: "What are you eating tonight?"

Chu Jian replied, "The school cafeteria."

Zhang Yunqi asked, "Are we eating Hunan cuisine in the Homeland Canteen again?"

The two of them rarely see each other, so when they first met, she would chat with Zhang Yunqi every day. However, they have known each other for many years and their ideas are so closely connected that there is basically no conflict in their thoughts. This has led to less communication on the spiritual level and more sharing in daily life.

Chu Jian would share with Zhang Yunqi everything she did every day, including what she had eaten, what classes she had attended, what books she had read, where she had been... sharing those boring moments or interesting moments.

This talented lady from the Chinese Department of Peking University often made Zhang Yunqi feel her beauty and splendor: "The dumplings I had at noon were so salty. I drank a lot of water in the afternoon. I just saw a black and white woodpecker fly away again. At night, a little wild cat actually followed me for a long time. I miss you, Yunqi."

Naturally, Zhang Yunqi learned about all the canteens in Peking University. For example, Shaoyuan Canteen is close to the international student apartment area, and its features include international flavors, a halal window, and very popular beef steamed buns and Tom Yum Goong soup. Nongyuan Canteen is on the north side of the New Sun Student Center. It has a large venue and is suitable for gatherings. Its beef ramen is delicious. The Jiayuan Canteen next to the May Fourth Stadium is where Chu Jian eats most often, because the second floor has Sichuan and Hunan specialty dishes, and one can taste a little bit of the feeling of home.

Chu Jian replied, "I went to the canteen. I wanted to eat stir-fried beef today. It's not as delicious as what you made for me, but it has a bit of the flavor of my hometown, which makes me think of the people in my hometown, and you. After dinner, I want to go to the library to write a book, but my roommate needs to take a shower, so I'll wait for her and then go eat together. Yunqi, remember to eat more at night."

Zhang Yunqi smiled, raised his hand to check the time, and typed back, "Sure, but I saw on the weather forecast that it's going to rain in Yanjing today, so remember to bring an umbrella when you go out to eat."

Chu Jian replied, "Okay, it rained a little bit in Yanjing, but it's still quite cool." Zhang Yunqi thought for a moment and typed, "I suddenly thought of a question, Chu Jian."

Chu Jian replied, "What's the problem?"

Zhang Yunqi typed: "Guess whether I like sunny days or rainy days?"

The person on the other end seemed to think about it seriously, and after a while he replied, "On a rainy day, you like to sleep on rainy days."

"No, I like chatting with you."

If such clichéd love words were said after 2010, not to mention the fact that her temperament is ten blocks away from Liu Yifei's at first sight, even Feng Jie would be choked to death.

However, this was in 1996, and QQ, the origin of cheesy online dating, had not yet appeared. At this moment, the innocent and obedient girl on the other end of the phone (`)**……

Zhang Yunqi smiled, put away his phone and walked out of the Forbidden City.

He hailed a taxi and asked the driver to go directly to Peking University.

It was just after six o'clock, and he estimated that it would take at least half an hour for his roommate to shower and get ready for his first meeting, so he should be able to make it.

At this time, the phone rang again. Zhang Yunqi opened the phone and saw a text message from Chu Jian: "Yunqi, I suddenly want to tell you a little story."

"what story?"

"Once upon a time, there was a little bear who planted a strawberry and a mango in his backyard. After a while, the little bear found that the mango grew very fast, while the strawberry grew very slowly. Then, guess what the little bear said to the strawberry?"

"What are you talking about? Grow taller quickly so I can eat you up?"

"Berry, you can't do that. Berry, you can't do that."

Zhang Yunqi (д) b☆d (ω)...

******
I don’t know when the spring rain suddenly stopped.

When Zhang Yunqi got off the bus at the west gate of Peking University, the sky had cleared up in the evening. Although the sun was no longer visible, there were fiery clouds hanging in the west, gradually blending with the rising and darkening night.

Peking University has always been open to the public. The access control in the 90s was looser than later generations, so it was not difficult to get in. Zhang Yunqi took out his ID card and Hunan University ID card, filled out a form, and the security guard let him in.

Peking University is very big and this is Zhang Yunqi’s first time here.

He entered from the west gate, asking for directions as he hurried, bypassing the Jingyuan lawn. When he passed the south bank of Weiming Lake, he saw several international students dressed in Hanfu taking pictures in front of the statue of Cai Yuanpei. The scene looked a bit like a monkey putting on clothes and pretending to be a human.

There were also groups of bookish female students walking on the road. Under the night sky, they walked by the Weiming Lake, holding their textbooks and talking and laughing. It was a beautiful sight that attracted people's attention.

Zhang Yunqi did not stop. He crossed Wusi Road and soon arrived at the Jiayuan Canteen next to the Wusi Stadium. It was almost seven o'clock in the evening and there were not many students eating in the canteen.

He went straight to the Sichuan and Hunan specialty restaurant on the second floor, looked around, and soon found the figure he had just seen at a long dining table under the window.

When I first saw her, she was wearing navy blue jeans, a white knitted cardigan, and a plain ponytail. Her profile was clear, her eyes were clean, and she had a familiar aura. She was slender, fair, and calm.

Zhang Yunqi didn't go over. He took out his phone and sent a message to Chu Jian first: "Do you know why I didn't go to Xiangda today?"

Chu Jian stopped talking to her roommate under the window, took out her ringing phone and looked at it. Her clear and fair face showed a hint of smile. She replied, "Why do you ask this question? Why?"

Zhang Yunqi put away his phone.

He walked over and sat opposite the person he had just met.

Chu Jian's roommate was stunned for a moment, subconsciously thinking that this was another student in school who wanted to strike up a conversation with Chu Jian. He looked Zhang Yunqi up and down with a hint of contempt on his face.

When he first saw her, his mouth unconsciously opened.

She looked at the boy in front of her, her clear eyes showing surprise, but before she could say anything, before she could express her surprise, she heard the boy smiling and saying to her, "Because I promised my wife that I would come to see Yu during the Jingzhe Festival when the peach blossoms are in full bloom and the spring river is warm."

******
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(End of this chapter)