60s: I have a store

Chapter 205 Giving away equipment

In fact, Mr. Zhao’s “equipment” is not advanced at all.

Fishermen should all know that fishing rods can be divided into single-section rods, multi-section rods and plug-in fishing rods according to the number of sections.

Single-section fishing rod is also called Dulong fishing rod, which is made of bamboo or other materials with only one section. The length of the fishing rod is generally about 4 meters, and it has the characteristics of not easy to break, flexibility, durability, etc., but the disadvantage is that it is inconvenient to carry.

A multi-section fishing rod has 2 to 20 interfaces. It has the advantage of being easy to carry, but the disadvantage is that the interfaces are easy to break.

Multi-section rods are divided into two types: plug-in fishing rods and pull-out fishing rods.

The so-called pull-out fishing rod is easy to understand. Just like the shrinking umbrella we usually use, the rod body is hollow and several sections of the rod can be retracted into the rod tube of the bottom handle. When in use, pull out the sections one by one, and when not in use, retract them one by one from the bottom.

This type of rod is easy to carry, but it is not as sturdy as a plug-in fishing rod.

As for the plug-in fishing rod, it is a fishing rod composed of several rod sections that are plugged into each other.

When installing, it is connected section by section from thin to thick. The characteristics are tight interface, good overall performance after the fishing rod is stressed, and the rod body is thin.

This type of fishing rod actually appeared during the Republic of China period.

Therefore, it is said that Mr. Zhao’s “equipment” is not advanced.

Some people may complain that it is inappropriate for Zhou Yimin to take out a fishing rod with a reel, thinking that it is a modern product that did not exist in that era. Fishing rods without a reel are all classified as hand rods.

However, this worry is unnecessary.

In fact, the earliest image of a fishing rod with a reel was seen in the Song Dynasty.

In the painting "Fishing Alone on a Cold River" by Ma Yuan, a famous Chinese painter from the Song Dynasty, the fishing rod held by the fisherman is a fishing rod with a reel, which is very similar to the fishing rods used for fishing today.

If we use the image in his paintings as the starting point for the use of long-distance casting rods in my country, then fishing rods with fishing reels have a history of at least 800 years in my country.

In addition, the Collection of Ancient and Modern Pictures contains a Ming Dynasty print of the Fishing Cart. The picture shows a fisherman holding a fishing rod in his left hand and reeling in the line with his right hand, and a soft-shell turtle is being pulled out of the water.

This shows that reel rods were already quite popular among the people in the Ming Dynasty.

It was for this reason that Zhou Yimin dared to give away the set of fishing gear so openly.

Facing Mr. Zhao's question, Zhou Yimin was not panicked. He shook his head slightly and said, "I don't know. It was given by a friend. It may be a foreign product."

So what if they are foreign goods?
Although China seems very closed now, there are quite a lot of imported goods in the country, such as watches, many of which are foreign brands.

Especially in the Friendship Store, there are a lot of foreign goods.

As everyone knows, Friendship Store is different from ordinary department stores. It was initially open to and served only foreign guests.

The things it sold were not available on the market, and many of the products were "specially supplied" at the time.

For example, the canned food of Shanghai Merlin, the Western pastries of Tianjin Qishilin, the double-sided embroidery of Suzhou, the brocade of Hangzhou, the cashmere sweaters of Beijing Xuelian, and the bicycles and watches that Chinese people crave...

Imported home appliances, whiskey, Marlboro, etc. are the exclusive products here.

Today, the Friendship Store has an even greater slogan: We must have the best goods on the market; we must have goods that are lacking on the market; and we must also have the popular foreign goods!
Therefore, even if Zhou Yimin admits that it is a foreign product, there is no problem.

Mr. Zhao didn't care whether it was foreign goods or not. He was very satisfied with the set of fishing gear Zhou Yimin gave him and loved it very much.

"Yimin, you are thoughtful."

If it was something else, he might not accept it, but he couldn't refuse such good fishing gear.

He was counting on this set of fishing gear to save his reputation and make a killing on the fishing grounds! In his mind, he had already imagined himself catching fish one after another, attracting the attention of all the fishing friends. He couldn't wait to find a spot and cast a few rods.

However, Mr. Zhao would not accept Zhou Yimin's "big gift" for nothing.

The return gift must also be a "big gift", but it does not necessarily have to be given today.

After some getting to know each other, Zhou Yimin found out that Director Ding’s brother-in-law was named Zhao Jiadong, who worked in the Propaganda Department and held a fairly high position!

The Zhao family had no shortage of food, including pork, mutton, etc., so this gave Chef He a lot of room to play with his talents and he created six dishes that were all very tasty and colorful.

Come to think of it, let alone the other members of the Zhao family, it would be too easy for Director Ding alone to be in charge of the logistical resources of such a large steel plant and to get some food for the family.

In this world, no matter how difficult the life of the people is, there will always be a group of people who have enough food to eat.

According to Mr. Zhao, he has fought for half his life, experienced life and death, so why can't he enjoy himself? What's wrong with eating better?
He is an old Red Army soldier who participated in the Anti-Japanese War and the War of Liberation. He even took a stroll in Seoul a few years ago without his passport.

It was only in the past two or three years that I retired.

Zhou Yimin thinks this is reasonable.

Just like in later generations, the children of martyrs can get extra points in the middle school entrance examination and the college entrance examination. They have shed blood and made contributions for the country, so what's wrong with adding some points?
"Dad, don't drink so much, doctor..."

The old man was not satisfied.

After fighting for half a lifetime, what's wrong with having a couple more drinks?
"Doctor, what the hell? I know what's going on. Don't bother me."

How can a son control his father?
Open your mouth, doctor. Shut up, doctor. The old man sneered at the doctor's words.

There were several bullet holes on his body. Once when the condition was serious, the doctor told him that he would not live long! But now he is alive and well, and he can even eat two or three bowls of rice.

Zhao Jiadong and others were speechless.

Do you know what's going on?
Although there was an "outsider" Zhou Yimin present, the banquet was still a joyful occasion with everyone toasting and chatting.

Zhou Yimin let go of the last bit of his defense. He could see that Mr. Zhao was a lovely old man with a straightforward personality, and he didn't seem like the calculating type.

To be honest, Zhou Yimin was somewhat cautious when he came to eat this time. After all, you should not have the intention to harm others, but you must be on guard against others!
It is said that a person's character can be seen after drinking. After several drinks, Mr. Zhao's face was a little red, but he still spoke directly, which dispelled Zhou Yimin's last bit of hesitation and he started chatting with everyone.

"Yimin! Don't say these words casually in public anymore," Zhao Jiadong reminded.

He is from the Propaganda Department and is most sensitive to all kinds of words and phrases.

What Zhou Yimin just talked about with them included some vocabulary that was beyond the syllabus.

If this were to be said outside, it would be somewhat troublesome if someone took advantage of it.

But Mr. Zhao smiled and said, "You can't talk nonsense. It's okay for Yimin to say something."

He did not explain why.

Zhao Jiadong and Ding Shengtai were shocked when they heard this, and they couldn't help but wonder: Who is this guy?
Zhou Yimin: "Uncle Zhao, don't worry, there are no outsiders here!"

He did it on purpose.

Seeing Zhao Jiadong and the others’ kind reminder, I feel more at ease getting along with them in the future.

(End of this chapter)