The Red Era: Starting from a Truck Driver

Chapter 191 Selling Small Yellow Croakers to Rent a House
In 1972, the international price of gold was more than US$70 per ounce.

International prices are always just guide prices. After all, gold is the real hard currency in the world and can be exchanged for money anywhere. But if you take your own currency and go abroad, you may not be able to use other currencies except the US dollar.

Although Hong Kong is a free port, its economy has not yet taken off. There are still large gaps between official and private exchange rates in many places.

But gold is different from currency. No matter which country you get the gold from, at least the exchange price is the same.

At present, the price of gold in Hong Kong is slightly higher than the international price. But that refers to the sale. There are many pawnshops in Hong Kong that recycle various precious things, including gold.

The recycling price is currently 11 yuan per gram, which is equivalent to more than 340 Hong Kong dollars per ounce of gold. According to the current exchange rate between the US dollar and the Hong Kong dollar, the recycling price is equivalent to 65 US dollars per ounce.

Jiang Cheng took Zhang Hao and others to the urban area of ​​the New Territories. The New Territories is not the central area of ​​Hong Kong. It is not very prosperous, but because it is the closest to the mainland, there are many people living here.

So in the New Territories, you can see densely packed houses, but not many tall buildings. But there are densely packed buildings, concrete roads, buses, cars, and all kinds of people.

This busy scene can indeed shock mainlanders who come here to make a living. But in Jiang Cheng's eyes, it may be similar to a small county town in a third-tier city in the 21st century.

When they went to find the pawn shop, Zhang Hao and others followed Jiang Cheng and looked around, fearing that they would see the police and ask who they were.

People without ID cards in Hong Kong are like rats in the underground. But the reality is that in urban areas, the police don't have the leisure to check your identity.

Jiang Cheng didn't believe that the police in Hong Kong at this time could have sharp eyes and could tell who didn't have an ID card at a glance. Moreover, in this urban area, many people were not dressed well. However, the few people following Jiang Cheng were indeed dressed in shabby clothes.

It is easy to find a pawnshop in the city, and there are even many pawnshops in Hong Kong.

Moreover, the pawnshops here have a very good reputation and will not judge you with prejudice. No matter where you got your stuff from, whether you are a local or a mainlander, they will never cheat you on the price of good stuff, nor will they ask you where you got it. They will tell you the price directly, and you can pawn it or sell it directly.

Jiang Cheng found a pawnshop, took out eight small yellow croakers, and got more than 2,700 Hong Kong dollars in about ten minutes. And he only bought these eight small yellow croakers for 15 yuan each.

Because private gold trading is not allowed in China, gold recycling has to be done at a bank, and the origin of the gold has to be explained. Otherwise, Jiang Cheng would not have been able to buy a small yellow croaker for 15 yuan.

After coming out of the pawnshop, Jiang Cheng took a few people to have breakfast, which consisted of barbecued pork buns, fried dough sticks and green beans.

Four people ate more than ten baskets of barbecued pork buns. Even so, except for Jiang Cheng who felt full, the other three were just reluctant to eat and would not mind having another seven or eight baskets.

After this breakfast, Zhang Hao and his men were truly respectful to Jiang Cheng. This was how the henchmen in Hong Kong were in those days. They would follow whoever gave them food and led them around.

As for loyalty, it definitely exists, people in this era still value loyalty. People who are helped in times of hardship are very grateful to the other party, but this loyalty also has a price.

For example, if someone works with you, he can earn 1,000 yuan a month. If someone else comes to poach you, they may not even offer 1,500 yuan. They want to be loyal, so they may offer 2,000 yuan. That's not certain.

"Brother Cheng, let's go get our ID cards now."

In a small tea restaurant, Zhang Hao asked Jiang Cheng. Even though it was past nine in the morning, the weather was still very hot, and everyone had a glass bottle of Coke in front of them.

"You need to register your address when you apply for an ID card. The people who helped us apply for the ID cards also registered them under someone else's name. Why not rent a house first? I saw an agency that rents and sells houses on the way here just now. It's convenient to rent a house and register your own residence with your ID card." Jiang Cheng said while drinking Coke.

I have to say that the breakfast in Hong Kong’s tea restaurants tastes good, but it is also much more expensive than those sold at roadside stalls.

"Okay, I'll listen to you, brother."

"Yes, I'll listen to Brother Cheng."

Now Jiang Cheng is the eldest brother of several people, so naturally, no matter what he says, others will immediately obey. After coming out of the tea restaurant, Jiang Cheng led several people to a nearby agency to find a place to rent a house.

With Jiang Cheng leading the way, Zhang Hao and his companions were no longer afraid of the occasional patrol police on the road. They found that those police were just there to make a living. They also wandered around and would go over to eat and take something for free when they saw someone selling something on the street.

When I arrived at the agency, it was not a big shop, but there were several employees. There were many people who came here to rent a house and look at the house information.

"Sir, you want to rent a house? Please tell me where you want to rent a house, how many square feet you want, and how much you want."

As soon as Jiang Cheng and his companions entered the house, someone came forward to greet them. Judging from the way Jiang Cheng and his companions were dressed, they did not look like rich people. But if four people were to rent a house, they would need a house of at least 100 square feet. Even if it was an ordinary house, the larger the square footage, the more expensive it would be, so the commission would naturally be higher.

In Hong Kong, housing area is not measured in square feet, but in square meters. Even the area of ​​the house for sale is the same, and one square meter is equal to 10.7 square feet.

Jiang Cheng saw some information about houses for sale here. The price per foot was about one hundred yuan, which means that one square meter of the house cost more than one thousand yuan.

There are many small old houses here, some of which are over 200 square feet. In other words, in the 1970s, it would cost 20,000 to 30,000 to buy a small house in Hong Kong.

"Is there a house around 400 square feet that's close to the vegetable market?" Jiang Cheng asked.

"Yes, of course. But there are too many houses, I have to check for you first." said the receptionist.

According to the rules of the real estate agency, basically no matter how you ask, you have to have it, even if you don't have it. Anyway, if the conditions are not met, you can persuade them. For example, if you require a 400-square-foot house and there is no 400-square-foot house, you can recommend a 500 or even 600-square-foot house. If you don't have much money, you can rent a house of more than 300 square feet.

If you want to be close to the vegetable market, you have to look at it in different ways. If the vegetable market is right outside your door, it is close, but if it is ten minutes away from the vegetable market, it is still close compared to twenty minutes away.

So no matter what request Jiang Cheng made, the receptionist here would definitely say yes and ask them to keep you here first.

But Jiang Cheng's request was not difficult, as there were many houses of this size. Four hundred feet was about forty square meters, and there were many houses of this size in Hong Kong.

When the receptionist saw Jiang Cheng and his three companions, he asked how many bedrooms they wanted in the 400-square-foot apartment.

Jiang Cheng would definitely have a separate room for himself, and as for Zhang Hao, A Guang and A Li, the three of them could have one room each, having a house to live in was better than living over the overpass.

And no matter how many rooms there are, even if it is just one bedroom and one living room, Jiang Cheng has no problem letting the three of them sleep in the living room.

However, Jiang Cheng still suggested that a two-bedroom, one-living-room house would be best. The house doesn’t have to be too good, as long as it’s cheap.

Jiang Cheng doesn't have much money now, so he can't afford to rent a good house. When he has money, he won't have to rent, but buy a house directly.

But for the receptionist, this was expected, as they were already thinking that they couldn't afford a good house. There was no need to introduce them to some nicely decorated places in good locations.

I directly introduced them to several houses in civilian residential areas, which rented for around two to three hundred yuan a month, but they required a deposit.

At the agency, they unexpectedly learned that they could also help them apply for ID cards. The prerequisite was that after renting their house, the four of them would pay a total of 100 yuan.

This saves money and trouble. Actually, after Jiang Cheng and his friends rent a house and get their ID cards, they can help other people get the cards. Now, in Hong Kong, people from the mainland can get ID cards only if they have a local guarantor. So-called locals are considered locals as long as they have an ID card.

Because those who come to rely on relatives may have been in Hong Kong for a short time. In addition, Hong Kong has not yet entered the Internet age, so it is normal for a local to guarantee more than a dozen people a year.

Many times, rules are rules and forms are forms. Since there are rules, everyone can just pretend to follow them and fool around. If you are asked to find a local guarantor, just find one.

(End of this chapter)