The golden age began in 1977

Chapter 81 Selling Goodies to the Driver
After eating and drinking, we dispersed.

Qian Jin looked at the drunken drivers and felt embarrassed: "Don't drink and drive, don't drive after drinking, can you guys do this?"

The driver, Sun Mantang, hugged his shoulder and burped, "Brother, what are you talking about? If we don't drink and drive, then we will either not be able to live a good life or lose our jobs."

Qiao Jinbu said nonchalantly, "You don't understand. The more we drink, the tighter we grip the steering wheel!"

The other drivers nodded and gave examples:
"My driver has to drink to drive. What's going on? His hands are shaking and he can't hold the steering wheel. He drives like a snake."

"But once I drank, hehe, my hand immediately became steady. Very steady!"

Qian Jin really wanted to tell him to ask his master to go to the hospital to check whether he had developed alcohol dependence.

But this is just thought. If he really said that, people would be angry with him.

It was his first time having dinner with the drivers, and he didn't expect them to ask for drinks.

Qian Jin was too embarrassed to stop it.

What would the guests think if he, the host, stopped them from drinking?
You will definitely think he is stingy and dishonest!

He hinted at it at the table that at that time there was no Road Traffic Safety Law, and drunk driving was taken for granted by drivers.

As a young man, he cannot influence the general trend of the industry.

But he thought about an old movie he had seen on short videos called "Our Veterans", in which the protagonist was a driver and there were scenes of driving after drinking. It was also a movie with promotional purpose!

These days, scenes of drivers driving under the influence of alcohol can be shown in movies, so he really can't say anything.

Qian Jin could only repeatedly remind the drivers to pay attention to safety.

Qiao Jinbu drank the most.

He was happy to meet Qian Jin again today.

Feel happy that you help the money come in and out.

I was also happy that Qian Jin generously treated his colleagues to a banquet, which made me proud.

In short, he got drunk after being so happy together, and then he had to go to the port to carry out a mission.

Considering the huge amount of cargo, workers, fishermen, and sailors in the port, Qian Jin didn't dare to let him go:
"Brother Qiao, let's go to my house and have some tea first..."

"What kind of tea do you want to drink? Men drink alcohol, not tea!" Qiao Jinbu said proudly.

Qian Jin whispered to him, "Not only tea, I have something good. I'll show you something good. It's absolutely good!"

Qiao Jinbu's red eyes lit up: "Is it a half-closed door?"

What is a half-closed door?
Qian Jin didn't understand and said, "You'll know if you come to my house with me. It's absolutely fine!"

He wanted Qiao Jinbu to walk home with him.

But don't even think about it.

Qiao Jinbu has already climbed into the car.

Fortunately.

There were very few cars on the road now, and the pointed truck managed to drive to Taishan Road and stop in front of their building.

When the truck stopped, the old men and women who were sunbathing or watching their children outside looked at it curiously.

The children ran over happily to climb on the car.

Qiao Jinbu jumped out of the car, his three-inch wide bell-bottom pants carving out a trendy path in the old street, with his trouser legs rolled up like sycamore leaves.

Mrs. Li spat after seeing it: "The trouser legs are wider than sacks, just like two upside-down brooms!"

Another old lady shook her head: "What a waste of fabric these trouser legs are! Can they be drivers with such ideological awareness? Can they be entrusted with building a new China?"

Qiao Jinbu was displeased when he heard this. He lifted his foot and swept his trouser legs, saying disdainfully, "You old-fashioned fellow, you have no experience."

"Have you ever been to places like Guangdong Magic City? Have you ever seen overseas Chinese? Let me tell you, their trouser legs are three feet wider than mine!"

Drivers have a high status these days.

After being scolded, the old men and women became quiet and turned to ask Qian Jin:
"Who is this Captain Qian?"

"Why did you come back by car? Are you moving?"

"I think this is a transport company's vehicle. Is there something going on on the street?"

Qian Jin introduced: "No, this is my friend. I brought my friend to visit my home."

"What friends! Not just friends, but also comrades-in-arms!" Qiao Jinbu was drunk.

Old Jintou, who lived upstairs, asked curiously, "Captain Qian, were you a soldier? I've never heard of that."

Qian Jin was about to explain.

Qiao Jinbu came up and hugged him, saying, "Our comradeship wasn't forged in military service, it was cultivated through fighting together!"

"At the beginning of the month, I was delivering goods to a cotton mill when I was ambushed by two enemy agents."

"Luckily, my brother passed by and saw me locked in a fierce fight with two enemy spies. He then went up and fired three cannons at them, killing them all!"

Mrs. Li pondered for a moment and asked, "Hey? Didn't a driver encounter a murderer, and Captain Qian arrested two murderers?"

Qiao Jinbu patted his chest and said, "I am the driver. The information you got is wrong. He is not a simple murderer, but an enemy spy..."

Qian Jin was embarrassed.

They dragged him into the corridor.

The old men and women looked at the two of them playing and fighting with envy:
"I didn't realize Master Qian's youngest son is so powerful. The team leader of the State-owned No. 2 Hotel is his friend, and the driver of the transportation company is his comrade-in-arms..."

"Don't they eat meat every day? If we had connections with state-owned restaurants and transportation companies, we could eat meat too..."

"No wonder Zhang Hongbo fell into Qian Jin's hands. Doesn't he realize that a lousy neighborhood committee director like himself can actually fight someone with connections like Qian Jin?"

The study room is now crowded during the day.

When they saw Qian Jin coming back, the young people who came to study on the street greeted him: "Hello, Captain Qian", "Captain Qian, have you eaten?"

Qiao Jinbu scratched his head.

As a lifesaver, I have a very special status.

Qian Jin responded by leading him into Room 205 and first gave him a mug of strong tea: "Take a couple of sips to sober you up. I'll show you something good later."

Qiao Jinbu sat by the window, enjoying the sea breeze and drinking tea, saying:

"What good stuff do you have? Let me tell you, brother, I'm going to Pengcheng next month. It's close to Hong Kong Island and there are a lot of new and interesting things there..." Qian Jin opened the wardrobe and took out his big sunglasses: "You should need these when driving. Sometimes when you drive facing the sun, wearing these will not be glaring."

"Frog mirror?" Qiao Jinbu stood up immediately.

Sunglasses are a traditional Chinese item, but they became widely popular during the Republic of China period, when Western products were dumped into the country. Some soldiers, drivers, pilots, etc. were keen on wearing sunglasses.

As Qian Jin said, drivers now also wear sunglasses, but they are domestically produced sunglasses with small lenses.

In order to enter the black market to conceal his identity, Qian Jin wore these very large sunglasses, which were the frog-eye glasses that would become popular in mainland China in a few years.

He guessed that Qiao Jinbu liked fashionable things, so he would be interested in these big sunglasses.

Obviously, he guessed right.

Qiao Jinbu snatched it away, put it on his nose, and quickly walked to the window to look out:

"I was planning to buy this when I went to Pengcheng this time. I heard that the goods from Hong Kong were sneaking in. How could you get it first? Where did you get it?"

Qian Jin said, "I can't tell you that. I can only tell you that I have some connections in the supply and marketing system."

Qiao Jinbu was no longer drunk. He was walking around the room with his sunglasses on and his hands in his pockets.

Qian Jin wanted to laugh when he saw this.

This outfit makes him look like an old peacock with its tail spread out: a Dacron plaid jacket with bell-bottomed work pants, sunglasses, and a mustache.

Anyway, in the eyes of the old people on the street, it is definitely a spy outfit.

Qian Jin took a look and took out a watch.

This is also a vintage-style watch, but with an all-gold finish.

He had seen similar watches on the black market, so he bought a batch from the mall, intending to disrupt the black market.

At this time, he saw that the old-fashioned watch on Qiao Jinbu's wrist did not match his dress style, so he asked him to change it to this watch.

Nowadays, men have too few accessories. Drivers can wear sunglasses, and for the general public, the only accessory they have is a watch.

When Qiao Jinbu saw this eye-catching watch, he liked it very much: "My benefactor, I must apologize to you!"

"Just now I doubted that you had any good stuff. This is my short-sightedness. I can't recognize a great mountain or a piece of gold inlaid jade!"

Qian Jin exclaimed: "Wow, Brother Qiao, you have a high level of education."

Qiao Jinbu snorted, "I even got into a technical secondary school in 60! If my dad hadn't insisted I get behind the wheel, I'd be a cadre by now!"

These words stunned Qian Jin.

The technical secondary school students in 1960 were indeed highly educated and capable.

Qiao Jinbu didn't continue the topic.

Concentrate on studying watches.

This watch is worthy of his love:
The threaded engraved dial, nail scale, double calendar, and mineral reinforced glass all exude a sense of fashion.

Qiao Jinbu asked him, "Can you sell me the sunglasses and the watch? The price is negotiable. Just tell me what kind of tickets you want, and I can get them!"

Qian Jin explained: "I'll give you the frog-shaped mirror as a gift. It was originally given to me by someone else..."

"No, no," Qiao Jinbu said immediately, "Brother, we have nothing else to do. Just eat and drink, and don't take things to heart."

"Money is not an option. Brothers should settle accounts clearly. Only in this way can we maintain a good relationship!"

Qian Jin said, "Give me 200 yuan for the watch, and you can give me the toad-shaped glasses as you see fit."

"I have both of these items in stock. If your friend is interested, you can come to me, but the price will definitely be different from what I give you."

Watches are still quite expensive nowadays.

This gold watch has a large dial, which is two sizes larger than ordinary men's watches. It's okay to set a higher price.

Ordinary people are very cautious about things like speculation, but drivers don't think it's a big deal.

What are they trying to achieve by traveling all over the country behind the steering wheel?
Just to be able to carry goods around and engage in speculation!

So Qiao Jinbu agreed without hesitation, and took out 270 yuan from his pockets and put it on the table.

Qian Jin has a new understanding of the drivers' wealth.

New workers couldn't save 270 yuan after working in the factory for a year, but Qiao Jinbu took it out of his pocket!

Shaking his watch, Qiao Jinbu grinned from ear to ear: "This thing is bigger than a mooncake. Next time I encounter a robber, I'll put it on my chest and it will be my breastplate!"

Qian Jin laughed heartily.

With such a good mouth, it would be a shame if he didn't go to Tianqiao to tell stories.

Qiao Jinbu put the watch to his ear and listened to the ticking of the second hand. "It sounds nice, really nice. It's even crisper than the air brakes on our trucks."

The watch chain buckled three times before it got stuck on his wrist. He walked around the room with his arm raised to check the time, but he accidentally stepped on his trouser leg and almost fell.

Qian Jin continued to pour tea for him.

He's still drunk!

Qiao Jinbu, on the other hand, was just trying to show off: "When we go to the port to pick up the goods later, I'm going to make the steering wheel fly with sparks!"

The novelty wore off, and as he sobered up, he asked, "Do you want nylon stockings?"

He pulled up his trouser legs to show Qian Jin: "Foreign goods!"

The exposed half of the white socks has English letters printed on it.

Qian Jin was shocked: "How dare you touch foreign goods?"

Qiao Jinbu was nonchalant: "Who cares? If you don't show off, who cares?"

"I'll tell you, if you go to the south, you'll see. The fishing boats don't return home to report their catch, but trade directly with Hong Kong merchants at sea."

"You should know about the foreign black market in Port A. You movers and decorators all trade with the foreigners."

Qian Jin was shocked: "Really? I haven't been there. I've only been to the black market in the city."

"And even if I were to buy some black market sunglasses, I'd have to sandpaper off the foreign writing on my legs before I could even take them out."

Qiao Jinbu advised him: "From now on, just say that it was sent by an Albanian comrade. Our driver will just say that, and there will be no problem."

"If you run into an idiot and ask again, you can ask our driver to be your witness! We all have revolutionary comrades in Albania!"

(End of this chapter)