Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 183 Invitation

White pine is gaining influence, and its inexpensive, easy-to-process, and easy-to-glue properties are making it a star in the furniture industry.

Because they are not familiar with this type of wood, most furniture factories that initially used white pine did not dare to buy other people's products. Of course, they felt more at ease using Yan Hui's products.

Yan Hui currently has about 300 cubic meters of orders backlogged. He doesn't lack orders at all; what he lacks is drying equipment.

The drying plant that Yan Hui partnered with originally intended to dry 60-ton slabs, but Yan Hui has been supplying a steady stream of white pine, and now it's practically become Yan Hui's exclusive drying plant.

In the past three months, no other dried timber has appeared in the market, mainly because people simply do not know that timber can be dried.

Good shade-dried material can achieve the same quality as oven-dried material, but shade-drying is highly dependent on the weather. March, April, and May are fine, but after June, with increasing rainfall in various regions, shade-drying becomes very difficult, and the quality of shade-dried material is hard to guarantee.

Yan Hui consistently tells the public that the dried material is grade one and the air-dried material is grade two, with a price difference of 50 yuan per cubic meter. Because of this 50 yuan difference, grade one material is currently in short supply, and no one in the market can produce it.

In the few days since returning, Yan Hui has had dinner with President Teng and also had meals with many other bosses, so he has nothing to do and has finally had some free time.

On Friday evening, Yan Hui went to Xinhua Bookstore as arranged and saw Su Jin.

"The college entrance exam is coming up soon, and I was thinking of not bothering you, but since you asked me to come, I definitely have to." The bookstore in June was as hot as ever, with fans blowing directly, and Yan Hui felt that a year had passed in the blink of an eye.

"I'm not worried about the college entrance exam. Anyway, I won't get into a very good school. I'll just try my best to get into a bachelor's degree program." Su Jin felt very little pressure. As an only child, her parents never felt that their daughter had to work hard.

"Undergraduate degree? You'll be a very capable person in the future!" Yan Hui said with a smile.

"You seem to be in good shape lately?" Su Jin looked Yan Hui up and down and found that Yan Hui had become more mature after three months.

"Business has been going fairly well lately. Let me tell you, I've recently started shipping white pine to Jianye, a type of timber that wasn't available here before. I feel like I can change the timber market in Jianye to some extent in the future," Yan Hui couldn't help but boast.

"I think you can do it too." Su Jin nodded in satisfaction. "Shall we go bowling tomorrow? I haven't been in ages."

"Sure, me too. I haven't played in ages, I can go. But what about you? Don't you have classes?" Yan Hui asked, a little worried.

"I've already agreed with my parents that I'll play for one afternoon every Saturday in the months leading up to the college entrance exam. Otherwise, I'll be so bored." Su Jin sighed. "There's still a month left."

"Okay, I'll keep you company." Yan Hui isn't busy lately.

After spending some time in the bookstore, it was still very hot, and Yan Hui was covered in sweat: "The summers in Jianye are just too hot. I know a restaurant with air conditioning. Let's go get something to eat."

"Air conditioning? That's great!" Su Jin perked up at the news; air conditioning was a rare commodity these days.

After tidying up their books, Yan Hui took Su Jin to the place where they had dinner the night before.

This place is a bit expensive, but Yan Hui can totally afford it. He now has a net profit of over 5 yuan per month, so running a restaurant with an average cost of 200 yuan per person is no problem for him.

Su Jin was a very easygoing girl. She loved eating noodles that cost 1.5 yuan a bowl, and she also loved eating meals that cost hundreds of yuan. She was never picky. When they went to a fancy restaurant, she even told Yan Hui that she should treat them. How could Yan Hui let Su Jin treat them at this time? She directly told the waiter not to let Su Jin pay the bill. Su Jin covered her mouth and laughed when she saw Yan Hui's anxious look.

"What's this?" While waiting for his food, Yan Hui noticed that Su Jin was holding a small gadget that looked like a round pager.

"This? A digital pet, they're all the rage now!" Su Jin said, handing the digital pet to Yan Hui. "Look, this is for cleaning, and this is for weighing."

Many people born in the 80s who grew up in cities have played with electronic pet machines. It was a pixelated game where you raised a little pet that could grow, eat, and poop.
Yan Hui fiddled with it for a while and found it quite fun: "Can I get one for my sister? How much does it cost?"

"Over 100 yuan is still quite expensive for a student! But... how about this, I'll give one to your sister. I'll bring one over for you tomorrow afternoon." Su Jin planned to give Qing Lan a gift.

"You're giving it to her? No need, I can afford it."

“Of course you can afford it, but what’s yours is yours, and what’s mine is mine. I’ll give her one just like mine!” Su Jin said again.

"Alright then, I'll thank you on Qinglan's behalf. I'll say in the letter later that it was from you." Yan Hui could only agree.

Electronic pets were many people's first mini-game console in the days before mobile phones.

1998 was a year of rapid development for electronic devices worldwide. In the following years, the prices of mobile phones and pagers plummeted, and electronic pet machines were long obsolete. As a result, people born after 1995 may have no idea that such a thing ever existed.

"How long are you going to stay this time?" Su Jin asked.

"I originally planned to come back for a month, but I had dinner last night and received some more orders. I still need to go back to the Northeast in a while. By the time I get back, you should have finished your exams."

“You go ahead and do your work, I’m not in a rush. Perfect timing, I’m going to focus on my studies right now, and once I finish my college entrance exams, we’ll both be free.” Su Jin rested her chin on her hands and daydreamed for a few seconds. “I want to go out and have fun then… I want to go… My dad said he’d take me to Hong Kong Island.”

"Then good luck and you'll definitely get into a good university. But don't put too much pressure on yourself. Look at me, I only have a junior high school education, and I'm doing just fine." Yan Hui didn't seem to care much about Hong Kong or anything like that.

"Yes, I definitely will!" Su Jin nodded slightly.

While eating, Yan Hui learned how to play with the electronic pet. When he got home that night, he could write a letter to Qing Lan and send it to her as soon as possible. He was sure Qing Lan would be very happy.

Qinglan is about to take her high school entrance exam!

"Unbeknownst to me, I've been out here for three and a half years," Yan Hui said, suddenly realizing how quickly time had passed.

“I’ve heard about your story from you. My dad and I have talked about many things, and he also said you’re very capable,” Su Jin said confidently.

"You've talked to your dad about me?" Yan Hui asked, somewhat surprised.

“Yes, my dad knew about our phone calls several times. He asked me about it, and I didn’t hide it from him. My dad said that no matter how much you earn, knowing how to adapt is a sign of intelligence. That’s how he built his business back then.” Su Jin blinked her big eyes. “My dad said that after I finish my college entrance exam, if you have time, you can come to my house for dinner.”

(End of this chapter)