My wife and I are both time travelers.

Chapter 81 Settlement of Accounts
There were three boxes left, which the four of them opened one by one.

One of the three boxes still contained bell-bottoms, with no difference in quantity or style from the previous box containing bell-bottoms.

The last two boxes surprised them. One of the smaller boxes contained five hundred digital watches. Each watch was sealed in a plastic bag. They were square and had a metallic sheen. There were several buttons on the side of the watch case. When pressed, the face displayed the time. The other two buttons could be used to adjust the time. They looked very trendy when worn on the wrist.

"This thing is pretty good."

Old Wen took a watch, put it on his wrist, adjusted the time, and then flexed his wrist, beaming with delight.

Lin Ying also picked up a piece, and after examining it closely, she frowned.

She could tell at a glance that this watch was just for show. Despite its metallic appearance, it was actually just a plastic case with a metallic-looking outer coating.

Moreover, the watch is very poorly made. The movement inside is made of plastic, and the case is just glued on. It's okay for casual wear, but it's not durable at all. The glue might come off while you're wearing it, and the case might just fall off somewhere.

Even so, this thing is still a rare commodity nowadays. Xu Guoqing smiled broadly, picked one out and put it on his wrist, and said with a smile, "Why don't we each take one of these watches? Watches are considered big items nowadays, and it's more convenient to have a digital watch to check the time."

The suggestion was unanimously approved, and everyone got a piece. In the blink of an eye, all four of them became "watch owners," looking at their digital watches with great satisfaction. Lin Ying reminded them to go back and find some glue to make the surface more secure so it wouldn't fall off. Xu Guoqing looked at it carefully and nodded, agreeing with Lin Ying's suggestion.

Finally, there was one box left. Xu Guoqing opened it himself and found it contained a whole bunch of all sorts of little gadgets. These gadgets were scattered about and varied in type, including more than thirty different calculators of different sizes.

Achang gave Xu Guoqing about fifty lighters in a large box, and there were also about twenty other cardboard boxes containing unknown contents. A strong fragrance wafted over, and just as Xu Guoqing took out a box and looked at it from left to right, Lin Ying had already guessed what was inside.

"Brother Qing, let me take a look."

"for you!"

Lin Ying took it, glanced at the packaging and the English words printed on it, and couldn't help but laugh.

Using a knife, I cut open the outer plastic seal and opened the box. Sure enough, inside the box, the foam grooves were filled with glass bottles, each thinner than my little finger. These bottles contained colorful, transparent liquids, and the bottle openings were sealed with small plastic stoppers, looking somewhat like injections used in hospitals.

"what is this?"

Xu Guoqing and Lao Wen asked in confusion, and Zhou Jiye was also a little confused, but when Lin Ying opened the cardboard box, the fragrance in the air became even stronger.

"It looks like perfume."

Lin Ying said with a smile that she already knew it was perfume, but she couldn't tell Xu Guoqing and Lao Wen outright. After all, how could a young woman from Northwest China who had only been in Shanghai for a short time know that it was perfume? There was no way to explain it!

"Perfume?" Xu Guoqing and Lao Wen looked at each other in surprise. Perfume in such a small bottle? But the scent was indeed pleasant.

Yes, this is perfume, but not ordinary perfume; it's a perfume sample.

It's normal that Zhou Jiye, being a man, doesn't pay attention to these things, not to mention Xu Guoqing and Lao Wen, but Lin Ying, as a woman, knows all too well about these things.

These perfumes are not the perfumes normally sold in stores. Perfume samples are offered as trial perfumes by cosmetic brands. In other words, they are placed on the counter for customers to try and select from during the sales process.

That's why these perfumes come in small packages, in a small test tube. Each test tube contains only a few milligrams of perfume, which is just the right amount for one use. This makes them very convenient as samples for recommending customers.

I don't know what the people shipping from Hong Kong were thinking, stuffing so many perfume samples into this box.

However, upon further reflection, Lin Ying guessed a bit more, because these perfume samples were not intended for regular sales, but rather as consumables for the sales channels. The supplier probably obtained these perfumes at no cost and then casually packed them into this box to sell them directly as merchandise when shipping them out.

While perfume is common in Hong Kong and other overseas countries, and many customers wouldn't even bother with it—at most, they might take a small sample and smear it on the back of their hand to assess its quality and scent—it's different in mainland China. As a woman herself, Lin Ying understands what other women think. Regardless of age, appearance, class, or status, what woman doesn't like cosmetics? Perfume is extremely rare in China; ordinary families rarely have access to it. Even in Shanghai's largest department store, there aren't proper cosmetic counters. At most, they sell things like face cream and cologne. Perfume is probably only found in overseas Chinese stores.

There were twenty boxes of perfume samples in this box, with fifty samples in each box, which means there were a total of one thousand perfume samples.

Looking at the labels above, they are mainly floral and woody scents, such as rose, lily, osmanthus, sandalwood, cedar, etc. The various fragrances are quite strong. In the past, Lin Ying would have preferred more elegant fragrances, but in this era, these fragrances are more popular with the general public.

"The stuff in this last box is pretty good. This perfume will definitely be popular!" After confirming that it contained perfume samples, Lin Ying closed the box and put it together with the other boxes, saying decisively.

Although Xu Guoqing knew nothing about perfume, he quickly understood why Lin Ying had said that. These perfumes weren't even opened yet, and they smelled so good just from the box; imagine how strong they would smell if they were opened and applied to the skin!
Women, whether pretty or not, all like this kind of fragrance, right? Don't underestimate this small bottle; what woman can resist the allure of perfume? If one bottle of perfume sells for one yuan, then a thousand bottles would be a thousand yuan, wouldn't they? Besides, there's also a calculator and a lighter included.

It's hard to estimate the price of the calculators, as there are over thirty of them that vary in size and model. But as electronic products, they should definitely sell for tens of yuan each. If they have more functions, they might sell for even more.

As for lighters, needless to say, he had seen them in Guangzhou before, and he remembered how much they sold for in the Guangzhou market. A good one sold for thirty or forty? A less desirable one sold for ten or twenty? The value of these things alone was quite considerable. Thinking of this, Xu Guoqing nodded repeatedly and couldn't help but smile.

After dismantling everything, the four began to tally the types and quantities of all the goods.

The results, after some time, are as follows:
There were two boxes of jeans, a total of ninety pairs, in all sizes. After discussion, the four of them decided to sell each pair of jeans for twenty-five yuan.

Three boxes of bell-bottoms, a total of 135 pairs, all in the same sizes, were priced at 25 yuan, just like jeans.

A box of large-collared shirts, containing 68 pieces in three sizes (small, medium, and large), is priced at 20 yuan.

There was a box of sunglasses, containing 226 pairs after removing the damaged ones, priced at 15 yuan per pair.

The box contained 492 electronic watches. After the four of them each took one, and then another eight were given to them, there were 492 left. Each electronic watch cost ten yuan.

The prices of calculators and lighters varied, making it a bit difficult to calculate. After sorting them out, the four of them divided them into three categories based on their models: eighteen ordinary calculators, priced at forty yuan each; seven slightly better ones, priced at sixty yuan each; and five calculators with function calculations, which Lin Ying suggested selling directly at one hundred and twenty yuan each. When this price was announced, Lao Wen was shocked and said it was too expensive, almost the price of a used bicycle. Who would buy it?

"Why not give it a try? It's no big deal. These kinds of function calculators are practically nonexistent outside. People who need these functions are sure to be able to afford them. Besides, there are only five of them. Even if they don't sell, there's no loss."

Old Wen was still somewhat hesitant, but Zhou Jiye raised his hand in agreement. Xu Guoqing thought about it carefully and felt that Lin Ying's words made sense. She was right. Even if they couldn't sell the five high-end function calculators for the time being, they wouldn't lose money. What if they did sell them? Wouldn't that be a huge profit?
There are fifty-three lighters. Thirty of them are ordinary and will be sold for twenty yuan each. The remaining better ones will be sold for forty yuan each to try it out first.

Following Lin Ying's suggestion, we'll sell each perfume sample for one yuan and see how it sells.

All that's left is a box of cassette tapes. It's hard to estimate their value right now; I'd have to go to the Overseas Chinese Store to find out. Besides, tape recorders are rare these days, so it's uncertain whether they'll even sell.

After setting the price, they calculated the final total. Looking at the densely written numbers in Xu Guoqing's hand and the final amount, the four of them couldn't contain their excitement.

19915 yuan, which is equivalent to 20,000 yuan, and that doesn't even include the cassette tape. Looking at this number, Lao Wen couldn't help but rub his eyes, seemingly unable to believe it was true.

"Holy crap! So much money? If I were selling eels and slicing eel, how many days would I have to set up a stall to earn that much!" Old Wen exclaimed involuntarily, even punctuation marks spurting from his mouth, his eyes gleaming with gold.

Although this wasn't earned by him alone, the deal was agreed upon from the beginning to be for four people: Zhou Jiye and Lin Ying each took a share, and Xu Guoqing and Lao Wen took another share. Zhou Jiye and Xu Guoqing also contributed their own capital when they went to Lingnan. In this respect, Lao Wen actually took a quarter of the share.

Even so, a quarter of nearly 20,000 yuan is 5,000 yuan, right? This amount of money is a huge sum in this era. Old Wen used to sell eels and slice eel at the market. Back then, in order to earn more money, he even asked Zhou Jiye to help him kill chickens and gut them. After working hard for a month, he only earned about 200 or 300 yuan.

Five thousand yuan—that's two years' worth of his income! Thinking of this, Lao Wen's face flushed, and he couldn't help but get excited, unsure what to do with his hands and feet.

(End of this chapter)