Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 201 The Great West Gate (Monthly Tickets+)

"I'll go get you the Famicom. As for the TV and stuff, I'll check; I'll have to go to Da Xi to get it. You guys wait here for a bit." He patted Chen Xiao on the head and turned to leave.

Xiao Wei said, "Brother Chen, we also have a laser scanner and a projector. Get us all the songs available on the market, and we'll settle the bill together later."

Chen Peng nodded and said, "Okay, wait here for a moment." After walking a few steps, he turned around and asked, "Do you need a screen? A projection screen?"

Chen Xiao said to Xiao Wei, "If the wall is flat, we don't need to use cloth; just plaster it white. A piece of cloth costs quite a bit."

Xiao Wei thought for a moment and said, "Then we don't need to. We can just go back and figure out a way to fix it. Let's get the machine first."

Chen Peng nodded and went downstairs.

Xia Maosheng said, "Your brother treats you so well, I feel like he treats his daughter."

Chen Xiao said, "My brother has always been good to me since we were little. He does whatever I say. He never fights back when I bully him, unlike some people who are always looking for ways to get revenge on me." She looked at Chen Hui.

Chen Hui was installing batteries in several pagers, saying without looking up, "You have to discipline your wife, right? If you don't beat her for three days, she'll be tearing the roof off. You have to beat and kick her to show how loving you are. Xiao Wei, you take this 967777, Lao Xia, take this 968088, this 960606 for Xiao Hong, and I'll take this one, 922222."

After he finished speaking, Xiao Wei and Xia Maosheng didn't react. He looked up in confusion and saw two towering figures in front of him. Above that, Chen Xiao's eyes were blazing with anger: "What did you just say?"

Chen Hui thought for a moment: "Didn't you say anything? What did I say? Did I say anything?"

Chen Xiao raised his hand and gave Chen Hui a one-finger tap on the forehead: "You really are an idiot."

Chen Hui turned around and handed the pager to Xiao Wei and Xia Maosheng, saying, "This is the button with the red dot. Press and hold it for a while to turn it on. This is for adjusting the volume. It can make a sound or mute it. When it's mute, it will vibrate when a pager comes in. This is for reading. You can store a lot of caller ID numbers here. Use this button to browse through them." Although he didn't have one himself, he was already familiar with it.

Xiao Wei and Xia Maosheng took it and turned it on as Chen Hui had instructed. The machine vibrated and beeped a few times, and the screen displayed the date and time. Chen Hui then taught them how to adjust it. Back then, there was no automatic time synchronization; it all had to be adjusted manually.

It was easy; the two of them learned it in no time. Xiaowei also adjusted Xiaohong's phone. Besides, the numbers Chen Peng had chosen were all quite good, and there was nothing to complain about.

Back then, there wasn't the trend of "888 for good fortune," nor were there any distinctions between "good" and "bad" numbers. A good number was simply one that was easy to remember and sounded catchy. It wasn't until after 1995 or 1996 that the idea of ​​"8" being associated with "prosperity" and "5" with "fortune" spread from the south. Also, with the increase in mobile phone users, phone numbers started to be categorized into different tiers and priced accordingly. This was mostly a sales tactic to maximize profits, and ordinary people, naively following their advice, spent exorbitant prices on these supposedly "good" numbers and acted all high and mighty.

All unfairness stems from people's competitive mentality; they reap what they sow.

Old Ning's first pager was a 93 Fire Phoenix, number 126-966558. His first mobile phone was a 96 928, number 139****9668. Both were Motorola phones. Back then, you just used whichever number you came across without being picky. Starting in the second half of 96, numbers started being categorized as AAAA, AABB, etc., and you had to pay extra. A friend of Old Ning got a pager number, 966888, for 800 yuan. But soon after, pagers became obsolete.

Pagers 126 and 127 are on the same line; 126 is manual and 127 is automated.

Back then, all the girls working at the paging station were incredibly skilled, able to write 150 words per minute using the Wubi input method. They were highly regarded wherever they went.

……

A few people sat there fiddling with pagers and chatting. About twenty minutes later, Chen Peng returned, followed by two young men carrying several cardboard boxes containing a Famicom, a DVD player, and a projector. Chen Peng said, "I got you a Pioneer. It's a bit more expensive than Songxia or anything like that, but the quality is the best. For the Famicom, I got you two Little Genius ones; they're more stable. Japanese ones are too expensive. The projector is a JVC; it's a reliable brand with the best reputation."

Laser disc players were mainly popular in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and surrounding areas, and were also mainly produced in these places. During this period, Europe and America mainly produced video recorders.

They unpacked and inspected the machine, but none of these people knew anything about it; they just watched Chen Peng skillfully tinker with it.

Chen Peng fiddled with the video and audio cables, the yellow and white plugs, for a while, then put each machine back into the box and sealed it with tape. He said, "There are instructions inside. Go back and use the instructions to figure it out slowly. You'll get used to it once you get the hang of it. Just don't drop it. This is a game cartridge. It basically has all the games. You can check it when you get back. This is the LD (Local Edition). This is all the ones you can find. About thirty cartridges, that should be enough. Come back and see if you need anything else, and I'll find it for you. Be careful when you take this. Try not to touch it with your hands, okay? Pinch the edge. After you're done, put it in a plastic sleeve and put it away properly. If you touch it or it gets dusty or sticky, it'll be hard to play."

Next was the projector, which was the most expensive and the most important. Chen Peng pulled Xiao Wei aside and explained in detail how to use it, connect it, and take precautions.

Actually, the earliest Japanese brands to enter the Chinese market were Epson, Matsushita, and Sanyo, which had relatively high brand recognition among the general public. JVC was a later entrant, but it had a high-end image and its products were relatively expensive.

Chen Peng helped carry the goods, and the group enjoyed a super VIP price, which was almost the wholesale price. The total cost was still over 40,000 yuan, or 43,600 yuan, which was more than half the price of the market price. These days, these things are all high-profit goods.

After paying for each item, Chen Peng had the two sales clerks carry the items downstairs and into his car. He then dismissed the clerks, closed the car door, and said, "Let's go to Daxi. I'll go with you to buy the things before we go back to work."

At that time, the Fengtian Daxi Electronics Market had not yet been built, but a rudimentary market had already formed in the private sector, mainly focusing on home appliances and supplemented by electronic products. Some small factories that produced pirated goods had also emerged, primarily engaged in the refurbishment industry. By the mid-90s, they began assembling and producing all kinds of popular electronic products, and business was booming. A small room and two or three migrant workers were enough to assemble and produce DVDs.

Many factories and enterprises in China that now have a high-end image developed in this way. In the 90s, they were just small, illegal factories. For example, some companies like Didi and Kang produce stoves, and some companies produce home appliances. This one is the most bizarre. They produce everything, and everything they produce is terrible.

As the car drove out of Sanhao Street and passed the intersection of Wenhua Road, Chen Xiao pointed over there and said to Chen Peng, "Brother, our restaurant is located over there, right there in front of the store. It's 1,500 square meters in total. By the way, Xiao Hui's dad knows Director Li here. He said we should go to him if we need anything."

(End of this chapter)