“Goods?”
Xia Xiaolan was very interested.
Master Wan was also intrigued.
Bai Zhenzhu explained, “Radio-cassette players – 500 units total. They’ll deliver them to the checkpoint for handover. No one will get caught. Do you want this batch?”
“Radio-cassette combo units?”
Bai Zhenzhu nodded: “Only 90 yuan per unit, and the source is clean.”
How could smuggled goods have a clean source?
There was only one possibility – these were originally customs seizures that someone had managed to move, essentially “laundering” the goods. From pitch-black smuggled items to gray-market goods in a no-man’s-land.
While Xia Xiaolan didn’t want to touch smuggled goods, this safer money-making opportunity before her was tempting.
A radio-cassette combo for just 90 yuan?
And imported too?
Even smuggled goods weren’t usually this cheap. Smuggling wasn’t robbery – it required capital for inventory, and with layer upon layer of markup, everyone involved needed their profit share. Xia Xiaolan suspected the owner of this batch was desperate to unload it. At such a low price, selling wouldn’t be a problem.
1984 was also the peak year for radio smuggling. After next year, domestic joint ventures and state-owned units would mass-produce radios, greatly reducing import demand. With profits gone, smugglers would naturally turn their attention to other hot commodities.
“500 units? Sister Bai, even with our combined capital, we can’t handle this whole batch.”
Call her precious or cowardly, but with so many ways to make money – it was just a matter of time – why take this risk? Uncle Liu Yong’s scars ran deep, and he’d barely escaped with his life.
She wanted to open a shop with Bai Zhenzhu in the People’s Bridge Small Commodities Market, transitioning from retail to wholesale. They could sell radios and electronic watches on the side, but on the surface, it needed to be a legitimate store.
The stockings she got from Bai Zhenzhu were also smuggled goods, but they had been “laundered” through resale – Xia Xiaolan didn’t need to risk receiving the goods herself.
Bai Zhenzhu had never intended for Xia Xiaolan to receive the goods.
“I’ll get the radios through customs. Take as many as you can afford. They must move all 500 units at once. Since we don’t have enough capital, we’ll bring in someone else to split the batch.”
After two months in Peng City, Bai Zhenzhu not only dressed like a man but thought bigger too.
Xia Xiaolan was tempted.
Not having to transport goods from Peng City herself, but just receiving them in Yang City was worth considering.
She didn’t even need to transport them back to Shang City – if she could distribute the radios in Yang City, that would be profitable enough. Xia Xiaolan had brought over 10,000 yuan in clothing store dividends with her. Inter-city deposits were troublesome, and these people probably wouldn’t wait for wire transfers.
Bai Zhenzhu said each radio was 90 yuan, with recording capability. Together they could gather 20,000 yuan, clearly not enough for 500 units. Xia Xiaolan thought of Chen Xiliang.
Chen Xiliang dealt in wholesale clothing and had more money than Xia Xiaolan, but would he dare take this batch?
To distribute goods in Yang City, Chen Xiliang could introduce her to other wholesale vendors – he knew plenty of people. What were a few hundred radios? Countless traders in Yang City and Peng City were looking for opportunities daily. These 500 radio units Bai Zhenzhu mentioned should be first-hand goods. Adding just thirty or forty yuan per unit for bulk sales, traders would probably fight over them.
Xia Xiaolan had 13,000 yuan available.
At Bai Zhenzhu’s price, she could take over 100 units. Reselling them in Yang City would make some money while taking them back to Shang City to sell slowly could double her money.
No receipts and no foreign exchange certificates are needed for imported goods – just cash. With the textile industry and railway transportation supporting its economy, Shang City’s consumption power was quite good.
“Alright, if the goods are good, I agree to partner.”
In Bai Zhenzhu’s mind, Xia Xiaolan was good at making money. If she approved, Bai Zhenzhu felt confident.
Master Wan was very tempted, but even Xia Xiaolan and Bai Zhenzhu together could only handle half the batch. If Master Wan had over 20,000 yuan, he wouldn’t need to be Xia Xiaolan’s bodyguard. Before Master Wan could speak, Bai Zhenzhu knew what he wanted to say: “Senior Brothers, whatever money you have, if you want to invest, it can count toward mine and Xiaolan’s share. In business, more money means more options and less money means earning less… but business always carries risk. If the goods are seized or we’re cheated, everyone loses their money.”
Such low purchase prices, with the seller seemingly in clearance-sale mode – the higher the profit, the higher the risk.
Xia Xiaolan and Bai Zhenzhu dared to gamble because they could afford to lose.
Even if they lost their combined 20,000 yuan investment, their clothing business remained, and they could quickly earn back the lost capital.
But if Wan and Li emptied their family savings and lost it, recovery would be much harder.
Xia Xiaolan thought Bai Zhenzhu was too honest – such things should come from Master Wan himself. Profit or loss would be his own choice. Having the courage could bring him some wealth, but Bai Zhenzhu pointing it out made it seem like she was inviting Master Wan to invest.
After just two days together, Xia Xiaolan had roughly figured out Wan and Li’s personalities.
Master Wan appeared cautious but looked down on small business, always dreaming of overnight riches… One should think big, but everyone starts small. Bai Zhenzhu had sold cheap trousers in Peng City for two months, waiting and accumulating her first pot of gold one or two yuan at a time, until this quick money opportunity came.
Not to mention Xia Xiaolan, who couldn’t fight like Bai Zhenzhu and lacked her Yang City native advantages. As a reborn person, she had to start from nothing, selling eggs, making one or two fens per egg, sustained only by her determination to escape poverty without eating sweet potatoes.
What did Master Wan have?
Martial arts skills were only as good as how you used them.
Li gave Xia Xiaolan the first impression of being impulsive, ready to fight Ke Yixiong bare-handed. But after spending time together, she found him precise despite his rough exterior. Being impulsive wasn’t a problem as long as his head was clear.
Master Wan was the first to get restless at the construction site.
When a money-making opportunity arose, Master Wan was the first to show interest.
Master Wan thought for a moment, “I can gather 900 yuan. Can I buy 10 units?”
Bai Zhenzhu looked at Xia Xiaolan without speaking. Xia Xiaolan nodded. With Master Wan taking the lead, Brother Li also said he could gather 900 yuan.
Counting all her money, Xia Xiaolan could take 150 units.
Bai Zhenzhu could handle 100 units.
Of the 500 radio units, the four of them together could take 270. For the remaining 230 units, Xia Xiaolan pinned her hopes on Chen Xiliang.
Whoever controlled the time advantage could make money faster than others.
Once Bai Zhenzhu confirmed the order, someone brought two sample units. They were indeed radio-cassette combo units, with two cassettes included for testing. Xia Xiaolan pressed play, and a familiar female voice came through the speaker [song lyrics omitted for copyright reasons].
Teresa Teng’s songs were still considered decadent music at this time, but how could you ban something so pleasant? As sunset painted the sky red, vendors at the People’s Bridge Small Commodities Market packed up their stalls to the sweet melody. Xia Xiaolan took one radio unit and rushed back to Yang City overnight to raise funds.