Back to 1978

Chapter 129: Selfless Comrade Xie Hushan

Seeing Jiao Peng's petty and inexperienced look, Xie Hushan immediately gave Han Hongbing a look.

Han Laoer nodded in understanding, took Erxi out, and helped them close the office door.

"Hehehehehe, uncle..." After the office door was closed, Xie Hushan immediately gave Jiao Peng an obedient smile and let out a series of flattering dry chuckles.

Jiao Peng's hands were shaking as he held the transfer purchase certificate that he had helped him to get.

On the first item registration page, there are 20 imported Panasonic color TVs, 20 imported Sharp dual-purpose tape recorders, 20 imported Yan brand curved-beam bicycles, 50 imported Fuji bicycles, and 16 imported Bridgestone picnic bicycles...

As for the rest, there were electronic watches, Hong Kong shirts, folding umbrellas, MSG, and other fashionable foreign goods that the escorting militia usually brought back at most a dozen pieces, but the number registered here was one thousand pieces.

Taking color televisions as an example, there were definitely no more than five in the entire county, and none of them were purchased locally, because there were none locally at all. They were all bought from the Yanjing Foreign Friendship Store by people who had real connections and money.

How much would twenty color TVs alone cost?

"They are all second-hand, second-hand~" Xie Hushan saw Jiao Peng's hands start to tremble, and hurriedly explained: "These things are not worth much in Hong Kong Island. A second-hand color TV costs 1,500 yuan, which is only more than 300 yuan in RMB according to the exchange rate."

"Three hundred yuan each, and twenty units would be six thousand yuan. Where did you get the money?" Jiao Peng felt that he had just arrived at the unit and would have to go back home to change clothes soon, because the sweat on his back after seeing these things had wet his shirt.

If these imported items were to be taken back in the name of the County Animal Husbandry Bureau, all government agencies in the county would be in an uproar!
The county leaders and heads of various units all lined up to ask themselves whether the County Animal Husbandry Bureau had taken the veterinarians to rob people or whether they had dug up some gold ingots somewhere.

And to be honest, the color TV and the tape recorder are two valuable items that have never been seen in Bingyang County. It is possible that Xie Hushan cannot take them away. The most he can do is to exchange them for money at a discount.

What this silly boy Xie Hushan did was typical of a child carrying gold through a busy market.

And the most serious problem was how he could explain how the County Animal Husbandry Bureau or Jiao Peng personally got the means to purchase so many imported goods.

This is not something you can buy at Sungang Railway Station.

After explaining the connections, he also had to explain the source of funds... In short, each item was very troublesome, and if he was not careful, he would be punished.

Why had I been so foolish as to issue a purchasing certificate to this idiot?
She was also worried that Xie Hushan wouldn't be able to get married, so if these things on the purchase certificate were finally handed over to Xie Hushan, Jiao Peng felt that all the unmarried women in the county would line up to go on a blind date with Xie Hushan.

"Did you two go to Hong Kong Island?" It took Jiao Peng a long time to recover from his shock and asked Xie Hushan.

Xie Hushan lowered his voice, pulled a stool and sat across from Jiao Peng's desk:
"Uncle, we were forced to go there. We didn't want to go. We were pointed at guns and almost sold to Nanwan by Chiang Kai-shek's reactionaries to open up wasteland. We will never see you again."

"What's going on?" Jiao Peng was shocked. How could he be pointed at with a gun? He was almost sold out? Where did the Chiang Kai-shek reactionary come from?
If this really happens, how will I ever see Xie Qimao again?

Xie Hushan recounted how he and Han Laoer picked up Zhu Youjun on the road, how they stayed at a guesthouse, and how Zhu Youjun was abducted and ran away. The two of them chased after him in the dark, and how they were forced by the Number Gang Freedom Association to register for a Hong Kong Island identity by mistake. He burst into tears:

"After we escaped from Chiang Kai-shek's clutches, we encountered a group of remnants of a secret society called the Changle Society. They robbed men and women in Hong Kong and committed all kinds of evil. Han Laoer and I are five-good youths trained by the Party and the country. How could we stay out of this kind of thing?"

"So we did ideological work for them every day, persuading them to stop and get back on the right track. After all, it's the policies of New China that are good and can really transform people..."

"That guy, they were reformed by us, and now they are preparing to close down and disband. When they learned that we were leaving, they pooled their money to buy a batch of second-hand foreign goods for us to take back..."

"Stop talking nonsense, kid!" Jiao Peng thought it sounded quite reasonable at first, but the more he listened, the more he felt it was outrageous, and he slammed the table:
"If you robbed a gangster's money, just say so! Don't mess with words like ideological work and national policies!"

Xie Hushan immediately explained righteously: "I swear to God, we definitely didn't rob them, not a single cent. We are the militia of New China, how could we do such a thing? We sold them a lot of old money, and they gave us cash. This is not robbery. At most, they were reluctant to buy at first, but after we did some ideological work, they finally changed their minds and were willing to buy."

"Forced buying and selling, all the gangsters in Hong Kong were bullied by you two and forced to buy and sell?" Jiao Peng looked at Xie Hushan's behavior, took off his glasses and rubbed his face hard.

How many inhuman things did these two guys do in Hong Kong Island to force the gangsters in the capitalist society to pay them money, pool the money together to buy a way to survive and beg them to leave quickly.

Just by listening to what Xie Hushan told him, Jiao Peng felt despair for those scoundrels in Changle Welfare Club.

Jiao Peng leaned back heavily on the chair:

"My God, you are so brave..."

Jiao Peng now wants to go back to the time before these two guys set out and tear up the purchase certificate. How is he going to explain so many imported items when he goes to the post office to pick them up?

The people in the post office are all big mouths. Usually, they can spread the news about which unit purchases rare things. This time, the Animal Husbandry Bureau of their own county has purchased so many foreign goods, including color TVs, tape recorders, and bicycles. Wouldn't the post office have to use a loud speaker to help promote it all over the world?

It can't be hidden from anyone.

When others ask you about it, you can tell them that it was the nephew of Xie Qimao, the director of Zhongping Veterinary Station, who bought it with the 400 yuan subsidy for transporting beef cattle?
Not to mention that everyone doesn't believe it, even if there is just a few stupid people who believe this nonsense, what should I do if he takes out four hundred yuan and a purchase certificate on the spot, and then arranges for Xie Hushan to escort the shipment and buy a batch of goods?
Could it be that Jiao Peng really called Xie Hushan over again, asked Xie Hushan to take the purchase certificate and a pile of copper coins, and then went to Hong Kong Island to find a group of gangsters, do some "ideological work" for them, and exchange the copper coins for cash?

Xie Hushan stood up at this time, took out a pack of Marlboro and handed it to Jiao Peng: "Uncle, capitalist cigarettes, try it."

Then he picked up the Beidaihe on Jiao Peng's desk and said, "I'll take this Beidaihe for you. I haven't smoked for a long time and I really miss it." Jiao Peng took out a Marlboro. Xie Hushan used a chicken lighter to light it for him and put the lighter in front of Jiao Peng:
"Keep this lighter. You know that this time you will definitely..."

"You want me to..." Jiao Peng was so angry at Xie Hushan's behavior that he laughed. What was this guy thinking? He wanted me to help him get back so many foreign goods intact just because of a broken kerosene lighter?

Before he could finish, Xie Hushan said:
"Uncle, in addition to this broken lighter, there is also 500,000 Hong Kong dollars in foreign exchange. The recipient is you."

"Cough cough cough cough cough..." When Jiao Peng heard Xie Hushan's words, he almost coughed up a lung lobe. His face turned red from coughing. He turned his head to look at Xie Hushan, and his voice changed:
"How many?!"

Xie Hushan raised his hand and said to Jiao Peng seriously:
"Five hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars in foreign currency, written clearly as being sent to you, the remitter is an unknown patriotic Hong Kong businessman, Cao Tianbao, the young master of the Po Fung Garment Factory in Kwun Tong, Hong Kong Island."

"Uncle, you only have one thing left now. Figure out how to make this matter and the relationship between the characters... Explain it clearly, and the other party will definitely cooperate."

"You can tell him that he is your illegitimate son, and he will definitely not say anything. He is my eldest brother. He went astray and joined the Changle Society. Later, I persuaded him to turn over a new leaf. We have a very close relationship. You can feel free to explain to the county leaders."

Seeing Jiao Peng staring at him blankly as if struck by lightning, Xie Hushan continued:
"I understand. If I don't have some connections, it's impossible for me to get all these foreign goods back. I'll make many people jealous. So, if I don't want everyone to be jealous of my second-hand goods..."

Jiao Peng's lips trembled with anger:
"So you're the one who makes everyone jealous of me... How come Old Xie is so..."

Jiao Peng was originally very angry, but when he saw Xie Hushan looking at him with a smile, he suddenly reacted, his face gradually became calm, and his breathing became heavier. He thought of an unlikely possibility:

“Are you going to lend me this money to the county?”

Xie Hushan nodded with a smile:
"Let me make it clear first. It's not free, but how much benefit we can get from it for our Zhongping Production Brigade depends entirely on your help, uncle."

Jiao Peng's eyes were filled with tears. Although Old Xie's nephew's personality was different from Old Xie's, his awareness was exactly the same as his uncle's!

Five hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars, that is five hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars. How many people can just hand over such a large amount of money?

"Uncle, I've thought about it, it's best for you to take this money. The emperor doesn't need hungry soldiers. You can get Hong Kong businessmen to donate 500,000 yuan to the county this time, and you can do it next time. Also, because of your relationship, I can buy so many cheap foreign goods. The county leaders know how to take advantage of them." Xie Hushan said to Jiao Peng:
"Don't worry, it doesn't matter if you don't dare to accept it in the end. I'll ask my eldest brother to write a letter or even send someone to Yanjing to invest. I estimate that he will be able to go to Yanjing with a group to meet the big leaders in the next two years."

Jiao Peng was shocked. Xie Qimao didn't have the brains of Xie Hushan. Even if he squeezed Xie to death, he couldn't think of such a thing.

What he said has been made clear. Xie Hushan helped Jiao Peng to arrange connections in Hong Kong Island. The 500,000 he could get this time is just a small thing. There is still a long way to go in the future. If he still wants to take advantage of the situation, as the old saying goes, the emperor has no shortage of hungry soldiers. If the county hopes to let Jiao Peng maintain relationships, they certainly cannot let him, a deputy director of the county animal husbandry bureau, do these things instead of doing his job every day.

At least he has to be a deputy county magistrate.

It was even stated that if the county did not arrange for Jiao Peng after receiving the money, then don't blame the Hong Kong businessmen for giving your Zhili Province a hard time when they went to Yanjing in the past two years.

This is equivalent to Xie Hushan finding a Hong Kong businessman, in the name of patriotism, to give Jiao Peng half a million Hong Kong dollars to buy an official position.

"Uncle, don't think too much. I won't do business at a loss. Just one word, do you dare to accept this job? If you don't dare, just tell me and return the money. I'll ask my eldest brother to find someone else to send it." Xie Hushan asked, holding a cigarette in his mouth, looking at Jiao Peng.

Jiao Peng's heart was pounding. He couldn't understand this young man. "Hu San, what are you thinking?"

"I didn't think much about it. I saw in the newspaper that the country is short of foreign exchange, and the county is also short of money after the earthquake. It just so happens that I have a chance to make some money when I go to Hong Kong Island, so I will make some money for our county. But it can't be for nothing, and the county can't let the Zhongping Production Brigade go for nothing. After taking the money, you have to give us some compensation such as our county's agricultural assistance plan, production tools, and sideline policies to compensate Zhongping, right?" Xie Hushan grinned:
"You are a good cadre, and you have a close relationship with my uncle. I have a buddy who is also a good cadre, but unfortunately he is too young. So after thinking for a long time, I think you are the right one."

"What about the remaining foreign goods?" Jiao Peng slowly exhaled and looked at Xie Hushan.

"Twenty color TVs, a tape recorder, and fifteen ladies' bicycles, you can take them all, as long as you can negotiate benefits with the county leaders and various units on behalf of Zhongping, so that Zhongping can get the best out of the county." Xie Hushan didn't even blink.

Jiao Peng nodded. Xie Hushan was a man who could do big things. He knew that handing over 500,000 Hong Kong dollars to the county was an official gesture, and that someone would have to leave something for him as a favor behind the scenes.

With such generous arrangements both in public and private sectors, this kid will surely have a big appetite by then.

"Sixteen Bridgestone bicycles, belonging to the fifteen militiamen of our Zhongping Third Team and my buddy Lao Yang. Five women's bicycles, which I keep for my wife, my sister and her boyfriend."

"As for the remaining fifty bicycles, as well as those Hong Kong shirts, electronic watches, umbrellas, MSG and other things, you have to find a way to help allocate them to the Zhongping Supply and Marketing Cooperative. When I go to Hong Kong Island, I must let the elders and folks of Zhongping benefit from it."

"You kid, just leave a bicycle for yourself?" Jiao Peng looked at Xie Hushan, who was obviously much thinner than before he set out, and his throat tightened a little. In all his years of life, he had never seen a young man with such a high level of awareness.

not a single one.

What a good kid, he could make such a big splash in Hong Kong Island. With his brain, he would definitely be able to make a name for himself if he stayed in Hong Kong Island. However, after seeing the colorful world, the kid turned around and came back. Moreover, he knew that the country was short of foreign exchange and the county was short of money after the earthquake, so he gave 500,000 Hong Kong dollars in foreign exchange to the county without blinking an eye. His biggest selfish motive was to ask the county to give some compensation to the Zhongping Production Brigade.

If I can't even help my child with this matter, how can I have the nerve to call myself a state official in front of other people's children? How can I compare my awareness with that of a 19-year-old boy!

When Xie Hushan heard Jiao Peng ask him, he scratched his head and smiled:
"I picked up that wife, and before I left, she bought me some foreign goods, enough for me to share with my family. Besides, I stole... No, that foreign friend even gave me a dog as a gift."

(End of this chapter)