Literary Master 1983

Chapter 201: Little Business Genius (Part )
Yu Qie asked curiously: "Zhang Li, do you understand?"

"I don't understand why. It means the price is going to go up."

“Why is the price going up?”

Zhang Li was stunned for a moment, and then she organized her words and said, "Because some companies used lower prices to obtain quotas, while other companies used market prices to trade - then some people would resell the low-priced consumer goods, or even sell the quotas directly!"

Then, she brought up the story of Yu Qie buying a tape recorder in Yangcheng:
At that time, Yu Qie came across an umbrella made in Shanghai. After a round in Hong Kong, it became an imported product, and in the end it was even cheaper than the umbrellas shipped directly from Shanghai.

This is the strange phenomenon caused by the dual-track system: there is a low-price quota for exports, which makes export-to-import conversion actually cheaper than direct circulation.

Yu Qi was dumbfounded by Zhang Li's answer.

Although these things are lessons that any college student in later generations can understand, in the 1980s, they were business opportunities discovered by a few smart people. Zhang Li could see something wrong by just reading the news. She does have a talent for business.

The "dual track system" was never explained in any public occasion throughout the 1980s, but was only referred to in this way within academia. Outside of academia, people hardly used this term.

Yu Qie called Zhang Li over and took away her copy of Jane Eyre: "Zhang Li, don't study novels anymore. I find that your talent is not here at all."

Brother Yu denied me?
Zhang Li was "angry" and threw herself on the bed, snatching back Jane Eyre:
"No! I still have to read literary classics. I have to keep up with you!"

Yu Qie said, "I'll find you some real masterpieces. Go and have a look... Go and get me a piece of paper and I'll write it down for you."

"Why don't you go get it?"

Yu Qie lifted the blanket and said, "I am lying on the bed. If you are not satisfied, you can lie down with me."

Zhang Li's face immediately turned red. She had a serious personality and couldn't really make such jokes.

Then she obediently took out a piece of paper, on which Yu Qie had written a few books. She opened it and read it out:

"The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money by Keynes, and The Practice of Management by Drucker..."

There are six or seven books in total.

Zhang Li was confused: "Are these also literary masterpieces?"

Yu Qie nodded and said, "These books have had a more profound impact on all aspects of society in human history. Even I don't understand many things."

"Will this be too difficult?"

"It's not difficult. It's definitely not difficult for you. Just watch it first."

Zhang Li put the note in her bag and would buy it later. Yu Qie then remembered that he happened to have the book The Wealth of Nations, so he gave it to Zhang Li.

The book "The Wealth of Nations" is suitable for beginners. The "free trade" theory, "division of labor" theory, "invisible hand" theory, etc. explained in the book can still be used to explain some economic situations today.

Zhang Li started watching it immediately, and after watching it, she was hooked.

Late at night, when the lights were about to be turned off, Zhang Li reluctantly closed the book. "Brother Yu, this book is really a masterpiece. I didn't understand a lot of things before, but now I understand them all."

"Zhang Li, you can show it to Chen Xiaoxu and tell her that she might be able to read this book."

"Can I say you recommended it?"

"Don't mention Chen Xiaoxu anymore. If you continue like this, I will start to suspect you."

"Oh, I won't mention her."

--------

Zhang Li stayed at home for three or four days. According to the list, she bought all the books on the Yu Qie note in Beijing, packed them in a box, and then took the train to Zhengding to film.

When the crew saw her books, they all teased Zhang Li for being a strong woman. She could have bought the books in Zhengding, but she chose to bring them from Beijing. Zhang Li said honestly, "These books can only be bought in Beijing. I'm afraid they are not available in the bookstores in Zhengding."

What kind of book is so rare?

The actresses borrowed books to read, such as "The Wealth of Nations" and "The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money"... Most of them were not interested and gave up quickly.

Only Zhang Mingming, who played You Erjie, finished reading the entire book. She had relatively few scenes, so she had plenty of time.

Zhang Mingming was also the first person in the crew to read Yu Qie's novels, even before Zhang Li. Zhang Mingming bought several copies of the book "Da Saba" to give away and collect.

Deng Jie and Zhang Li have a very good relationship. She teased her, "Are you also going to take the entrance exam to study economics at Yanda University and become a classmate with your boyfriend?"

Zhang Li said helplessly: "Me? I can't pass the exam."

Chen Xiaoxu felt strange: "Zhang Li, why are you reading these books? They have nothing to do with our filming."

"Yu Qie recommended it."

Chen Xiaoxu immediately said, "Then I'll take a look too."

She was also drawn in by the look. Both of them had smart little brains and were quite successful in business in history. But compared to Zhang Li, Chen Xiaoxu was more practical, and she preferred to read those business management and enterprise management techniques.

After director Wang Fulin learned about this, he encouraged the actors to read more books. The filming period of "Dream of Red Mansions" lasted for several years. After one TV series, the girl grew up to be an adult woman, but her knowledge and cultural level remained at the level of junior high school and high school.

Historically, many people eventually chose to study abroad or to go to university in the country.

Dongfang Wenying's (Tanchun) family wanted to buy a property, so they wrote to ask her daughter for her opinion, because buying a house was a big deal at that time, and buying a private property was even more so.

Dongfang Wenying sighed on the set all day: "What if I buy the wrong one? I don't have to buy it, and it may not be worth it if I buy it... Why bother!"

Zhang Li told her based on her experience in the book: "When I was in Chengdu two years ago, eggs were 8 cents to 10 cents each. Now, only two years have passed, and I heard that eggs have become 15 cents each... We can't buy eggs and wait for the price to go up, because the eggs will go bad."

“But we can buy a house.”

Dongfang Wenying was persuaded by her and wrote back to express her agreement with her family's plan to buy a house.

Not long after, her family sent another letter asking her for money because the house they had looked at half a year ago had increased in price by 600 yuan.

Did Dongfang Wenying buy a house? She didn't say, and no one knew.

However, the crew of "Dream of Red Mansions" set off a "learning fever". The English tapes bought by Chen Xiaoxu and the economics books brought by Zhang Li were all borrowed.

Although Yu Qie was not in the crew, he became the topic of conversation among the crew after dinner.

In order to build Rongguo Mansion and Ningrong Street, the crew spent most of the budget given by CCTV and went around begging for donations from companies. A new group of Southeast Asian overseas Chinese who came to visit Yanjing heard that CCTV was filming the historic work "Dream of Red Mansions" and generously donated hundreds of thousands of yuan, which temporarily solved the urgent problem.

Among them, Xie Guomin of the Charoen Pokphand Group donated the most, contributing 200,000 yuan alone. This time when he came to Yanjing to do business, he also gave money to CCTV, hoping to start a program called "Zhengda Variety Show".

Overseas Chinese Xie Guomin named Mr. Yu and said: "I donated this sum of money because Mr. Yu is my consultant! After the TV series is broadcast, please write Yu Qie and the Charoen Pokphand Group... No, it is the Charoen Pokphand Group."

Wang Fulin sighed: "This is just like the 'Emperor' in A Dream of Red Mansions. He has no appearance and has never appeared in the whole play, but there should be such a person in the play!"

On the other hand, Yu Qie himself was writing a theoretical article entitled "Why Scar Literature Will Inevitably Disappear". The magazine "Harvest" in Shanghai also sent him a letter, asking him when he could attend the conference in Hangzhou.

This writers' conference held in Hangzhou, or the West Lake Conference, was a clear dividing point in history between the "new and the old." A series of schools of thought entered the mainstream, and some old-fashioned ones were completely driven off the stage.

Coincidentally, it coincided with the Lu Xun Literature Advanced Training Class. Some writers had just come down from the Hangzhou meeting when they were notified to attend the advanced training class.

(End of this chapter)