50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 699 Making Big Money with Great Success

The supplies inside the container ship included New Year's goods that Sun Zhiwei had purchased before departing from Subi Island, as well as reserve supplies that he had taken from Monkey's Jinghong Island warehouse last night.

It took several hundred people and a dozen or so boats of various sizes half a day to transport all the supplies from the ships to the Yongshu Island base.

Fortunately, the Yongshu Island base was newly built and there were still many empty rooms. Commander Fang had the soldiers on the island open all the empty rooms so that they could just fit all the supplies in.

Looking at the base piled high with supplies, Commander Fang felt a little guilty; how much money must have been spent on all this?

He originally intended to take advantage of the situation, but there were too many items, and now he was a little uneasy. He didn't want to take too much and bankrupt Brother Sun, which would be too unfair to his brother.

When Commander Fang anxiously approached Sun Zhiwei to inquire about the situation, Sun Zhiwei burst into laughter:
"Commander Fang, please accept these things without worry. They are nothing to me. If you need anything in the future, please feel free to contact me."

Originally, the New Year's goods he bought were only for the use of a thousand-strong detachment on the maritime border for a month or two, so the total quantity was not large and the money spent was not much.

It's just that he took too much stuff from the monkey warehouse last night, dozens of times more than the supplies he bought, which is why the supplies unloaded today look so exaggerated.

Overall, these supplies cost virtually nothing. When Commander Fang uses them later, he'll likely discover the anomaly.

Because much of the supplies in the monkey's warehouse were taken directly from the Russians, and they even have Russian writing printed on them.

Most of these supplies are essential items for long-term deployment on the island.

Sun Zhiwei didn't look closely when he took it last night, but he remembered that he took all the equipment of the Monkey Family Frogman Unit.

These equipment are currently stored in some empty rooms at the Yongshu Island base. I wonder what Commander Fang will say when he finds out.

After a busy day together, the new and veteran soldiers held a joint military-civilian celebration in the mess hall of the Yongshu Island base that evening.

Everyone showcased their talents, sang songs, and joined in a grand chorus. The veterans seemed to have returned to the green barracks, and hundreds of men celebrated the Lunar New Year in a lively and festive manner ahead of schedule.

The following morning, as the sun rose, the Hai Sha ship sounded its horn and set sail for the mouth of the Shenhe River.

The Hai Sha ship will dock at Shenhe Port to disembark everyone. The soldiers come from all over the country, and the Hai Sha ship cannot take everyone home.

They will take a plane or train from Shenhe to return to their hometown for the Chinese New Year.

Considering the difficulty of purchasing tickets during the Spring Festival travel rush, Sun Zhiwei had already arranged for the Shenhe branch of Cathay Bank to purchase all the air and train tickets for everyone in advance.

On January 29, the Hai Sha ship entered the deep-sea port.

Cathay Bank staff, who had been waiting at the port, distributed tickets to everyone on the spot.

The veterans, carrying their train tickets and saved wages, said goodbye to each other at the port and then went their separate ways to head back to their hometowns.

After the New Year, they will meet here again and take the Sea Sands back to Subi Island.

After everyone had left, Sun Zhiwei was the last to disembark. By then, he had removed his disguise and revealed his true appearance.

Unfortunately, for the sake of confidentiality, Sun Zhiwei's plane ticket was not purchased by Cathay Pacific staff, and he had to buy it himself on the spot.

Although I had special credentials and didn't have to queue, the next flight with available seats wouldn't be available for another two days.

Fortunately, Lunar New Year's Eve this year is February 8th, so there wasn't much of a rush. After buying his plane ticket, Sun Zhiwei started exploring the city.

The special economic zone has been established for more than five years, and now it looks like a huge construction site, with high-rise buildings under construction everywhere. People from all over the country, hoping to make money, are flocking here.

After people without money arrived, they flocked to the newly built electronics and garment factories' assembly lines, providing ample cheap labor for the first batch of foreign-invested enterprises engaged in processing trade.

The so-called "processing with supplied materials, processing with supplied samples, assembling with supplied parts, and compensation trade" refers to processing with supplied materials, processing with supplied samples, assembling with supplied parts, and compensation trade.

This was the key to our rapid success in attracting foreign investment and establishing numerous factories back then.

Thanks to cheap labor and preferential tax policies, the Shenzhen-Heyuan Special Economic Zone has taken over a large number of labor-intensive enterprises from neighboring Asian countries such as South Korea and Japan in just a few years.

The term "working girl" appeared at this time.

Although the work on the assembly line is tiring, the wages here are still many times higher than those in inland provinces, and far higher than those earned by farming in rural areas.

Besides workers, this place also attracts wholesalers and wealthy people from all over the country.

Vendors search for sources of goods in various wholesale markets, Chung Ying Street, and even surrounding villages.

The wholesale market sells products from mainland factories, Chung Ying Street sells Hong Kong goods, and the surrounding villages sell 'parallel imports' that are not so legitimate.

What's particularly interesting about Chung Ying Street now is that one side of the street is lined with shops from Hong Kong Island, and the other side is lined with shops from the mainland.

Although there is no median barrier in the middle of the road, the police on each side are responsible for their respective sides of the street.

Without proper identification, one should not be allowed to cross the center line of the street to shop at the store on the other side.

In reality, as long as you are not caught by the police on the spot, you can sneak into the shop across the street to buy things.

People here walk in a hurry; everyone is busy making money.

"Time is money, efficiency is life"—this slogan in Shekou Industrial Zone perfectly encapsulates people's pursuit and desire for wealth in this era.

At this time, there was no way you couldn't make money in Shenhe. Whether you were working in a factory tightening screws or carrying bricks on a construction site, they were hiring everywhere.

Those with some capital who want to make more money can buy goods here and sell them in other cities.
You can also sail to cargo ships in the open sea to smuggle goods back, which is a common way for many people to accumulate their first pot of gold.

Those who make money also want to enjoy life, so many nightclubs have sprung up.

Many girls who don't want to work in factories can go to nightclubs to sing and dance.

This kind of work is relatively easy and pays faster, but it also has requirements regarding body shape and appearance.

Many girls work hard here for a few years, earn money, go back to their hometown to open a small shop, marry an honest man, and then they can generally have a decent life.

As long as you don't lose your mind, there are always more solutions than problems. In 1980s China, there were ways to make money everywhere.

Decades later, the top business tycoons in China all started their businesses during this era.

After wandering around this bustling city for two days, Sun Zhiwei finally boarded a flight to Beijing.

(End of this chapter)