My wife and I are both time travelers.

Chapter 69 Depth of Water
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After listening to Xu Guoqing's story, Achang didn't speak immediately. He tilted his head and thought for a while before saying to them, "We're brothers. Since you asked, I won't hide anything from you. I'll just tell you the gist of it."

Xu Guoqing nodded, and Achang continued, "You're right. It's true that you can get Hong Kong goods here in Lingnan. There are quite a few people doing this now. Guangzhou is just average, but there are even more people doing this in Shenzhen. They can get any kind of goods. There's nothing they can't get, only things you can't think of..."

Upon hearing this, Xu Guoqing and Zhou Jiye's faces lit up with joy. Just when they thought they had found the perfect opportunity after searching high and low, Achang changed the subject: "If you are only taking a few small items back, it won't be a problem. But it will be quite difficult to buy a large quantity of these items from here. It's not an easy task."

"Brother Chang, I don't understand what you're saying," Zhou Jiye interjected. "If you can get your hands on the goods, why is it difficult to transport them back? Is there a shortage of supplies?"

Achang laughed and said, "This has nothing to do with the source of the goods. You're not locals, so it's not surprising that you don't know the ins and outs. It's good that you asked me first. If you had come on your own and walked right into it without knowing anything, you would have suffered a great loss."

"What? Could it be that there are unscrupulous business people around here?" Zhou Jiye immediately thought of what he had encountered outside the train station earlier.

"No, that's not it. Locals do business according to certain rules. You pay, they sell, so you can rest assured. But the problem is that it's fine if you buy a few items for yourself or as gifts, but if you buy too many, you can't take them with you!"

"Achang, stop beating around the bush and get to the point." Xu Guoqing's expression was serious; he vaguely sensed from Achang's words that this matter was not so simple.

Achang nodded and immediately began to explain in detail to them. After he finished speaking, Xu Guoqing and Zhou Jiye looked at each other, finally understanding why Achang had said that.

Lingnan is indeed more open than the north. Last year, private vendors had just appeared in Shanghai, like Zhou Jiye, Lin Ying, and Lao Wen, who set up stalls in vegetable markets and in front of movie theaters, or carried loads on their shoulders and walked through the streets and alleys, making a living with their skills.

The problem is that although vendors are tacitly allowed to operate, there is no real policy document yet. The recognition and formal implementation of the individual economy are still under discussion. Although the door has been opened, the first individual business license will not be officially issued until the end of this year. To put it bluntly, the current situation of the individual economy is just skirting the edge of the law.

The situation is similar in Lingnan. Coupled with Lingnan's unique geographical location and historical reasons, the local private economy is largely tolerated. People can use connections to smuggle a little bit of Hong Kong goods from Shenzhen for sale; nobody cares. Besides, there are many people doing this now, and it's impossible to regulate them all.

As for out-of-towners who come to Lingnan on business trips or to visit friends, buying a few things to take back for personal use or as gifts is generally ignored. However, if an out-of-towner goes to Lingnan to make large-scale purchases and then intends to transport them back to their hometown to resell, the nature of the matter is completely different. In today's terms, this would be considered a typical case of speculation and profiteering.

Achang told them that it was okay for individuals to buy a little bit, but it was simply not feasible to buy large quantities of goods and take them away.

Forget about taking these goods back to your hometown; the moment you finish trading with the locals, government officials will be waiting for you. In such cases, there's no other outcome but to confiscate the goods and potentially lock you up for a few days—the risk is considerable.

“There are checkpoints outside the market, at the station, at the train station, and even on major transportation routes. If they find you, your goods are gone,” Achang said earnestly.

"Can't we find a way to smuggle it out secretly, away from these people?" Zhou Jiye asked.

Achang smiled and shook his head, asking meaningfully, "Guess where these people got their information? How come they can catch them so easily?"

"Could it be...?" Zhou Jiye suddenly thought of a possibility, and an incredulous look appeared on his face.

"Just as you guessed."

Achang winked at Zhou Jiye: "The seller secretly reported you during the transaction. Anyway, you exchanged money for goods during the transaction, so he would never lie to you. It was all very proper. But after the transaction was over, it was none of his business. Besides, he has to do business on the streets, and he can't afford to offend those people. Reporting him doesn't cost him anything; in fact, it benefits him."

"benefit?"

“That’s right!” A-Chang pointed to the lighter Xu Guoqing had placed on the coffee table: “This thing has to be disposed of after it’s confiscated, right? It can’t just be left in the warehouse as junk. Generally, it’s sold to the whistleblower for disposal. As for the price, it’s very cheap. Anyway, they don’t have any cost to confiscate this thing. They can easily get rid of it at 30 or 40% of the original price. If you were the seller, what would you do?”

"Fuck!"

Zhou Jiye was quite shocked by Achang's words. He never expected there to be such a way of doing things. Wasn't this equivalent to selling goods at the original price and then buying them back at a 30-40% discount? In this way, not only did they make money, but they also bought more goods and maintained good relationships with those people. In the end, only the buyers would suffer.

Zhou Jiye and Xu Guoqing were speechless for a moment; they had never imagined things would turn out this way. If what Achang said was true, then had they come all this way for nothing?

"Ah Chang, what you just said is the normal situation, right? If we want to get a batch of goods, is there any way?" Xu Guoqing and Ah Chang had known each other for a long time, and he knew Ah Chang's personality. After a moment of silence, he asked this question directly.

"A big shot is a big shot." A-Chang smiled and gave a thumbs up.

"You little rascal, I knew you had something to say. Alright, stop fooling around, just say what you have to say!" Xu Guoqing couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this.

Achang said to them, "There are ways to get goods, but outsiders can't do it. Only locals, especially those with connections, can. Otherwise, how do you think things from Hong Kong get to Shenzhen? And how do they get from Shenzhen to Guangzhou?" "You mean...?"

Achang nodded: "There's a trick to it, but outsiders can't figure it out at all. Moreover, the channels from Shenzhen to Guangzhou are controlled by a few people, and you have to go through them."

"Do you have a solution?" Xu Guoqing asked seriously.

Achang said, "I need to find out about this. After all, I know about this but I've never been involved in this industry. I need to give it some time."

"Approximately how long will it take?"

"Three or four days, maybe two or three if it's quick, but it's hard to say. You need connections to ask about this."

Xu Guoqing and Zhou Jiye exchanged a glance, thinking that a few days wouldn't be a problem. The letter of introduction they brought with them was valid for one month, so there would definitely be enough time.

"Alright, I'll leave this to you."

“Boss, we’re all brothers, your business is my business, why are you being so formal?” A-Chang said unhappily.

"Hehe, then I won't stand on ceremony with you. I'll leave this to you."

"Just a little water!"

Achang grinned broadly, and then they put the matter aside for the time being and started talking about other things, reminiscing about their past in Northeast China and some of their comrades from the Production and Construction Corps, and having a good reminiscing about the glorious years of the past.

As evening approached, A-Chang suggested they go out for dinner together. Xu Guoqing, being a chef, said, "Why would we go to a restaurant?" He stopped A-Chang and the other two went directly to the nearby seafood market, bought some seafood, and brought it home. They boiled half of it and stir-fried the other half, making for a sumptuous dinner.

That night, all three of them drank too much, especially A-Chang, who couldn't hold his liquor, got the most drunk.

Drunk, A-Chang clung to Xu Guoqing's leg, crying and shouting, tears and snot streaming down his face. He kept repeating the same few phrases over and over. Although Zhou Jiye didn't quite understand, he could make out some things. It seemed that A-Chang had almost lost his life in Northeast China back then, and if Xu Guoqing hadn't saved him, A-Chang would have been buried there long ago.

Zhou Jiye slept soundly through the night. Perhaps it was because of the two-day, two-night train journey and the alcohol he had drunk the night before, but he woke up later than usual, which was unusual. When he opened his eyes, it was already broad daylight, almost eight o'clock.

"You're up? There's breakfast on the table."

Xu Guoqing's voice came from behind. Zhou Jiye turned his head and saw that Xu Guoqing had gotten up early sometime earlier and was sitting at the table with a newspaper in his hand, drinking soy milk that he didn't know where he had gotten it from.

Where is Achang?

"I went out early this morning, but I didn't wake you because you were sleeping so soundly."

"Brother Aqing, you should have called me. How can a host wake up a guest while the guest is still fast asleep?" Zhou Jiye said embarrassedly.

Xu Guoqing smiled and shook his head: "Alright, Achang is no outsider. Go wash up and have breakfast, then we'll go for a walk."

Zhou Jiye responded and quickly found his toothbrush and towel to wash up, taking care of his daily morning needs as well. After finishing quickly, he returned to his room, grabbed his breakfast, and ate.

Soy milk and char siu buns were devoured in no time. After wiping his mouth, Zhou Jiye asked Xu Guoqing where he planned to go. Xu Guoqing told Zhou Jiye that he had asked Achang for the addresses of several markets in Guangzhou. Achang had also left them a map of Guangzhou. He planned to take advantage of his free time these next few days to visit the markets and check out the situation of Hong Kong goods.

Zhou Jiye wholeheartedly agreed with Xu Guoqing's suggestion, tidied up, and the two of them went out.

Following the map, they first went to the nearest market and strolled around there. Ah Chang was right; the market was quite large, with both permanent and temporary stalls, displaying a dazzling array of goods, most of which came from Hong Kong.

Clothes, apparel, and small electronics were the most common items, along with the lighter that Achang had given Xu Guoqing yesterday. Many customers crowded around the market, enthusiastically haggling with the vendors. The market seemed normal overall, but after Achang's reminder yesterday, they noticed several uniformed men guarding the intersection not far from the market before entering.

(End of this chapter)