Siheyuan: After becoming a traitor, first let the Huai Ru River overflow its banks.

Page 203

"I wonder what kind of reward I'll get this time?"

Seeing that You Fengxia was still asleep, Li Jianjun decided to take this opportunity to try his luck at the lottery twice.

"Start the lottery."

With a thought from Li Jianjun, the system began to draw a lottery automatically. To Li Jianjun's surprise, the pointer eventually pointed to the schematic diagram for assembling a radio and the information on repairing a radio.

Although a radio is the simplest circuit, Li Jianjun did not study physics in his previous life.

Radios were a great thing in this era; televisions hadn't even appeared yet.

Every household should have a radio; that would be the most fashionable item.

Even when girls got married, the "three turns and one sound" package they brought included a radio.

A radio cost about 60 yuan in those days, which was equivalent to two months' wages for an average worker.

In an era when people couldn't even get enough to eat, few people would buy such a luxury item.

Moreover, even if you have the money, you can't buy it.

Because high-end electronic products like radios still required the use of industrial coupons.

Even a large factory like Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill only receives a dozen or so industrial vouchers each year.

Therefore, ordinary workers had no chance of obtaining industrial vouchers, let alone those in rural areas.

If you know how to assemble radios, the profits can be considerable.

You can easily find some recycled radios at a scrap yard, repair them, and then resell them.

A radio might only fetch a few dollars at a scrap yard, but if you resell it, you can make at least fifty or sixty dollars.

Moreover, the cash registers that came from Li Jianjun did not require industrial coupons.

Li Jianjun was overjoyed; he had found another way to make money. With just a little effort, he could earn the equivalent of a month's salary.

"Fengxia, get up quickly."

Li Jianjun needed to send You Fengxia away as soon as possible to prevent the people in the courtyard from gossiping.

As for Qin Huairu keeping quiet, Li Jianjun was absolutely certain of that.

Qin Huairu is becoming increasingly dependent on him. If she were to expose this matter, Li Jianjun would have plenty of ways to deal with her.

Qin Huairu knew this better than anyone else.

"it is good."

You Fengxia said sweetly, then put on her clothes that were completely dried, and the two of them left the house as soon as possible.

After dropping You Fengxia off at home, Li Jianjun went to the scrap metal recycling station.

In this era, state-owned enterprises dominated everything; there were virtually no private enterprises.

Even scrap metal recycling stations are state-owned enterprises, and the people working there are government employees.

Li Jianjun arrived at the scrap metal recycling station and saw a tall, thin man on duty.

The man looked to be around 30 years old. When he saw Li Jianjun coming over, he hurriedly came to greet him.

"Young man, are you here to sell scrap metal?"

Li Jianjun glanced at their warehouse, which was very large and filled with all sorts of odds and ends.

Li Jianjun's words surprised the man.

"No, no, no, I'm not here to sell scrap. I'm here to collect some scrap."

This was strange; it was the first time the man had ever heard of someone coming to a scrap metal recycling station to collect scrap again.

"Then tell me, what do you want to reclaim?"

Li Jianjun got straight to the point and explained his demands.

Do you have any old, discarded radios here? I'd like to buy some.

The man was surprised.

Why are you accepting this?

In his memory, these radios that were collected were basically in a state of obsolescence, and most of them were sent back to the factory after they were collected.

The factory recycles these items.

When they bought the radios, they only got them for two or three yuan. If they took them back to the factory, they would only get five or six yuan at most. So they only made half of their profit.

"Of course I have my uses. Just tell me, do I or don't I?"

"Here's what we'll do: I'll give you 10 yuan for any old radio. I'll take as many as you have."

The middle-aged man's eyes lit up; this would earn him more than sending the goods back to the factory.

"Sure, I'll look for it for you."

So many scraps were piled up in a warehouse. The man searched for a long time and finally found two of them for him.

Then it was handed to Li Jianjun.

Li Jianjun noticed that the radio's casing was rotten, so he asked the man if he had a newer casing.

"Yes, there are, but we'll have to dig them out."

After a great deal of effort, the man managed to peel off two more shells that were almost brand new.

These kinds of parts are usually scattered all over the place, making them very inconvenient to find.

"Okay, then you do the math."

Li Jianjun has now acquired two old radios and two nearly new shells.

Li Jianjun glanced at it and figured the radio wasn't seriously damaged; with a little repair, it could be easily sold.

"Two radios cost 20, and two cases cost you 2 yuan each, so that's 22 yuan in total."

Li Jianjun knew he was asking for too much money; the shell was worth at most three or four cents, and there would be other dealings with him later.

Let him benefit a little more.

"Okay, here's the money, count it."

After the face-to-face transaction was completed, Li Jianjun took the items and returned to the courtyard house.

When we arrived at the courtyard house, we ran into Yan Bugui, who was looking around at the entrance.

"Jianjun, what are you holding in your hand?"

Li Jianjun said with a smile.

"Used radios collected from scrap yards."

The third uncle was very puzzled.

"What do you need this thing for? It's broken and unusable."

Li Jianjun didn't like hearing those words.

"It's broken in your hands, but it will be fine in no time when it's in my hands."

Yanbu is very rare.

"What's wrong, Jianjun? You can fix radios?"

Li Jianjun nodded.

"I'll sell it to you cheaply after it's fixed. Do you want it?"

Yan Bugui's eyes lit up, and he followed Li Jianjun to his house.

He wanted to see how Li Jianjun would fix the radio.

Chapter 236 Making a fortune of fifty

"Jianjun, this radio is completely broken. Can you fix it?"

Yan Bugui was somewhat incredulous, but Li Jianjun didn't argue with him and immediately started examining the radio.

In those days, radios were not common even in Beijing, and there were very few repairmen.

After a radio breaks down, it is usually sold to a scrap metal yard.

Many people couldn't afford a radio, so children back then often had the experience of making their own.

In the 60s, children couldn't afford transistors, so they usually made a simple radio using coils, crystals, and earphones.

This type of radio doesn't need batteries, but it's not as convenient as a regular radio.

Li Jianjun took a look and found that the iron part of the radio's switch had oxidized and rusted over time, making it impossible to turn on.

Li Jianjun casually took out the baking soda he had just bought and a bag of white vinegar, squeezed them into a bowl, and then used a damp cloth to apply the mixture to the rusty area.

After sitting for more than ten minutes, the rust on the switch came off easily with a damp cloth.

Seeing this, Li Jianjun smiled with satisfaction and quickly turned the switch.

With a click, the radio started up.

"Listeners, the next program is... News from Beijing..."

When the radio broadcaster's clear voice came through, Yan Bugui was extremely surprised.

"Jianjun, how did you get it working? How did you get it up and running so quickly?"

Li Jianjun smiled.

"The radio only had a minor problem; it's been fixed after some repairs."

This was a piece of cake for Li Jianjun.

"Uncle, what do you think of this radio?"

Li Jianjun randomly switched a few stations for him, and the sound was very clear, just like a brand new radio.

However, Yan Bugui pointed to the radio's casing and said...