Returning wealthy individuals develop their hometowns and become rich in the 1980s

"What kind of food do you have, shopkeeper?"

Lao Luo and Niu Zi rode their bicycles to the front of the small shop. Niu Zi jumped off the bike and shouted to the shopkeeper who was cooking noodles inside.

Upon hearing the man's accent, which suggested he wasn't a local, the shopkeeper smiled and replied, "Young man, we have vegetarian noodle soup and kueh teow. If you want extra meat, it'll cost an extra two cents. Which would you like?"

"Then I'll have two bowls of vegetarian noodles and two boiled eggs," Lao Luo said, glancing at the small wooden sign hanging at the door.

"Brother Luo, add more meat! It's been so long since I've had any meat, my mouth is practically tasteless," Niu Zi said.

"Then let's add two more servings of meat!"

"Okay, that'll be eighteen cents in total," the shopkeeper said with a smile, standing in front of the two of them and waiting for them to pay first before going to cook the noodles.

When Lao Luo travels around, he knows the rules of these private stalls: you have to pay first before they serve you food. Otherwise, if there are too many customers, or if you eat your fill and then run away, the stall owner won't be able to catch you.

It can only be said that behind these outrageous rules, there are even more outrageous precedents. These small private business owners have really learned their lesson.

"Damn it, we can't get into Lianzhai now. How about we go into Shangzhai and ask after we finish eating?" As soon as the shopkeeper left, Niu Zi started talking again, his mouth never stopping.

Old Luo glanced at the guests at the small table next to him. Seeing that Niu Zi had finished speaking, the man turned his head to look at him. Old Luo glared at him and said, "What are you looking at?"

"Comrade, please don't misunderstand. I was just curious after overhearing your conversation, so I'm asking because you're going to Lianzhai on business?"

"What's it to you?"

"My name is Wei Xucheng. I'm from Xiazhai. Judging from your accents, you're not from Tuocheng, are you?" Wei Xucheng asked Lao Luo and the other man with a smile, holding his chopsticks.

Old Luo stopped Niu Zi, who was about to swear, and softened his tone considerably. He said to Wei Xucheng, "We are refugees from Fujian Province. We have been in Tuocheng for more than half a year. We heard that a new factory has opened in Lianzhai."

"I heard that the salary and benefits are very high, so my brother and I thought about coming here to see if we could find a job," Lao Luo said with a smile, taking out a pack of Hongmei cigarettes and offering one to Wei Xucheng.

"Brother, my brother and I don't know much about it. You're a local, so you probably know a bit more about the recruitment at that factory in Lianzhai Village. Could you tell us a little about it?"

Wei Xucheng took the Hongmei cigarettes that Lao Luo offered and tucked them behind his ear. He smiled and said to Lao Luo, "You've really come to the right person. The factory in Lianzhai Village is called Guangdong. Do you know why it's called 'Guangdong'?"

Lao Luo and Niu Zi both shook their heads. "Brother, can you tell me what's going on?"

"Guangdong is a combination of the names of the factory's major and second-largest shareholders. The major shareholder is named Chen Zaiguang, and the second-largest shareholder is named Chen Zaidong. Got it?"

With a smile, Wei Xucheng began explaining the Guangdong Company of Lianzhai to the two outsiders in front of him. When he got to the part, he pretended to be casual and said, "I'm not bragging, but Chen Zaiguang is my cousin. Chen Zaidong, who came back from America, has to call me 'cousin' when he sees me!"

Lao Luo and Niu Zi exchanged glances. They never expected to run into a relative of the Chen family while casually eating a bowl of noodles at a roadside stall. Now, even if they couldn't enter Lianzhai Village to gather information, they could still dig out a lot of juicy gossip about the wealthy Americana.

"Oh my!" Old Luo feigned surprise, saying to Wei Xucheng, "We brothers misjudged you. We never expected you to have this kind of relationship with the two big bosses of Guangdong Company!"

"That's right," Wei Xucheng said, raising his small face as if he were superior to others.

Seeing Wei Xucheng's attitude, Niu Zi, ever the quick-witted one, blurted out, "You must be some kind of leader at the Guangdong factory, right? Could you introduce us both to the factory?"

Wei Xucheng's originally smug face immediately darkened when Niu Zi asked him that question. When Lao Luo saw this, Wei Xucheng, who had been boasting about his good relationship with Chen Zaiguang and Chen Dong, now had a liverish complexion.

Old Luo, observing the situation, knew that this person was probably not as great as he had boasted; at best, he was just a poor, down-on-his-luck guy. Old Luo wanted to say something to ease the tense atmosphere caused by Niu Zi's loose tongue, but Wei Xucheng spoke first.

"Hey! I don't like working in factories. My two cousins ​​did suggest I go in and become a workshop foreman or something, but I'm just a farmer with only a primary school education. I can't manage all those people, so I didn't go," Wei Xucheng said as if it were a serious matter.

"That's a pity," Lao Luo quickly chimed in, "I heard in the newspaper that your two cousins ​​invested 100 million yuan just to build this factory, is that true?"

Wei Xucheng put down his chopsticks, abandoning his meal, and took the Hongmei cigarette tucked behind his ear into his hand. Seeing this, Lao Luo quickly struck a match and lit the cigarette for Wei Xucheng.

"If you're talking about a hundred million, then yes, it is, but it's in US dollars, you know what US dollars are?"

Old Luo nodded. "I know. I've heard that one dollar of American currency can be exchanged for several Chinese yuan!"

"On the black market, one dollar goes for seven dollars," Wei Xucheng whispered, leaning closer. "Don't ask me how I know; I have connections."

"Brother Wei, you have connections! I didn't know a dollar could be exchanged for so much money. If that's the case, then your two cousins ​​must have invested 700 million RMB. You two cousins ​​are really rich!"

How could a roving fan like Lao Luo not know the exact exchange rate between US dollars and Chinese yuan on the black market? He's just Wei Xucheng trying to flatter him.

"That's right, let me tell you, my cousin Dong, do you know what kind of vehicle he took when he came from America?"

"What else could they have come by? It's across the ocean, they must have come by boat, right?"

Wei Xucheng gave Niu Zi, who had spoken, a disdainful look. "You're too naive. Even if I'm from Donglaobiao, what kind of person am I? I came all the way from America, and I managed to travel all the way back to China by boat!"

"Then tell me, how did he get here? Did he grow wings and fly here by himself?" Niu Zi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You were absolutely right, he really did fly over," Wei Xucheng said. "But he didn't grow wings. My cousin Dong has his own plane, and he even had his car transported over by plane."

"Just a while ago, he took his wife and children back to America, and now he's flown back, bringing with him a really, really long car!"

"Wow! That's incredibly wealthy; they bought their own airplane!"