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

"Oh dear, look at me, I got so busy I forgot about the important thing!"

With a large pregnant belly, Zuo Zhenbang walked over slowly with a smile, sat on the sofa opposite Chen Zaixing, picked up the Peony cigarette case, and lit a cigarette without asking Chen Zaixing or Li Renfa if they smoked.

When Li Renfa saw that Zuo Zhenbang was not taking their discussion seriously at all, and was deliberately ignoring them, Chen Zaixing gave Li Renfa a look, signaling him to calm down.

"It's alright, Director Zuo. Your business is important. We have plenty of time. Waiting a bit won't hurt," Zuo Zhenbang said. He didn't offer cigarettes, but Chen Zaixing couldn't just smoke his own. He took out a Huazi cigarette and offered one to Zuo.

Zuo Zhenbang smiled and accepted the cigarettes Chen Zaixing offered him, placing them on the coffee table. He then asked Chen Zaixing, who was lighting a cigarette, "What brings you two here today?"

"Director Zuo, I am Chen Zaixing, the purchasing manager of Tuocheng Huaxingsheng Company. This is my assistant, Li Renfa. We are here today to discuss with you the cooperation between TV Factory No. 1 and our Huaxingsheng."

"Well, Comrade Chen, this might be a wasted trip for you," Zuo Zhenbang said, shaking his head. "Our TV Factory No. 1 only supplies state-owned stores and supply and marketing cooperatives; we don't cooperate with non-state-owned entities!"

"And you may not know this, but our TV factory has a limited production capacity. It's barely enough to supply Shanghai and the surrounding areas. There's a surplus there, which we give to your Guangdong province."

Zuo Zhenbang wasn't just making excuses for Chen Zaixing. In 1980, there were eleven black-and-white television manufacturers in the entire country, producing 250 million units annually. This number sounds like a lot, but when divided across the whole country, it was just a drop in the ocean.

Throughout the 1980s, China's television production was only a little over 2,500 units, far from sufficient to supply and satisfy the consumption enthusiasm of ordinary people across the country.

These days, production is low while demand is high, so manufacturers are in charge. In addition, domestically produced televisions are expensive and in short supply, which has led to the emergence of smugglers in some coastal provinces who specialize in smuggling second-hand home appliances from places like Hong Kong into the country.

Especially in the southern Guangdong region, by the late 1980s, many of those who were pioneers in the reforms had made their fortunes through smuggling home appliances and other goods.

After listening to Zuo Zhenbang's words, Chen Zaixing wasn't in a hurry. "Director Zuo, although we're not a state-owned enterprise, we are a private enterprise supported by the county government. The country is advocating for economic reform now, so please help us out and send some over there. We'll cover the shipping costs!"

"There's really no other way, Comrade Chen. My orders are booked until next year. If I give them to you, other companies will come looking for me with their orders, and I won't be able to produce any more television sets!"

"There's really no other way!"

No matter what Chen Zaixing said, Zuo Zhenbang just kept shaking his head and saying there was nothing he could do. Chen Zaixing sighed and had no choice but to get up, say goodbye, and leave.

Zuo Zhenbang didn't get up. He said a few polite words, saw Chen Zaixing downstairs, and then sat on the sofa watching Chen Zaixing and the other person leave the office.

Once in the car, Chen Zaixing's face darkened. "Damn it, what makes him so arrogant!"

The driver in front raised an eyebrow at Chen Zaixing's angry words. "Comrade, you got humiliated, didn't you? I told you you shouldn't have come to Shanghai. Even I, a local, can't buy the TVs made in Shanghai. You thought you could come here to buy them? You're the one who'll get humiliated!"

"Even you locals can't buy them, so where do they sell all those TVs they produce? They can't all be sold domestically, can they?"

"Hey! Comrade, you're absolutely right. The TVs produced by our three state-owned factories in Shanghai—Jin Xing, Fei Yue, and Kai Ge—are in high demand all over the country. After being distributed nationwide, and with priority given to units and cadres within the system, the actual number that reaches the market is very small," the driver said confidently.

"So you mean it's pointless for me to go to the next two factories?"

"Hey, if you don't believe me, since you've chartered the car, I'll take you there. You'll see if I'm right when you get a cold shoulder."

Just as the driver had said, Chen Zaixing then went to the Shanghai Radio Factory No. 4. This time, he couldn't even see the factory director. He was received by a director, who used the same rhetoric.

"We only supply state-owned enterprises!"

On the bus, Chen Zaixing was truly convinced. He had completely lost the "spirited" energy he had when he was running around to various factories in Nanshan County, Tuocheng, negotiating purchases.

It was only then that Chen Zaixing realized that once he left Nanshan County and lost his cousin Chen Dong's name, nobody would pay any attention to him, a nobody like Chen Zaixing.

Helpless, Chen Zaixing took out his mobile phone and dialed Chen Dong's number. "Hey, Dongzi, it's me. Yeah, we've arrived in Shanghai. Yes, we talked, but they just won't give it to us. Yes!"

"Come back first, Fifth Brother. If the deal falls through, that's fine. Let's import a batch from Japan first," Chen Dong said on the phone. "These black and white TVs are practically a sunset industry these days. I have some TV patents. We can produce our own color LCD TVs and sell them in Shanghai, hahaha!"

Chen Zaixing laughed along, his previous gloomy mood instantly dissipating. "Great! I'll open a branch of the supermarket in Shanghai then. Once those color TVs you mentioned, Dongzi, are on the shelves, let's see what kind of expressions those TV factory managers have!"

"Just think of this trip as a relaxing vacation in Shanghai, just like when I went to New York with you. Don't waste this opportunity, just wander around and come back."

"No way, the supermarket is about to open, how can I, as the manager, miss the ribbon-cutting ceremony?" Chen Zaixing is a show-off, and he can't easily miss such a prestigious event.

If Chen Zaixing missed the supermarket's opening ceremony, he would feel as if he had lost a hundred million. He immediately said, "I'll check out right now, buy a ticket back to Shanghai tonight. Shanghai is just so-so, far inferior to New York, nothing fun!"

After hanging up the phone, Chen Zaixing said to the driver, "Sir, go back to the guesthouse. After we buy our train tickets, please come back to the guesthouse to take us to the train station. I'll make an appointment with you then!"

"Okay," the driver said without turning his head, "I didn't realize you'd been to America's New York!"

"That happened last year. I was there for a little over a month. Actually, New York is just so-so, just taller buildings and more cars. As for food and drinks, I still think it's better here in China."

"Comrade, you've seen the world, what you say makes sense!"

"I'm not exactly worldly-wise; I'm just an ordinary tourist!"