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

"What are you thinking? I bought it with my own money!"

Yao Min initially thought Cai Shuisheng had obtained it through his relationship with Deputy Factory Director Chen Zaisheng. Hearing Cai Shuisheng say he bought it, she breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "How much did you pay for it?"

Cai Shuisheng mysteriously extended his right palm, fingers spread, and lowered his voice, but his smugness still shone through his eyes and brows. "Five hundred! An insider price for acquaintances. It's from Japan, and it's not black and white, you know. I heard from Brother Zaisheng that it's color, and one unit sells for over a thousand on the market!"

"So expensive!"

Yao Min gasped, her voice rising slightly. She looked down at the small cloth bag she had hidden in her pillow. In the past six months, apart from what she had given to her family, she had only saved a little over two hundred yuan.

Originally, I still had a glimmer of hope that if the price were cheaper, I could grit my teeth and ask Shuisheng to pull some strings to get one so I could bring it back to my parents' house in the village at the end of the year. That would be so respectable, it would make my parents proud, and it would also let my two younger brothers see the legendary "little movie".

But upon hearing the price, she immediately abandoned the idea. Hearing Yao Min's tone, Cai Shuisheng asked, "What, you want it?"

"Forget it, it's too expensive," Yao Min quickly shook her head.

"If you want one, I'll go ask Brother Zaisheng if he still has any in stock, and I'll get one for you to take home," Cai Shuisheng said. "I'll go to his office to ask after I finish eating."

"Never mind, Shuisheng, I...I don't have enough money!"

Cai Shuisheng laughed upon hearing this, "Why are you talking to me about money? Do you think I'd ask you for money to buy a TV? Don't worry, I've got it covered, you won't have to spend a penny!"

"This... never mind, Shuisheng, I can't use your money..."

"Don't tell me this. Eat your food. After you finish, wait for my good news at the supermarket entrance," Cai Shuisheng said firmly, quickly shoveling food into his mouth. After the two finished eating, Cai Shuisheng smiled and put the plates in the bucket, then offered cigarettes to the chefs and kitchen helpers inside.

"Hey! Not bad, where did you get this Peony cigarette from today?" Chef Huang Zhenqiang said with a smile as he accepted the Peony cigarette.

"Hehe, I swiped these from Factory Director Dai. You know what, Factory Director Dai's Peony cigarettes are really mellow and fragrant," Cai Shuisheng chuckled, leaning against the counter. Seeing Chen Zaiguang walk in from outside with his hands behind his back, he immediately took out his cigarettes again and respectfully offered them to him, "Brother Zaiguang, have one!"

Chen Zaiguang smiled but didn't say anything. He took the cigarette and tucked it behind his ear, then asked Cai Shuisheng, "Why are you back so early today? Did you run out of cargo at the docks?"

"No, it's because the end of the year is approaching. Factory Dai said that these days, there are more shipments but fewer deliveries."

The goods that arrived were mostly full containers of white sugar and the like. Some were brought over from other ports in China, while others were purchased by Chen Dong himself through the WTO system.

Cai Shuisheng, who was chatting with the kitchen helpers, saw Chen Zaisheng come out of the private room after finishing his meal. He immediately put out his cigarette and jogged over to him, "Brother Zaisheng, are you full?"

"Isn't that obvious? Would I have come out if I wasn't full?" Chen Zaisheng glanced at him. "What's up?"

Cai Shuisheng lowered his voice and said with a smile, "Brother Zaisheng, do you still have that color TV? My girlfriend wants to get one too, hehe, I'll ask around for her."

Chen Zaisheng walked out of the cafeteria and headed towards the office building. After listening to Cai Shuisheng's words, he glanced at Yao Min standing at the supermarket entrance and chuckled, "You've got a lot of issues to deal with. Come on, let's talk in the office."

"Okay!"

Cai Shuisheng eagerly followed Chen Zaisheng into the office building. Once on the second floor, Factory Director Dai Lixin, having finished his meal, was leaning back on the sofa, smoking and drinking tea. Seeing the two come up, Dai Lixin chuckled and scolded, "You little rascal, did you steal that package of Peony tea I just opened on the coffee table again?!"

Cai Shuisheng chuckled and said, "Dai Chang, is that pack yours? I thought it was some unfinished cigarettes someone left there. I was worried the tar would dissipate if left for too long, so I just took it and smoked it."

"Oh, then I should thank you," Dai Lixin said irritably.

Chen Zaisheng ignored their banter and went straight into his office. He then came out with a booklet and said to Cai Shuisheng, "There are three more. If you really want them, I'll reserve one for you."

Upon hearing Chen Zaisheng's words, Dai Lixin asked Cai Shuisheng, "Didn't you already get one? What, are you planning to buy two just to look good and show off, huh?"

Cai Shuisheng didn't hide anything from Dai Lixin and said, "It's my girlfriend who wants it. Brother Zaisheng, you must save it for me. I'll bring the money over later. I'll go and talk to my girlfriend first."

Seeing Cai Shuisheng rush off in a hurry, Dai Lixin shook his head and said, "That kid Shuisheng, he's been dating for so long, and he's even arranging to buy her a TV. Will it even work out? Don't waste your money."

"Whether it will work out or not, that kid has his own ideas. I've advised him several times that if he really wants to be with Yao Min, he should get the marriage certificate as soon as possible, but he just won't listen," Chen Zaisheng sat down, put the notebook on the coffee table, and asked Dai Lixin, "This year's benefits have all been calculated: a 25kg bag of rice, a bucket of soybean oil, and a can of biscuits for each person. What do you think?"

"Sure, this is the maximum benefit even in a state-owned factory. Besides, with the year-end bonus, even if we don't give out rice, oil, biscuits, and the like, no one can argue with that."

"Alright, we'll just post the notice on the bulletin board then," Chen Zaisheng said, closing the booklet. Then he remembered the raffle and asked, "Old Dai, how are the preparations for the raffle going?"

"It's all been prepared," Dai Lixin tapped his cigarette ash, "but aren't the odds of winning a bit too high?"

"These TVs and other items we purchased were originally intended to be distributed as employee benefits, so whether they are expensive or not doesn't matter," Chen Zaisheng said, not thinking they were expensive at all.

Chen Dong purchased over 120 color TVs for the foot basins. Naturally, factory leaders like Dai Lixin didn't need to participate in the lottery; they each reserved one in advance. The remaining 110 TVs will be used for a lottery among the employees to motivate them in the coming year.

"The factory buildings in Shangzhai are almost finished. If you ask me, we should just connect the two sides. The patrol teams can patrol along with them now, so that no unsavory people can sneak in and steal steel bars or anything."

"If we don't build the cold storage over there, we'll have to build a cold storage facility there. The lychees and other fruits will be ready for harvest soon. If we don't build the cold storage facility soon, it will be difficult to store so much fruit."

"That's true, but if you ask me, we should just make it work. We can just use forklifts to move things around within the factory, which would save us from having to use trucks to transport things back and forth."

"Then I'll talk to Zai Dong about it and see what he thinks."