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

It was June, and the temperature in Tuocheng was gradually rising. In the office of the Tuogang Customs Administration, Director Cao was holding a folding fan, but he felt that even the wind he was blowing was hot.

Even before the official start of summer, Tuogang has experienced several power outages. In order to prioritize the supply of limited electricity to factories, they have no choice but to make do with the work of departments where the power shortage is not so urgent.

The office door was pushed open from the outside, and the clerk, Sun Bin, walked up to Director Cao's desk with a newly printed customs declaration form in his hand. "Director, take a look at this customs declaration form. It contains equipment that has never been declared before."

Director Cao picked up the still-ink-covered form. In China at that time, most documents and reports were either handwritten, typed, or mimeographed. Communication relied mainly on telephone transfers and telegrams. Not only was the flow of information slow, but it was also easy for information to get "stuck" in a certain department.

"X-ray machine!"

"Ultrasound machine!"

"An electrocardiograph!"

"Which hospital made such a large purchase?" Director Cao's voice rose several decibels with each name of the equipment listed on the customs declaration. "Which ship's containers are these?"

"It came from Hong Kong, on a Carson Shipping ship from America," Sun Bin said, pointing to the second page of the customs declaration in Director Cao's hand. "Director, please take a look at the second page."

"Page two?"

Director Cao opened the customs declaration form, his mouth agape, and exclaimed, "Good heavens, this stuff is no joke! Which company brought it back from overseas?"

On the second page of the customs declaration, at the top, it read: 4 ambulances, 2 small engineering excavators, 4 small bulldozers, followed by a list of various trucks and the like, which made Director Cao feel dizzy.

Director Cao turned to the last page. The applicant was Chen Dong, the delivery address was listed as the People's Hospital of Nanshan County, Tuocheng, and the recipient was Guo Kun.

Director Cao put down the form in his hand and immediately picked up the internal phone to dial the freight supervision section. The phone rang for a long time before someone answered. Director Cao listened to the voice on the other end and said, "Is this Section Chief Yao? This is Cao Jianjun. I received a customs declaration form, the tracking number is... Could you have someone go and open the container to check it? Okay, call me back when you're done."

After waving for the clerk, Sun Bin, to leave, Cao Jianjun sat behind his desk, smoking and fanning himself, waiting for a reply from the supervision department. About forty minutes later, the phone rang. Director Cao picked it up and anxiously asked, "How is it? Does it match?"

Section Chief Yao, speaking through breath on the other end of the phone, said, "They all match up. Goodness, checking each of these dozen or so containers almost exhausted our entire department."

"Okay, thanks for your hard work, Lao Yao, I'm hanging up now." After hanging up the phone, Director Cao felt more and more suspicious about the matter. When did Nanshan County become capable of such a feat? The goods in these dozen or so containers are worth tens of millions of yuan.

Given Nanshan County's economic situation, how could it afford to spend so much money to purchase so many medical devices for the county's People's Hospital? The key point is that even if the Nanshan County government were truly willing, these purchases would require foreign exchange.

Where did Nanshan County get the foreign exchange? Who made the purchases? These are all questions. Thinking of this, Director Cao picked up the phone again. This time, he didn't dial an internal line, but asked the operator to transfer him to the Municipal Party Committee Office.

"Hello, this is the Municipal Party Committee office. Who is this?"

"This is Cao Jianjun, Director of the Tuogang Customs Department. A cargo ship from Hong Kong docked here today and unloaded fifteen containers, which are mostly medical equipment and medicines, as well as some ambulances and special engineering vehicles. Yes, yes, could you please help me check? Okay, looking forward to your reply!"

After hanging up the phone, the clerk from the Municipal Party Committee Office dialed the Municipal Health Bureau and immediately asked, "Did your Municipal Health Bureau purchase these medical devices and medicines from Hong Kong? They've already arrived in Hong Kong. Take the documents to Hong Kong to register them."

"Medical devices?"

"Medicine? Our city health bureau didn't purchase any. It came from Hong Kong. I need to ask my superiors about this. I'll get back to you later." The clerk in the city health bureau office hung up the phone, got up with a puzzled look, walked to the section chief's office, knocked on the door, and went in.

"Section Chief, the Municipal Party Committee Office called to say that the medical equipment and medicines we purchased from Hong Kong have arrived, and they want us to take the documents to Turkmenistan for registration," the clerk said.

The section chief, who was reading the newspaper, looked up with a puzzled expression, as if asking, "Are you sure that's what the municipal party committee office said?"

The clerk nodded. "It just came over. Why don't you check with your superiors?"

The section chief put away the newspaper, took off his reading glasses, got up, and hurried out the door to the director's office on the third floor. When he arrived at the director's office, he straightened his clothes, knocked on the door, and when he heard someone say "come in," he pushed the door open and went inside.

"Director Liao, when did our bureau purchase a batch of medical equipment and medicines from Hong Kong? Such a large purchase!" The section chief asked with a smile to Director Liao Yonggui, who was sitting on the sofa.

Liao Yonggui glanced at the section chief. "Who told you that our bureau purchased a batch of equipment from Hong Kong? Don't spread rumors. Otherwise, the whole bureau will know, and your subordinates will come to me for supplies again!"

Listening to Director Liao Yonggui's words, the section chief, realizing that Director Liao was unaware of the matter, sat down on the sofa and said to Liao Yonggui, "Wait a minute, Director Liao, it was the Municipal Party Committee Office that called, asking our bureau to take the documents to Tuogang to register, saying that the equipment and stuff have already arrived at the port!"

"Did the municipal party committee office really say that?"

Liao Yonggui, who had been leaning back on the sofa, straightened up immediately after hearing his section chief's words. The section chief hurriedly said, "Director Liao, how could I dare to speak carelessly about such a thing? Why don't you call and ask the Tuogang Customs Department?"

Liao Yonggui walked to his desk, picked up the phone, and said to the operator, "Transfer me to the Tuogang Customs Department. Hello, is this the Customs Department? This is Liao Yonggui from the Municipal Health Bureau. A batch of medical equipment has indeed arrived at the port. Ah, Guo Kun from Nanshan County People's Hospital is the recipient. Okay, I understand!"

The section chief stared intently at Liao Yonggui. After hanging up, Liao Yonggui pondered for a long time before dialing the number again and telling the operator, "Transfer me to the Nanshan County Health Bureau!"

"Hello! This is Liao Yonggui from the Municipal Health Bureau. I heard that your Nanshan County Health Bureau has been quite extravagant lately, even purchasing medical equipment from Hong Kong. If the Customs Administration hadn't called to inquire, I, the city bureau chief, would still be completely unaware!"

"Does your Nanshan County Health Bureau have any sense of organization and discipline at all?!"