Siheyuan: Returning to 61 to collect waste

By mid-October, the climate in the capital began to gradually turn cooler, ushering in the most comfortable season of the year.

The commercial agency has accumulated more than 7000 second-hand home appliances. Ye Chuan collected all of them into the system space and found a place to repair them. The commercial agency also set up a second-hand home appliance counter in the yard of the supply and marketing cooperative, mainly selling radios and electric fans, and their prices were only one-third of the price of similar new home appliances.

The most important advantage is that these second-hand appliances require no certificates at all.

After hearing the news, the nearby residents were once again shocked and excited.

Many families have saved enough money to buy a radio but have been troubled by the lack of proof of purchase. Now, with second-hand appliances, they can finally realize their wish to buy a radio.

Qin Huairu's mental activities gradually became complicated. Although her monthly salary was only about 20 yuan, she only had to pay for herself and Xiaodang's expenses, which only cost about 7 or 8 yuan a month. For dinner, Shazhu brought back leftover food from the factory for her, and at noon, Aunt Yi took care of Xiaodang for her, charging only a symbolic fee as a living allowance.

Originally, Aunt Yi was unwilling to help her. Jia Dongxu's death made Aunt Yi feel strongly disgusted with this person. But after being persuaded by Yi Zhonghai, she decided to help her as much as she could.

Qin Huairu's current situation is much better than before, but the interpersonal relationships in the family are more rigid. Except for Sha Zhu, basically everyone who sees her will not pay much attention to her.

When it comes to Jia Dongxu's death, any wise person can find many problems. But Sha Zhu, who is blinded by love, still firmly believes that she is a trustworthy person.

In the simple social environment at that time, no one would want to take the initiative to get too close to such a vicious woman. Therefore, the attitude towards Qin Huairu was to say as little as possible.

If Yi Xinxin had not been adopted, Aunt Yi and Old Yi would not have helped take care of Xiaodang. This can only be considered a temporary measure...

After hearing that the commercial mall was selling second-hand electrical appliances, Qin Huairu became interested and thought about going there on Sunday. She was busy with work and her life was almost a two-point line. She couldn't even remember how long it had been since she went shopping. If it wasn't a necessity, she wouldn't spend a penny.

After Jia Zhang and Bang Geng left, she finally had some money left, even though it was only more than 20 yuan, it was also a kind of savings.

Early in the morning, Qin held Xiaodang's palm, showing a satisfied smile on her face, and came to the commercial center while chatting and laughing. It was her first time to visit this place since it was transformed into a commercial center. When she stepped into the courtyard, the scene in front of her startled her.

Both the business windows and the counters of the supply and marketing cooperatives were bustling with people, and many consumers gathered around the shops to ask questions and discuss.

Follow the signs to find a building in the southeast of the yard. This is where the second-hand appliances are sold. There are several customers in front of us asking questions, and the sales staff are answering them one by one.

Qin Huairu waited until it was her turn and asked: "Hello, staff. How much is the most affordable old model radio equipment?" "Fifteen yuan, it's just a single-crystal radio." The salesperson replied.

Qin Huairu was delighted; the price was actually lower than she expected.

“Is this quality reliable?”

"The warranty for a single-tube radio is three months, and for a transistor radio it is six months. As long as there is no man-made damage within three months, we will repair or replace it for free."

"So thoughtful? You really don't need to buy a ticket?"

"Really not necessary!" the salesperson explained patiently.

"Then I want one, comrade, please help me issue an invoice!" Qin Huairu said readily.

By the end of October, the commercial sector and the two major department stores could no longer enjoy the treatment of exclusive supply.

After a month of waiting, all the places in Beijing with sales qualifications gathered at the Second Electronics Factory with only one purpose, which was to obtain as much supply quota as possible.

However, Director Sun was troubled by this. Although the average daily output of transistor radios had reached the limit of 1200 units, it was still far from meeting the demand.

Starting from November, the commercial system received 300 units per day, the First Department Store received 220 units, the Second Department Store received 180 units, and the Third Department Store received only 100 units.

These four major places have already occupied 800 units of the total daily supply, and the remaining 400 units need to be competed for by dozens of other institutions. Some units have received up to 30 units, and the least is only five units.

Even so, these units are still satisfied because some department stores in surrounding cities cannot get a piece of the pie at all.

There is nothing that can be done about it. The market in the capital city always gets priority supply. Only when the production capacity is further improved will units in other regions have the opportunity to share the goods.

Just as transistor radios were selling like hot cakes, a wave of solar water heater craze swept across the capital's top brass, and this type of water heater did not require the use of electricity.

Due to technical limitations, the Second Electronics Factory can currently only rely on semi-manual methods to produce solar water heaters, with a daily production capacity of only about 10 units.

These water heaters are favored by senior officials, but have not been able to enter the mass market due to supply and demand issues. The queues of people who want to buy them have been lined up until next year.

After learning about this situation, Ye Chuan was quite helpless. Even though these orders could bring in considerable profits, it was also one of the important opportunities for the Second Electronics Factory to turn around.

If solar water heaters could be launched on the market and sold well together with transistor radios, it would surely set off a technological revolution in China and make the Second Electronics Factory the focus.

Although it has not yet truly entered the market, the Second Electronics Factory's status in the eyes of its superiors has shown signs of surpassing that of the First Electronics Factory.

Song Deqing, the director of the First Electronics Factory, was furious in his office at this time. The two deputy directors and the chief and deputy chief engineers all lowered their heads and remained silent.

"Our First Electronics Factory has tens of thousands of employees, and the technical department has at least 20 engineers and more than 30 technicians, but our innovation ability is not as good as that of the Second Electronics Factory!"

After hearing Song Deqing's words, everyone fell silent and felt very heavy. The average daily output of each radio production line in the factory was only 200 units, and there were only two production lines in total. Moreover, the quality of the transistor radios produced was not as good as that of the Second Electronics Factory.

He was even more annoyed after the merger of Xiyong Electronics Factory. He had been eyeing Xiyong for many years and had always hoped to turn it into his own branch, but he had never had the chance, and now the First Electronics Factory had taken advantage of it.

"Are you planning to give up the name of the First Electronics Factory? I have already obtained a solar water heater. You must replicate it in the shortest possible time. Do you understand?"

"Understood!" Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Our factory finally defeated the Second Electronics Factory and achieved a leading edge in the entire line of home appliances, but now we have been counterattacked by our competitors!"

The more Song Deqing talked, the more upset he became. The alarm clocks and sewing machine boosters were fine, after all, they were just small appliances; but the transistor radios and solar water heaters allowed the two factories to reach a new balance, and even gave the other side an advantage in the competition.

Several deputy factory directors and the directors and deputy directors of the technical department also felt humiliated and wronged. This matter was simply beyond their capabilities.

These transistor radio production lines were not independently developed by the Second Electronics Factory, but were equipment imported from an island country. It was not that they were inferior in technology, but that they lacked strength.

However, the solar water heater is really a strange thing. The other party was able to develop such a household device that does not require electricity. How could the small technical department of the First Electronic Factory be able to handle such a thing?

But since the factory director has already said so, they can only quickly invest in development. If they can successfully imitate it, they may still be able to gain a foothold in Beijing's electronics industry.

If Ye Chuan knew about the changes in the First Electronics Factory, he would surely smile.

After all, it was a solar water heater, and how could a small electronics factory in the early 1960s have the ability to develop it? Although this technology was not particularly advanced, it did stump everyone in that era.

Due to the success of the solar water heater, Director Sun received a higher salary and was promoted.

What Ye Chuan had no idea was that the issue of raising his salary level had already been put on the agenda. This matter was decided by Mr. Xu and Mr. Song without being reviewed by the Supply and Marketing Cooperative and the Material Recycling Company.

As November was approaching, Ye Chuan received a call from Mr. Xu himself.

"Xiao Ye, Mr. Song and I have raised your salary level to level 19. Although this level of salary may not match your contribution, it is not appropriate to be too ostentatious."

Ye Chuan didn't care about the salary level at all. He could live well even if he didn't get a penny, and the money he earned from selling second-hand home appliances was enough to make a living.

"Mr. Xu, thank you and Mr. Song for your recognition. I am just doing my duty. I don't mind no matter what the salary level is."

Mr. Xu's voice suddenly became much louder, and he seemed very happy. "Great! We need cadres like you who don't care about personal gains and losses."

Ye Chuan felt awkward. Although he had done a lot, he enjoyed it even more. It could be said that in the entire capital, there were not many people who lived a more comfortable life than him.

"Mr. Xu praised me."

"Haha, Xiaoye, tomorrow is Sunday, are you interested in accompanying this old man to go to Liulichang?"

Ye Chuan was stunned for a moment, then said: "Liulichang? Mr. Xu, there shouldn't be anything valuable to be found there now, right?"

Old Xu laughed and said, "You still have a utilitarian mentality. Why do you have to go shopping? We can go shopping. Besides, there are some street stalls. Maybe we can find something you like!"

"Okay! Since you are interested, I would naturally be willing to accompany you." Ye Chuan agreed readily.

After hanging up the phone, he smiled and shook his head.