Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 40 The Tape Recorder

Xia Maosheng, his face flushed, grabbed Xiao Wei by the collar and dragged him out of the crowd, saying, "What are you here to buy? Hurry up and find it, hurry up and buy it. We still have class to go back to, don't embarrass yourself here, okay?"

Xiao Wei blinked and asked, "What's so embarrassing about it? Can't I ask if I don't understand? I'm just seeing if Xiao Hong needs it."

Xia Maosheng pulled him along, saying, "You can afford it? It's forty thousand yuan. With that money, how about we start a class?"

Xiao Wei straightened his clothes, looked around, and said, "Okay, let's not ask anymore. Let's go buy a tape recorder and tapes. Is that over there?" He stood on tiptoe and pointed in a direction.

Xia Maosheng looked up and said, "It seems so. Let's go take a look."

The two squeezed through, and Xiaowei asked, "Do you sell tape recorders here?"

The sales clerk inside didn't even look up and said, "Wholesale here, retail on the third floor."

Xiao Wei turned to Xia Maosheng and asked, "What does he mean?"

Xia Maosheng looked around, then pulled Xiaowei away, saying, "This is the staircase. This is a wholesale market; they only sell to those who buy in bulk. Buy one unit and it's on the third floor."

Xiao Wei followed Xia Maosheng toward the stairs, still asking, "Why aren't you selling? What's wholesale?"

Xia Maosheng said, "Wholesale is where you get your goods. All the vendors come here to get their goods, buying ten or twenty units at a time at a time. The prices are cheap, and then they transport them back to resell them individually at a higher price. That's how they make money. Haven't you been to the Wu'ai Market? It's the same here as there."

Xiao Wei asked, "Where is Wu'ai Market? What's it called?"

Xia Maosheng said, "The place that sells clothes is also a wholesale place. The clothes we buy outside all come from there. But you can also buy them individually there. I'll take you there sometime; clothes are super cheap there. How come you've never been anywhere else?"

Xiao Wei said, "I used to work on construction sites, so I didn't have time to come out. Besides, I wouldn't be able to find it myself."

Xia Maosheng said, "Go out and see more places when you have free time, or you'll become dull-witted. Look at you, so silly. You're making me embarrass myself with you. You have to treat me to dinner tonight."

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, come to my house for dinner tonight. Xiao Hong is a good cook. Hey, look over here."

On the third floor, there were far fewer people than on the ground floor, making it feel somewhat empty. After all, electronic products are still considered high-end consumer goods in this era, and due to information and transportation limitations, most people buy them locally. The first floor was crowded because sellers from several provinces source their goods here.

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed a place that sold tape recorders.

A young girl stood behind the counter and greeted him from afar: "Hey bro, buying a tape recorder? What kind do you want? Come take a look, we have all kinds, and the prices are reasonable. We even bring you cassette tapes, original sound ones."

By now, many private companies have appeared on Sanhao Street. These salespeople are all employees hired by these companies, and their sales attitude is significantly better than that of state-owned stores; they are both friendly and enthusiastic.

Approaching the shelf, Xiaowei looked at the tape recorders and asked, "How much are they?"

The young girl said, "It depends on what kind of driver you want to buy. This one is cheap, with only one speaker, it's mono. This one is more expensive, it has four speakers, it's eight-channel."

Xiao Wei scratched his head and said, "It needs to be able to record songs." The little girl nodded and said, "You can do both, bro."

Xiao Wei then said, "It needs to have a radio." The little girl said somewhat helplessly, "They all have that function, bro."

Xiao Wei glanced at Xia Maosheng and asked, "What's a channel? What's it used for?"

Xia Maosheng had lost count of how many times he'd blushed today, so he simply ignored Xiao Wei and said to the girl, "Hey girl, how much is that four-speaker, eight-channel one? We're both off work and don't have much money, so give us a discount."

The young girl reached out and took the tape recorder off the shelf, placing it on the counter and saying, "This one has the most features and the sound quality is amazing. The speakers on both sides can be removed and placed separately for even better sound. The cable is four or five meters long. If you record a lot, you should definitely buy this one. It's the latest model this year, and the magnetic heads are all imported Japanese products. They won't lose sound even after tens of thousands of recordings. It also has a microphone and a copy function. You can play the accompaniment here and then record from here. This one is almost out of stock right now; it's selling very well. It's 980 yuan a unit."

Xia Maosheng nodded and said to Xiao Wei, "Buy this one, it's pretty good, almost two hundred yuan cheaper than outside."

The little girl smiled and said, "It's definitely cheaper here. This is a wholesale market. Although the third floor is all retail counters, it's still cheaper than outside. You won't lose out if you buy here."

Xiao Wei rummaged in his pocket, thought for a moment, nodded and said, "Then let's buy it and wrap it up." Although he had come over excitedly to buy a tape recorder for Xiao Hong, he still felt a pang of pain when it came to actually paying for it. It was a thousand yuan, a huge sum of money.

The little girl put the machine back on the shelf and went to the back to get a new one. Xia Maosheng leaned close to Xiao Wei and whispered, "Don't you have enough money? I have some."

Xiao Wei shook his head and said, "That's enough. It's just a little painful. I've never bought anything this expensive before."

Xia Maosheng said, "You're quite something, I didn't realize. What do you have at home?"

Xiao Wei said, "My family farms. This is what I've earned over the past two years, my salary. I don't usually spend much."

Xia Maosheng asked, "What were you doing before that you were able to earn so much money?"

Xiao Wei said, "Being a bricklayer, building houses, you can earn over a thousand a month if things go well, it's just tiring. My family won't let me do it anymore, so I came here to learn to be a chef. I'm thinking that after Xiao Hong graduates, we'll go back and open a restaurant."

Xia Maosheng said, "Trust me, let's work a shift first, we're sure to make money. With that money, we can open a bigger restaurant. Small restaurants are tiring and don't make much money, and the money we earn is hard-earned, it's not worth it."

Xiao Wei said, "We'll see then. I need to discuss it with Xiao Hong. Anyway, it won't be until spring."

The young woman came out carrying a cardboard box and placed it on the counter. As she unpacked the box, she said, "Brothers, take a look at the seal. This is brand new, it hasn't been opened yet. I'll test the machine for you, and then you can pay and get an invoice. It's under warranty for three years, and you can come back to me anytime."

While speaking, he deftly unsealed the box, opened the cardboard box, and pulled out the shockproof foam. He had Xia Maosheng hold the box while he lifted the machine out of the box and placed it on the counter. He then pulled out an electrical cord with a socket from under the counter, plugged the machine into it, and pointed to the colored lights that were lit up, saying, "See, it works fine."

Then he turned on the radio, tuned it, let the two of them listen, and then changed the channel to listen again, saying, "The radio is fine too."

He turned off the radio, plugged in the microphone that came with the machine, held it to his mouth and said a few times, "The microphone works too."

He took two cassette tapes out of the box, tore open the seal, put the tapes into the cassette tray, pressed play, and a clear musical sound began to play. He said, "This is for adjusting the channels. This machine is a true eight-channel system. You can adjust it to your liking when you get back."

I tested both of the playback units, then demonstrated transcription and recording to Xiaowei and Xia Maosheng. I put the machines back in the box, resealed them, and said, "Pay up, and I'll give you an invoice."

Xiao Wei pulled out some money from his pocket, painfully counted out ten bills, and handed them to the girl. At that time, the RMB was in 100-yuan denominations; the 50-yuan note was issued in 1987, and the 100-yuan note was issued in 1989—the blue note with the four great leaders.

The little girl took the money, tugged at it but couldn't budge it. With a final effort, she snatched the money, rolled her eyes, and said, "Reluctant to part with it? It's like I'm robbing you." Xia Maosheng laughed on the side.

They got change, issued an invoice, and the young girl gave them a few blank tapes. The two of them carried the machine and the tapes downstairs.

Xiao Wei touched the cardboard box, sighed, and said, "This is only a thousand yuan? Things are too expensive. It's better where I'm from, everything is cheaper."

Xia Maosheng asked, "Are your tape recorders cheap?"

Xiao Wei sighed and said, "They're not for sale."