Chapter 11

After leaving Master Wang Youde's home, He Yuzhu hurried to the consignment store at Caishikou; upon arriving, he asked a staff member where the radios were.

The staff of the public‑private joint venture were still very enthusiastic; while introducing their consignment store to He Yuzhu, they led him toward the radios.

On the market we still can't see domestically produced radios from our great motherland; currently radios rely on imports. He Yuzhu pointed at a radio that looked about 60 % new, a Rio brand made by White Bear, and asked, "Comrade, how much is this radio?"

"Hey, little comrade, you really know your stuff—this is indeed a White Bear Rio brand. Look, the whole body is tin sheet; the quality is top‑notch. If you're sincere about wanting it, give me fifty yuan."

After saying that, the staff member prepared to turn on the radio so He Yuzhu could listen.

"Well, this He Yuzhu—no sooner had He Daqing left than he started buying radios to enjoy himself!" He Yuzhu replied, "How could that be? You're not planning to have me repair radios to make money, are you?"

He Yuzhu stopped the staff member, handed over the cigarettes he had just bought at the tobacco and liquor shop, and said, "Comrade, may I ask your surname?"

"Ah, comrade, no need to be so polite. My surname is Zhao—I'm Zhao Huamin." After saying that, Zhao Huamin took the cigarette He Yuzhu handed over.

Whoosh—He Yuzhu struck a match, lit Zhao Huamin's cigarette, then lit his own, and said.

"Brother Zhao, I'm He Yuzhu—I'm younger than you, so I'll just call you Brother Zhao. Actually, I once learned radio repair from someone else; I came today to see what price secondhand radios go for around here, and also to ask whether you buy used radios."

"Hey, I wouldn't have guessed, Comrade He—you're actually a technician. We'll take any radio as long as you have paperwork proving it came through legitimate channels."

Zhao Huamin finished speaking, glanced at He Yuzhu again, and said, "However, the price definitely won't be that one. It also depends on the condition."

Then he pointed to a nearby 80 % new Grundig radio and said, "If we were to sell this one, it would go for seventy yuan; if we were to buy it at that condition, we could only give you sixty yuan—after all we have to cover our living expenses."

"That's Brother Zhao—you can just call me Zhuzi. Hey, I actually work at Lou's Steel Rolling Mill. It's a headache just thinking about it—my dad ran off with a widow yesterday, leaving me a nine‑year‑old sister. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't be thinking about making money fixing radios." He Yuzhu sighed.

In his previous life, after the big leader gave He Yuzhu a phonograph, he became interested in phonographs, radios, and the like.

Not until the late 1970s did He Yuzhu truly understand radios; from then on he liked tinkering with them, occasionally going to repair shops to pester the owner for lessons.

Finally, He Yuzhu spent thirty yuan to acquire the skill, but the repair master didn't pass on all his technique, teaching only part of it; in the end, it was He Xiao who brought him some related books from Xianggang.

Only then did He Yuzhu gradually learn how to repair. Since Qin Huairu started the nursing home, He Yuzhu has spent all his free time studying; after years of technical training, He Yuzhu finds normal repairs trivial.

"Brother, don't worry—look ahead. Those past few years of turmoil have left many families broken and ruined. Although your dad is a bit of a scoundrel, he's still around, after all. Besides, you have this skill; life will get easier. From now on, if you bring a radio over, I'll take it at the highest price." After saying that, Zhao Huamin patted He Yuzhu on the shoulder.

"That's great, Brother Zhao—I'll surely trouble you in the future. This pack of cigarettes is my advance thanks to you, brother." He Yuzhu then shoved the cigarettes into Zhao Huamin's pocket.

"Ah, brother, I feel embarrassed to accept." Zhao Huamin demurred twice, but seeing he couldn't persuade He Yuzhu, he accepted the cigarettes.

"By the way, Brother Zhao, do you have any used soldering irons or the like?"

"Sure thing, come with me and I'll help you pick a good one." Zhao Huamin said that and took He Yuzhu upstairs. In those days, few people knew how to use electric soldering irons, so the consignment store stored the less‑common items on the second floor.

After leaving the consignment store, he bought two boxes of Lao Dao brand cigarettes at the nearby tobacco and liquor shop, then headed to the scrap collection station.

After finding the staff member, he explained his purpose and handed the cigarettes he had just bought to the scrap manager, Lao Liu, saying, "Uncle Liu, hold these cigarettes for me—I'd like to slowly pick out a few more radios in good condition here; does that work for you?"

Lao Zhao saw it was Lao Dao brand cigarettes and immediately took them with a chuckle, saying, "Sure, pick them out and bring them to me; when you come back I'll give you a discount. Go ahead—all the secondhand electric items at our scrap station are here."

"All right, Uncle Liu, I'll leave the soldering iron with you for now and pick it up when I go."

"Leave it here; I'll keep an eye on it so it doesn't get lost." After saying that, Lao Liu took He Yuzhu's soldering iron into the office.

He Yuzhu came to the pile of radios; at a glance there were only five or six, and they weren't very new either. In this era a radio is a valuable item; ordinary people don't easily discard something that still works, so they're reluctant to sell.

He Yuzhu examined all the radios, finally picking out a not‑bad looking Reagan brand radio; a quick look showed its internals were fairly complete and the buttons were still there. Making up his mind, he cradled it and headed for the office.

On the way to the office, He Yuzhu saw a pile of clocks stacked on the ground. He set the radio down, thinking, "These past few days I've been telling time just by looking at the sky—now's a good chance to buy one to take home." He picked out a clock that looked most pleasing, a "three‑five" clock, placed it on the radio, and headed for the office.

Upon arriving at the office and seeing He Yuzhu return, Lao Liu stepped forward, sized up the items He Yuzhu had brought, and said, "Kid, you've got good taste—I was actually thinking of keeping this radio to fix up for myself, so I'll give you a good deal."

"Thanks, Uncle Liu—how much for these two items?" After saying that, He Yuzhu opened another pack of cigarettes and handed one to Lao Liu.

"All right, wait a moment—I'll check the recycling price." After saying that, Lao Liu picked up the logbook, looked up the entry numbers for these two items, and began searching.

Soon Lao Liu found the information and told He Yuzhu, "I'll value the radio at fifteen yuan and the clock at five yuan—what do you think, Xiao He?"

He Yuzhu thought it over and said, "All right, Uncle Liu, I'll go with your price—but next time I come, could you give me a bit of a discount?"

"Fine, no problem—I'll make out a slip for you; once you pay, you can take the items." After saying that, Lao Liu wrote out a receipt for He Yuzhu and pointed to the finance office, saying, "Go pay there."

After paying, He Yuzhu returned to the office and saw Lao Liu had tied the radio and clock together with rope, saying to him, "I've bound them together so they won't be awkward to carry when you leave."

"Thanks a lot, Uncle Liu—I was just wondering how I'd carry them back." After saying that, He Yuzhu took out another cigarette and handed it to Lao Liu.

Lao Liu tied two loops in the rope; He Yuzhu slipped his arms through the loops, lifted the two items, said something while holding the soldering iron, and headed for Nanluoguxiang.

The consignment store at Caishikou isn't too far from Nanluoguxiang, but the quality of goods from this era is still fairly decent, and the weight is no joke—Comrade He Yuzhu was so exhausted that even in the depths of winter his young face began to sweat.