Chapter 986

The next day, when Li Long was eating breakfast, he saw Director Dai. His complexion was clearly not very good, and Li Long smelled alcohol.

Seeing Li Long, Director Dai greeted him with a smile and asked him to sit and eat together. Li Long simply asked if he could go to the nearby consignment shop and cultural relic shop in the morning to see if he could buy some things.

"You like old things?" Director Dai understood as soon as he heard the places Li Long wanted to go, and asked, "Do you have foreign exchange certificates?"

"No, but I have some US dollars," Li Long said. "You know about our side; there are Russians coming over to do business and buy things. They like furs. I have a purchasing station there, and the furs I collect are sold to them. They pay directly in US dollars."

"Hey, that's really good." Even Director Dai was quite envious of being able to get US dollars. "Do you have a lot? Can you exchange some for me? Don't worry, I definitely won't go by the official exchange rate; we'll go by the market price!"

Li Long once again experienced the power of the US dollar at this time.

"I didn't bring much this time. How about this, Director Dai, I'll exchange one thousand for you?" Li Long thought he couldn't give too much, and it wouldn't be good to say if it was too little, so he said.

"Good, good, good, that's enough." Director Dai was overjoyed when he heard this. He had originally thought it would be very good if he could exchange five hundred. After all, the purchasing power of both the Renminbi and the US dollar was very strong at this time.

After the meal, Director Dai went to get the money, and Li Long also went to get the money, and then they met in Director Dai's office.

"The market rate is currently one to seven or one to eight..." Director Dai took out a bag of money, took it out in stacks, and explained to Li Long, "No, no, Director, we won't talk about the official exchange rate; that's too empty. However, one to seven or one to eight is a bit high. Let's go by one to five," Li Long said very sincerely. "The Director has helped me so much; I would really feel bad if I went by the market price."

Li Long being able to say this naturally made Director Dai happy; he saved quite a sum. The more he looked at Li Long, the more he felt that Li Long knew how to handle things, and he even asked, "Won't you lose out this way?"

"It's fine, I won't lose out."

After exchanging the money, Li Long said he was going to the consignment shop. Director Dai's intention was to send Xiao Wang to lead Li Long there. Li Long politely declined, saying he could go there himself. Anyway, it wasn't far, and he would only be in these two places. After finishing his business, he would come back and wouldn't delay anything.

Director Dai didn't say anything more. Li Long picked up his bag and walked out of the door of the Beijing Liaison Office.

It wasn't hot outside yet. Li Long thought he would take advantage of this time to finish the things that needed to be done, and then go back to rest when it got hot.

It was past working hours, and the flow of people on the street wasn't large. Of course, it was still much livelier than Bima County, Shicheng, or Wucheng. There were many cars on the street, and of course, even more bicycles.

Li Long followed the direction Xiao Wang pointed and arrived at the consignment shop first. He felt that the furniture in the second courtyard was a bit sparse and wanted to buy some more.

The consignment shop was quite lively, but what surprised Li Long was that most people were there to sell things. There were people buying things, but they were in the minority.

The things brought to sell were also varied: second-hand bicycles, radios, cameras, watches, etc., but more were various pieces of furniture.

After the reform and opening up, Yanjing became a place of longing for many people. Some urban renovation work was also underway, and in the eyes of most people, Simmons mattresses and large sofas were the standard for modern high-end life. Those old-fashioned pieces of furniture were hard and stiff, not comfortable at all.

You need to bring your household registration book to sell things here, otherwise, it's hard to say where the things came from. Buying things doesn't require it; just pay the money.

Li Long wasn't very interested in radios and cameras, including watches. He just wanted to see the furniture—but to be honest, having lived two lives, he was a layman when it came to furniture. At most, he could recognize one or two types of red sandalwood or rosewood that he had seen in his previous life, and he wasn't even sure if they were real or fake.

Of course, when buying things at this time, just grab what's suitable. Among a pile of things, if there are a few good pieces, it's worth it.

Hearing that Li Long wanted to buy old furniture, the people at the consignment shop were quite happy. Many people came here to buy those second-hand bicycles, cameras, and watches, and many second-hand pieces of furniture were brought over and registered, but few were sold.

Some hardwood furniture, in the eyes of some people, was uncomfortable to sit on, so it was better to sell it.

Li Long followed the staff to the backyard and found that some furniture was even placed in the open air, exposed to wind, sun, and rain.

"There's no way around it. Too many people send furniture here to exchange for money, and the warehouse can't hold it. These people say it's fine to put it outside; it's better than leaving it at home and eventually chopping it up for firewood."

Li Long thought to himself, it shouldn't be that bad, right? After all, not everyone can afford Simmons mattresses and large sofas. This furniture, no matter what, is still usable.

Thinking about it again, it's normal. Young people getting married now require new furniture. It doesn't necessarily have to be high-end, but they are particular about new things. Once new things are bought, don't the old ones have to make room?

Moreover, although these things placed in the courtyard are all old hardwood, they aren't considered good wood. They are all the kind used in ordinary people's homes. Even if they are left for another few decades, they won't be worth much.

The staff opened the warehouse and introduced them to Li Long one by one. At this time, the furniture that could be brought to the consignment shop and put into the warehouse was all usable—the kind missing legs or boards wouldn't be accepted by the consignment shop.

After all, this isn't a place for collecting scrap and waste.

Here, Li Long saw pairs of chairs, old-fashioned canopy beds, eight-immortal tables, and round tables.

And what surprised Li Long was that most of this furniture had introduction registrations, meaning they would introduce the material and name. This made his purchasing very convenient.

"This, this, this, and this set, this... I'll buy all of these!"

The things were good, and the price wasn't expensive. They weren't the very popular and expensive woods of today, but they would be very valuable in later generations.

For example, a pair of huanghuali horseshoe-back armchairs sold for fifty-two yuan in this consignment shop. How cheap is that!

And this pair of armchairs was in good condition, very complete, with no signs of repair. The registration said they were old things from the end of the Qing Dynasty.

Then naturally, they had to be bought!

Li Long felt that this trip was really the right one. He didn't understand, but others did. After all, selling things can't just be about eye appeal; even buying a radio has an instruction manual.

So with these registrations, the things Li Long had to do were very simple. He directly bought nearly one thousand yuan worth of things, almost buying all the furniture made of wood that he knew would be valuable in later generations in the warehouse.

There were quite a few consignment shops in Yanjing City. Being able to collect so much furniture in this one place made Li Long quite satisfied.

"Comrade Li, how will you transport so many things back? Do you want me to help you contact a flatbed cart?"

"Definitely, thank you, thank you. But you have to tell them that this furniture can't be damaged," Li Long said with a smile.

"Don't worry, these people often pull things and help people move! The work is absolutely no problem!" The staff was also very happy to have achieved a performance and had also done a favor, explaining very carefully.

Helping Li Long move the furniture into the courtyard one by one, the staff then took Li Long to pay and get the receipt, while he went to call people.

Seeing that Li Long had bought so much furniture, the manager of the consignment shop was also quite surprised. After chatting with Li Long for a few words and knowing that he was furnishing his newly bought Sihe Academy, he felt it was reasonable.

"Most young people nowadays like new-style furniture. It's really rare to see someone like you who specializes in buying old furniture."

"Each has its own beauty," Li Long said with a smile. "The craftsmanship of old-fashioned furniture cannot be compared to new-style furniture, and the comfort of new-style furniture is also stronger than old-fashioned furniture. Which one to choose depends on personal preference."

"Yes, yes, yes, that's the logic."

The manager of the consignment shop actually felt a sense of a kindred spirit with Li Long.

He could speak, knew his stuff, and was generous with his money!

Unfortunately, the staff soon called over several flatbed carts, helped Li Long load and tie the furniture, and they left.

Li Long took the people to pull this old furniture back to the second courtyard, opened the door, and let these people help unload the furniture, move it into the room, and set it up—of course, doing this wasn't without a price; he gave each person an extra two yuan.

After the people left, Li Long walked out of the courtyard and looked at so many rooms, thinking to himself, should he go to other consignment shops these days to at least fill up the other rooms?

Of course, that was just a thought. Today was considered lucky to have encountered it; other shops might not necessarily have it.

Just as he walked out of the courtyard gate and was preparing to lock it, someone walked over and asked:

"Hello, Comrade, is this courtyard yours?"

Li Long looked up and found two people standing in front of him. One was wearing a white shirt popular at the time and looked quite serious, while the other was wearing a suit. He didn't look like a local, but rather had the style of a southern businessman, and might even be from Hong Kong.