I'm back in 1990

Chapter 197: A Heating Tool with a Very Vintage Look

After returning to school, Huang Xiaochuan first went to see Jiang Bixing.

"Senior, I've delivered the heater you asked me to buy."

"Great! How much?"

"One thousand and three yuan, you can give me one thousand! The main problem is that this batch of goods is shipped by air, so the shipping cost is a bit high."

"Just charge whatever you're supposed to charge. I'm very grateful that you helped me buy it," Jiang Bixing said as he took out some money from his pocket.

After receiving the money, Huang Xiaochuan didn't leave immediately. He asked Jiang Bixing, "Senior, could you get me some cigarettes?"

Jiang Bixing was circling the heater box when he heard Huang Xiaochuan's words and asked, "What kind of smoke? How much do you want?"

"China, Ten Articles"

"So many? When do you need them?"

"It's urgent, I need it tomorrow."

"OK!"

After saying goodbye to Jiang Bixing, Huang Xiaochuan left.

The thought of having a car soon filled Huang Xiaochuan with a little secret joy.

After having dinner with his roommates in the cafeteria that evening, Huang Xiaochuan pressed Ding Yi for answers.

"Old Ding, hurry up and ask when my exam is scheduled."

"What's the rush! Even if you get your driver's license right now, you won't have a car to drive. Anyway, they said it will be arranged this month."

"You don't care if I have a car or not, just hurry up and urge them to arrange my exam as soon as possible. Oh, and don't forget to grease the wheels where necessary; money is no object."

"A rich dog is a rich dog, that's enough. I'll go and urge them for you tomorrow."

Wu Duo and his friends overheard their conversation, and Wu Duo asked, "Xiao Chuan is about to get his driver's license? You can drive?"

"I learned to drive at home from my dad's company driver. I can drive alone without any problems. But I wasn't old enough back then, so I never got a driver's license. Now I suddenly want to get a driver's license, so I asked Lao Ding to help me find some connections to take the test. If I pass, I'll get the license directly. If I don't pass, I'll honestly go to a driving school to enroll in training."

The group now had something to talk about, and they chatted all the way back to their dorm, from driver's licenses to cars. Men are naturally interested in mechanical things, and every man has taken apart things at home, such as alarm clocks and radios, when he was a child.

Back in the dormitory, the conversation continued. Wu Duo lamented, "It's not that we can't build good cars, it's just that we can't achieve industrialized assembly line production yet."

Zhang Gaolei, who wasn't very familiar with the country's automobile industry, asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Wu Duo then began to show off his limited automotive knowledge: "Everyone knows about our country's Hongqi car, but did you know that it was painstakingly handcrafted bit by bit by a group of skilled fitters, forgers, machinists, and welders?"

Apart from Huang Xiaochuan, the other three shook their heads, wondering how they could possibly know.

Wu Duo said helplessly, "Think about it, how many Hongqi cars can we produce in a year using only manpower? Some people even say that our Hongqi is no worse than Mercedes-Benz. Yes, the quality and performance are no worse than Mercedes-Benz, but the problem is that Mercedes-Benz cars come off a single production line and can produce 100,000 to 200,000 cars a year. How many Hongqi cars can we produce in a year? How can we compare them?"

Huang Xiaochuan patted Wu Duo on the shoulder and said, "Squad leader, don't worry! Our country is currently playing the strategy of exchanging market access for technology. Technology takes time to accumulate; you can't get fat overnight. Just wait and see! In twenty years, I guarantee that domestically produced cars will be running all over the streets."

Ding Yi also agreed with Huang Xiaochuan's words: "That's right. Our country's industrial base is weak. We have to take things one step at a time. The domestic parts substitution rate of Santana is increasing every year, isn't it? This is learning while doing."

The five people talked about cars until the lights were turned off, at which point the conversation temporarily came to an end.

The next day, after the last class in the morning, Jiang Bixing's pager came. After meeting, Jiang Bixing handed two black handbags to Huang Xiaochuan.

"Don't worry, the ten cartons of Zhonghua cigarettes you ordered are all genuine. I got them directly from the tobacco company through someone."

Huang Xiaochuan laughed and said, "Thanks!"

He then handed Jiang Bixing a small stack of money that he had prepared beforehand, and turned to leave with his handbag.

Jiang Bixing caught up with them shortly afterward.

"Xiao Chuan, you gave too much money. You don't need so much. Take these two hundred back."

Huang Xiaochuan originally wanted Jiang Bixing to help him buy cigarettes so he could earn some money, but he didn't expect the guy to be so ungrateful. Huang Xiaochuan didn't want to keep pushing and shoving him at school, so he accepted the money Jiang Bixing handed him back.

Jiang Bixing was relieved to see that Huang Xiaochuan had accepted the money. He smiled, said goodbye, and left.

Huang Xiaochuan shook his head helplessly as he watched his retreating figure. Then he went directly to the literary garden, put down the cigarettes, and told Yang Junmin and He Guang to go out with him in the afternoon. After that, he took a heater and returned to the school.

The heater was requested by Zhang Yun. She only had one class in the afternoon, which happened to be Zhang Yun's statistics class. Huang Xiaochuan thought he could take the opportunity of delivering the heater to ask Zhang Yun for leave, so he would have the whole afternoon free.

I rode my bicycle with the heater on my back all the way to the teachers' office and found Zhang Yun preparing her lesson right away. The large office was empty with only three people in it.

"Teacher Zhang, the heater you requested has arrived. I've brought it to you."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yun asked happily, "So fast?"

"What a coincidence. Because of the cold weather, there are many people who want this batch of goods, so it was shipped by air, which made it a little faster, but the price was also a little more expensive."

Zhang Yun looked at the cardboard box and laughed, "It doesn't matter if it's a little expensive. The sooner you use it, the sooner you can enjoy it. I'm freezing to death. I wish I could wrap myself in a blanket every day. Look, I carry my hand warmer with me every day."

Upon seeing the hand warmer in Zhang Yun's hand, Huang Xiaochuan immediately felt a sense of "vintage".

The thing Zhang Yun is holding is called a coal briquette hand warmer. Inside is a small coal briquette that can be lit. It is surrounded by refractory material, so there is no need to worry about it burning. However, the small coal briquette must be lit by a stove.

Fortunately, the school's logistics department installed several heating stoves in each teacher's office, and in order to prevent carbon dioxide poisoning, they also used galvanized iron pipes to vent the smoke outdoors.

After igniting the small coal briquettes on the coal stove, use fire tongs to place them into the hand warmer, close the lid, and put on a cover to prevent burns and make them easy to carry around your neck.

This was Zhang Yun's first time experiencing a winter like this in the South. Back in her hometown, there was heating as long as you went inside. It was the same when she went to study in the United States. Although winters in North America are just as cold as in Northeast China, dormitories and classrooms have their own heating systems, so you don't get cold at all.

Who would have thought that Zhang Yun, who is usually very conscious of her image, would be so cold in Shanghai's winter that she didn't care about her appearance at all, and her nose was running with clear snot.

Seeing that Huang Xiaochuan had brought her the heater, she didn't mind that it was a little expensive, since the girl had plenty of money.

Taking the opportunity, Huang Xiaochuan said to Zhang Yun, "Teacher Zhang, I need to go out to run some errands this afternoon. Could I ask for leave and borrow a notebook from a classmate to make up for this class later?"

"Oh, okay! Then please deliver this stove to my house, and I'll approve your leave."

Huang Xiaochuan thought to himself that the teachers' dormitory wasn't far away, so he might as well give him a ride!

Unexpectedly, Zhang Yun did not live in the teachers' dormitory at all; she rented a house on her own off-campus.

Huang Xiaochuan had no choice but to push the cart and follow Zhang Yun all the way to deliver the heater to her home. Once home, Zhang Yun immediately wanted to light the heater, but there was no kerosene. Huang Xiaochuan went back to his dormitory to bring her a bottle of kerosene, added it in, and lit the heater.

It's really not easy to ask for leave; I've had to make so many trips.

Chapter update reminder: Chapter 197: A heating tool with a very vintage feel, read here.