Chapter 57: Welcome to the 1980s

Early the next morning, Ye Fan woke up early. He first practiced a set of Sanyang Mysterious Needles, and then performed the Eight-Section Wind-Chasing Palm that Old Luan had taught him, instantly feeling refreshed and full of vitality.

Today, Li Yaoyao was going to move the trunk into her newly rented shop, while Ye Fan headed straight to the electronics market to find Brother Ji.

Seeing him arrive, Brother Ji greeted him warmly and handed him a bottle of Coca-Cola.

Ye Fan smiled and joked, "When other people do business, they always serve a proper set of Gongfu tea. You're something else—you just hand me a cola!"

"Gongfu tea is way too much trouble!" Brother Ji waved his hand dismissively. "If you really want some, I've got my dad's old tea set, but I haven't washed it in ages!"

Ye Fan was only teasing him anyway. He took a sip of the cola and asked how the batch of digital watches was coming along.

"All done. These electronic watches are rare treasures now; most manufacturers have stopped making them altogether. Do you like this design?"

Ye Fan took the watch and inspected it. The new exterior was much more stylish than the previous version, though it didn't look out of place for the 1980s. It even featured an ambiguous logo on the face, making it look quite high-end.

"Not bad, this will do! How much do I owe you?"

"I'm just giving them to you at cost. Your watch style is way too rare, and I had to dig up old molds for it. Let's just say three yuan each!"

"Deal. Here's three hundred!"

Ye Fan generously pulled out three red banknotes and tossed them onto the table, earning a roll of eyes from Brother Ji.

"Can't you just transfer the money to me? With cash, I have to make a trip to the bank to deposit it."

"No way! Refusing to accept red banknotes is against the law!"

Ye Fan picked up his bag and walked away.

When he returned to the villa, Li Yaoyao had already arrived at the newly rented shop, and Yang Haiyan had also arrived with her two children.

Li Yaoyao asked Yang Haiyan to help carry the trunk up to the second floor before sending her back down to look after the children. Staying by the trunk, Li Yaoyao first received the clothes from Ye Fan and then turned around, waiting for him to step through.

Without wasting any time, Ye Fan quickly changed his clothes.

"Shall we start cleaning now?"

Today, Li Yaoyao had purposely worn an old outfit. Ye Fan looked her up and down, making her face flush with warmth. She asked softly, "Does it look bad?"

"Not at all. You're pretty, so anything you wear looks good!"

Ye Fan's words made Li Yaoyao feel warm and happy inside. Just as she was about to head downstairs, Ye Fan pulled her back.

"What is it? Is there something else?" Li Yaoyao asked curiously.

Ye Fan nodded and said earnestly, "Let Haiyan take charge of the clothing store for a while. I have a very important matter to attend to—I need to make a trip to the Special Economic Zone!"

Hearing this, Li Yaoyao asked in surprise, "The Special Economic Zone? Do you have a travel permit?"

"What? A travel permit? You need a permit just to go to the Special Economic Zone?"

Ye Fan was stunned. In his mind, weren't places like Shenzhen freely accessible to anyone?

In reality, when the Special Economic Zone was first established, it was enclosed by barbed wire fences, and a travel permit was indeed required to enter!

***

After learning the situation, Ye Fan wore a troubled expression. He had already boasted that he would make 200 million within a month, only to be blocked right at the starting line before he even set off?

He was a man from decades in the future; he didn't even have a regular identity card or a temporary residence permit—how was he supposed to get a travel permit?

His grand enterprise had stalled before it even truly began!

Speechless, Ye Fan even considered spending some money to be smuggled across.

Seeing Ye Fan's distressed face, Li Yaoyao thought for a moment and said, "How about I find someone to pull some strings and get us two travel permits?"

"That would be great! Though just one is enough."

"No way, I'm coming with you!"

Ye Fan thought about it. Since he wasn't very familiar with this era, having Li Yaoyao along would be helpful, so he nodded and agreed.

Seeing that Ye Fan had agreed, Li Yaoyao beamed with a smile and said, "Then let's clean the place first!"

"Alright!"

Ye Fan rolled up his sleeves and followed Li Yaoyao downstairs.

"Sister Haiyan! This is my friend Ye Fan that I told you about!"

Yang Haiyan was sweeping and mopping the floor with the two children. Hearing Li Yaoyao's voice, she turned her head and saw a handsome young man walking down the stairs behind Li Yaoyao.

"Hello, hello! My name is Yang Haiyan. You must be Ye Fan, right?"

"That's me!" Ye Fan smiled, nodding in greeting as he looked at Yang Haiyan and her two children.

Yang Haiyan was wearing old clothes, with her hair cut short around her ears. She was a little over 1.6 meters tall, rather thin, but possessed an honest and rustic appearance.

Standing behind her were two children. The older girl was around fifteen or sixteen, her complexion sallow and her body as thin as a beanstalk, with two thick braids. The younger boy looked to be around seven or eight years old, thin and dark-skinned, though he had a noticeably large head and a pair of dark, rolling eyes that made him look very clever.

"These must be Daya and Erdan, right?" Ye Fan greeted the two children with a smile. He knew Daya was fifteen and Erdan was ten, but due to malnutrition, they both looked much younger than their actual ages. This tugged at Ye Fan's heartstrings, and he secretly resolved to bring more milk and other nutritional supplements the next time he came.

Li Yaoyao fetched the cleaning tools, handed Ye Fan a mop, kept a broom for herself, and gave Yang Haiyan a rag so she and the kids could wipe the windows.

Working together, the three adults and two children managed to thoroughly clean both the upper and lower floors of the shop by noon.

"The window over here is broken; we'll need to find someone to fix it. And we'll need to build some wardrobes and shelves on the first floor..."

Wiping away her sweat, Li Yaoyao looked at the neat and refreshed rooms and pointed out things excitedly.

Ye Fan thought of the clothing store on his end—display racks and clothes rails weren't expensive and could easily be bought online, which was much more convenient than having someone custom-build them. He said, "Leave the display racks and clothes rails to me. You must all be hungry, right? Shall we go out to eat?"

Intending to treat them, Ye Fan walked toward the front of the shop and looked outside.

The shop was in a prime location, right next to a department store and surrounded by numerous other businesses. In the twenty-first century, this would be the bustling commercial street of the provincial capital.

Just as he was looking around for a restaurant, Li Yaoyao's voice came from behind him: "Where are we going to eat?"

"A restaurant, of course!"

Ye Fan turned back to look at Li Yaoyao, only to find her wearing a very peculiar expression as she asked, "A state-run restaurant?"

***

"Huh? Just an ordinary small eatery. Are there none?"

"None at all!"

The two of them exchanged questions and answers, both completely bewildered.

In September 1980, Beijing saw its very first privately-owned restaurant, named the Yuebin Restaurant, which would remain in business well into the twenty-first century.

Right now, it was December 1980, and in the capital city of Binjiang Province where they were located, such private eateries naturally did not exist yet!

After talking at cross-purposes for a good while, Ye Fan and Li Yaoyao finally figured it out, and a wave of concern washed over them.

"Will you guys be okay opening a private business like this?"

Li Yaoyao replied, "It'll be fine! The state is encouraging people to get rich through hard work now. There are already a few private businesses in the province. I've already talked to my dad, and he's currently processing the license for us!"

Ye Fan nodded to himself, thinking that Li Yaoyao came from a deeply influential background. Amidst the current wave of reform and opening up, both her insight and capabilities were enough to put them at the forefront of the era.

"Why don't I handle lunch then? I'll go back and order some takeout so we don't have to run back and forth to the cafeteria; that's way too much trouble."

With that, Ye Fan bounded up the stairs.

Li Yaoyao followed him up, asking with some worry, "Ye Fan, if you go back and grab food so blatantly, aren't you afraid Sister Haiyan will figure it out?"

Ye Fan thought for a moment and said, "When I went back yesterday, the lid of the trunk was open, but what if it closes? The trunk can't be opened from the inside, so I figured right then and there that both of us need to find someone we trust implicitly to help watch the trunk. Do you think Sister Haiyan is trustworthy?"

Faced with Ye Fan's question, Li Yaoyao pressed her lips together in thought.

Sister Haiyan was always ready to help others, and she was honest and kind-hearted—that was why the villagers had chosen her as the head of the women's association. Her character had been unanimously affirmed by the villagers.

Thinking of this, she nodded. "Sister Haiyan's character is beyond reproach. I can trust her!"

Ye Fan continued, "Actually, I thought of another reason. Sister Haiyan was hounded by her parents-in-law in the village who tried to snatch her children away. Coming here to the provincial capital with no one to lean on, she has to rely on you. So she won't harbor any crooked intentions. Besides, the clothes we sell still need to be sent over through this trunk, so there's no need to completely keep her in the dark!"

Ye Fan's words gave Li Yaoyao complete peace of mind. Seeing that Ye Fan was starting to take off his clothes, her face flushed red as she turned around, hurried back downstairs, and went to chat with Yang Haiyan.

Returning to the Chunjiang Yueming villa, Ye Fan directly ordered several takeout meals and bought some daily necessities, small snacks, and nutritional supplements like milk.

"I'll send the food over first!"

Ye Fan video-called Li Yaoyao. By now, Li Yaoyao had already told Yang Haiyan about the trunk. Yang Haiyan and the two children were sitting right beside Li Yaoyao, staring in utter amazement at the phone in her hand!

It was her first time seeing such a novel gadget, and she was filled with endless curiosity.

Not long after, they watched as the trunk began to spit things out!

Food, drinks, and daily necessities quickly piled up beside the trunk.

From the other side, Ye Fan's voice came through: "You guys go ahead and eat. I need to transfer the clothes over in a bit, so I won't come over just yet."