Yunding No. 1!
At 5:00 PM, when Li Yi returned to the villa, Jiang Xue, his mother-in-law, and the others had already come back. A large group of women and children were chatting and playing in the living room.
Seeing Li Yi walk through the door with Zhang Ziqiang and the others, Jiang Xue immediately stood up and came over to greet him.
“You’re back!”
“Yeah, did you have fun today… Hey, did you get your hair done?”
Li Yi looked at Jiang Xue’s hair with some surprise. Her once thick, black braids had been transformed into short, wavy curls—it looked absolutely stunning!
Jiang Xue blushed slightly and said, “Sister-in-law Chu Hong said my hair was too long, and since it’s hot here, she took me to get it cut. You’re not mad, are you?”
“Why would I be mad? Besides, I think it looks really good!” Li Yi said.
“Do you really think it looks good?”
“Yeah, it’s very stylish—it’s a real head-turner!” Li Yi said earnestly.
“I’m just glad you’re not upset. But I’m only keeping this style for a few days—I’ll go back to my old look when we get home!” Jiang Xue said.
“Why change it? I think it looks great!”
At that moment, her mother-in-law chimed in, “It is pretty, but people back home might not accept it. And since Xue is a college student, it’s best to avoid causing controversy!”
Li Yi understood what his mother-in-law meant and immediately nodded. “You’re right, Mom. We’ll change it back when we get home!”
“By the way, how was your shopping trip at the mall today?”
Hearing Li Yi’s question, Jiang Xue replied with a touch of envy, “It’s so bustling here. There are skyscrapers everywhere. Walking through the downtown area feels like entering a forest of buildings—it even feels like the sky has shrunk.”
“Plus, the malls here are bigger than the ones in Beijing. They have a wider selection and are much more fashionable. I felt like we were Grandmother Liu visiting the Grand View Garden—everything was so fascinating…”
As soon as she said this, everyone in the room couldn’t help but laugh!
“Xiao Xue, are you okay? You seem pretty calm—chatting and laughing with Sister-in-law Chu Hong, and even asking prices when you see things. Unlike me—I didn’t even dare to speak when I walked into the mall!” the eldest sister said with a laugh.
“I was just curious, and I wanted to practice my spoken English while I was at it!”
As she spoke, Jiang Xue cast a grateful glance at her husband.
When Li Yi had mentioned their family’s assets to her yesterday, Jiang Xue had been shocked but hadn’t given it much thought.
But after visiting the mall today and hearing the prices of those items, she suddenly began to understand her husband’s intentions from last night—he wanted to help her overcome her stage fright.
And precisely because she knew just how deep their family’s pockets were, Jiang Xue carried herself with remarkable composure in the mall today. This not only surprised Chen Chuhong, but even Ye Lingyun and her older sister Li Mei found it somewhat unbelievable.
Especially when she spent money—hundreds or even thousands at a time—as if she didn’t feel the slightest bit of regret. It left them all gaping in astonishment.
“So, what did you all buy?” Li Yi asked again.
Jiang Xue smiled and said, “I bought two outfits each for Mom, my older sister, Juanzi, and the kids, plus a few pairs of shoes. It came to just over three thousand Hong Kong dollars…”
“No need to list the prices—just tell me what you bought!” Li Yi said.
“We also bought some underwear and face cream—all sorts of random stuff, we bought plenty of it!” Jiang Xue said.
“Go ahead and buy them—especially clothes. Buy as much as you can. Don’t just buy women’s clothes; get men’s and kids’ too! Don’t worry about whether you’ll use them or not—if they look nice, just buy them!” Li Yi said.
“Why are we buying so many clothes? Isn’t that a waste of money?”
“Heh, the clothes here are actually pretty fashionable. We’ll take them back and give them to the Second State-Owned Cotton Mill to have them copied.”
Then Li Yi added, “Don’t worry about spending money—Third Brother will reimburse you later!”
“I get it, but we’ve got to make sure he reimburses us generously. Carrying all these clothes back from so far away isn’t easy!” Jiang Xue said with a laugh.
“Right, make sure he reimburses you a little extra!” Li Yi said with a smile.
“By the way, what’s the plan for tomorrow?” Jiang Xue asked again.
“What do you have in mind?”
“I want to take a boat out to sea for some fun!” Jiang Xue said.
“Go out to sea by boat?”
“Yeah, when we passed the marina today, I saw a lot of nice yachts over there. My sister-in-law said her family owns quite a few boats and can take us out to the nearby waters for some fun—she even mentioned we could go fishing!” Jiang Xue explained.
“Alright, I’ll make the arrangements!”
Just then, the eldest sister suddenly said, “Xiao Yi, if you have time, take us to the Banbanhaobang jewelry store!”
“Sis, why do you want to go to the jewelry store? To buy jewelry?”
“Well, I heard the jewelry here is especially beautiful. Nana’s getting married, isn’t she? I want to get her some jewelry for her dowry!” said the eldest sister.
“Alright, I’ll keep that in mind. I’ll take you there later! We’re not just getting a dowry for Third Sister—we’ll buy some for all of you, too!” Li Yi said with a smile.
“That’s wonderful! I want a pair of gold earrings!” the eldest sister said happily.
“Alright, and I’ll get Xiao Rui a little gold locket when we go!” Li Yi said.
He understood his eldest sister’s desire to buy gold jewelry at a gold shop. On the one hand, restrictions on gold hadn’t yet been lifted in the country, so it was extremely difficult to purchase gold jewelry.
Most of the time, if a woman wanted gold or silver jewelry, it was either an heirloom or she had to find a goldsmith or silversmith to craft it herself. The style of such handcrafted jewelry depended entirely on the master craftsman’s skill.
In contrast, the gold and silver jewelry industry here in Hong Kong had already developed into a highly mature sector. Not only was the gold jewelry manufacturing industry highly advanced, but the gold purity was also high, and the designs were both trendy and aesthetically pleasing, making them highly sought after and adored by people on the mainland.
So much so that a few years later, it actually sparked a “gold craze” for Hong Kong-style jewelry on the mainland, giving rise to the earliest form of the “shopping agent” industry.
Thinking of this, Li Yi suddenly remembered something very important.
Lately, he had been pondering where to find a suitable channel to connect Hong Kong Island with the mainland.
Ideally, not only should people be able to travel freely, but goods should also move in and out without restriction. That way, the advanced machinery and equipment he sourced from abroad would be much easier to transport back to the mainland.
The older woman’s words just now suddenly reminded him of a place—Pengcheng, or more precisely, Zhongying Street in Pengcheng.
Zhongying Street is a small street 250 meters long and three or four meters wide, divided by a boundary marker: one side falls under the jurisdiction of Pengcheng, while the other is under Hong Kong Island’s control.
The street had existed for a long time, but as we tightened control over the border areas in the 1950s, and given that “China-Britain Street” was an unofficial port of entry, restrictions on the flow of people began to be imposed.
Furthermore, as Sino-British relations remained relatively tense in the early years of the People’s Republic, we began enforcing political and military border control policies, while the British Hong Kong government imposed a “curfew” in Sha Tau Kok, New Territories. Consequently, China-Britain Street became a restricted border zone.
However, in the past year or two, thanks to its unique geographical location adjacent to Hong Kong Island and the high-quality, low-priced goods in its duty-free shops, China-Britain Street has attracted many mainlanders looking for bargains, earning it the reputation among mainlanders as a “shopping paradise.”
However, not everyone could visit China-Britain Street. Mainlanders had to obtain a border pass to enter Shenzhen, and a special permit was required to travel from Shenzhen to China-Britain Street in Sha Tau Kok. These two documents were not as easy to obtain as the Hong Kong Island permits issued in later years.
Since visa quotas were limited at the time—and generally easier for government officials and employees to obtain—being able to buy imported goods on China-Britain Street was a “big deal,” akin to traveling abroad.
Because border permits were so difficult to obtain, those without one who wished to buy imported goods from Hong Kong Island or abroad had to entrust purchases to someone who held a permit—thus giving rise to the earliest form of “Hong Kong Island proxy shopping.”
The reason the woman’s words struck a chord with him was that the most famous merchandise on China-Britain Street was gold jewelry.
Especially in the late 1980s, China-Britain Street had practically become a street dedicated to gold. At the height of the “gold rush,” there were 47 gold shops on the Shenzhen side and 32 on the Hong Kong side.
Several Hong Kong-based gold jewelry chains that have since proliferated across the mainland—such as Chow Xing Fook and Chow Xing Sang—all had stores on China-Britain Street back then.
With cross-border trade just getting started on the Zhongying Street side, he could easily secure a spot there, which would be quite beneficial for his future career.
However, he still needed to discuss the details with Old Li, Old Huang, and his father-in-law.
Just as Li Yi was deep in thought, the phone in the living room suddenly rang!
Zhang Ziqiang, who was nearby, picked it up immediately. After exchanging just a few words, he brought Li Yi over and said, “It’s Old Huang. He wants to speak with you!”
“Alright!”
With that, Li Yi strode forward and took the receiver…
……..