Chapter 529: A Chance Encounter with an Acquaintance!

After leaving the bank, Li Yi let out a long sigh of relief!

Having finally deposited the two million, Li Yi felt as if he’d gotten rid of a hot potato.

To be honest, if those two million hadn’t been his only savings back home, he really wouldn’t have wanted to go through the trouble of bringing them all the way back—it was just too much of a hassle.

Thinking back on the process of depositing the money just now, Li Yi felt that doing this once was more than enough.

If he had to do it a few more times, never mind whether he could handle it—the bank staff certainly wouldn’t be able to.

Just moments ago, when he walked into the bank carrying several suitcases full of cash, everyone was completely dumbfounded.

Whether they were bank employees or other customers conducting business, everyone was dumbfounded when they saw Li Yi carrying three huge suitcases to deposit money.

In an era where 36 yuan is considered a fortune, a thousand yuan is enough to cause a stir—let alone three entire suitcases full of cash.

Everyone stopped what they were doing; everyone watched him from a distance as if they were watching a big show.

Everyone was pointing and whispering, speculating about where he’d gotten all that money.

Of course, most people were fairly straightforward and didn’t jump to any negative conclusions.

Everyone was speculating that Li Yi must be the accountant at some government agency; in this day and age, only a large organization like that could produce such a massive amount of cash all at once.

As for corruption or anything of the sort, people didn’t even consider that possibility.

After all, embezzling a few hundred or a few thousand is easy, but with several million on the line, it’s unlikely any organization would be unaware of such a massive sum being stolen.

And so, with a crowd gathered around, the bank staff began counting the millions.

Keep in mind that the highest-denomination bill in circulation at the time was the 10-yuan “Great Unity” note. Two million yuan amounted to a staggering 200,000 notes—far too many for a single person to count.

With no other choice, the bank had to call in all the tellers to help!

Five or six young women spent a full two and a half hours counting, and finally finished counting the money in those boxes—a total of 2 million yuan.

As the staff counted the money, the crowd around them grew larger and larger, and Li Yi found himself the center of attention, like a circus attraction.

This made him can’t help but feel a bit nostalgic for the VIP banking system in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, the mainland now emphasizes equality for all, so such a system doesn’t exist.

Fortunately, Li Yi wasn’t bothered by the onlookers. After all, back in those days, there were no camera-equipped cell phones, nor short-video platforms like Douyin or Kuaishou.

Even if these people saw him, it would merely give them a bit more to brag about to others; it wouldn’t cause much of a public stir.

After depositing the money, he checked the time—it wasn’t even 11 o’clock yet—and Li Yi didn’t feel like heading back so early.

Realizing he hadn’t properly explored this cosmopolitan metropolis during his visit last month, he hopped in his car and began cruising around the city.

……….

Guangzhou in the 1980s wasn’t yet the megacity of over 20 million people from his past life; at this point, it was still quite unpolished.

The buildings he saw still had a certain historical charm, unlike decades later when all the old houses and streets—whether they should be demolished or not—were torn down, turning a famous city rich in history into a concrete jungle!

Still, this was, after all, at the forefront of reform and opening-up; walking down the streets, one could clearly sense that this city was quite different from most inland cities.

The biggest difference was that Guangzhou at that time was full of vitality; everyone seemed incredibly busy!

This was in stark contrast to inland cities—whether provincial capitals or prefecture-level cities—which all seemed to be in a state of stagnation.

In fact, as a coastal city, Guangzhou has adapted to local conditions, promptly adjusted its policies, and seized the historic opportunities presented by reform and opening-up.

By vigorously developing the market economy, it has stimulated population mobility and facilitated the free flow of people, capital, and goods, making Guangzhou one of the fastest-growing cities in the country today.

Just as Li Yi was taking in the rapidly changing cityscape, a familiar storefront suddenly caught his eye—Feixue Apparel!

Wow, to actually see the brand he founded with his own hands right here on the streets of Guangzhou—Li Yi was absolutely thrilled.

He remembered that back in June, An Hong had mentioned plans to open a new store in Guangzhou, but since Li Yi was no longer involved in the cotton mill at the time, he hadn’t asked many questions.

He never expected that on this visit, he’d actually see a Feixue Apparel store right there on the streets of Guangzhou, which made him truly admire An Hong’s professional competence.

Right then, he found a spot to park his car and headed over to check out the store!

After getting out of the car, Li Yi took a close look at the store’s location. Situated at a busy intersection in the heart of the city, right next to the renowned Lihong Department Store, it was undeniably a superb choice of location.

In the memories of many Guangzhou locals, “Victory in the East, Lihong in the West”—these two department stores had once been an indispensable part of daily life.

As one of the first enterprises to transition into a state-owned department store after the economic reforms, Lihong Department Store was currently at the height of its glory.

“In Guangzhou, if there’s something you can’t find, you’re sure to find it at Lihong Department Store!”

This saying alone speaks volumes about Lihong Department Store’s status in the hearts of Guangzhou’s residents—it’s not just a landmark but also a must-visit “Instagrammable” spot of this era!

An Hong chose to locate Feixue Apparel here precisely because foot traffic was never an issue—a fact evident from the constant stream of people coming and going!

Upon entering the store, a sales associate in a uniformed uniform immediately approached with a warm greeting: “Comrade, welcome to Feixue Apparel!”

Li Yi nodded and said, “Comrade, please go assist other customers. I’ll look around on my own and call you if I need anything!”

“Sure, comrade!”

With that, the saleswoman went to assist the next customer.

Li Yi first took a look around the store. It was quite spacious, covering over 200 square meters—comparable in size to the flagship store on Wangfujing in Beijing.

Furthermore, the store was beautifully decorated, largely replicating the design of the Wangfujing flagship store while incorporating some distinctive southern touches.

The store offered a wide variety of clothing, including shirts, shorts, pants, and suits, but the items that drew the most attention from customers were short-sleeved T-shirts and women’s dresses.

These garments were all “borrowed” by Li Yi from common styles of the future, but in this era, they were absolute eye-catchers—true bestsellers that drew crowds of young people to stop and gawk.

Take, for example, this blue, fitted floral maxi dress right here—there are already seven or eight young girls gathered around it.

One of them, with a charming smile, was whispering to a boy standing next to her; she seemed to really like the dress.

While the Reform and Opening-Up policy seemed to have made little impact in the interior regions for the time being, Guangzhou had already seen an influx of young people, and the social atmosphere here was relatively more open and inclusive, leading some young people to begin pursuing more liberal romantic relationships.

Li Yi even spotted some foreigners in the crowd; some of them were holding cameras, snapping photo after photo of these trendy, avant-garde outfits.

However, just as Li Yi was wandering around the store, a familiar voice suddenly called out from behind him: “Xiao Yi?”

Li Yi turned around and was startled to find An Hong standing right behind him!

“Sis-in-law, you’re in Guangzhou?”

“Yeah, I’ve been busy here these past few months. Aren’t you in Beijing? What brings you here?”

Seeing Li Yi, An Hong was clearly delighted, a smile never leaving her face as she spoke.

“I took a trip to Hong Kong a while back and just got back yesterday!” Li Yi replied honestly.

“I thought you came here specifically to inspect our store!”

“Hahaha, if anyone’s inspecting, it’s my third older brother and his crew. I certainly don’t want to take on that burden for him!” Li Yi said with a laugh.

“Do you have time right now? If so, let’s find a place to chat,” An Hong said suddenly.

“Sure, I don’t have much on my plate today!”

“Then let’s go. We can swing by our Feixue Apparel branch in Guangzhou while we’re at it!” An Hong said with a smile.

“Sure!”

After that, An Hong gave some instructions to the store manager here and then led Li Yi out of the store.

Li Yi had been wondering where exactly this Yangcheng branch was and whether they should drive there, but to his surprise, after leaving the store, An Hong led him straight into the adjacent Lihong Department Store.

They took the stairs all the way up to the fifth floor, where they found a brand-new office space.

Clearly, this was Feixue Apparel’s branch in Guangzhou.

At that moment, the place was bustling with activity: some were on the phone, others were taking notes, and still others were clicking away on abacuses.

When everyone saw An Hong, they greeted her one after another.

However, no one greeted Li Yi; clearly, none of them recognized him, and certainly no one knew that he was the founder of Feixue Apparel and the creator of the brand.