The silver-white recorder is rectangular, with two large speakers and four knobs on the front. It looks very technological. When the powerful music comes from the recorder, it is not too cool.
After Wei Guoping put on his coat, he came close to Jiang Yulou and said, "Yulou, what are you..."
"Sanyo tape recorder." Jiang Yulou put the tape recorder he was holding on the table.
Wei Guoping rolled his eyes and asked: "Nonsense, of course I know this is a tape recorder. What I want to ask is, where did you get this tape recorder?"
"It's well protected, but it's just a second-hand product." Xu Xiangdong took a look at it and found that it was a second-hand product, and he lost interest immediately.
However, the song playing on the tape recorder was so good that he couldn't help but twist his body slightly to the beat.
"This recorder is also very good. It costs a lot of money, right?" Yu Min said with envy.
Even if the tape recorder Jiang Yulou brought was second-hand, he couldn't afford it.
In the land of China in 1979, 80% of the population still lived in rural areas. Even for urban residents, the monthly salary of ordinary workers was only a few dozen yuan. Many families live a meager diet every day, and the children still wear patched clothes.
And what about the price of a tape recorder?
Even the most common domestic products are out of reach of many families. For example, the domestically produced Haiyan cassette recorder costs more than 200 yuan, not to mention the tape recorder in front of you, which is obviously an imported product. The price is definitely More expensive.
Jiang Yulou said: "It's not expensive, only about two hundred yuan."
Although it may look like a second-hand product, this recorder is a foreign product, and it is a new model launched this year, so the price is naturally much more expensive than ordinary ones.
"Eh? No, where did you get the industrial coupons?" This was the question Wei Guoping wanted to ask. As for the price, let's just talk about Jiang Yulou's remuneration. These are not matters.
But industrial vouchers are different. If there are no jobs, there will be no industrial vouchers. Even if there are some people, they are generally reluctant to sell.
After all, refrigerators, washing machines, televisions and tape recorders are four major items that cannot be purchased without industrial coupons. If there are children in the family who are getting married, they need to buy four major items, and industrial coupons are not enough.
Jiang Yulou answered truthfully, "I didn't use industrial coupons, I bought them from Olivia."
Wei Guoping asked stupidly, "Isn't that foreign girl from a newspaper?"
"But their newspaper office can also eliminate some old equipment, such as this tape recorder." Jiang Yulou said.
Yu Min couldn't help but ask: "It's obviously still so new, why do you want to eliminate it?"
"Don't you understand? Their newspaper office in Yanjing makes extra money by selling electronic products." Jiang Yulou raised the corner of his mouth and said.
Xu Xiangdong also asked curiously: "Ah, can it still be like this?"
"Do you know how many RMB one dollar can be exchanged for?" Jiang Yulou asked.
The three of them looked at each other with no concept of exchange rate in their minds.
Seeing that they couldn't answer, Jiang Yulou said the answer himself: "It's 1:1.5. In other words, one dollar can be exchanged for one dollar and a half, and on the black market, one dollar can be exchanged for more than eight dollars. Now, you know these foreign countries Why do people eliminate 90% of new electronic products?"
"I understand." Wei Guoping understood.
With such a huge price difference, foreigners stationed in Yanjing use their own currency to buy electronic products, and then exchange the electronic products for Chinese currency. This not only saves them foreign exchange, but also makes a small profit. Why not do it.
Yu Min frowned and said, "Does the state not care?"
Jiang Yulou glanced at him and said calmly: "He is a foreigner after all."
Yu Min opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but he didn't know what to say.
Xu Xiangdong changed the subject, "It would be good to have a tape recorder. In addition to listening to music, you can also use it to learn English."
Speaking of learning English, Yu Min also grinned.
As for the possibility that Jiang Yulou would not allow them to use it?
Not at all, unless he wants special care from his three brothers.
"Yulou, this song is very exciting." Wei Guoping said, shaking his body.
Jiang Yulou said: ""YMCA" is one of the masterpieces of the American disco band The Village People. Since the album was released, this single has ranked highest at No. 2 on this year's Billboard Hot 100 singles list."
Wei Guoping looked confused. He could understand these words individually, but together, he couldn't understand them.
He was unwilling to give in. He obviously had the best family conditions and had the most access to foreign information, but why did he act like a country bumpkin in front of Jiang Yulou.
This contrast made him doubt his life.
Just when he was hesitating whether to ask Jiang Yulou what he didn't understand, Yu Min asked him his doubts.
Yu Min asked naively: "Yulou, what is Disco, and what is the bulletin board?"
Jiang Yulou did not laugh at his ignorance, but explained patiently: "Disco is the abbreviation of "Discotheque", and its original meaning is a ballroom for people to dance. With the rise of disco in recent years and its popularity around the world, Pop has gradually become a popular dance music, one of the electronic music genres."
"Billboard is a singles list, and the songs selected are absolutely unambiguous. Those without some influence will never be included in the list. The list is considered the most authoritative in the pop music scene in the United States and even in Europe and the United States. Singles Chart.”
What he said was something the three young people in the dormitory had never heard of. While they found it novel, they were also curious about how Jiang Yulou knew this.
Obviously, he came from the poorest family. The countryside in Shaanxi is not as good as Yu Min’s hometown. Not to mention Wei Guoping and Xu Xiangdong, one comes from a cadre family, and the other has a family of translators for generations.
"I've never heard of what you said." Xu Xiangdong looked complicated. Since coming to Yanda, he has really hit a low point in his life.
He is still the same person, but he is no longer the proud man, the envy of his classmates and teachers.
"Hey, didn't I just meet Olivia? I heard all this from her. Don't tell me, when I first heard this, I was very envious. I didn't even think about disco or bulletin boards. Dare to think." Jiang Yulou was afraid that they would be badly hit, so he found an excuse to make them feel better.
Ah, it turns out that he also heard what others said.
Xu Xiangdong perked up, "That's why I want to go to the United States. Compared with the people living there, it's like we live in two worlds."
Jiang Yulou did not refute this time. For ordinary people, if they live in the United States and live in China in this era, the quality of life is indeed very different.
However, with the reform and opening up, this gap will become smaller and smaller, he firmly believes this.
