We arrived at Luohu Port at ten o'clock in the morning. There were not many people. Xiangcheng was duty-free. In this era, a large number of mainlanders purchased goods from Hong Kong and passed through the gate early in the morning. At this time, they were purchasing goods in Xiangcheng.
When he arrived at the gate and stopped for inspection, Zhou Quan saw the People's Liberation Army. He got out of the car, climbed into the car and cooperated with the inspector to open six suitcases.
"The quantity is a bit large and miscellaneous. There is everything for food, drink and use."
Others were checking, and a person in charge looked at Zhou Quan and asked with some confusion: "You say you run a grocery store, but it doesn't sound like it. There are big items here."
"No, no, comrade, I just came back from the United States. I haven't been back for several years. I want to bring something home." Zhou Quan explained with a smile.
"Bringing so many things?"
The man's mouth twitched and asked, "Isn't it worth a lot of money?"
Zhou Quan smiled and said: "It's not worth much. They are all gifts for my family. I bring a little of everything that is needed at home. These big items are household appliances."
The man was noncommittal, glanced at Zhou Quan, and said: "According to regulations, personal supplies cannot exceed two thousand yuan. You must have exceeded it, many times more. I won't count you as smuggling, but you will have to pay customs duties."
"Of course, make up as much as you need." Zhou Quan nodded with a smile.
Seeing that Zhou Quan agreed, with a good attitude and a constant smile on his face, the man didn't say anything more, but pointed at the antiques Zhou Quan bought and asked, "What's going on with those things?"
"Oh, I bought that over there. It's said to be an antique, but I guess it's all fake. It didn't cost a lot of money, just for fun and to gain some experience." He explained.
"These things also need to be declared together with customs."
"Of course, everything I have here comes with invoices."
After he explained, the person in charge didn't ask any more questions.
"Excuse me, are you Mr. Zhou Quan?"
A middle-aged man in his forties wearing a suit looked at it for a while and couldn't help shouting.
Zhou Quan looked over, nodded and said, "I am, are you?"
"I'm Zhang Renxuan, Mr. Zhou. As per your request, the car has already arrived. Look, it's over there."
"It turns out to be Manager Zhang, hello."
Zhou Quan talked with the person in charge and went to go through the formalities with Zhang Renxuan first.
"Manager Zhang, how can I ask you to come here in person? I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
"You want what you want."
He had no direct dealings with Zhang Renxuan's company, and all procedures were handled by Citibank, so after only confirming his identity, Zhang Renxuan handed the keys to him.
The car was parked next to the gate. This type of car was not available in the mainland. Many people were watching. Zhou Quan went over to take a look. There was no problem. The handover was completed.
"Mr. Zhou, you can contact us directly for any business in the future. We also have salesmen in Los Angeles." Zhang Renxuan handed over a business card and said enthusiastically.
"Okay, I'll contact you later."
"Are you a Chinese-American? You speak Mandarin really well." Zhang Renxuan said with a smile.
"No, I am an international student. I went to the United States in 1989 and now I work there." Zhou Quan shook his head.
"Oh, you are still so young and have a bright future!"
Zhang Renxuan pays more and more attention to Zhou Quan. He can buy such a good car after only three years there. He is not an ordinary international student. He must have a big background.
The reason why he came in person was precisely because Zhou Quan was a VIP customer of Citibank.
"Do you still need help? I see there are a lot of things in the car. It's not convenient for us to drive over there. How about I call you a truck?" he suggested.
"That's just right. Please excuse me. I'm from Changsha. Please help me call a suitable long-distance pickup truck. The price is fine."
This was exactly what Zhou Quan wanted and he immediately agreed.
There were indeed a lot of things. I checked them for a long time and calculated them for a long time. The estimated value was 80,000 yuan, and I finally paid 30% of the customs duty before letting them go.
It was already noon, and Zhou Quan officially returned to the country.
Entering Shenzhen from Xiangcheng, there is prosperity there, and there is chaos here, forming a strong contrast.
However, Zhou Quan was not surprised. Los Angeles was more prosperous, slums abounded, and the contrast was even stronger. He had seen a lot.
I sent the small truck from Xiangcheng and loaded my things into the truck called by Zhang Renxuan. Then I treated Zhang Renxuan and the driver to a lunch, and drove my Ford SUV on the way back to Changsha.
"Mom, I'm leaving now. I should be home tomorrow morning."
"Oh, mom knows tomorrow morning, I know, tomorrow is the weekend, we will all be at home waiting for you to come back."
Before leaving, he called home.
We set off at three in the afternoon, but it was difficult to walk. It was close to 900 kilometers and we ran for more than ten hours. At 10 a.m. on the 14th, we entered Changsha city.
"Nothing has changed!"
I drove around and looked at the city. I haven't been back for three years. The urban area is still the same, or more shabby. The most obvious thing is that the roads are worse.
"This year, the Southern Tour will be reopened. There should be changes in a few years, right?" he guessed.
His father was an employee of the Municipal Forestry Bureau, and his family lived in the family building of the Forestry Bureau. As the car got closer to the community, he became more and more excited.
He has not been home for three years, and now he has achieved some success in the United States and has established a firm foothold. This time he comes back, which can be regarded as a homecoming in glory.
From a distance, I saw my parents and younger brothers and sisters standing outside the big iron gate. The younger brother stood quietly, and the younger sister was jumping and jumping very lively.
When he got excited, he stepped on the accelerator, accelerated to the door, and then squeaked the brakes again.
"oops!"
Zhou Jianguo and Lin Yufen were startled, and Zhou Jun and Zhou Ye were also frightened and took several steps back.
"Mom, Dad."
He turned off the engine and got out of the car, closed the door with a bang, walked quickly around the front of the car, and shouted to his parents.
"You, you? Are you Xiao Quan?"
Zhou Jianguo and Lin Yuhua looked at Zhou Quan, not daring to recognize each other because they had changed too much.
Zhou Quan was only 17 years old when he left. He was still young, his body was not mature, he was not that tall, and he was far from that strong. At that time, he was dressed in a very vulgar style. Now he is wearing a suit, leather shoes, and sunglasses, looking like a Hong Kong star. How could they recognize his appearance?
"elder brother?"
"Brother?"
Zhou Jun and Zhou Ye also couldn't recognize him. He was so different from the elder brother in their impressions.
Zhou Quan forgot his sunglasses and quickly took them off. This time, the four of them recognized him, because his face shape had not changed much, it was still the same as before, and he still had the same crew cut.
"Ah, Xiao Quan!"
Lin Yufen came up in surprise and grabbed Zhou Quan's hand, her eyes couldn't leave Zhou Quan's face.
"Just come back. Is it safe on the road?"
Zhou Jianguo laughed happily, laughing from the bottom of his heart.
"elder brother."
Zhou Jun shouted honestly.
"Brother, you are finally back. I miss you so much."
11-year-old Zhou Ye directly hugged Zhou Quan's leg and refused to let go.
"Chief Zhou, is your Xiao Quan back? Ouch, he's so tall, so strong!" Someone shouted from the side.
Zhou Quan looked over and saw that it was Uncle Chen, the gatekeeper of the family community. He was an old acquaintance. He hurriedly greeted him: "Uncle Chen, are you feeling well?"
"well."
Uncle Chen walked over, looked at Zhou Quan, then looked at the SUV beside him, and asked curiously: "What kind of car is this? Did you buy it?"
"Yes, brought here from the United States." Zhou Quan nodded.
"I bought a car three years after I left home, and I'm very promising. I heard from your dad that you haven't studied anymore. Playing basketball in the United States is very profitable, right?"
Uncle Chen had very obvious envy in his eyes and asked, "Does this car cost tens of thousands?"
"Absolutely." Zhou Quan said politely.
"Brother, this is the car you bought. I want to sit, I want to sit." Zhou Ye shouted in a sharp voice, pulling Zhou Quan to get in the car.
"Okay!"
Zhou Quan loves his little sister the most, the girl he raised single-handedly.
"Little Ye Zi, don't make your brother's car dirty."
Lin Yufen pulled Zhou Ye away and wanted to take Zhou Quan home first.
"Go home, go home first, little Ye Zi, wait until your elder brother has rested, and then I will take you in the car." Zhou Jianguo said to Zhou Ye dotingly.
"Come on, get in the car first, brother, drive in."
Zhou Quan opened the car door, picked up Zhou Ye and put him on the car.
"Oh, let's take a car. This is my eldest brother's car, haha..."
Zhou Ye was so excited that he kept shouting when he got in the car, touching here and there, he was very curious.
"Brother, there's me too." Zhou Jun also quickly got into the car.
Zhou Quan asked his mother Lin Yufen to sit on it, and then said to his father: "Dad, there are some things I bought on top of that minivan."
"so much?"
Zhou Jianguo was shocked when he saw it, and quickly asked Uncle Chen to open the big iron gate to let the car drive in.
"The old Zhou family has made a fortune!"
Uncle Chen looked at the cars and trucks driving in and couldn't help but sigh.
When Zhou Quan and his family arrived at the downstairs of No. 3, they hadn't had time to unload the goods. Today was the weekend. When they heard the noise downstairs, a large group of people came out soon. There were dozens of people, and people from other buildings also rushed there. Come and watch the fun.
"Chief Zhou, is this your little Quan?"
"Hey, it's Xiaoquan."
"Oh my God, I don't even recognize him."
"Uncle Zhang, Uncle Wu, long time no see. Hello Aunt Li. Hello Grandma Lin."
"I can't even recognize this kid. He's dressed more fashionably than those Hong Kong celebrities on TV."
"Sister Lin, you are blessed."
Zhou Quan greeted him for a while, but he didn't even bother to unload the goods.
However, it was easy to get things done when there were many people. Everyone rushed forward and quickly unloaded the things. By the time Zhou Quan sent the truck, everyone had already moved everything upstairs.
His family lived on the fifth floor, so his suitcase was okay, and a few large electrical appliances were a bit troublesome, but there was strength in numbers, and when he caught up, everything was in the house.
After squeezing into the house, he took a look and saw that it was still the same as three years ago. There was no change. It seemed that although he had sent money to his family, his parents had not used it at all.
"Dad, Mom, there are cigarettes and candy here."
Zhou Quan searched for it and opened a suitcase.
Zhou Jianguo and Lin Yufen quickly took over and began to entertain the helpers. The men smoked cigarettes, and the women and children gave out sweets. After a while of excitement, the neighbors dispersed.
His house has two bedrooms and one living room. The living room is not big and is filled with stuff.
"You kid, you just go home and you don't even know what you bought. Look, you've alarmed everyone in the yard."
Looking at the things in the room, Lin Yufen complained a little, but said happily.
"They are all needed by the family, and they don't cost much."
Zhou Quan said with a smile: "These boxes are full of small things, clothes, food and drink. These boxes contain TVs, refrigerators, air conditioners, stereos... By the way, there are also small things like rice cookers, hair dryers, and razors." Appliances.”
"There are power outages here and there, Xiaoquan, you bought so many electrical appliances and you can't use them!" Zhou Jianguo said.
"Then there won't be constant power outages." Zhou Quan said with a smile.
"Brother, um, this is delicious."
Zhou Ye chewed a piece of chocolate, it was so sweet that her little tongue almost melted, and she held a large box in her hand.
"Don't eat too much at one time, or you may have tooth decay. Here, I bought you milk powder. Remember to drink it from now on." Zhou Quan said quickly.
"Put it away and eat it slowly later."
Lin Yufen quickly went up and snatched the box of chocolates.
Zhou Ye did not argue, and immediately ran to a suitcase with his calves, took out a pile of colorful clothes inside, and asked with a smile: "Brother, are these for me?"
"You are the only girl in our family. Whose property is it if it's not yours?" Zhou Quan said with a smile.
"Ah, big brother is the best." Zhou Ye ran into the room holding his clothes.
"This girl can't wait any longer." Lin Yufen said with a smile.
She felt a headache looking at these things, because there was no place to put them. There were not so many cabinets at home, so she had to put them in the suitcase first.
"Mom, it's almost noon, please stop cooking. Let's go out to eat." Zhou Quan said with a smile.
"The dishes have been prepared at home. Some of the game I gave to your dad below, including several large turtles, water fish, and half of the yellow sheep, are you not going to eat them at home?" Lin Yufen said.
"Mom, let's eat tomorrow, I'm hungry." Zhou Quan said.
"Forget it, just listen to Xiaoquan. He drove all night, and he won't be able to eat for a while." Zhou Jianguo laughed.
"Oh well."
Lin Yufen nodded quickly, then went to the room to catch Zhou Ye who was changing clothes.
"Pretty, Mom?"
"It looks good. Your eldest brother is quite good at buying clothes. It's just a little small. It's just right this year. I'm afraid it will be worse next year."
A little tighter, just buy two sizes larger. "
Zhou Ye put on a pink dress. She was already a beautiful little girl, but now she looked even better.
Zhou Quan chose a pair of small leather shoes for his little sister to put on and dressed her up like a little princess.
"Zhou Ke, are you going out?"
"Yes, Xiaoquan said we would go out to eat."
The family went downstairs, and a large group of people gathered around the car. Seeing them coming down, they started talking again.
"Wow, little Ye Zi, is that the dress your elder brother bought for you? It's so beautiful. Lend it to me to wear. I lent you the eraser last time."
"No, my eldest brother said I can't borrow it."
"Your elder brother is so stingy!"
"Don't talk about my brother. Well, I'll lend you the eraser next time."
"I won't talk to you anymore."
"At most I'll give you a piece of chocolate to eat. Don't borrow my clothes. I just put them on. So what? A gentleman doesn't take what others like. Are you a gentleman or a villain?"
"Okay then, I won't be a villain. Mmm, it's so delicious! So sweet!"
"Little Ye Zi, give me one too."
"Here, my elder brother bought me a lot of delicious food."
A group of little girls surrounded Zhou Ye, chattering like a nest of squeaking little sparrows. Soon, the handful of chocolates she brought was gone.
Zhou Quan handed the key to his father and said, "Dad, how about you come and open it?"
"Xiao Quan, did you really buy this car? Was it really brought from the United States?"
Zhou Jianguo took the key. There is no man who doesn't like cars. He looked at the car in front of him with excitement in his eyes.
"Of course it's true." Zhou Quan smiled.
"how much did you spend?"
Lin Yufen started to feel distressed before she even knew the price. She felt it was definitely not cheap. Just now the doorman Chen said it would cost tens of thousands, tens of thousands. How could this kid be willing to buy it?
"Mom, I don't have much money. I'm used to it in the United States. It's inconvenient not to have a car at home." Zhou Quan immediately explained with a smile.
"Xiao Quan always drives by himself in the United States. When he comes back, you ask him to squeeze into a bus and ride a bicycle. How can he get used to it? Get in the car and I will take you for a ride." Zhou Jianguo said excitedly.
"It's time to take the car, it's time to take the car! Brother, come on, mom, sit next to me." Zhou Ye cheered and climbed into the car.
The family got in the car. Zhou Jianguo was very skilled and quickly drove out of the community after getting familiar with it.
"This car is really good. It has a lot of space and comfortable seats. It doesn't smell like gasoline. When you touch the accelerator, it picks up speed immediately. It's better than the Santana at work." He said after driving for a while.
Zhou Quan sat in the passenger seat and said with a smile: "Dad, after I return to the United States, I will drive this car for you."
"How is this car better than Santana?" Zhou Jianguo asked.
"Absolutely. This car is called an SUV. It's an urban off-road vehicle. Unlike a car, it can run on even rough roads. It's more convenient to go back to the countryside." Zhou Quan said casually.
"Okay, the car is more likely to break down if it's not open there, which is a waste of gas money." Zhou Jianguo nodded.
"Xiao Quan, how long can you stay at home?" Lin Yufen asked.
"It will take more than a month. I will go back to the United States at the end of next month and I still have to train. By the way, Mom, I will visit my grandpa in a few days and then go back to my hometown." Zhou Quan said.
"Oh, then bring something to your grandpa. The old man is crazy and doesn't know how his health is." Lin Yufen sighed.
"Mom, I want to go too."
"No, you and your little brother are still studying."
"Mom, when Xiaojun and Xiaoye have a holiday, I will drive you to see grandpa."
"Okay, okay, I haven't seen him for several years."
Zhou Jianguo found a good restaurant. He was considered to be a middle-level person with real power in the Forestry Bureau. He had many opportunities to eat out and had some luck.
Zhou Quan studied abroad in 1989 and didn't need any money from his family later on, but the upfront expenses were high, and Zhou Jianguo still had some job, otherwise he wouldn't have enough money for the air tickets.
But just like that, relatives, friends and classmates also borrowed it several times to collect the upfront cost.
(End of chapter)
