I can travel back and forth in 1986

Chapter 20 Implementing the Shopfront

Looking at the message displayed on his phone screen—AAA Hongyuan Liquor Wholesale—Zhang Beichuan was stunned. Wasn't this the boss who had bought his old liquor a few days ago?

After the voice call was connected, the voice of the bar owner came from the other end of the phone.

"Young man, do you remember me? My surname is Wu, Wu Jun, the owner of the liquor store where I took your sword last time."

"Is there something you need, Mr. Wu?" Zhang Beichuan asked as he walked toward the elevator.

"Hehe." Wu Jun chuckled. "Last time you mentioned you had a few boxes of square swords at home. An older brother of mine happens to like them, and I was wondering if you'd still sell them?"

The box of square swords he had recovered from Zhang Beichuan last time was posted in the group chat, and several colleagues were curious about it, so they all came to take a look that noon.

The five men examined the bottle, the box, and even the liquor itself, tasting it repeatedly, until they confirmed that it was indeed Fang Jian from the 1980s.

Although I don't know how Zhang Beichuan's family preserved it, the aged flavor of the wine isn't that prominent, but it's genuine.

This morning, a seasoned wine connoisseur came into the store. He was initially skeptical, but eventually had to admit that it was genuine.

The older brother took the item without hesitation, saying it was good enough to last 40 years, and that he would buy it if there were any more.

That case of wine cost 1500 yuan per bottle, but Wu Jun sold it for a high price of 2500 yuan per bottle.

Excluding opening one bottle, a case yields a net profit of 9500!

This was like a windfall. After seeing his elder brother off, Wu Jun immediately contacted Zhang Beichuan.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Beichuan immediately grinned like a weasel that had just stolen a chicken.

"Mr. Wu, yes, we do have it. But what about the price?"

"Um... how about 1800 per bottle?"

Hearing him raise the price so readily, Zhang Beichuan couldn't help but ponder the profit margin involved, and casually pressed the elevator button.

"Boss Wu, my wine is so well-preserved, isn't 1800 a bit low? How about we add some more?"

Wu Jun, on the other end of the phone, hesitated for a moment.

Meat is only meat once it's in your stomach.

"So, if you can get me another case of Fangjian, I'll pay 2000 yuan per bottle. If it's a mixed case, I can only offer a maximum of 1800 yuan per bottle."

"Okay." Zhang Beichuan watched the elevator come down and then said, "Boss Wu, if you search my house carefully, there might be other stock. Or, could you give me a breakdown of the buyback prices for different types of alcohol?"

"Really? What kind of things are included?" Wu Jun immediately became excited.

The main reason is that Zhang Beichuan once said that his father was a staff member of the supply and marketing cooperative back then, so there is indeed a possibility that there are treasures in the family.

"I definitely have Fang Jian's, and maybe Wuliangye, Moutai, and stuff like that. I'll have to look for those carefully." Zhang Beichuan glanced at the open elevator doors. "I'm about to get in now. Why don't you send me the price list first?"

"Okay!" Wu Jun readily agreed, then, looking at the disconnected voice call, he quickly opened his computer and sent over a recycling price list.

After putting the money into the bedside table drawer, Zhang Beichuan's phone rang. He opened the price list sent by Wu Jun and glanced at it.

Among dozens of types of liquor, Moutai is unsurprisingly unique. Of course, the buyback prices of the other eight famous liquors, such as Wuliangye and Jiannanchun, are also not cheap.

After glancing at it a few times, Zhang Beichuan sent a message to Wu Jun, saying that he was busy for the next couple of days and would send the wine over in a couple of days, then put down his phone.

He now has two options for monetization: aged liquor and gold.

While the cost of converting aged liquor into cash is lower than that of gold, it cannot be a sustainable long-term strategy.

A few cases or ten cases are fine, but if you bring back hundreds or thousands of cases, a large amount of old wine will flood the market, and the value of scarcity will be lost.

In the short term, one could consider liquidating a portion of the aged liquor, but in the long run, liquidating gold is the safest option, as it is valuable, easy to collect, anonymous, and can be held.

After figuring everything out, Zhang Beichuan calculated the time and realized it was about time to take the goods to Lan Baojun.

So he took out 1000 lighters and 184 watches, checked the box's exterior, and stuffed the fruit he had bought into the box as well.

I also found a few boxes of chocolates that I bought at a Russian import shop during a night market a while ago, removed the outer packaging, and made sure that no one could tell anything was amiss.

Some were packed into boxes, and some into canvas bags.

Looking at the large box in front of him, Zhang Beichuan tried to lift it. It was a bit heavy, but manageable.

With a thought, Zhang Beichuan's appearance changed, and he reappeared in the alley outside the Lan family compound.

Based on his first trip to the county town and this experience, he gained a new understanding of his ability to travel through places; it seemed that he could only travel directly through places he had been before.

You cannot go directly to places you have never been before, based solely on your imagination or only knowing their names.

After confirming that no one was watching him, he carried the box and headed towards his great-grandmother's house.

"Auntie, are you home?"

Upon hearing the sound, Chen Xiuzhi quickly came out of the house. As soon as she saw Zhang Beichuan, a smile immediately appeared on her face. She wiped her hands with her apron as she came to greet him.

"Hey, why are you carrying such a big box? Isn't it heavy? Let me give you a hand."

"No need, no need." Zhang Beichuan carefully placed the box on the stone table in the courtyard, took a breath and smiled, "These are all goods brought back from the provincial capital, and I even brought you some good things."

As he spoke, he took out canned fruit, fruit, candy, and chocolate from the box.

Chen Xiuzhi looked at the huge pile of things he brought out, complaining but feeling warm inside.

"Why did you buy so many things? You've spent so much money."

"Auntie, don't worry about the expense, we're all family. Please keep these for yourself," Zhang Beichuan said with a smile, then suddenly asked, "By the way, where's Brother Baojun?"

As soon as he finished speaking, footsteps came from outside the courtyard. When Lan Baojun's tall figure appeared at the door, he was holding a notebook in his hand.

"Brother Xiao Chuan, you're back? Perfect timing, the shop is showing promise!"

Zhang Beichuan felt strange when his great-uncle called him "brother".

"Well... Brother Baojun, you've worked hard. From now on, just call me Xiaochuan."

"Okay." Lan Baojun then greeted his mother.

Chen Xiuzhi looked at the sweat on their foreheads and said with a smile, "Then you two chat, I'll go get you some water."

"Thank you, Auntie."

Lan Baojun sat down on the stone bench and opened the notebook in his hand.

"In the middle section of Jiefang Road, there used to be a bicycle repair shop, but the old master craftsman got too old and stopped working there. I inquired and found out that the shop is three meters wide and six meters deep, with a small courtyard in the back and three old rooms that can be used for living or storing goods."

"The landlord was a long-time employee of the county agricultural machinery factory. He was asking for 240 yuan a year in rent, payable in full upfront. I negotiated for two days and got it down to 220 yuan a year."

Zhang Beichuan listened attentively and nodded.

"What's the location like? How's the foot traffic?"

"The location is unbeatable. There's a state-run restaurant on the left, a grocery store on the right, and a coastal clothing store across the street. It's always bustling with people." Lan Baojun's eyes gleamed. "The key is that the courtyard has a back door that leads to back streets and alleys, making it convenient to move things in and out, and it's not conspicuous at all."

"Okay!" Zhang Beichuan immediately made the decision. "Brother Baojun, it's settled then. You can make an appointment with the landlord this afternoon."

"No problem, has the goods arrived?"

Seeing Lan Baojun's eager expression, Zhang Beichuan patted the box next to him.

"They're all here: 800 flint lighters, 200 piezoelectric lighters, plus 184 of the most high-end multi-functional electronic watches from the coast!"

Lan Baojun, who was still pondering the difference between grinding wheels and piezoelectric devices, paused slightly upon hearing about the electronic watch.

"You also have digital watches?"

"Yes." Zhang Beichuan took out a watch and handed it over. "I happened to be going back to the provincial capital to buy some goods, and a friend there got a batch of digital watches, so I just took some."

Looking at the electronic watch in his hand, which was crafted like a work of art, Lan Baojun examined it over and over again.

"This...this is amazing! But what about the price?"

Zhang Beichuan understood what he meant: no matter how good the product is, if the price is too high, the number of people who can afford it will decrease.

"I plan to sell them for 30 yuan each."

"How much? 30 yuan?" Lan Baojun's eyes widened. A watch at the supply and marketing cooperative or department store would easily start at 60 yuan, and you'd need a ration coupon to buy it. "So cheap, aren't you going to lose money?"

Zhang Beichuan chuckled. Compared to the 97.5% profit margin of lighters, the profit margin of watches was indeed a bit low, only 86%!

"That's not the case, it's just that the profit margin is a bit lower. But watches are easier for ordinary families to buy than lighters, so we'll stick to low profit margins and high volume."

Upon hearing this, Lan Baojun thought about it carefully and realized that what he said made sense.

These days, not every household has a clock; most people rely on the sun to tell the time.

If there were an affordable, multifunctional, and beautifully crafted watch, it would certainly be more appealing to the average person than a lighter.

"Great idea, Xiao Chuan, you're really quick-witted. Shall we go rent a place this afternoon and finalize the shop?"

Zhang Beichuan agreed, rented the shop, went to the county public security bureau to take a photo of his ID card, and then went to the industry and commerce bureau to apply for a business license.

After finishing these tasks, I can go back to Shihe Village and discuss with my grandparents whether to bring my "Mom" and her two sisters to the city to study.

The teaching quality of rural primary schools is just so-so, it certainly can't compare to that of schools in the county.

These days, going to school isn't that complicated. As long as you can afford it, you can go anywhere.

Now that we have a shop and enough place to live, we can definitely move to a better study environment. This would fulfill my mother's dream of not having studied for a few more years, and maybe it could also prevent what happened to my aunt.

As for the farm work at home, you can simply pay someone to do it for you, and go back to check on it when you have time.