Chapter 111: You Cannot Have Everything in Life

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Since then, Wei Dong stopped behaving like a lecher and never so much as touched his secretary again. He had his pride. If she wasn’t his wife or girlfriend, what right did he have to take advantage of her? What kind of bullying was that? What was owed should be repaid, and once he understood this, he could sleep peacefully. The overwhelming desire he once felt receded like a tide. That night in the countryside inn, even though they stayed in separate rooms, the neighborhood patrol police came to check their IDs late at night. Clearly disappointed to find a young man and woman sleeping apart, neatly dressed, they left without further ado. The next day, Wei Dong took a long-distance suburban bus back to the city, immediately immersing himself in the basketball social circles of nearby universities.

Unlike in Yuezhou, Rongdu, or Echang—where universities had neither expanded nor merged, nor had dedicated university towns in the distant suburbs—these schools were compactly tucked inside the city center. Conveniently, several universities were clustered near this guesthouse. Wei Dong changed into his sportswear and energetically joined in. At that time, campus management was loose; young men who looked like college students could enter freely, and Zhang Lanzhi, dressed in military uniform, had it even easier. The secretaries preferred to visit the historic, culturally rich libraries to browse books and take photos, more like fans checking in at a sacred site. They also helped Wei Dong promote cameras and photo exhibitions.

Three days later, they repeated the process at several universities in Yangpu District. The traits of Shanghai and Haikou university students soon became evident, with a stark divide between local and non-local students, as well as differences among universities. In two or three prestigious universities, non-local students were almost entirely studious bookworms, uninterested or even disdainful of buying and selling cameras. It was the local students who showed interest. Meanwhile, non-local students at some vocational colleges were much more enthusiastic about cheap cameras, easily purchasing and reselling the two hundred cameras Wei Dong had shipped in. Yet the local students at these vocational colleges looked down on these items, favoring imports, and several students whose families worked in local camera factories openly mocked these inexpensive cameras as shameful. Zhang Lanzhi, who could understand the local dialect but still had to expand her vocabulary, blushed deeply listening to these exchanges. Unlike Dong Xueqing, she didn’t burst into arguments like a squawking hen but quietly intensified her search for sales students. As it turned out, most of the main sales force in Shanghai and Haikou were students she had personally found.

At that time, a special group called worker-peasant-soldier students existed—frontline workers admitted to universities without exams but through recommendations. The original intention was good: to allow dedicated business backbones to pursue further study and improve their skills. But after years of operation, it became a special channel for people like Lao Jin, striving for promotion and permanent status. Those who made it to university for prestige were obviously skilled in networking, perceptive, and decisive—often more so than their academic capability would suggest—and were not really there to study. Anyone who has been to university knows such people often become the backbone of campus administration. The year 1984 marked the last graduating class of these worker-peasant-soldier students. Zhang Lanzhi, dressed in military uniform and frequenting campuses, was definitely mistaken by all students and faculty for one of them.

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Many approached her to chat or ask questions, especially comrades in uniform, both current and former, who were easy to identify. It was simple to pick out a few who were clever, sociable, but not much into studying, always scheming something else. People like them, upon seeing the Sunshine Daily, would become fervent participants—essentially the same type as Jin Zhuoqun. They quickly recognized the value and opportunity within. However, unlike Jin Zhuoqun, who had battlefield experience and had built connections in Pingjing as well as a strong artistic background, these were simplified versions. After a few encounters, Wei Dong was certain these individuals could get things done.

Together with some ordinary university students, they formed a sales team of ten, practicing sales along the Bund, targeting the nationwide travelers and business visitors coming to Shanghai and Haikou. Clearly, Shanghai and Haikou’s status as destinations for business trips and tourism rivaled that of Zhejiang Province, though less concentrated and straightforward than West Lake. But with famous tourist spots like the City God Temple and Yuyuan Garden developed, they could emulate West Lake’s kiosk sales model. Thus, sales quickly reached a scale of around two thousand units.

Back at the guesthouse, Wei Dong pondered renting a storefront to establish a formal sales channel and even thought about bringing in one of his favorite university students from Pingjing to manage it. The reason they stayed in that guesthouse for almost a week, even willing to spend hours commuting to various universities, was because the canteen and bathhouse facilities were very convenient. Nearby was a venue that held a dance hall and tea room every evening. Zhang Lanzhi always rushed back to buy a cup of coffee and sit quietly by the side, never dancing despite endless invitations, often with a cold, disdainful expression. She loved the decadent artistic atmosphere so much that she didn’t care where she had dinner. Fortunately, wearing a military uniform kept her from being disturbed.

Wei Dong had been there twice and preferred returning to chat with the guesthouse’s diverse sales staff. In the days before the internet, mobile phones, or even well-developed television and outdoor advertising, many business opportunities came from catching bits of information in conversations. For example, the West Hill Factory’s cameras—Wei Dong had learned about them while playing cards on a cargo ship. Zhang Lanzhi often brought snacks or cigarettes for him. When a group of men chatted animatedly, her presence gave Wei Dong a certain prestige, and the senior salesmen would tease the young man. Usually, Wei Dong would politely take her away to rest early and continue his own conversations.

Today, as she was about to leave, standing outside, he briefly said, “It’s been almost a week. The second batch of two thousand cameras has already been shipped by train from Jiangzhou. It depends on how well these sell, but we’ll probably establish a Shanghai-Haikou sales department, and then we can head back to Sichuan. Compared to Pingjing, I’m most satisfied with a few people there—some graduating this year—who could come to Shanghai and take control.” Previously, he had planned to check out Zhejiang Province, but now he was certain all focus should be on the production and construction of the food factory. The tissue paper machine had arrived in Jiangzhou but could only be retrieved by Wei Dong with a letter of introduction and work permit. The vacuum machine would arrive in Shangzhou in a few days, just in time. “We should head back soon. If you have anything to pack or want to visit somewhere, do it in the next couple of days.”

Zhang Lanzhi stared at him unblinking for a moment. “How will you arrange things for me when we return to Sichuan?”

Wei Dong looked her straight in the eye without evasion. “Most likely, you’ll stay in Rongdu. Xiao Dong is about to graduate and go to Jiangzhou for work. How about you take charge of management in Rongdu? You like its relaxed vibe, don’t you? It’s not complicated.”

The secretary bit her lip. “Have you grown to resent me?”

Wei Dong looked down and denied softly, “No, it’s respect. Since we have that kind of relationship, we could be husband and wife. I can share everything with you, and you probably feel it too. But you chose your dream instead of taking advantage of the benefits. That means your dream really is more important than anything else. Pure people deserve more respect. To treat you as before would be to bully you.”

Zhang Lanzhi whispered, “You didn’t bully me. I was willing to give myself to you; it’s the only precious thing I have and will always be yours.”

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It was strange—Wei Dong no longer felt his heart flutter. “Hmm, you didn’t bully me. Even if I don’t agree with going abroad, I have no convincing argument. In twenty or thirty years, we’ll all be old. So if you want to go abroad now, that’s not wrong. It should be achievable within two or three years. I’ve talked with university students—there are few government-funded spots abroad, but self-funded isn’t a big problem. In fact, you can leave anytime; the key is to find the right channel, just like how we handle sales information.”

But Zhang Lanzhi wasn’t as joyful as before. After a moment’s thought, she asked, “Can I stay in Shanghai-Haikou to do this sales management job? My English might be more useful here.”

Wei Dong looked up and met her gaze without looking away. He immediately nodded, “Okay. I’ll arrange the office tomorrow and hand the work over to you before returning to Jiangzhou. Get some rest.”

With that, he turned and left. Zhang Lanzhi stood there, tears streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks, silently. Once so guarded about protecting sales channels and methods from being uncovered by West Hill Factory, Wei Dong now felt indifferent—even if it meant losing his largest current cash flow, he didn’t mind. Back in his room, he fell asleep immediately. The senior salesmen who had been chatting asked if the young lady was sulking. He just smiled, but early the next morning, following information from those salesmen, he headed straight for the alleys behind the Bund.

Just two streets away from the bustling and glamorous famous buildings of the Bund, many streets still housed factories with huge signs boasting names like Shanghai-Haikou Factory. These factories couldn’t really serve the national market, so most had moved their workshops outside the city, renting out their street-facing storefronts. All commercial sales in Shanghai-Haikou were centered around Sujing Road, where several major department stores attracted managers from across the country to see what was selling. As a result, rents for sales store fronts there were the highest nationwide, calculated daily per square meter.

But in the backstreets, several blocks away, there was no nightlife or boutique guesthouses—just industrial facilities renting space for their Shanghai offices. These included dye, leather, and component factories, unrelated to ordinary consumers. Therefore, rents there were much cheaper, and the area was so quiet that Wei Dong found a small corner shop of about twenty to thirty square meters, renting for sixty yuan a month. It was only three or four hundred meters from the Bund, perfect for Wei Dong’s tourist spot sales model—easy to pick up goods or bring customers to shop. Quickly, he used his work permit and letter of introduction to sign a one-year lease with the factory.

Returning, he handed the keys and contract to Zhang Lanzhi, who was looking for him everywhere, and gave simple instructions: “You know the people and sales methods here. Two thousand cameras should arrive the day after tomorrow. You and I will go pick them up—remember to call ahead. The place is convenient for storage and living. Keep this thousand yuan as backup; the sales manager gets two hundred a month plus commissions. Be careful.”

After speaking, he grabbed a plastic bag with a few clothes and left. But this time, Zhang Lanzhi chased after him, handing him the letter of introduction and the Rongdu office key from her bag. Her hands trembled as she opened the small purse and tears streamed down. Wei Dong comforted her, “There are probably more foreign companies here. Your English is good, and you’re close to the Bund area. See if you can get a job with one of these companies. That could also be a way to go abroad. Try all sorts of methods. Call me if anything happens—you know the number.”

Zhang Lanzhi shook her head through tears. Wei Dong suddenly remembered, “Oh, keep an eye out for any real estate sales information here. If the company can buy property, we won’t have to rent the office anymore. That’s it—I’m off.”

Hearing her burst into sobs behind him, he didn’t look back.