"Ya shi la lei, looking for me? Don't you know this is Brother Jian's territory?"
As Chen Yang and his companions stepped out of the taxi, several thugs immediately surrounded them, blocking the car.
The taxi driver, unfazed, pushed open his door, abandoning the fare. He then pulled out a large cleaver from beneath his seat.
"Brother, are people in Hong Kong all this fierce?"
Zhang Weiyang was stunned. He hadn't even spoken a word and the driver was already brandishing a knife. Now he understood why Chen Yang had been willing to pay a seven-thousand-dollar handling fee to deposit money at HSBC Bank.
"Let's not move for now. We'll stay in the car. It looks like a turf war between two gangs. If things go south, we'll get out then."
"In this kind of situation, they usually don't involve us."
Chen Yang had heard a little about the chaos in Hong Kong during this era. It was chaotic now, but it would be even more so in the eighties and nineties, with daily deaths and injuries. Yet, the struggles would continue.
This was because it involved the vital interests of many people. For money, death was too common.
In a place with underdeveloped rule of law, human lives were no different from weeds.
Gang fights didn't involve others. But if you were suicidal and charged in and got chopped, there was nothing anyone could do. The Hong Kong police wouldn't care much.
As long as the foreigners saw that things were calm on the surface, they could report back. As long as they could make money, they wouldn't care how many people died today or tomorrow.
As expected, a fierce fight raged outside, but no one paid any attention to Chen Yang and his group.
The taxi driver was outnumbered and quickly fell into a disadvantageous position. However, another group of people suddenly appeared from somewhere and repelled those who were beating up the driver.
Still, the driver was covered in blood, clearly not lightly injured. Seeing that both sides had reached a stalemate, Chen Yang took out a hundred-dollar Hong Kong bill, gestured to the driver, placed it in the car, and got out.
They were all from the lower strata, just trying to make a living to support their families. Of course, some were also ruthless and wanted to climb the ladder this way.
Chen Yang couldn't bother with these matters. He still had his own issues to resolve. Zou Chenguang had made a military pledge to get him the travel permit, so he definitely had to sell the canned goods.
The money he brought also needed to be converted into US dollars quickly, otherwise, if the production line was delayed, Hou Yong and Sheng Changqing of Shanghai No. 3 Radio Factory would eat him alive!
"Brother, why are we coming directly to the department store? Are you planning to pitch our fermented bean curd canned fish to the manager here?"
Zhang Weiyang glanced at the seven-story department store. The department stores in Hong Kong were much more imposing than those in Anhui and Jiangsu provinces.
"I have that idea, but before that, we need to find a shop and change these clothes."
Chen Yang looked at his own attire. He was better off; he had managed to get two Zhongshan suits made for school. Zhang Weiyang and the others were wearing blue work clothes and green peasant pants.
They looked like refugees who had just entered the city. Compared to the people of Hong Kong, they stood out starkly on the street.
Clothing Section!
It wasn't until they reached the fifth floor that Chen Yang finally saw the advertising board for the clothing section.
"Damn it, an entire floor selling clothes? My heavens, are people in Hong Kong so rich that they all come here to buy clothes?"
Looking at the over ten thousand square meter shopping mall, Lei Baoguo was dumbfounded. How many clothes could there be?
And white, yellow, red, colorful, they had never seen so many colors of clothes in their lives.
"Let's go, follow me to buy clothes."
Chen Yang didn't hesitate. He directly led them to the suit section, originally intending to get them all into suits.
However, he reconsidered. If they were all in suits, wouldn't they look like bodyguards?
Besides, with Zhang Dabiao's physique of 1.9 meters and over 200 pounds, it would be hard to find a suit that fit him even if they searched the entire mall.
In the end, Chen Yang and Zhang Weiyang bought two suits. Zhang Dabiao, Lei Baoguo, and Liu Yong changed into casual wear that was common on the streets. At least they no longer looked like refugees from the mainland.
"Brother, these are too expensive! These two suits cost us over three thousand yuan."
Zhang Weiyang, wearing his suit and leather shoes, twitched at the corner of his mouth. Last year at this time, his monthly salary was only a few dozen yuan.
He would have to save for eight or nine years of his salary without eating or drinking to afford the clothes he and Chen Yang were wearing.
"Weiyang, doing business requires investment. This is what we call initial investment. These clothes are not bought for nothing; they are to prevent us from being looked down upon when we are negotiating business."
"In the future, we will not only buy suits but also branded watches and cars. This way, you can be on the same level as other bosses, and they will recognize your strength and be willing to do business with you."
Chen Yang understood Zhang Weiyang's reluctance. A suit costing over a thousand yuan at this time was astronomical to them.
However, Chen Yang, having experienced the business world of the future, knew better than anyone the importance of a facade in doing business. Look at how many bosses on the roads in the future drive BBA cars.
If you don't drive a Mercedes, BMW, or Audi out, you're too embarrassed to go out and negotiate business. Do you really think there are so many rich people?
Countless people borrow hundreds of thousands or even millions to buy cars to show off. The car is a symbol of status. If you can afford a million-dollar Audi A8, you must be a boss with tens of millions in assets, right?
Only then would people dare to negotiate business worth millions with you. If you rode a bicycle to negotiate business, would you dare to give a million-dollar order to such a person?
"Brother, I think I understand a little."
Zhang Weiyang listened to Chen Yang's words, half-understanding.
Then, Chen Yang had Lei Baoguo and the others spend a few yuan to buy some nice boxes from the department store and pack all the fermented bean curd canned fish they had brought.
These cans of fish were specially made by Chen Yang's factory. They were in glass jars with tin lids, and had production labels and origin information attached.
They looked quite presentable, at least more official than those dumped in supply and marketing cooperatives for sale.
After they were ready, Chen Yang directly went out and found a street vendor who took on hauling jobs. He had him take them to the nearest photo studio to make a small stack of business cards.
Printing business cards was not cheap at this time. Only twenty business cards cost Chen Yang nearly two hundred Hong Kong dollars.
After buying two boxes of cigars, Chen Yang took the lead, guiding Zhang Weiyang and the others back into the department store they had just visited. However, they were now unrecognizable from when they first arrived.
Even the driver who brought them would probably not recognize Chen Yang if he saw him.
"Hello, my name is Chen Baoguo. A friend told me that your department store is about to stock some small commodities. Coincidentally, I was traveling in the mainland and encountered a good product. If you have time, you can take a look."
"Indeed, the craftsmanship of these people in the mainland, who have thousands of years of history, is remarkable. The products they make are quite delicious. I believe there will be business opportunities for these in Hong Kong."
Chen Yang spoke fluent English, directly finding the person in charge of the food section from a salesperson, and then marketing his product head-on.
In business, you need everything, just not shame. Just go and market shamelessly.