Sign me up for a whole year first!

Chapter 57: Just set me up for a year first!

These little gadgets weren't even widely popular yet!

The main issue was that the network access fees and service fees were not cheap for ordinary working-class citizens.

Pure numeric pagers like his were still somewhat manageable, but if it were a Motorola Chinese-character pager, the network and service fees alone would be enough to buy another one.

Fang Aiguo glanced at it and said with a hint of envy, "Brother Hai, did you actually buy a pager?"

Chen Jiang海 looked up and asked, "What, you want one too?"

"I do, of course I do! With this thing, things would be so much more convenient," Fang Aiguo nodded without hesitation.

"Aren't you flush with cash now? If you like it, go buy one yourself! Or getting a second-hand one works too," Chen Jiang海 said with a smile.

Hearing this, Fang Aiguo instantly drooped like a frost-bitten eggplant.

"Sigh, Brother Hai, don't even mention it. The money I made these past few days was all taken by my mom. She said she's saving it for my bride price."

To this, Chen Jiang海 didn't know what to say.

The concerns of Fang Aiguo's parents were obviously justified.

The guy was still young, and given his usual habit of spending money lavishly, if he suddenly had this much money in his hands, who knows how he would squander it.

Having his parents save the money for him was actually a pretty good choice.

Besides, buying a new one plus the network access fees and everything else was not something Fang Aiguo could afford at the moment. Better to wait a while.

"Your parents are doing this for your own good, what's there to complain about?" Fearing Fang Aiguo wouldn't see the reason, Chen Jiang海 patiently comforted him.

Fang Aiguo scratched his head and muttered, "I know they're doing it for my good, but..."

"There are no 'buts'."

Chen Jiang海 directly cut him off, his expression turning serious. "Filial piety comes before all else! You must listen to your parents. If you dare disobey them, I won't let you off easily."

Seeing that Chen Jiang海 wasn't joking, Fang Aiguo also straightened his expression and said, "Don't worry, Brother Hai, I will definitely be filial to them."

Another ten minutes passed, and the landlord still hadn't shown up.

Fang Aiguo couldn't help frowning. "Why aren't they here yet? We agreed on a time, and we're way past it!"

"Forget it, let's not wait."

Chen Jiang海 stood up and said decisively, "It's not like this is the only tree in the forest."

For someone who lacked basic trustworthiness, Chen Jiang海 didn't want to deal with them any further. Who knew what kind of trouble they might cause later on.

"Okay!"

Fang Aiguo had long since lost his patience, but since Chen Jiang海 hadn't spoken up, he didn't dare to make the decision on his own.

Chen Jiang海 stood up, pushed his bicycle, and headed toward the post and telecommunications office.

Seeing this, Fang Aiguo couldn't help calling out, "Brother Hai, you're going the wrong way! The warehouse is that direction!"

"You go on back first!"

Chen Jiang海 mounted his bicycle, waved his hand and said, "I haven't paid the fees for my pager yet, so I'm heading over to activate it right now."

Hearing this, Fang Aiguo instantly perked up. "Brother Hai, take me with you!"

"Why are you coming?" Chen Jiang海 couldn't help asking.

Fang Aiguo grinned. "Go broaden my horizons! I'm definitely going to buy one myself in the future!"

"Alright, let's go then!"

With a wave of Chen Jiang海's hand, the two of them rode their bikes to the post and telecommunications office.

Stepping inside, they saw that the pager payment counter was completely empty. After all, not many people in Linghai could afford such a luxury just yet.

Seeing two ordinary-looking young men like Chen Jiang海 walk in, the clerk behind the counter glanced at them and couldn't be bothered to respond.

Fang Aiguo couldn't help shouting, "Hey! Business is here!"

"What do you want?"

The woman sitting behind the counter knitting a sweater asked without even raising her head.

"Hmph, quite an attitude she's got!"

Fang Aiguo muttered under his breath, while Chen Jiang海 calmly said, "I'm here to activate a pager."

Hearing this, the female clerk finally deigned to lift her head, gave Chen Jiang海 a once-over, and asked, "Do you know the fees?"

"No idea, tell me about them."

Back in the day, he couldn't afford such a gadget, so Chen Jiang海 genuinely wasn't too clear on the exact pricing.

"Network access fee is 100 yuan, a numeric pager is 200 yuan a year, and a Chinese-character pager is 600 yuan a year. Which one do you want?"

The woman rattled off the prices fluently.

Hearing these numbers, Chen Jiang海 didn't show much surprise. The cost of pagers nowadays was simply that high.

Meanwhile, Fang Aiguo fixed his gaze on the various sizes of pagers displayed inside the counter, his eyes burning with desire.

"Alright, just set me up for a year first!"

Without wasting words, Chen Jiang海 took out the money and handed it over.

The female clerk gave Chen Jiang海 an extra, slightly surprised look.

She hadn't expected this seemingly unremarkable man to actually own a pager. Quite a low-profile player!

Stepping out of the post and telecommunications office, Fang Aiguo looked full of longing and asked again, "Brother Hai, let me play with that thing for a bit!"

"Hey, what's so fun about it?"

Chen Jiang海 was amused and exasperated. "Unless someone is trying to reach you, this thing has zero use."

Fang Aiguo quickly replied, "Just let me touch it, satisfy my cravings first."

Chen Jiang海 had no choice. He unclipped the pager from his waist and handed it over.

Taking it, Fang Aiguo turned it over in his hands and curiously began pressing the buttons on it.

After playing with it for a short while, he realized it wasn't all that interesting.

After all, pagers back then only had that one single function; what else could you possibly do with it?

"Brother Hai, here you go."

Fang Aiguo honestly returned the pager to Chen Jiang海 and asked, "Brother Chen, are we heading back?"

"You go on back first. I still need to find someone," Chen Jiang海 said, clipping the pager back onto his waist and waving his hand.

"Brother Hai, who are you looking for?" Fang Aiguo asked with curiosity.

Chen Jiang海 couldn't help laughing and scolding, "Since when do you get to meddle in my business? Hurry up and get back, and make sure you sell those televisions!"

With that, he got on his bike, turned around, and headed back toward Pozi Street.

The person Chen Jiang海 wanted to find was none other than Boss Jin, whom he had met previously.

Boss Jin ran a jewelry store on this street, so he surely knew a lot of people. Perhaps he could ask him for a favor.

When Chen Jiang海 rode his familiar route to the outside of the jewelry store, he noticed a few promotional banners erected outside.

[Our store is holding a special promotion: 10 yuan off for purchases over 500, 30 yuan off for purchases over 1000!]

[Get one chance to enter a lucky draw for jewelry purchases of 600 yuan or more!]

Seeing this, Chen Jiang海 was instantly amused.

In the year 2020, advertisements like this could be seen everywhere on the streets.

But this was 1991, and Boss Jin was the only one on this entire street displaying such promotional banners.

This exact marketing method was something Chen Jiang海 had casually mentioned the last time they chatted.

He hadn't expected Boss Jin to put it into practice immediately.

Chen Jiang海 looked inside from the street; there were quite a steady stream of customers coming and going, proving that this method was indeed effective.

Being able to get discounts, special offers, and a chance at a lucky draw naturally stimulated people's desire to spend!

"Boss Xu, take care, you're welcome to come back anytime!"

Just as Chen Jiang海 was about to step inside, a familiar voice rang out.

Chen Jiang海 glanced over and saw Boss Jin, whom he hadn't seen in a few days, seeing off a customer.

Having sent off a big client with a face full of smiles, Boss Jin turned around and spotted Chen Jiang海 standing at the entrance.