Chapter 144 Even a Heavenly Chasm Can Be Turned into a Smooth Thoroughfare

"Hello, is there anything I can help you with?" asked the sales clerk, approaching with a gentle smile.

The voice ringing in his ears pulled Zhao Guoyang instantly out of his train of thought.

"Oh, could you please get me ten of this type of mechanical pencil? Thank you!" Zhao Guoyang said, holding up the mechanical pencil in his hand.

"Certainly, please wait a moment!"

In a brief moment, the clerk handed the packaged mechanical pencils to Zhao Guoyang. Tallying up the price, it came to fifteen yuan—not exactly cheap.

As Zhao Guoyang paid, he asked casually, "By the way, do you happen to have any higher-quality mechanical pencils in the store? I just looked around and couldn't find any."

The clerk hesitated and glanced over at the manager nearby.

The manager seemed to have been keeping an eye on Zhao Guoyang all along. Hearing this, he stepped in to answer, "We really don't! Young man, the consumers who visit the June 1st Children's Goods Store are mostly children. The mechanical pencils we have are the very best of this kind."

Seeing a look of disappointment on Zhao Guoyang's face, the manager added, "I've heard that the May 1st General Merchandise Store has some higher-end ones. However, if you're buying gifts for someone, you'd better go take a look at the Friendship Store; they have the most luxurious goods there..."

Hearing the manager mention the Friendship Store, Zhao Guoyang suddenly had a flash of realization.

The concept of the Friendship Store was born in the late 1970s and early 1980s, right when the country had just opened up to the outside world. It belonged to a rather unique category of state-run establishments.

Generally speaking, Friendship Stores were only set up in major first-tier cities across the Republic, and their primary purpose was not to make a profit, but to serve as a symbol of friendship.

These Friendship Stores typically sold imported goods from Western countries that could not be purchased anywhere else.

For instance, peanut butter from Manchester, England, Hershey's chocolate from Pennsylvania, United States, and certain designer clothing brands could only be bought at Friendship Stores.

In addition, Friendship Stores sold domestic handicrafts, such as porcelain and jade, to foreign merchants and international friends. Naturally, their prices were much higher than the market rates in the places where these goods were produced.

However, due to the monopolistic nature of the Friendship Stores, customers had no other choice.

Friendship Stores typically only accepted Foreign Exchange Certificates as currency. The items they sold included uncensored Western periodicals, such as the *Manhattan Times*, and so on.

Consequently, the security guards usually barred any customers who looked like domestic citizens from entering the store. Often, curious onlookers would stand outside, peering through the glass to see what kind of merchandise was sold inside.

The clerks working in Friendship Stores were elites selected through rigorous screening. Both their personal conduct and political backgrounds were impeccably sterling.

Hearing the manager mention the "Friendship Store," Zhao Guoyang felt a twinge of regret that he had previously turned down several foreign friends who wanted to exchange contact information at the Songjiang Auto Show.

Still, the auto show was over now, and even if he wanted to ask for their help again, it was impossible.

Fortunately, the mechanical pencils he had just purchased were enough for his immediate research needs. With a shift in perspective, Zhao Guoyang stopped dwelling on it.

...

By the time Zhao Guoyang strolled back to the hotel, it was nearing dusk.

When he entered, Director Wang Ziqing, Liu Renhe, Jiang Hong, Liu Yaohong, and the others were sitting in the hotel lobby's lounge area, chatting about something.

The moment he walked in, Wang Ziqing personally stood up and walked over to greet him.

"Guoyang, why were you out for so long? I thought your Factory Director Ma had 'escorted' you back already." Seeing Zhao Guoyang return safely, Wang Ziqing visibly relaxed.

Zhao Guoyang apologetically recounted his itinerary for the afternoon.

After finishing, he glanced over and noticed that the leaders from the Machinery Industry Commission already had their luggage packed beside them. He asked with some confusion, "Director Wang, are we heading back tonight?"

"Yes, that's right!" Wang Ziqing nodded, patting Zhao Guoyang on the shoulder. "In a little while, Director Liu and the others will head to the railway station first. You're coming with me by car."

Zhao Guoyang paused, rubbing his chin, wondering why this arrangement had been made.

Sensing Zhao Guoyang's confusion, Wang Ziqing explained directly, "It's Senior Official Zhu; he insisted on having another good chat with you. As you know, Senior Official Zhu came in a hurry and didn't even bring his secretary. There happen to be two seats for us in the car."

Hearing this, Zhao Guoyang understood. He figured that his series of performances at the high-level forum must have been reported to Senior Official Zhu by Director Wang.

After finishing his conversation with Zhao Guoyang, Wang Ziqing gestured for him to sit down and wait for a moment, then turned around to give some final instructions to Liu Renhe, Jiang Hong, and the others.

Taking advantage of this lull, Zhao Siyan, who had been sitting quietly in the back without speaking, slowly strolled over to Zhao Guoyang's side.

"Hey, Zhao Guoyang!" Zhao Siyan lightly tapped Zhao Guoyang's arm to get his attention.

"Ah? Siyan, you're here. I hadn't seen you around just now and was wondering where you went," Zhao Guoyang said casually, scratching his head.

Zhao Siyan let out a slightly self-deprecating chuckle. "Hah, where could I possibly go? I don't have the good fortune of being granted an audience with Senior Official Zhu..."

Hearing the hint of jealousy in the researcher's tone, Zhao Guoyang couldn't help but smile inwardly.

Over the past two days, Zhao Guoyang had interacted with her quite a bit and had come to understand the personality of this postgraduate student of a similar age.

Perhaps because she was a young woman from a big city, Zhao Siyan was quite broad-minded and rarely harbored jealousy. Her remark was merely playful banter between friends.

From this, Zhao Guoyang could tell that Zhao Siyan had already genuinely regarded him as a friend.

The silence between the two of them lingered for quite a while.

Finally, Zhao Siyan couldn't help breaking the silence first. "Um, Zhao Guoyang, a little later my teacher and I will be leaving first with Director Liu and the others. After this parting, who knows when we'll meet again."

"You really are a very special and interesting person. I think it will be hard for me to forget the time I spent with you..."

Zhao Guoyang was somewhat surprised by the researcher's directness. Of course, he knew she wasn't speaking out of romantic affection, but purely out of genuine friendship.

Even so, being able to express it so openly still took a certain amount of courage.

Pondering for a moment, Zhao Guoyang looked up and gazed steadily at Zhao Siyan. "Haha, Siyan, that's where you're wrong. With our country's continuous scientific progress and the rapid development of our industrial level, transportation is bound to become more and more convenient in the future, turning natural chasms into smooth thoroughfares."

"Not to mention that Jinling City is only a little over 160 kilometers away from Ninghai City—even if it were over 1,600 kilometers, it wouldn't be difficult for us to meet again."

Zhao Guoyang nudged his chin toward Professor Zhu, who was still talking with Wang Ziqing over there, and said, "Besides, given the nature of my work, I'm bound to need to bother Professor Zhu in the future. So, rest assured, I will definitely come looking for you, and you mustn't find me a nuisance when that time comes!"

"How could I ever find Section Chief Zhao a nuisance when you come looking for me!" Zhao Siyan smiled radiantly.