Chapter 90: Luxury Hotel

Chapter 90: Luxury Hotel

Wei Sanpao had never been in an elevator before. When he saw the elevator doors open, his brows furrowed immediately.

"Brother Yi, is this our room? It's too small!"

"It seems like there's barely enough space for two people. Are we really supposed to stay here? Maybe we should check the hotel next door instead! Isn't this supposed to be a big hotel? Are they trying to scam us?"

Hearing Wei Sanpao's words, Li Yi couldn't hold back his laughter.

"Third Brother, what are you thinking? This is an elevator. Haven't you ever heard of one before?"

Wei Sanpao's face turned red in embarrassment as he finally understood.

"So this is an elevator... Brother Yi, this thing isn't moving. How does it take people upstairs?"

Li Yi smiled, shaking his head before giving a brief explanation of how elevators work.

After listening carefully, Wei Sanpao suddenly realized, "So, just a few ropes and a box can take people up and down a building? That's incredible!"

"Who invented this thing? It's really amazing!"

Li Yi shrugged. "That's like eating an egg. You just eat it—you don't need to know which chicken laid it."

Before they knew it, the elevator reached the sixth floor. With a soft ding, the doors slowly opened.

Wei Sanpao instinctively looked toward the opening doors and, sure enough, the view was different from when they first stepped in.

As they walked into a hallway covered in soft carpeting, Wei Sanpao couldn't help but exclaim, "Brother Yi, if we open a hotel like this, wouldn't we make a fortune?"

Li Yi smiled helplessly. "It's not that easy to open a hotel. It requires a lot of investment, manpower, and resources. Do you think having money is enough?"

"Our priority right now is to get into the refrigerator business. Once we make enough money, we can talk about opening hotels or restaurants. But first, we need capital."

Wei Sanpao nodded in understanding and then asked, "Brother Yi, where exactly should we look for these refrigerators?"

He continued, "And these large refrigerators cost around two to three thousand yuan each. Isn't that too expensive? If we buy them and resell them in Jiangnan City, can we even find buyers?"

Li Yi pulled the room key from his pocket and smiled. "You don't know this yet, do you? Our country has banned the import of refrigerators from overseas."

Wei Sanpao nodded. He had heard about this before.

When he worked at the factory, his father often complained that domestic refrigerators consumed too much electricity and didn't freeze food as well as foreign brands. Out of curiosity, Wei Sanpao once asked his father, "Why not buy foreign refrigerators then?"

His father, Wei Kang'an, explained that it wasn't a matter of not wanting to buy them—it was that they weren't available at all.

Why?

Because the government had explicitly prohibited the import of foreign refrigerators under 360 liters. Only large refrigeration machinery, typically used in meat processing plants, was allowed.

Thinking back on this, Wei Sanpao asked, "Brother Yi, if foreign refrigerators are banned, what should we do? Should we look for high-quality, reasonably priced domestic brands instead?"

By this time, Li Yi had already opened the door to their hotel room. Hearing Wei Sanpao's question, he raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Not bad, Sanpao. You're starting to use terms like 'high quality and low price' now?"

Wei Sanpao scratched his head. "Brother Yi, did I say something wrong?"

Li Yi chuckled. "Let's go inside first. I want to see just how luxurious a thirty-yuan-per-night hotel room really is!"

Confused by Li Yi's comment, Wei Sanpao wanted to ask more, but Li Yi had already stepped inside. He quickly followed.

Even the door to their hotel room was impressive. Li Yi didn't know much about wood, but judging by its thickness and the faint, pleasant fragrance it emitted, he could tell it wasn't cheap.

"Brother Yi, what kind of wood is this? It smells like sandalwood."

Li Yi rolled his eyes.

"Do you know how expensive sandalwood is? If this door were really made of sandalwood, would we be able to stay here for just thirty yuan a night?"

Wei Sanpao scratched his head in embarrassment, then turned toward the living room to put down their bags.

The hotel was indeed extraordinary—it even had a small living room.

Although not large, the living room was almost as big as the one in Wei Sanpao's house.

"Holy crap! Brother Yi, there are even household appliances in this room!"

"There's a TV! And there's a refrigerator in the back!"

Hearing this, Li Yi's brows furrowed slightly.

The hotel owner must really know how to run a business. Having home appliances in hotel rooms was rare at this time!

Li Yi walked over to the refrigerator, while Wei Sanpao became engrossed in tinkering with the black-and-white TV.

Looking at the refrigerator, Li Yi immediately recognized it—it was an old Beijing brand called Snow Flower.

Snow Flower was one of China's first domestic refrigerator brands. The reason the hotel didn't use foreign brands was likely due to the import restrictions.

At this time, the main refrigerator brands in China were:

Haier

Meiling

Hisense

Snow Flower

Among them, LG refrigerators from overseas were the most sought-after due to their superior technology. Anyone with money preferred LG because it was more energy-efficient and reliable than domestic models.

Li Yi patted the refrigerator and sighed.

In this era, logistics was still underdeveloped, and finding a Snow Flower refrigerator in the south was no easy task.

It seemed the hotel owner wasn't just an ordinary businessman.

An idea popped into Li Yi's mind—perhaps he could talk to the hotel owner about upgrading to LG refrigerators? The owner would definitely be interested!

But he quickly dismissed the thought.

Right now, the priority was getting refrigerators for his own business.

Meanwhile, Wei Sanpao was still fiddling with the black-and-white TV. Li Yi sighed, walked over, pressed a few buttons, and adjusted the antenna.

Soon, static filled the screen, followed by a broadcast appearing.

Wei Sanpao's eyes widened in excitement.

"It works! Brother Yi, you're amazing!"

Li Yi glanced at the program—it was Variety Show, one of the first entertainment programs in China.

Many later-famous TV hosts got their start on this show. However, it was discontinued in the early 21st century.

Back then, it was a nationwide sensation.

Li Yi sat on the leather sofa, watching the screen with a nostalgic smile.

"I need to buy a TV for my family."

Since his rebirth, he had been busy with business, neglecting his family.

His daughter, Li Yaowei, was still a child who had just started kindergarten. She needed his company.

His wife, Shuqing Nan, was taking care of their home while also helping his parents. She had been working hard.

If they had a TV at home, it would at least bring them some entertainment and comfort.

This was something he could do for them.

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