At this time, state-run stores, supply and marketing cooperatives, and department stores all existed simultaneously, but the nature of these three was different.
State-run stores were state-owned enterprises, belonging to the state-owned system or what was called the "whole-people ownership system," and were directly under the Bureau of Commerce.
Their primary target audience was urban residents. They had to strictly obey national plans and had no autonomy, bearing the responsibility of guaranteeing supply and stabilizing prices.
The goods sold were mainly necessities, such as rice, flour, grain, oil, and cloth. The variety of the same type of product was relatively singular, and purchases had to be made with coupons.
Supply and marketing cooperatives were local enterprises under collective ownership, managed at the county and township levels, and could make small adjustments to the allocation of goods on their own.
In addition to necessities, the goods they sold included agricultural supplies, daily sundries, and means of production. Aside from some items that required coupons, many goods could be purchased directly at a premium without coupons.
For some products, coupon restrictions were removed entirely, allowing them to be bought directly at a fair price, such as matches, pencils, lunch boxes, towels, and other light industrial products.
Furthermore, supply and marketing cooperatives also handled the task of purchasing agricultural products, such as mountain goods, medicinal herbs, furs, and bear gallbladders.
The procurement stations, hardware outlets, and agricultural supply outlets in various towns or banners and counties were actually all part of the same unit as the supply and marketing cooperative.
The role of these outlets was merely to relieve the personnel pressure on the cooperative. In towns and banners or counties with smaller populations, these outlets didn't exist at all; all buying and selling transactions were conducted at the supply and marketing cooperative.
However, starting from the 80s, the actual operation of the supply and marketing cooperatives became infinitely close to that of state-run units, and they were referred to as "Second State-Run" during this time.
As for department stores, they were managed by state or local commercial departments and could be state-owned or collective. Starting in the 80s, they began introducing individual entrepreneurs, such as leasing out counters or shops to individuals.
Generally speaking, department stores were considered a high-end form of state-run stores and supply and marketing cooperatives, and the grade of the goods they sold was slightly higher.
It is worth noting, however, that department stores were mostly concentrated in large cities. In cities at the banner or county level, there was at most one department store; as for the township level, department stores simply did not exist.
To summarize
State-run stores were the executors of the urban planned economy.
Supply and marketing cooperatives were the core of rural material distribution.
Department stores were the "high-end display windows" of state commerce and the first units to experiment with private ownership.
Together, these three bore the burden of the people's livelihood and needs at the time.
Wang An and his four companions walked excitedly into the state-run store. Looking at the various goods behind the counter that weren't available in the county town, their eyes practically glowed with greed.
The first thing Wang An saw was the camera he had always wanted to buy but couldn't find.
Pointing at one of the cameras, Wang An said very politely
"Hello, comrade, how much is that Seagull camera?"
The salesperson was a man who was reading a book. Upon hearing Wang An's question, he didn't speak; he merely glanced at Wang An and then lowered his head to continue reading.
The salesperson's attitude of ignoring him immediately made Wang An frown.
Mainly, what the hell was the meaning of not speaking?
One had to know that although the salespeople at the county supply and marketing cooperative also had bad attitudes, at least they answered questions!
Furthermore, after Wang An had beaten those two salespeople at the county cooperative over the purchase of a gun and a bicycle, almost every salesperson there had remembered Wang An's big face.
From then on, whenever Wang An went to buy something, not a single salesperson dared to act arrogant or show off their superiority to him.
It wasn't that they were warm toward him, but when Wang An asked for a price, who dared to sit there playing dead and staying silent?
When Wang An wanted to buy something, who dared to try and fool him with a defective product?
Were they kidding? He'd beat them to death!
Because of this, Wang An had grown accustomed to that "special treatment" in the county supply and marketing cooperative.
Indeed, a normal transaction was already "special treatment."
Because many people, when buying things at the cooperative, not only had to spend money but also had to put on a smiling face while dealing with the salesperson's intentional difficulties.
But this was, after all, in Ice City, so Wang An decided to endure it for a moment.
Consequently, Wang An raised his voice and asked loudly
"Hey, I say, comrade, how much is that camera?"
Wang An's sudden shout not only startled the other customers in the store but also alerted the salespeople at other counters, who all turned their heads to look over.
Being shouted at like this, the male salesperson likely felt he had suffered a great insult. He immediately stood up, pointed at Wang An, and barked
"What the fuck are you shouting for, you motherfucker? Can't you keep your voice down?"
The salesperson started cursing the moment he opened his mouth, and Wang An was instantly enraged. He clenched his fists, ready to strike, but remembering he was in Ice City, he knew that if he struck first, he would be in the wrong. Therefore, Wang An continued to shout loudly
"You've got donkey hair stuffed in your ears, who are you blaming? I asked you in a normal voice just now, why didn't you answer?"
The salesperson's eyes shifted, and he said righteously
"I didn't hear you just now, and now I do. So what?"
As he spoke, the salesperson put on a bitchy expression that said, "If you're not happy, come hit me."
Wang An's eyes widened, and he said without hesitation
"So what? You ask 'so what'? If I say it, if you're deaf, then don't fucking be a salesperson! You can't hear me when I speak normally, but when I raise my voice, you say I'm shouting. What's the deal? Does your family own this state-run store? Does a common person have to fucking study how loud a tone to use just to buy something from you? How the fuck can a mere salesperson be so arrogant?"
This barrage of pointed remarks and accusations from Wang An instantly left the salesperson stunned.
The crowd of onlookers couldn't help but burst out laughing, and even the nearby salespeople were lowering their heads with shaking shoulders, clearly struggling to suppress their laughter.
As for Wang Li, Mu Xueli, and the other two, they looked at Wang An with faces full of admiration. The four of them had never expected that Wang An, who usually followed the principle of "don't argue if you can just hit them," actually possessed verbal skills that were not inferior to his physical combat skills—equally impressive and equally domineering.
This guy's mouth was really something; he could actually talk.
After Wang An finished, the salesperson naturally wasn't convinced. He pointed to a piece of paper next to the shelf, tapping it and saying excitedly
"The prices are all written clearly on this list. Are you blind? Can't you look for yourself?"
To be honest, Wang An really hadn't seen that price list.
Mainly, the characters on the list weren't large, and there were many other papers pasted next to it. Moreover, there was a counter and a walkway for the salesperson to move back and forth between him and the list, so Wang An hadn't paid much attention.
But since things had progressed to this point, Wang An certainly couldn't just admit he was wrong!
Thus, Wang An tilted his head, drooped his eyelids, opened his mouth wide, and said
"What's the use of a price list? I can't fucking read! So what? Is being illiterate a crime? Can't an illiterate person buy things? Is there something wrong with an illiterate person asking for a price? I'm asking you, is there something wrong with you?"
Pausing for a moment, Wang An added disdainfully
"What are you staring at with those dead-fish eyes? Am I wrong?"
The moment Wang An said this, the onlookers could no longer hold it in and erupted into loud laughter. (End of Chapter)