The Legend of the Eight Kings in Liu Town, Yueqing

According to the introduction, in 1969, when Wenzhou just saw the emergence of family workshops with a shop front and factory back, Shi Jinquan, the person in charge of Liushi Town in Yueqing City under the jurisdiction of Wenzhou, established a street enterprise named "Liushi General Electric Factory" under the name of the residents' committee to solve the employment problem for the youth who had returned from border support. The electric factory was composed of 32 storefronts (workshops), operating various businesses. The storefronts operated independently, while the General Electric Factory was responsible for external sales and account management. Each workshop paid a monthly management fee of 30 yuan to the General Electric Factory. In fact, the relationship between the storefronts and the General Electric Factory was only nominal.

The Sunken Generation

It is worth noting that among the "Eight Kings" of the year, all except Wang Maiqian, the "Second-hand Goods King," who passed away in 1995, are still alive today. However, compared to the past, most of them now lead ordinary lives.

Liu Dayuan, who shuttled between Wenzhou and Shanghai selling screws since the late 1970s, had a thriving business and was known as the "Screw King." At that time, there were also Hu Jinlin, the "Electrical Equipment King," Cheng Buqing, the "Mine Lamp King," Ye Jianhua, the "Catalog King," Wu Shilian, the "Sand Casting King," Zheng Xiangqing, the "Coil King," Chen YinSong, the "Phenolic Resin King," and Wang Maiqian, the "Second-hand Goods King," known as the "Eight Kings." This group of "Kings" became the first people in Wenzhou and even the whole country to taste the sweetness of the market economy.

"If you want to understand Wenzhou's private economy, the 'Eight Kings of Liushi' should not be forgotten. They can be considered pioneers," said Xie Jian, a member of the Zhejiang Economic Society and vice president of the Wenzhou Economic Society, who is familiar with the development of Wenzhou's private economy.

Many experts and entrepreneurs who understand the history of Wenzhou's private economy tell consistent stories: the "Eight Kings" should be regarded as the earliest folk merchants in Wenzhou after 1978. Liushi is the birthplace of Wenzhou's private economy. Their stories are filled with legendary colors, and through them, one can glimpse the glory and bitterness of Wenzhou's private economy at that time.

The Legend of the Eight Kings of Liushi

The development of the Liushi General Electric Factory was unexpectedly fast. By 1979, the factory's output value had already reached 100 million yuan. Every year, the General Electric Factory would select advanced individuals, honoring the top 10 storefronts with the best turnover. The leaders of these 10 storefronts were then given the title of "King" based on their respective trades.

At the peak of the "Eight Kings," they were pushed by great social changes but encountered severe setbacks. In January 1982, the central government issued an urgent notice to crack down on criminal activities in the economic sector. The Yueqing County Committee at the time listed the commodity economic behaviors of the "Eight Kings" as major cases for investigation.

One day in August 1982, Liu Dayuan, then 35 years old, woke up early and went out onto the street, where two men followed him. When he saw a large slogan on the wall saying "Severely crack down on serious criminal activities in the economic field," he was secretly alarmed. He made the fastest decision of his life, slipping into a small alley unnoticed, returning home to take out 70,000 yuan in cash, and heading to the riverbank...