Back to the small fishing village in 1982

Chapter 1486: First Department Store
After coming back from dinner, the adults would watch TV or play cards, while their children would make noise all over the house.

Even though the wind was howling outside, the house was warm and lively.

On the first night in Shanghai, Ye Chengyang and Ye Chenghu were too excited to sleep. They were in high spirits the whole day, especially when they saw snow at night.

No matter how Lin Xiuqing urged them to go to bed, the two boys just lay on the window without moving, staring at the falling snow outside.

Then he would blow on the glass from time to time, smear it with his fingers, and stare out the window all the time.

They just wanted to see if there was a lot of snow on the ground, and if they could touch the snowflakes tomorrow, so that they could make snowmen and have snowball fights like in the textbooks.

The grass in the yard was already a little white at this time. It had been snowing intermittently from around 5 o'clock to now at 10 o'clock, and some snow had accumulated.

"Mom, can we go out and bring back a bucket of snow? There is snow on the grass." Ye Chenghu said eagerly.

Ye Chengyang also pleaded, "Let's go out and collect some snow, and come in right away!"

"It's very cold outside and I'm about to go to bed. Why go out? It's just a little snow. I can pack more when I wake up tomorrow."

"We'll just go out for a while..."

"I want to go too!" Ye Xiaoxi also shouted.

They had been clamoring to go out for a long time, but the temperature outside was low and it was snowing. The key point was that there were two small children. When they came back from dinner in the evening, their cheeks and noses were all red from the cold, so Lin Xiuqing kept an eye on them and didn't let them go out for the fresh air.

"Don't go. It's too cold. There will be more snow tomorrow morning. Why go out now?"

Ye Xiaoxi pulled her clothes and acted coquettishly, "Mom, let's go for a while..."

"There's not even a bit of snow yet..."

Several children surrounded her and talked, but she just wouldn't give in. The main reason was that there was only a little white snow on the grass, not much at all, and it would be dry and frozen if she went out, so there was not much point.

It's not like home here. The temperature is several degrees below zero now. It feels cold even inside the house, let alone outside.

"Hmph, I'm going to go find my dad."

Ye Xiaoxi ran happily to their card table.

"Dad~" she said as she pulled Ye Yaodong's arm and shook him.

"What's wrong? Go talk to your mother about something." He was playing cards and was too busy to come over.

"I want to go outside and bring back some snow."

"Go! Go! Go……"

"Great, that's great, Mom, my dad agreed. My dad said let's go, brother, let's go..."

Ye Xiaoxi happily went to find a bucket.

Lin Xiuqing came over with a stern face, "Why are you going? It's still snowing outside, the temperature is so low, there's not much snow on the grass, it's time to go to bed now, when the snow comes in, how long will they play?"

"It's okay. We don't have to go to school anyway. We can just go to bed later and get up later. We're not in a hurry."

"Some of them already have runny noses. If they catch a cold, it will be troublesome again. The New Year is coming soon."

Ye Yaodong looked up at her and said, "Then you go out and install it for them? Otherwise, it will be strange if they can sleep well."

All four children stared at Lin Xiuqing with eager eyes and protested together.

"If you don't let me install it, I won't sleep."

"I won't sleep either!"

"Me too!"

Lin Xiuqing raised her hands and gestured in a bluffing manner, pretending that she wanted to slap them.

Ye Chengyang quickly hid behind Ye Chenghu, and Ye Xiaoxi also quickly hid behind him. Seeing this, Pei Yu also hid behind Ye Xiaoxi...

Ye Chenghu: “???”

The four little ones were running like a train, from high to low, and before Ye Chenghu realized it, he had become the locomotive.

He looked confusedly at his mother's slap which had not yet landed, then looked at the tail behind him, and quickly dodged, while constantly pulling at the hand behind him.

"What are you doing? Go away and stop hiding behind me."

"don't want……"

As Ye Chenghu moved, the three behind him swayed like a snake's tail.

Ye Xiaoxi laughed, "The eagle catches the chicks, and my brother is the hen..."

"Fuck you."

Lin Xiuqing glared at them and went to the kitchen to get out a soup bowl.

"mother……"

"Shut up and stop talking nonsense. I'm going to go out and catch them for you. You just stay here and I'll pack the snow for you. Then you just go upstairs and sleep."

All four of them nodded rapidly, with a frequency that was rare to be consistent.

Ye Chengyang also let go.

Now it is Ye Chenghu's turn to settle accounts.

He ran straight towards Ye Chengyang, who screamed and ran around the room, while Ye Xiaoxi and Pei Yu also followed him, laughing.

The house was filled with laughter.

Lin Xiuqing went out the door and fiddled with the grass, but felt there was not much. She looked around and saw some snow on the stone table, stone bench, and swing, and then she collected it.

The children were content to see a small basin of snow. This little bit of snow was enough for each of them to make a small snowball to play with.

Now they were all contented and went back to their rooms while playing. It was impossible for them to sleep.

After playing enough and the snow melted, I could finally go to sleep.

Lin Xiuqing and Ye Yaodong slept on the floor, but Ye Yaodong hadn't come up yet, so she slept on the bed with Pei Yu and Ye Xiaoxi.

After they finished playing cards, A Guang came over and carried the sleeping Pei Yu back to the house.

The couple no longer have to sleep on the floor.

The next day, everyone slept until almost noon. In winter, it was difficult for both adults and children to get up, and Lin Xiuqing was the first to get up.

The children had already played in the snow last night, so they put their minds at ease. So they got up before dawn to play in the snow today.

But when they woke up, there was another surprise. It snowed all night and hadn't melted by noon. When they woke up, the first thing they did was to open the curtains and scream.

After putting on her clothes, she couldn't wait to run out to play in the snow, leaving Ye Yaodong still wrapped tightly in the quilt.

Lin Xiuqing urged him, "Hurry up, it's already noon, just in time to get up and eat, and wake up your friends, Guang is the one getting up now."

Ye Yaodong pressed the corner of the quilt tighter, "Let me lie down for a while."

Lin Xiuqing ignored him for the time being and went to take care of the children who had just run out. Some of them were playing and they were not hungry. After everyone got up, she went to call Ye Yaodong.

When a large group of people went out, it was already lunch time.

The children were worried that the snow would have melted by the time they returned, so they filled buckets and bowls at home with snow, planning to play with them when they returned in the evening.

The First Department Store is located on the bustling Nanjing East Road Pedestrian Street. It was one of the largest and most comprehensive state-owned department stores in my country at that time.

The building retains the Art Deco style of the Dah Sing Company period in the 1930s. It has a square and solemn appearance, beige exterior walls with vertical lines, and an iconic clock tower on the top floor.

The interior is an open "U"-shaped layout with a central open skylight surrounded by an old-fashioned glass counter. The stairs are wide and thick, and the wooden handrails are polished to a shine.

The distances between counters inside are narrow, and the goods are densely displayed in glass cabinets or open shelves. There are often piles of unopened cartons behind the salespersons.

The floor is made of terrazzo or mosaic tiles. It is ventilated by ceiling fans in the summer and a little chilly in the winter. The radio plays promotional information or light music in a loop.

Cash registers are concentrated in the corners of each floor. Customers need to get an invoice first, then queue up to pay, and finally pick up the goods with the stamped receipt. The process is cumbersome but orderly.

The current environment of department stores can be regarded as the last glory of the planned economy.

Lin Xiuqing was like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden. She had come all the way by car, and just looking at the buildings in the Magic City was enough to shock her.

When she arrived at the entrance of the First Department Store, she was amazed, and when she came in, she was even more dazzled.

The first floor is home to popular goods and domestic products: Shanghai watches, Forever/Phoenix bicycles, Butterfly sewing machines, etc.

There are also some cosmetics counters displaying Yashuang, Pechoin iron boxes, vanishing cream, etc.

His house has all kinds of small electrical appliances, such as watches, bicycles, sewing machines, etc. The only large appliance he doesn't have is a refrigerator.

But he doesn't need it now. He doesn't live in Shanghai, so it will be idle if he buys it. There is no need to buy one here in his hometown, and he is also worried about the electricity pressure problem.

So as soon as he came in, he took the children by the hand and led Lin Xiuqing towards the cosmetics store.

Pechoin, an old domestic brand, will continue to stand the test of decades.

He had been here several times, and every time he wanted to buy something, but he thought that Qing would be here soon, so he could leave it for her to choose what she wanted.

Lin Xiuqing has money now, and he is willing to spend a lot of it, not to mention that the things are very cheap.

"Whatever you want, just buy it. If you don't have it, you can buy it back."

Lin Xiuqing smiled and said, "There are so many things I don't have, how can I buy everything?"

"You can buy whatever you want. Some time ago, my mom and her friends came here and they were shopping like crazy, wanting to buy everything they saw."

"I'll just pick a few at random. It would be a waste if I bought too many and couldn't use them all."

"What's the waste? You can prepare a portion of Pechoin for your mother, your two sisters-in-law, and your niece."

"That's true..."

Lin Xiuqing walked around the counter and started to pick carefully, and counted the number of people in her mind, wondering how many copies she needed to bring.
She doesn't lack this little money now. It's a rare trip to Shanghai, so she must bring something back for her family.

The others were not interested in this. They had already gone shopping with their wives and were now more interested in electronic products and small appliances. So as soon as they came in, everyone separated and went shopping on their own.

Occasionally you can see self-employed people wearing suits and carrying briefcases, or fashionable young people with curly hair trying out mousse at the cosmetics counter.

The salesperson sat behind the counter, using an abacus to settle accounts, and was impatient with customers who kept asking questions.

There are also patrollers wearing white uniforms and red armbands patrolling the stairs to prevent people from cutting in line or stealing. Uh... it is forbidden to insult or beat customers...

Locals mostly wear gray-blue work clothes or polyester shirts, carry nylon net bags, and carefully compare price tags; foreign tourists carry travel bags with the word "Magic City" printed on them and crowd in front of the counter to buy "Magic City-made" products.

While Lin Xiuqing was selecting, Ye Yaodong was only responsible for keeping an eye on the three children. He also looked around and answered various questions for the children.

Although the children were a little impatient and wanted to run around and stroll around, they were all watched closely and no one dared to run around. They could only look around and urge Lin Xiuqing.

Lin Xiuqing urged them to leave so they didn't dare to stay any longer.

"Don't worry about them. Just watch your own things. If there's anything you haven't seen carefully, it's okay. Just keep watching. I'll be watching them. Don't be afraid. Otherwise, you don't know when the next one will come."

She nodded. "It's okay. I just finished choosing. If I hadn't, I wouldn't be able to leave. It's a rare trip, so of course I have to buy everything I want, and also give gifts to relatives and friends."

"Okay, let's keep looking. This place has several floors. It's bigger than the department store in our provincial capital, and the products are more complete. You can't finish shopping even if you spend a whole day there."

The second floor is filled with woolen coats, down jackets, winter clothes, cashmere sweaters, and Warrior shoes, which are also popular. There are also some imported goods, with only a small number of Japanese electronic watches or folding umbrellas made in Hong Kong.

This is also the key area they visit.

Lin Xiuqing was so stunned by the sight of all those beautiful coats and colorful down jackets that she could not walk.

"This is so beautiful, there are so many styles, we have never seen such cotton-padded clothes before..."

Ye Yaodong said, "This is winter clothing."

Thick nylon fabric is used as the outer layer of the clothes to prevent water droplets and wind penetration. Let’s talk about cold protection first and then warmth, thermal insulation and film materials and warm polyester.

This should have just become popular this year. They have definitely never seen it there. Shanghai is indeed a big city. All popular elements are the first to circulate.

Lightweight and warm, nylon can also be dyed in a variety of bright colors.

Lin Xiuqing touched the light and fluffy winter clothes, feeling a little hesitant.

Ye Yaodong waved his hand and said, "Buy it. There are down jackets here. Buy two as well. Bring two for your mother and sister-in-law as well."

"How much will that cost? This must be very expensive..."

"What are you afraid of? Can we still not afford it? Just buy more of what you want. We can take the boat back in a few days and we don't have to move it ourselves. We can just take it back with us."

Ye Yaodong could feel the small stems inside the down jacket when he touched it, and he could smell a faint scent of duck feathers when he put the jacket under his nose.

Now it is called duck down jacket, but in fact the technology is not mature enough and the duck down part cannot be taken out separately as filling material. The clothes are filled with duck feathers.

After saying that, he pointed at the woolen coat over there and said, "Get yourself two of these too!"

Lin Xiuqing looked at him angrily, "How can I wear it? You asked me to buy two of this, and two of that. I'm surrounded by seafood and fish all day long. Why should I wear such nice clothes?"

"If I dress nicely, I'll feel better. Besides, it's almost the New Year, so I can change into something every day. I've worked hard all year, so of course I have to treat myself."

"It's too expensive. This wool coat is the most expensive. It costs more than 100 yuan each."

"It's only over 100, what's there to be afraid of? Buy it."

Wearing a woolen coat is expensive and everyone knows it, but it doesn’t make you look bulky like winter clothes or down jackets.

She was still wearing a cotton-padded jacket that was neither new nor old. Throughout the year, she would only make herself a set of clothes when there was a happy event or during the New Year, and usually she would only have two or three sets of clothes to change into.

Ye Yaodong kept asking for this and that, and his generosity made her laugh.

"Buy it. If you don't, you will definitely keep thinking about it when you get back."

Lin Xiuqing smiled and said, "You know all this?"

"Of course! My mother was like this a few days ago. I asked her to buy something but she was reluctant. I said I would pay for it, but she still couldn't bear to do it. Then when we got home, she kept complaining and was so angry. She went back the next day and compared again and again before buying two pieces."

"Hahaha, how come you know all that?"

"Buy it, buy it, buy it quickly."

It would save him a lot of trouble if he bought it, otherwise he might have to bring her here to buy it again later.

"Too much……"

"It can be worn for several years, so what's there to be afraid of? When I don't want to wear it anymore, I can give it to my mother, or your mother."

The couple exchanged glances, one feeling distressed while the other coaxed them, and they were speechless as they looked at their three children.

We agreed to take them out to play, go shopping, and buy things, but in the end they just kept circling around their mother, and we didn't let them look around, so they could only follow her.

Ye Chenghu waited impatiently and squatted down, "Dad, can you guys hurry up..."

"Tell your mother to buy it quickly, and then you can leave."

"Mom, hurry up and buy it. Dad said he would give the money, not you."

Lin Xiuqing glared at him and said, "Your father's money is no longer my money?"

"That's what he gave, not from your pocket."

Ye Yaodong nodded, "That's right, my money hasn't gone into your pocket yet, don't feel bad, buy it quickly, and then we can go shopping at the next stop."

“I don’t know if they will let me try…”

"Just make the order, pay the money, and then try it out until you like it."

Lin Xiuqing still felt a little distressed. Buying two of each would be too many. She struggled and hesitated.

Ye Yaodong went to pay the money directly, saving her the trouble. Since the money was paid, there was no refund, so she could only choose.

This can also save some time, otherwise you may have to go back later if you didn’t buy something.

He still knows a little about women.

I feel sad but also want it. I am conflicted and will keep thinking about it if I don't get it.

Lin Xiuqing was heartbroken when she found out that he had paid the money.

"Mom, hurry up, we have something else to see."

"Ok."

There are also some areas on the second floor that have toys and sports balls.

The three children were satisfied then, and they shouted excitedly while choosing what they liked.

The impatience of waiting ahead was also soothed.

"I have too much stuff on my hands, please keep an eye on the child."

"I know. I told you not to buy so much, but you insisted on just paying for it."

Lin Xiuqing was both happy and distressed, and complained a few words.

"If you make money, you should spend it. Besides, this little money is nothing to us."

Anyway, no one here could understand the dialect he spoke, so Ye Yaodong had no scruples about speaking it.

The third floor is the most crowded because it is the home appliance area. There are "big items" such as Venus brand TVs, Shuanglu refrigerators, washing machines, bedding, etc., surrounded by a group of locals who are queuing up.

Now that consumption levels have risen, those who are able will prepare big items for their homes as the year draws to a close.

The third floor has the most people and the longest queue to buy things, as if they were free.

There were too many people, so they didn’t stay on the third floor for long and went straight to the top floor.

There is a foreign exchange certificate counter on the top floor, which supplies imported chocolate, Marlboro cigarettes, etc.

However, they don't have foreign exchange certificates, but they can buy other things.

Because the Chinese New Year is approaching, a temporary counter has been set up here, piled with gift boxes of malted milk, White Rabbit milk candy, etc., tied with red ropes for sale.

This is a palace of "luxury" in an era of material scarcity.

Lin Xiuqing held Ye Yaodong who was eager to try, "Don't buy it yet, we have too many things on hand, and we won't be able to take them back later. Anyway, we still have to shop for several days, and there should be other places that have them. Let's buy them then."

Ye Yaodong looked regretful, "Are you sure you don't want to buy them together now?"

"I can't take it back. There are three children here."

"Forget it, I'll take you to another place tomorrow, and there will be some there."

"I see you're still addicted to shopping."

"I'm addicted to spending money. It feels so good to spend a lot of money!"

Lin Xiuqing smiled and shook her head, "Is there a basement floor?"

"The basement floor sells enamel washbasins, thermoses and other daily necessities. Do you want to go shopping?"

"Forget it. There are plenty of shops near home. No need to go all the way back to buy things. If you want to buy something, just buy something that's not available there."

"Well, it's not easy to go shopping with things in your hands. Anyway, I'll just go around and buy when the time comes."

"What about the rest?"

"Don't worry about them. Once we've finished shopping, we'll go downstairs and wait. They're single guys and will definitely finish shopping faster than us."

My brain is all muddled after writing this, I will write more tomorrow