Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

Li Xiaojiang and the others were overjoyed to receive Li Xiangdong's promise, jumping up and down excitedly!

Li Xiaozhu didn't know why her older siblings were so happy, but that didn't stop her from joining in the fun.

Seeing Li Xiaohai gesturing wildly in the yard, she grinned and stomped her feet along with him.

Li Xiangdong chuckled and pinched her cheek. "What are you so happy about? You want to go swimming too?"

“Fun~”

Li Xiaozhu didn't know what swimming was, but she played in the water almost every day. She was never still when washing her hands or face, let alone taking a bath. She would splash around in the bathtub every time.

"Daddy~ Have some candy~"

Once her older siblings dispersed, Li Xiaozhu felt safe, and no one was going to take her candy anymore, so she spoke again.

"Lick it a couple more times, no more than that."

"Mmm~ Here you go~"

Li Xiaozhu took out some candy and handed it to Li Xiangdong, then opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue, waiting to eat it.

Ge Youfu, who had gone back to his room to wash his hair, came out to find Li Xiaojiang and the others all looking very happy. He called Li Xiaotao to come in and wash up, and from Li Xiaotao, he learned the reason why his younger siblings were so happy.

He looked at Li Xiaotao, who was hunched over the washbasin, and said, "Taozi, I've put the towel next to you. Dry yourself after you've washed."

He said this as he quickly came out of the house and squatted down next to Li Xiangdong.

"Uncle, are there swimming pools in Beijing?"

Ge Youfu, who grew up at the ferry crossing, was very curious about this.

The children here have always gone swimming directly into the river since they were little; they've never been to a so-called swimming pool.

I've never seen it before, so I can't even picture it in my mind.

Li Xiangdong, who had already stopped letting Li Xiaozhu eat candy and was coaxing her to play, nodded and said, "Not only do we have some, but we have quite a lot."

Seeing that Ge Youfu looked like he was waiting for the rest of the story, he began to speak.

"The most famous swimming pools in Beijing are Taoranting Swimming Pool, Summer Palace Swimming Pool, Yuyuantan Swimming Pool, and Shichahai Swimming Pool. These four are the largest. The others are smaller and not very famous."

“In the hot summer, the most people from Beijing go swimming at Taoranting Park because there are two venues there. One is man-made, with two large rectangular pools that look like a public bathhouse.”

"One is a natural swimming area, which is a lake in the park surrounded by iron fences. However, the area here is larger and more enjoyable than playing in a large pool."

"The Summer Palace, Yuyuantan Park, and Shichahai Lake are all natural swimming areas. They are all lakes surrounded by iron fences, and many people visit these three places."

Li Xiangdong fell silent, while Ge Youfu wore an envious expression.

"Beijing is so great! There are so many places to go for a swim. When I go to Beijing, I'm going to visit all of these places!"

"Pfft!"

Li Xiangdong couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"You're lucky, it's not like you can't swim. When you go to university in Beijing, when you want to cool off in the water in the summer, just find a place with water to play."

Ge Youfu frowned, puzzled. He didn't understand why Li Xiangdong was laughing, or why he was being told to just find a place with water to play.

"Uncle, what do you mean by that? Are you saying we out-of-towners aren't allowed to visit these places?"

Li Xiangdong was stunned when he heard this. How did it come to the topic of regional discrimination?

He quickly waved his hand in denial!

"It's not what you think. Anyone who wants to go can go, but..."

Li Xiangdong stretched out his hand in front of Ge Youfu and made a gesture as if counting money.

Ge Youfu exclaimed in surprise, "You have to pay to go swimming?!"

Before Li Xiangdong could even speak, Li Xiaojiang sighed and said, "Of course we need money, Brother Fu."

Seeing that even someone as formidable as Ge Youfu in his eyes had questions, Li Xiaotao squeezed closer to Ge Youfu.

"Brother Youfu, going to these places costs a lot of money! Only two or three of my classmates have gone with their parents. Brother Youfu, do you know how much it costs to go to these places?"

Ge Youfu, of course, had no idea; he had never even heard of charging for swimming before.

"Taozi, stop keeping me in suspense and tell me already."

Li Xiaotao chuckled, his tone smug.

"My third uncle mentioned that big pool, it costs two cents to play in it once, and you can only play for two hours."

Li Xiaojiang added, "The area outside with the iron fence is cheaper, I think it's one or five cents, I forgot, but you can play there for as long as you want, until dark."

Ge Youfu couldn't help but smack his lips. "That's really outrageous. I'd rather use that money to buy meat."

Li Xiangdong smiled when he heard his complaints and said nothing.

These places have staff to look after them, changing rooms, and shower rooms, all of which require maintenance costs, so charging fees is natural.

Whether the price is expensive or not is another matter. Families with two or more employees certainly don't care about this.

They can only go there a few times a year during the summer, and the accumulated expenses are nothing for these families.

As the capital, Beijing has many such families. Every year after the artificial swimming pool at Taoranting Park opens, it's packed with swimmers.

There are those who have plenty of money, and there are those who don't.

In a family that is not well-off, this money is just enough to cover their food expenses!

For example, a family like Old Li's, with more than ten members, would have to spend one or two yuan for each trip.

Li's mother and Zhou Yuqin, who control the family finances, certainly wouldn't want to waste this money!

This is why, from childhood to adulthood, Li Xiaotao and his family never allowed them to play near water; the only place they could play in the water was the public bathhouse...

He would sneak over to play there, but the nearest swimming pool to Li Xiaojiang and the others would take two hours to walk there.

If they take the bus, not to mention the entrance fee, the round-trip fare alone will drain their pocket money.

"Lucky you, college students get a living allowance, so it's okay to go there for a visit sometime, just don't go too often."

"I understand, Uncle."

Ge Youfu thought about it and agreed. His family wasn't in financial difficulty, and he could get a stipend for college. Going there to broaden his horizons wouldn't be a problem.

He's becoming more and more interested in the capital city; it's really interesting that he has to pay to go swimming.

The reason Li Xiangdong didn't recommend Ge Youfu go to these places was partly because it was unnecessary to waste money, and partly because Ge Youfu was still young.

cough~

These places aren't just for men; there are plenty of young women and wives there too.

Ge Youfu grew up in an era of extremely conservative thinking. What did he see from childhood to adulthood?

I bet they've never even seen a girl's ankles...

Although swimsuits are conservative now, they are not the kind of fully covered clothes like doll clothes.

If Ge Youfu, that greenhorn, went to one of the swimming pools in Beijing and saw all those bare arms and legs, he'd probably toss and turn all night, unable to sleep...