That year the flowers bloomed 1981

Chapter 1282 Why is Shanghai called the "Magic City"?
The third day after Li Ye arrived in Shanghai was Sunday. The sky finally cleared up, and the number of people at the exhibition had increased seven or eight times. However, Li Ye only stayed in the No. 1 factory's exhibition area for half a day before leaving.
When others asked, he said he went to do market research, but actually he went shopping with Wen Leyu.

To a certain extent, Niu Hongzhang did not wrong Li Ye. He was just in Shanghai for tourism with his wife, but today is Sunday, and even if the Emperor himself came, he should rest.

He's not willing to earn double overtime pay like Xiao Zhu and others, so what can you do about it?
When Li Ye arrived at Wen Leyu's residence, he found that his young wife had already dressed up and was waiting for him.

Seeing that Wen Leyu had tied her hair back in a ponytail, Li Ye couldn't stop smiling.

Since Wen Leyu got promoted in the last two years, she has rarely worn her hair in a ponytail, because she feels it's not formal enough.

It has to be said that the rules in some government agencies and enterprises are outdated. As long as you are in a leadership position, even if you are in your twenties, you have to act like a strict and domineering woman.

To have sixteen-year-old Zhou Zhiruo impersonate Abbess Miejue is utterly immoral.
When Wen Leyu saw Li Ye, she asked with amusement, "What are you grinning about?"

Li Ye reached out and grabbed Wen Leyu's horse tail, then said softly, "I heard a little story..."

Someone asked Buddha, "How can I find my true love?" Buddha replied, "The person who smiles upon seeing you, and the person who smiles upon seeing you. So what's wrong with smiling upon seeing you?"

Wen Leyu blinked, smiled knowingly, and then reached out to slap Li Ye's hand away: "Stop pulling, you're a grown man."

Li Ye said unhappily, "Can't a grown man date? You're not even thirty yet! Sometimes I dream about the feeling of pulling your hair back then."

"Okay, okay, you can drag me around all you want when we get home, but we need to go eat first, I'm starving."

Wen Leyu half-coaxed and half-tricked Li Ye, and the two finally went out.

Both of them were visiting Shanghai for the first time and were quite looking forward to this legendary "magic city".

The term "Magic City" first appeared in the novel of the same name by Japanese writer Shofuji Muramatsu.

This novel is a work he wrote about Shanghai in the 1920s. It describes the dark side of Shanghai and uses "Magic City" to refer to the city.

Later generations believed that Shanghai was called the "Magic City" because the existence of foreign concessions in Shanghai created two completely different worlds between the concessions and the county seat.
These two worlds permeate and clash with each other, making it an inclusive city that also gives rise to all sorts of peculiar "magical" qualities.

As Li Ye and Wen Leyu walked along Nanjing Road, looking at the Western-style buildings along the street, the crowded people, and the rows of shops, they could indeed feel a special atmosphere.

However, neither of them liked the atmosphere. Even when they saw the luxury store that Li Ying and Fu Yiruo were running, they just went in, browsed around for a bit, and then came out.

The aura emanating from this place felt somewhat unreal and unreal to Li Ye and Wen Leyu.

Take those luxury stores for example. The sales staff all have a "take it or leave it" attitude, but Li Ye knows their background. These luxury brands are all represented by Li's Jewelry Company, which Fu Yiruo registered in Hong Kong. They're just middlemen. What are they pretending to be so high-class for?
If we had to talk about exotic fashion, Li Ye and Wen Leyu had seen it overseas before, so they were both somewhat indifferent to this kind of superficial prosperity.

Li Ye believes that Shanghai is more confident and has more reason to be proud decades later, because back then, people’s confidence and pride came from its strength as the world’s sixth-largest economy, not from the antique villas left over from the concession era.

However, the two, who were not very interested, inadvertently walked into a small alley and discovered another world.

In the narrow alleyways, some places still have puddles from yesterday's rain, far less clean and tidy than the outside world, but full of genuine, everyday life.

Children chasing and playing, women hanging clothes out to dry, and men making repairs in a cramped space—all these elements present another side of Shanghai.

Decades ago, the concessions and the county town were two separate worlds. Decades later, although the concessions are gone, Shanghai remains two distinct worlds. The modernity of the Bund and the everyday life of the alleyways intertwine to create what is known as its enchanting charm.

A steamed bun shop hidden in an alley was selling freshly steamed xiaolongbao (soup dumplings). Li Ye and Wen Leyu tried some and were amazed by how delicious they were.

The two of them had eaten at a so-called "old shop" at noon, but it was nowhere near as good as the food in this alley.

Come to think of it, when you're doing business in a back alley, all you have to offer is "taste." If your food isn't good, you'll have gone out of business long ago.
The century-old brands in the bustling city are like the West Lake Fish in Vinegar Sauce in Hangzhou; they sell their "brand name." Even if you think it tastes bad, there are plenty of out-of-towners who will be fooled.

Li Ye and Wen Leyu became interested and wandered around for quite a while. They ate at a pan-fried bun shop and a pork rib rice cake shop. One shop was particularly delicious, and the other used very generous ingredients, which made them very satisfied.

Some say that the nights in Shanghai begin with lighting honeycomb briquette stoves, as homes are often too cramped and these portable stoves are very popular.

It was already four or five o'clock in the afternoon. People in the alley started carrying honeycomb briquette stoves out, then put on aprons and started cooking. In an instant, the alley became even more filled with the aroma of cooking.

When Li Ye and Wen Leyu arrived at a certain place, they found that most of the cooks were men, and their cooking skills were quite proficient.

In his previous life, Li Ye had heard several female classmates say that men in Shanghai were all good cooks, which led to the idea that "men in Shanghai are so rich and they all cook, so why don't you cook?"

But it's 1991 now, and such a scene is really rare.

Wen Leyu picked up her camera, wanting to record the scene, but then felt it was a bit presumptuous.

So Li Ye went up and struck up a conversation with a few men.

"Brother, would you mind if we took a picture?"

"Take photos? Sure, sure."

The other party glanced at Li Ye, then at Wen Leyu, and felt that the two clean-dressed young men didn't seem like bad people, so they didn't bother with anything.

Then, Li Ye used half a pack of good cigarettes to start chatting with several men.

"I've heard that men in Shanghai all cook for their wives, is that true or not?"

"Of course, wives are meant to be cherished, and men in Shanghai are all considerate of their wives."

"Young man, are you married to your girlfriend? You should learn to cook after you get married!"

"."

Several men, wearing aprons and smoking, were chatting and joking with Li Ye while wielding spatulas.

But at that moment, a sharp and disdainful voice suddenly came from the building next door.

"Young man, don't listen to their nonsense. They cook for us because we work the night shift and need to earn night shift pay. Otherwise, do you think they would do it willingly?"

(End of this chapter)