A doctor who travels through two eras

Chapter 14: Dong'an Market

Lin Sanqi is not a saint, so she can certainly understand this:

"Mom, I understand that when you have enough food and clothing, you will know the rules of etiquette. But Dad is amazing. When I tell him my name, everyone respects me. This is the style of a famous doctor."

Jin Caifeng glanced at her youngest son meaningfully:

"So, you have to study medicine in the future. Our family has a family tradition, and some secret recipes are passed down from generation to generation. When you learn well, you can become a famous doctor like your father, and be admired by thousands of people."

In fact, Lin Sanqi had not figured out what path he should take in 59.

It stands to reason that since I have a famous doctor father and a secret recipe passed down from generation to generation, it would be good to inherit the family business and become a famous Chinese medicine doctor in 59.

But as a doctor, I have to sit in the clinic and see patients every day, which means I have no freedom. Did I really think I was here to serve the people when I traveled back to 59?

How can we make money, monetize traffic, and reduce the financial burden on small families in 2023?
But if I am not a Chinese medicine practitioner, what else can I do in this era?
Work these days is assigned. You do whatever you are told to do and you have no choice. There is no such thing as self-employment, let alone doing business.

So Lin Sanqi was confused for a moment and had no idea what to do next.

Seeing her son in deep thought, Jin Caifeng thought that he had listened to her words and was very happy:
"Zi Zi, we've bought the meat. Come on, let me take you to have breakfast."

"Breakfast?"

Lin Sanqi looked at the deserted vegetable market and searched for a long time but didn't see any breakfast shop or the like.

In 59, private individuals were not allowed to do business, but there were still public-private joint-venture shops. Unfortunately, natural disasters led to a severe shortage of food, which caused the vegetable market to be very depressed, and there was really not much to buy.

Even if there are things, you can only look at them. Having money is not enough without tickets.

Jin Caifeng walked in front and said to her youngest son:
"You can't have breakfast at the Dongdan Vegetable Market. Let's go south to Wangfujing where there is a Dong'an Market. There's everything there. You've been staying in the black market den, so it's time to see the lively scene of our capital."

Jin Caifeng thought her youngest son was ignorant.

Lin Sanqi was so upset after hearing this that he thought to himself, Auntie, you have never been to Zhengjia Plaza in Tianhe. The shopping center alone covers an area of ​​30 square meters, with 7 floors above ground and 3 floors underground. It is really lively.

Dong'an is just a small place, not worth mentioning.

Who knew that when he actually arrived at Dong'an Market, Lin Sanqi realized how shallow he was.

Since the late Qing Dynasty, Dong'an Market has been the most lively place in Beijing. It is more than just a market, but a large supermarket integrating retail, leisure, entertainment, catering and tourism.

Even though it was just past 7 o'clock in the morning, the Dong'an Market was packed with people.

There is a long row of snack bars and small restaurants that serve breakfast, some state-owned and some public-private joint ventures, and each stall is surrounded by diners.

Lin Sanqi was a little confused and asked Jin Caifeng next to him:

"Mom, isn't it said that the natural disasters this year are so severe that the people can't even get enough food? Why are there so many diners in Dong'an Market? I see there is plenty of food and meat."

Jin Caifeng laughed when she heard this, as if she saw through everything:
"Before liberation, our Huadu Chentang was quite lively, with bright lights, wine and women, cars and people coming and going, and a prosperous scene. But who could have imagined that outside Huadu, people were starving to death, wives and children were torn apart, and corpses were everywhere.

So, no matter which dynasty or period, the poor are the majority. But there are rich people, but the wealth and resources are concentrated in the hands of a few people. These people still eat delicious food, drink spicy drinks, and the patches on their bodies are for outsiders to see. "Lin Sanqi nodded slightly and murmured softly:
"The rich are feasting and drinking, while the poor are freezing to death on the streets..."

Zhu Caifeng gently touched her youngest son's head and said affectionately:
"We are a family of doctors. We just need to take care of ourselves and save lives. If we are poor, we should take care of ourselves. If we are rich, we should help the world. You are still young, so don't say certain things lightly or do certain things lightly. It is best for us to live a peaceful life."

Lin Sanqi was a college student after all, with a high IQ, and he knew that this was his mother's way of implicitly teaching him how to deal with the world.

"I know, mother. We just need to be clear about some things. I won't be fooled by others and do something in a hurry."

"This is my good son. Come on, let me take you to drink mutton soup. It's a pity that there are no rice rolls and shrimp dumplings in the city."

The mother and son found a mutton noodle restaurant and sat down. Jin Caifeng ordered two bowls of noodles and two sesame cakes.

Because of the meat, a bowl of noodles cost 4 taels of food coupons, plus 1 cents and 4 cents. A sesame seed bun cost 3 tael of food coupons, or cents.

Ordinary noodles were much cheaper, a bowl of vegetable noodles cost two taels of food coupons and eight cents.

After paying the money, Jin Caifeng carefully hid the ticket and money in a small bag close to her body. It would be okay if the money was lost, but it would be fatal if the ticket was lost.

After a while, the noodles were served. The public noodle shop was very affordable. The mutton was thick and the noodle soup was filled with tempting oil.

Maybe in later generations people would pay attention to whether noodle soup is “clear” or not, but in that era people paid attention to “oiliness”, the oilier the better.

Lin Sanqi took a sip of soup and a mouthful of noodles, his eyes lit up.

In one word, it is fresh; in two words, it is delicious. This mutton noodle made with pure natural ingredients and without any technological advancement cannot be compared to what can be tasted decades later.

"Mom, this mutton noodles is delicious, and this sesame seed cake is so fragrant, I can eat it every day and never get tired of it~~~"

Jin Caifeng passed the mutton in her bowl to her son and said with emotion:

"How can you eat mutton noodles for breakfast every day? You will know when you start working. An apprentice only gets 18 yuan a month, and the food coupons only give you 21 kilograms. Even if you save on food, you can only get by for half a month."

Lin Sanqi did some calculations and thought, oh no! What if I become an intern and my daily salary is not enough to buy a bowl of noodles?

So I looked at the other diners around me and thought that these people should have more than 18 yuan in salary and 21 kilograms of food coupons, right? So where did their money and coupons come from?
After eating the noodles, Jin Caifeng took her son to the mall and bought two sets of ready-made clothes for Lin Sanqi.

Lin Sanqi was amazed at the densely packed cash register system above the mall that looked like a spider web. He felt that shopping this way was much more enjoyable than shopping online.

But what he didn't know was that he had used up all the cloth coupons for everyone in the Lin family for a year by buying two shirts, two pairs of trousers and a coat.

Coming out of Dong'an Market, Jin Caifeng looked at her watch and said:

"Zi Zi, where do you want to go later? Mommy will take you there."

Lin Sanqi touched the prescription in his pocket and said without hesitation:
"Mom, I want to go to the Chinese Medicine Hospital to see where my dad and the others work..."

(End of this chapter)