Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 210 I tried for a long time but you didn't buy it

People create the environment, and the environment also shapes people. For many years, the political life has made many people unconsciously influenced even if they hate this kind of thinking and lifestyle.

Lin Chaoyang's words made Hong Zicheng feel a little ashamed. Realizing his problem, he apologized repeatedly.

"Forget it, let's not talk about these disappointing things." Lin Chaoyang waved his hand and said.

Seeing that he didn't want to talk about this topic anymore, Hong Zicheng said, "Recently, our Chinese Department and the May Fourth Literary Society are planning to hold a poetry reading. Do you want to participate?"

"You know I have no interest in poetry."

Hong Zicheng asked in confusion: "It's really strange. You are a novelist after all, so why are you so uninterested in poetry?"

"Maybe it's because of my personality."

Hong Zicheng thought about it and it seemed that there was some connection. The Lin Chaoyang he knew was always low-key and unpretentious, which was very different from the unrestrained and romantic personalities of those young poets.

One evening, Lin Chaoyang finally received the royalties for the two scripts "The Burning of the Old Summer Palace" and "The Imperial Court". Li Hanxiang used his Hong Kong identity to exchange the royalties for foreign exchange coupons.

At around eight o'clock in the evening, Lin Chaoyang rode his bicycle back home and handed a thick stack of banknotes to Tao Yushu.

She thought it was the payment for the royalties of a certain work, but when she looked closely she realized something was wrong.

"Is this a foreign exchange certificate? Where did it come from?"

"We couldn't get foreign currency for the royalties for The Burning of the Old Summer Palace and Behind the Curtain, so I asked them to help change it into foreign exchange coupons."

"How much is this?"

"Nine thousand zero points."

Tao Yushu stroked the thick stack of foreign exchange certificates with his hand and said happily: "With so many foreign exchange certificates, I can buy a lot of imported goods."

But she frowned again immediately, "It seems that we can't spend so much money."

"That's because you don't know how to spend it. If you give it to me, I will spend it in one day."

“How do you want to spend it?”

"First, let's go to the Friendship Store and buy you an imported motorcycle. I've noticed that there are more and more motorcycles on the streets in the past two years. They're fast to ride and save time and effort."

Since the 80s, there have been more and more motorcycles on the streets of Yanjing. These things cost two to three thousand yuan, which is not affordable for ordinary people.

But Yanjing is the best city in the country, and there are many more rich people there than in ordinary cities. When you walk on the street, you can see a motorcycle whizzing by from time to time.

"Why buy a motorcycle? I can't drive one."

Tao Yushu said this, but she couldn't help feeling happy when she heard Lin Chaoyang's sweet words.

She asked again, "It wouldn't cost nine thousand to buy a motorcycle, right?"

"Buy another color TV. Don't you want to buy a color TV?"

Tao Yushu said: "I heard that the color TVs from the TV factory will be available for purchase in the middle of the year. Why spend foreign exchange coupons when you can buy them with RMB? Besides, the things there are very expensive."

It is true that the Friendship Store has a complete and rich supply of goods these days, and it is also true that there are many imported goods, but the prices are also really high, because the customers it serves are not ordinary people, but overseas Chinese and foreign friends.

"Then buy some antiques, calligraphy and paintings. The prices of these things will definitely increase in the future," said Lin Chaoyang.

Tao Yushu didn't know why Lin Chaoyang was so sure that antiques and paintings would appreciate in value, but just like she told him that houses would increase in price in the future, she chose to fully trust her husband.

"Let's go to the Friendship Store in a few days."

"No. Even if you want to buy a motorcycle, just buy a Xingfu 250. Imported ones are too expensive. Why spend that money?"

Xingfu 250 was born in Shanghai in 1960. Among the rare motorcycles on the streets today, Xingfu 250 is definitely a cool one.

Because most motorcycles nowadays have a displacement of less than 100CC, the 250ml displacement of the Xingfu 248.9 motorcycle stands out from the crowd.

Xingfu 250 was first used on buses of postal, public security, military and other units. In recent years, with the increase in residents' income, it has gradually become available to ordinary people.

"Do you think it's that easy to get a motorcycle ticket? If you don't go to the Friendship Store to buy imported ones, where can you get a ticket? Those things are much rarer than TV tickets and washing machine tickets."

After hearing what Lin Chaoyang said, Tao Yushu muttered again: "I can't drive it."

"Wouldn't it be possible if you just learn a little? Go to the vehicle management office to learn how to drive during the summer vacation. After you pass the motorcycle license test, I'll take you to buy a motorcycle."

"You don't ride a motorcycle, so why should I ride one?"

"I consider riding a bicycle as exercise, but how can I exercise on a motorcycle? I'll take you to the Friendship Store this weekend."

Seeing that he was so persistent, Tao Yushu had no choice but to say, "It's no use going to see it. The Friendship Store won't let you in."

There is a saying these days that "The Friendship Store is not friendly" because the Friendship Store does not allow Chinese people to enter casually. There are always two security guards standing at the door to watch. They check your ID before entering. Only those with passports, foreign work permits or other foreign-related documents are allowed in.

"It's okay, I have a solution."

On weekends, A Mao ran to the Overseas Chinese Apartment early in the morning. He was Lin Chaoyang's "method".

On the north side of Jianguomenwai Street, from west to east, there are a number of foreign-related institutions, including the Diplomatic Residence, the International Club, the International Building... The Friendship Store is also among them. The Friendship Store in Yanjing is also the first foreign-related store in New China. It moved here from Donghuamen in 73.

The Yanjing Friendship Store is a four-story building with an elegant and solemn style. On the roof is a golden store logo inscribed by the famous calligrapher Liu Bingsen.

When the three of them walked to the door, the guard's eyes immediately fell on Lin Chaoyang and Tao Yushu. At this time, A Mao took out his passport. The guard took a look at it, said nothing, and let the three of them enter the store.

The hardware conditions of the Friendship Store were better than those of all department stores of that era. The beige terrazzo floor shone under the lights, and the sales clerks all wore the same uniform. And these were not the ugly uniforms seen in state-owned department stores. Instead, they were all suits, and looked very impressive.

The sales clerks' arrogance was well-founded. In the planned economy era, working in the Friendship Store was undoubtedly a job for the social elite.

Here you can not only come into contact with a large number of foreigners every day, but also enjoy some benefits that ordinary people cannot enjoy.

Nowadays, the market is short of goods and the variety is limited. People need to show coupons to buy most goods, but it is different in Friendship Store. You only need foreign exchange coupons. You can see everything you can see and cannot see in the market here, and there are many special products, such as Shanghai Meilin luncheon meat, Suzhou double-sided embroidery, Jingdezhen porcelain, etc. The most distinctive products are some calligraphy and paintings and stone tablets.

Commodities such as bicycles, watches, and televisions that are highly coveted by Chinese people are just ordinary items here.

Of course, the most popular and eye-catching products here are undoubtedly the imported goods. Hershey chocolate, Coca-Cola, Marlboro cigarettes, Swiss watches, refrigerators, air conditioners, electric cars... can all be found here.

There is a slogan in the Friendship Store: "We want the best products on the market; we must have the products that are lacking on the market; we also have the popular products abroad!"

After entering the store, the three of them first walked around the first floor before going up to the second floor to buy motorcycles.

It can't just be called a counter. Someone has set up a separate area here, placed a few motorcycles, and staffed it with two salespeople, one male and one female.

When the salesperson saw the three people coming, his first reaction was to lock his eyes on A-Mao.

"Sir, are you looking to buy a motorcycle?"

He spoke fluent English with great proficiency.

A Mao didn't respond to the salesperson, but pointed at Lin Chaoyang and the other man. The salesperson immediately understood what was going on. They encountered this kind of situation from time to time when they worked here every day.

The salesperson's eyes were on the two of them, but he didn't show the same enthusiasm as when he was facing A-Mao. He just looked at them quietly.

"These sales clerks are so snobbish!" Tao Yushu whispered to Lin Chaoyang.

"It's okay, let's watch ours."

The couple took a look around and found that there were not many motorcycle brands here, all of them were Japanese brands, such as Honda, Yamaha, and Suzuki.

China and Japan are now in a diplomatic honeymoon period, and Japan's current export products are indeed very cost-effective.

Lin Chaoyang chose a Suzuki motorcycle, or more precisely, an electric assisted bicycle. However, unlike later electric vehicles, this one still runs on gasoline and can be powered by an engine or a person.

This electric assisted bicycle is small and exquisite, and looks very suitable for Tao Yushu to ride.

"What do you think of this one?" Lin Chaoyang asked.

“Isn’t this one too small?”

Tao Yushu is tall, nearly 1.7 meters tall. Standing next to the Suzuki motorcycle, the motorcycle looks particularly small.

"Try sitting on it." Lin Chaoyang said.

Tao Yushu looked at the salesperson beside him, and Lin Chaoyang said, "It's okay, it won't hurt to sit there for a while."

The salesperson knew that Lin Chaoyang was talking to him, so he looked at A Mao beside him and didn't say anything.

Seeing this, Tao Yushu got on the bike, holding the handlebars with both hands, his body stiff.

"It seems a little small." Lin Chaoyang said to himself.

"I said it's a little small!" Tao Yushu got off the Suzuki motorcycle and naturally sat on a Yamaha 125 next to it. The salesperson opened his mouth.

“This one is good.”

Compared to the compact Suzuki motorcycle, the Yamaha 125 is much larger and more majestic.

"What is the displacement of this car?" Tao Yushu asked.

"125CC." the salesperson replied.

Tao Yushu said to Lin Chaoyang: "Xingfu 250 is still more affordable, it's half the displacement!"

After listening to Tao Yushu's words, the salesperson finally couldn't help but said, "Comrade, this is a Japanese imported car, made by Yamaha, very famous."

“But it has a small displacement!”

The salesperson was speechless after hearing Tao Yushu's few words.

Lin Chaoyang said, "The Xingfu 250 is a bit big. This one looks good and has enough displacement. Are you really not considering the Suzuki?"

Tao Yushu took another look at the Suzuki. The car had a compact shape and an average woman might like it, but her aesthetic style tended to be simple and practical.

“This one is still the best!”

Lin Chaoyang nodded, "Okay, let's buy this one."

Listening to the conversation between the two, the salesperson felt a little relieved and decided to just buy it.

At this time, Tao Yushu got off the motorcycle, took Lin Chaoyang's arm, raised his voice and said, "Then I will take the driver's license test during the summer vacation, and then buy it after I pass the test."

"Row."

The couple walked away while talking, and A Mao quickly followed them, leaving the salesperson alone in the wind.

After trying for a long time you don’t buy, what did you try?
"Did you do this on purpose?" Lin Chaoyang asked after walking more than ten meters.

Tao Yushu showed a sly smile on his face, "Who made them so snobbish?"

Lin Chaoyang smiled and looked at her lovingly, "You..."

After looking at the motorcycles, they did not leave the Friendship Store, but ran to the counter selling calligraphy, paintings, and inscriptions to take a look.

It’s a pity that all the items on the counter are modern and contemporary calligraphy and painting works, which are obviously used to rip off foreigners. If they were put in the future, they would be worth some money.

If Lin Chaoyang had more foreign exchange, he might buy some, but he only had so many foreign exchange coupons, so he had to be thrifty and try to buy things with greater collection value.

"Let's go to the furniture factory and have a look."

(End of this chapter)