The 1960s: The Story of a Country Girl's Journey to the City

"Okay, this way."

After receiving the mirror wrapped by the sales clerk, Jiang Yuan took Bao Ya to the cosmetics counter.

Bao Ya chose face cream, clam oil, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, and a toothbrush. The face cream, clam oil, and shampoo didn't require coupons. Everything else required coupons.

A bottle of face cream cost three yuan, clam oil two mao, shampoo two yuan, soap one yuan and fifty cents, plus a soap coupon, and a toothbrush and toothpaste together cost one yuan and eighty cents, plus two industrial coupons. These things weren't cheap, especially for her, who didn't have any coupons.

At that time, there was no shampoo, only hair-shaping cream, which was packaged in a metal box with a plastic bag inside. The texture was similar to modern boxed ice cream, except that the particles were very coarse.

Knowing that he was going out with Bao Ya, Jiang Yuan brought a lot of money and tickets, and Lin Bao Ya didn't stand on ceremony.

Seeing that they bought a lot, the saleswoman took out two more lipsticks and tried to sell them to her.

"Look at these two lipsticks, they're our newest arrivals, perfect for young girls like you."

Upon hearing about lipsticks, she was intrigued and picked one up to take a look. It had a transparent plastic casing, one tube was bright red, and the other was pink. The texture of the lipsticks looked a bit rough, incomparable to those of later generations.

"If you like them, just take them all."

When Jiang Yuan saw her pick it up to look at it, he was about to pay, but Lin Baoya quickly stopped him.

"No, one is enough."

She picked up a bright red one; a touch of red on the lips would be fine, but she couldn't handle the pink one.

In the end, I bought a bright red one.

The two of them then strolled to the counter selling razors, and Lin Baoya asked the salesperson to get him a razor blade.

Why buy this?

After Jiang Yuan paid, he asked, thinking it was for himself.

"Get your eyebrows done!"

"What?"

Bao Ya felt she lacked everything, and with the mirror, she needed even more.

This is the first time in two lifetimes that I'm spending a man's money, and it feels pretty good. In my past life, I foolishly spent money supporting a scumbag and a bitch, thinking I'd found true love. Turns out, they were truly in love, and I was just a sucker. Sigh! Humans!

The sales clerk at the cosmetics counter gave them a brown paper bag to put the things they bought.

Jiang Yuan then took out a mesh bag from his pocket, put the brown paper bag inside, and carried it in his hand.

The two of them carried their things and went to the clothing counter. Looking at the clothes hanging there, she thought, "Hmm, they're a bit outdated, I don't like them."

"Do you want to try that?"

Jiang Yuan pointed to a pink floral print dress behind the counter and asked her. Bao Ya's lips twitched. Still so tacky. How could he think that looked good? That color would make her look two shades darker. Lin Bao Ya quickly stopped him.

Some of the dresses are quite pretty, and the prices are also very reasonable. I don't know if I'll still be able to wear them next year, so I'd better not buy them.

After browsing the second floor, we went to the third floor. We could only take a quick look around. The sales staff were used to people just looking and not buying. As long as you didn't touch anything, no one would pay any attention to you.

There were only a few items, and a limited number of brands, all of which required ration coupons. Even if people had money, they couldn't buy anything without coupons.

"Hey, an electric fan."

Jiang Yuan and Bao Ya squeezed through the crowd and saw a man buying an electric fan. These electric fans were made of solid metal, quite heavy, and the salesperson showed him the instruction manual, checking each component against the fan's specifications. People around them exclaimed in admiration.

The customer buying the electric fan thoroughly enjoyed the envy of those around him, his chin held high and a smile playing on his lips.

Ask around and you'll find out that an electric fan costs 85 yuan, but you need a special receipt.

Many people can afford 85 yuan, but tickets are hard to find, even harder to find than bicycle or watch tickets.

This time, Lin Baoya was genuinely envious. Thinking back to the days when it was so hot she couldn't sleep, she desperately needed a fan.

"Let's look for tickets later, and buy one next year too."

Jiang Yuan noticed the envy in her eyes, leaned close to her ear, and whispered something. Bao Ya nodded eagerly, "That's great, we absolutely have to have that."

After browsing around the department store, the two went to a state-run restaurant. It was lunchtime, and there were quite a lot of people, with everyone automatically queuing up.

After waiting a while, it was their turn. Bao Ya went to find a table and sat down first. Jiang Yuan ordered a braised pork, a minced pork and eggplant dish, fried pork cracklings and bok choy, a tomato and egg drop soup, two bowls of rice, and two steamed buns.

Hooray, finally we get to eat rice! Although I was from the North in my previous life, rice is my favorite food. I haven't eaten rice since coming to this world.

The portions at the state-run restaurant were very generous. The braised pork was glistening with oil and smelled wonderful, and the fresh bok choy was bright and green. The rice was served in a large bowl, and Bao Ya thought she might not be able to finish it, so she picked up the bowl and gave some to Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan didn't say anything and simply caught it in a bowl.

The braised pork belly tasted great, fatty but not greasy, and lean but not dry. Northerners don't add too much sugar when making braised pork belly, which suited her taste perfectly. The minced pork with eggplant and the fried pork cracklings with bok choy also tasted very good.

Bao Ya savored the delicious food bite by bite. Jiang Yuan stared in disbelief as the little girl ate her rice and vegetables slowly and gracefully. Having grown up in the countryside himself, he felt that Lin Bao Ya was different from others; her every move was unlike that of a country girl.

He'd noticed it too in the department store earlier. Bao Ya looked at the things with curiosity, but didn't show much admiration. She had a clear goal in mind, like someone who'd seen it all. Her reaction to the prices was also indifferent. Is this girl really that composed?

He didn't know that these things would sound like dirt cheap to people in later generations—no, even cheaper than cabbage.

After eating a few bites of braised pork, Bao Ya stopped eating. She said it was okay to satisfy her craving, but she would definitely get tired of it if she ate too much. Her favorite dish was minced pork and eggplant.

Seeing that she had almost finished eating, Jiang Yuan began to exert himself. By the time Bao Ya finished the last sip of soup, the table was completely empty. Goodness, she can eat so much.

After dinner, Jiang Yuan took Bao Ya for a stroll towards the movie theater. The most bustling area in the city was only a small part, and it wasn't far to walk there, so it was a good opportunity to take a walk and digest their food.

Upon arriving at the cinema, Jiang Yuan went to buy movie tickets. Bao Ya saw a stall selling soda and sunflower seeds nearby, so she went over and bought two bottles of soda and a bag of sunflower seeds. These items didn't require tickets. Back in the mall, she hadn't insisted on paying, unsure which items required tickets, and there was no need to argue with them.

In Bao Ya's mind, she didn't mind supporting a man when she had money, and she doesn't mind a man supporting her now that she doesn't have money.

When Jiang Yuan returned with the tickets, he handed them to her, took the soda from her hand with one hand, and pulled her into the movie theater with the other.

"The show's about to start, let's go in."

"it is good."

Bao Ya let him hold her hand and they went into the movie theater.

After finding their seats, Jiang Yuan was still reluctant to let go of the little girl's hand. Her hand was small and soft. Sure enough, his brothers were right; you can only hold hands when you come to the movies.

When he wasn't looking, Bao Ya pulled her hand back; the gesture was too strange.

The movie theater was noisy, and it only quieted down when music started playing.

She gave the sunflower seeds to Jiang Yuan, then took a bottle of soda to drink. Hmm, it didn't taste good; it was artificial flavoring and sweetener mixed with water.