Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 1110 Shopping

As the car left the airport, Xiaowei looked out the window and said, "It's much more lively here than before. There are so many more people, and more businesses too."

The driver said, "That's right, that was a long time ago. Things have developed so fast now. There are more and more businesses doing business around the airport. Look at these buildings, they've even cut open the gable walls to turn them into shops. Who doesn't want to make money?"

Xiao Hong said, "The houses used to be the same, but now the ones next to the road are probably worth more than the ones inside."

The driver said, "Of course, it's twice as expensive, even with the turns. Just tidy it up, open a door and a window, and you can rent it out for tens of thousands a year."

Xiao Wei said, "It's hard to say. The differences are too small. Everyone is doing roughly the same thing, so it won't be easy for anyone to make money in the end."

The driver said, "What can we do? It's just a small shop, a snack bar, that's pretty much what everyone does. What else can we do? There are a lot of out-of-towners here, so it's still profitable. What are you guys doing here again? Just having fun?"

Xiao Wei said, "I'm running errands, and I'll take my sister to school while I'm at it."

The driver turned his head and glanced at him: "Not bad, which university did you get into? Tsinghua or Peking University? That's quite an achievement."

Xiuer blushed slightly: "Renmin University."

The driver slapped the steering wheel: "Renmin University is something else! What kind of place is that? It's where national leaders come from! The top alumni are all your seniors. You're going to be something special in the future!"

Beibei leaned close to Xiaowei's ear and whispered, "Daddy, what's 'Renren Da'? What's an adult?"

Xiao Wei whispered, "Would you like to go see the school where your aunt goes?"

The little girl thought for a moment, then shook her head: "I don't go to school here. Here, I can't see my mother."

There were more cars on the road, with significantly more small trucks and vans than last time, and car horns blared incessantly along the way.

Upon arriving at the Kyoto Hotel, Xiaohong paid the fare, and the seven people, carrying the child, went inside.

Xiao Wei said, "We stayed here last time since you two weren't here. Xiao Hui, you can check it out later. The furnishings and service are pretty good. The restaurant is also decent; they serve both Chinese and Western food quite well."

Chen Hui clicked his tongue and shook his head: "Extravagant."

Xiao Wei said, "That's perfect. You should take your wife and kids home; it'll save you some money."

Chen Hui scratched his head: "I'd better stay here and see if what you're saying makes sense. I don't even know where my old Chen lives. Where am I supposed to find him?"

Xiao Hong asked, "Didn't you call before you came?"

Chen Hui said, "I didn't call. I was planning to surprise Old Chen and his wife and disrupt their time together."

Chen Xiao said, "Don't listen to his nonsense. He called and said he'd contact us again after settling in. What about us?"

After checking in and putting our things down, we realized we didn't have much—just a few handbags, ten boiled eggs, and two bags of milk. The two kids didn't eat anything.

After resting and washing up, Xiaowei checked the time; it was already past midnight. He asked, "Should we eat out or at a restaurant?"

Chen Hui said, "Chinese food or Western food? Hey, do you think we're considered foreign guests? Can we go to a restaurant for foreign guests? I heard it's different from domestic guests, quite a difference."

Xiao Wei said, "Only foreigners count as foreign guests, right? How can we pretend to be one?"

Chen Hui said, "We're representatives of a foreign company, have you forgotten? What about the head of a wholly foreign-owned enterprise? Are you treating the village chief like he's not an official?"

Xiao Hong looked at Chen Hui: "Is it really going to work? Besides, you can speak a foreign language, can you?"

Chen Hui said, "Why would a Chinese person speak a foreign language? The waiter isn't a foreigner. Let's go ask."

I went to the service center and asked, and it really worked.

The seven people checked in using company referral letters. The company is a foreign-invested enterprise, and they have access to the foreign guests restaurant and the Friendship Shopping Mall inside the hotel.

When the group entered the restaurant for foreign guests, they discovered that 80% of the people inside were Chinese.

Foreigners are all heading out to find local specialties in the back alleys. Only Chinese people are flocking to restaurants catering to foreigners, feeling like they've suddenly become sophisticated.

After having a half-cooked Western meal, mainly to feed the two kids, the five of us went out to figure out where to go next.

According to Xiuer No. 3's report, you can play for two days.

Beibei cupped Xiaowei's face in her hands and asked, "Daddy, Daddy, where's Tiananmen Square?"

Xiao Hong said, "Let's go to the Forbidden City tomorrow morning. We won't be able to see everything if we go now, I'm afraid."

Xiaowei said, "How about we go shopping? Wangfujing, Xidan, Qianmen, or somewhere like that. We can buy clothes for Xiuer and see how the malls here are set up. Let's learn from them. Tomorrow morning we'll go straight to the Forbidden City and then to the Temple of Heaven."

Chen Hui thought for a moment and said, "Okay, let's go. Should we call a car?"

Xiao Wei said, "Forget it, let's take a taxi, but it's too much trouble."

Xiao Hong said, "Is it right behind here? And...and you still need to take a taxi?"

Xiao Wei said, "It's not far, about a kilometer if we walk slowly, let's go then."

The seven people left the restaurant, turned left, and walked north along Wangfujing Street, strolling along the way.

Wangfujing in 93 wasn't as bustling as it is today, but it already had a strong commercial atmosphere. It had a blend of old and new, which actually gave it a unique charm.

Xidan now feels even more like an authentic old hutong.

Later, starting from the late 1990s, the old buildings were gradually demolished, replaced by modern high-rise buildings, making it no different from other cities, and even less impressive than Nanjing Road. Although there's not much to see anymore, at least there are many old buildings.

Most of the old urban buildings that have survived to this day in the country were left behind by foreigners.

Shopping, watching the excitement, eating snacks, and looking at toys.

Since they had nothing else to do, the seven adults and two children strolled around at their leisure. They bought a few clothes for Xiuer, a dress for Chen Xiao, Xiao Wei and Chen Hui carried the things, and Chen Xiao and Xiao Hong held the children's hands as they walked slowly along the quaint streets.

After strolling around Wangfujing, I took the subway to Xidan. There were quite a few snacks and entertainment options in Xidan at that time. The biggest one was Xidan Shopping Mall. Looking around, all I could see were old houses and residences. The famous and special places that were popular later were nowhere to be seen yet. It wasn't as lively as Wangfujing.

After wandering around for a while without finding anything interesting, Xiao Hong asked Chen Xiao, "Shouldn't we go into the mall? It doesn't look as good as over there. The stuff they sell is about the same. Where else should we go?"

Chen Xiao said, "Then let's not go shopping. I don't think it's very interesting either. How about we go to Yansha? I've heard they're really famous there, always bragging about it in the newspapers."

Xiao Hong said, "Okay, let's go over there. How do we get there? Is it far?"

Xiao Wei put down what he was holding, took out a map from his bag, and looked at it: "It's a bit far. It's beyond Sanlitun, north of the foreign embassy."

The seven people went to the roadside to hail a taxi and headed towards Liangma Bridge.

Yansha is actually Friendship Department Store, a shopping mall specifically for foreign friends. It was also the first Sino-foreign joint venture department store in China, the first in the country to offer bilingual services, foreign currency exchange, home delivery, and open-shelf sales.

Large shopping malls across the country have basically learned from this, from store layout to sales model, and it can be said to have pioneered the domestic retail mall model.

(End of this chapter)