Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 198 I Have a Dream

Chen Hui took a leather bag from Sister Liu; it was the same kind of bag used by the power company for collecting payments, the one that was featured on the Spring Festival Gala. Several people put their money into the bag after getting on the bus.

Back then, Jian'an Company was located on Er Ma Road, in a hutong not far from Guanyuan. The sign was a large iron sign hanging at the entrance of the hutong, painted white with blue lettering.

After making inquiries, they found Uncle Wang, the general manager of Jian'an, a rather serious middle-aged man, a few years younger than Lao Chen, with thick hair, beard, and body hair, and eyebrows so thick they looked like they had been drawn with a calligraphy brush, and his whole face was shaved clean.

Without any formalities, Chen Hui and Xiao Wei, holding paper and pen, explained their plans with a combination of drawing and speaking. After handing over the keys, Manager Wang called over his subordinates to assign tasks. Xiao Wei and Chen Hui then took their leave, and Manager Wang politely saw them to the office door.

Before the restaurant was finished being renovated, the young men had nothing to do. After that, they went shopping. Once in the car, the two girls chattered excitedly.

First, they went to the military service center and bought Chen Hui a set of cotton-padded jacket and trousers, and two sets of army uniforms. Xiao Wei bought two sets of navy uniforms for himself, and Xiao Wei and Xia Maosheng each bought a pair of military tunics, spending a total of 2,100 yuan. At that time, uniforms were considered quite prestigious among ordinary people, costing 350 yuan a set. A denim suit, which had just become popular, cost about 400 yuan, and cost around the same price.

Then there's the flight jacket, the uniform of Air Force pilots. One jacket costs 460 yuan, and the quality is quite good.

Next up are leather goods; leather jackets, leather pants, leather overcoats, and leather trench coats all cost at least a thousand yuan. Mink coats were always the most expensive, starting at four thousand yuan, with no upper limit. This was the fashion trend of that era.

The Zhongshan style was still the mainstream in 90.

Suits were also available, but they only really became popular around 95. This was thanks to the large volume of used goods that Japan shipped to China, which drastically lowered the overall price of suits and allowed the Chinese people to wear high-end suits.

The secondhand market for imported clothing was booming during those ten years. At that time, almost everyone in the Fengtian Spring Market on Taiyuan Street was doing this. Going to the hospital to get UV exposure became the most popular topic.

……

The group headed straight to Zhongjie for lunch. If they hadn't been so hungry that their stomachs were aching, the excited guys would have completely forgotten about eating.

The meal will definitely be cooked in one pot, so we can sign the agreement at the same time.

Boss An and his son Lei Zi were both there, as was his daughter-in-law. They sat down, drank some hot tea, and looked through the contract. Chen Hui, Xiao Wei, and the An family father and son signed and sealed the contract. Old Chen added the power company's official seal to the contract, acting as a witness, which greatly enhanced the credibility of the contract and was also to prevent any future reversals. Did you really think the power company was a pushover?

Many contracts from the 90s included a witnessing unit or witness.

After signing the contract, the land along the riverbank theoretically belonged to Xiaowei personally, which finally gave him a sense of belonging to Fengtian.

They had a lively meal, and this time Boss An refused to accept any money, truly refusing to pay. So, the group stopped being polite; they were now family, and there was no need for formalities.

At this time, Zhongjie was still very original, with minimal renovations. Both sides were lined with historical buildings, and there were no large shopping malls like those in later years. At this time, the most famous building on Zhongjie was Dongya Plaza, the largest single shopping mall in China, with a business area of ​​nearly 180,000 square meters. This was before the current Xinglong Family Shopping Center was built, and the Cultural Building in this area was still the largest building.

At this time, Zhongjie was still dominated by department stores like No. 100 and No. 200, but there were already many privately owned shopping malls and specialty stores.

Xiao Hong and Chen Xiao were the most enthusiastic and excited, but for women, the focus of shopping is on browsing, and buying is not so important. In the end, Xiao Hong only bought a pair of shoes and a trench coat, while Chen Xiao bought a leather cropped coat.

Xiao Wei bought another bag for each of them. Back in 1990, it wasn't common for girls to carry bags when they went out, unlike now, where girls carry heavy bags weighing around 20 kilograms regardless of the season. I don't know if it's for fashion or fitness. If you ask her to carry five kilograms of rice, she can't lift it.

Xia Maosheng bought a leather overcoat and a dark trench coat, smiling happily, which made Chen Hui look down on him.

Xiao Wei and Chen Hui each bought a pair of leather gloves.

We strolled around, grabbed some snacks, and it was a rare treat for us to have such a leisurely day. We wandered around aimlessly, some with candied hawthorn skewers, others with fried chicken nuggets. We shared a fried chicken leg, grilled a few skewers of lamb, and strolled until it got dark.

After getting on the bus, they calculated that they had spent more than 6,000 yuan in one afternoon, and then the two women started to feel sorry for themselves, holding onto their new clothes and fussing over them.

They kept talking all afternoon and weren't hungry, so they drove straight home.

On the way, Chen Hui said with a smile, "I was thinking of staying on Zhongjie Street tonight."

Xiao Wei asked, "Where do you stay?"

Chen Hui said, "The Rose Hotel, I've wanted to stay there for a long time to see what it's like."

Back then, there weren't many hotels in Fengtian, and even fewer star-rated ones; they were the dream hotels of many young people. Zhongjie Rose Hotel was one of the earliest star-rated hotels to open in Fengtian, opening in 1988. It's not expensive now, but in 98 a single room cost 220 yuan a night. However, at that time, it represented more than half a month's salary for many people. In 98, the base salary for salespeople in private companies in Fengtian was 280-400 yuan.

If you look closely, you'll find that the root of all human desires actually comes from consumption.

Chen Xiao glared at Chen Hui and said, "Why don't you just fly to the moon? You make several hundred a night, you think you're rich now?"

Chen Xiao looked at Chen Hui and asked, "What are you planning to do? Tell me, and I'll see if there's anything I'd like to do."

Chen Hui smacked his lips, thought for a moment, and said, "Staying in a star-rated hotel, that's one. I always hear about how great, expensive, and high-class hotels are, but I've never dared to go inside or see one. I've always wanted to go inside and take a look. Also, flying in an airplane, looking down from the sky, what's it like? Do you think people can stand flying so fast?"

Oh, I'm also thinking of checking out the bathhouse in Xita. A friend of mine went there before and raved about how great it was for days. They even have food and shows there. I've always wanted to try it.

Also... there are a few bars, oh, I mean bars, and some kind of disco that have opened up in Tiexi. I've never been to any of them. They talk about them like they're so amazing, but I don't know if it's true or not. I'd like to go check them out and see for myself, what else can they do?"

Chen Xiao asked, "That's it?"

I wanted to write more a few days ago because I was juggling two projects, and I was worried about unexpected situations or extra chapters. I ended up writing until the wee hours of the morning, overworking my brain. Yesterday I slept for a full 24 hours, and when I woke up I had lost my voice. Sigh, the pressure is immense.

(End of this chapter)