Li Xiangdong was sitting on the train to Yanjing City, with three bulging bags at his feet.

Li Guoqing and Li Xiangjie sat opposite him. This was their first time taking a train on a long trip. Their eyes kept darting around, sometimes looking at the scenery rushing past the window, sometimes observing the passengers around them smoking and chatting.

"Second Brother, are we really going to Yanjing City?"

Li Xiangjie still couldn't quite believe it. Yesterday, his second brother suddenly told him to pack his clothes, saying that he would take him to the capital to see the big scene tomorrow.

Li Xiangdong leaned back in his chair, his eyes slightly closed. He didn't open them when Li Xiangjie asked him a question. "Isn't it written on the ticket and the letter of introduction?"

Li Xiangjie let out a breath and leaned back like Li Xiangdong, "Guoqing, from now on we'll both be people who've been to the capital! How honorable!"

Li Guoqing rolled his eyes at him and said, "Alright, stop talking, you're really making a fool of yourself!"

Li Xiangjie immediately retorted, "I wonder who it was that didn't even know how to check tickets on a train!"

Li Guoqing countered, "You know?"

......

Amidst the bickering between Li Guoqing and Li Xiangjie, Li Xiangdong took a short nap.

The distance from Huichuan County to Yanjing City is more than 700 li (approximately 350 kilometers), and the train took six hours to reach Yanjing South Station, rattling along.

Li Xiangdong and two others, each carrying a large suitcase, walked out with the flow of people.

This was Li Xiangdong's first time setting foot in Yanjing since his rebirth. In his previous life, he came here often, and even bought two apartments in Haidian for his adopted son and daughter...

The past is too painful to recall.

The current Yanjing South Railway Station has only one waiting room, one mother-and-child waiting room, one ticket office, and one baggage room. There are four entrances inside the waiting room and one exit next to it.

At that time, the area around the South Station was still very desolate.

Beijing South Railway Station in the 1970s

Li Xiangdong and others queued for a long time before finally exiting the station.

Stepping out of the waiting room, you'll find yourself in a small square. Unlike later times, there aren't many rows of commercial outlets; instead, there are only a few clusters of beautiful roses blooming in the small flowerbed in the center.

To get from the square to the main road by the moat, you have to pass through a grove of waist-high pine and cypress trees, with four or five small earthen mounds rising above the road surface on either side.

"Second brother, where are we going?"

Arriving in the big city for the first time, Li Xiangjie felt both apprehensive and excited.

Li Xiangdong glanced at Li Guoqing, who was pursing his lips and remaining silent, clearly very nervous, and said with a smile, "Let's go to the most luxurious place in Yanjing City—the department store!"

The three of them squeezed onto the bus, each paid a penny for a ticket, and then sat down one after the other in the window seats.

The bus reeked of gasoline, and Li Xiangdong, feeling a bit carsick, had to open the window and lean his head out to breathe in some fresh air.

Li Guoqing and Li Xiangjie have calmed down a bit now. They are pointing out the scenery outside the window and chattering away.

After nearly an hour on the bus, the saleswoman announced in a clear and articulate voice, "The Department Store stop has arrived. Passengers getting off, please exit in an orderly manner through the middle door!"

The three got out of the car and saw a crowd of people ahead. A tall building stood in front of them, with the seven large characters "Yanjing Department Store" on a white background and red frame above the huge glass door. People were constantly going in and out.

Li Guoqing and Li Xiangjie gasped in surprise, "How come there are so many people buying things? How come there are such tall buildings?"

Li Xiangdong explained to the two of them, "The Yanjing Department Store officially opened in 1955. It was the first large-scale department store in our country's history to be directly invested by the state, and it was known as the 'Number One Store in China'!"

This is the largest commercial center in the country at that time. There is an old saying among the people of Yanjing: if you can't buy something in the department store, then you shouldn't go anywhere else!

That's right!

That's how arrogant and confident the Yanjing Department Store is!

Why is it so confident?

In order to establish the Yanjing Department Store as the "Number One Store in China," the Ministry of Commerce proposed the requirement of "Protect Yanjing nationwide, and protect the Department Store in Yanjing."

The Yanjing Department Store brings together famous and high-quality products from all over the country.

It can be said that Yanjing Department Store is the only retail enterprise that can purchase goods from all over the country. Many local specialties may not be available to locals, but the supply of Yanjing Department Store must be guaranteed first!

In fact, many tourists from other places consider climbing the Great Wall, eating Peking duck, and visiting the Yanjing Department Store as the three must-do activities when visiting Yanjing.

This is why Li Xiangdong came to Yanjing!

At this time of year, there is a scarcity of fresh seasonal fruits during winter, and the watermelons from Lijiapo Brigade fill this gap perfectly.

Fruits are definitely more expensive in winter than in summer, and in other places, people may not have that much purchasing power.

Yanjing is different. Just look at this department store teeming with people. As long as there are good products, they will sell out!

Upon entering the Yanjing Department Store, one is greeted by brightly lit shop windows and impeccably clean terrazzo floors. Books, fabrics, clothes, shoes, thermos flasks, face cream, and other items are neatly and attractively arranged.

Compared to the people around them who were wearing leather shoes, white shirts, and Zhongshan suits, Li Xiangdong and his two companions looked particularly worn out.

Li Guoqing hesitated slightly, standing still, and whispered to Li Xiangdong, "Second Brother, the ground is too clean. I'm afraid the mud on my shoes will dirty it."

Li Xiangdong reassured them, "What are you afraid of? This is just a place for buying and selling things, it's not that high-class. I'll give you money and tickets in a bit, you can go and spend some money!"

Li Xiangdong's words gave the two confidence, and they were finally able to walk normally without using the same hand and foot.

After wandering around for a while, the group arrived at the fruit and vegetable section, where the shelves were filled with a dazzling array of fruits and vegetables from all over the country.

Golden oranges, large winter dates with reddish-green hues, sugarcane with purple skin and white frost, big and plump "Golden Delicious" apples, and crown pears the size of a strong man's fist...

Li Xiangdong searched for a long time but couldn't find any watermelons. He breathed a sigh of relief and walked up to the sales clerk, politely asking, "Excuse me, do you sell watermelons here?"

This was a young man in his early twenties. He glanced at Li Xiangdong and looked like a countryman, but he had handsome features and spoke fluent Mandarin.

He replied politely, "Watermelons are out of season and are no longer available."

The sales clerk was selling things, and the attitude of that sales clerk was far superior to that of other sales clerks in the area.

Li Guoqing whispered to Li Xiangjie from behind, "If Second Brother goes to the supply and marketing cooperative in our county to buy watermelons now, he'll definitely get someone to beat him up!"

Li Xiangjie shook his head. "You don't know, now all the sales clerks at our county's supply and marketing cooperative have a really good relationship with my second brother."

The two men chuckled as they looked at the red banner hanging on the wall that read, "Customer First, Reputation Foremost." "Our supply and marketing cooperative's motto is, 'We cannot beat customers without cause!'"