Chapter 67: Traveling in Shanghai.

The next morning, after breakfast, Mr. and Mrs. Cheng went out to work.

Cheng Shi took the dishes to the kitchen to wash them, while He Susu put on her cotton jacket in the room. She went to the bathroom and braided her hair into a beautiful fishtail braid in front of the mirror. She then took out the apricot lipstick that she hadn't used for a long time and applied it on her lips, looking very healthy.

After washing the dishes, Cheng Shi returned to his room, took out the banknotes and the remittance vouchers his father had given him yesterday, put them in his pocket, put on his military coat, and walked into the living room: "Susu, let's get ready to go."

He Susu smiled and agreed, and the couple went downstairs and out.

There are many families living in the tube-shaped buildings in the staff compound who own bicycles, so a special area for parking bicycles has been set up, and there is a special old man guarding it.

Cheng Shi walked over and recognized his own bicycle at a glance. He used his key to open the anti-theft lock and pushed the bicycle out.

He sat in the driver's seat first, and He Susu followed closely on the back seat, grabbing his military coat with both hands. Cheng Shi set off on his bicycle.

At this time, people who were on their way to work passed by on the road in a hurry. Those who knew each other just nodded and said hello. Cheng Shi riding a bicycle with He Susu was not conspicuous among them.

Everyone was heading east to go to work at the food factory, so Cheng Shi simply rode north. There were visibly fewer people there, and it was more convenient to ride.

When we left the family compound and walked onto the street, we would occasionally see a few bicycles or groups of people walking by, all of them going to work.

He Susu looked at them walking by in a hurry yet full of energy, and she marveled at their professionalism. She was also glad that she and Cheng Shi could go out and play leisurely at this moment.

Cheng Shi rode his bicycle and took Susu through the streets and alleys that they were once familiar with. There were tube-shaped buildings, cement houses, red brick houses, and alleys, and he introduced them one by one.

"Let's go to the pedestrian street first. There are many old shops there, selling everything. It was quite lively when I went there on holidays before, but now everyone is at work, so it should be quieter. We can walk around comfortably without worrying about someone stepping on our shoes."

He Susu was already scared just by imagining the huge crowds of people: "That's good. I don't want to have my shoes stepped on."

When supplies were scarce in the county, my mother told me that she went to the supply and marketing cooperative to queue up to buy things. After squeezing in to buy things, she found that her shoes had been stepped on and she couldn't find them. Her feet were swollen for several days before they healed.

The Shanghai market is very large, and it took Cheng Shi more than half an hour to reach the pedestrian street by bike.

The pedestrian street is actually just a street with all kinds of shops on both sides. People are buying things and passing by here and there, but it is not crowded.

"Let's go down and walk over. We can go in and take a look at any store we're interested in."

He Susu got off the car first, and Cheng Shi also got off and pushed the car away.

Whether in my hometown or in the army, except for state-owned supply and marketing cooperatives, department stores, and non-staple food stores, individuals were not allowed to open shops and run businesses. But here on the pedestrian street, there are state-owned shops, private shops, and factory-run sales agencies.

He Susu walked along the way and saw tailor shops where she could take fabric to order custom-made clothes, optical shops where she could get glasses fitted, furniture shops where she could buy furniture or have furniture made to order, soy milk, fried dough sticks and steamed buns breakfast shops, watch shops, jewelry shops, photo studios, as well as food factory stores and snack shops...

There were all kinds of shops, and He Susu only picked out some that interested her and went in to have a look.

The dim sum shops here sell both Chinese and Western dim sum, including the common mung bean cake, red bean cake, and jujube paste cake, as well as Western-style tiger skin cake rolls and meat floss cake rolls. She bought the latter two and shared them with Cheng Shi to try.

The cake is soft and delicious. The tiger skin cake roll has a tiger stripe-like crust and is filled with something the clerk said was cream. It is sweet and delicious. The pork floss cake roll has layers of pork floss in the cake base. It is salty and fragrant, and the ingredients are solid, which is worth the slightly expensive price.

The jewelry store sells currently popular bracelets and necklaces. The watch store does not sell many styles of watches. If you want to buy Plum brand watches, you have to go to the department store. The advantage here is that there are experienced craftsmen who can repair watches, and the prices they charge are much cheaper than those in the department store.

After walking around for a while, He Susu didn't see anything she liked except buying some pastries, so she and Cheng Shi went into the photo studio to take a few photos.

The technology for developing photos here is more advanced. You can get them the next day, and they can also provide delivery within Shanghai. Cheng Shi simply added one dollar and asked the store to deliver them to his home tomorrow.

Then Cheng Shi took He Susu and rode to a relatively rare old building area in Shanghai. The buildings here are relatively well preserved. The locals are used to seeing them, and outsiders also like to come here to take a look.

Ever since he decided to take Susu out to play last night, Cheng Shi had silently planned the route in his mind. Everything was going along the way, and there was no need to turn east and then go west, wasting time.

Arriving at Yu Garden, He Susu found the traditional old buildings rare and beautiful. She and Cheng Shi parked their bicycles and walked in. They saw pavilions and towers scattered in the garden, rockeries and ponds reflecting each other, and corridors connecting the paths in the garden, winding and twisting.

Even in winter, the scenery in the garden remains charming and attractive.

He Susu walked to a pavilion with four corners and eaves that looked like the wings of a flying bird and sat down on a stone chair. She couldn't help but sigh, "I've only seen such buildings in books before. The gardens in the south of the Yangtze River are really beautiful. If I come here in spring and summer, the trees here will be full of green leaves, and the flowers in the corridors will all be in full bloom. I don't know how intoxicating it will be to hear the birds chirping and the flowers fragrant."

Cheng Shi smiled and said, "If you like, we can come again in spring and summer when we have a chance. The building here has been renovated, so it looks pretty good."

He Susu smiled and agreed. The couple sat in the pavilion for a while before continuing to walk along the corridor.

They saw the Nine Dragon Pond, which lived up to its name as the dragon heads were reflected in the clear water, and the Phoenix Pavilion standing in a bamboo forest.

She couldn't help but admire the designer's talent, who connected the buildings, rockery, flowing water and the spring scenery in the garden together to present its current charm.

In the end, He Susu reluctantly left Yu Garden, thinking that she must come back for another visit next time she came to Shanghai.

Cheng Shi drove He Susu directly to Huaiyang Road. It was getting late after walking around for so long, so it was a good time to have lunch.

On the way, he introduced: "Actually, a foreigner came here and opened a Western restaurant a hundred years ago. At that time, only wealthy families could go there to try the new food. A few decades ago, someone in Shanghai opened a Western restaurant, and it's doing good business."

"My parents and I went to this Western restaurant opened by a Shanghainese before. The food was pretty good. The dishes were steak, pasta, and red wine. It is said that after Western food was introduced here, Shanghainese were not used to it, so they later improved the taste according to the local taste and called it Shanghai-style Western food."

"The Huaiyang Road Western restaurant that my parents mentioned yesterday is said to be newly opened. I have never been there, so I don't know what the food is like."

"You'll know after trying it later." He Susu had only heard of Western food but had never eaten it. She was a little curious and looking forward to it, but she didn't know if she would be used to it.

We soon arrived at Huaiyang Road. A newly opened western restaurant was very eye-catching. Its decoration and layout were somewhat different from the surrounding ones. It was called Oriental Western Restaurant.

Cheng Shi rode his bicycle to the entrance of Oriental Western Food Club and parked it. He and He Susu pushed the door open and went in, then found a seat and sat down.

Apart from the difference in installation style, the first thing He Susu noticed was the service attitude.

In state-owned restaurants, the staff are the bosses. Sometimes when they are in a bad mood, they yell at customers. If you ask what dishes are available, you will only get a reply like "It's written on the blackboard, can't you see it if you don't have eyes?"

As soon as they sat down, a staff member came over with a book that was supposed to be a menu: "Hello, two customers, this is our menu. Take a look at what you want to eat and tell me anytime."

"Thank you." Cheng Shi took it and handed it to He Susu.

He Susu opened it and took a look. There were various dishes inside with pictures and colors thoughtfully drawn. It was very vivid and also answered the questions of some customers who had never heard of these dishes.

She discussed it with Cheng Shi and finally ordered a fried pork chop, potato salad and borscht, all of which are the signature dishes of this Western restaurant.

The famous Western steak is out of stock today because cattle, as an important production tool, are not so easy to supply here.

After Cheng Shi told the staff what dishes he wanted to order, the staff took a notebook and ran to the kitchen to place the order. Then they brought two sets of bowls and chopsticks and two glasses of juice to them.

"This is the free apple juice in our store. Please enjoy it slowly. The dishes will be served soon."

He Susu took it and took a sip. It tasted similar to the apple juice she squeezed at home, just right to quench her thirst.

Cheng Shi also drank several sips of apple juice and said, "This western restaurant looks like a Shanghai-style western restaurant, and the service is pretty good. The western restaurant I went to before didn't provide juice."

He Susu nodded in agreement: "It's pretty good."

So far, this Western restaurant has left her with a good impression.

Customers came to the store one after another, and the two staff members went around entertaining them.

Not long after, the staff came over with the dishes they ordered: "Borscht, fried pork chops, and potato salad. The dishes you two ordered are all here. Please enjoy your meal."

He Susu took a look and found that the potato salad looked like potato cubes and something else mixed together with a special sauce. The borscht was red and looked very appetizing. The fried pork chops were the most tempting and were also equipped with the necessary knives and forks for Western cuisine.

Cheng Shi had eaten Western food before and remembered some of the etiquette. He brought the plate of a large fried pork chop to him, took the fork in his left hand and the knife in his right hand, and cut the pork chop into pieces for easy eating.

After cutting them, he put the whole plate of fried pork chops back in its place: "Susu, try the fried pork chops."

"Okay." He Susu picked up the fork that came with the plate in front of her, picked up a piece of fried pork chop, put it in her mouth and started biting.

The fried pork chop is fried until golden and crispy, and it tastes particularly fragrant. The meat inside is still tender and smooth, probably because it has been marinated in advance, making it salty and delicious.

She couldn't help but fork over another piece and this time dipped it in the spicy soy sauce. The spicy and slightly sweet taste paired with the crispy crust was so delicious.

He Susu nodded and praised: "This fried pork chop is delicious. I can't get such a delicious taste when I fry it at home."

Moreover, when we cook pork at home, we either stir-fry or braise it. We rarely buy pork tenderloin and fry it in oil to make pork chops because it wastes too much oil.

Cheng Shi tried the fried pork chop and it was really good.

He Susu scooped some potato salad with a spoon and put it on the plate to eat. When she looked at the menu just now, it was introduced that in addition to potato cubes, there was also a special red sausage in Shanghai, plus special mayonnaise and lemon juice mixed together.

She tasted it and found that the mayonnaise was rather light, with only the flavor of egg yolk being recognizable, but the color was milky white and a bit sour, probably from the lemon juice.

The potatoes should have been cooked very soft and tender, and the red sausage was very fragrant. The two complemented each other when eaten together.

"This potato salad tastes very good, very delicious." He Susu praised. She scooped a few more spoonfuls of potato salad onto the plate and ate it slowly.

Then she picked up the spoon and scooped the borscht into a specially prepared bowl.

According to the menu, this borscht is made with cabbage as the main ingredient, plus tomato sauce and sugar. No wonder it looks red.

She picked up the bowl and brought it close to her mouth to take a sip. It tasted sour and sweet and was very appetizing. She didn't know if the cabbage inside was shredded in advance or cooked until soft. It was so finely chopped that she could drink it directly with the soup.

Cheng Shi also drank a bowl of soup and nodded, "The borscht here tastes pretty good, and it tastes pretty much the same as I remember. I just had fried pork chops and potato salad, and now drinking a bowl of borscht is really appetizing and helps relieve the greasiness."

He Susu also thought it was pretty good, and the three dishes ordered this time did not disappoint her expectations.

The couple slowly savored the food. The fried pork chops were finished first, and they had almost finished the potato salad and borscht as well.

Cheng Shi was worried that Susu was not full, so he asked her, "Do you want to order something else?"

One drawback of the dishes in the western restaurant is that the portions are small. I only ordered three dishes just now because I thought the others didn't look very good. The roasted snails, French foie gras, cappuccino mushroom soup, all didn't look very good.

There were quite a few desserts, such as chocolate cake, cream pudding, mousse cake, etc., but He Susu had just bought tiger skin cake and meat floss cake on the pedestrian street, and she didn't plan to eat so many sweet things in one day.

He Susu originally thought she was almost full, but after hearing Cheng Shi's question, she couldn't help but ask, "How about we have another serving of fried pork chops?"

Cheng Shi nodded in agreement and called the staff to order another fried pork chop.

After another plate of fried pork chops was served, Cheng Shi was responsible for cutting it into pieces with a knife and fork, and the couple continued to eat.

This time He Susu tasted two pieces and was very satisfied. She was really full, and Cheng Shi ate the rest.

After the meal, the couple sat there for a while, drank the lemon juice given by the staff to help them get rid of the greasiness, and only got up to pay the bill after they felt refreshed.

Naturally, this meal cost a lot of money. It was two or three times more expensive than eating at a state-owned restaurant, but for the freshness and delicious food, I think it was worth it. After all, it is a rare opportunity.

After walking out of the western restaurant, Cheng Shi went to unlock the bicycle and pushed it over. He Susu looked up at the sky. It was covered with clouds and there was no sun at all. She couldn't help but smile and said, "Today is really a good day for going out for fun."

Cheng Shi nodded: "Yes, otherwise it would be very sunny if we came out now."

He Susu sat in the back seat of the car, reached out and grabbed Cheng Shi's military coat, and said with a smile: "I'm ready."

So Cheng Shi rode his bicycle to the next destination.

There is a famous Bund in Shanghai, and there are many passers-by enjoying the scenery.

He Susu looked at the Republican-era buildings here and thought they were very distinctive. There were also some Western-style buildings of different styles, which were said to be the embassies of foreign countries that lived here in the past. Occasionally, cruise ships passed by on the Huangpu River, emitting thick black smoke. Most of the houses on the other side of the river were bare, with a few one-story houses occasionally.

He Susu stood by the river and felt the breeze for a while. She didn't feel cold at all, but just felt very comfortable.

Cheng Shi got off the bike and pushed it, walking with Susu along the river for a while before he got back on his bike and took her for a ride around the Bund before heading to the next place.

In Shanghai, the supply and marketing cooperatives and department stores are very busy, but the most attractive places are the overseas Chinese stores. In addition to daily necessities, they also sell some rare imported goods, but they need to be purchased with overseas remittance coupons.

However, it is difficult for most people to get overseas Chinese remittance coupons. Only the domestic relatives of overseas Chinese, also known as overseas Chinese dependents, can own them. Therefore, most customers who go to overseas Chinese stores are just there to watch the fun, and very few customers actually buy.

Cheng Shi was driving He Susu to the Overseas Chinese Store. Just by looking at the people coming in and out, it was clear that it was very busy. He found an empty space in a store next to it and parked the car, then went into the Overseas Chinese Store with Susu.

He Susu was curious about everything inside. The counter layout of the Overseas Chinese Store was no different from that of an ordinary department store, but the products sold were much richer.

For example, the clothing counter has all kinds of fashionable clothes, rare wool sweaters, wool coats and wool hats. The shoe counter has both cloth shoes and leather shoes, all made of good materials.

There were also daily necessities, including expensive tobacco and alcohol, and agricultural and sideline products. The busiest and most distinctive counter was the one that required overseas remittance coupons to buy things. There were not only rare bicycles, radios, and sewing machines, but also imported washing machines, refrigerators, and televisions.

He Susu followed Cheng Shi and went over to take a look, and she found it magical.

The TV was playing black and white cartoons, which were more attractive than the movies in the cinema. So if you bought a piece of this thing and put it at home and use it at any time with electricity, the price was shockingly expensive.

Washing machines are also good things. You just need to put your clothes in, turn on the power, pour in soapnut powder, and then you can wash the clothes clean.

When the refrigerator is powered on, it is filled with ice and is used to store food, which can ensure that the food does not spoil.

She couldn't help but sigh: "These home appliances are so powerful. If my home can be equipped with all of them, it will really free my hands."

It was also the first time that Cheng Shi heard of these imported electrical appliances. He admired how technological progress had changed lives and said it would be great if these home appliances could be produced independently in China.

After listening to Susu's words, he said, "When we save more money in a few years, we will buy these appliances and put them at home."

No matter how expensive these appliances are, the savings at home are enough to buy them. But we can't spend more than half of our savings just to buy these appliances.

The most important thing is that they do not have enough overseas remittance coupons to buy these home appliances. It is not convenient to buy them in Shanghai and transport them to the troops. It is also too high-profile.

He Susu smiled and said, "I was just saying it, I didn't really think about buying it. The refrigerator is indeed useful. We usually wash clothes right after taking a shower. We don't have time to watch TV, so let's talk about it later."

She couldn't help but fantasize, "When our country's technology is advanced in the future, we will be able to produce these home appliances ourselves. By then, the price of these home appliances will become reasonable and they will enter thousands of households."

In the original book of Inheritance, He Susu knows that these home appliances will become essential appliances for every household in the future, people's living standards will be greatly improved, and they will live the happy life they longed for.

Cheng Shi was attracted by the longing smile on her face and nodded in response: "Yes."

After visiting the popular home appliance counter, the couple went to other counters and finally stopped at the daily necessities counter. He Susu heard a female comrade asking the salesperson to buy something called sanitary napkins.

"Comrade, have your sanitary napkins arrived yet?"

"Comrade, the goods just arrived yesterday. You are so lucky. How many bags do you want? I will give you one."

"Oh, that's great. I feel so uncomfortable during my period every month. I feel much happier after using sanitary napkins. But your sanitary napkins are expensive and require remittance coupons. I'll buy two packs first."

"Our sanitary napkins are made of high-quality materials, so of course they are expensive. It's normal that they require overseas remittance coupons. Comrade, you have to be well-off to afford them. I'll give you two packs."

After listening to their conversation, He Susu became very interested in the sanitary napkin.

Women feel extremely uncomfortable during their menstrual period every month. Even after getting used to using a menstrual belt, it is still not very comfortable. From what she heard from the conversation just now, this sanitary napkin seems to be better than a menstrual belt.

She couldn't help but search the plot of the original book. Such details were basically not mentioned. It was only mentioned in the daily life of the third sister-in-law that she used this sanitary napkin later and it was much more comfortable.

After the female comrade who was shopping left, He Susu walked over and asked, "Hello, comrade, I would like to ask what this sanitary napkin is?"

The salesperson didn't seem to be disgusted and happily introduced sanitary napkins to her: "This sanitary napkin is a good thing for us women. It is much better than those menstrual pads. There are ten pieces in a small package like this. When you have your period..."

He Susu understood after hearing this, and finally she became interested in the goods after entering the overseas Chinese store. Nothing is more important than the comfort during the menstrual period, and it just so happened that they also had overseas remittance coupons today, so she looked at Cheng Shi.

Cheng Shi had just heard this and understood the purpose of the sanitary napkins. He knew that they would definitely be good for Susu, so after meeting Susu's eyes, he took out the overseas remittance coupons and handed them to the salesperson: "Comrade, could you please see how many packs of sanitary napkins I can buy with these overseas remittance coupons?"

He Susu asked: "Don't you need to buy anything else?"

Cheng Shi shook his head: "No, I don't have anything I want to buy, just use it to buy these sanitary napkins."

When the salesperson saw that the couple had understood the matter, he smiled and said, "These remittance coupons can buy ten packs of sanitary napkins. I'll give them to you."

After she took out ten packs of sanitary napkins, Cheng Shi took out the bills to pay.

Seeing that they bought a lot, the salesperson gave them a net bag to hold the ten packs of sanitary napkins.

After visiting almost all the overseas Chinese stores, the couple simply walked out of the store after buying ten packs of sanitary napkins.

Cheng Shi pushed the bicycle over and saw Susu with a smile on her face and said, "If you feel comfortable using it when you go back, tell your parents to keep an eye out for remittance coupons and exchange them with others. Then ask them to help buy sanitary napkins and send them to the army."

He Susu smiled and agreed: "I'll try it later and see if it's comfortable."

She sat on the back of the bicycle and visited all the scheduled tourist spots. On the return trip, she rode her bicycle directly home.