Chapter 16: Xiao He is tall and strong, but unexpectedly he is henpecked...

After saying goodbye to driver Wang, the two headed straight for the Overseas Chinese Store.

Jiang Xueyi walked while flipping through the memories in her mind.

In the 1960s and 1970s, materials were scarce and the country was in urgent need of foreign exchange. Overseas Chinese sent foreign exchange to China, and banks would match it with a certain amount of overseas remittance coupons. For example, a 10-yuan overseas remittance supply coupon would be issued for every 10 US dollars.

This coupon can be used to purchase cakes, cooking oil, non-staple foods and other goods made from grains outside the planned ration.

There was once a story about a Shanghai resident who was included in a list of people to be expelled from Shanghai and relocated to the countryside because of his poor background. However, since his overseas relatives often sent him foreign currency to support him, the local financial staff immediately reported the matter to their superiors after learning about it, stopped the move, and kept the foreign currency in Shanghai.

This shows the importance of foreign exchange to national construction.

This information was naturally not from the original owner's memory, but was extracted by Jiang Xueyi from the period novel she had read before.

The original owner was just a country girl, and words like "overseas Chinese shops" and "foreign exchange" were too unfamiliar to her.

The reason why Jiang Xueyi remembered it so clearly was because the original text described that He Chengze bought the heroine Tian Hui an exquisite Plum brand watch at the Overseas Chinese Store. When she put it on her hand, she was the envy of others.

She glanced at He Chengze beside her, her eyes filled with depth.

The two of them saw the gate of the Overseas Chinese Store from a distance. On the three-story building hung a green sign with four large characters "Overseas Chinese Store" written on it.

The entrance is not wide open like other stores or supply and marketing cooperatives. Instead, it is surrounded by winding, snake-shaped iron railings, a bit like the security check passage in the subway.

There were a few people standing nearby. When they saw He Chengze and Jiang Xueyi, they surrounded them and asked in a low voice, "Do you have a coupon?"

"I won't sell it even if I have it." He Chengze said with a cold face.

He escorted Jiang Xueyi inside and explained to her, "Those people are 'piling molds'. They want the overseas remittance coupons we have and want to exchange them for US dollars to engage in speculative trading."

Jiang Xueyi suddenly realized that it was a scalper.

They are called "pile driving molds", and I guess they are standing on the side of the road, like sticking cement piles.

She sighed, saying that these people were really smart, and that they were probably among the first group of people who became wealthy after the reform and opening up.

After passing through the serpentine iron railings, a staff member in a yellow dress stood at the door. She stopped the two of them and asked, "Where's the card?"

What card?

Jiang Xueyi was stunned.

"Yes, I have the cards." He Chengze took out two green overseas remittance cards from his pocket and showed them to her.

After the staff checked and confirmed everything, they said, "Okay, go in."

Jiang Xueyi clicked her tongue and whispered to He Chengze, "Do I need a card to enter the Overseas Chinese Store?"

He Chengze smiled and said, "Yes, you can enter and exit with a card, and each person has one card, you can't share one."

This card was borrowed from the person who sold him the overseas remittance voucher, and he has to return it.

Wow, it’s actually a membership system, a bit like Sam’s Club in later generations.

The stricter the entry and exit, the more interested Jiang Xueyi became in the overseas Chinese store.

She excitedly pulled He Chengze's arm: "Then let's go in and take a look."

The first thing that catches your eye is the spacious and bright hall. Several huge chandeliers hang from the ceiling, emitting soft and bright light, illuminating the entire hall.

There are tall glass display cabinets everywhere, displaying a variety of goods. Starting from the left, there is the clothing area, with colorful dresses and fashionable shirts neatly hung on hangers, and some matching ties and scarves placed next to them.

Next is the watch area, where rows of exquisite watches are placed in the glass display cabinets, including domestic famous watches such as Shanghai and Seagull, as well as some foreign brand watches. Under the light, the hands on the dials sparkle with metallic luster.

Further in is the food and daily necessities area, where there are enamel products with exquisite floral patterns, as well as thermos bottles of various styles, some with iron shells and some with plastic shells.

There are also canned milk powder and condensed milk. You can even smell the strong milky aroma through a thick layer of glass. In addition, there are canned fruits, high-end biscuits and cakes.

Compared with overseas Chinese stores, the supply and marketing cooperatives are simply weak.

Even the shoppers were wearing fashionable clothes, dressed elegantly, and spoke in a refined manner. They all looked like cadres. Jiang Xueyi even saw a few foreigners.

She squatted in front of a glass counter, staring intently.

This is a tobacco and alcohol counter, which displays Moutai, Wuliangye, some imported liquors, and beautifully packaged cigarettes.

If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she would never have thought that Moutai is so popular now.

He Chengze was a little amused when he saw her staring intently: "Don't be in a hurry to look, let's go buy the electric fan first."

"Okay." Jiang Xueyi looked at him again reluctantly.

When the two arrived at the home appliance area, what caught their eyes were all kinds of color appliances, including single-door refrigerators, electric fans, televisions, single-cylinder washing machines... Each appliance was brand new, and the metal shell of the body had a cold and hard luster, full of a sense of technology.

Even someone as knowledgeable as He Chengze couldn't help but be amazed.

Jiang Xueyi tugged at the corner of his clothes and whispered, "Isn't it too expensive? We can't afford it?"

Just now, when she passed by the food and daily necessities department store, she took a look and saw that a box of high-end biscuits alone cost eight dollars.

No wonder everyone says that even if you can get into a Chinese overseas store, you can’t afford the things here.

He Chengze found her like this very interesting, and imitated her and lowered his voice: "No, I asked before coming here. The washing machine we want to buy, even if it is imported, can be bought for about 200 yuan."

Jiang Xueyi breathed a sigh of relief and pushed him: "I was scared to death, I thought it would cost hundreds of dollars."

She walked over to a dark green electric fan, stroked it gently, and said with fondness: "How about we buy this one?"

The floor fan is tall and straight, with wide blades, as if it can bring endless coolness.

The size is not too big, just right for the bedroom.

And it is imported. Nowadays, the quality of imported products is still better than domestic ones, and it will not break no matter how you use it.

The salesperson, wearing an armband, approached and enthusiastically introduced, "This electric fan is from Emerson. It's high-quality and has strong wind power." He added, "Or you could take a look at this one, from the Guangzhou Diamond brand. It's lightweight, portable, energy-efficient, and relatively affordable. You two can choose the one that suits your home."

She was wearing lipstick and her attitude was much more enthusiastic than that of the salesperson at the supply and marketing cooperative.

After all, they all have missions.

The job is to collect as many overseas remittance coupons as possible, and then calculate performance based on the collected overseas remittance coupons. This performance is paid out every month as part of the salary. This is probably the only job in this era that calculates performance.

He Chengze looked at Jiang Xueyi: "You decide."

The clerk looked surprised. These days, it was rare to see women calling the shots outside.

Unless he's a gigolo.

She looked He Chengze up and down, but she didn't think he looked like him at all.

The man stood there, like a tall pine tree, with an outstanding temperament.

Could it be that he is a henpecked man?

The clerk curled his lips regretfully. He looked tall and strong, but he didn't expect that he was henpecked.

Jiang Xueyi touched the dark green fan and couldn't let it go: "I'll take this Emerson one."

It’s a bit expensive, but it works well.

"A total of 40 overseas remittance vouchers, plus 230 yuan in cash," said the clerk.

"Where do I pay?" He Chengze took out the overseas remittance voucher from his pocket.

"Go that way." The clerk pointed in the direction.

He Chengze was about to call Jiang Xueyi to pay when he saw her staring at the 12-inch TV next to the electric fan without blinking.

He leaned over to whisper in her ear: "Like?"

"Yeah!" Jiang Xueyi looked at him sideways, her eyes sparkling.

He Chengze: "After I get my salary next month, I'll ask someone to buy some overseas Chinese remittance coupons and try to bring this TV home."

"He Chengze."

"Um?"

"If there weren't so many people here, I would really like to kiss you."

He Chengze laughed and lowered his voice and said, "It's okay to kiss again when we get home."

"Hateful!" Jiang Xueyi glared at him.

He will take advantage of her.

After paying the bill and coming out of the Overseas Chinese Store, Jiang Xueyi couldn't help but sigh that this Overseas Chinese Store was really different from other places in every way.

Even the payment method is unique.

There are cash registers in every corner of the store, with thick iron wires hanging above them.

After the customer has selected the goods, the salesperson will clip the money and overseas remittance coupons on the wire with a clip, and throw it hard, and it will slide along the wire to the checkout counter. After the cashier staff collects the payment, they will throw the change back.

They don’t have to pick up the electric fan themselves. Just write down the address and pay a fee, and a worker will help deliver it.

Jiang Xueyi touched her belly and said, "When Xiao He is born, we will bring him to the Overseas Chinese Store again. I will ask him to write an essay then. I have already thought of the title: 'A Day Trip to the Overseas Chinese Store'."

"Xiao He?" He Chengze raised his eyebrows.

Jiang Xueyi stuck out her tongue. This was actually the nickname she gave her child. She usually only dared to call it in her heart, but she didn't expect to say it out loud.

He Chengze is not yet 30 years old this year, but when people in the army call others, they like to call them the older generation, which makes them look more stable. Usually, people like Captain Zhao and Captain Qi like to call He Chengze "Old He".

Since it's Old He...

Jiang Xueyi puffed out her belly and said confidently, "You are Old He, and he is Little He."

He Chengze laughed: "Okay, okay, Xiao He. Excuse me, Xiao He's mom, are you hungry? Do you want to go eat something?"

"Replying to Xiao He's dad, I'm hungry and want to go out to eat." Jiang Xueyi said.

The two found a state-owned restaurant and had some dumplings.

After a while, the sun was not so hot, so I went to the department store again and bought some cloth and weighed some cakes and biscuits.

It was only four o'clock in the afternoon when I got home.

Jiang Xueyi was a little full after eating dumplings at noon, so she took out the leftover mung beans from making mung bean cakes last time and cooked mung bean soup to drink as dinner.

After the mung bean soup is cooked, add it to the cold water.

While the workers had not yet arrived, Jiang Xueyi took the cloth she bought at the department store and went to find Liu Lu next door.

Liu Lu pinched the two corners of the cloth, looked at it in the sunlight, and looked embarrassed: "This... why did I buy shaking cloth?"

"Is there a problem?" Jiang Xueyi blinked.

Doudou cloth is a fashionable fabric nowadays. There is a rhyme that children on the streets can recite, which goes, "If you wear Doudou cloth, you must be a high-ranking official," which shows how precious it is.

If Jiang Xueyi hadn't been sweet-talking and good at talking, the salesperson wouldn't have even sold them these few feet of cloth just because they saw they were using military cloth coupons.

"No problem." Liu Lu pursed her lips and said, "Xiao Rui is just a child. Isn't it a bit too extravagant to wear a trembling cloth?"