Chapter 36
◎ Kong Baoer walked gracefully through the long alley in a white silk dress, holding a handful of light green oil-paper...◎
Kong Baoer was wearing a white silk dress and walking gracefully through the long alley, holding a light green oil-paper umbrella to protect herself from the sun.
Bei Bitang and Feng Guangmei both saw her. Feng Guangmei leaned close to Bei Bitang's ear and whispered, "I've been running into Sister Baoer quite often lately. She and her mother come to the grocery store to buy things and chat with me. I think she's a really nice person and we could make friends."
Bei Bitang smiled and said in a low voice, "Guangmei, you are braver than me."
Feng Guangmei patted her shoulder and whispered, "It's okay, Bitang, I'm here. I can help you make friends."
After saying that, Feng Guangmei stood up straight, smiled widely, waved at Kong Baoer, and said enthusiastically: "Sister Baoer, here."
Kong Baoer walked up to them from another alley and said with a smile: "You are all resting together today. You are indeed good friends. It's fate."
Feng Guangmei said, "Sister Baoer, where are you going?"
Bei Bitang smiled and said nothing beside her.
Kong Baoer frowned slightly, complaining a little, and said, "I just woke up from a nap and was hungry. There was nothing delicious at home, so I came back to have a bowl of wontons. Who would have thought that the chef in the store didn't make the wonton filling well today. It was a big disappointment."
Bei Bitang started talking. She said, "That wonton shop on the left after you exit the alley has a new chef."
Kong Baoer suddenly realized and said, "No wonder the wontons taste so different than before. When did the chef change? I didn't hear about it."
Bei Bitang said: "I just changed it two days ago.
Feng Guangmei and Kong Baoer said in unison: "Then I have to tell my family so that they won't go to eat it."
After saying that, Feng Guangmei and Kong Baoer looked at each other and burst into laughter. Bei Bitang covered her mouth but couldn't hide her laughter.
The three of them laughed for a while, and Feng Guangmei said, "Are you two okay later? Do you want to come to my house and play? My dad bought me some vinyl records from Hong Kong and Taiwan."
"The songs in Hong Kong and Taiwan are completely different from ours. When I first heard them, I was shocked. Songs like 'dear brother', 'I love you', 'like you', 'your heart' are so bold and straightforward. They make people blush and their hearts beat faster. I want to listen to them again and again."
What Kong Baoer said aroused the curiosity of Bei Bitang and Feng Guangmei.
The two looked at each other, and Feng Guangmei was the first to respond, "Okay, Sister Baoer, I'm free all day today."
Bei Bitang couldn't help but say, "I'm free too. I can just go back before dinner."
It turned out that there was a big pink bow on the back of Kong Baoer's skirt. When she turned around, Bei Bitang and Feng Guangmei discovered it.
Feng Guangmei looked at the swaying pink butterfly and said to Kong Baoer, "Sister Baoer, you are so brave to wear it."
Kong Baoer reached out her hand and touched her back, then smiled and said, "That's just the beginning. You haven't seen what I really dare to wear yet. I'll let you two see for yourself what I dare to wear when we get to my house."
The three of them walked towards Kong Baoer's house while talking and laughing.
Kong Baoer lives in a former private building covering a large area. The previous owner built it as an old-style apartment building in imitation of the Wukang Building.
Now, this apartment, which originally had only a few rooms, has been partitioned off to become 67 rooms, housing 67 families of all sizes. Kong Baoer's home is on the far right side of the fifth floor. This room is a partitioned off room from the master bedroom on the sixth floor, covering an area of over 20 square meters.
This apartment is considered a big house. Kong Baoer's mother and father take good care of the house. The dark red floor is bright and reflective, and there is no messy clutter on the wooden floor. It is clean and tidy.
What is even more precious is that the colorful glazed windows have been completely preserved and have not been damaged.
Kong Baoer's parents found three screens from somewhere, surrounded the room with the screens, and built a small and unique boudoir for Kong Baoer.
Kong Baoer has her own room, but her parents just put a bed in the living room and cover it with a tall wooden shelf.
On the wooden shelf were the gifts Kong Baoer's father had brought back from his sailing trips. There were exquisite dolls, sparkling crystal balls, vivid bronze soldier figurines, beautiful biscuit boxes, and even foreign red wine.
The two large electric fans in the room were constantly on. Strangely enough, they were blowing towards two large basins of ice on the floor. A cool breeze blew through the 20-plus square meter room, keeping it cool at all times.
As soon as Bei Bitang and Feng Guangmei entered the house in their slippers, they felt a slight coolness and couldn't help but sigh comfortably.
Feng Guangmei sighed and said, "Sister Baoer, your house is too cool, and it's a room facing west."
Kong Baoer opened the drawer, took out the vinyl record, and said, "It's still not cool enough. My dad said that in a few years, he would install an air conditioner like the one in the Peace Hotel for our home.
How much electricity bill does this cost?
Bei Bitang thought to herself as she looked at the layout of the room. She, who had never seen the world before, was amazed.
Kong Baoer took out a large album of her collection of vinyl records, and Bei Bitang and Feng Guangmei hurried over to take a look.
Kong Baoer introduced them one by one.
Inside the transparent plastic bag is a hard paper bag with colorful patterns printed on it.
Bei Bitang and Feng Guangmei were staring intently. Seeing that they were interested in the packaging of the vinyl record, Kong Baoer put the vinyl record directly in their hands and looked at it slowly.
She stood up and said, "Let me start by playing Teresa Teng's 'The Moon Represents My Heart,' which is also my favorite song."
Bei Bitang raised her head, her eyes shifting away from the brightly colored packaging. She said with some concern, "Teresa Teng? I've never heard of her. Is she not from mainland China? Sister Baoer, will there be any problems if we put this in?"
Hearing this, Feng Guangmei hesitated a little. Kong Baoer said with a nonchalant look on her face: "Don't worry, it's okay. In the whole building, those who go to school go to school, those who go to work go to work, only Grandma Shen is there. Grandma Shen is a very good person. She never says a word about right and wrong. She is very tight-lipped, and she is also very hard of hearing. Besides, this is not the first time I let it go."
Even though Kong Baoer said so, Bei Bitang and Feng Guangmei did not dare to feel relieved. They stared at the record player on the table in the middle of the room.
Kong Baoer removed the white lace cover on the record player, removed the needle, took out the vinyl record and put it into the turntable, then put down the needle.
The next second, the record started spinning and a hissing sound filled the room.
Bei Bitang and Feng Guangmei stared at the closed door in fear.
"You asked me how much I love you, how much I love you, my love is true, the moon represents my heart..."
Teresa Teng's voice is lingering and sad, sweet yet with a hint of sadness.
But Bei Bitang and Feng Guangmei were not paying attention to the singing at first. After a long time, the door was closed quietly and no one came to knock on the door.
Only then did the two of them finally put their minds at ease and began to enjoy the song with this unfamiliar tune.
Feng Guangmei listened, shaking her head, and Bei Bitang was also absorbed in the song. As she listened, the lyrics didn't remind her of Xu Zeli or herself at all.
Kong Baoer raised her eyebrows and asked proudly, "It sounds good, right?"
Bei Bitang and Feng Guangmei nodded in unison and said, "It sounds good."
Their faces turned a little red when they listened to the lyrics, but it was really so beautiful that it was irresistible.
Kong Baoer said: "Apart from Chairman Mao, Teresa Teng is my most admired and favorite idol now. I really hope that one day I can see her in person and attend one of her concerts."
Bei Bitang was a bit confident. She said, "Yes. Your father can travel all year round, foreigners can travel to the Bund, and now even college students can study abroad. One day, ordinary people like us will be able to travel and go wherever we want."
Kong Baoer raised her eyebrows and said, "There are so many places I want to go. Paris, France, London, England, and the one I want to go to the most is Scarlett's Tara Manor."
Feng Guangmei also said: "I want to travel to Beijing once. During the Great Linkup, my mother didn't allow me to go."
Bei Bitang lowered her head and touched her braid, saying somewhat embarrassedly, "I don't have anywhere I want to go. If I have to say, it's in the northwest. I want to go home, back to Shanghai."
Feng Guangmei's eyes turned, and she suddenly realized that the appearance of Kong Baoer's house was very similar to the famous Paramount Ballroom. She couldn't help but suggest: "We have a song, why don't we dance."
Bei Bitang shook her head and said, "I can't."
Even Kong Baoer said: "I can't do it either."
Feng Guangmei's shoulders drooped, and she said dejectedly, "I can't dance either. My mom and dad do, though. When they were young, they held social dances where young men and women would get together to dance."
Kong Baoer said unyieldingly, "Oh my God, we are Shanghai girls, the most fashionable girls in the country. How can we not know how to dance? Just look at me!"
She jumped up from the sofa, stood on tiptoe, and after a few jumps, she was in the center of the room.
She reached out and lifted up her snow-white satin dress, revealing her slender ankles. She raised her head proudly, her eyes fixed intently on the upper front.
Following the music, he danced to the left, then walked to the right. Sometimes he moved quickly, sometimes slowly. Sometimes his movements were small, sometimes large.
If you observe carefully, you will find that she is not dancing randomly, her movements are regular and in tune with the song.
Feng Guangmei was not to be outdone, she made a funny face, half-bent her knees, put her hands on her hips, and swayed her body and head back and forth.
The two men couldn't bear to see Bei Bitang sitting still, so they jumped to her side tacitly and pulled her up together.
Bei Bitang was completely led by the nose, but soon she also fell into the joy of jumping around. She and Feng Guangmei held hands and spun in circles, and then she and Kong Baoer linked arms and kicked their feet.
I don’t know how long they danced, but when all three of them were sweating slightly on their faces, they stopped together.
Kong Baoer opened the refrigerator, took out three bottles of Coca-Cola, and handed them to Bei Bitang and Feng Guangmei respectively.
The two people didn't know what it was, so they took it with a normal expression and thanked Kong Baoer. Kong Baoer didn't say that what you are drinking is the Coca-Cola that was once famous on the streets of Shanghai. I usually don't want to drink it, and I save it to drink slowly.
At this time, Coca-Cola, which had first entered China in 1927, had withdrawn from the Chinese market 29 years earlier. It would take more than half a year for Coca-Cola to re-enter the country, and another ten years for Coca-Cola to build a bottling plant and concentrate plant in Shanghai.
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