Chapter 14: Dong'an Market
Lin Sanqi is not some saint, so of course she can understand this:
"Mom, I understand that a well-fed person knows etiquette, and one who has enough food and clothing knows honor and disgrace. But Dad is amazing. Everyone respects him when he mentions his name. This is the style of a famous doctor."
Jin Caifeng glanced at her youngest son meaningfully:
"So, you should study medicine in the future. Our family has a family tradition, and some secret recipes are passed down from generation to generation. Once you learn well, you can become a famous doctor like your father, respected by everyone."
In fact, Lin Sanqi had not figured out what path he should take in 1959.
It stands to reason that since I have a father who is a famous doctor and a secret recipe passed down from generation to generation, it would be nice to inherit the family business and become a famous Chinese medicine doctor in 1959.
But as a doctor, I have to sit in the clinic and see patients every day, which means I have no freedom. Did I really think that I had traveled back to 1959 to serve the people?
How can we make money, monetize our traffic, and reduce the financial burden on small families in 2013?
But if I don’t become a Chinese medicine practitioner, what else can I do in this era?
These days, work is assigned to you. You do whatever you are told to do and you have no choice. There is no such thing as self-employment, let alone doing business.
So Lin Sanqi was confused for a moment and had no idea what to do next.
Seeing her son deep in thought, Jin Caifeng thought that he had listened to her words and was very happy:
"Zizi, I've bought the meat. Come on, Mommy will take you to have breakfast."
"Breakfast?"
Lin Sanqi looked at the deserted East and West vegetable market and searched for a long time but didn't see any breakfast shops or the like.
In 1959, private individuals were not allowed to do business, but there were still public-private joint-venture shops. Unfortunately, natural disasters led to a severe shortage of food supplies, which caused the vegetable market to be very depressed, and there was really not much to buy.
Even if there are things, you can only look at them. Having money alone is not enough without a ticket.
Jin Caifeng walked in front and said to her youngest son:
"You can't have breakfast at the Dongdan Market. Let's go south to Wangfujing, where there's a Dong'an Market. They have everything. You've been stuck in this den of black market thieves, so it's time to see the bustling scene of our capital."
Jin Caifeng thought her youngest son was ignorant.
Lin Sanqi was so upset after hearing this that she thought to herself, "Auntie, you haven't been to Zhengjia Plaza in Tianhe. The shopping center alone covers an area of 300,000 square meters, with 7 floors above ground and 3 floors underground. It's really lively there."
Dong'an is just a small place, not worth mentioning.
Who knew that when he actually arrived at Dong'an Market, Lin Sanqi realized how shallow he was.
Since the late Qing Dynasty, Dong'an Market has been the most lively place in Beijing. It is not just a market, but a large supermarket integrating retail, leisure, entertainment, catering and tourism.
Even though it was only a little after 7 o'clock in the morning, the Dong'an Market was packed with people.
There is a long row of snack bars and restaurants serving breakfast, some state-owned and some public-private joint ventures, and each stall is crowded with diners.
Lin Sanqi was a little confused and asked Jin Caifeng next to him:
"Mom, weren't they saying that natural disasters were so severe this year that people couldn't even get enough to eat? Why are there so many people eating at Dong'an Market? I see there's plenty of food and meat."
Jin Caifeng laughed when she heard this, as if she saw through everything:
"Before liberation, Chentang, Huadu, was a bustling place, bustling with people and bright lights. It was a scene of prosperity. But who could have imagined that outside Huadu, people were starving to death, families were torn apart, and corpses were everywhere.
So, regardless of dynasty or period, the poor always make up the majority. It's not that there aren't rich people, but rather that wealth and resources are concentrated in the hands of a few. These people still eat the best food, drink the best drinks, and wear patches on their bodies just to show off to others.
Lin Sanqi nodded slightly and murmured softly:
"The rich have wine and meat, while the poor freeze to death on the streets..."
Zhu Caifeng gently touched her youngest son's head and said affectionately:
"We are a family of doctors. As long as we take care of ourselves and can cure diseases and save lives, that's enough. If we are poor, we can only take care of ourselves. If we are rich, we can help the world. You are still young, so don't say certain things lightly, and don't do certain things lightly. It's best for us to live a peaceful life."
Lin Sanqi was a college student after all, with a high IQ, and he knew that this was his mother's implicit way of teaching him how to deal with the world.
"I know, Mom. There are some things we just need to be clear about. I won't be fooled into doing anything in a hurry."
"This is my good son. Come on, let me take you to drink mutton soup. It's a pity that there are no rice noodle rolls and shrimp dumplings in the city."
The mother and son found a mutton noodle restaurant and sat down. Jin Caifeng ordered two bowls of noodles and two sesame cakes.
Because of the meat, a bowl of noodles cost 4 taels of food coupons, plus 14 cents. A sesame seed bun cost 1 tael of food coupons, plus 3 cents.
Ordinary noodles were much cheaper, a bowl of vegetable noodles cost two taels of food coupons and eight cents.
After paying the bill, Jin Caifeng carefully hid the ticket and money in a small bag close to her body. It would be okay if the money was lost, but it would be fatal if the ticket was lost.
After a while, the noodles were served. The public noodle shop is very affordable. The mutton is thick and the noodle soup is filled with tempting oil.
Perhaps in later generations, people would pay attention to whether noodle soup is "clear", but in that era, people paid attention to "oiliness", the oilier the better.
Lin Sanqi took a sip of soup and a mouthful of noodles, his eyes lighting up.
In one word, it is fresh; in two words, it is delicious. This kind of mutton noodles made with pure natural ingredients and without any technological advancements cannot be compared with what will be available decades later.
"Mom, these mutton noodles are delicious, and these sesame cakes are so fragrant. I can eat them every day and never get tired of them~~~"
Jin Caifeng passed the mutton from her bowl to her son and said with emotion:
"How can you eat mutton noodles for breakfast every day? You'll understand when you start working. An apprentice's monthly salary is only 18 yuan, and the food coupon ration is only 21 kilograms. Even if you save on food, you can only get by for half a month."
Lin Sanqi did some calculations and thought, oh no! What if I become an intern and my daily salary is not enough to buy a bowl of noodles?
I looked at the other diners around me and wondered if these people were earning more than 18 yuan in wages and 21 kilograms of food coupons. So where did their money and coupons come from?
After eating the noodles, Jin Caifeng took her son to the mall and bought two sets of ready-made clothes for Lin Sanqi.
Lin Sanqi was amazed at the densely packed cash register system above the mall that looked like a spider web. He felt that shopping this way was much more enjoyable than shopping online.
But what he didn't know was that by buying two shirts, two pairs of trousers and a coat, he had used up all the cloth coupons for everyone in the Lin family for a year.
Coming out of Dong'an Market, Jin Caifeng looked at her watch and said:
"Zizi, if you want to go somewhere else later, mom will take you there."
Lin Sanqi touched the prescription in his pocket and said without hesitation:
"Mom, I want to go to the Chinese Medicine Hospital to see where my dad and the others work..."
(End of this chapter)
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