Uncle Niu looked at the table full of dishes and thought, "Not bad at all, this is clearly the standard for a New Year's Eve dinner!"
That's not right either, their New Year's Eve dinner wasn't this lavish!
"Come on, Old Niu, let's eat!"
Boss Fu placed a bowl of rice in front of him, and Uncle Niu instinctively swallowed.
Two steamed buns were nothing to him, just enough to fill his stomach.
But he felt a little embarrassed to eat all the dishes on the table. Look at all those meats, they look very expensive!
Boss Fu knew exactly what this guy was thinking, so he picked up several more dishes and placed them on his rice.
"Let's all eat. After we finish, we'll go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some things and then go home!"
As soon as Fu Liang and Fu Ming heard that dinner was served, they immediately picked up their chopsticks and began to wolf down their food.
With such delicious food in front of me, I was indeed starving.
Although Fu Wan's eating manners were not as rough as her two older brothers, she still ate with great relish.
The success of state-run restaurants is not without reason; not only is the braised pork delicious, but even the bean sprouts are cooked to perfection.
The five people finished all the food on the table. The food, plus the takeaway beef, came to a total of twenty-six yuan.
The box used to pack the beef was an aluminum lunchbox, and they charged an extra 80 cents for it.
After lunch, the group headed to the supply and marketing cooperative. Uncle Niu, too lazy to go in, drove his tractor to a shady spot to wait for them.
Perhaps because it was midday, the supply and marketing cooperative didn't have many customers at this time.
Fu Wan and Fu Ming and the others walked into the supply and marketing cooperative. The sales clerks at the counter were even eating lunch in their metal lunch boxes.
"Ah Wan, what do you think we should buy?"
When Ye Xiaocui asked him to buy something today, Fu Laoda didn't remember any of them, so he could only ask his daughter to tell him what to buy.
As usual, Fu Wan bought a few cans of milk powder, but she didn't buy malted milk powder, as she felt it was too sweet and not very nutritious.
She did buy a lot of cookies and noodles, though.
"Hey comrade, do you have any instant noodles here?"
Seeing the noodles, she suddenly remembered that she had been craving instant noodles a few days ago while at sea!
Upon hearing this, the sales clerk quickly put down his lunchbox. Since the Friendship Store opened, business at the supply and marketing cooperative had been much worse.
These days, quite a few state-owned enterprises have gone bankrupt, so the attitude of sales clerks is completely different from that of a few years ago.
"Comrade, we have instant noodles here!"
She pulled a cardboard box from under the cabinet; it contained freshly opened instant noodles.
"These are some new instant noodles that our supply and marketing cooperative just bought wholesale. They're produced in Henan Province, and the noodles are chewy and delicious!"
Fu Wan picked up a packet and examined it. Although the packaging wasn't as fancy as in later years, it had a certain weight to it. The large characters for "instant noodles" on it made her feel a little disoriented, as if she had returned to the modern era.
"Ah Wan, is this noodle soup delicious?"
Fu Ming had never seen noodles packaged like this before, so he picked it up and took a look.
Fu Wan nodded. Instant noodles are like poppies; once you've tried them, you'll need a pack every few days.
"How much are these instant noodles?"
"Five cents a pack."
Five cents, that's alright.
Fu Wan thought about it. Even a child like Fu Ling could eat a whole pack of instant noodles. If they were going out to sea, an adult would need at least two packs.
"Comrade, if I buy two cases, can you give me a discount?"
"Two boxes?"
The saleswoman thought she had misheard, but when Fu Wan nodded affirmatively, the smile on her lips became impossible to suppress.
"Wait here, I'll go ask our manager."
She rushed into the office inside, and Fu Wan only waited for two minutes before she came out with a middle-aged woman.
"Comrade, do you want to buy two cases of instant noodles?"
Fu Wan nodded, "Yes, could you please check how much a box costs?"
At that time, a box of instant noodles contained twenty-four packs. The woman took out her notebook and calculated the price.
"Comrade, a box of instant noodles costs twelve yuan. If you want two boxes, we can only offer a discount of two yuan at most."
Twelve yuan is equivalent to one or two hundred yuan in modern terms. There was no way around it; instant noodles were still a rare commodity at that time.
"Okay, could you please get me two boxes?"
"Okay, comrade, please wait a moment!"
They only had this one box of opened instant noodles under their counter; if they wanted two boxes, they'd have to go to the office to get them.
You know, they usually have to sell this box of instant noodles for a month or two, but Fu Wan bought two boxes at once.
Fu Ming didn't stop Fu Wan from buying instant noodles; he had a gut feeling that whatever his sister bought would be especially delicious.
Fu Laoda was even less concerned. He had seen people eat this stuff when he was a ghost wandering around, but ghosts couldn't smell it, so he wanted to try it too.
So, only Comrade Fu Liang could watch helplessly as Fu Wan bought two boxes of noodles for a huge sum of over twenty yuan, but he didn't say a word and just silently moved the things.
Just as she stepped out of the supply and marketing cooperative, the Friendship Store was right next door. Fu Wan initially glanced at it out of curiosity, but her gaze was instantly drawn to the items inside.
"Comrade, is that... a television set?"
The large iron box facing the entrance of the Friendship Store looks familiar; isn't it a television set from this era?
"Comrade, you have a good eye! This is a television set; only our Friendship Store in the whole county has one!"
Fu Wan's interest in spending money resurfaced. At this time, without cell phones, the radio was the only entertainment device for everyone to pass the time. If there were a TV at home, Ye Xiaocui could also pass the time while mending fishing nets.
Moreover, this was in 1985. If she remembered correctly, 1986 was the year the classic TV series "Journey to the West" was released. (Image from the internet, removed if infringing copyright. This picture most resembles the TV set in my childhood home. "Comrade, is this TV color or black and white? How much does it cost?")
Black and white televisions are a bit lacking; although you can see the picture, it always feels a bit strange.
"We have both black and white and color TVs. The black and white ones are made in China and cost 598 yuan; the color TVs are imported and cost 1298 yuan."
After saying that, the salesperson turned on the black and white television next to him, carefully turned the switch next to it, and brought up the picture.
This was the first time Fu Ming and Fu Liang had ever seen a television set, and they found it incredibly novel.
When Fu Wan saw the black and white color scheme, she felt that it was indeed lacking.
This black and white is really hard to look at!
"Comrade, could you please open the color version so I can take a look?"
Upon hearing that the customer had a need, the saleswoman complied. However, she was noticeably more careful when turning on the television than when she had turned on the black and white television earlier.
Once the color TV screen came on, hmm, this finally looked right.
Even Boss Fu couldn't help but nod, "The colorful ones look better!"
How could this not look good? The two TVs are more than twice the price!
"Comrade, could you please write me a receipt for a color television? I'm buying it!"
"Okay!"
The saleswoman was overjoyed; they get bonuses for buying things, and this color TV could earn her an extra ten dollars!
Shopping can be addictive. Before the order for the TV was even processed, Fu Wan spotted something covered by a cloth next to her.
However, the cloth only covered a small part of the thing, and Fu Wan could see it clearly. My God, it was a bright red motorcycle!
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