Several racks supported a row of brightly colored scraps of floral fabrics, and most of the people gathered in front of the stalls were women.
This kind of scrap cloth stall can be seen everywhere in Shanghai after the reform and opening up. It does not require cloth coupons and greatly meets the needs of citizens who pay attention to dressing up.
Cloth coupons had been abolished in Shanghai at the end of last year, but these stalls were still doing well, with the odds-off cloth gradually trending towards larger pieces and smaller rolls. Particularly around the train station, some women who had just arrived from out of town were practically paralyzed by the sight of so many brightly colored cloths to choose from.
Liu Ni and Shen Chunhua are two of them. Although their county mainly engages in light textiles, who would complain about not having enough cloth at home?
"Don't buy here." Lin Guoqing whispered in Shen Chunhua's ear, "The ones near the train station are specifically designed to rip off outsiders. If you go into the city, you'll find plenty of these stalls, and they're even cheaper!"
You see, this is the benefit of having someone to lead the way.
So Chen Chunhua pulled Liu Ni out of the station road without any reluctance.
Walking on the roadside, the Coke in Liuni's hand no longer smelled good, and her eyes were busier than a thresher during the summer harvest.
"So many cars..." They were cars! It felt like they didn't see that many cars in their village all year.
"Aunt, why does it feel like everyone has a bicycle..."
The most common vehicles on the road are bicycles, and it seems that those who are walking are all coming out from the train station.
Don’t bicycles require a ticket? Doesn’t it cost money if you have a ticket? Why are all the people in Shanghai so rich?
"Ah! Uncle! What kind of car is that?" Liu Ni asked, pointing to a long vehicle with two antennas on the roof. It looked like a bus, blue and white, and was even more crowded inside than on their train.
"We have trams in our provincial capital, but there may not be as many as here. It is also a kind of bus." Lin Guoqing replied.
"No wonder there are so many lines in the sky..." Liu Ni cried out, "So are we going to ride this later?"
"No, the trams basically only run within the city. There are other buses when we get to the ferry."
Well, Liu Ni felt a little regretful. She was really curious about what it felt like to sit on it.
But soon she was attracted by other things.
At this point in time, it was the most awkward moment. Chen Chunhua thought it would be difficult to find food, and was thinking about buying some tea eggs on the road just now to fill her stomach.
But Lin Guoqing thought that since they were already here, why should they eat tea eggs? He led them around two corners and arrived at a small restaurant. He walked in and shouted,
"Master Yang! Three bowls of rice and three taels of fried dumplings!"
The boss looked up at the people in the transparent glass window, and didn't seem to think there was anything wrong. He shouted, "Wait," and started to cook.
Lin Guoqing wiped the table casually, feeling okay, so he pulled a chair and sat down first, and warmly greeted the two people still standing at the door, "Sit down! Their shengjian is delicious. I will definitely buy one or two every time I get off the train!"
As he spoke, a middle-aged woman in an apron came out from behind, holding a plate in her hand.
"Oh, Xiaolin! It's been a long time since you came! Is this your wife and kids?" As he spoke, the plate in his hand was already placed on the table. Twelve big, white, fat, and oily dumplings were piled up on the plate.
"You're so lucky! The ones we had just sold out, and these are still hot from Ala Lao Yang's oven. If you're any earlier or later, you'll have to eat cold ones!" (Nong = you, Ala = us, You = you guys, Jiaoguan = very, extremely)
"My luck has always been good! I've never eaten anything cold!" Lin Guoqing smiled at the woman, his tone showing some obvious familiarity.
"Mrs. Yang, this is my wife, Chunhua. My daughter hasn't had her summer vacation yet, so she can't come out! This is my niece. She runs a breeding farm with my wife. We came to Shanghai this time to buy breeding chickens and chicks from Guhua."
"Oh, Gu Hua is in the countryside in Hudong, and he's been spoiled!" Sister Yang took three more small bowls and placed them on their table. "Well, we have to hurry over by car after we finish eating. It's almost dark by then!"
"Yeah! Then tell Chef Yang to cook faster. If we miss the bus, the three of us will have to stay in your shop!"
"It's settled! I'm so happy! Someone will watch over the shop for me at night!" Mrs. Yang laughed heartily, and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes showed her mood. She pointed at the plate of Shengjian and said to Chen Chunhua and Liu Ni,
"Eat it! Shengjian must be served hot. It won't taste good if it gets cold!"
Liu Ni had been drooling for a long time, but because her uncle was chatting with someone else and her aunt hadn't picked up her chopsticks, she didn't dare move. Mrs. Yang, a business owner, had some tact. After greeting them, she turned and went to the kitchen.
"?Eat first, I'll go urge Old Yang to hurry up..."
"Hey, hey, hey! It's done! It's done! Bring it out!" Chef Yang was knocking on the big iron pot with an iron spoon. Three bowls of greasy rice and vegetables were placed in three bowls respectively. He also poked his head out of the open window.
"Xiao Lin! Tell me if you're not full! Why are you always complaining? Your stomach won't complain until we get to Gu Hua!"
"Hey! Okay! I definitely won't be polite with you!"
Lin Guoqing shouted back, his hands moving without slowing down at all. He took out three pairs of chopsticks from the chopstick bucket and handed them over, then picked up a shengjian (a fried dumpling) and put it into the bowl for Chen Chunhua and Liu Ni respectively.
"Eat it quickly! Eat it while it's hot!"
By the time Sister Yang brought over the three bowls of rice, Chen Chunhua was already a little dazed.
"Isn't it too much? Can we finish it?" The bottle of Coke in hand is not finished yet!
"I can finish it, how can I not finish it!" Lin Guoqing felt that she underestimated him. "Give it to me if you can't finish it, I'll finish it for you! Liuni! Is it delicious?"
Liu Ni had no time to pay attention to her uncle. She almost buried her face in the bowl, her cheeks puffed up like a hamster.
The fat pan-fried dumplings were thin-skinned and rich in broth, and the white meat filling inside was large and delicious. Add a bowl of vegetable rice fried in lard, with distinct grains of rice, chunks of salty pork, vegetables, and mushrooms, all complemented by the aroma of lard! Tsk! Tsk! Tsk!
"Hmm! Delicious... delicious!" She said vaguely. Maybe she was really hungry. She took a big mouthful of rice and swallowed it without chewing it thoroughly. With a "burp", she found that she was choking.
She quickly reached out to take the cola and passed it over her throat. The sweet cola and the salty food obviously didn't go together, but it made her eat more.
If Liu Ni was born in the era of information explosion, the Internet would have taught her what a sweet and salty perpetual motion machine is.
"Burp~" Chen Chunhua burped accidentally, and then carefully looked at the kitchen at the back, feeling a little embarrassed and afraid that the boss would hear it.
She was already full after eating one or two pieces of fried dumplings and half a bowl of rice. She poked the man who was helping her clean the bottom of the bowl while drinking Coke and asked quietly,
"How much does a meal like this cost?"
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