After Xu Xiangyang left, he went straight to the department store.
Because I had inquired beforehand, the trip went smoothly.
The only problem is that transportation is not very convenient now; there is no shuttle bus from here to the department store.
After walking for about twenty minutes, Xu Xiangyang finally arrived at his destination.
The department store stands out from the crowd; the surrounding buildings are all at most three stories high, while the department store is five stories high.
This was the first time he had seen such a tall building here. It lacked the prosperity of later generations and looked very simple on the outside.
There were many people inside, and everyone coming and going had a happy expression on their face.
Who isn't happy when they buy things?
Xu Xiangyang took a walk around first. The things inside were indeed better than those in his city, but the prices were not cheap either.
Not to mention that many things require coupons, and he only had money in his pocket; he simply didn't have enough coupons to buy things.
I glanced at the time and realized that so much time had passed without me even noticing. It's finally here, so I'm not going to buy anything anymore.
Everything here requires a ticket, and since he didn't have any of those things, he couldn't buy them even if he wanted to, so he had to go back.
Upon arriving at the state-run restaurant, Xu Xiangyang looked at the menu.
Actually, he just wanted to try the food in the big city. He had tried everything in the cafeteria and didn't have any cooking skills, so he could only satisfy his cravings by eating out.
"Comrade, a bowl of rice, a bowl of braised pork, and some pickled vegetables with vermicelli."
The waiter nodded. "That'll be one dollar and twenty cents in total, plus half a pound of meat coupons and one ounce of grain coupons."
Xu Xiangyang hadn't expected it to be so expensive; after all, a serving of braised pork probably didn't even contain a pound of meat.
Since we've already ordered, a little extra money won't make a difference.
He paid quickly and found a place to sit down.
It was lunchtime, and the restaurant was gradually starting to fill up.
Not long after, a voice came from the window asking Xu Xiangyang to bring the food.
However, when he saw the food, he couldn't help but feel that his money hadn't been wasted.
A serving of pork belly was served in a small bowl, and it looked to be more than a pound of pork, with each piece about the size of a thumb.
Who could possibly eat such a huge chunk of meat?
"It smells so good..."
Xu Xiangyang took a bite and thought it tasted good, with a hint of sweetness, and the meat was very tender and not greasy at all.
Pair it with a bite of pickled vegetable noodles, and it's absolutely amazing!
(Pickled cabbage noodles are simply stir-fried glass noodles with pickled cabbage shreds)
While he was eating, Xu Xiangyang overheard two young men next to him chatting and drinking beer.
"The boss said we have to be careful this time, so let's just drink this one bottle."
"Okay, we'll drink when we get back after we've finished our business."
"No way, tonight's events are so important. We can't afford to take responsibility for the television set."
"Keep your voice down..."
Xu Xiangyang raised an eyebrow. A television?
Television sets were hard to come by back then, especially television tickets; some people had never even seen one before.
Not to mention the price, which is almost the same as a small courtyard, making it prohibitively expensive for most people.
What did those two people mean by that?
Xu Xiangyang didn't look at them, but continued eating with his head down. After all, it's best not to ask such sensitive questions easily; even if you do, they won't tell you, and they'll be wary of you.
Judging from what they said, this TV set was obviously of dubious origin, with all sorts of claims about "boss" and "keeping the volume down."
After finishing his meal, Xu Xiangyang packed the remaining dishes into a lunchbox.
You can just heat it up and eat it; it won't spoil if you put it in the space anyway.
He didn't go far after leaving the restaurant; instead, he changed his clothes and stood at the entrance of a nearby alley.
Not long after, the two young men who had been eating in the restaurant came out.
They chatted and laughed all the way, their faces slightly flushed, indicating they had probably drunk more than one bottle of beer.
Xu Xiangyang followed them briskly, keeping a distance of about thirty meters.
At this distance, they won't be detected or lost.
Although the two of them had been drinking, who knows if they really let their guard down?
Xu Xiangyang followed them all the way to the outskirts of the city. He was not familiar with the situation there, so he didn't know exactly where they were.
However, the surrounding area is not as bustling and crowded as the city center; it must be the suburbs.
The two young men stopped in an abandoned courtyard and looked around before entering.
Xu Xiangyang had been crouching not far away, and no one could spot him.
Watching the young man enter the courtyard, he squatted down on a stone and began to ponder.
He originally wanted to ask if he could buy a TV at a discount, but how did it turn into stalking?
Xu Xiangyang sighed. Even if he went in now in plain clothes to ask, he would probably be beaten half to death, or even killed to silence him.
If they can get their hands on televisions from dubious sources, it proves that their leader must be incredibly capable.
If he rushes over there rashly, he might get choked.
Let's forget about it.
With that thought in mind, Xu Xiangyang got up to leave.
At that moment, a military truck drove towards us, but it was clearly an outdated vehicle and not a regular unit vehicle.
Don't ask him how he knows; most trucks and vans have proper documentation.
Especially those belonging to work units—most are state-owned enterprises now—if a vehicle belongs to a work unit, it will have a work unit license plate on it. (Just kidding.)
Xu Xiangyang lowered his head, then turned and walked into the alley. The cars on the road did not stop and drove all the way to the courtyard.
Xu Xiangyang heard the car engine had stopped and went back to check on it again.
The leader opened the door, and two young men came out.
"Boss!"
"Boss..."
The man leading the group had an obscured face, wearing a mask and a hat.
However, that person was probably over 1.8 meters tall and looked very tall.
The car drove into the yard, and the gate was closed.
Xu Xiangyang thought about it for a moment, then left. Regardless of whether they were selling or not, he couldn't buy it.
In such a remote place, if something happens, he won't even be able to run away.
For safety reasons, Xu Xiangyang did not linger and left.
When we got back to the hotel, Qian Wenqing hadn't returned yet; he probably had bought a lot of things.
There was a large bag on the bed opposite, so they must have gone out to buy things again.
It has to be said that personal shoppers will exist both now and in the future.
Xu Xiangyang wasn't interested in being a personal shopper; he found it rather boring, especially since he could do it without even leaving home these days.
However, this kind of thing is risky; if it gets noticed, it could cause a lot of trouble.
He lay in bed thinking, then took out a suitcase. He'd already been out all day; he couldn't just leave empty-handed, could he?
When Qian Wenqing takes him to the trade fair, he will have an excuse to take out his things.
This contains items I had previously compiled, intending to sell them gradually, but I haven't had the opportunity to do so.
He glanced at his watch; it was almost four in the afternoon, and it was getting dark.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
