Xing Baohua turned around and saw no one else; it was her cousin Geng Ling calling her.
"What a coincidence, Sister Geng," Xing Baohua said with a smile.
"It's quite a coincidence, I didn't even recognize you just now. What are you doing here watching a movie? Are you all by yourself?" Geng Ling asked coincidentally.
"Just me, I came to the provincial capital to handle some business, and since I had some free time, I came to browse around. I happened to see this movie, so I went in to watch it. How come you..." Xing Baohua explained, then asked Geng Ling, "What are you doing here?"
"I live nearby, and I came to see this movie as soon as it was released. Have you eaten? My treat."
"Let me treat you. What's a good place to eat around here?" Xing Baohua had originally planned to just find a steamed bun stall to grab a bite. But with his sister-in-law present, he had to be a little more considerate.
"Delicious food? Don't you know where you are? This is the place with the most food in the whole provincial capital. And they are all old shops. Look over there, the most famous dish is braised pork with rice. See Goubuli? They opened a branch here in the 1930s, but it's not as good as the local Caobao buns, and it's two cents more expensive."
When Xing Baohua saw Goubuli steamed buns, he recalled that he had spent more than 100 yuan to eat a basket of buns back then. The taste was no different from that of soup dumplings that cost 10 yuan a basket. The only difference was that he was eating something with historical and cultural significance.
“There’s plenty more. What would you like to eat?” Geng Ling asked.
"Then try the braised pork with rice, but it's on me. Don't take it too seriously, or you'll still be my sister-in-law," Xing Baohua said.
"You..." Geng Ling, who was best at using the term "sister-in-law," was at a loss for words.
Braised pork belly is indeed delicious, fatty but not greasy. Four-happiness meatballs, fried eggs, and a tiger-skin pepper to go with the meal.
Free rice porridge is available for everyone.
The steamed rice was plump and fluffy, neither hard nor sticky. It was steamed using the method for making large pot rice a few years ago. Before steaming, the rice was boiled in water, like making rice porridge, until it expanded, and then placed in the large pot steamer.
My sister-in-law has a small appetite; she ate half a bowl of rice but finished off the meat and meatballs.
After they finished eating, they strolled around for a while to digest, and Xing Baohua felt a bit too full.
"When are you going back?" Geng Ling asked.
"About three or four days. What's wrong?" Xing Baohua asked.
“If you have time, come to my workplace. The song you gave me has already started arranging, and I’ve applied to go south to offer my condolences,” Geng Ling said.
Xing Baohua nodded in agreement, saying he definitely had to go and see. It was a pity he didn't have the money or resources right now, otherwise he could have sent some supplies over.
Before leaving, Geng Ling gave Xing Baohua her workplace address. Xing Baohua said she would go there when she had time the next day.
Xing Baohua had nothing to do at the moment, so he walked east along Jing Si Road. After walking a few steps, he saw the People's Department Store, which was bustling with people.
Since Xing Baohua came into this world, she hasn't had a proper look at the modern shopping mall.
Since I had nothing else to do, I decided to go in and take a look. I quickly glanced around. At that time, there was no open sales method; instead, there were individual counters that kept customers at the outside.
There were also a lot of wires hanging overhead. At first, I didn't know what they were for. Later, I saw a ticket board being pulled down from above directly to the salesperson, who could reach it with his hand.
The original method of transmitting tickets.
Xing Baohua went up to the second-floor appliance section, which was very large. It was crowded with people and had a lot of goods. Xing Baohua recognized some of the brands, while others were unfamiliar.
He wandered around aimlessly, browsing at will. He came across a display case filled with watches, both domestic and international. Xing Baohua didn't like the domestic styles, but a Longines watch caught his eye.
I asked the salesperson and found out it was only a little over two hundred, but I had to have an industrial invoice.
If I can't buy it for now, I'll just have to wait for another opportunity.
As I stepped out of the mall, I noticed someone following me. I turned around abruptly and saw a young man, about my age, smiling at me.
"Why are you following me?" Xing Baohua looked around warily and asked the young man who was following him.
"Hey buddy, I saw you wanted to buy a watch earlier. I have quite a few here, both domestic and international," the young man said.
“Not interested,” Xing Baohua said, shaking her head.
"Don't be so cautious, these are all good quality goods, cheap and no coupons required," the young man continued.
“I told you, I’m not interested, don’t follow me.” Xing Baohua said and left. A moment later, the young man said, “How about a digital watch for 60 yuan?”
Hearing this, Xing Baohua knew it wasn't anything good, but he was still curious to see this modern electronic watch. Maybe he could make a copy?
Thinking of all this, Xing Baohua turned around again and said to the young man, "Bring it here so I can take a look."
"Stop messing around, buddy. If you're not going to stay here, come with me." The young man said, leading the way.
Xing Baohua followed him to a row of bungalows behind the mall.
This guy was always on guard, just in case a few big men suddenly jumped out of that place, so he could run away.
The young man led him into a courtyard house, where several people seemed to be checking their watches.
Feeling somewhat relieved, Xing Baohua went over to take a look. There were many brands, most of which he didn't recognize. And they all felt very light, so he guessed they were all quartz electronic watches.
The young man handed Xing Baohua what appeared to be a children's watch; it was square and had the Casio logo.
"This watch is a fair price, it's an RB brand. Sixty dollars isn't expensive at all, it sells for over a hundred in department stores," the young man said.
Xing Baohua took it to take a look. First, he looked at the back cover, which was completely bare and shiny, with nothing on it.
Needless to say, it's a knock-off.
The cost price of this stuff is around ten yuan.
After looking at it, he said to the young man, "Make it cheaper."
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