Chapter 66, Free Meal
Carrying a bicycle made it inconvenient to continue shopping, so after leaving the department store, they went straight home.
When they arrived home, it was lunchtime. Yu Xiuhong and her son were eating at the door. Seeing them ride back on a bicycle, she asked in surprise, "You bought a bicycle?"
Lin Qingqing got out of the car and said with a smile, "Yes."
"Oh my!" Yu Xiuhong strolled over, carrying a bowl, and looked around the bicycle. "What brand is this? How much does it cost?"
"It's from Wuyang." Lin Qingqing took out her keys from her bag and said as she opened the door, "It's less than 160."
"It's so expensive! Why don't you buy a Phoenix brand bicycle? Quite a few people in our compound ride that brand of bicycle," Yu Xiuhong asked curiously.
“Big brands like Phoenix and Forever have long waiting lists, sometimes three to five months or even half a year. I wanted to buy a bike mainly for practical use, not for the brand name, so I bought this one,” Lin Qingqing explained. “Besides, this bike is relatively cheap; those big brands cost almost two hundred yuan for a bicycle.”
Yu Xiuhong had never bought a bicycle before and didn't know much about prices. She was shocked when she heard the price: "So expensive?"
“Yes,” Lin Qingqing said, pushing open the door.
“Bicycles are so expensive, I think it’s better to take the bus. Jianbang’s dad comes back twice a week, and the fare is less than two cents.” Yu Xiuhong had envied others who bought bicycles and had even considered buying one herself, but after asking about the price, she completely suppressed that thought.
Xie Wei pushed his bicycle back into the house, while Lin Qingqing stood at the door talking to Yu Xiuhong: "It's inconvenient for Battalion Commander Chen to use a bicycle in the camp, and your workplace is in the family compound, so there's no need for you to buy a bicycle. But it's different for me. My daily commute costs 15 cents, and if I come back at noon, it costs 30 cents. That adds up to 4.5 to 9 yuan a month just for transportation. Even if I get a monthly bus pass, it'll still cost 6 yuan a month, which is 60 yuan a year."
"Buying a bicycle seems to cost over a hundred yuan, but a bicycle can be used for seven or eight years, which averages out to only ten or twenty yuan a year. Isn't that more cost-effective than taking a bus?"
Yu Xiuhong thought Lin Qingqing made sense: "Then you got a pretty good deal on this car."
“If it’s not worth it, no one will want to buy a bicycle,” Lin Qingqing said.
Bicycles were the most important means of transportation from the 1960s to the 1980s. Their popularity for so many years was certainly not solely due to the scarcity of cars.
After speaking with Yu Xiuhong, Lin Qingqing went inside to get her lunchbox and went to the cafeteria with Xie Wei to get their food.
.
The cafeteria was nearby, so the two of them didn't ride their bikes but walked there slowly.
As Lin Qingqing passed by Building 27, someone called out to her. Looking inside, she saw Li Chunying. She was carrying a rice bowl and walking out. Seeing the lunchboxes in their hands, she said, "You didn't cook today? Why don't you come over and eat something? I made extra."
"We just got back from outside and didn't have time. No need, we'll be at the cafeteria soon anyway." Lin Qingqing replied, then seemed a little surprised, "You're not going to work today?"
Li Chunying sighed and said, "How can I go to work every day!" Then she turned around and called her child to recognize her.
Lin Qingqing had visited Li Chunying's house before and met her two children. She greeted them with a smile and said, "If there's nothing else, we'll be going now?"
"You really don't eat at home?" Li Chunying asked again.
"No need to trouble yourself." Lin Qingqing waved her hand and left with Xie Wei.
...
Since cooking at home, Lin Qingqing hasn't been eating lunch and dinner at the cafeteria much, so much so that Sister Fu was quite surprised when she saw her: "You didn't cook at home today?"
"I went out today and just got back, so I didn't have time," Lin Qingqing explained, ordering two vegetarian dishes.
As she served her food, Sister Fu casually asked, "What were you doing out there? Why are you so late?"
“When Xie Wei and I got married, the dowry included three major items, but since we planned to accompany him to the military base, we only bought a watch. Now that I’m working, I thought it would be more convenient to buy a bicycle, so I went to the city today to buy one.”
Since transmigrating to the 1970s, Lin Qingqing has become increasingly careful about the impact of her words, which has led to her having to elaborate on things that could be explained simply as "we went to the city to buy a bicycle."
Fortunately, everyone was there and understood this way of speaking. Sister Fu didn't think Lin Qingqing was talking too much at all and smiled, "That's a happy occasion." She then asked Lin Qingqing what brand of bicycle she bought.
Lin Qingqing mentioned the brand, and Sister Fu frowned and said, "I've never heard of this brand before?"
"It's not very famous, is it?" Lin Qingqing then mentioned that there was a long queue to buy a Phoenix Permanent Store.
Sister Fu gasped in surprise, "That's been way too long! It's good that you bought it now, otherwise it's inconvenient to commute to work." She then handed the lunchbox filled with food to Lin Qingqing.
"That's what I was thinking too." Lin Qingqing took the lunchbox, thanked Xie Wei, and then found a seat with him.
While she was eating, neighbors came over to greet her and then asked why she was eating at the cafeteria. Their kitchen stove was conveniently located on the counter near the window, and the iron pot was facing the window directly. Lin Qing...
The aroma of stir-fried vegetables wafted out of the house. Over time, many people in the residential compound knew that Commander Xie's wife's cooking was incredibly delicious, and they were quite surprised to see her eating lunch in the canteen.
Helpless, Lin Qingqing had no choice but to repeat what she had said to Sister Fu, and then mention the brand of the bicycle again.
By the time we finally managed to settle down and eat, the food was almost cold.
After another group of people left, Xie Wei said, "You've met a lot of people during this time."
"The neighbors are all very welcoming," Lin Qingqing said. In fact, she is not a very proactive person in interpersonal relationships, and this can be seen in her life.
In Lin Qingqing's previous life, people like her were not uncommon.
Because with the development of the internet, people back then expressed more of their enthusiasm online, while shutting themselves off from their real lives. So in the 5G era, it's common to see people eating at the same table while each person is on their phone.
They lack enthusiasm for the people in other people's lives.
But the qualities that are rare in the 5G era were quite common in the 1970s. Whether it was Aunt Wang He Xiaoli whom we met at the guesthouse, Li Juan whom we met at the educated youth settlement, or Sister Fu Li Chunying whom we know now, or even Xie Wei who seems indifferent on the outside, they were all warm-hearted.
Therefore, Lin Qingqing believes that the reason she was able to get to know so many people so quickly after joining the army was not because she had any personal charm, but because everyone was full of enthusiasm and viewed others with kindness.
From this perspective, Lin Qingqing also felt that it was her good fortune to have traveled to this era.
...
As Xie Wei said, his comrade brought two meat dishes when he came: a live fish and half a duck.
The man who brought the live fish was surnamed Huang; he was the deputy commander of the 24th Regiment, where Xie Wei served. The man who brought the ducks was surnamed Liang; he was the deputy political commissar of the 22nd Regiment. There was also a man surnamed Ding, the commander of the 21st Regiment, and that was the last one.
Except for Deputy Political Commissar Liang, who was half a year younger than Xie Wei, everyone else was older than him. Therefore, the others readily addressed Lin Qingqing as "sister-in-law," but Deputy Political Commissar Liang, usually a very sociable person, couldn't bring himself to call Lin Qingqing "sister-in-law."
Deputy Regiment Commander Huang was a show-loving man. Even though he knew that Deputy Political Commissar Liang couldn't say it, he still urged him to say it: "Is it so hard to say the words 'sister-in-law'?" He then said to Lin Qingqing, "Sister-in-law, don't be polite with him. He's just young."
Having no other choice, Deputy Political Commissar Liang called out, "Little sister-in-law."
"Sister-in-law is sister-in-law, little sister-in-law"
"What's going on, Zi?" Commander Ding asked jokingly.
Having already addressed her, Deputy Political Commissar Liang didn't hesitate and laughed, "Isn't it because your wife is young?"
"Call me whatever you want," Lin Qingqing said. She felt a little uncomfortable being called "sister-in-law" by someone so much older than her.
Deputy Commander Huang said, "Since your wife has said so, we'll let you go today."
Everyone went inside and sat down. There was only one sofa in the Xie family's living room. When there were few people, they could squeeze in and sit down, but today there were many people, and they were all grown men, each sitting wider than the last, so there weren't enough seats. Lin Qingqing moved the high stools over for them to sit down, and then asked Xie Wei to pour them some water.
As Xie Wei poured water, Deputy Regiment Commander Huang clicked his tongue and said, "Tsk tsk, Old Xie is really something after getting married..."
Before he could finish speaking, Xie Wei gave him a sidelong glance, and Deputy Regiment Commander Huang immediately fell silent, but he didn't say anything more. Deputy Political Commissar Liang, who had just been teased by him, wasn't going to let him off the hook this time either, and asked with a smile, holding his water glass, "But what is it?"
"I was praising Lao Xie for being so considerate of his wife!" Deputy Regiment Commander Huang asked without changing his expression, "Wasn't it too much trouble for your wife to come over for dinner today?"
"I'm off today too, so I won't bother you. Besides, we should have invited everyone over for a meal when we first moved in; it was our oversight." Lin Qingqing said, then carried the duck and fish into the kitchen.
Deputy Regiment Commander Huang said, "Listen to what my sister-in-law is saying, she's so understanding!"
Deputy Political Commissar Liang scoffed, "Alright, everyone's already in the kitchen."
Upon hearing this, Deputy Regiment Commander Huang immediately straightened his face and said seriously, "Old Liang, you're wrong. I'm not saying this to please my sister-in-law. I'm just stating the facts. She just went into the kitchen. Even if she weren't here today, I would still say the same thing."
Deputy Political Commissar Liang rolled his eyes and said, "You're making a mountain out of a molehill."
Deputy Regiment Commander Huang chuckled and said, "I just heard that my sister-in-law is a good cook, so I wanted to come and freeload a couple more meals." He was different from the others today; he came for the food.
"Then you'd better not say anything," Xie Wei said, putting down his cup.
Deputy Regiment Commander Huang asked in confusion, "Hmm?"
"Didn't you understand?" Deputy Regiment Commander Liang said, suppressing a laugh, "Is Old Xie telling you to stop coming over for free meals in the future?"
The author has something to say: Don't ask, the answer is just jealousy.
Second watch.
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