Chronicle of the 70s

Everyone emerged from the meal with bulging bellies, Qin Xi was still holding several greased paper bags, having packed up some of the remaining dishes, including the final dish "Absolute Generation Double Heroes" ordered by Qin Zhen.

Xianglu couldn’t help wanting to laugh even now. Qin Zhen felt he had been shortchanged and insisted on ordering a dish by himself. After much deliberation, he couldn’t find any that would showcase his capabilities. Finally, he settled on a dish named ’Absolute Generation Double Heroes’ despite everyone’s attempts to dissuade him – which turned out to be just a stir-fried chili dish, red and green chilies fried together and ridiculously expensive at six yuan.

After the meal, the old master didn’t dare to linger any longer since there were important items back at the guesthouse he needed to watch over. Thus, only Qin Xi was left to take the two of them around for a stroll.

The first stop was naturally Shanghai First Department Store to buy a watch. Even though Qin Xi said that if it was too costly, he would cover it, the grandfather still gave her one thousand yuan, telling her to buy whatever she wanted, which instantly made her feel flush with cash. She couldn’t quite define her relationship with Qin Xi, but spending his money still felt somewhat improper.

The department store lived up to its reputation as the largest of its kind, even in such a resource-scarce era it was bustling with people dressed in various styles, speaking different dialects – Xianglu was absolutely fascinated.

This place was far more luxurious than the old Huai Country, with glass display cases everywhere, spotlessly clean floors, and sales assistants dressed as neatly as senior white-collar workers, each with a welcoming smile, a far cry from the attitude of salespeople back in her hometown’s county cities.

Qin Zhen was perpetually curious, surveying the surroundings non-stop. Different from the layout of the shopping centers in the county city, the first floor here sold valuables such as watches and high-end household appliances – televisions, refrigerators, imported Whirlpool air conditioners, they had everything. However, to purchase these, one would need to present a Foreign Exchange Voucher.

Some high-end imported goods couldn’t be bought just because one wanted them – purchases required certain certificates, and a Foreign Exchange Voucher was a necessity. They weren’t distributed as casually as food tickets but were provided specifically for certain special units and foreign friends. Everyone else could forget about acquiring them.

Having glanced around casually, Qin Xi smiled and said, "Shall we go look at the watches?"