Literary Master 1978

People create the environment, and the environment shapes people. For many years, a life based on politics has caused many people to be unknowingly affected by this kind of thinking and lifestyle, even if they hate it.

Lin Chaoyang's words made Hong Zicheng feel a little ashamed. Realizing his problem, he apologized repeatedly.

"Forget it, let's not mention these disappointing things." Lin Chaoyang waved his hand and said.

Seeing that he didn't want to bring up this topic, Hong Zicheng said: "Recently, our Chinese Department and the May Fourth Literary Society are planning to hold a poetry recital. Would you like to participate?"

"I'm not interested in poetry, it's not like you don't know that."

Hong Zicheng asked in confusion: "It's really strange. You also write novels after all. Why are you so uninterested in poetry?"

"Maybe it's because of my personality."

Hong Zicheng thought for a while, and it seemed that it had something to do with it. The Lin Chaoyang he knew had always been low-key and did not like to show off. Compared with the unrestrained and romantic character of those young poets, he was indeed very different.

Another evening, Lin Chaoyang finally received the royalties for the two scripts "Burning the Old Summer Palace" and "Under the Curtain". Li Hanxiang used his Hong Kong status to exchange the royalties for him into foreign exchange coupons.

At around eight o'clock in the evening, Lin Chaoyang returned home on his bicycle and handed a thick wad of banknotes to Tao Yushu.

She originally thought that the royalties for some work had been paid, but when she took a closer look, she realized something was wrong.

"Is this a foreign exchange coupon? Where did it come from?"

"We couldn't get the foreign exchange fees for "The Burning of the Old Summer Palace" and "The Government Behind the Curtain", so I asked them to help exchange them for foreign exchange coupons."

"How much is this?"

"Nine thousand and zero points."

Tao Yushu stroked the thick stack of foreign exchange coupons with his hand and said happily: "With so many foreign exchange coupons, I can buy a lot of imported things."

But she immediately frowned and said, "We don't seem to be able to spend so much money."

"That's because you don't know how to spend it. If you give it to me, I'll spend it on you in one day."

"How do you want to spend it?"

"First, I'll go to the Friendship Store and buy an imported motorcycle for you. I see that there are more and more motorcycles on the street in the past two years. They ride fast and save time and effort."

Since the 1980s, motorcycles have appeared more and more in the streets and alleys of Yanjing. These motorcycles often cost two to three thousand yuan, which is not affordable for ordinary people.

But it’s not the best place in Yanjing. There are more wealthy people than in other cities. You can see a motorcycle whizzing by from time to time when walking on the street.

"What kind of motorcycle should I buy? I can't drive one."

Tao Yushu said this, but listening to Lin Chaoyang's sweet words, she couldn't help but feel happy.

She asked again: "It doesn't cost 9,000 yuan to buy a motorcycle?"

"Buy another color TV. Don't you want to buy a color TV?"

Tao Yushu said: "I heard people say that color TVs from TV manufacturers can be bought in the middle of the year. If you can buy them with RMB, why spend foreign exchange coupons? And things are extremely expensive there."

These days, it is true that the Friendship Store has a complete and abundant supply of goods, and it is true that there are many imported goods, but the prices are also really expensive, because it is not for ordinary people at all, but for overseas Chinese and foreign friends.

"Then buy some antiques, calligraphy and paintings. The prices of these things will definitely increase in the future." Lin Chaoyang said.

Tao Yushu didn't know why Lin Chaoyang was so sure that the value of antique calligraphy and paintings would increase in value, but just like when he said that the price of houses would increase in the future, she chose to fully believe in her husband.

"Let's go to the Friendship Store in two days."

"I won't go. Even if you want to buy a motorcycle, just buy a Happy 250. Imported ones are too expensive, why spend that wasted money?"

Happiness 250 was born in Shanghai in 1960. Among the few motorcycles on the streets today, Happiness 250 is definitely a popular one.

Because most motorcycles today have a displacement of less than 100CC, the 248.9ml displacement of the Xingfu 250 motorcycle is like standing out from the crowd.

Xingfu 250 was first used in public buses of postal service, public security, military and other units. In recent years, with the increase in residents' income, it has gradually entered the homes of ordinary people.

"Do you think motorcycle tickets are so easy to get? If you don't go to the Friendship Store to buy imported tickets, where can I get them for you? Those things are much rarer than TV tickets and washing machine tickets."

After hearing what Lin Chaoyang said, Tao Yushu muttered again: "I can't drive."

"Won't you master it after just learning it? When you go to the vehicle management office to learn how to drive during the summer vacation, and after you pass the motorcycle driver's license test, I will take you to buy a motorcycle."

"You don't even ride a motorcycle, so why should I ride one?"

"I regard riding a bicycle as exercise. How can I exercise on a motorcycle? I'll take you to the Friendship Store first on the weekend."

Seeing his insistence, Tao Yushu had no choice but to say: "There's no point in going to see him. You're not allowed to enter the Friendship Store."

There is a saying these days that "Friendship stores are not friendly", because Friendship stores do not allow Chinese people to enter casually. There are always two guards standing at the door to look at the ID. Only those with foreign-related documents such as passports and foreign work permits are allowed to enter. .

"It's okay, I have a solution."

On weekends, Amao ran to the Overseas Chinese Apartment early in the morning. He was Lin Chaoyang's "method".

On the north side of Jianguomenwai Street, there are a number of foreign-related institutions gathered from west to east, including Diplomatic Apartments, International Club, International Building... Friendship Store is also among them. This Friendship Store in Yanjing is also the first foreign-related store in New China. It was moved here from Donghua Gate in 1973.

Yanjing Friendship Store is a four-story building with an elegant and solemn style. On the top of the building is a golden store logo inscribed by the famous calligrapher Liu Bingsen.

The three of them walked to the door, and the guard's eyes immediately fell on Lin Chaoyang and Tao Yushu. At this time, Amao took out his passport. The guard took a look at it, said nothing, and let the three of them enter the store.

The hardware condition of Friendship Store is better than that of all department stores in this era. The beige terrazzo floor shines under the light. The salespersons all wear uniforms, and they are not the ugly uniforms in state-owned department stores. Qing Yishui'er's suit looks lively.

The salespeople's airs are naturally confident. In the era of planned economy, the job of Friendship Store was undoubtedly among the elite of society.

Not only can you come into contact with a large number of foreigners every day here, but you can also enjoy some benefits that ordinary people cannot enjoy.

Nowadays, there is a shortage of supplies and a single variety in the market. People need to buy most goods with tickets, but it is different in the Friendship Store. You only need to have foreign exchange coupons.

You can see everything you can and cannot see on the market here, and there are also many special products, such as luncheon meat from Shanghai Meilin, double-sided embroidery from Suzhou, porcelain from Jingdezhen, etc., among which the most popular The featured products are some calligraphy, paintings and inscriptions.

Products such as bicycles, watches, and televisions that Chinese people crave are just ordinary items here.

Of course, the most eye-catching and popular items here are undoubtedly the imported goods. Hershey chocolate, Coca-Cola, Marlboro cigarettes, Swiss watches, refrigerators, air conditioners, electric vehicles... can all be found here.

There is a slogan in the Friendship Store: "We want the best products on the market; we must have the products that are lacking in the market; we also have what is fashionable in foreign countries!"

After entering the store, the three of them walked around on the first floor before going to the motorcycle purchase counter on the second floor.

It can't just be called a counter. Someone created a separate area here, placed several motorcycles, and assigned two salesmen, a male and a female.

When the salesperson saw the three people approaching, his first reaction was to lock his eyes on Amao.

"Sir, do you want to buy a motorcycle?"

A sentence of fluent English blurted out, Beier was proficient.

Amao didn't reply to the salesperson and pointed to Lin Chaoyang and the two. The salesperson immediately understood what was going on. They work here every day and encounter this kind of situation from time to time.

The salesman's eyes were on the two of them, but he didn't have the enthusiasm when facing Amao, and just looked at the two of them quietly.

"These salesmen are so snobbish!" Tao Yushu whispered to Lin Chaoyang.

"It's okay, let's take care of ourselves."

The couple walked around and saw that there were not many motorcycle brands here, all of them were Japanese brands, such as Honda, Yamaha, and Suzuki.

China and Japan are currently in a diplomatic honeymoon period, and Japan’s current export products are indeed very cost-effective.

Lin Chaoyang fell in love with a Suzuki motorcycle, an electric moped to be precise. But unlike later generations of electric vehicles, this thing still burns gasoline and can be powered by an engine or powered by humans.

This electric moped is small and exquisite, and looks very suitable for Tao Yushu to ride.

"What do you think of this car?" Lin Chaoyang asked.

"Isn't this car too small?"

Tao Yushu is tall, nearly 1.7 meters tall. Standing next to the Suzuki motorcycle, it looks very small.

"Sit on it and try it." Lin Chaoyang said.

Tao Yushu looked at the salesperson on the side and Lin Chaoyang said, "It's okay. It won't hurt if you sit down for a while."

The salesperson knew that Lin Chaoyang was speaking to him, so he looked at Amao beside him and said nothing.

Upon seeing this, Tao Yushu got into the car, holding the handlebars with both hands, his body stiff.

"It seems a little too small." Lin Chaoyang said to himself.

"I said it's a little too small!" Tao Yushu got off the Suzuki motorcycle and naturally got on a Yamaha 125 next to him. The salesperson opened his mouth.

"This one is pretty good."

Compared with the compact Suzuki motorcycle, the Yamaha 125 is much larger and more powerful.

"What is the displacement of this car?" Tao Yushu asked.

"125CC." the salesperson replied.

Tao Yushu said to Lin Chaoyang: "The Fortune 250 is still affordable, but it's half the displacement!"

After listening to Tao Yushu's words, the salesperson finally couldn't help it anymore, "Comrade, this is a car imported from Japan, made by Yamaha, which is very famous."

"But it has a small displacement!"

The salesperson was speechless by Tao Yushu's few words.

Lin Chaoyang said: "The Xingfu 250 is a bit bigger, but this one looks pretty good and has enough displacement. Are you really not considering that Suzuki?"

Tao Yushu took another look at the Suzuki. The car was very compact in shape. Ordinary women might like it, but her aesthetic style has always been simple and practical.

"This one is better!"

Lin Chaoyang nodded, "Okay, let's buy this one."

Listening to the conversation between the two, the salesperson felt a little better and just bought it.

At this time, Tao Yushu got off the motorcycle, took Lin Chaoyang's arm, and said in a louder voice: "I will hurry up and take the driver's license test during the summer vacation, and then buy the driver's license after I finish the test."

"OK."

The couple left while talking, and Amao quickly followed their footsteps, leaving the salesman alone and messy in the wind.

You didn't buy after trying for a long time, what did you try?

"Did you do it on purpose?" Lin Chaoyang asked after walking out for more than ten meters.

Tao Yushu showed a sly smile on her face, "Who made them so snobbish?"

Lin Chaoyang smiled and looked at her lovingly, "You..."

After looking at the motorcycles, they did not leave the Friendship Store, but ran to the counter selling calligraphy and paintings, inscriptions and calligraphy to take a look.

It's a pity that the counter is full of modern calligraphy and paintings, which are specially used to rip off foreigners. If they were put in the future, they would be worth some money.

If Lin Chaoyang had more foreign exchange, he might buy some, but he only had so many foreign exchange coupons, so he had to be thrifty and try to buy things with more collection value.

"Let's go to the furniture factory to have a look."