Reborn in 1977

Chapter 504 Moving Out

The captain was indeed very easy to talk to. At his suggestion, Zhang Wenliang booked a third-class cabin.

The four of them occupied a six-person third-class cabin, with the remaining two beds used to store luggage and gifts. The empty space was used to hold a few baskets and three pairs of Huzhou sheep, so as not to affect other passengers.

The only issue was that an additional sanitation fee might be required upon disembarkation.

Although it was a waste of two tickets, it was much better than not being able to board or having to go to the fifth-class cabin on the lower deck.

After seeing Zhang Wenliang and his group of four onto the ship and settling them in, Chen Fan and An Quan disembarked.

Walking out of the pier, An Quan looked around, "The Bund is not far ahead. There are many buildings from the Republic of China period there, and they light up at night. Compared to landscapes, it has a unique scenery. Many out-of-towners come to Shanghai to visit it. Do you want to go and have a look?"

(Panoramic view of the Bund in 1978)

Chen Fan glanced back at the sailboats on the Huangpu River, wondering how Shanghai still had these antiques, while also nodding, "Sure."

Then he pointed to the reception office, "I'll go see if there are any suitable guesthouses that can be assigned."

After speaking, he walked towards it.

An Quan followed beside him, puzzled, "Isn't the Health Bureau Guesthouse quite good? Why aren't you staying there?"

Chen Fan looked back at him and smiled, "After all, I'm not here to do business with the Health Bureau. Staying there for three days is already enough. If there's a suitable guesthouse, it's better to move out."

An Quan nodded thoughtfully, then said, "That's right, owing too many favors becomes worthless. You still have to stay in Shanghai for more than ten days, it's really not appropriate to stay there all the time. Even if you're a celebrity, staying for too long will probably make them dislike you."

At this time, there was no one at the window of the allocation office. Chen Fan walked over, and seeing a middle-aged woman sitting inside, he felt confident.

Fortunately, most of these clerical positions were held by female comrades. If it were a male comrade, he would have to rely on luck.

He took out a few White Rabbit milk candies from the Health Bureau Guesthouse from his pocket and handed them in. After putting down the candies, he handed in his letter of introduction and work permit together.

Chen Fan bent down and said with a standard Shanghai accent in a soft voice, "Hello, Madam, may I ask if there are any guesthouses available?"

The middle-aged woman was engrossed in reading a copy of "Shanghai Literature," with a few traces of indignation on her face, so much so that even when she caught a glimpse of someone coming over, she didn't even turn her head.

It wasn't until a few White Rabbit candies appeared on the table first, and then she saw a membership card from the Writers Association, that she was slightly stunned.

Temporarily putting aside her indignant mood, she turned her head and saw a handsome face, and was stunned again. The next second, a warm smile appeared on her face, "Yes, there are."

Saying that, she took Chen Fan's letter of introduction and work permit and opened them, "Chen Fan? Member of the Jiangnan Provincial Branch of the Writers Association, oh my, born in '60, only 18 years old, so young."

Then she didn't even bother to look at the letter of introduction, and turned to smile at Chen Fan, "I've been working here for so many years, and I've never seen such a young writer like you. You want to stay in a guesthouse, right? Wait a moment, let me take a look."

After speaking, she didn't look at the room register on the table, but took out another, much thinner booklet from the drawer and began to search carefully.

Only then did An Quan have time to ask the question in his mind, "You can speak Shanghainese?"

Chen Fan turned his face and smiled at him, "A little bit, I learned it these past two days."

An Quan's face gradually went out of control, his eyes staring at him, and after a few seconds, he spat out two words, "Beast!"

The corners of Chen Fan's mouth twitched slightly. He wanted to explain, but then he thought about it and decided against it. He probably couldn't understand the kind of situation where he could learn something as soon as he tried.

At this time, the middle-aged woman inside the window raised her head and said to Chen Fan kindly, "Where do you need to go? I have guesthouse rooms in Huangpu, Jing'an, Luwan, Xuhui, Changning and other districts here, I can arrange one that is closer to where you need to go."

An Quan leaned against the outer wall next to the window. Hearing this, he couldn't help but roll his eyes. When did guesthouse assigners become so easy to talk to, and even offer choices?

Chen Fan blinked, smiled slightly, and said, "Thank you, anything from here to the East China Textile Institute is fine."

The middle-aged woman's eyes lit up when she heard this, "Oh, the Textile Institute, that's a key university, did you get into this school? That's amazing!"

Chen Fan laughed, "You misunderstood, I have other business to attend to."

The middle-aged woman said "Oh" and didn't ask any more questions. She went back to looking at the booklet, "Then you have many places to choose from. Hengshan Hotel and Jing'an Hotel are both foreign-related hotels that can receive foreign guests, and the conditions inside are very good, but the facilities inside are a bit old, especially the Hengshan Hotel, the bathtubs in the rooms are a bit yellow, I suggest you don't choose it."

Chen Fan was a little speechless, if you don't recommend me to choose them, then why are you telling me about them?

The middle-aged woman continued without raising her head, "Jinjiang Hotel and Yan'an Hotel are not bad, they are also foreign-related hotels, although they are also a bit old, but they are slightly better than Hengshan Hotel, but the room rates are a bit expensive."

Speaking of this, she seemed to realize something, turned to look at Chen Fan, and smiled, "Writer Chen, are you staying by yourself, or with other people? What is the reimbursement standard?"

An Quan leaned against the wall and rolled his eyes, silently taking out a cigarette and lighting it. So she didn't even see me here for so long?!

Chen Fan's mouth twitched slightly, and he endured his laughter and said, "I need two rooms, it doesn't matter if the room rate is a bit expensive."

There are price regulations these days, how expensive can it be?

As soon as the middle-aged woman heard this, she said with a smile, "If calculated by bed, the bed fees at Jinjiang Hotel and Yan'an Hotel are both two yuan and eight cents a day..."

(Jinjiang Hotel bill in Shanghai, 2.85 yuan for a bunk bed in 1965, and the price has basically not changed much since then.)

Hearing this, An Quan next to him couldn't help but click his tongue.

Good heavens, the Nanhu Commune Guesthouse is 50 cents, Gufeng County is 70 cents, Yunhu is also about the same price, but in Shanghai, although it's a bit more expensive, it's only one yuan per bed, but the Jinjiang Hotel charges two yuan and eight cents for a bed, it's worthy of being an old high-end hotel, it's terribly expensive!

He thought it was expensive, but Chen Fan thought the middle-aged woman was long-winded. After finally listening to her, he quickly asked, "Madam, I want two single rooms, are there any available? What is the price?"

"Single rooms, let me see."

The middle-aged woman pretended to look at the booklet.

In fact, all these data were in her mind, it's just that she was idle now and wanted to chat a little more.

After two seconds, she said, "There are still single rooms available, but they are a bit expensive, costing 8 yuan a night."

She turned to look at Chen Fan, "There are only two of you, are you sure you want two single rooms?"

Chen Fan nodded repeatedly, "Yes, I'm sure, thank you, Madam."

The middle-aged woman said, "Okay, I'll issue a letter of introduction for you."

Only then did she take Chen Fan's work permit and the letter of introduction issued by Lujiiawan, copying the information on it.

Although it was strange why the unit was a production team, she didn't ask any more questions. Anyway, as long as the person was correct, it would be fine. If she were to be so serious, how would she be able to handle so many people every day?

As for the matter of another person coming to find a room with the same letter of introduction one day, she had no impression at all.

Soon, she filled in the information, picked up the official seal and stamped it with a "pa" sound, then handed it to Chen Fan, and said with a smile, "You know where the Jinjiang Hotel is, right? If you don't know, there are taxis next to it, walk over there, and you'll see a three-wheeled car."

Holding the letter of introduction, Chen Fan suddenly had a feeling of tears welling up in his eyes, "Thank you, Madam, you're so kind."

Then, he grabbed a large handful of White Rabbit candies from his pocket and handed them over, saying, "Thank you."

Only then did he wave goodbye and leave.

The elder sister put the candies into the drawer, responding with a smile, "You're welcome, come again next time."

After Chen Fan walked away, the next person immediately leaned over the window, handing over a letter of introduction with excitement, "Comrade, I want to stay at the guest house, 3 people."

The elder sister glanced at him, "It's rest time now, wait until 5 o'clock."

After saying that, she slammed the window shut, drew the curtains, peeled a candy, and continued reading her book, "'The Ferryman', it's so well written, this Chen Dong must be a newcomer, I haven't seen him before, I just wonder who's older, him or this Chen Fan?"

Outside the window, the young comrade who was almost caught by the window looked bewildered, turned to look at Chen Fan, who hadn't gone far, and muttered, "Could it be because I didn't give her milk candy?"

…

Chen Fan held the letter of introduction, feeling rather proud and vigorous, "Let's go, let's experience the style of Shanghai Bund's number one hotel!"

In its heyday, the Jinjiang Hotel was not only the number one hotel on the Shanghai Bund but also known as the first state guesthouse of New China. He never thought he would have the chance to stay there!

Anquan, however, wore a bitter face beside him, "My goodness, you decide to book a room that costs 8 yuan a night just like that, and you want two rooms at once? What do you need two rooms for? Wouldn't it be enough to book one room with two beds? I think you should just book one room later, I can just sleep on the floor. Anyway, I heard that the rooms in Jinjiang Hotel all have carpets, so I don't even need a mattress to sleep on the floor, just add a quilt."

Chen Fan patted him on the shoulder, "Relax, relax, I'll pay for your room. When you become rich in the future, just treat me to a good time."

Mainly because he didn't like sharing a room with other male comrades.

Well, ordinary female comrades wouldn't do either.

Anquan still wore a bitter face, "You, young comrade, are really incorrigible, indulging in pleasure at such a young age, how can you do revolutionary work."

Chen Fan, "Better rest is for better work, if you can't see through this, no wonder you can't save money."

Anquan, "Hey, can it be explained like that?"

The two people chatted and laughed, took a stroll on the Bund, and bought things with Anquan's ticket wherever there was a place to sell things.

It wasn't until the sky was completely dark that they found a taxi back to the Health Bureau Guest House, packed their things, checked out at the front desk, and asked the receptionist to convey their gratitude to the leaders of the bureau before turning around, carrying their luggage, and taking a car to the Jinjiang Hotel.

The old Jinjiang Hotel consisted of two parts: a restaurant and a residential building. The residential building was the legendary "North Building", originally the 13-story Cathay Mansions built by the Sassoon family's Cathay Land Company, completed in 1929, and was known as the "Thirteen-Story Building" at the time, becoming famous on the Shanghai Bund.

Due to its good location and complete facilities, many of Shanghai's "upper class" figures rushed to buy it in those years, making it one of Shanghai's leading high-end apartments.

Later, in 1948, Dong Zhujun bought the Cathay Mansions and merged it with the Jinjiang Sichuan Restaurant and Jinjiang Tea Room to create the Jinjiang Hotel, which is still operating normally to this day.

When the two completed the procedures and moved into the hotel room, Anquan stopped talking.

He pulled open the curtains and looked through the glass window at the large lawn in the hotel, "Oh my goodness, such a big lawn, if it were built into houses and sold, how many sets could be sold?!"

Chen Fan sat on the single sofa, looked around the room, and nodded with satisfaction.

Although the room was nearly half the size of the Health Bureau Guest House, the quality was completely different.

The thick natural fabric carpet, the wide soft bed, the telephone on the bedside table, and even the high-end tea in the tea table, all reflected the quality of the old Jinjiang Hotel.

No wonder Shanghainese always liked to hold banquets here. Later, the TV series "Blossoms Shanghai" also chose this place as a filming location representing old Shanghai.

It was indeed different.

The two of them hadn't eaten dinner outside just to save their stomachs to experience the taste of the Jinjiang Hotel.

Moreover, the restaurant here had authentic Sichuan cuisine, which was rare!

It wasn't like later. Even in the 1980s, there weren't many restaurants in Shanghai that served foreign flavors. Almost all the chefs in state-owned restaurants mainly cooked local dishes, with the addition of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Huaiyang cuisine at most.

And it was the localized kind, always adding sugar.

The older generation of locals used sugar to enhance the color and flavor. If they didn't use sugar, they always felt like something was missing.

It wasn't until after the 1990s, especially with the development of Pudong, that a large number of outsiders poured in, and Shanghai's non-public commerce also flourished. At that time, many outsiders came to open restaurants, and local restaurants also began to change their practices, with flavors leaning towards the general public.

Even later, when Benbang cuisine (Shanghainese cuisine) rose, and a table of dishes dared to sell for more than 200,000 yuan, it had already deviated from the original Benbang cuisine. In the words of an old Shanghai chef, "They are completely two different flavors."

Don't mention two different flavors, Chen Fan wasn't interested in three different flavors either.

The two of them directly ordered a few Sichuan dishes, one bottle of rice wine per person, and started eating.

After a few rounds of wine, Chen Fan asked, "Brother An, what kind of house do you want to buy?"

Hearing this, Anquan slowed down his eating speed, paused for two seconds, simply put down his chopsticks, took out a cigarette, handed one out, then put one in his own mouth, lit it, took a deep breath, exhaled a puff of smoke, and sighed, "Worries."

Chen Fan lit a cigarette, looked up at him, and smiled, "What worries, could it be more worrying than when you first arrived in Lujiiawan?"

Anquan smiled at him, and sighed again, "It's different. Back then, we all believed that 'man can conquer nature'. Wasn't it just farming and working? As long as you were willing to put in the effort and endure hardship, you would definitely succeed."

He turned his head to look out the window, but unfortunately, apart from a little exterior lighting from the hotel, everything around was pitch black. He couldn't help but complain, "Apart from the Bund, there are only streetlights to see."

Then he looked at Chen Fan, "Listen, let me tell you, do you know how much houses in Shanghai cost now?"

Chen Fan ate a bite of food, "I heard you say the other day, about 80 yuan per square meter?"

Anquan shook his head, "Buying a house isn't about square meters, it's about the whole set."

After a pause, he thought for a moment and said, "It's not bad to calculate by area either, it's clearer to explain it this way. Let's put it this way, depending on the different locations, types of houses, building ages, layouts, etc., the price per square meter ranges from 40 to 100 yuan."

He put the cigarette in his mouth, spread his hands, "Unfortunately, I want to be closer to the school and my parents' house, the price of houses in this area is at least 60, a slightly better one is 80, or even 100.

The smallest house has more than a dozen square meters, a better suite is about 50 square meters. Calculated at a unit price of 100 yuan, that would be 5,000 yuan.

I can't afford a good house, and I don't want a bad house. Tell me, am I worried?!"

Chen Fan held his wine glass, thought for a moment, and said, "Actually, it depends on how you look at a bad house. If only the inside of the room is a little bad, it might still be a good choice."

Anquan turned his head to look at him, "How do you mean?"

Chen Fan smiled, "Buying a house is no different from buying something. If you don't want the hassle, of course, it's more convenient to buy ready-made clothes, but if your conditions are limited, buying a piece of cloth and asking a tailor to make clothes will cost more than half the price. Think about it, isn't that the truth?"