Chronicle of the 70s
Chapter 101 - 099 menstrual pad, monthly ticket 240 added updates

Chapter 101: 099 menstrual pad, monthly ticket 240 added updates

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?"

When Qin Zhen heard this, he excitedly said, "Bro, are you going to buy me a watch?"

Qin Xi squinted his eyes and scoffed, "Let’s talk about it when you enlist in the military!"

Qin Zhen didn’t become downhearted; on the contrary, he was even more exhilarated. It’s always good to have hope.

Approaching the watch counter, Xianglu admired the shiny, brand-new goods and couldn’t help sighing – new items were certainly better. Huai Country’s watches might also be nice, but most were flawed, primarily second-hand, and the brand-new ones didn’t feel as nice as these.

After looking for a while, Xianglu pointed to a broad-faced watch and asked: "How much for this Longines model?"

The young sales assistant responded warmly, "This is a Longines Daetono L5 series wristwatch, stainless steel base, the bezel is 18k rose gold, embedded with VVS grade diamonds totaling 0.269 carats, quartz movement."

The sales assistant took out a watch with a pink metallic ring on the dial, placed it on the table with a smile, and added, "This model is available in his and hers, the women’s model costs 790, the men’s model 810, along with twelve industrial coupons and one watch coupon."

After finishing, she glanced subtly at the two standing in front.

Xianglu didn’t reach for the watch; it was a bit expensive at over seven hundred. She had planned to buy one for around two hundred yuan. Despite receiving quite a sum from her grandfather, she couldn’t just spend money recklessly.

Qin Xi glanced at the hesitant person, smiled, and told the sales assistant, "Write up the bill. I’ll take both the men’s and women’s model. Test out the length of the strap and cut it to size, ready to take away." He then drew from the side of his bag a brand new stack of banknotes, crisp ’Da Tuan Jie’ banknotes, alongside a stack of certificates.

The sales clerk was clearly surprised by the grand display of wealth before her, she pursed her lips and quickly wrote up the bill, then hopped on her toes to add it onto a shelf above. That’s when the ’squeak squeak’ noise could be heard.

Li Xianglu looked up, realizing there was also a track above, but it was much fancier than the one in the county city—this one was electric.

Qin Zhen was even more like someone who had discovered a new continent, staring intently at that track. She even ran over to the cashier and followed the clip back.

Li Xianglu’s initially complex emotions were thrown into disarray by Qin Zhen’s nonsensical behavior. A female sales clerk came over, helped Li Xianglu measure her wrist for a watch band, and had to remove three links before securing the clasp. After trying it on Li Xianglu’s wrist again, she nodded satisfactorily and said, "Your wrist is so fair, little sister, it looks nice on you."

Li Xianglu, seeing Qin Xi’s beaming gaze, felt a bit embarrassed and awkwardly took the watch off to put it back in the box.

Qin Xi’s watch was now ready too. Carrying two watches, the three of them went up to the second floor. They took the elevator up—although they could have used the stairs, Qin Zhen refused to do so, so they all had no choice but to take the elevator.

The second floor sold clothes, leather shoes, and some daily chemical products.

Li Xianglu, with sharp eyes, saw a counter with rows of long belts hanging from it. What is that?

Qin Xi also noticed where Li Xianglu was looking, and as soon as she realized what it was, she quickly said, "You go buy them, Qin Zhen and I will go to the third floor to get some pastries."

Huh? Buy what? Seeing them leave without looking back, Li Xianglu walked over to the counter, puzzled.

Li Xianglu could recognize the toilet paper here, but the long rectangular belts hanging on strings were really weird.

The sales clerk was a middle-aged auntie who had seen everything from before and said with a smile, "Little sister, are you buying menstrual pads? We’ve got the new Zini Wei pads, they’re imported."

Menstrual pads? Li Xianglu was totally baffled. So those long strips with strings hanging were menstrual pads?

Seeing the young girl frozen in place, the sales clerk assumed she was shy and said with a smile, "Your brother has left, no need to be embarrassed. As a girl, you have to buy these things yourself."

Li Xianglu blinked and said with a smile, "Auntie, please take them down for me to see."

The sales clerk took down a pink menstrual pad from the shelf behind her and said with a smile, "This is the imported Zini Wei brand, sold in boxes. One box contains twelve pads and costs three yuan sixty, good quality for a low price." She then picked up a white style that looked like underwear and could stick on and said, "This is the Xunmu Brand, one box has eight for six yuan."

Li Xianglu checked them out one by one. The domestically produced menstrual pads were cheap. The most expensive one was just a pink thick paper wrapped around with a layer of plastic on the back, leakproof, and with an incredibly odd appearance.

Thinking back, this body had developed quite rapidly this year, with a continuous throbbing in the chest; menstruation must be due soon. There was quite a stockpile in her Storage Ring, but at home, all the toilets were communal and unisex, so how could she dispose of used pads? Surely, she couldn’t keep them in her Storage Ring forever and wait twenty years before taking them out?

Alright then, Li Xianglu bought thirty yuan’s worth of menstrual pads and a big bundle of plain toilet paper. Meanwhile, Qin Xi returned downstairs with Qin Zhen.

ps: Finished writing, I’m going to take a break and work on tomorrow morning’s Chapter. See you tomorrow.