Chapter 144 Go to the overseas Chinese store? Do you have foreign exchange coupons?

Chapter 144 Go to the overseas Chinese store? Do you have foreign exchange coupons?

Early the next morning, my sister-in-law pulled me out of bed again to buy a bicycle.

Cheng Xuemin really has nothing to do with this sister-in-law. If she doesn't buy a bicycle, she won't be able to sleep!

After getting up, I went to the pigeon market first, but I didn't find the ticket seller right away.

In this cold weather, streetwalkers usually huddle under the covers and sleep in. They usually go out for activities in the afternoon, so they come early.

If I had known earlier, I should have followed him into the alley and went to his house last time.

I couldn't find the ticket seller, and I couldn't openly inquire about the ticket seller. I was so angry that my sister-in-law Feng Jiamo stamped her feet, so she had no choice but to come over in the afternoon and try her luck again.

When I went back, I chopped a pound of meat and bought some vegetables.

Following Cheng Xuemin, he left his sister-in-law body and body at the gate of the yard, and rode away on his bicycle before she could react.

"Da Lao Cheng, Da Lao Cheng, where are you going?! Take me to play with you!"

Sister-in-law Feng Jiamo was carrying meat and vegetables and was furious when she saw the elder Cheng walking away.

"Let's play together! Can you afford it?"

Cheng Xuemin left his sister-in-law behind and was in a hurry to check out the new house. He also stopped by the Overseas Chinese Store to buy everything he needed to buy. The items he had booked before were due to arrive.

The construction work in the new house's yard is progressing very quickly. Cheng Xuemin didn't come here just yesterday, so the work here is almost the same.

Because we couldn't buy floor tiles or ceramic tiles, we followed Cheng Xuemin's second plan for the bathroom floor. We bought some smooth, round and well-proportioned pebbles and laid a layer on the cement surface.

It's not completely dry yet, so Cheng Xuemin can't put it on his feet to test the effect.

The next step is to wait for Cheng Xuemin to buy the toilet and bathtub, install them and connect the pipes, and it will be basically completed.

Large buckets of tap water are not sold in this era. Cheng Xuemin went to an overseas Chinese store to see them before, but there were none.

I also visited department stores and Xidan shopping malls, but I also didn’t see any suitable large buckets.

Finally, my uncle Feng Jiazhao got a large gasoline barrel from somewhere. He washed it clean and used it as a tap water barrel. He placed it on the triangular wall in the corner outside the bathroom, leaning against the east sun.

Needless to say, in winter, if you want to take a hot bath, you have to boil water and pour it into the bathtub yourself.

But in summer, if you fill the large gasoline tank facing the sun with water in advance and let it sit in the sun for a day before taking a shower at night, you can actually wash it directly without cooling it.

Then he saw a cart pulling sandstone and red bricks parked in the yard. Cheng Xuemin called a master mason named Wang to follow him, and together they went to the overseas Chinese store to pull the bathtub and toilet.

"Little comrade, are you going to the overseas Chinese store to buy something?! They only accept foreign exchange coupons there!"

Master Wang was a very honest man. He just followed Cheng Xuemin out without asking what he was doing.

It can be seen that when Cheng Xuemin was led to the Overseas Chinese Store, his face suddenly became horrified and he reminded him with a very shocked look.

This is an overseas Chinese store. Only overseas Chinese go here to buy things, and only those overseas Chinese have foreign exchange coupons.

Ordinary people like them really don’t even know what foreign exchange coupons look like.

"Master Wang, my wife is from Yan University. She knows a few foreign students and exchanged some foreign exchange coupons from them!"

Cheng Xuemin smiled and nodded. It was indeed a bit shocking for ordinary people in this era to visit overseas Chinese stores.

"Really?! My little comrade's lover is a Jinshi master from Yan University! That's no wonder!"

The expression of this master surnamed Wang was even more shocked. He was obviously a commoner at the bottom of Yanjing. He knew that those who could be admitted to Yanjing University were all great people. If you put him in front of you, he was really a Jinshi master!

Cheng Xuemin smiled and nodded without saying anything more, and followed him into the overseas Chinese store.

After coming in, the master surnamed Wang seemed very anxious. Fortunately, Cheng Xuemin had been here several times before.

In fact, there are not many things in the overseas Chinese store, and the things are not really high-end. Anyway, that's what Cheng Xuemin looked at.

However, in China of this era, it is obviously the most high-end and luxurious.

"Comrade Xiaomei, have the bathtub and toilet I ordered arrived?"

I asked when I came last time that the Overseas Chinese Store did not have the goods in stock, so they needed to make a reservation and let Cheng Xuemin wait for two days so that they could transfer it here from the Tianjin Port.

Originally, the salesperson here was not that easy to talk to. When Cheng Xuemin came here last time, he happened to encounter two old people coming in to buy things.

But this overseas Chinese store is said to receive a lot of overseas Chinese, but the salespersons are ordinary citizens and may only speak a few simple words in English.

At that time, those two old ladies wanted something very tricky, sanitary napkins!
Aunt scarves were very common in later generations, but in China at this time, they didn’t exist at all!
Don’t talk about China!
Even abroad, sanitary napkins have just been released for a few years, but they have not been introduced into the country at all, even in the overseas Chinese stores in Yanjing.

At that time, those two old men, one of whom was a woman, might have had their menstrual period.

Anyway, they kept gesticulating, talking and emphasizing what they wanted to buy, but the salesperson at the overseas Chinese store just couldn't understand, really couldn't understand a single word.

Cheng Xuemin happened to be there, so he helped translate for them.

Although the purchase was not successful in the end, Cheng Xuemin, a young comrade who spoke very fluent English, was targeted by the director here.

I think he is a talented person. Their overseas Chinese store needs a comrade like Cheng Xuemin who speaks bad English to be a salesperson.

Finally, Cheng Xuemin was invited to work as a salesperson, an unemployed one.

That’s it!

How could Cheng Xuemin like it so much that he wouldn't even bring it to the Yan University Library if it was officially compiled?
The same goes for the Humanities Club!
However, after going back and forth, he has established a relationship with the Overseas Chinese Store. In the future, whatever foreign goods Cheng Xuemin needs, as long as the imported goods are on their foreign trade manifest, they can help him get them as quickly as possible.

We booked the toilet and bathtub in advance and made an appointment to buy them in the next two days.

"Xuemin, you came just in time. Lao Yang brought the things over two days ago. It's right behind. Can you see if it's the one you want?"

When salesperson Deng Xiaomei saw Cheng Xuemin coming in, she quickly greeted him and asked him to go to the back and have a look. She also asked her colleague Xiao Liu to call out Lao Yang.

"It's a coincidence that we have replenished a batch of goods here in the past two days, and Lao Yang took the opportunity to bring back what you asked for!"

The Lao Yang that Deng Xiaomei was talking about was Director Yang, the person in charge here.

The bathtub and toilet that Cheng Xuemin needed were not contraband, and they were both listed on the Ministry of Foreign Trade's import manifest. However, not a single one of them could be sold all year round.

Therefore, the overseas Chinese stores basically have no stock in stock. If anyone wants it, they have to make an appointment in advance so that they can report it.

Of course, before this, these things were only for overseas Chinese and foreigners, not open to citizens.

But now the rules are relaxed, as long as you have foreign exchange coupons, you can buy imported foreign gadgets from them.

"Thank you, Director Yang. I will have to treat him to dinner later!"

Cheng Xuemin smiled and nodded, saying politely.

"Our Lao Yang said, just treat him to dinner!" Deng Xiaomei also said with a bright smile, "Xuemin, you live in the courtyard next to the Overseas Chinese Apartment, right?"

"We, Lao Yang, have said that if we encounter foreign guests coming to buy things in the future, if we don't understand, can we invite you over to our house to help translate!?"

Whether you hire a full-time person or hire a part-time person, Lao Yang’s calculations are pretty good!
After so many years of delay, there are really not many talents who understand foreign languages.

Russian is not a bad language. It was previously advocated to learn this language. People like Cheng Xuemin, father-in-law and mother-in-law, can basically speak Russian.

But not English!

At that time, if you were learning English, you would be criticized for being a spy. As for other languages ​​such as German and French, there are even fewer people who know them.

Talents who understand foreign languages ​​are almost all from this generation.

So when they meet a neighbor in the overseas Chinese store who speaks English very fluently, can they make a good relationship?

"That's okay, that's okay! If you meet a foreign guest like last time, you can go to my house and call me!" "But you have to wait until the next year! We haven't moved here yet!"

"If you need it in the future, you can also go to the Yanda Library and call Cheng Xuemin, and you will be sure to find me!"

Cheng Xuemin is very happy to help out as a part-time translator!

After all for him!

His father-in-law's Foreign Languages ​​Publishing House is a way to earn foreign exchange by writing manuscripts, but if he wants to buy some foreign gadgets, he may have to rely on the overseas Chinese shops here in the next ten years.

The Overseas Chinese Store is backed by the Ministry of Foreign Trade. As long as it is on the foreign trade bill of goods, it will definitely be able to get whatever it wants, as long as Cheng Xuemin's foreign exchange coupons are enough.

"Yanda Library!?"

"So Xuemin, you are a top student at Yan University? No wonder you speak English so well!"

This time, the salesperson named Xiaomei's eyes shone even brighter, and her beautiful eyes appeared again and again.

"No, no! My wife is a student at Yan University, and I'm still preparing for the exam!"

"Ah?! Xuemin, are you already married?"

All right!

The ripples that had just exploded were extinguished in an instant. It was so late to see each other!

Cheng Xuemin nodded, followed the saleswoman's words, and entered the back room, which should be a warehouse for storing goods.

"Xuemin, look, are these the toilet and bathtub you want?"

"I think it should be! When we watched "Pursuit" before, we saw that the Japanese had this installed!"

"By the way, Xuemin, you also watched "Pursuit" and saw that the Japanese had this in their home, so did you think of buying it?"

This Comrade Xiaomei is a talkative person. He talks endlessly. He can talk about the popular translated film "Pursuit" in the toilet bowl some time ago.

Cheng Xuemin watched this movie with Feng Jiayou, and the impression seemed to include a scene of a flushing toilet, right?

But it’s no wonder!
There are really too few references for things outside. The saleswoman has seen "The Hunt" and can recognize it in this movie at a glance. It can be seen that the visual impact of outside things on Chinese people is still very huge!
"I did watch "The Hunt", but this toilet is because I saw that the overseas Chinese apartments there were well-furnished, but I couldn't afford the house there!"

"So I thought about buying a courtyard house and pretending to be like them. I hope it would be better than using a public toilet!"

Cheng Xuemin smiled and mentioned the Overseas Chinese Apartment.

"Oh! Overseas Chinese apartment! No wonder!" The saleswoman suddenly realized and continued, "This must be better than a public hut!"

"Xuemin, don't even look at it. These are all foreign gadgets!"

OK!
Now I have begun to worship foreign goods, thinking that the foreign goods outside are good, that is, this overseas Chinese store.

"Yes, that's it!"

"Where are the other showers?"

Cheng Xuemin looked at the goods and determined that they were a set of toilets and bathtubs.

The flush toilet is still for sitting, not squatting.

Even though I didn’t see the shower head, Cheng Xuemin also mentioned it to Lao Yang at that time.

"Shower?"

The saleswoman Deng Xiaomei was confused now and had no idea what it was.

"It's just like a steel pipe. Didn't Lao Yang explain it to you?"

It stands to reason that they should be put together, if that's the case.

"Inside!"

As Cheng Xuemin opened the packaging of the bathtub, he found that parts such as shower pipes were placed inside the bathtub.

"So that's all there is?"

The saleswoman breathed a sigh of relief and rummaged through the contents of the bathtub.

"Uh! Xuemin, you're here! I was upstairs just now and heard Xiao Liu shouting!"

At this time, Lao Yang, the sales director of the overseas Chinese store, came in and greeted Cheng Xuemin!
"Hello, Director Yang, hello!"

Cheng Xuemin greeted Lao Yang politely again.

"Xuemin, everything is here! There are bathtubs, toilets, shower pipes and so on!"

"It's the big bucket you mentioned, but it's not on it either!"

Director Yang separated from Cheng Xuemin and raised the issue of the bucket again. Sure enough, there was still no one.

Then we can only continue to use the big gasoline can that my uncle got.

"It's okay, it's okay! I really want to thank you, Director Yang, this time!"

After being polite, Lao Yang also calculated the accounts with Cheng Xuemin. The toilet was 65 yuan, the bathtub was 40 yuan, and the shower pipe and other items were 25 yuan. Of course, they were foreign exchange coupons.

It's a bit expensive, but who calls this thing rare? It's because my father-in-law stuffed him with 60 yuan in foreign exchange coupons last night.

Otherwise, the price was completely beyond what Cheng Xuemin had known before, and the one hundred yuan in foreign exchange coupons in his hand were simply not enough.

However, for the future quality of life and happiness, these foreign exchange coupons are worth spending.

Who is it that Cheng Xuemin can’t stand the public huts of this era?
Limitations of the times, people say that even a queen has to get up early and pour out the chamber pot by herself in this era.

Therefore, if Cheng Xuemin has the conditions to improve on his own, a little foreign exchange coupon is really nothing.

After everything was pulled back, Cheng Xuemin instructed the masons on how to install it.

Let the master mason install it himself, he will definitely not be able to install it.

In fact, Cheng Xuemin didn't quite understand it. Fortunately, there was an instruction manual inside, but it was in English. Fortunately, Cheng Xuemin could understand it.

Following the instructions, I first installed and connected the toilet, introduced tap water from outside, and tried it, it was completely OK!

At the same time, the whole morning has passed!
Cheng Xuemin was too lazy to run back to cook. Anyway, he told Feng Jiayou that if he didn't rush back, the two sisters would cook for themselves.

I paid for it casually outside and continued to follow the instructions in the afternoon to install bathtubs, showers, etc., and tried to install everything that required Cheng Xuemin's on-site guidance today.

"Da Lao Cheng, what are you doing?"

I don't know when, my sister-in-law Feng Jiayou appeared in the yard. Seeing Cheng Xuemin busy in the small room, she couldn't help but exclaimed and asked.

"Why are you here, Jia Mo?!"

Seeing Feng Jiamo coming in, Cheng Xuemin was stunned. The first thought that came to his mind was, can he kill his sister-in-law?

Originally, he set up this bathroom just to give her sister a big surprise!

Therefore, except for his uncle Feng Jiazhao, no one else in the family knew that he was building a modern bathroom.

But now my sister-in-law Feng Jiamo suddenly comes to break her cover. In order to prevent her from informing her sister, she has no choice but to silence her!

…

(End of chapter)