Chapter 401 – Go on a Date
Because they had spent a lot of time sightseeing and dealing with Tan Yunfang’s matters before, the following days, Lu Xia stayed at home to translate while Jiang Junmo’s porcelain workshop also got busier.
After several busy days, the two of them decided to relax a bit and go watch a movie.
Even though they had been married for several years and could be considered an old married couple, Lu Xia always felt like they were still in the honeymoon phase.
So, she was really looking forward to this date, and for the occasion, she wore a dress.
The dress had been a gift from her aunt, and she hadn’t worn it before.
After putting it on this time, she let her hair down and wore small leather shoes on her feet.
She looked fresh and lovely, and anyone who didn’t know might have thought she was an unmarried young girl.
Jiang Junmo, rarely seeing her dress up, was momentarily stunned and went back to change into a white shirt himself.
When they came out, the two of them stood together, a handsome man and a beautiful woman, a perfect match.
Lu Xia smiled and said, “If people didn’t know, they’d think we were two young lovers just starting to date.”
Jiang Junmo didn’t argue and said, “A woman pleases herself by looking beautiful, not just young girls. You look great this way.”
Lu Xia, holding back her laughter, agreed, “Hmm, and a man pleases himself by looking handsome. You look great too. Let’s go, Handsome Jiang…”
Jiang Junmo couldn’t help but smile at her choice of address and said, “Alright, Beautiful Lu…”
The two of them held hands and left the house, not taking public transportation. Instead, Jiang Junmo rode a bike, taking Lu Xia to a nearby cinema.
On the way, people who saw them would often take a second glance, after all, it was rare to see such a outstanding and well-matched couple.
When they arrived at the cinema, many people stared at them, making Lu Xia somewhat regret dressing up so beautifully. However, most of these onlookers were just curious, and although it wasn’t very comfortable, she could endure it.
This time, they watched a romance movie set during the wartime era. It had a tragic ending, but the storyline was good, albeit very emotional, and it moved Lu Xia to tears.
When the movie ended and they came out, Jiang Junmo saw Lu Xia with red eyes and felt distressed for her.
So, he suggested, “Shall we have lunch outside?”
Lu Xia, hearing this, nodded and her eyes lit up. “Sure, I want to have the braised pork made by the chefs at the state-owned restaurant.”
Seeing her regain her spirits, Jiang Junmo smiled and said, “Alright, let’s go have braised pork.”
They went to the state-owned restaurant for a meal, and Lu Xia returned to her normal self. She didn’t want to go home too early; it was a rare date, and she had dressed up so beautifully.
“How about we go for a walk?” she suggested.
“Sure, where to?” Jiang Junmo asked.
Hearing his question, Lu Xia hesitated a bit. Where did people go for dates in this era?
“How about going to the park?” she suggested.
Jiang Junmo nodded. “Sounds good. But aren’t those shoes uncomfortable for walking?”
Lu Xia thought about it and sighed. “Maybe we should just forget it and go back. I can’t walk too far in these shoes; they hurt my feet.”
Seeing her disappointed look, Jiang Junmo couldn’t bear it and thought for a moment. “How about we go for a walk nearby? I know of a lively street.”
“What street?” Lu Xia asked.
He grinned, keeping her in suspense.
So, they rode their bikes to a street near the Liuli Factory.
Once they arrived, Jiang Junmo told her that this place used to be the location of a pigeon market. However, when private trading was prohibited, it became deserted. Now, with changes in government policies and many young people returning from rural areas, unable to find work, they had started small businesses here. Although the government technically still forbade it, they turned a blind eye to these activities to keep the young people occupied and out of trouble. This led to the street becoming lively again.
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Chapter 402 – A Bustling Street
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Lu Xia was surprised to hear that there were already businesses operating at this location at such an early hour. However, she couldn’t help but be curious about how Jiang Junmo knew all this. She asked, “You’re with me all the time, how do you know so much about this?”
Jiang Junmo smiled and replied, “A few days ago, when I was at the porcelain workshop, I ran into a friend from an old courtyard who sells things here.”
“Oh? From a prominent family, I assume? Why is he doing this?” Lu Xia inquired.
“He’s always been quite enterprising from a young age. Even when he was a child, he knew how to resell my homework assignments to make money. Later, his family arranged a job for him in a factory, but he didn’t like it, so he went to the countryside. He just returned recently and brought some goods from the south to sell here,” Jiang Junmo explained.
Lu Xia was impressed, “He’s quite resourceful! Knowing to go south to source goods at such an early stage, he’s really keeping up with the times. It seems like he’s on the path to becoming wealthy.”
Suddenly, Lu Xia wanted to see what this future mogul looked like. So, she hurriedly said, “Let’s go and take a look.”
Jiang Junmo knew that she enjoyed watching the hustle and bustle, so he didn’t think much of it and led her inside.
However, as soon as Lu Xia entered, she was taken aback by the scene before her. She hadn’t expected to find such a lively place in the capital.
The street was bustling with people, and there were many vendors selling their wares. They were operating quite openly, as if no one was regulating them. Lu Xia assumed that specific policies would soon be enacted to address this situation.
Lu Xia found it fascinating and stopped to look at each vendor’s stall. However, most of them didn’t have anything particularly remarkable. Some were selling grains and vegetables brought in from the nearby suburbs, offering a variety of options that didn’t require food ration coupons, making them popular here.
There were also vendors selling various comic books, magazines, newspapers, and even some items that appeared to be antiques. However, the cluttered appearance of these stalls suggested that there probably weren’t any valuable items among them.
Jiang Junmo also glanced around briefly before moving on.
After walking for a while, Lu Xia no longer found it as exciting and asked, “Who is your friend?”
Jiang Junmo pointed in a direction and said, “Over there!”
Lu Xia looked in the direction he pointed and saw a crowd of people. She couldn’t tell what they were selling, but it seemed like their stall was attracting a lot of attention, with people gathered around, making it quite lively.
Curious, Lu Xia asked, “Which one is your friend?”
“The one selling the goods inside, but he’s probably busy right now,” Jiang Junmo replied.
Lu Xia was surprised by the crowd around that particular stall and asked, “What are they selling that’s drawing such a crowd?”
Jiang Junmo grinned and said, “Let’s go take a look.”
Without waiting for her response, he led her closer to the crowded stall.
Before they could get too close, they heard voices from inside the crowd.
“Don’t rush, everyone! We’ve got plenty of stock this time, and everyone will get one! These electronic watches from the south have clear displays and are reasonably priced at 28 yuan each, non-negotiable! It’s first-come, first-served!”
Lu Xia finally understood what was going on and observed the excited customers who had purchased electronic watches.
She realized they were selling electronic watches, a commodity that wasn’t very valuable in her time but was rare and sought-after now, especially at such low prices. Regular wristwatches were hard to come by and cost over a hundred yuan, but these electronic watches were selling for less than 30 yuan. No wonder they were so popular.
Lu Xia and Jiang Junmo watched for a while, and when the crowd thinned out a bit, they moved closer.
Inside the crowd, the vendors noticed them and couldn’t help but smile. They had big, friendly grins and greeted them warmly.
“Brother Mo, you’re here! Oh, and this is your wife, right? You two are a perfect match. Hello, I’m Qi Xiao, but you can call me Xiao Qi or Xiao Xiao,” one of the vendors introduced himself.
Lu Xia smiled and nodded, “Hello, Xiao Qi, nice to meet you.”
