socalfunplaces Chapter 90 Xinhua Bookstore
Chapter 90 Xinhua Bookstore
Xinhua Bookstore is located on Taiyuan Street, opposite the Zhongxing Building.
A group of nine people huddled together, chatting and laughing as they walked towards Zhonghua Road, their breath steaming in the thin snow. At this time, vendors carrying small boxes started appearing to sell ice cream. Ice cream is common in Northeast China during winter because it doesn't melt. A few years ago, ice cream was only available in winter; it wasn't as easy to preserve as popsicles.
Yang Tiebin bought an ice cream, but Xia Maosheng, Xiao Wei, and Li Guangzhao didn't eat it. They hadn't even eaten breakfast this morning. Old Yang must have gone crazy.
After walking a few steps, there were more vendors selling candied hawthorns. They used new straw stalks, with strings of bright red candied hawthorns wrapped in brown sugar stuck on them, as well as strings of black dates and oranges. Against the backdrop of the white snow, they reflected the morning light, looking both beautiful and tempting.
This is only available in winter; you can't get it in summer.
This one was quite popular. Nine people each got a skewer. The big skewer cost one yuan, and the small skewer cost eight mao. It was sweet, sour, and crunchy. The old man selling candied hawthorns had a big smile on his wrinkled face, which was covered behind his cotton hat and scarf. He opened for business early in the morning. What a wonderful day!
Northeastern candied hawthorns are seedless, so you can eat them without worry, enjoying their sweet and sour flavor. But south of Suizhong, the seeds are no longer removed. Northeasterners who don't travel much have learned this the hard way – one bite and their teeth loosen up.
Yang Tiebin took a bite of a hawthorn, chewed it once, then chewed it again, and said, "Huh? It doesn't have a pit! This is good, this is good. The ones sold where I live don't have pits."
"You don't remove the pits over there? Then why buy it?" Everyone here expressed their incomprehension. What kind of candied hawthorn doesn't remove the pits? That's just cheating people.
Yang Tiebin nodded and said, "The ones sold where I live don't remove the pits." He finished a candied hawthorn in a few bites, then ran back and bought two more skewers, enjoying them comfortably with one in each hand.
Xia Maosheng threw the clean willow twig stick in his hand into the roadside trash can, pointed to the alley by the roadside and said, "I'm going to eat that wonton, what are you guys eating?" He had a special fondness for dried shrimp wontons, and it seemed that whenever he went out for breakfast, if there were wontons, he would definitely eat this one.
Xiao Wei shook his head, looked around, and said, "I'll eat a pancake. Your thing won't fill you up; it'll be gone in a pee."
Yang Tiebin, munching on a hawthorn berry, chased after him, pointing to the alley with a willow twig stick and saying, "There's a place in there that makes sugar pancakes, wanna go?"
"Sugar pancakes? Let's go. Is there any soup?" Xiao Wei nodded and followed Yang Tiebin inside. Suddenly, everyone came in, except for Xia Maosheng, who was busy preparing wontons. He looked at everyone and said, "Never mind, I'll have sugar pancakes too. It's no fun eating alone."
Sugar pancakes, dried tofu strips and egg soup, and tofu pudding are also available. Homemade pickled vegetables are free. Nine people can each have three sugar pancakes and a big bowl of soup. They sit down and start slurping. Each sugar pancake is only a little bigger than the palm of your hand. It is made with a mixture of brown and white sugar and is baked until golden brown, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
This dish is very troublesome to make, and it is now rarely available outside in modern times. People can only make it at home, but fewer and fewer people know how to make it.
After the meal, everyone paid their own bills. Three pancakes and a bowl of soup cost three yuan and fifty cents per person, which was considered a relatively expensive breakfast these days.
It was just past 8:30 when we came out of the alley. We chatted as we walked toward Xinhua Bookstore.
Back then, the work schedule in Northeast China was completely different from that in the interior of China. There was no 9-to-5 work schedule, whether it was in government offices, shops, or factories.
In the morning, all units usually open for business between 7:30 and 8:00, or at the latest 8:30. There is usually a 1-1.5 hour lunch break, from 11:30 to 1:00 or from 12:00 to 1:00. The time to leave work in the evening is different in winter and summer. In summer, it is usually 5:00 and in winter, it is 4:30.
Of course, shopping malls and similar commercial establishments don't close so early in the evening; they usually close around 6:30 PM, and sometimes as late as 5:30 PM. Later, as the industry developed, shopping malls started closing later and later.
The Xinhua Bookstore was already open, but there were very few people there so early in the morning. Some of the staff were eating breakfast, while others were chatting in groups. A group of middle-aged women were laughing and joking, holding rags that weren't even wet.
Seeing nine people come in, the sales clerk who was closest glanced at them and said, "Don't rummage around. Put your things back where they belong. You can't just stand here and look. You'll be fined if you do." Then she ignored them and continued chatting and laughing.
The nine people ignored her and continued searching inside. In those days, without the internet, books were the only way for people to learn and acquire knowledge, as well as for entertainment. There were many people who would stand and read books in Xinhua Bookstore. Some would find a corner where no one would notice them, squat on the ground, and read for a whole day. Many new books would be damaged or dirty before anyone even bought them, so there was talk of catching people and fining them. In reality, as long as it wasn't too excessive, no one really cared.
In 90, Xinhua Bookstore sold martial arts novels. They had Jin Yong's books, as well as those by Huang Yi and Wen Ruian. There were fewer books by Gu Long, and they didn't have a complete collection of other famous martial arts authors. Occasionally, they would have a book, but not many people actually bought it. At that time, book rental shops were everywhere, costing five cents a book, and all kinds of pirated copies were flying around.
Books, tapes, videotapes, and even DVDs all emerged in the late 80s and peaked in the early 90s. I'm referring to the domestic piracy industry. Even textbooks and supplementary materials were taken over by piracy, and many schools used pirated copies during this period, including textbooks.
The school could simply buy a new textbook and find a printing factory; the cost was unbelievably low. In the 90s, the largest professional pirated book production factories in Northeast China were both in Fengtian (Shenyang). There were two: Xinhua Printing Factory and Hongxing Printing Factory in Liutiaohu Military Camp.
One was the largest state-owned printing plant in the country, and the other was the largest violent organization in the country.
These days, there are still very few professional books, and their writing is quite sloppy. This is a side effect of the traditional apprenticeship system in China's technical professions.
Luo Qinghe had visited Xinhua Bookstore several times before, and he knew the way well, leading everyone to the section on cookbooks.
Recipes, Complete Collection of Shandong Cuisine, Appreciation of Famous Chefs, Knife Skills and Tools, The Art of the Table, Chef Skills Guide Series.
Xiao Wei searched for a long time and selected six books, then stood aside waiting for Xia Maosheng and the others.
Xia Maosheng flipped through a few books, then turned to Xiao Wei and said, "None of them are very useful. There are no theorists in the kitchen. Who's going to write down the detailed technical stuff for you? It's just for fame, it's not of any use to us."
Yang Tiebin nodded in agreement, pointing to the book "The Art of the Dining Table" and saying, "You can take a look at this one; aren't you going to learn carving right away?"
Xia Maosheng glanced at them, shook his head, and said, "They're all photos, no specific technical steps. Going back is just looking at them, seeing how amazing others are, it's useless. Do you think you can sculpt something just by looking at a photo? Besides, I only have a cafeteria; as long as the food is prepared, that's enough. Who am I supposed to sculpt for?"