Chapter 33: Popular (1)

When they bought the electric fan on Sunday, Su Ting and her husband also took the opportunity to bring the bicycle back home.

They had wanted to buy it a long time ago, but each time they came to the city, they forgot to bring the ticket, so the matter had been postponed until now.

A few days ago, He Dongchuan had brought back the electric fan ticket. To prevent forgetting again, Su Ting had placed both tickets together. It turned out this was indeed a useful approach, as if she had not seen the electric fan ticket when she took it this morning, she surely would have forgotten once more.

This also reminded Su Ting to double-check her money and tickets before leaving, ensuring she had everything she needed before stepping out the door.

The time spent on the journey was about the same as usual, but after getting off the bus, the three of them headed straight to the Xinhua Bookstore. They had agreed to go there to buy the latest issue of Comic Book News.

They arrived early, and the sales clerks hadn’t fully started their work yet, leaning lazily behind the counter and yawning. There weren’t many customers browsing seriously, but several people were sitting in front of the shelves displaying the Comic Book News, most of them were young children. They each took a comic book and sat cross-legged on the floor, reading with great interest.

Seeing this, He Yan whispered: “So many people.”

“Yes.” Su Ting nodded. “It’s Sunday, and school is off, so these kids all come to Xinhua Bookstore.”

As they spoke, the three of them arrived at the shelf where Comic Book News was displayed. It was at this moment that they realized, compared to this area, the children sitting in front of the earlier shelves were few in number.

This was not surprising, though. Comic Book News was, after all, the largest-circulation comic magazine in the country, with many readers. On top of that, the newest issue had just been released, so naturally, many readers had come to get their hands on it.

Looking at the shelves, there were four rows in total, with Comic Book News displayed on all of them. The upper and lower rows contained back issues, while the middle section held the newest issue.

The newest issue was further divided into unopened copies for sale and opened ones for reading. The latter were in no small number, occupying about a quarter of the shelf. There were at least twenty or thirty copies, if not more.

But now, the opened copies for reading had all been taken, and looking at the children sitting on the floor, they were scattered from this shelf all the way to the next, showing just how popular Comic Book News was.

For Su Ting in the past, whether Comic Book News was popular or not had nothing to do with her. In fact, the more popular the magazine became, the harder it was to get her submissions accepted.

But now that Su Ting’s comic had been accepted, seeing the bustling scene before her, she felt a sense of pride. As she reached for a comic, she stole a glance and noticed two people sitting in front of her, reading Chutao Yuan Village.

When Su Ting lingered on the comic for a long time without moving, He Dongchuan walked up behind her and asked: “What’s wrong?”

Su Ting placed a finger to her lips, then pointed to a little girl sitting nearby on the floor, giving a mischievous smile.

He Dongchuan followed her gaze and looked down. A smile appeared on his face as well.

Seeing the two of them communicating silently, He Yan also looked down. Though his reading skills were limited, he had a good memory. He quickly spotted a familiar scene in the numerous illustrations: “Mom! This looks like your drawing…”

Su Ting hurriedly pulled two copies of the comic from the shelf and bent down to cover He Yan’s mouth. “Don’t disturb the others who are reading.”

He Yan noticed the gazes that had turned toward them because of his loud shout. He placed his hand on the back of Su Ting’s hand and shook his head, silently signaling that he would stop talking.

Seeing this, the others quickly lowered their heads and continued reading their comic books. Su Ting released her hand and stood up, saying: “Let’s go home.”

He Dongchuan reached up and pulled two more copies of Comic Book News from the shelf. He tilted his head slightly and said: “Mm, let’s go.”

“Two copies are enough.” Su Ting raised her right hand, signaling that she had already taken the magazines.

He Dongchuan replied: “I want to look at one on my own.”

Comic Book News was priced at two dimes per issue, and even if they bought four, it would only cost eight dimes—quite affordable for them. Moreover, the magazine featured her own illustrated stories, so if he wanted to buy two more copies, that was fine with her.

After a brief thought, Su Ting agreed, saying: “Alright then.”

—

Before heading to the Department Store, Su Ting had been a little worried that they would have too many things to carry, but once they finished shopping, she realized she had overthought it.

Bicycles, in this era, were a form of transportation. When necessary, a lot could be carried on the back seat. With a rope to tie things down, it wasn’t just one electric fan that could fit—two or even more could easily be carried.

Of course, this was mostly because He Dongchuan was strong. Otherwise, if Su Ting had to balance it, she would likely have tipped over along with the bike.

The 28-inch bicycle itself was quite heavy. When Su Ting tried it out while choosing the bike, she noticed the handlebars were much heavier than those of the bicycle she rode during her school years. The bike was also taller. She had walked halfway around the store holding the handlebars but hadn’t dared to try riding it.

Firstly, she didn’t know how to ride this kind of bike and was afraid she might fall off. Secondly, she noticed that the store mostly sold large electrical appliances. While she wouldn’t mind if she fell and hurt herself, damaging an appliance would be troublesome. She could end up bankrupt for all she knew.

She didn’t dare to try, but He Dongchuan had no such concerns. He got on the bike and immediately started pedaling, returning a few moments later, steady and confident.

After riding a full circle, He Dongchuan got off the bike and said: “This one’s fine.”

Su Ting always stuck to brands when buying large items. Though there weren’t any rules at the time about a two-year warranty or a six-month exchange guarantee, big brands usually had better quality control. Items purchased from reputable brands wouldn’t break down within two to three years, and if any minor issues arose later, they could easily be fixed at home if there was a man in the household.

Both the electric fans from previous purchases and the bicycle they selected this time were from established brands. So, after He Dongchuan made the decision, she didn’t hesitate and quickly instructed the sales clerk to finalize the purchase and head to the checkout.

The payment was for both items together. When the Department Store cashier received the receipt, she glanced up at Su Ting several times.

The bicycle was self-explanatory; it was one of the three major appliances. But the electric fan, at that time, was also quite a rare item. Not only was it hard to get the ticket for it, but it wasn’t cheap either. A typical family would need to save up for half a year to afford one.

Su Ting, however, bought two at once. It was hard not to attract attention!

Though the cashier was surprised, when she saw the two tickets and a stack of Great Unity banknotes, she didn’t ask any more questions. She quickly calculated the total amount, counted the money, and handed the receipt and the change to Su Ting.

But once Su Ting left, the cashier began whispering to the colleague at the nearby counter. “Do you know what she bought?”

“What?”

“A Huasheng Electric Fan, and a Forever Bicycle.”

“Wow! That must have cost a lot of money!”

“What does money matter? The tickets are all provided by the company—electric fan tickets, bicycle tickets.”

Industrial tickets were rare but not extremely rare. As long as one had a proper job, most companies would issue two or so tickets a month. If one saved up, borrowed some, and worked at it for a year, they could scrape together enough to buy a bicycle.

Tickets were a different matter altogether. Even the largest state-owned factories might not issue many bicycle tickets in a year. Even if they did, they wouldn’t necessarily be given to employees. Not every leader’s family owned a bicycle. Even if tickets were issued, the factory wouldn’t hand them out indiscriminately—at least, the recipient had to be a Model Worker or an Outstanding Workshop Worker.

Not to mention that Su Ting had managed to acquire two tickets. There was no doubt her family conditions were not lacking.

Thanks to the cashier’s gossip, as Su Ting and her husband pushed the bicycle and carried the electric fan past the counter, they were the focus of all the sales clerks’ attention.

Once their figures disappeared around the stairwell, the clerks, in perfect sync, turned their heads and began discussing among themselves. Some complimented their family’s good looks, while others speculated about He Dongchuan’s occupation, getting more and more excited as they spoke.

—