Volume 1, Chapter 18: The Department Store

On the way back, Dong Qianqian took a three-cent trolleybus.

Passing by the largest department store in Shanghai, she found a deserted alley nearby. After entering her private space to change back into women's clothing, she prepared to go inside and buy some clothes for herself.

She had long since had enough of the blue sea created by everyone wearing the same uniform color. Without even a single pattern or design, it made her feel as if she were still in the palace. Most eunuchs wore such monotonous blue court attire, with only those of high rank sporting slightly different auspicious cloud patterns on their cuffs. While palace maids wore uniform cyan, they were permitted to embroider patterns on their collars, cuffs, hems, and other edges. The ladies of the palace were especially lenient in this regard; after all, they themselves wore brocades and satins covered in intricate patterns. Having seen such magnificent and elaborate clothing, they were happy to look at the simple, modest flowers and plants around them.

Since it was a workday, there were very few people on each floor. Most of the salesclerks wore blue work uniforms and identical ear-length bob haircuts, standing listlessly behind the counters knitting. Only the daily necessities counter was bustling, with the clerk so busy she didn't have a moment to catch her breath.

Dong Qianqian found the fabric counter on the third floor. Unfortunately, most of the plain cotton fabrics here were dark blue, and the ready-to-wear clothing outside was only available in black, blue, or gray. Unable to find any colors she liked, she realized that the cloud brocades, Shu brocades, Song cottons, snow satins, and silk damasks of her past life seemed not to exist here. She had to settle for two wool coats in black and gray; the sizes and styles did not fit her height or figure at all, and they would all need to be altered after she bought them. She also picked up a beige sweater, a brassiere, underwear, two pairs of wool trousers, and a pair of cloth shoes that looked quite thin. However, given her aesthetic sensibilities, she could not accept the crude brassiere, so she bought five feet of cotton cloth, intending to make one herself. To make the cloth shoes warmer, she bought six pairs of thin cotton socks to wear layered.

After these purchases, she caught a glimpse of various colored yarns. Acting on the principle that if it wasn't for sale, she would make it herself, she wanted to buy them all. But by then, her fabric coupons were mostly exhausted, and she had spent an additional 360 yuan in cash. Buying things here required both coupons and money; only with both could one make a purchase. As Dong Qianqian quickly browsed the original owner's memories, she had been very confused by this. Now, however, she mostly understood: these coupons were merely a qualification for purchase, a threshold.

Although she had money now, she lacked yarn coupons. She could only gaze longingly at the beautiful yarn, satisfying her cravings with her eyes. After the salesclerk, Feng Liping, packed her newly purchased clothes in kraft paper, she saw the young girl—who had just spent money lavishly and looked quite striking—casting a longing look at the balls of yarn. She looked just like a little black cat eyeing a dried fish, her expectant expression making everything clear. This was a customer with significant purchasing power who really wanted something.

The honest-looking Feng Liping looked around, and seeing that the section chief was nowhere to be found, she tugged on the customer's sleeve, signaling her to lean in. Dong Qianqian didn't understand what she was doing or why she was withholding the goods. She leaned over, wondering what kind of scheme she was brewing.

"Young lady, do you have no coupons, or no money? If you have no coupons, there's a way to buy without them; if you have no money, there's a way to buy without that. Which one do you choose?"

Dong Qianqian was not a native of Shanghai. She could understand the dialect, but she could not speak it. Her mind quickly processed this long string of Wuzhou dialect. She roughly understood that "young lady" was a term for a young girl and "you" was the meaning of the dialect word used. The clerk was saying that whether she had money but no coupons, or coupons but no money, she could find a way to help her get what she wanted.

This clerk was truly impressive! Dong Qianqian looked at the slogan on the wall: "Shop at the Big Hundred, Satisfaction in Your Heart." She felt a renewed sense of respect for the phrase. What a great work attitude! They even helped solve the trouble of not having enough money. However, Dong Qianqian had to ask clearly: "Big Sister, I don't understand, what is the difference between these two?"

Feng Liping was pleased to be called "Big Sister," even though she was old enough to be Dong Qianqian's mother. She was more than happy to answer her questions.

"Of course, there are many differences. In the first case, if you just don't have fabric coupons, I have plenty of coupons here; you can exchange money with me. In the second case, if you don't have money, you can use other coupons to trade. I've been working here for almost ten years, and I will definitely give you a fair price."

After speaking, Feng Liping carefully took out several different types of coupons and a few 10-yuan "back-green" notes from the lining of her sleeve. Seeing the actual goods, Dong Qianqian felt relieved. She took out twenty yuan and bought one ball of every color of yarn. Feng Liping then moved the items from her left hand to her right, first taking 20 yarn coupons from a blue floral cloth bag and handing them to Dong Qianqian, then taking the money and coupons back and locking them in a wooden box.

Dong Qianqian felt this operation was very similar to the money-laundering schemes of the Imperial Kitchen and the Inner Court. She suddenly felt that while the world's situation had shifted and changed over the millennia, only petty greed remained at the forefront, unchanging; the methods of seeking profit were never new. The difference was that this time, a woman was in control—a woman who appeared honest and plain, yet was shrewd and capable.

After politely bidding farewell to Feng Liping, she took a look at the grain and oil section on the second floor. She bought two cans of waxberry, a tin of malted milk powder, and three boxes of soda crackers, which exhausted all of the Dong family's grain coupons. There was no help for it; although Dong Ercheng and Lin Xuehua earned a good income, they had three children to feed. Furthermore, Dong Ercheng liked to indulge in food, so the family's grain coupons were usually gone by the beginning of the month. The few that remained were those Lin Xuehua had secretly hidden away from Dong Ercheng, intending to give Dong Shuanghuan a little extra to eat.

But Dong Shuanghuan would no longer be able to enjoy them. Taking advantage of a quiet moment at the daily necessities counter, Dong Qianqian quickly bought an enamel mug, a toothbrush, a lunchbox, and other personal items. Carrying all these miscellaneous things nearly crushed her. Fortunately, there was a long alley nearby. She looked around to make sure no one was there and quickly tossed the items into her space.

After exiting the alley, Dong Qianqian noticed a state-run barbershop. She saw a poster of a girl dressed as a Red Guard holding a hand grenade, blowing up a bunker. It was a true portrayal of the war years, and Dong Qianqian felt a heartfelt admiration for such girls who feared neither death nor danger in defending their country. If such a war had happened in her previous life, and the imperial city had fallen and the gates been breached, those in power would likely have ordered women like her—palace maids—to commit suicide to preserve their integrity, using their blood and corpses to pave a path for their own survival.

Dong Qianqian felt more and more that the girl in the poster was dazzling and brilliant, radiating a fearless temperament. Perhaps it was because she had nothing that she longed for it all the more. Dong Qianqian loved the forward-moving attitude displayed by the rosy-cheeked girl in the poster. She simply walked into the barbershop and asked for a haircut just like the one the girl in the poster had.