Chapter 46: Xisi Trust Store

He came out of An Ning's room.

Ning Weidong was even more curious about this woman.

It was clear that Wang Jingsheng did not know about this place; this place should belong exclusively to An Ning.

Looking at the furnishings inside, this woman did not seem to be short of money.

And then there was the qipao she was wearing.

Although it was well-preserved, it must have been quite old; for at least the last ten years or so, no one had dared to use such material to make a qipao of this style.

Moreover, a qipao is not like other clothes; to wear it with style, it must be custom-made.

Ning Weidong judged that the qipao An Ning was wearing was very likely left behind by her mother, and since the mother and daughter had similar figures and builds, that was the only way it could fit so perfectly.

And this also aligned with Ning Weidong's previous judgment regarding An Ning's family background.

It was just unexpected that after marrying Wang Jingsheng, An Ning still held onto some resources.

But Ning Weidong did not quite understand why An Ning wanted to show these things to him.

Nothing happens without a reason, and An Ning's behavior was no exception.

Ning Weidong was curious, but his reason made him not want to get involved, which was why he left as soon as he did.

As for the future, he would think about that later.

Ning Weidong gathered his thoughts and came out of the Tongzi Building.

Ning Wei held a screwdriver in a backhand grip and immediately came up to meet him.

Ning Weidong smiled and said, "It's fine now, put it away."

Ning Wei felt a sense of relief in his heart.

Just now, when Ning Weidong went in, he had pulled out the screwdriver, ready to rush in immediately if there was any commotion.

Ning Weidong reached into his pocket and pulled out a long paper parcel he had prepared earlier.

Ning Wei was taken aback, not understanding what it meant: "Third Brother, this is..."

Ning Weidong said, "This is fifty Ocean Coins. Find a way to exchange them for money and go buy two bicycles; they need to be rideable."

At this time, the management of bicycles was quite strict, and the bikes had stamped serial numbers on them.

Fifty Ocean Coins was roughly two hundred sixty or seventy yuan; buying two bicycles certainly meant they couldn't be new, but there was a difference even among used ones—some were simply stolen goods, and buying those would only be trouble.

Ning Wei suddenly understood and took the money nimbly, saying, "I have a classmate who deals in bikes; his brother-in-law is at the Police Station."

After interacting over these past few days, Ning Weidong found Ning Wei to be steady in his work and someone whose background he knew well, so he intended to keep him by his side.

Last time, Ning Wei had mentioned that his family had some connections that could get him into the army.

If he wanted to keep him, he certainly had to show sincerity.

Ning Weidong said, "You handle it yourself. Once you've got them, you keep one to ride, and send the other to my courtyard."

"For me?" Ning Wei had originally thought Ning Weidong had another use for buying two bikes, but he hadn't expected one to be for him.

Ning Weidong patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't tell me you don't need it. This isn't for you; it's just to make things convenient for the future."

Ning Wei opened his mouth, but found it hard to say anything more.

After giving his instructions and sending Ning Wei away, Ning Weidong walked east along the alley by himself, crossed Zhao Dengyu Road, and arrived at Xisi.

Now that he had money on hand, there were some things he had to procure.

He let Ning Wei go get the bicycles, while he carried the cash he had received along with the Ocean Coins, intending to go to the Trust Store to buy a watch.

It wasn't that he had an obsession with watches, but mainly because he felt uneasy when he went out and couldn't see the time.

Ning Weidong didn't want to be too conspicuous, so he didn't plan on buying a new one directly and headed straight for the Trust Store.

The so-called Trust Store was a consignment shop that specialized in second-hand items; one could leave items there for consignment or sell them directly to the shop for cash.

There were quite a few such shops in Beijing, and in the original owner's memory, there was a fairly large Trust Store near Xisi, right by the intersection.

A sign with black characters on a white background hung in front of the shop; the storefront was quite spacious and long, and the light inside was dim, requiring lamps to be lit. As soon as one entered, there were long rows of glass counters on the left and right, and behind the counters were cabinets reaching up to the ceiling.

The cabinets all had glass, and inside, various items were arranged by category.

The first few counters on the right-hand side were for electrical appliances, such as radios and electric fans, which counted as large items.

Mixed in among them were the rarer television sets and record players.

The counters on the left-hand side hung old clothing, mainly winter cotton-padded coats, as ordinary clothes couldn't fetch a high price.

Ning Weidong pushed the door open and entered; it wasn't Sunday, so there weren't many people in the shop, and no one came forward to greet him.

In this day and age, when shopping, customers and clerks were separated by counters, and so-called enthusiastic service was just a casual greeting.

There was a smell of mold and rust common to old items in the room.

The sales clerks were likely used to it and didn't care at all; some were reading newspapers, some were chatting in groups of two or three behind the counters, and others were just standing there in a daze...

Ning Weidong walked further in, having no leisure to browse aimlessly, and went straight to the counter selling watches, calling out, "Comrade."

Behind the counter was a woman in her thirties who was slightly plump; she had been chatting with someone nearby, but seeing Ning Weidong come over, she didn't show any impatience and immediately said with a smile, "Hello, Comrade."

Ning Weidong nodded and looked at the counter in front of him, where dozens of watches were displayed—all sorts of brands, some with leather straps, some metal, and in the corner, there were even two gold-chain pocket watches that looked very aged, with mottled gold plating on the surface.

Ning Weidong had no interest in these things; he just wanted one that could tell time: "Comrade, please, help me pick one for around a hundred yuan that keeps accurate time."

The sales clerk was accustomed to this and immediately pointed out a few through the glass counter as if she knew them by heart: "This is a Shanghai Brand mechanical watch... this is a Tianjin Seagull brand..."

Ning Weidong took one to try on.

The watches had all been simply cleaned beforehand, and they still looked quite presentable.

The sales clerk said, "This Shanghai Brand watch came off the production line the year before last, nineteen jewels, ninety percent new..."

Ning Weidong didn't listen to her finish and asked directly, "How much?"

The sales clerk said, "One hundred yuan."

At this time, the Trust Store had fixed prices, which were relatively fair.

Ning Weidong asked, "Is this on consignment, or does it belong to the shop?"

If it were on consignment, one could contact the seller to negotiate the price, but if it was purchased by the store, that would not be possible.

However, regardless of the situation, Ning Weidong wanted to buy it; it was not as if he lacked the means.

Moreover, one hundred yuan was not considered expensive; a brand-new Shanghai Brand watch cost 125 yuan on the market, and not only did one need a ration coupon to buy it, but one might not even be able to get one.

Although the Trust Store had them, most people buying watches at this time were newlyweds, and they certainly could not use second-hand goods.

Those who hunted for second-hand items were already strapped for cash and would certainly not spend one hundred yuan on a watch; if they really had to buy one, they could spend a dozen yuan or so to buy brands like "Zhongshan" or "Hongmei," which worked just as well.

The shop assistant understood what he meant and indicated that it was not on consignment.

Ning Weidong gave a grunt of acknowledgment, lowered his head to inspect the watch again, and having just wound it and set the time, he said immediately, "Alright, I'll take this one. Please write me the receipt."

The shop assistant was slightly surprised and could not help but take another look at Ning Weidong; it was truly rare to see someone so decisive about a one-hundred-yuan item.

At the same time, the assistant put the other watches back into the counter, took out a receipt book with carbon paper, filled out the form with a flourish, ripped it off with a *tear*, and pointed inside, saying, "Pay over there."

A few minutes later, Ning Weidong came out of the Trust Store and stood at the entrance, looking up at the sun.

He raised his hand to check his watch; it was five minutes to eleven.

He calculated silently in his heart.

Between the two times, he had obtained 376 Ocean Coins, 200 yuan in cash, and three Big Yellow Fish from the Cellar.

Ning Weidong did not intend to touch those three Big Yellow Fish.

If he needed money urgently in the future, he would have to convert the Ocean Coins into cash first, and adding that to what he already had on hand, it would be about 2,200 yuan.

Buying the bicycle and the watch had cost nearly 400, leaving him with 1,800.

(End of this chapter)