Chapter 9

As they strolled out of the Youth Palace square with two young girls, the three decided to have lunch at a newly opened food court in the city center department store, where they planned to enjoy Crossing-the-Bridge Rice Noodles. The Youth Palace was about four stops away from the department store, and none of the three were in the mood to挤公交 (squeeze onto a bus), so they walked slowly along the sidewalk.

"Feifei, I heard from Fenny in my dance class today that the department store has a new, huge teddy bear," Ning Wanjia said excitedly, gesturing with her hand above her head. "Wow, that big? Is it real? Let's go check it out later," Ning Wanfei also got excited.

Liang Yuan listened to the twins chattering about the giant teddy bear, their clear voices like wind chimes in a gentle breeze, ringing in his ears, bringing him a sense of peace and joy. He secretly thought about buying two to give to the two young girls.

When they arrived at the department store, the two young girls pulled Liang Yuan directly to the toy counter on the third floor. "Wow, so big!" the two young girls exclaimed in unison.

A brown Winnie the Pooh sat on a high display stand behind the counter, with a chubby head and a silly smile, wearing a classic red vest and holding a bottle of Coca-Cola made of the same material. "Hmm, Disney entered China so early?" This thing, not to mention the young girls, had a maximum appeal to young women and some mature women. Liang Yuan watched the young girls, whose eyes were filled with stars, and his mind wandered.

Just as Liang Yuan was about to call the salesperson and say, "I'll take two," he heard the two young girls exclaim, "So expensive!" Liang Yuan then noticed the price tag, which read 220 yuan each.

In 1987, Liang Jiangping's monthly salary was 138 yuan, and Li Yuanling, a college graduate, had a higher salary grade of 110 yuan per month. Of course, in any era, to better serve the people, leaders had some extra income. Therefore, Liang Yuan's family's monthly income was roughly between 350 and 600 yuan, which was absolutely high-income at the time. Ordinary workers' salaries were still hovering between 50 and 80 yuan per month.

Liang Yuan touched the 50 yuan in his pocket and thought to himself that he still hadn't gotten used to the fact that he had traveled through time. He had casually asked his mother for 50 yuan in the morning. Fortunately, he was used to it, and his family's income was also quite good. If it were an ordinary family, asking for so much money without a proper reason would not only be refused but also result in a scolding.

All the way until they ate the rice noodles, the two young girls were still discussing the giant teddy bear. Ning Wanjia said with a troubled look, "Feifei, we need to save our pocket money for more than half a year to buy one." Each of the two young girls and Liang Yuan received 30 yuan in pocket money per month. Ning Wanfei looked at Liang Yuan, who was eating, and had an idea. "There's also Xiao Yuan. If we include his pocket money, we can save enough in four months."

Due to Liang Yuan's wide range of interests, he often liked to play with strange things, and his pocket money was often insufficient. Therefore, he had the idea of getting the two young girls to help. Not only did he share snacks with the two young girls, but he also often took half of the twins' pocket money.

The remote-controlled airplane they had assembled a few years ago was also with the help of the two young girls. It took three months for the three of them to save enough to buy all the parts for the remote-controlled airplane. After the successful test flight, Liang Yuan used the airplane to dangle a caterpillar in front of Ning Wanfei, which made her so angry that she didn't talk to Liang Yuan for four or five days.

Seeing the two young girls' reluctant expressions, Liang Yuan thought he needed to start thinking about a plan to make money. Thinking about his grand plan to go to the Beijing Film Academy and block the gate, he couldn't ask his mother for money then.

"Mom, give me a million, I'll go to the Beijing Film Academy to do physical exams for girls." Would he be humanely destroyed by his mother if he said that?

"Xiao Yuan, I'll be keeping your pocket money for next month," Ning Wanfei patted Liang Yuan's cheek. Liang Yuan put down his rice noodles and looked up, just in time to see the hopeful look in Ning Wanjia's big eyes. Liang Yuan's blood boiled instantly, thinking that Wanjia was really sensitive now. "Forget pocket money, even if you want the moon, I'll find a way to get it for you if you give me time."

"Your method is too slow, and besides, can Feifei go without snacks for four months?" Ning Wanfei thought back to the painful days of helping Liang Yuan save for the model. "Xiao Yuan, do you have a better idea?" Ning Wanfei asked suspiciously.

"Of course." Liang Yuan held up two fingers and waved them, looking at the twins' puzzled expressions. He thought, "These two little devils, if they grow up, they'll be even more troublesome. Even their confused expressions are exactly the same and adorable." "Two months, two teddy bears."

"Xiao Yuan, that's not called a dog bear," Ning Wanjia protested in a whiny voice. "Xiao Yuan, are you just boasting?" Ning Wanfei stared at Liang Yuan suspiciously.

"If I do it, what's the reward?" Liang Yuan asked enticingly, like a perverted uncle.

"Xiao Yuan, what reward do you want? Can you play with it for two days first?" Ning Wanfei said generously. Liang Yuan rolled his eyes in exasperation and put his head on the table. "Hey, Wanjia, why are you blushing?" The twins had some emotional connection. Ning Wanfei sensed something from Ning Wanjia, who was getting redder as both she and Liang Yuan stared at her. "Wanjia, it looks like you want to give him something," Ning Wanfei's big eyes half-closed, trying to sense her sister's emotions.

"Feifei." Ning Wanjia was finally embarrassed and pinched Ning Wanfei's cheek. "You naughty girl, what are you saying? Don't blame your feelings on me." Seeing the twins bickering, Liang Yuan felt a sense of satisfaction. "What does Wanjia want to reward me with? I really want to know!" Liang Yuan thought lustfully.

Let's work hard to make money!

Leisurely life is gone!

For the girls, for the girls, for the girls, I will work hard all my life.

After boasting, Liang Yuan, with his testosterone levels dropping, complained like a怨妇 (complaining woman). "Wanjia, what's Uncle Ning's phone number?"

"7758991," Ning Wanjia said. "I need to call Uncle Ning to see if he's in the group," Liang Yuan said. "Xiao Yuan, where are you going to call from?" Ning Wanfei asked. This was not the era of ubiquitous phones; installing a phone required a six-month application and a political review.

"Hehe, that's where you two come in," Liang Yuan looked at the twins with ill intent.

Liang Yuan asked the twins to go to the department store's office and say they had lost their mother and were worried their family would be anxious, so they wanted to register at the office and use the phone to notify their father, so the family wouldn't think the children were lost.

With the twins' cuteness, they easily convinced the middle-aged woman in the office. They politely declined the department store's offer to send a car and successfully contacted Ning Lei. The twins didn't say much, only mentioning they would go to Ning Lei's place later and asked him to wait if there was nothing urgent. After leaving the department store, the two young girls looked at Liang Yuan's smug expression and gave him a great deal of disdain for his fraudulent behavior.

The three called a big-headed taxi, and the twins, having seen through Liang Yuan's sinister plan to sit with them in the back, made him sit in the front passenger seat.

{Piaotian Literature}