Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 93 Lao Mo (4K, please order first) 17
Fang Yan returned to the ward with Xiao Li. Seeing that it was almost time, in order to avoid being called by his master for dinner later, he quickly said that he had an appointment in the evening and had to leave now.

Lu Donghua knew that Fang Yan was probably dating someone, so he nodded in agreement. He also told his date not to just go out for dinner, but also to remember to give him some small gifts or something.

A group of fellow students even urged him to hurry up and get the wedding done before the end of the year.

Fang Yan bowed to his fellow disciples, said with a smile that he would work hard, then said goodbye and left Union Medical College.

Fang Yan did not take a direct bus to Lao Mo after leaving the hospital. His master's words had reminded him that although Zhu Lin was treating him to dinner today, it seemed wrong for him not to bring anything with him.

I really should buy some small gifts.

There weren't as many choices back then as there are in later generations. Fangyan went to a department store, looked around, and finally found a headband that he liked. It was cheap, beautiful, and light.

This is a good interpretation of the word "small gift".

After buying it, Fangyan said she was giving it as a gift to someone, and asked the salesperson to wrap the headband box with gift paper. Then Fangyan took the gift and got on a car to the Moscow Restaurant in Xizhimen.

Lao Mo is the nickname given to Moscow Restaurant by Beijingers. It is located on Xizhimenwai Street, next to the famous Beijing Zoo, and is considered a very popular place.

Fangyan had never been here before, but before he traveled through time, he had read a lot of period novels in which the male protagonist invited the female protagonist to dinner here.

Fangyan still remembers many of the dishes there. Although it is called Western food, it is actually mainly Russian cuisine, and there are also traditional French, German and Caucasian dishes.

It opened in 1954 and has been thriving ever since.

A full Russian meal would cost about six to ten yuan per person, which was a very luxurious price in that era.

Therefore, young people who usually go to eat there only order a few famous dishes and don’t dare to ask for Russian dishes. They simply eat there for the atmosphere and the style. After all, you are eating at Lao Mo, so don’t worry about what you eat.

When Fangyan arrived at Xizhimen Street, he found it extremely lively.

At this moment, the streets were full of people shopping. Fang Yan and Zhu Lin agreed to meet at Lao Mo's door, so Fang Yan looked at the house numbers on the street, then walked through the crowd and headed towards No. 135 Xizhimenwai Street.

Soon Fangyan saw a very obvious Russian-style facade on the street ahead.

It was almost dinner time, so you could see a lot of people coming in and out of the door.

When Fangyan arrived near the door, he looked around, but he couldn't find any trace of Zhu Lin. There were indeed a lot of people around. Fangyan thought he might have missed him, so he began to look around carefully.

Finally he saw Zhu Lin on the steps across the street.

She wore a common floral collared top and a blue skirt, which, paired with her shoulder-length hair, made her look more mature.

Because she is beautiful, this common combination looks particularly elegant, and men and women passing by can't help but take a second look.

She probably arrived too early, so she didn't wait outside the crowded Lao Mo's door, but went across the street.

Fangyan walked towards her across the street.

When they were walking in the middle of the road, Fangyan greeted her loudly.

Zhu Lin's eyes lit up when she heard Fangyan's voice. She followed the voice and saw Fangyan walking towards her. The corners of her mouth could not help but rise up, and a smile blossomed on her face. Suddenly, her whole person seemed to brighten up a little.

She no longer stood there, but went straight to meet him.

"Here it comes." Zhu Lin looked up at Fang Yan.

Fangyan nodded:
"Sorry for the waitting."

Zhu Lin smiled and shook his head:
"No, I just got here a while ago."

Fangyan was infected by her smile and couldn't help but smile and point across the street:

"Let's go to the restaurant. It's a weekend and there are so many people today. If we don't go now there won't be any seats left."

"Okay." Zhu Lin didn't know why, but she felt her mood suddenly became very good. She smiled and nodded, following the dialect with brisk steps.

"By the way, this is a small gift for you." When he reached the door, Fang Yan took out the headband he had bought.

Zhu Lin's eyes flashed with surprise and he asked:
"what?"

The dialect did not explain, but said:

"It's just a small thing. You can open it and have a look when you get back."

Zhu Lin nodded and took the thing in his hand.

The two men walked up the stairs and entered Lao Mo.

A luxurious scene completely different from the outside world appeared before my eyes. There was a seven-meter-high roof with a huge chandelier shining with golden light on it. Four large bronze pillars stood on both sides of the palace-like hall.

Waitresses wearing black "bragi" dresses and pure white aprons shuttled by.

The light yellow tablecloth with intricate patterns, the bright goblets, the exquisite silver cutlery, plus some Russian-style statues and decorations, make people feel like they have entered another country.

Only the guests sitting here remind them where this place is.

Because of the high consumption, most of the guests here are upper-class people, returned overseas Chinese, and children of wealthy families.

Fangyan also saw some blond-haired and blue-eyed foreigners in a corner. Having read novels about the period, he remembered that these were staff members of the Soviet Embassy in China who came here to eat every weekend.

Nowadays, the only places where you can eat Western food in Beijing are Lao Mo, Xinqiao Hotel, Peace Hotel, and Beijing Hotel.

Authentic Russian cuisine can only be found here.

Today is the weekend and business here is particularly good, but there are still some empty seats. Fang Yan quickly found one. He turned his head and pointed at the seat to Zhu Lin, and then the two of them walked over.

After they sat down, the waiter came quickly and placed the menu in front of Fangyan and the others.

Fangyan looked at it and saw that it said:

Soviet Exhibition Hall [Moscow] Restaurant, August menu.

Below is a row of Russian.

Next is the set meal:

Each dish costs 1.2 yuan, and there are four dishes in total.

Each dish costs 1.5 yuan, and there are six dishes in total.

Each dish costs two yuan, and there are six dishes in total.

This is suitable for people who have never been here. You can just order and eat without worrying about the choice.

It is also relatively cheap and affordable.

Apart from these three sets, the rest are à la carte dishes.

For example, the most classic Russian dishes such as braised beef and borscht need to be ordered individually.

Neither Zhu Lin nor Fang Yan had been here before. After looking at the menu, they finally chose two two-yuan sets.

One portion per person costs four yuan in total, which is cheap and affordable.

Cold dish: ham with side dishes.

Two hot dishes: beef and cabbage soup, fried pork slices.

And desserts and drinks: boiled fresh fruit, black tea.

Same Russian bread as the last one.

At this moment, a table of young people in the far corner had finished their meal and were noisily getting up to leave. Fang Yan saw two of the boys, who looked like children from a wealthy family, rolling up the silver cutlery on the table and stuffing them into their pockets.

Another girl even went to the empty table next door to get it.

Fang Yan was stunned by this scene. He suddenly remembered the story in the period novel where Lao Mo's silver cutlery was snatched away by the disciples in the compound. This moment was happening right under his eyes.

I've seen this mentioned in a novel before. It said that in the 1970s, Lao Mo's silver cutlery would be taken away by some customers. In the late 1970s, the loss was even more serious, with sets of cutlery being taken away every few days.

According to legend, the group that stole the most were the children from the nearby large courtyards.

Most of the children from the military compounds here are from military compounds.

Unlike the university family compounds like Fangyan Zhulin's, their place has its own unique characteristics.

He is talkative, rebellious, competitive, and has a natural sense of superiority.

They gather into natural small social groups, and once one person takes the lead, others will follow suit.

Later, in the 1980s, Lao Mo finally stopped buying new silverware and replaced all the tableware in the store with ordinary ones, thus stopping the unhealthy trend of stealing tableware. At that time, Fangyan regarded this as a wild history, but he didn't expect that it would happen in front of him now.

At this time, a waiter saw them. Fangyan thought the waiter would immediately call for help, but she turned around and pretended not to see it.

Soon, several people stole the things, covered their pockets and bags, and left the restaurant in a flash.

Zhu Lin, who also saw the whole scene, only reacted at this time. She said to Fang Yan in astonishment:

"They ate one meal and stole the tableware from two tables. It seems these people are from a nearby compound. Isn't that too ungentlemanly?"

The dialect said:

"There's nothing we can do. I guess the restaurant here wants to manage this, but it's hard to do so. You didn't see that a waiter just saw them sneaking around and left."

Zhu Lin nodded and said, "If the restaurant itself has this attitude, then it's really hard to say anything."

She took up her silver knife and fork and said:

"I think the reason why Western food is expensive here is probably because they charge a high price."

Fangyan couldn't help but want to laugh. It seemed to make sense. After all, the wool comes from the sheep. After being stolen for so many years, they still insisted on not using ordinary tableware until the early 1980s. Where did the money come from? It came from the high-priced meals.

Next, the set meal for two arrived.

It looks like a small amount, but very delicate.

The two looked at it and started eating.

He first used the fork in his left hand and the knife in his right hand, pretending to eat for a while.

In the end, I couldn't get used to it and switched to chopsticks.

When the two saw each other like this, they couldn't help but smile at each other.

The portion was not large and the two of them finished it quickly.

They felt empty in their stomachs, and only after eating the hard Russian bread did they feel a little full.

Although the environment here is nice and romantic, the quality of the food is not to their liking.

And it’s very expensive and not worth it.

After Zhu Lin paid the bill, he complained to Fang Yan:
"I finally know why they stole the tableware just now."

"For this taste and quantity, charging this much, I think anyone would feel like they're losing out."

After that, he came close to Fangyan and said:
"I think the most delicious thing is the dish you cooked that day."

Being unexpectedly praised by Zhu Lin, Fang Yan felt that the meal was not so bad. At least he was in a good mood at the moment.

The two of them sat there for a while, and after feeling the atmosphere, they decided that this place was just so-so.

After the novelty wore off, they both agreed that the food here was just so-so.

So Fangyan stood up first and invited Zhu Lin to her house to make some midnight snack.

I really didn’t eat enough today, so I just went back and had a snack.

Zhu Lin also said just now that dishes cooked in dialect are delicious.

After saying that, the two of them got up and walked outside. After they went out, they found that it was already dark and there were fewer people around.

Fortunately, there was still a bus at this time, and the two of them went back to the bus stop together.

When he was almost there, Zhu Lin suddenly stopped with an "Ouch".

"What's wrong?" Fang Yan looked at Zhu Lin who was nervous, not knowing what had happened.

Zhu Lin turned his head and slowly looked at Fang Yan, and said with some shame:

"Looks like we have to go back. I left my bag on the chair and forgot to take it."

Fang Yan also discovered at this time that when Zhu Lin came out, she was carrying a bag on her wrist. Now the bag in her hand had turned into the gift box containing the headband that Fang Yan had given her.

The two of them were chatting just now and didn't notice that something was missing in their hands.

"It's okay, let's go." Fang Yan didn't waste any words and turned around and asked Zhu Lin to go back with him.

Soon the two arrived at the restaurant and returned to their previous seats.

By this time the tables were cleared.

Zhu Lin went forward and found that his bag was gone. He could only sigh helplessly:

"It's all my fault for being careless. It looks like someone took it away."

Fang Yan thought for a moment and said to Zhu Lin:

"Wait here, I'll go ask the front desk."

After that, he walked to the front desk and asked if any waiter had found the bag at the seat.

The dialect describes the appearance of the bag.

The front desk staff was quite easy to talk to, unlike the other waiters in other stores, and they were quick to help me find out.

At this time, Zhu Lin also came over and knew that after Fang Yan asked the front desk, she still had no hope.

After all, waiters in all industries are the same nowadays.

Fangyan also saw it just now. Even if someone stole something, no one would bother to care.

Even if someone really picked up her bag, they might not take it out.

Just at this moment, the front desk staff who had just gone to inquire came back, followed by another waitress who was holding Zhu Lin's bag in her hand.

When Zhu Lin saw that his bag was still there, he breathed a sigh of relief.

When the other party saw that it was Zhu Lin and Fang Yan, he recognized them as the people who had just eaten there. Without asking any other questions, he directly handed the bag back to them.

After Zhu Lin got it, he checked the things inside. They were all some simple documents and some loose change. In short, nothing was missing.

Zhu Lin said to the dialect:
"It's okay, it's okay, they are all here."

Just now she remembered that someone was stealing tableware here, and she was prepared for her bag to be emptied, but she didn't expect it to be empty.

Zhu Lin was very happy to get the bag back and he thanked the girl who found it.

Fangyan also expresses gratitude to others.

If someone hadn't picked it up and taken it out, the bag would have been gone.

The other party waved her hands, indicating that it was not a big deal, saying that guests' belongings could often be picked up here, and as long as they were in their hands, they would not fall.

After hearing this, Fang Yan and Zhu Lin had a higher impression of Lao Mo's waiter.

It turns out that expensive things have their reasons.

At least the service is much better than outside.

Zhu Lin originally planned to give the other person a few cents as a thank you, but the other person said he wanted nothing.

They said they were satisfied and asked them to come again next time.

The atmosphere was so tense that the two of them could only promise to come.

After leaving Lao Mo, the two headed towards the bus stop.

Just when they were about to arrive, Fang Yan keenly discovered that someone seemed to be following them from behind. It was not something he saw, but a feeling.

When he arrived at the bus stop, he found an opportunity to turn his head and suddenly found two scoundrel-looking men, one tall and one short, walking towards them.

Looking at their posture, Fangyan immediately realized that these people were a gang of thieves.

They were staring at them when Lao Mo came out just now, and when Zhu Lin came out, he had a bag in his hand. It seemed that he was treating them as fat sheep.

(End of this chapter)