Chapter 59 Trying on the Swimdress

Chapter 59: Trying on Swimdresses

Using the method of searching for Chinese elements to find someone made the task much simpler.

Foreigners would never use Chinese names for their shops.

A Chinese-owned shop would invariably feature large, calligraphic Chinese characters painted alongside the English signage, such as:

Zhou Fugui’s General Store,
Zhao Youfu’s Boutique,
Old Third Zhang’s Fair Deal Shop,
Old Fourth Li’s Conscientious Store,
Shandong Fifth Uncle Wang’s Beach Supplies Exclusive Store,
Shanxi Qin Erpiao’s Eatery,
Henan Wan Family’s Seaside Supplies Store,
Anhui Old Slow Wu’s Fruit Store,
Jiangsu Chen Boss’s Beverage Shop.

The advantage of using both Chinese and English for shop names was that it could cater to foreigners while simultaneously drawing the attention of overseas Chinese and compatriots.

With this, the search radius shrank once again. Focusing exclusively on shops run by Chinese people, and then filtering out eateries, toy stores, and fruit and cold drink stands, the search narrowed directly to stores selling underwear, swimdresses, and similar items, which further restricted the scope.

Arriving at the entrance of Sister Wu Chen’s Swimwear Shop—where a slightly faded red lantern from the Spring Festival still hung by the door—Zhou Zihan parked the car and gentlemanly opened the door for Gandy Duff. Before they even stepped inside, a plump, middle-aged woman stood waiting at the threshold. Seeing Zhou Zihan’s handsome Chinese face, she greeted him warmly, "Fellow townsman, fellow townsman! Come, come inside and have a bowl of tea!"

That single word "fellow townsman" instantly warmed Zhou Zihan’s heart.

At that time, Chinese people mostly used bowls for drinking tea, and that single word "bowl" evoked the distinct flavor of the motherland and hometown.

Zhou Zihan nodded with a smile, leading Gandy Duff into the shop.

The shop was small, and almost every available space inside was utilized, hung with various bikinis. The proprietress was business-savvy, displaying beach toys, life vests, and lifebuoys on the floor.

Sister Wu Chen, the plump middle-aged woman, enthusiastically poured two bowls of tea. "Fellow townsman, taste the flavor of home first. This is Guaopian tea from my hometown in Lu'an, very hard to come by in America."

Zhou Zihan picked up the bowl and inhaled the tea's aroma beneath his nose. Though the tea leaves were quite ordinary, it was indeed the authentic taste of China. "Ah! This is the Chinese flavor!"

"My, fellow townsman, your girlfriend is truly gorgeous! What kind of swimdress do you want to buy for her? Just tell Sister Wu, and Sister Wu guarantees to dress her up so she'll be the absolute belle of this entire beach!"

With that, Sister Wu Chen gave Gandy Duff a thumbs-up.

***

Judging solely by Sister Wu Chen’s actions and tone of voice, Zhou Zihan could be as certain as iron that she was not the person he was looking for; Special Higher Education Service agents simply did not possess such natural aptitude for business.

Such enthusiasm, such talent, and such a standard of salesmanship belonged exclusively to the Chinese people!

Holding his tea bowl, Zhou Zihan strolled plausibly around the small shop, but he saw no trace of the swimdress and underwear styles belonging to Eiko Koyama.

To prevent any disappointment from clouding Sister Wu Chen’s hopeful face, Zhou Zihan picked out several dresses from the rack and handed them to Gandy Duff. "Try these on."

Sister Wu Chen’s round, plump face immediately broke into a smile. "Young brother, you really have an eye! Putting these clothes on your girlfriend will make her outshine Xi Shi herself; even fairies in heaven would be jealous."

Zhou Zihan smiled, thinking to himself, *Alright, Sister Wu, I'll buy all of these.*

Had Gandy Duff lived in the twenty-first century, she would undoubtedly have been a world-class supermodel. Her figure seemed uniquely born for swimdresses, entirely flawless from any angle.

Every time she tried one on, she would step out, twirl around in front of Zhou Zihan, and strike various graceful poses.

"Damn! Buddy, you were simply born to wear swimdresses."

Zhou Zihan extended a thumb, offering heartfelt praise!

Indeed, swimdresses were custom-designed specifically for Western beauties.

Seeing that the customer was satisfied with every single piece, plump Sister Wu Chen beamed from ear to ear, and her endearments grew even sweeter.

"Young brother, you really have an eye, and our sister-in-law is genuinely gorgeous. Tsk tsk tsk, with her wearing these dresses, all the girls on this entire coastline combined don't look as good as our sister-in-law! Gorgeous!"

Zhou Zihan’s mouth twitched a few times. Sister Wu Chen certainly knew how to talk—within this brief moment, he had acquired a sister-in-law.

Zhou Zihan merely smiled, choosing not to explain that Gandy Duff wasn't his girlfriend.

The way of business is the way of humanity!

Zhou Zihan fully understood that the older sister’s overwhelming warmth was largely motivated by a desire to push her merchandise, but he also believed that genuine hometown sentiment played a part as well.

The Chinese people of this era were simple and honest, and no matter how overseas Chinese changed their lifestyles, their Chinese hearts remained unchanged.

Unwilling to waste more time, Zhou Zihan paid for the items, had all the swimdresses packed up, and opened the car door for Gandy Duff to get in first. Just as he started the engine, he saw plump Sister Wu Chen come running out of the shop, holding two packages wrapped in newspaper.

"Young brother, seeing how much you enjoyed the Lu'an Guaopian earlier, I packed some for you to take back. I also have some raw rice here that my parents entrusted someone to send me before the Spring Festival. There isn't much left, so I can only share a tiny bit with you. Take it back, roast it up, and let your sister-in-law taste it—it's so fragrant."

A wave of warmth washed over Zhou Zihan. "Sister Wu..."

***

After visiting several more shops in succession, Zhou Zihan still failed to find Eiko Koyama’s particular style of swimdress and underwear.

Girls naturally love beauty, and Gandy Duff’s fondness for bikinis far exceeded Zhou Zihan's. At first, Zhou Zihan directed her to try on specific swimdresses, but soon she entered the shops, selected attractive swimdresses on her own, and happily trotted into the fitting room to change before parading out to spin in front of Zhou Zihan.

*Didn't you say you treat me as a good buddy?*

***

*Right, this is precisely what a good buddy ought to do for you.*

*I'm going to drive you crazy with envy.*

To be honest, the girls in America in 1936 were already quite bold and uninhibited.

Fortunately, apart from Zhou Zihan, there was also a female shop assistant in front of the full-length mirror, preventing Gandy Duff from being too unbridled after emerging from the fitting room.

Zhou Zihan hadn't expected Long Island to be so vast, so populous, and filled with so many merchants. Having arrived rather late, with the sun now sinking toward the horizon, it seemed unlikely he would find that specific shop today. Going out to buy bikinis at this hour would also seem somewhat forced.

Spies of the Special Higher Education Service possessed extreme paranoia.

Consequently, Zhou Zihan drove Gandy Duff to Chinatown, heading to the small restaurant where he had dined earlier with Shu Qin and Huang Panyang.

The proprietor of the small restaurant spotted Zhou Zihan approaching from afar, hurried over to grasp his hand, and appeared exceedingly warm.

Having dined here just the day before and returned again today—this was the embodiment of the bond shared among overseas Chinese compatriots.

"Little brother, when I saw the money and the left-behind note beneath the counter that day, I knew from the handwriting that you must have been the one who left it. I was so touched at the time!"

Zhou Zihan smiled, accepted a cigarette handed over by the boss, and insisted that doing business without collecting payment was impossible; no matter how large a family fortune one had, it couldn't sustain such a practice.

Before long, the boss personally served the dishes:

A plate of stir-fried pork liver,
A dish of diced chicken with carrots,
A plate of cold-dressed pig ears,
A large sea bowl of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall,
Two plates of handmade dumplings,
Four bottles of beer.

These were dishes Gandy Duff had never tasted before. Especially the dumplings—upon taking her first bite, Gandy Duff fell deeply in love with them.

Watching the boss bring over vinegar and garlic, Zhou Zihan asked, "Uncle, what is your honorable surname, and where is your hometown?"

"No honorifics needed; my name is Chen Xiping. My hometown is in Zhejiang. I came to America with my parents when I was very young, and now I can't even speak my hometown dialect properly. It comes out neither fish nor fowl—my Mandarin isn't quite Mandarin, and my Zhejiang dialect isn't quite Zhejiang dialect."