IKEA was a magical place in the minds of Zhou Xueyin and her friends, a place they had all heard of but never visited. They all knew that the food in the IKEA restaurant was expensive and delicious, and the furniture was beautiful and practical.
This time, they finally had the chance to visit IKEA.
Their fixed itinerary was: eat first, then shop.
The four of them rushed excitedly to the restaurant on the top floor. Despite it being a weekday, it was still packed with people who had nothing better to do.
However, it seemed that not many people were there to eat; most were fake white-collars with laptops, nursing a drink with unlimited refills.
Others were just sitting there, resting temporarily.
Zhou Xueyin and her three friends, carrying their food, looked for seats by the windows, but those were already fully occupied. Having no choice, they opted for a quick meal before shopping.
"Yinyin, Yinyin, our meal cost us so much!" Yao Shanshan said, looking at the receipt and feeling the pinch.
Indeed, four people had spent over 200, averaging about 50 yuan per person...①Note
But everyone really wanted to try everything, and they had already tried their best to hold back.
"It's okay, it's normal company expenses for starting up, a luxury once is fine, it's all good!" Zhou Xueyin said lightly, though she too was feeling the pinch—it was definitely not something she would usually splurge on.
"Hey, once Yinyin's company grows big, we can come here to eat every day without feeling bad!" said Li Jiniang, offering words of comfort, "It's also a chance to experience the spending habits of a big city, isn't it?"
"Since we're here, let's just enjoy the meal!" Kang Siyin stuffed a Swedish meatball into her mouth, "Mmm~~~ so delicious! This money is well spent! You guys should start eating too!"
"Let's eat! How can we have the energy to shop if we're not full?" Zhou Xueyin also felt relieved as she popped a meatball into her mouth.
"Yinyin, Yinyin, try this drink! How can it be so delicious!" Yao Shanshan held up a cup filled with a red drink, as if she had discovered a new continent.
Zhou Xueyin took a sip, my goodness, what kind of heavenly drink was this? Sweet but not cloying, and very refreshing. Cool and invigorating.
"I wish I had ordered this drink, now everything else tastes bland…" Zhou Xueyin made a sad face.
The dishes in the IKEA restaurant, each had its unique flavor, nothing felt generic.
No wonder the average spending was over 50 yuan; it truly was great value for money!
After eating, they started shopping.
The shopping characters of the four also began to show.
Zhou Xueyin and Kang Siyin usually went straight to the point, first figuring out what they needed before leisurely exploring other optional items.
Meanwhile, Li Jiniang and Yao Shanshan preferred to window-shop, wishing they could scrutinize each product as if they needed to confirm each one.
However, after some discussion, they decided to walk and look around as they went, since it was everyone's first time at IKEA and rushing through might leave them feeling unfulfilled.
So, the four found a cart and began their IKEA adventure.
"Let's confirm the items we need to buy this time, huh: 4 desks that can hold a computer, 4 chairs! As for the sofa, if there's a lazy sofa available, we'll decide based on the price..." Zhou Xueyin took out the list she had prepared earlier and confirmed with the other three, "As for beds... why don't we just sleep on the floor? We could just buy 4 mattresses, which would save quite a bit of money..."
When she mentioned sleeping on the floor, the three people looked at her with a "Are you serious?" expression.
"Here's the thing, Yinyin..." Li Jiniang was the first to speak, "We understand that you want to save money, but about sleeping on the floor... have you considered our situation?"
"Oh! Right!" Zhou Xueyin slapped her forehead, "That was inconsiderate of me! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'm a local, so I don't need cabinets or anything, but it's different for you!"
"Although the rented house is intended for both residential and commercial use, the three of us really do need wardrobes to store our clothes!" Li Jiniang continued from where Zhou Xueyin left off.
"Yeah, exactly! Yinyin, look at me, I have so many cosplay outfits that need to go in the wardrobe..." Yao Shanshan batted her eyelashes at Zhou Xueyin.
"Sigh... If I had only thought sooner, I wouldn't have rented an empty house; I would have found one with furniture..." Zhou Xueyin felt sorry again for her impulsiveness.
"No, no, an empty house is great! Absolutely great!" Kang Siyin quickly interrupted Zhou Xueyin, who was about to apologize, "Actually, I've already thought of it. Let's just buy those bunk beds, where the top is for sleeping and the bottom is a wardrobe; it could save a lot of space!"
"That design you're talking about, does IKEA have it?" Zhou Xueyin asked skeptically.
"Maybe, after all, that design is very common abroad," Kang Siyin said, basing her knowledge on her drama-watching experience.
"Alright then! Let's just go and see as we move along!" Since they had set a goal, it was time to head out!
Zhou Xueyin led the way, pushing the shopping cart and looking at the products on both sides.
Yao Shanshan, who loved kitchenware, was itching to grab everything she saw at IKEA's wide range of products. Shortly, the shopping cart was filled with items she picked, both practical and impractical, essential and non-essential kitchen knick-knacks.
Zhou Xueyin quietly put those pretty but utterly useless items back when Yao Shanshan wasn't paying attention.
"Shanshan, you might as well just move the entire IKEA restaurant section home," Li Jiniang teased her.
"Really?" Yao Shanshan's eyes lit up as she looked at Li Jiniang excitedly, "You know, the design of IKEA's kitchenware really matches my aesthetic! I want to buy everything I see..."
"Wait until you buy your own house and are decorating it, then you can haul it all from IKEA! We won't stop you!" Zhou Xueyin took the impractical kitchen tools Yao Shanshan had picked and put them back in their place, "We're here to buy furniture; kitchenware should just be sufficient."
"Alright..." Yao Shanshan pouted, disappointed.
Indeed, buying like this, she would really end up taking home all the kitchen department's items. It's better to restrain a bit!
To stop Yao Shanshan from dwelling on additional kitchen knick-knacks, the three quickly moved on to the next area, the home living exhibition hall, perfect for finding the bunk beds Kang Siyin mentioned.
"Yinyin, Yinyin... why are so many people lying on the beds and sofas sleeping here? It's so indecent..." Yao Shanshan, seeing many inappropriately behaving people in this section, asked Zhou Xueyin with furrowed brows.
"Sigh, it's just that in the hot summer, they come here to enjoy the air conditioning without paying their electricity bill at home," Zhou Xueyin snorted disdainfully, "These people are often mentioned on TV, but they never change. They treat IKEA like it's their own home."
"That's really shameless!" Kang Siyin frowned.
"Forget it, forget it, the store itself turns a blind eye..." Li Jiniang helplessly spread her hands and shrugged, "Let's just quickly find the beds!"
Note: Back in the day, a college graduate's salary was only up to 1200, so a meal costing 50 per person was indeed a bit painful. But so many years have passed, and IKEA's prices have barely changed. Now it's still around 50-70 per person. They really are a conscientious business.