Siheyuan: There are three little cats at home

Chapter 411 Twelve-inch color TV
Silly Zhu actually said what everyone in the compound was thinking.

As far as I could see, none of the other houses in the courtyard had a TV in their house, and they all seemed eager to watch it.

It is difficult to get tickets for such expensive and large items, and industrial coupons are also required.

As for the price, an ordinary black and white TV costs more than 300 and nearly 400 yuan, which is really a lot of money.

It’s true that not everyone who wants to can afford it.

Yan Bugui, the third uncle, has been talking about it for several years. How many years have passed since the Xu Qing family received the TV ticket as a reward from the street office.

Still haven't bought the TV.

The reasons were, first, it was too expensive, and because of his stingy temperament, he was hesitant and unable to make up his mind.

The second is the TV ticket, which he hasn’t gotten yet.

I have asked Xu Qing many times before, hoping that Xu Qing could give him a breakup at a cheaper price.

But how could Xu Qing not know the value of TV tickets?

It's impossible to be cheap.

If Yan Bugui can ask for it according to the market price secretly, he can consider it.

The problem is that a TV costs 400 yuan, and a ticket costs more than 100 or 200 yuan, which adds up to [-] to [-] yuan.

Yanbu is a very expensive person who spends money very much. He wishes that every penny could be used as a big ticket. How can he accept it?

But it was up to him whether to accept it or not. Xu Qing was not in a hurry to sell the TV tickets.

I had considered it before, but later, whether it was Aiguo and Fengming getting married, or my daughter-in-law giving birth to Qiaoxin last year.

The money in the house is enough, but we are not so desperate that we need to exchange TV tickets for money.

Therefore, after many years, Xu Qing still holds the TV ticket in his hand.

Xu Qing was not in a hurry to buy a TV set before because his second and third brothers hadn't gotten married yet.

Grandpa and grandma gave him a task as the eldest brother, so naturally they had to complete this urgent matter first.

Coupled with the fact that his parents are absent and the eldest brother is like his father, Xu Qing should also be the leader of the family.

You can't just get married by yourself and ignore your younger brothers and sisters' affairs and leave them alone.

In this special era, although there is discord between father and son, there are also discord between brothers.

But just like the third uncle Yan Bugui and the second uncle Liu Haizhong in the courtyard.

As we all know, the relationship between these two people and their children has never been very harmonious.

But there are four siblings, Yan Jiecheng and three brothers Liu Guangtian. When they get married, it is not up to the parents to look after them.

Otherwise, if Yan Bugui has enough money to marry his four children, he can buy the next TV no matter what.

But Yan Bugui was so stingy that no one would do that. Aiguo, Fengming, and Xiaoya, who had grown up dependent on Xu Qing, how could he, the eldest brother, just sit idly by and ignore them.

However, Aiguo and Fengming are both married, and Xu Qing's plan to buy a TV can be put on the agenda.

It's just that he doesn't have much money at the moment.

Daughter Xu Qiaoxin is not yet one year old, and son Hongzhi is still young. There are many places to spend money in various aspects, so money must be reserved for emergencies.

The plan to buy a TV can only be shelved for the time being, but before the end of this year, it must be bought for the family.

Xu Aiguo checked the time and saw that the program could be seen at this point, so he turned on the TV so that everyone in the courtyard could watch it.

As sounds and images came from the TV, Xu Aiguo's room was instantly filled with people.

There was no choice. Apart from Xu Qing and his family, only Yu Li went to the small courtyard where Xu Aiguo had rented last year to look for her daughter and took the opportunity to watch her for a while.

For the rest, it can be said that they have not seen it at all.

What was playing on the TV was a cross talk program by Master Hou. The picture quality was black and white, and the sound was mixed with noise.

However, that's it, everyone watched it with gusto.

For a moment, no one spoke, and everyone was staring at the TV screen, as if they were watching a movie in a factory.

Xu Hongzhi and his daughter Yu Li stood in front of the crowd because they were not tall. The two little ones wanted to press their whole bodies against the TV.

Seeing this, Xu Qing smiled and ignored it.

Black and white screens are not as harmful to the eyes as color screens.

Moreover, the TV has program time. These days, the day does not last long, and it is not a fixed time period. If you turn it on, you can't see anything, so you just let them lie in front of it.

Ten minutes later, after the two crosstalk episodes were played, the TV program disappeared and the screen became filled with flying snowflakes.

Everyone was still recovering from their thoughts and couldn't forget to leave.

Silly Zhu took out his cigarettes and threw one to Xu Qing, and then to the three uncles in the courtyard and Feng Ming. Yan Jiecheng scattered one each, smoked and sat on the edge of the bed and said:
"It's great to have a TV. It's much better than listening to the radio and gramophone!"

Yan Jiecheng echoed: "That's right, the radio can only make a sound, how can it compare with the TV."

Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong were speechless. Who doesn't know that TVs are good, but how many times more expensive are TVs than radios?
The first aunt, the third aunt, the second aunt, the third oldest, and Mrs. Jia Zhang kept pointing at the TV and talking non-stop.

They were so rare that they all wanted to have one at home.

However, although TV sets are available in department stores and state-owned stores, there are still a lot of them.

But the price is ridiculously expensive.

Furthermore, if you want to buy it, you must first have a TV ticket and enough industrial coupons.

I can only look at him with jealousy and envy.

After May Day, the weather gradually started to warm up.

Yan Bugui, the third uncle who went to Xu Aiguo's house every night to watch TV, suggested to Xu Qinghe Aiguo:
"Xiao Qing, patriotic. It's getting hotter now and it's getting darker day by day. Why don't we move the TV set to the courtyard? Let's all watch it together. It's cool to sit in the courtyard and we don't have to be crowded all the time. It’s stuffy and hot in the Patriot House.”

Xu Qing said nothing and turned to look at his second brother.

The TV was a dowry given by the patriotic father-in-law to his sister-in-law Ai Qian, and it was the second brother and his sister-in-law who made the decision.

Xu Aiguo thought for a while and felt that what the third uncle said was reasonable.

After all, he can stand a room full of people every night, but his wife and son may not be able to stand it.

Xu Aiguo thought for a moment and said, "Well, third uncle, after I have dinner, I will move the TV to the courtyard in the evening."

When Yan Bugui heard this, his face showed joy. He turned around and hurriedly notified the whole hospital from door to door, asking everyone to bring their own stools and mats so that they could watch TV in the backyard.

As soon as Yan Bugui left, Xu Qing and his second brother returned to their house and gathered around the table to have dinner as a family.

Aiguo and Aiqian did not cook by themselves, but ate with their eldest brother, sister-in-law and sister.

Because the three Xu Qing brothers did not separate their families.

In fact, there is no point.

When my parents passed away, apart from their pension and house, there was nothing of value.

Xu Qing spent all of Aiguo's and Fengming's share of the pension on their marriage.

The only thing that needs to be divided is the house.

However, both Aiguo and Fengming stated that they would not fight for the house left by their parents.

Xu Qing brought the two of them together with Xiaoya, and they couldn't do anything without conscience.

Liu Aiqian and Tang Xiujuan didn't say anything, they just listened to their own opinions.

Xu Aiguo and Liu Aiqian were having dinner at their eldest brother's house, and their food stamps, gas stamps, etc. were all given to their sister-in-law Jinghong.

Sometimes I buy noodles because of Xu Qing, sometimes because of patriotism.

Aunt Feng, the patriotic nanny, does all the cooking, as well as the grocery shopping.

Ma Jinghong and Xiaoya, as well as Liu Aiqian who has returned from get off work, will also help.

There are many people in the family, and Aunt Feng is the only one who can handle it, even with four hands.

Fortunately, Fengming and Xiujuan did not return to the compound.

Otherwise, steaming a pot of steamed buns at noon will create light at night.

After the family and the nanny Aunt Feng had dinner together, it was already dark outside the house.

The sky was full of stars, and the night was like a black lacquered curtain. It seemed that they were waiting for Xu Aiguo to move the TV set into the courtyard.

Everyone in the compound was staying in their own rooms, like Shazhu and Yi Zhonghai in the middle courtyard, who were sitting at Liu Haizhong's house with the third uncle and his family in the front yard.

As soon as Xu Qing or Aiguo brought out the TV, they immediately rushed to the courtyard to take their seats with the stools in their hands.

In Xu Damao's room, Jia Zhang and Qin Huairu were sitting.

Bangge was alone in the old lady's hut where he lived. He usually didn't watch with the people in the compound, and only watched once or twice occasionally.

Seems very unsociable.

Qin Huairu had no choice but to let his son have his way.

When Aiguo moved the TV out of the house, Xu Qing, his sister, his daughter-in-law, who was holding his daughter, and his sister-in-law Ai Qian, who was holding his nephew Hongfu, sat at the table in the backyard and watched TV with everyone.

It's really cool to watch TV in the courtyard at night.

It's like watching a movie in a factory in the summer.

The TV screen is small, but no matter how many people there are in the courtyard, there are not as many people as there are in the factory.Everyone sat around the table, staring at the flickering TV screen, watching the news broadcast program that the country only started broadcasting this year.

No one spoke, everyone was focused on receiving the major news in the country through the TV.

There was only a certain big news. After the big event was broadcast, the three uncles in the courtyard couldn't help but comment. But soon, as the next news was broadcast, no one said anything anymore.

Days like this lasted until the autumn of 78.

The weather became colder after the autumn rains.

Everyone couldn't sit still in the courtyard, and the TV set returned to Xu Aiguo's room.

And everyone in the courtyard, after watching TV for more than half a year, has become completely obsessed with the TV.

The TV is so intuitive, the radio can only provide sound, but when you turn on the TV, you can have a panoramic view of both the sound and the picture.

Yanbu Gui'an, the third uncle in the front yard, couldn't bear the restlessness in his heart. On the morning of the first weekend after the beginning of autumn, he walked to Xu Qing's house in the back yard and mentioned the old things again:

"Xiaoqing, do you want to buy a TV for your family? If you are not in a hurry, give me your TV ticket."

After Yan Bugui finished speaking, he continued: "If you love your country and have one, you two brothers can be regarded as married people."

Xu Qing knew that Yan Bugui was really tempted to buy a TV this time, so he smiled and shook his head:
"Third uncle, what you said is absolutely correct, but you are a step too late. I have a TV ticket. Brother Damao was leaving two days ago, so he gave me two hundred and seventy."

Yan Bugui was stunned and stood there dumbfounded, secretly complaining in his heart that he was beaten to the spot by Xu Damao.

In addition, a TV ticket costs [-]. That guy Xu Damao is really willing to spend a lot of money.

Yan Bugui saw that Xu Qing didn't have the TV ticket in his hand, so he turned around and left angrily.

In fact, when Xu Damao got the TV ticket from Xu Qing, he changed hands and sold it.

At the beginning of the period, Xu Damao wanted to save the money to buy a TV for his family, but he happened to hear that a person who used to belong to the capitalist roaders came back from outside after the change. He was planning to get his son married recently and was anxious to get a TV ticket. The price was as high as three. One hundred and two.

When Xu Damao heard this letter, he immediately agreed. He bought it from Xu Qing for [-], and then sold it to the capitalist roader who was in urgent need of votes for [-].

After making a profit of 50 yuan, Xu Qing and Aiguo took Xu Qing and Aiguo to have a drink last night to express their gratitude.

Xu Qing got two hundred and seven. In these days, the market price in private was about this number. He didn't care about Xu Damao earning 50 yuan.

Business behavior, isn’t it, buy low and sell high.

Xu Qing's TV ticket was given by the street, and it was [-] for free, which was pretty good.

Although he no longer has a TV ticket, Xu Qing can still buy a TV. His third brother-in-law, Tang Xiujuan, works at the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office.

Let her find a way to import a TV set from abroad without paying any money.

It's a color TV, which is much better than a black and white screen.

It's just that the price is more expensive than the black and white ones.

But Xu Qinggang exchanged his TV ticket with Xu Damao for 270 yuan, plus the salary he earned from working with his wife Jinghong for more than half a year. After taking into account daily expenses, the money in his hand was already over [-] yuan.

Nowadays, Xu Qing's household income is a thousand yuan, which is not enough to buy a TV.

However, with the end of the change, the connection between domestic and foreign countries has become closer. Some foreign products can now be seen in state-owned stores and department stores in Sijiucheng.

But they are all daily necessities, and there are still very few large items like televisions.

The state’s control in this area is still slightly stricter.

Xu Qing asked his sister-in-law Tang Xiujuan to hire someone from abroad to get the TV, which took three to four months.

It wasn't until the winter solstice that Xu Fengming used a borrowed car to drive the TV to the entrance of the courtyard alley, then carried the TV back to his eldest brother's house in the courtyard alone.

Snow is falling all over the sky. Xu Fengming is wearing black leather gloves and a gray woolen coat. He has hair oil on his head and looks very capable, just like an aspiring young man who has returned from abroad.

"Brother, my wife got the TV back!"

As soon as Xu Fengming entered the house, he put the TV in his arms on the kang, took off his scarf and gloves, and asked the nanny who was busy in the kitchen:
"Aunt Feng, haven't my eldest brother and my sister-in-law come back yet?"

"Oh, it's Feng Ming who's here. Director Xu and the others haven't come back yet, so I'm the only one. Hongzhi put down his schoolbag and went to the front yard to do homework with Xie Cheng's family and Xie Cheng's daughter."

Xu Fengming said "oh" and saw Aunt Feng still making dumplings, so he walked into the kitchen and squatted in front of the stove to help light the fire while waiting for his eldest brother and second brother to come back.

Xu Qing was delayed due to matters at the factory. When he returned to the alley on his bicycle, he saw the car that his third brother often borrowed and knew that it was Feng Ming who had returned to the compound today.

He bypassed the car, rode his bicycle quickly through the alley, got off the car at the main entrance of the compound, pushed the bicycle and headed back to his home in the backyard.

In the front yard, the doors of Yan Bugui's family were all closed. It was winter, the weather was freezing cold, and there was snow falling. There was no one in the front yard, and the same was true in the middle yard.

Just when Xu Qing was pushing the cart into the backyard, he saw Bangge coming out of Jia's house, huddled in his cotton-padded jacket, and preparing to go back to his rented cabin in the backyard.

"Uncle Qingzi, it's time to get off work!"

Banggeng said hello to Xu Qing, said nothing, and ran into the backyard head-first.

Xu Qing pushed the car, responded, and walked into the backyard unhurriedly.

Parking his bicycle at the door of the house, Xu Qing entered the house and saw his wife, sister and Ai Qian already in the kitchen helping Aunt Feng make and cook dumplings.

Aiguo and Fengming were sitting on the kang in the front room, adjusting the color TV.

Seeing their eldest brother coming back, the two of them hurriedly said:

"Brother, your big color TV is back!"

Xu Hongzhi finished his homework at Yan Jiecheng's house in the front yard. He just ran home five minutes ago. He stood in front of the Kang edge, pointed at the TV and said:

"Dad, my third uncle not only brought a TV set to our family, but also bought me two comic books."

Xu Qing picked up the scarf around his neck, smiled and hummed at his son, then looked at the color TV set that had arrived home earlier than him, and watched his second brother and third brother debugging it.

Due to the snow, the signal could not be received. Xu Fengming shook his head and said:

"Brother, there is no way. I can't even watch the news tonight under the snow."

Xu Qing waved his hand and said, "If you can't watch it, then I won't watch it. I'll watch it again when the weather is nice."

These days, TVs rely on antennas to receive signals. On snowy days, the signal is interfered with and it’s strange that the picture can be seen.

In the evening, Xu Fengming ate dumplings with his eldest brother, sister-in-law, second brother and sister-in-law, sister Xiaoya and Aunt Feng in the courtyard before leaving.

Turning around, snowflakes were flying early in the morning, making the entire compound a blanket of white everywhere.

The window glass has long been frozen with window grilles, and the eaves are also hung with ice skates. The entire courtyard is frozen, and everything is silent in this early morning.

But it’s not weekends. Those who should go to work have to go to work, and those who should go to school have to get up early to go to school.

However, as soon as Xu Qing got home from work in the afternoon, he saw that his house was full of people.

Due to the winter solstice yesterday, everyone in the compound did not go to Xu Qing's house to watch color TV. After work today, they all flocked to Xu Qing's house.

Xu Damao smoked a cigarette, walked around the TV several times, clicked his tongue and said:
"Qingzi, your big color TV is fine. Not only does the screen play out the same as the real person in front of you, but even the size is a bit larger than the black and white TV from Patriot. It's twelve inches, right?"

Xu Qing nodded with a smile. Silly Zhu had already noticed that the size was twelve, but he didn't say anything. He reached out and took out an economical cigarette, threw it to Xu Qing, and then grinned:
"Qingzi, how much did you pay for your big color TV?"

Xu Qing opened his right hand and shook it.

Silly Zhu was surprised: "Five hundred?"

Everyone present was stunned when they heard this.

For 500 yuan, if you add more than 100 yuan, you can buy two cheaper black and white TVs.

Xu Damao was a man who had seen the world, but he was still shocked when he heard the price.

Good guy, Qingzi is rich. He can buy a TV set for 500 yuan.

Being the director of a factory is really different. Not only is it expensive to buy a TV at home, it is also colorful.

The only one in the whole hospital!

The previously patriotic black belt TV has made everyone drool with envy.

Now, there is a large, color imported TV set in Xu Qing's house.

It made everyone jealous.

Yan Bugui also thought that he was frugal and saved some money and industrial coupons. He planned to buy a [-]-inch black and white TV in a year or two so that he could show his face in the compound.

Improve the prestige of his third uncle.

Now it seems that there is no chance at all.

Xu Qing has moved the large [-]-inch color TV back to the courtyard. It will be useless if he goes out to buy a black and white TV of the same size tomorrow.

There is a color TV in the courtyard, but who cares about black and white TV?

Yan Bugui felt sour in his heart and remained silent for a while.

As for Liu Haizhong, the second uncle, he is jealous, but his industrial vouchers have been taken away by his younger son. Even if he has enough money to buy a nine-inch TV, but he does not have TV tickets and enough industrial vouchers, it is useless. .

Yi Zhonghai has more money and industrial coupons than Yan Bugui and Liu Haizhong.

He and his aunt had no children. They lived frugally and saved the most money among everyone in the courtyard.

If you want to buy a TV, you can buy it as soon as you say you want it.

The problem is that Yi Zhonghai and his wife have been planning for their retirement, so how dare they spend their money on buying a TV.

I just saw that there are more and more big things in Xu Qing's house, and life is getting better year by year.

Yi Zhonghai secretly regretted that he was so blind that he didn't realize that the Xu Qing brothers and sisters could be so successful!
(End of this chapter)