Rebirth: Starting from the Cafeteria

Chapter 102 Red Lantern Radio
Go to work in the morning.

Zhao Dajun came to him and said, "Master Du, you were so busy the past two days that you didn't show up. You didn't fulfill your promise to Professor Sun. I'll have someone buy some chickens and make the Dezhou Braised Chicken. I have to send it to the Academy of Agricultural Sciences tomorrow."

Snowflakes were falling outside and the temperature began to drop a little, but there was no panic on the farm.

Because Sun Qiang gave a specific plan for cold prevention and disaster relief after an on-site inspection, the relevant personnel only need to make preparations step by step.

One should never forget the person who dug the well when drinking water. The purpose of Zhao Dajun's visit was to urge Du Shaojie to make the "Dezhou Braised Chicken" as soon as possible.

"Sorry, sorry! I've been busy these past few days because of Director Lu's errands. Director, don't worry, I will definitely make the [Dezhou Braised Chicken] well even if I have to work overtime tonight, and I will never delay your work."

Du Shaojie quickly adjusted his attitude, and Zhao Dajun finally breathed a sigh of relief.

In fact, he had no choice but to accept the task, after all, that was not the other person's job.

Before lunch, Chu Xiaowei sent ten white-striped chickens to the cafeteria.

After lunch, Du Shaojie and Qin Xiaomei began to process the whole chicken. There were still some residual fluff on the skin of the white-striped chicken that needed to be cleaned and then soaked.

Li Guixiang would try to avoid overtime work as much as possible. She has a heavy family burden and has to go home and do housework after work. It's not like she's trying to be lazy.

"Aunt Qin, go back and rest for a while. Let's have a simple dinner."

Afterwards, they both went home and came to work more than half an hour late in the afternoon.

Du Shaojie arranged for Li Guixiang to make steel wire noodles. Taking advantage of this break, he, with the cooperation of Qin Xiaomei, shaped and colored ten chickens, dried them, and then fried them in a pan.

Then prepare the seasonings and spices, put it in the pot and simmer slowly.

At nine o'clock in the evening, the chicken is stewed. Remove it from the heat and leave it in the pot to soak overnight. You can take it out and take it away tomorrow morning.

After leaving the cafeteria, Du Shaojie went to Zhao Dajun's home and told him that the [Dezhou Braised Chicken] had been prepared and he could go directly to the cafeteria to get it when he left.

"Master Du, thank you for your hard work! I have to go with the vegetable truck from the bureau early tomorrow morning. How about this, you come with me? I'll go to the bureau for a meeting then, and you can deliver the chicken to Professor Sun."

In order to ensure the freshness of greenhouse vegetables and prevent them from freezing, they usually have to be transported away after picking.

Zhao Dajun had to leave early tomorrow morning. At the same time, he felt that letting Du Shaojie deliver the [Dezhou Braised Chicken] personally would better demonstrate his sincerity, so he changed the plan temporarily.

"Okay, when will we be back?"

Du Shaojie was naturally very happy. He had finally saved enough money and was waiting to buy a radio and take it home.

The industrial volume has been prepared, so I might as well take care of this when I go back tomorrow, so I don’t have to worry about it.

"The day after tomorrow morning, we'll take the bus back to the farm together. Tomorrow, after you go to the Agricultural Science Academy, you'll be free to do whatever you want."

After Zhao Dajun finished speaking, he yawned loudly.

Du Shaojie then tactfully said goodbye and left. He returned home, took out the industrial volume and put it in his schoolbag, then took a shower and went to bed.

It was dark the next day.

He came to the cafeteria, put ten pieces of [Dezhou Braised Chicken] into bags, and then put them into a cardboard box.

Not long after, Zhao Dajun came, opened the box, took a look, and gave Du Shaojie a thumbs up. The moment he opened the box, the fragrance hit him in the face, making him want to eat one.

The truck over there had already loaded the goods. The two men had no time to eat breakfast. They each grabbed two steamed buns with some pickles and followed the truck to the city.

After entering the city, Du Shaojie and the cardboard box were left at the Qiaotou bus station, and the truck drove away.

Du Shaojie was too lazy to wait for the bus. It was only three stops away, so he walked to the Academy of Agricultural Sciences carrying the cardboard box.

Sun Qiang was surprised and a little embarrassed by Du Shaojie's arrival. He led him to the small meeting room and went to the dean's office to get some good tea to entertain Du Shaojie.

"Don't leave at noon. The dean said he wants to treat you to a meal. We feel bad for bothering you all the time."

"Maybe next time. I have something to do today and I really can't spare the time. Professor Sun, I'll leave first and we can talk again when you come back to the field."

Du Shaojie waved his hand and rejected Sun Qiang.

It's not that he didn't want to see the dean, but today was not the right time. Also, his heart had already flown to the department store, and he had no intention of doing anything else.

Sun Qiang didn't force him and walked Du Shaojie out of the unit gate.

After Du Shaojie left the Academy of Agricultural Sciences, he went to the bus station and took a bus directly to the department store.

Although the department store occupies a large area, the entire building only has three floors. The radio he needs is on the second floor. When he goes to the counter, he sees that there are many kinds of radios, big and small.

After much selection, he chose a "Red Lantern 711 Tube Radio" produced by Shanghai Radio Factory No. . This desktop radio is not too big and looks pretty good.

After asking the salesperson to turn on the machine and try it out, he asked the other party to issue a receipt and then went to pay.

This radio costs 80 yuan, which is really not cheap. If you buy a semiconductor radio, it only costs 30 to 40 yuan, but he wants a tube radio more.

The electron tube will be eliminated in the future, but he thinks that this kind of thing destined to become an "old object" is more memorable. After returning home, Du Shaojie happily carried the radio into the house. Then, in front of Wang Yuxiu, he opened the box, took out the radio and placed it on the table.

"Xiao Jie, what are you doing?"

Wang Yuxiu seemed to have guessed something, but was not sure.

In those days, a radio was considered a big item in the home, and people often pursued "three turns and one sound" when getting married, which was probably similar to the meaning of "owning a car and a house" in later generations.

The three revolutions refer to: bicycle, sewing machine, watch, and the first sound is the radio.

"I just bought this. You can listen to the program when you are at home with nothing to do. There were several weddings on New Year's Day, and I went to help with the banquets. I was busy for several days, and with the money I saved before, I just made up enough money to pay for this."

Du Shaojie pulled over a wooden power strip, plugged in the power cord, and turned on the radio.

There was exciting music coming from the radio. Although there was an occasional "crackling" sound, it did not affect his excitement.

"You kid, you finally saved some money, but you don't know how to save. Just buy it. Xiaomei and Xiaoya are growing up, so we have to let them gain more experience."

Although Wang Yuxiu felt a little stingy with the money, she was still open-minded.

The channels for obtaining information are very limited now, mainly through newspapers and radio. However, the content of radio is richer, and there are programs specially broadcast for children, such as the well-known "Little Trumpet".

"The little speaker has started broadcasting"

It is the childhood memory of many people. Xiaomei and Xiaoya especially envy their classmates who have radios at home.

If it weren't for these reasons, Du Shaojie wouldn't have spent a "huge sum" of 80 yuan to buy this thing.

"Mom, I'll teach you how to use it. You can let Xiaomei and Xiaoya listen to it for a while when they are resting, but it can't affect their studies."

Du Shaojie then taught us how to use it. It is very simple and fool-proof, and you can learn it quickly.

Then he got up and went to the kitchen, making the excuse that there was something in the yard.

Wang Xiuyu turned the tuning knob and was able to find several channels. One of them happened to be playing a selection from "Red Lantern". She was fascinated after listening to it.

Du Shaojie took out some meat from the storage space in the kitchen. Since he had something to do first today, he didn't bring any fresh vegetables.

Chicken, pork, beef, and mutton were all available, and then he went out to buy some vegetables. He had promised his two sisters to wait for him to come back and make hot pot, but it was obviously too late at noon and he had to wait until the evening.

The copper pot at home was given to him by Su Dapeng. Although it is a defective product, it does not affect its usability.

For Xiaomei and Xiaoya, today was a double blessing. First, they had a radio at home so they could listen to their favorite programs. Second, their brother fulfilled his promise and cooked a spicy hot pot.

For the two little girls, happiness is that simple.

After dinner, Xiaomei and Xiaoya washed the dishes as usual. Du Shaojie helped to clean up a bit. When Xiaomei saw him enter the kitchen, she moved her mouth a few times, but in the end she didn't say anything.

Du Shaojie packed up the copper pot and put it away. He didn't know when he would use it next.

Then he turned to look at his older sister: "Just say what you want to say. It's not your character to be evasive."

"Brother, the school is organizing an event tomorrow and we are going to Yingbin Road to welcome foreign guests. The teacher asked everyone to bring some food and drinks. Can you help me prepare it?"

When Xiaomei saw that her brother had seen through her, she stopped hiding it and told him directly.

"No problem! But I have a question for you. Why don't you tell mom?"

This is a small matter. What Du Shaojie cares about is why Xiaomei didn't tell Wang Yuxiu.

"It's no use talking to her. Mom always asks us to save money and she won't agree."

Du Xiaomei curled her lips, feeling a little aggrieved.

In fact, she and Xiaoya are both sensible children. They hardly ever ask their mother for snacks, let alone buy toys or something.

Du Shaojie felt sad, then went out for a walk and bought two loaves of bread. This kind of bread would be eaten by no one in the future, but now it is a delicacy in Xiaomei and Xiaoya's minds.

Then she boiled a few eggs, two each for Xiaomei and Xiaoya.

Afterwards, he gave each of his two sisters 50 cents of pocket money, which was not too much but definitely not too little. He suddenly realized that his two sisters were no longer the slugs following him.

"You can use this money to buy snacks, stationery, small picture books, etc. Just don't spend it recklessly."

Du Shaojie didn't prepare much for Xiaomei. How could she eat in such a cold weather?
He knew what Xiaomei was talking about. It was to stand on both sides of the road holding bouquets of flowers, and when the foreign guests' motorcade came by, they would wave the flowers in their hands and shout "Welcome, welcome! Warm welcome!"

Back in the house, Du Shaojie said to his mother, "Mom, Xiaomei and Xiaoya have grown up. You have to give them some pocket money. It doesn't have to be much, at least enough for them to have popsicles or something in the hot summer."

"Oh, I know."

Wang Yuxiu did not refute. Didn't she also want her two daughters to live a better life?

(End of this chapter)