Chapter 165 Washing Machine

Lei Jingwu and Gu Changqin arrived in Yun County at 9:30 p.m.

Instead of driving into the alley, they parked their car at the entrance of the old Cao family's courtyard, which was on the side of the street.

In the alley, everyone was enjoying the cool air at their doorsteps, but there were hardly any people on the street, and the streetlights weren't very bright. Lei Jingwu and Gu Changqin quickly moved everything from the small truck into Old Cao's courtyard.

The original courtyard wall of Lao Cao's family and Yao Shula's family have now been opened up, so entering Lao Cao's family's courtyard is basically the same as entering Yao Shula's family's home.

Yao Shula and her three children watched as the two men moved all the items from the small truck into their yard.

“This is…” Yao Shula pointed to a large box that Lei Jingwu and Gu Changqin were carefully carrying.

"He insisted on getting you a washing machine, saying that winter clothes are hard to wash and having a washing machine would make things much more convenient," Gu Changqin said in a low voice.

Yao Shula also noticed it was a Narcissus brand washing machine, and a twin-tub one at that…

Yao Shula had seen this kind of washing machine at her grandmother's house. It was very loud, but the clothes it washed came out very clean.

It runs when you spin your clothes dry, and it can run from the east corner to the west corner.

"How about that? Never seen anything like it before! With this, clothes not only wash quickly, but also dry quickly! You don't have to wring them by hand anymore."

You won't notice the difference in your summer clothes now, but you'll feel it when you wash your winter clothes." Gu Changqin continued rambling.

Lei Jingwu interrupted Gu Changqin in time.

"Stop talking nonsense, hurry up and move it inside, unpack it, and explain it to Shura and the others, otherwise they won't know how to use it!"

As they spoke, the two moved the washing machine into the west room.

It wouldn't be suitable to put it anywhere else, otherwise someone coming to visit would see it.

There are no washing machines in this area now. Most households only have radios and flashlights as appliances. Grandma Wu's house is the only one in the whole alley that has a television.

If Yao Shula's house suddenly has a washing machine, everyone's bound to gossip about it!

It's better to keep a low profile for now and use it indoors!

"Twist this side, there are time markers here, five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes, and twenty minutes."

This little red dot indicates the time it takes to wash your clothes.

Oh, before washing, you rinse the laundry detergent with warm water and pour it into this washing tub, then pour in cold water. If the clothes are dirty, soak them in it for a while before washing.

Wring it out after it's soaked.

After you finish washing here, press here. There's a water pipe over there. Put the water pipe in a basin to collect the water, and the water in the laundry tub will drain out.

Then put the washed clothes into the spin-dry tub here.

Remember, make sure it's laid flat, otherwise it will make a thumping sound, like someone is banging on your door.

Therefore, it must be laid flat.

After laying it flat, put this thing on top, then put the lid on, turn this knob, and you can spin it dry for ten minutes or five minutes, it's fine.

After spinning, the clothes won't need to be wrung out by hand, and they won't drip water.

Wait a minute, I almost forgot, the most important thing is... no matter when washing or spinning clothes, you must not open the lid and put your hand in.

Otherwise, your hands will be twisted, you know?" Lei Jingwu said with a serious expression.

The three younger ones immediately nodded vigorously.

Yao Shula quickly nodded in agreement. She knew this; her grandmother had told her the same thing when she was little.

She used to wash clothes for her grandmother when she was a child, and that was the kind of washing machine she used.

Grandma also liked to collect the drained water in a basin; she wanted to save it for flushing the toilet...

"Shura, do you remember? Why don't you demonstrate it for me? If there's anything you don't understand, I'll teach you again." Lei Jingwu looked at Yao Shura.

Yao Shula quickly put on a studious look and demonstrated it to Lei Jingwu.

Lei Jingwu, who was even preparing to teach her a second or even third time, watched in astonishment as Yao Shula fluently explained and demonstrated...

This... seems even more skilled than him.

When Yao Shula saw Lei Jingwu and Gu Changqin looking at her in surprise, she wondered if she had gone too far.

"Hey, when I saw that such a rare thing could help me with my work, I was really interested in it."

I listened very carefully when you said it, that's how I remembered it.

"As you all know, I usually only pay attention to housework," Yao Shula quickly explained.

Lei Jingwu thought about it and realized it made a lot of sense.

Yao Shula spends all her time at home thinking about how to take care of her younger siblings. With the washing machine, she'll have a lot of time to spare, so she'll definitely study hard.

"Yes, you're very smart; you learn it in no time."

"I had to listen to it twice before I could understand it," Lei Jingwu quickly said.

Just as Yao Shula was about to laugh, Gu Changqin interrupted her.

"Yes! The eldest son of the Lei family, who never does any housework, chased after people asking how to use the washing machine!"

"Tsk tsk tsk!" Gu Changqin clicked his tongue.

Before Lei Jingwu could speak, Yao Shula retorted.

“Lei Jingwu is a good young man of the new society, unlike you, who still retains old-fashioned ideas, doesn’t know the difference between the five grains, and is lazy!”

Gu Changqin...

What did he say? He just said a few words offhand.

"Exactly, cousin, you wouldn't refuse to learn it yourself, but you wouldn't let others learn it either."

"Big sister, please teach me from now on, and I'll do the laundry for the family!" Little Tiantian immediately stepped forward.

Gu Changqin, Lei Jingwu...

Good heavens! The master's precious little one can already do housework!

"Alright, now that you've got the washing machine, there are a few other things you can take a look at."

These are two electric fans, both tabletop models, the kind that can oscillate.

You should put one in each room. It will make sleeping more comfortable in the summer. Other people can sleep outside in the cool of the night, but you can't.

Close all the doors and windows before going to sleep.

You can put the one I brought you last time in the main room, or you can put it in the kitchen if you don't want to put it in the main room.

"It's quite hot cooking in the kitchen every day," Lei Jingwu said, showing Yao Shula the two new electric fans he had brought.

Yao Shula...

In my time, very few families installed air conditioning in their kitchens!

After showing Yao Shula the electric fan, Lei Jingwu pointed to a box and showed it to her.

"This is a rice cooker, used for cooking rice. You rinse the rice, add the appropriate amount of water, close the lid, and press this button."

"This saves time too, at least you don't have to watch the food while cooking," Lei Jingwu continued.

Yao Shula looked at it carefully.

Yes, it's a well-known domestic brand, the Triangle brand rice cooker!

It was indeed a rare item in an era when everyone used straw pots or small steel pots to cook rice.

Lei Jingwu was able to get his hands on these things...

"Thank you!!" Yao Shula looked at Lei Jingwu very sincerely.

After being praised like that by Yao Shula, Lei Jingwu felt a little embarrassed.

"Why are you thanking me? Isn't this what I should do?"

"Um... is there any water? I'd like some water to drink, I'm a little thirsty!"

Yao Shula then realized that she hadn't had a single sip of water since the two of them entered the house!