Dong Qing had the idea of ​​how to manufacture simple agricultural tricycles in his mind; he could draw out the dimensions and blueprints just from his recollection.

As the siblings were talking, they heard a knock at the door. Dong Damei went to the door and opened it, seeing her sister-in-law, Li Yuzhu, standing outside carrying a color television. She asked, "Sister-in-law, you bought a color TV? Why are you carrying it to our house?"

Dongqing said, "Big sister, this is for you. Second sister's family also has one. All three of us should get a color TV."

A 14-inch color television costs over a thousand yuan, and only her younger brother was willing to buy her one.

There's no need for excessive formality between siblings. The value of the gifts doesn't matter. What makes him happiest is that he cares about his sister. What makes Dong Damei happiest is that her brother has really grown up and no longer needs them, his older sisters, to worry about him.

Dong Damei simply said thank you to her brother. Her words were calm, but her heart was full of love. Who wouldn't want their brother to have a good future and achieve great things? Besides her husband and children, her brother was the person she cared about most in her life.

Dongqing took the television from his wife and placed it on the ground. He then squatted down and took a Shanghai-brand television out of the box.

The happiest people at home are the children. My niece ran out of her bedroom when she heard that her aunt had brought a TV.

Dongqing set up the antenna on the roof, pulled it into the room and connected it to the TV. Then he plugged it in and selected the channels. He said, "I'm going up to the roof to adjust the antenna. Let me know when the picture is clear!"

Before long, with Dong Qing's adjustments, the image gradually became clearer and reached its optimal state. Li Yuzhu stood at the window and called out to the rooftop that it was ready, and Dong Qing stopped rotating the antenna.

Dongqing returned home from the rooftop. A variety show was playing on TV. He said, "Big sister, let's go home."

Dong Damei said, "Let's eat at home, and then go back."

Li Yuzhu said, "We've been out for half a day, so we won't eat at home. We'll go back before dark and set up our TV antenna."

After Li Yuzhu finished speaking, she and her husband walked out of her elder sister's house.

When Dong Qing and his wife returned home, Dong Sanmei, who had delivered a color TV to her second sister's house, also returned.

Dongqing found a wooden pole and set up the TV antenna in the yard.

I went back inside, put the TV on the table, plugged in the power and antenna, and started tuning the channels. Then I went out into the yard to adjust the TV antenna, and the TV picture became clear instantly.

On New Year's Eve, Dong Qing returned home carrying the fireworks and firecrackers he had bought. Li Yuzhu and Dong Sanmei were making dumplings.

Seeing her husband carrying so many fireworks, Li Yuzhu said, "You could have just bought some firecrackers. You're wasting money."

Dong Qing said, "The point of celebrating the New Year is to have a festive atmosphere, and then set off fireworks after dinner!"

Li Yuzhu said, "Wash your hands and get ready to eat."

Eating dumplings on New Year's Eve is a tradition passed down from our elders.

Li Yuzhu and Fang Lin brought the cooked dumplings from the kitchen into the house and placed them on the dining table. Dong Sanmei also put the dipping sauce on the table.

Li Yuzhu said, "Dongqing, let's set off the firecrackers first, then we'll eat."

Dongqing said okay, took the firecrackers and went into the yard. He lit a cigarette for himself, then set off two firecrackers, and then lit a long string of firecrackers. The firecrackers brought a strong festive atmosphere to the family.

After dinner, people would set off fireworks. In those days, many families couldn't afford fireworks, so each household would just set off a string of firecrackers.

Fireworks were lit during the winter celebration, shooting from the courtyard into the sky and exploding in colorful halos, while also exuding a strong festive atmosphere.

Starting from the second day of the Lunar New Year, I was busy visiting relatives every day. After the Lantern Festival, the New Year celebrations were officially over, and workers started working normally and students started going back to school.

Plates and bowls are bought at the latest after the Lunar New Year. During the New Year, every household has already bought them all, so this business is in a slow season after the New Year.

Dong Qing could only wait for a phone call at home; at this point, even if he loaded the goods and took them out, no one would want them.

On the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, Dong Qing found Dong Daming, a cement worker from his village. In those days, the concept of contracting out house construction had just emerged. He organized dozens of cement workers to take on small projects in the county town.

Dong Qing handed Dong Daming the villa blueprints he had drawn in advance. His blueprints were in the style of 21st-century villas. He said, "Uncle, take a look at the blueprints. Is it difficult to build a villa according to my requirements?"

In those days, most buildings were ordinary apartment buildings. His construction team had never built villas before. After looking at the blueprints, he said, "This is what I do. I can build villas by looking at blueprints, right?"

Dong Qing said, "I have written all the building requirements very clearly. If you don't understand anything, just ask me. I plan to build four villas, all of which will be detached and have their own courtyards. To put it bluntly, they will be four houses."

Yiming said, "Uncle isn't just praising you, Uncle is genuinely happy for you. Our Dongcun village has finally produced a tycoon like you."

"Uncle, you flatter me. I'm just doing small-scale business." Dong Qing paused for a moment and said, "Could you calculate how much it would cost, including labor and materials?"

Yi Ming said, "I can estimate how much work it would take to build a regular building, but I really can't estimate such a complex project. We always only contract for labor, not materials, so I really can't calculate the cost of such a large project."

In those days, contracting for house construction was just emerging, and things weren't perfect in many ways. Generally, small contracting teams only contracted labor, not materials. Dong Daming paused for a moment and said, "How about this, I'll buy the materials for you, and you pay for them. You keep track of the work hours yourself. Skilled workers get two yuan a day, and unskilled workers get one yuan and fifty cents a day. You can settle their wages later. You can pay me whatever you want."

Dong Daming made it very clear that he wasn't a contractor; to put it bluntly, he was just helping out and getting a high salary in return.

After hearing this, Dong Qing felt that it was really too troublesome, but these days no one dares to contract out both labor and materials. Dong Daming would be even less willing to contract out such a big project. They were all from the same village, and he would feel embarrassed to ask for too much, but he also couldn't afford to pay too little.

Dongqing said, "Okay, I don't need you to do any work. Just make sure the project is of good quality. Ask my second sister how much the building materials cost, and my eldest sister for consumables like wire and nails. My third sister will be in charge of recording the work and paying wages."

He'll be heading out to pick up goods soon, and Dongqing really doesn't have time to handle all these things personally, so he has to leave it to his three older sisters.

Dong Daming asked, "When will construction begin?"

Dong Qing said, "Come and demolish the house on the 19th of this month (lunar calendar). After demolishing the house, dig the foundation. I'm not afraid of putting in more labor. The construction must be done according to my blueprints. We must ensure the quality of the building."

Dong Daming said, "Don't worry, I will do everything according to your drawings."

Dongqing said, "Okay, I'll leave the house building to you, nephew."