There was nothing they could do; few families in the forest farm owned televisions, and besides, the one Sheng Xiping brought back was a 17-inch color TV.

Locally, let alone who would buy it, you can't even find it in stores.

As for 21-inch and 23-inch TVs, those won't be available for many years. Right now, this is considered the highest level.

Sheng Xiping gave a shout, and the dogs all crawled into their kennels and lay down without barking. Then everyone followed Sheng Xiping into the house.

"Oh my, this is your TV? I must say, a 17-inch one is definitely bigger than a 14-inch one, and it looks much brighter."

"It has to be Xiping! He's really capable of getting such a big color TV." Everyone praised as they entered the room.

When Zhang Shuzhen saw so many people, she quickly moved to the kang (a heated brick bed) to make room for them and invited them to come and see.

Most people were too embarrassed to take off their shoes and get on the kang (a heated brick bed), so they sat on the edge of the kang and watched TV at an angle.

After a while, there was some noise outside again; it was people coming to watch TV.

And so, a number of people arrived one after another, filling the east room of the Sheng family's house.

Upon seeing this, Sheng Xiping simply turned the TV upside down, with the screen facing the door, and placed a row of small stools in the passageway between the north and south kang (heated brick beds).

In this way, the people on the kang (a heated brick bed) would try to gather at the head of the kang, while those on the ground would sit on small stools.

If you put a row of chairs and stools in the outer room, you can seat quite a few people.

At 7:00 AM sharp, the evening news began.

Looking at the two announcers on the TV screen, everyone couldn't help but sigh, "TV is so much better; there are real people on it."

"This thing is so much better than a radio. Before, we could only hear the sound, but now we can see the people."

"Hey, I'm just wondering, how did they manage to fit a person in such a tiny box?" someone muttered in confusion.

Those nearby overheard this and burst into laughter. "That's a program being broadcast by a relay station, they didn't put anyone inside!"

"Shh, keep your voices down, we're listening to the news, what's all the noise about?"

Some people complained about the noise and quickly waved their hands, signaling everyone to be quiet and listen to the news.

Sheng Xinhua and Sheng Xinyu agreed to only watch until 7 o'clock.

Besides, they couldn't understand the news, so they struggled to move closer to Sheng Xiping.

"Dad, I still want to see that mouse. When will we get to see it again?" Sheng Xinyu asked, tugging at his father's hand.

"Tomorrow, tomorrow night at 6:30, and that rat too." Sheng Xiping raised his hand and patted his son's head.

"I'll make the bed in the west room. You two go wash your feet and brush your teeth, then go to the west room to sleep."

Judging from this situation, those people probably won't be going home too early. The two kids can't stay up late, so I'll have to let them sleep in the west room first.

Sheng Xinhua glanced at the people in the east room and couldn't help but worry, "Dad, if they stay up too late watching TV at our house, how will Huahua get back?"

"Hua Hua? Hua Hua came back?" Sheng Xiping was stunned when he heard this.

“Yes, Huahua comes back often. It’s just Grandma and the two of us at home, so Huahua comes back to keep us company.” Sheng Xinhua and Sheng Xinyu nodded emphatically.

"Is it just Hua Hua? Have Jiao Jiao and Zhuang Zhuang come back?" Sheng Xiping asked with great curiosity.

The two children shook their heads. "No, Jiaojiao and Zhuangzhuang haven't come back. It's just Huahua by herself."

"Oh, I understand." Sheng Xiping nodded.

Jiaojiao and Zhuangzhuang will turn three years old this spring, which means they will be considered adult tigers.

As the saying goes, "two tigers cannot share one mountain." Tigers are territorial, and once tiger cubs reach adulthood, they will be driven away from their territory by their mothers to find another place to live.

The forest surrounding Qianchuan Forest Farm was Huahua's territory, so Jiaojiao and Zhuangzhuang never returned after they left.

"It's alright, you two go to sleep first. Those uncles and grandpas in the east room left around nine o'clock."

Although the forest farm has been free of electricity for the past two years, everyone has to work during the day, so how can they stay up late to watch TV?

Besides, television these days doesn't broadcast 24/7. Around 9:30 pm, local channels stop broadcasting.

If there are no TV programs, what's there to watch?

The two children seemed to understand but not quite, but they did whatever their father told them to do. After brushing their teeth and washing their feet, they crawled straight into bed.

No matter how noisy the east room was, once the west room door was closed, the two children would fall asleep in no time.

As Sheng Xiping said, around nine o'clock, the people watching TV gradually left, and even those who wanted to watch a little longer were pulled away by others.

Everyone has things to do, right? Don't people need to sleep?

"Xiping, don't bother seeing me off. It's terribly cold outside. Go back inside quickly."

Chen Weiguo came over a few nights as well, originally intending to have a good chat with Sheng Xiping, but with so many people in the Sheng family, it wasn't appropriate to talk about anything else.

"The construction team will be on holiday in a couple of days, right? I'll treat everyone to a meal then, so come and have a good get-together."

I have so much to tell you all, but I just haven't had a chance to talk to you all tonight.

Sheng Xiping sighed. There were too many people at home tonight, it was all chaotic, and he couldn't say anything.

"Okay, then let's get together sometime when we have some free time."

The group nodded in agreement, waved to Sheng Xiping, and quickly left.

After everyone had left, Sheng Xiping locked the door and went back inside. At that moment, Sheng Yunfang and Sheng Yunfei were sweeping the floor in the east room.

When these people came over, some of them weren't very particular and just threw their cigarette butts on the ground.

"Brother, when they come again tomorrow, tell them beforehand that no smoking is allowed. Who can stand the smell of smoke in this whole house?"

Sheng Yunfei muttered to herself as she worked.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!