Liu Xiaoqin was working hard at the factory with the workers to prepare for the photo album shoot, while Zhou Qiqi, who had just been discharged from the hospital, needed to rest and recuperate, so Shen Huaichuan and her family persuaded her to go home and rest.
But even when she gets home, she can't stay idle.
Besides remotely managing a huge amount of work at the factory, the construction and renovation of my own courtyard are also at their busiest stage.
Although Shen Huaichuan hired the best design master from the military logistics department to help, the general design vision and aesthetics of this day were quite different from the advanced and exquisite ideas in Zhou Qiqi's mind.
She had to keep an eye on things from the sidelines, offering suggestions for improvement from time to time, striving to decorate the new home to better suit her tastes.
After rushing around, the new one-story house added to the courtyard was finally completed on the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month. Water and electricity were connected, and it was freshly painted.
The elderly couple from the Shen family moved in happily, finally settling into their new home.
But moving in is just the beginning.
The new house is empty and still needs all sorts of soft furnishings, bed sheets, duvet covers... there are countless little things to do.
Zhou Qiqi was never very comfortable with ready-made products bought from outside, feeling that the colors were tacky and the texture was rough. She insisted on making many small things herself or drawing out designs and having them custom-made.
In addition, she also took the time to carefully design and sew a new set of clothes for everyone in the family, from her parents-in-law to Shen Huaichuan and Zhouzhou, to wear for the New Year, symbolizing bidding farewell to the old year and welcoming the new.
As the year draws to a close, things tend to pile up.
Zhou Qiqi was constantly busy. Although everyone in her family doted on her and felt sorry for her after her surgery, they wouldn't let her do any heavy or tiring work.
But as the chief architect and coordinator of the household, she ultimately has to make the final decisions on everything, big and small. Just thinking about directing things is enough to exhaust her.
It wasn't until the afternoon of New Year's Eve that everything was finally mostly arranged.
The military dependents' area was already decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, with bright red couplets and the character "福" (good fortune) pasted everywhere. The air was filled with the enticing aromas of cooking from every household, and children dressed in new clothes chased and played in the courtyard. Everywhere was filled with a strong festive atmosphere and joy.
Zhou Qiqi finally managed to steal a moment of peace and went for a walk outside in the yard to get some fresh air.
They happened to run into their neighbor, Hu Chunxiao, and the two greeted each other.
Hu Chunxiao excitedly pulled her along and said:
"Qiqi! The big star Zhang Xiaoqing is going to be on stage for the Spring Festival Gala tonight! I heard she's wearing a uniform from your factory! Is that true? Which one is she wearing?"
Zhou Qiqi smiled and nodded, but still kept it mysterious as she said:
"Yes, that's true. As for which one to wear, Chunxiao, you'll find out by watching the show tonight!"
Hu Chunxiao was even happier to hear this and laughed:
"That's great! We just had someone bring back a Venus brand color TV from Shanghai. The screen is huge! Our house will definitely be lively tonight. All the neighbors have said they want to squeeze over to our house to watch the Spring Festival Gala together! Everyone will be so happy for you!"
"A color television?"
Zhou Qiqi paused for a moment, then subconsciously repeated the sentence.
She suddenly realized something, and her heart skipped a beat!
Without having time to chat with Hu Chunxiao any longer, he hurriedly said goodbye and rushed home.
As soon as she entered the house, she yelled at Shen Huaichuan:
"Huaichuan! Huaichuan! Oh no! I forgot about something important!"
Shen Huaichuan, who was helping in the kitchen, wearing an apron and with flour on his hands, was startled by her and quickly came out to ask:
"What's wrong? What happened? Tell me slowly."
Zhou Qiqi was so anxious that she stomped her feet:
"A TV! We don't have a TV yet! How are we going to watch the Spring Festival Gala tonight?! Hurry! Quickly! Take me to the department store right now on your bicycle! We have to buy one right now! We absolutely have to!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Huaichuan was both amused and exasperated.
"My silly wife! What time is it? Today is Lunar New Year's Eve! The department store has been closed for the holiday for a long time! The sales clerks have all gone home for their reunion dinner, who's still working?"
"Huh? It's closed?!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Qiqi was even more stunned, and paced anxiously in circles around the room.
"Then...what should we do? We can't...we can't really go to Chunxiao's house and squeeze in to watch, can we? There are so many people in our family, it's too inconvenient!"
She even started having wild thoughts.
"How about... how about we go find those people who deal in electronics on the black market? We're willing to spend a little more money, we absolutely have to get one!"
Seeing that she was really anxious, Shen Huaichuan tried everything to persuade her but to no avail. In desperation, he could only cast a pleading look at Qin Peilan, who was busy in the kitchen.
Qin Peilan and Shen Zhenbang exchanged a glance, both revealing mysterious smiles.
Qin Peilan wiped her hands, walked over, and pulled Zhou Qiqi, whose face was flushed red with anxiety:
"Silly child, don't rush, come with me."
As he spoke, he led Zhou Qiqi into the new house that the elderly couple had just decorated.
Shen Zhenbang followed in with a smile.
Zhou Qiqi was pulled into the room with a blank look on her face. In the center of the room was a square object covered with a bed sheet. It was quite large.
Qin Peilan stepped forward, glanced at Zhou Qiqi with a smile, and then reached out and suddenly ripped the bed sheet off.
Under the bed sheet was a brand new, large television set!
It was the most sought-after and most advanced 14-inch color television set from Hitachi, Japan, imported directly from Japan at the time!
With its black casing and gleaming screen, it was an absolute luxury item back then. You wouldn't know how many connections you had or how many foreign exchange certificates you had to spend to buy it!
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