Chapter 65 Installing a TV
Geng Yunye divided the dividends into two piles according to the face value. He first pushed the twenty bundles of Great Unity sealed with a bank seal to Cheng Xin, and then counted out eighty-five ten-yuan notes from the loose notes, wrapped them in a blue cloth handkerchief into a small roll and stuffed them into her cloth pocket: "Deposit the 20,000 yuan in the credit union, and 850 yuan for pocket money. Buy whatever you want. Our family is well off now, so there is no need to save."
Cheng Xin held the banknotes in her arms, feeling as hot as if she were holding a fire. The three-turn and one-ring gift from Geng Yunye before the marriage were all hard-earned money he had saved in the army, and now he was handing such a large dividend to her for safekeeping.
Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and she suddenly stood on tiptoe and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
Geng Yunye was stunned on the spot, his ears turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye, and even his Adam's apple twitched: "Be careful if others see us!"
"If they see it, they see it." Cheng Xin looked down at the ground. "Anyway, they all know that the money you earn belongs to me."
Geng Yunye bent down, his warm breath wrapped in the scent of pine wood blew into her ears, and a sly smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "It's more than just money." He deliberately dragged out the last syllable, "My person, my heart, are all in your hands." After saying that, he reached out and pinched her nose.
Geng Yunye parked his bicycle in front of the bank, and Cheng Xin subconsciously touched the passbook in the cloth bag. The December wind blew fine snowflakes onto the glass window, reflecting the overlapping shadows of her and Geng Yunye. He stretched out his hand and made a rabbit ear gesture, which made her chuckle.
"Don't be afraid. You are the first woman in the team with assets over ten thousand. Can saving money be difficult for you?" He raised his eyebrows and looked at her with a familiar smirk on his lips. As he spoke, he was about to take the passbook, but Cheng Xin dodged to the side.
"I can do it myself." She raised her head to meet his gaze, the snowflakes on her eyelashes falling on her flushed cheeks. "I'm going to teach in an elementary school after the New Year, so I have to learn how to go to the bank myself."
Geng Yunye reached out and brushed the snow off her shoulders: "Our teacher Cheng wants to be a cultured person in the future." He deliberately emphasized the word "cultured person". "But," he lowered his voice, "when you get into college, you are not allowed to look down on me, a peasant."
Cheng Xin looked up and saw the seriousness hidden in the smile in his eyes. Her heart warmed and she said softly, "No. When I get into university, I will take you to the city and let you see my classroom."
Geng Yunye lowered his eyes and chuckled, "Okay! I'll accompany you to class then." As he said this, he was about to hold her hand, but Cheng Xin dodged him with a red face. Everyone coming in and out of the supply and marketing cooperative next door were acquaintances, so she secretly pinched the back of his hand.
The female bank clerk behind the counter took the passbook, and Cheng Xin could hear her own heartbeat. The 20,000 yuan in cash was counted loudly, and the clerk looked up at her and said, "Little girl, so much money in a time deposit?"
"Deposit for half a year." Cheng Xin remembered what Geng Yunye said and straightened her back unconsciously. "The remaining 8,560 living years." She paused and added, "Please give me a deposit slip. I want to keep it myself."
After leaving the bank, Geng Yunye dragged Cheng Xin to the department store, "I just heard that a new batch of televisions has arrived. I happen to have a ticket, so let's buy one!"
"It's too expensive!" Cheng Xin was shocked and hurriedly pulled his sleeve, "A TV costs several hundred yuan!"
"Let's buy it!" Geng Yunye said without turning his head. "You will need to review your high school knowledge in the future. Watching TV can help you learn foreign languages." He slowed down his pace, lowered his voice, and looked at her gently. "When you are admitted to university, if your classmates come to visit us, you must have a decent decoration."
Cheng Xin's nose felt sore. She bit her lip and trotted to catch up: "Where did you get the TV ticket?"
"I exchanged it with a friend." Geng Yunye told her truthfully, "He wanted a set of underwear from the factory to give away, so I exchanged two sets for this ticket."
Cheng Xin glared at him: "Two sets of underwear can be exchanged for tickets? Don't let anyone fool you!"
"Who can fool me?" Geng Yunye approached her, his eyes flashing with mischief, "Even if I get fooled, it's worth it if I can make my wife smile."
Cheng Xin raised her hand to hit him, but he dodged with a smile, and took her wrist and shook it gently. The glass door of the department store was pushed open, and the smell of heating wrapped in mothballs hit her face. The TV in the window flashed a faint blue light, like a small sea.
"This one!" Geng Yunye pointed at a 14-inch black-and-white TV and turned to smile at her. "The salesperson said it can receive five channels. If you get tired of reviewing, just watch the news broadcast."
"Come on, I'll take you to the bookstore!" Geng Yunye paid the bill and walked out with the TV on his shoulder. He turned back and winked at her. "From now on, you stay in the room to read and review, and I'll watch TV in the living room. We won't bother each other!"
"Who wants to waste time with you?" Cheng Xin muttered, but the corners of her mouth could not help but rise, and she secretly used her sleeves to cover her smile.
Passing by the Xinhua Bookstore, Geng Yunye braked the car, put the TV on the ground and said, "You wait here!" Without waiting for her answer, he went in.
Cheng Xin stood in the snow, watching his back as he shuttled between the bookshelves, standing on tiptoe from time to time to look at his figure. Snowflakes fell on the TV box, and she reached out to brush them away.
When Geng Yunye came out, he had a few more books in his arms. He stuffed the books into her arms, tightened her scarf, and gently scratched her neck with his fingertips: "The salesperson said these are must-read books for the college entrance examination, so I bought them all."
Cheng Xin looked at the formula on the cover of Advanced Mathematics and reached out to grab his sleeve: "Geng Yunye, wait until I get into college..."
"Then go and study! I'll make money to support you, just study!" His voice was only audible to her, and he looked at her firmly, "I'm waiting to benefit from you and become the first family member of a college student in the brigade."
Cheng Xin looked up at him, snow falling on his eyelashes.
"I haven't even started yet, I may not pass the exam." She whispered softly, but her eyes turned red under his burning gaze. On the wedding day, he said he would be her sky, but now she understood that her sky was not the eaves that sheltered her from the wind and rain, but the wind that lifted her up.
Geng Yunye tied the TV to the back seat of the bicycle, and Cheng Xin climbed onto the back seat and put her arms around his waist.
As she crossed the street with the ringing of bicycle bells, she heard Geng Yunye humming a song, the tune was out of tune, but it was more beautiful than any other melody. When they passed by the photo studio, she said loudly in his ear: "Let's take a photo together when I get admitted to university!"
"Okay!" His voice was mixed with wind and snow, "I'll buy a camera when the next quarterly dividend comes out."
The snow was getting heavier. Cheng Xin pressed her face against his back and heard his heartbeat in his chest, which was like the sound of a drum. She looked at the snow and felt that it didn't matter if the road was endless. As long as he was there, every step was solid and every dream was worth looking forward to.
The next day at noon, Lao Chen, an electrician from the county town, came on his 28-bar bicycle to help install the antenna. The news that Geng Yunye had bought a TV spread throughout the brigade like wings.
Geng Yunye was waiting at the gate, helping Lao Chen unload the toolbox. Cheng Xin boiled a kettle of hot water in the kitchen and placed the enamel cup on the table.
Geng Jiankang and Geng Aiguo ran in on the snow, "Uncle! When will the antenna be installed?"
Cheng Xin dug two roasted sweet potatoes out of the fire pit and stuffed them into their frozen red hands: "Warm your hands first, you'll have something to watch when the TV turns on."
Geng Jiankang took a bite of the sweet potato and inhaled heavily because of the heat, and his cheeks puffed up like a little hamster.
Geng Rengui walked into the yard with a pipe in his mouth, the string of the pipe dangling from his waist. "Old Chen, we have to point the antenna in the right direction."
Geng Guohua followed in with an enamel pot in his hand: "My wife has made ginger tea for you to drink while it's hot. Don't let it get cold."
By the time Cheng Xin had boiled a pot of hot water, the main room was packed with people.
Geng Jiankang and Geng Aiguo were squeezed by the door frame. Bandeng Ma squeezed in with a basket of freshly steamed cornmeal cakes. Aunt Wang squeezed in with a bamboo basket: "Try my freshly fried pumpkin seeds, no salt!" She smiled with her eyes narrowed, "Crunchy!"
As soon as the bamboo basket was handed over, Geng Jiankang and Geng Aiguo rushed over from the door frame, digging in the pile of melon seeds with their frozen and swollen fingers.
"Slow down and grab them!" Aunt Wang slapped their hands away and stuffed a handful of food into Cheng Xin's pocket.
Cheng Xin tasted a few and said, "Aunt's fried melon seeds are more delicious than those sold at the supply and marketing cooperative in town."
Aunt Wang smiled happily: "The pumpkins grown at home have plump seeds and are naturally fragrant when fried."
Everyone in the room was given a handful of melon seeds. Geng Rengui tapped the bamboo basket with his pipe and said, "It has no salt and taste, just like drinking plain porridge."
Aunt Wang put her hands on her hips and scolded with a smile: "Old man, you can't even taste good food with your yellow teeth. Only without salt can the melon seeds taste their original flavor!"
"The screen is on!" Someone shouted, and the room fell silent instantly. Ban Bench took the opportunity to get to the front and was almost stepped on by Geng Dazhuang's big feet. He was picked up by Aunt Zhang like a chicken and held in her arms: "Sit still and don't break the baby."
Geng Guohua's ginger tea mug was passed around three times. Cheng Xin filled it with hot water and listened to Geng Rengui chatting with him: "This TV is the first one in the team. From now on, you can ask Yunye about news policies."
Geng Guohua's wrinkles were full of smiles: "Yun Ye is indeed a former soldier, he is very efficient and decisive in his work."
The song on TV started playing, and the whole room was filled with the sound of people clapping to the beat. Geng Fang's pitch was so high that everyone laughed. The bench danced to the rhythm, twisting and turning like an earthworm.
Aunt Zhang stuffed an oil-paper bag into Cheng Xin's hand and said, "Homemade pickled radish, fried with shredded pork, is so delicious."
When the show was over, the moonlight made the snow look white. Geng Yunye and Cheng Xin stood at the door to see everyone off, and the snow on the ground looked like a layer of fine salt.
Geng Jiankang and Geng Aiguo vied to see Lao Chen off. Bandeng was clinging to the gate and refused to leave, so Geng Fang grabbed him by the collar and dragged him away.
Cheng Xin watched them walk away noisily. Snowflakes fell on her scarf and turned into small water droplets. Geng Yunye pushed her into the house: "Go in quickly, don't catch a cold."
The room became quiet. Cheng Xin put away the long bench and touched the TV casing. It was still a little hot.
“I didn’t expect so many people to watch TV.”
Geng Yunye wiped the table and said with a smile: "The brigade hasn't been so lively for a long time. From now on, everyone can come and talk about big or small things."
The snow outside the window was falling harder and harder. The kerosene lamp cast their shadows on the wall. Geng Yunye added a piece of firewood to the furnace: "Go to sleep. We have to go to town to buy New Year's goods tomorrow morning."
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