"Yes, Auntie's here," Ji Yanjun greeted her expressionlessly.
Su Hongmei smiled and said, "I just arrived."
"Then sit down for a while, I'll get back to work."
"You're busy, you're busy."
Ji Yanjun nodded, walked across the courtyard, entered the main hall, and headed towards his room.
Ji Yanjun had just entered the room when Liang Wenhua followed him in.
"Yanjun".
Ji Yanjun was taking off his clothes, frowning. "Mom, can you knock before you come in? How many times have I told you?"
Liang Wenhua wasn't angry; instead, she smiled kindly and said, "You child, can't your mother even look at you taking off your jacket?"
Ji Yanjun frowned and didn't respond.
"I'll knock next time," Liang Wenhua said with a smile. "Yanjun, Ningzhi told me you went to Wen Qing's house in Shuiwan Village?"
"Um."
"Where are you going and what are you going to do?"
"Take the money." Ji Yanjun took out a thousand yuan from his pocket, put it on the table, and walked to the wardrobe to find clothes.
"Whose money are you taking?"
"The money for delivering goods during the spring season."
"Is it Wen Qing's money?" Liang Wenhua asked in surprise.
"Um."
"How many?"
"one thousand."
Liang Wenhua was startled. Wen Qing had a thousand yuan. That made sense. That brat got a ten thousand yuan reward from the higher-ups for appearing in the newspaper once. Of course she had a thousand yuan.
"She's surprisingly generous." Liang Wenhua pursed her lips, then muttered under her breath, "Old habits die hard; she's always generous, whether she's rich or poor."
Ji Yanjun didn't hear what she said. After taking out his clothes, he said, "You go out first. I'm going to change. Don't come into my room unless it's important."
"I understand." Liang Wenhua smiled and went out, closing the door behind him.
A little while later, she came over again and saw that Ji Yanjun had already changed his clothes and was sitting at the table reading a book.
"Yanjun".
Ji Yanjun asked, "What is it?"
Liang Wenhua walked over: "Aunt Zhang Fangfang is here, why don't you go out and greet her?"
"Don't I know her?"
No, that's not it.
Ji Yanjun continued reading.
"He's not going to school anymore, what's he reading?" Liang Wenhua stepped forward and saw that there were many words scribbled on the margins of the book, which was obviously not his son's style.
Just as Liang Wenhua was about to take a closer look, Ji Yanjun slammed the book shut and asked, "What is it?"
Liang Wenhua then got down to business: "Yanjun, as you know, when you bought your first truck, Fangfang's uncle's family lent us three thousand yuan. Three thousand yuan would have earned a lot of interest in the bank, but they refused to take any interest from us."
Ji Yanjun asked, "And then?"
"Then, as you know, Fangfang and Su Hongmei have really been...caught this time. The police station is demanding over ten thousand yuan in compensation, which is no small sum. Many people are causing trouble at their house; if they don't pay, they'll go to jail. Fangfang is still young; she has such a long life ahead of her..."
"How much do you want to borrow?" Ji Yanjun asked.
Liang Wenhua said, "They meant to borrow six thousand yuan."
Ji Yanjun looked at Liang Wenhua.
Liang Wenhua was stunned.
Ji Yanjun said, "Mom, is it because Zhang Fangfang's family has a high starting point and is from the city that you can treat them as equals? But you can't stand Wen Qing at all."
“How could I possibly dislike Wen Qing?” Liang Wenhua denied, “Wen Qing herself is not likable.”
“She pleases me.” Ji Yanjun said directly, “Are you forcing her to say she’d rather die than marry into the Ji family? Are you telling me to stay a bachelor for life?”
The word "single" struck Liang Wenhua like a blunt object, leaving him momentarily stunned and unable to think clearly.
Ji Yanjun stood up, walked to the cabinet, took out a savings book from under the cabinet, and handed it to Liang Wenhua, saying, "There is seven thousand yuan in this savings book. Six thousand yuan is to be lent to Aunt Fangfang, and you can keep the thousand yuan."
Liang Wenhua took the money in a daze.
"Go out. I've been driving these past few days and I'm pretty tired. I want to take a nap. I still have to go to the company this afternoon. Don't come in unless it's absolutely necessary," Ji Yanjun said, and started to lie down on the bed.
Liang Wenhua, seemingly lost in thought, took the passbook and left the room, heading into the main hall.
As soon as Su Hongmei saw the bankbook in Liang Wenhua's hand, she knew that Ji Yanjun had agreed to lend her the money, and she became exceptionally enthusiastic.
Liang Wenhua, however, did not look very happy.
Ji Ningzhi said with a smile, "Auntie, I told you, my brother is the best. He would never let Fangfang suffer."
“Let’s go get it together,” Liang Wenhua said.
Su Hongmei nodded quickly: "Okay."
Liang Wenhua, Su Hongmei, and Ji Ningzhi walked out of the main room as they spoke.
Inside the room behind the corner door of the main hall, Ji Yanjun lay on the bed, reading a book.
The book was titled "Chinese Language and Literature," and the article I was reading was full of positive energy. Next to the article was a row of incongruous pencil writing: "I don't like Xu Zhimo, I like Ji Yanjun. My second uncle said, 'Why suppress your feelings? Why? Why?' My second uncle is right."
Ji Yanjun looked at the pencil writing and smiled.
At the same time, Yao Shiling stood in front of the stove, holding a spatula, stir-frying potato slices, and asked, "So, from now on you have nothing to do with the Ji family."
"Mm," Wen Qing replied with a smile.
"It's alright!" Wen Liang suddenly entered the kitchen and said fiercely.
Wen Qing smiled.
Yao Shiling smiled too, feeling a huge weight lifted off her shoulders. As long as Wen Qing didn't bother Ji Yanjun, everything would be fine.
"Mom, don't overcook the potato slices," Wen Qing reminded her.
Yao Shiling scooped out a slice of potato with a spatula and said, "Here, have a taste. I was so busy talking to you that I forgot whether I put salt in it."
Wen Qing put down the firewood in his hand, stood up from in front of the stove, clapped his hands, and started to make potato slices.
"Wash your hands before kneading," Yao Shiling said.
"It's okay, just have one slice." Wen Qing had already picked up a potato slice and put it in her mouth, chewing as she said, "It's salted, it's so delicious. I've been eating out every day for the past few days, and my stomach is so upset. Homemade food is still the best."
Yao Shiling smiled and said, "If it's delicious, eat more."
"Um."
"Big sister, how do I turn on the TV? Big sister!" Wen Peng called out from the main room.
The Venus brand 14-inch black and white television set was placed in the center of the long table in the main room, and it never left Wenpeng's sight.
Just now, the neighbors who run the shoe factory in Fengqing came home from get off work. They heard that Wenqing's family had bought a TV, so they all came over to watch it, as if they were seeing something rare and precious.
Wen Peng, protecting the television set, said, "I'll call you to watch TV after it's installed."
The neighbors were incredibly envious, especially Wenpeng's friends. Their parents had to call them for dinner several times before they reluctantly went home.
At this moment, Wen Peng was still watching TV, which was empty: "Big sister!"
When Wen Qing saw that the meal was ready, she left the kitchen and went to the main room.
"Big sister, I want to watch TV," Wen Peng said.
"Why watch TV? It wastes electricity!" Wen Liang said, sounding like Wen Peng's parent: "Have you finished your winter break homework?"
"I'll write it in a few days," Wen Peng said.
"Just wait until your homeroom teacher locks you in the classroom to do your homework," Wen Liang said. Wen Peng often didn't finish his homework. In this era, corporal punishment of students is commonplace. If a student didn't finish his homework, the teacher would use a lock to punish the playful student. After school, the teacher would let the other students go home, leaving the student who hadn't finished his homework in the classroom. Then the teacher would lock the classroom door tightly, making the student who hadn't finished his homework do it properly. He wouldn't be allowed to go home until he finished.
Wen Peng had been locked up four or five times. Once, he was writing until dark and burst into tears because he hadn't finished. It was Wen Liang who took his homework from the back of the classroom when the teacher wasn't around and secretly helped him finish it. When Wen Liang said this, Wen Peng had no confidence to defend himself.
Wen Qing looked at the instruction manual and installed an antenna on the black and white TV. The so-called antenna was actually two metal rods that extended from the back of the TV, with a metal ring tied to one of the metal rods.
The two movable metal rods can make the TV picture clearer and make it easier to find the signal.
After Wen Qing finished setting it up, he plugged it in and turned on the TV.
Wen Peng exclaimed excitedly, "Big sister, you're amazing!"
"But why is no one here?" Wen Liang asked.
Wen Qing kept turning buttons and adjusting the antenna, but every channel still made a hissing sound and the screen was filled with black and white static.
"Big sister, you didn't buy a fake, did you?" Wen Peng asked.
“No, it was fine when I tested it in Fucheng.” Wen Qing continued to examine.
"Did the ride break?" Wen Liang asked, joining the conversation.
The three siblings were watching a black and white television.
Wen Qing suddenly remembered something and asked, "Liangliang, is today Tuesday?"
Wen Liang: "Yes."
"That's right, all TV stations in China stop broadcasting on Tuesday afternoons." Wen Qing had almost forgotten about this; in those days, there was no TV to watch on Tuesday afternoons.
"Why?" Wen Peng asked.
Wen Qing: "I don't know."
Wen Peng then asked, "When will we be able to see people inside?"
"After six o'clock."
Wen Peng sighed, "This is so annoying. I was just waiting to watch 'Journey to the West'."
"Dinner's ready!" Yao Shiling called from the kitchen.
The three siblings all responded and then went to eat.
After lunch, Wen Qing took a nap. When she woke up, she went to Feng Qing Shoe Factory to find the team leader. In addition to bringing the team leader her wages, she prepared small New Year's gifts for those who had outstanding work performance, and gave everyone else a handful of milk candy.
The whole village was overjoyed, and they worked with extra enthusiasm.
Aunt Wang asked happily, "Wen Qing, I heard you bought a TV?"
"right."
"Can my son Erhuzi come to your house to watch TV tonight?"
"Sure, anyone who wants to watch can bring a stool and come over," Wen Qing said with a smile.
So, right after six o'clock in the afternoon, Wen Qing's house was filled with children.
Wen Qing felt truly ashamed.
Yao Shiling said, "There's no room left in the main room."
Wen Qing nodded and smiled, "Let them see."
Sure enough, right after six o'clock, all the radio stations started broadcasting their programs.
Wen Peng and the others watched the television with great curiosity.
There are people inside.
"It can even move."
"..."
Looking at the group of children, Wen Qing suddenly thought of the child she had no chance with in her past life. Her sadness flashed by, and she changed a few channels.
Sure enough, there was a TV station broadcasting "Journey to the West". She remembered that at this time, "Journey to the West" had not been finished filming. There were only two episodes, "The Capture of Pigsy" and "The Three Battles with the White Bone Demon". It would take another two or three years before the 25 episodes of "Journey to the West" could be broadcast.
Sure enough, the show playing now is "The Capture of Pigsy".
"Big sister, I saw a monkey!" Wen Peng said.
"Yes, this is Journey to the West."
All the children in the room stared wide-eyed at the TV. Wen Qing gave Yao Shiling a stool to watch, while she went to her own room to start thinking about spring clothing styles.
Two days ago, she called Master Yan, who said that Guo Jian wanted another 5,000 sets of spring clothes.
In fact, five thousand sets are far from enough to satisfy the current sluggish market. However, no matter how sluggish the market is, the style, quality, and comfort of clothing are what truly matter.
Wen Qing sat in her room writing and drawing, while bursts of laughter came from the main room, and she would laugh along from time to time.
That evening, Wen Peng pulled her aside and said, "Big sister, the TV is so good, it even has a 'thump thump thump' sound."
Wen Qing smiled and said, "Keep watching tomorrow, just don't forget to do your winter break homework."
"good."
The next morning, Wen Qing needed to go to Fengqing Garment Factory. Since her bicycle was at the factory, she had to walk.
Before leaving, he said, "Mom, I'm going to sign up for driving lessons in a few days, and then I'll get my driver's license and buy a car."
“Okay.” Yao Shiling smiled. She knew her daughter was capable, but she wasn’t. All she could do was unconditionally support her daughter and take care of her as much as possible.
"Okay, then I'll head to the county town first."
"Okay, come back soon."
"good."
As he spoke, Wen Qing got onto the dirt road and slowly walked towards the county town.
Just as they were about to reach the end of the dirt road, they suddenly saw a person flash past them, and Wen Qing stared at him.
Li Chuanli?
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