When Zhao Qinglan returned, her children, who hadn't seen her for several days, were overjoyed. They were even happier to see that she had brought back many gifts and new clothes.
Zhao Qinglan stayed home and worked as a housewife for a few more days before the children were allowed to start their winter vacation.
As soon as the children were on holiday, the family moved into their new home, which had already been aired out.
Although Zhao Qinglan hadn't moved in before, she had been adding all sorts of things to the new house.
Essential household appliances, such as color TVs and refrigerators, are all present in the new home.
It's quite rare to see a family like theirs, with four residences: one in the regional area, one in the provincial capital, one in the family quarters, and one in Beijing. Each place is fully equipped with its own set of appliances.
For an average family, it's already quite an achievement to have so many home appliances in one house.
Zhao Qinglan didn't make a big fuss about moving; the whole family moved in quietly, and only her mother and sisters came over for a meal as a housewarming party.
When Zhao Qingzhu came over, she also announced some good news to them: she was pregnant again.
Although neither she nor her husband Zhou Jingsheng favored boys over girls, they still wanted to have another child. If it was a boy, they would have a boy and a girl to make a perfect pair. If they had a daughter, then their little girl wouldn't be lonely.
Of course, they would prefer a boy, hoping that having a boy in the family would be able to protect their older sister, Nannan.
In fact, a few years ago, Mrs. Sun asked her daughter if she wanted to have another child, but Zhao Qingzhu thought that her daughter was still young and she had not made up her mind.
The reason she got pregnant this year was because Zhou Jingsheng's unit had received definite news that starting next year, there would be absolutely no more violations of the family planning policy. In other words, this year was the last buffer period.
If a family has another child, there will be penalties such as fines, but the following year, it will completely affect the man's job.
In her haste, Zhao Qingzhu didn't hesitate and quickly started preparing for pregnancy with her husband. The fine for having more children was not low, but fortunately, their family could afford it.
Unexpectedly, the couple was lucky and the baby conceived before the new year.
The addition of a new baby is a joyous occasion, and Grandma Sun was overjoyed.
Judging by the timeline, she will be able to finish taking care of her youngest daughter's wedding before her second daughter is born, and she can then help out when her daughter is in postpartum confinement.
Zhao Qingzhu and her younger sister Qingju were both amazed by the decoration and layout of Zhao Qinglan's new home.
Unfortunately, Zhao Qinglan's decorating concepts and some of her arrangements were quite ahead of their time, but the results were excellent.
At least the two younger sisters were very impressed when they saw it, and they plan to refer to this example when they need to renovate their own new houses in the future.
As for this year's Chinese New Year, the family has already discussed it and will gather at Zhao Qinglan's new home to celebrate together. This is because the new home has enough rooms for everyone to stay in, so it won't be crowded at all.
After moving, Zhao Qinglan and her family rarely lived in the family quarters anymore.
When Li Huai isn't on duty, he also comes here to stay.
With a new home and a fresh start, Zhao Qinglan was in an exceptionally good mood. As the Lunar New Year approached, she prepared a large amount of New Year's goods and cooked all kinds of delicious food at home every day.
This made Erwa very happy. Fortunately, he did well in the exam and was able to play and eat to his heart's content.
Ever since his wife became pregnant, Zhang Yu has been overflowing with fatherly love. Even before the child was born, he had already bought a lot of things, and even his eldest brother and his siblings who live far away have benefited from it.
Zhang Yu sent over a lot of fun toys and delicious snacks, most of which came from Hong Kong.
Zhao Qinglan cooks delicious food at home, and the eldest child and his younger siblings have endless toys and building blocks to play with.
The new home is filled with laughter every day, and it's incredibly lively and warm.
After the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, Sun and her youngest daughter Qingju came to the provincial capital.
Because she had been to Beijing several times this year and stayed at her brother's house for quite some time, she didn't miss her brother Sun Guangming as much during the Spring Festival this year.
The main reason is that my youngest daughter will be getting married next year, and it will be difficult for the whole family to get together for such a lively New Year celebration again. Therefore, we cherish this opportunity to reunite.
Zhao Qinglan also took the time to go back to the region to give the employees of the military-civilian cooperation company New Year's red envelopes and benefits before giving them a holiday.
Knowing that they would be closed for the Lunar New Year, the store experienced a sales boom in the days leading up to the closure, with many families buying items from them as New Year's goods.
When Zhao Qinglan came back, she was with her younger sister Qingzhu and her niece Nannan.
As for Zhou Jingsheng, he won't be able to come until Lunar New Year's Eve.
On her last day working at the post office, Zhao Qinglan received a package. It was mailed to her by Zhang Yu before he left Shenzhen to return to his hometown of Beijing for the Chinese New Year.
When Zhao Qinglan opened the package and saw that it contained a camera, she was delighted.
She mentioned it to Zhang Yu when she went to Shenzhen, and unexpectedly, he actually got her a camera and mailed it to her.
The camera was an imported product, so it was definitely not cheap. However, Zhang Yu left a note saying that it was a New Year's gift for their family, and Zhao Qinglan accepted it without hesitation.
Actually, she had hardly ever used a camera. Even in her past life, she had only ever taken photos with her phone.
After getting the camera, she started figuring out how to take pictures like a curious child.
The rooms in her house, the trees in the yard, and her family members.
After fiddling with it for two days, she got the hang of it.
When Zhang Yu mailed the camera, he also included several rolls of film with it, enough for her to use.
On New Year's Eve, as soon as Zhou Jingsheng arrived, Zhao Qinglan took photos of each of the families with her camera. She also asked a neighbor to help her take a family photo after showing them how to press the buttons.
Fearing that the first photo wouldn't turn out well, she asked her neighbor to take several more.
Just as the mother thought, it would be very difficult for their whole family to get together again after the younger sister married far away in Beijing, so of course they had to seize the opportunity to take a group photo.
Finally, it was New Year's Eve.
All the food in their house had been set on the table. Besides orange-flavored soda, there were also imported liquors and drinks that Zhao Qinglan had brought back from Shenzhen.
Firecrackers started going off outside one after another.
Once they sat down, they all stared intently at the color TV in their home.
Because tonight at 8 PM, the first Spring Festival Gala will be broadcast live on TV.
Everyone in the family with a TV is crowding around it right now.
Zhao Qinglan had naturally watched the Spring Festival Gala many times, but in her previous life, she had never watched the first Spring Festival Gala, simply because the Wang family had not yet acquired a television set at that time, so she was equally curious.
"It's time! We're here!" Zhou Jingsheng shouted.
Sure enough, four familiar faces appeared on the screen—the hosts of the first Spring Festival Gala.
Their breathing became lighter.
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