On New Year's Day in 1971, after a long wait, Yun Qiao finally saw at home the small washing machine that he had waited in line for three months before finally buying.
This is a classic single-tub washing machine with a white outer shell and a yellow lid. The washing tub inside can wash up to ten kilograms of clothes. There is also a small washboard design next to the washing tub.
The function is relatively simple, with only two rotary buttons, one is the switch, which is also the timer, and the other is the drain.
The first generation of home washing machines was quite large and heavy, so He Tingjun couldn't lift it by himself. He found Wang Mingguang, who drove a car for the logistics transport team, and borrowed the transport team's truck to bring it back from the post office. Then they lifted it off the truck and carried it into the alley.
On Sundays, everyone is off work. They visit each other, take a walk, or exercise in the square. There are eyes everywhere, and if there is something unusual in the family compound, it cannot be hidden.
As soon as He Tingjun carried the washing machine home, the news spread to almost everyone in the family compound.
This is rare!
They had all heard of televisions, refrigerators, and electric fans. Because officers had high salaries and ample work, many families in the staff quarters had bought these appliances. For example, Commander Liang's family had a Minsk refrigerator made in the northern part of Russia. Several regimental commanders also had black and white televisions in their homes. However, they had not only seen but had never even heard of a washing machine.
Suddenly, I heard that someone bought one, and many people came to see it out of curiosity.
Yun Qiao knew that most of them had no ill intentions, so he placed the washing machine in the yard and let them look at it. After all, it wouldn't hurt if someone looked at it a few more times.
Yuan Jiahui, who lived next door, also came. With an envious look on her face, she lifted the lid of the washing machine, looked at this and touched that, and finally asked Yun Qiao: "Such a good thing must have cost a lot of money, right?"
Yun Qiao nodded: "A little over two hundred."
"More than two hundred thousand!!" Yuan Jiahui was a little surprised. This washing machine was not as expensive as she had imagined.
Compared to TVs that cost four thousand yuan and refrigerators that cost eight or nine thousand yuan, this price is simply too affordable!
Originally everyone was just envious, but when Yunqiao announced the price, many of the military wives began to get excited.
It is a common practice that clothes are thick and difficult to wash in winter. The main reason is that the officers who can live in the family compound have high positions. Even the lowest-ranking deputy battalion commander earns more than ten thousand yuan a month. A washing machine costs more than two thousand yuan, which is only two or three months' salary. If you grit your teeth, you can still afford it.
Of course, there are also those who say things like, "It's just laundry, isn't it? How much trouble can it be? I can just wash it by hand. Why spend a couple of grand on a washing machine? It makes me look so expensive."
Yun Qiao didn't even have time to refute such words herself. Someone else stood up to speak for her: "I didn't spend any of your money, why are you wasting your words here?!"
The person who had said the sarcastic words was shooed out of the door in disgrace. The remaining military wives who were interested in the washing machine gathered around Yun Qiao and asked her, "Where did you buy this washing machine? How much did it cost? How many coupons are needed?"
The gay man pulled He Tingjun aside and asked her alone.
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