Take Arada back to the past

Chapter 816, The First Television Set in the Compound

Chapter 816, The First Television Set in the Compound
"Ah, it's a pity that Xizi and Xiu'e aren't here. I wonder if they're doing well over there. I wonder if they're used to the food."

While eating, Wang Qiuju, the mother, looked at her children and grandchildren, but her third son's family was missing, and she couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.

After all, this is the first time in over a decade that we've officially celebrated the Lunar New Year.

Yang Xiaole smiled and said, "Mom, don't worry, Xizi won't lack food."

Almost everyone took this as a consolation.

Only the eldest brother knew that since the second brother had said that, there must be a plan behind it.

Seeing this, the mother sighed, then smiled and said, "Alright, let's eat!"

Yang Xiaole, holding his glass, smiled and said, "Come on, everyone, let's raise a glass and wish each other a Happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year!"

Everyone laughed and raised their glasses together.

……

In a large coffee shop near Columbia University in New York.

A group of more than twenty Chinese people from the East were sitting around two tables.

At this moment, a Chinese man looked at the crowd and said with a smile, "Fellow countrymen, our boss is also from the mainland. He knows that today is New Year's Eve and we are all compatriots, so he specially prepared a New Year's Eve dinner. Please don't be shy, eat and drink well!"

"thank you boss!"

Everyone was delighted upon hearing this.

These people come from all over the country.

The dishes are also from all over the country.

Sichuan's twice-cooked pork, Anhui's stinky mandarin fish, Beijing's braised pork slices, Shanghai's braised pork, and Guangdong's Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.

Xizi and Zhao Xiue were among them.

He and Zhao Xiue also worked here.

What puzzled the two was that there was almost no work to do here, and no one bothered them as they secretly read books and studied English.

Because they will be undergoing intensive English training here for three months.

After three months, students will be assigned to universities across the country.

He and Zhao Xiue received their training at this school, and they also attended classes there afterward.

As for Xiaoli, she and her partner went to another university for training to learn English.

Zhao Xiu'e asked in surprise, "Xizi, do you think this boss is a man or a woman? Why would she make you the assistant store manager? I've never heard of an assistant store manager!"

Xizi smiled and said, "How would we know the specifics? Let's eat!"

Thinking of what his second brother had said before he went abroad, he had already guessed that this might be his second brother's doing.

He just couldn't understand how his second brother could have so much power.

Zhao Xiue didn't say anything after hearing this.

We ate together there.

The other half of these 52 people also gathered together.

Everyone else in the shop had gone home, except for the Chinese shop manager.

Xizi took out her newly received salary.

He said, "Alright, it's payday today. As for the year-end bonus, everyone should pool their money and divide it up."

Everyone was eating.

Upon hearing this, they all took out their money.

"My $235"

"My 368"

"345"

Finally, there's Xizi, one of the people who work at the coffee shop.

Five people in total.

Mine is 860.

Mine is also 860.

All four people cost over 600.

Xizi held up her money and said, "Mine is 1800."

Everyone was incredibly surprised upon hearing this, even those who had just witnessed the store manager distributing wages.

They work in other stores, where they only earn three or four hundred yuan a month.

The average wage here is $860.

These people can only earn three or four hundred yuan, after all, they are not full-time employees, but just temporary workers.

But Xizi was able to take so much.

One is that his assistant store manager's salary is $1200, plus a half-month year-end bonus of $600, for a total of $1800.

Xizi gathered all the money together and began to divide it.

They also reserved a considerable amount to support students at another school.

After all, they didn't know how the students at other schools were doing.

Some people looked ashamed.

Because some people have really poor communication skills and their English is terrible, and the US economy is currently in a recession, many people are unwanted.

Seeing this, Xizi smiled and said, "Since we're all here, we're all in this together. Those of you who don't have jobs should make time to study."

I know some people are under pressure.

Everyone understands.

After the money was distributed, everyone raised their glasses to celebrate their first Chinese New Year in the United States.

……

Yang Xiaole and his family happily enjoyed a reunion dinner.

Of course, we'll send red envelopes.

My eldest brother's family has three, Xizi's family has two, and my own family has two.

There are seven children in total.

Yang Xiaole, on the other hand, happily took an iron basin and placed it directly on the ground.

He laughed and said, "Come, come, come, kowtow to Grandpa and Grandma. Each kowtow is worth one cent, with no upper limit."

Xia Tian chuckled upon seeing this: "Second Uncle, really? Do I count? I don't even have a job yet!"

Generally, anyone who is unemployed will receive a red envelope during the Lunar New Year.

Yang Xiaole chuckled and said, "Sure! I'll give you two yuan each first, and whoever eats the most gets the rest!"

Everyone else just watched with smiles.

Summer feels a lot like when Xizi was a child.

He walked over cheerfully and said to his younger sister, "Xiao Qiu, you count for me!"

Xiao Qiu was also laughing uncontrollably at this moment.

Hearing this, he looked at his second uncle, as if to ask if it was okay.
Yang Xiaole smiled and nodded: "Okay, you count for him, you're the referee. But let's make it clear first! No money if the voice isn't loud!"

The following is naturally directed at summer.
Xia Tian happily agreed: "Second Uncle, you're a big boss, with so many people watching! Don't run out of money later!"

"Don't worry! I'll give you whatever amount you need to kowtow."

Hearing this, Xia Tian happily agreed.

They started banging and clanging.

"1"

"2"

……

Xiao Qiu started counting there.

Kneeling can affect blood supply to the brain, and you'll feel dizzy in no time.

"75"

"76"

"I'm quitting. I've gotten my money's worth."

Summer stood up happily.

Yang Xiaole took the money and laughed, "I'll give you 80 hits, here's 8 yuan."

Xia Tian took the money, spat on it, and started counting it.

Nowadays, the average person's monthly salary is only around thirty.

My salary hasn't increased in over a decade, and it's even lower than it was in 65.

That's ten yuan.

Once there's a first, there's bound to be a second.

Xiao Qiu and Yang Weibing.

One person took a few dollars.

Next up, naturally, is our own.

Both made a loud banging sound.

Finally, there's Xiaomi from Xizi's family.

Yang Xiaole looked at Xiaomi and laughed, "Xiaomi, let your little brother count!"

Little Stone is over five years old and can count.

I'm just not very skilled at it.

Yang Xiaole did not require this generation of children to receive preschool education like other families.

No need.

She didn't even go to kindergarten, even though they could afford it.

This generation of children only needs to study hard in school and learn some extracurricular skills.

I'll definitely have no problem getting into university in the future.

Xiaomi agreed and began to kowtow.

Little Stone was naturally there counting off.

But it doesn't work after thirty.

"30"

"40"

……

"100"

The adults just laughed and didn't point it out.

Little Stone stopped counting to 100 and looked at everyone. Yang Xiaole happily gave the money to Xiaomi.

"Here's your ten yuan. But you'll have to tutor your little brother in math from now on! He won't be able to handle this when he goes to school!"

Xiaomi happily accepted it.

Seeing this, Xia Tian said with dissatisfaction, "Second Uncle, Little Stone counted incorrectly!"

Yang Xiaole chuckled and said, "That's not right! You didn't go to school when you were little, but you went to college. How can it be the same?"

Xia Tian rolled her eyes at these words.

Next are the stones.

I only did a few before stopping.

After Yang Xiaole paid the money, he gave the others two yuan more and Xia Tian five yuan more, and said with a smile, "Is this okay now?"

Seeing this, Xia Tian happily accepted the money.

Seeing this, the others naturally wouldn't be angry.

It was meant to be a lively atmosphere.

Seeing this, the children took the wine box lanterns they had made in advance and went to other houses to "eat the New Year's food".

Other companies naturally came as well.

It was quite lively for a while.

Yang Xiaole then checked the time and said, "The Spring Festival celebration is about to begin, let's go over there!"

There are many people in my family, but I can't compete with the number of bosses.

One person gets multiple tickets, and the whole family goes.

Very young children don't need tickets, as long as they don't take up a seat.

A group of people agreed.

I locked the door and left the yard.

……

The group arrived at the Great Hall, where many people had already gathered.

Many government, military, industrial, and other organizations brought their children along.

Everyone was looking forward to the first Spring Festival Gala.

The seats were not together, and the group was divided into three groups.

They mainly concentrated on the first floor.

As for the first 500 seats, they were naturally reserved for important leaders, and Qu Ying was prominently listed among them.

Moreover, the seating there is arranged in a round table, unlike the row seating arrangement in the back.

Yang Xiaole sat in the middle with her child, watching the lively scene in the venue.

This gala was the first "Spring Festival Gala" in the strict sense. However, since there were only 485 million television sets in the whole country in 1979, it did not have a social impact.

There are two executive directors.

One of them was Yang Jie, the director of Journey to the West, who became a household name in later generations.

After waiting for a while, the party finally began with the host announcing the start of the program.

The main activities consist of tea parties and ballroom dancing.

There are also various performances.

Yang Xiaole found it somewhat bland, but for others, it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

There was no way around it; my mind, which had been dormant for so many years, was finally opened.

People are absorbing these things.

You see, a foreign film was being shown at Xizi's school.

These students actually watched it all night long, four times in total.

This shows how thirsty they are right now.

Yang Xiaole's favorite thing to watch is still crosstalk.

……

The two-hour party didn't end until after 10 p.m., and very few people left early.

On the way back, everyone reminisced about the previous performance.

Besides the crosstalk performance, another memorable song is the "Toast Song".

Almost everyone can hum a few lines.

Yang Xiaole was pondering over there.

Should we buy a television?

Previously, television was only shown to government agencies and leaders of a certain level.

Now that he's at his level, he can buy it.

You can also get tickets.

Moreover, televisions are now becoming available to the general public, but due to their high price and the scarcity of television tickets, their adoption rate is not very high.

I was thinking that if we got a TV, the whole compound would come over to watch.

There won't be any peace and quiet then.

Then I thought about it, and realized that's just how this era is!
They are all people who love excitement.

Unless he is the last person to buy a property in the entire compound, this situation is unavoidable.

Thinking of this, I mentioned it to Qu Ying.

Qu Ying thought for a moment and said, "Sure! You can buy one for the compound! Do you want a black and white one or a color one? Color TVs aren't easy to buy, so we'll buy one for our area later!"

"Okay, let's buy the black and white one! We can change it in a few years."

The replacement of television sets is inevitable.

I'll buy a domestic one first.

When my company builds a factory in mainland China, I'll get a big color TV.

Color TVs were invented in the 70s, but production was too low, so they are very rare.

Even he couldn't get a color TV ticket.

Qu Ying could get her some.

Of course, all of this is what's out in the open.

That’s settled.

After discussing it, we decided to buy a 14-inch black and white TV, which would cost around 570 yuan.

……

The following day, the first day of the Lunar New Year, everyone went to the temple fair together again.

After so many years, the temple fair has finally officially opened.

That day, Yang Xiaole went to a department store and brought back a television set.

In an instant, the entire compound became lively again.

"Qiuju! You've had a truly blessed life! Your children are so filial."

Aunt Zhao looked at the television and said something with a sour feeling in her heart.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

There are so many college students in the family.

Washing machines and televisions—things that ordinary people can't even get their hands on—were being hauled into our homes as much as possible.

Wang Qiuju couldn't stop smiling.

"This kid is wasting money again!"

All I could manage was a token complaint.

Yang Guangzhi was sitting in front of the TV watching static on the screen, calling out, "Xiao Le, is it done yet?"

The older brother was there adjusting the TV station.

"Okay, I'm turning the antenna now! Give me a shout if you hear anything!"

Liu Jiefang shouted, "Go ahead and do it! I'm watching closely! Shout when you make a move."

Then he quietly stared at the television.

"Zzzzz~~ I won't draw my bow until I see the Japanese devils...zzzz..."

As time went on, sound came from the television.

"Oh, I got it, oh, I don't have it anymore."

Excited shouts came from inside the house.

As Yang Xiaole moved the bamboo pole, the image reappeared on the television.

"Okay, okay, don't move, don't move!"

Excited voices came from inside the house again.

Yang Xiaole felt it was about time and then let go.

He specially made a long bamboo pole, but he wouldn't do the thing of holding up the antenna anyway.

When I got back, they were showing a video about landmine warfare on TV.

This is a movie that can be watched repeatedly and never gets old.

Of course, the main reason is that there is a severe shortage of movies at present, and it will take some time before movies from Hong Kong are introduced.

It will be at least another year or two before films from Hong Kong are introduced.

Qu Ying stood there, watching with great interest.

Yang Xiaole naturally wouldn't spoil Qu Ying's fun, and watched the movie on the side as well.

As soon as one movie ended, the next one began.

However, it wasn't a movie, but a crosstalk performance.

The first TV commercial after the reform and opening up was also today, but it wasn't in Beijing, it was in Shanghai.

There are no commercials on TV right now, but that won't be long.

"Let's go, it's getting late."

Qu Ying checked the time and said to him.

Yang Xiaole nodded and prepared to let her two children go with her, but they didn't want to leave after seeing the TV.

In the end, they didn't care anymore. Anyway, TV in those days ended at 9:30, unlike in later years when TV was still running late at night.

I can understand when I encounter something unusual.