Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 820 819 The Fan That Doesn't Shake Its Head

Tang Zhitong was riding her bicycle with her classmate Xiao Wang on the back. Zhang Guifang had prepared cornmeal and bok choy for her, which were hanging on the handlebars. It was a perfect picture of going back to her parents' home. If there were chickens, ducks, and a chubby baby, it would be perfect.

As I exited Chongwenmen, it was exactly on the hour, and the clocks of the train station and the telegraph building rang in unison.

The telegraph building was located to the west of the city gate tower, not far from Chongwen Gate.

The sound came on both sides at the same time, and the difference became apparent. The noise was louder on the train station side, with "The East Is Red" playing, while the sound was softer on the telegraph building side, where it could be vaguely discerned that it was "Praising the New China".

"Look, the clock at the telegraph building, the clock at the train station, two big clocks serving me all by myself, I'm really lucky." Listening to the tune, Tang Zhitong bantered with Xiao Wang, a classmate in the back seat.

"You're so unserious! How come I never noticed you were so talkative before? Who talks about themselves like that?" Little Wang covered his mouth and laughed from behind.

Influenced by her husband, she watched "Teahouse" twice and learned that this line was adapted from Tang Tiezui's line in "Teahouse": "The British Empire's cigarettes are Japanese heroin, two great powers serve me alone."

Although they share the same surname, Tang Tiezui is not only a swindler in the story, but also a drug addict, making him a definite villain.

"Hey, even though we both have the surname Tang, we're worlds apart. Tang Tiezui isn't as lucky as me. Who told me to be so fortunate as to marry you?" Tang Zhitong chuckled from the front, showering praise on his lips.

Although Tang Zhitong said that the differences were huge, upon closer reflection, he realized that he and Tang Tiezui also had something in common.

Tang Tiezui made a good living by swindling and cheating during the chaotic years of war, while others were starving and struggling, he relied on his online space to cheat his family to support them, and his life was much better than others.

If it weren't for the "Harmony God" pressing down on him, Tang Zhitong felt he would have been living a life a thousand times more carefree than Tang Tiezui.

"Are you all sweet-talking? You only say nice things." Xiao Wang, flattered by the compliment, hugged her handbag, which contained the lard and cracklings her husband had rendered the night before. These were very valuable items, and she didn't feel comfortable hanging them on the handlebars.

"Hehe, you've tried it before, it's sweet, with a sugar content of several plus signs. I'll let you experience it again later," Tang Zhitong continued to tease from the front.

This time, Xiao Wang ignored him, knowing it wasn't a nice thing to say and that it wouldn't be appropriate to respond in public.

Even less kind of person was Wang Jingmin. As soon as his older sister and brother-in-law entered the house, he couldn't wait to get a beating: "Teacher Wang, come and teach me to sing!"

With a simple roll of his sleeves, Xiao Wang easily fulfilled his younger brother's wish. The sound of Jingmin being beaten was so loud it almost shattered the glass.

"Oh, did you buy a fan?" Tang Zhitong put the cornmeal her mother had ground on the table, handed the bok choy she had just picked that morning to her sister-in-law and asked her to put it in the kitchen. She noticed an unopened fan next to the table and asked.

Air conditioning exists in Beijing today, but only in very, very, very limited places, and it's all imported, making it very distant from the lives of ordinary people.

Fans are more affordable than air conditioners, but their price is still beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Compared to electric fans, ordinary people prefer palm-leaf fans, which only consume half a steamed bun a day, making them very cost-effective.

"I bought these for you. Jingying told me that you two sleep in the west wing, which has no shade on the west side, so it must be very hot after a day in the sun. The union recently did a survey to see who needed a fan, so I signed up." This time, Ye Zhijuan didn't refuse the cornmeal and bok choy; she had gotten used to it by now.

"Thank you, Mom. That's great! How much did it cost? Wenwen, stop hitting him. Bring the money to Mom later." Tang Zhitong called out to Xiao Wang, who was waving his hand, indirectly helping her brother-in-law get through a crisis.

The weather has been pleasant lately, and it's not yet the hottest time of the year, so fans aren't in high demand yet. Director Ye and the Women's Federation and Trade Union's actions show they were truly prepared for the worst.

"Don't mention money, it's a gift for you." Ye Zhijuan waved her hand, she had no intention of taking any money.

"Then we'll take it, thank you Mom!" Little Wang didn't hesitate at all, leaving her little brother behind, and went over to hug Director Ye's shoulder and act cute.

Well, this little darling is a bit leaky. Tang Zhitong smiled and shook his head. Since the mother and daughter had no objections, it would be inappropriate for him to insist on giving them money.

Jingmin had just been beaten up, so he kept his distance from his older sister and deliberately walked around the table to Tang Zhitong: "Brother-in-law, shall we go fishing today?"

"Fishing! Fishing! All you ever think about is fishing! There's only a month left until the final exams, are you ready?!" Little Wang was still annoyed by her younger brother's lack of tact. Her husband calling her "Teacher Little Wang" was a playful gesture, but her brother calling her "Teacher Little Wang" was a provocation.

"Get ready! I'll be first in the class this week!" Jingmin retorted to his older sister, but when he saw her about to roll up her sleeves again, he quickly hid behind his brother-in-law.

"Take your things out first, so you don't spill them." Tang Zhitong quickly reminded Xiao Wang when she saw her about to start making another move, as the lard and cracklings were still in her handbag.

"I was so angry with that brat that I almost forgot." Upon hearing this, Xiao Wang took off his bag and put it on the dining table. He then took out three lunch boxes: two with lard and one with fried pork cracklings.

Xiao Wang was still worried, so he opened and checked them one by one.

When the lunchbox containing the fried oil residue was opened, Jingmin stopped arguing and quickly slid down to his knees: "Oh, my dear older sister, does your hand hurt? Let me blow on it for you!"

"Get out of here, who taught you to be so shameless?" Little Wang glared at his younger brother with disdain, picked up a piece of fried pork crackling, put on a smiling face, and held it to Director Ye's lips: "Mom, have a taste."

When Jingmin saw that the alarm had been lifted, he reached out his little hand, grabbed a piece, quickly pulled it back, and stuffed it into his mouth. The unique aroma of the fried pork cracklings immediately filled his mouth. Although it wasn't salty, he still felt that he could eat two lunchboxes of it in one go.

"Aren't your hands dirty? Wash your hands before you eat." Seeing her younger brother's little gesture, Xiao Wang's eyes welled up with tears. Meat was scarce, and her family wasn't having an easy time either.

"You didn't wash your hands either, and you're still criticizing me." Jingmin was already eating the fried pork cracklings when he became somewhat unconvinced.

"Hmm~?" When Xiao Wang saw that her younger brother dared to talk back, her reluctance immediately vanished, and her eyebrows furrowed again as she looked at her brother.

"I'll wash, I'll wash, okay?" Jingmin's alarm bells rang in his mind, and he immediately ran to the kitchen to wash his hands.

"Jingying, you should eat something too." Tang Zhitong took a step back, making room for her sister-in-law next to her.

In the days following the winter break, although Fengzhen and Jingying each brought their own lunch, most of the time the side dishes for their meals were brought by Fengzhen from home.

Besides Tang Zhitong being a half-baked cook, Ye Zhijuan also didn't take more than she was entitled to, so the local food supply wasn't much different from that of ordinary people, and they didn't get to eat many vegetables during the spring season.

"Alright, save it for lunch." After the children had eaten three or five pieces, Ye Zhijuan took the initiative to call a halt.

With two or three hours to go before lunch, Tang Zhitong ignored his brother-in-law's request to go fishing. If they went now, they would have to come back to cook after only a short time, and the whole trip would be spent on the road, which was obviously not worthwhile.

With nothing else to do, Tang Zhitong got the idea to take out the fan. He opened the cardboard box and took the fan out.

The fan is a "Huasheng" brand. Huasheng was the first domestically developed and manufactured brand in my country, with its factory located in Luxian County. They started producing electric fans during the Republic of China era. "Huasheng" means "Made in China" and has absolutely nothing to do with Sherlock Holmes.

The fan in front of us has a simple and elegant design. The blades are made of pure copper and have a protective cover. However, the gaps in the cover are so big that a fist can fit in. It looks more like it's protecting the blades than preventing children from sticking their hands in.

"Brother-in-law, why don't you plug it in and try it out?" Jingmin watched Tang Zhitong take out the fan and stood there eager to try it out. He had wanted to try it out since his mother brought the fan back yesterday, but his mother hadn't agreed.

"Okay, let's give it a try." Tang Zhitong gripped the fan's short, thick stand and walked toward the socket.

Plug it in, turn on the fan, and with a series of clanging sounds, the fan blades start spinning from slow to fast. The clanging sound only disappears when the fan is spinning fully.

Tang Zhu stood in front of the fan and could clearly feel the strength of the wind. If he put his hand in front of the fan blades and opened it, it would feel like a C-shaped hand.

In the height of summer, wiping your body with cool water and then standing in front of a fan is probably just as good as using air conditioning.

"Brother-in-law, is it big?" Jingmin asked excitedly from the side.

"Yeah, big." Tang Zhitong really didn't expect Jingmin to ask the same question as Xiao Wang, so he gave a perfunctory reply.

Feeling the breeze from the fan, Tang Zhitong recalled a game he often played as a child—shouting "ah ah" at the fan.

“Jingmin, let me teach you something fun. Come on, learn with me, ah~” Without further ado, Tang Zhitong personally demonstrated the pronunciation to his brother-in-law.

"What are you doing? Be serious!" Xiao Wang was getting impatient. Once, her husband taught her the same thing before bed. Then, her husband quickly closed her upper and lower lips twice, making a "daddy" sound.

It's fine for a couple to play together at home, but it's clearly inappropriate for the husband and his brother to play together here.

"Hey, you'll see in a minute." Tang Zhitong had also thought of this, and smiled at Xiao Wang, giving her a reassuring look.

Jingmin, unaware of what was happening, was still breathing heavily when Tang Zhitong pulled his brother-in-law to the center of the electric fan and gently patted his mouth.

As his brother-in-law's palm touched and separated from his lips, Jingmin noticed that the voice he heard had a more rounded tone, but the strength of his own voice remained unchanged!

"Brother-in-law, I can do it myself, I can do it myself!" With this discovery, Jingmin raised his hand and happily started making "ah ah" gestures in front of the fan.

"Look, isn't that fun?" Tang Zhitong stepped aside and winked at Xiao Wang.

"Pah, childish!" Xiao Wang breathed a sigh of relief and rolled her eyes at her husband.

"Come on, let's play together." If you can't beat them, join them. Tang Zhitong pulled Xiao Wang's hand and walked towards the electric fan.

Xiao Wang had just hit his younger brother, so he was somewhat resistant and didn't want to get too close to Jingmin.

Seeing that, Tang Zhitong let go of Xiao Wang's hand and walked to the electric fan by himself. He peered behind the fan, trying to find the small knob on the motor that controls the fan's oscillation.

"What are you looking for?" Xiao Wang asked when she saw her husband craning his neck and not pulling it back.

"Can't this fan rotate?" Tang Zhitong not only checked with his eyes, but even touched it, yet he still couldn't find that little tuft.

"Sure," said Xiao Wang, then stepped forward, grabbed the fan by the neck, and moved it in a different direction.

"Hmm, not bad, not bad, it's quite powerful." Tang Zhitong gave up. It was a Huasheng brand electric fan, and it was a group purchase by Director Ye's unit. There was no situation where they bought outdated models to help the fan factory clear out inventory. Since it couldn't rotate automatically, that meant that this function wasn't available on the market yet (Note: Electric fans with oscillation function only appeared in China in 1964).

"Big sister, you play first!" Little Wang turned the fan around, and Jingmin stopped talking, hoping that his older sister would play with it enough and then turn the fan back so he could play.

Wang rolled his eyes at his younger brother, said nothing, and then pinched the fan by the neck to turn it around.

Tang Zhitong stroked his stubble and stared at the electric fan in deep thought. The oscillation function was not difficult to implement; with a few gears and an angle dial, it could be achieved.

Besides these issues, this electric fan has quite a few other problems.

First of all, the protective shield is not much different from not having one. It should at least be so tight that you can't stick your fingers in, right? If some reckless kid sticks his hand in, his fingers will be slapped away.

As for the fan blades, four are a bit too many; three would be enough. Furthermore, the material and curves could be further optimized to not only increase wind speed but also reduce resistance and cost.

Another issue is the speed setting. There's only one setting right now, and the wind is too strong, only suitable for quick cooling. Once the sweat has dried, it's best to switch to a gentler setting.

If all these problems are solved, then we can try to produce other styles of fans, such as floor-standing and wall-mounted fans. We can focus on a variety of styles and maybe even generate foreign exchange!
Thinking about this, Tang Zhitong became a little excited.

"What are you thinking about?" Xiao Wang nudged her husband as he stroked his stubble and remained silent.

"Oh, I was thinking about a fan. I want to take it apart and take a look." Tang Zhitong was pulled out of her reverie by her classmate Xiao Wang and quickly found a pen and paper to write down her thoughts.

There were two sets of stationery on the dining table, clearly used by Jingying and Jingmin to do their homework.

Tang Zhitong casually picked up a metal pencil case that was close to him. The pencil case was a bit worn and contained pencils, erasers, pens, rulers and other stationery. Jingmin's age didn't need a pen yet, so it was obvious that this pencil case was the one Jingying used.

However, the eyes of the cartoon animals on the pencil case have all fallen off, apparently scraped off with a knife, and there's a new pair of glasses drawn in pencil on it, clearly in Jingmin's style.

Without asking, it's clear that this pencil case was used by Jingmin before, but it was replaced by a pencil pouch and is now being used by Jingying.

Judging from this, Jingying is a thrifty and hardworking sister-in-law. I wonder who will be lucky enough to marry her in the future.

When Tang Zhitong took out a pencil, he noticed that there was no multiplication table inside the pencil case lid. This was a bit unacceptable to Tang Zhitong, since a pencil case without the multiplication table was incomplete.

Putting the multiplication tables aside for now, Tang Zhitong picked up a pencil, borrowed a piece of homework paper from her sister-in-law, and briefly jotted down her inspiration.

…………

It's so hot! It's over 40 degrees Celsius outdoors. You can fry an egg in an iron pot after it's been in the sun for a while. The asphalt road has softened from the heat. I suspect that the little brat who planted the sun back then actually succeeded in trying it out in Jinan.

(End of this chapter)