Development of productivity started in 1981

Chapter 226 Uncle's Marriage
The uncle drove a truck and took Wang Jiankun and his family to the Hongdu Military Region. Of course, they went directly to the family activity area without passing through those confidential areas.

"Dad, you live in this room. Brother and Jiankun, you two live in this room. Sister-in-law, you and Xiangxiang live in this room. The visiting rooms in the army are rather simple and cannot compare to the rooms in the guesthouse. Please bear with me." The uncle led the family to the family living area and assigned rooms to them.

There are two bunk beds in this room, which is generally suitable for four people to stay in. However, my uncle still applied for three rooms because two rooms are really not comfortable to live in.

In addition to the bunk beds, there are two small tall cabinets with double doors, a long table in the middle with two benches, both made of hardwood boards. The towel rack is a long rope, and the washbasin is placed under the bed.

You have to go to public areas for washing and using the toilet, but fortunately they are not far away, just at the two ends of each floor.

The conditions are a bit worse than those in a guesthouse, but fortunately it is clean and tidy. The quilts are all military green and are washed very cleanly.

"It's okay. The conditions here are much better than what we had in previous years. The conditions have only improved in recent years," said grandpa.

"Dad, it's almost time for dinner. Let's go eat first, and then we can come back and talk after dinner."

After seeing that his family had settled their luggage, my uncle looked at his watch and found that it was almost 12 o'clock, so he took his family to the canteen in the family area to eat.

At this time, people came out from other rooms one after another, each carrying a lunch box.

"Uncle, we didn't bring lunch boxes. How are we going to eat later?" My sister is very active in eating. When she heard that it was time to eat, she ran out and walked in front. Then, when she saw other family members had lunch boxes, she ran back to ask my uncle.

"Don't worry, we just arrived today, so we have to go to the cafeteria to get the lunch boxes and return them when we don't need them. They all live here for a long time or have been here for several days, so they bring the lunch boxes back to the dormitory." The uncle said to his sister with a smile.

"Oh, uncle, is the food here delicious?" asked my sister.

"It's delicious, with both fish and meat. The chef's cooking skills are also very good. Let's see if there's braised pork. The braised pork made in this big pot is the best. It smells very fragrant and tastes fatty but not greasy. It melts in your mouth." The uncle knew that Xiangxiang was greedy, so he carefully and vividly described the taste of the braised pork here.

Wang Jiankun didn't say much. He was using his superpowers to observe the situation here, and then he knew from a distance the food in the cafeteria today.

My little sister and they had a feast today. There was a big pot of braised pork, which had just been served. There was also a meat dish of braised hairtail, a semi-meat dish of scrambled eggs with green peppers, and vegetables of Chinese cabbage and water spinach.

It seems that the funding problem of the Hongdu Military Region has been solved, otherwise the dishes would not be so good. Hairtail is not cheap. It should be purchased from Sihai Fisheries Company in this season. Otherwise, other individuals or small companies do not have the ability to sell fresh hairtail to inland areas.

When we were about 10 meters away from the canteen entrance, my uncle said, "Xiangxiang, today we have braised pork, yes, and hairtail, which is rare to eat. Let's go and get the food first. Jiankun, you follow me and get the lunch box to get the food. Each person can get 6 taels first. If it's not enough, we can get more. Dad, you guys find an empty table and sit down. The three of us will go get the food."

So the group of people split into three groups. The uncle took his sister to get food, the grandfather took his grandmother and parents to find an empty table, and Wang Jiankun got the lunch box and went to get his meal.

You have to pay in cash for meals in the family quarters, but the army should subsidize part of it, so the dishes and meals here are much cheaper than outside.

In the past two years, with the reform and opening up, the economy has developed very rapidly, and the country has relaxed its control over many materials, so prices have risen a lot. The price of pork is 1 yuan per catty, which is almost doubled compared with previous years.

After Wang Jiankun prepared the meal, he dragged three boxes in one hand and four boxes in the other to the table chosen by his grandfather and the others.

"The dishes are here. The braised pork is delicious. Brother, you should try it. It's just like what your uncle said, better than what you cook at home." The younger sister brought two boxes of dishes, both of which were braised pork. The top box was open, and her mouth was drooling because she couldn't help but pick up a piece and eat it on the way after it was ready.

"Why give so much? It's a waste if we can't finish it. These cost a lot of money, right?" Grandma looked at the two boxes of braised pork, two boxes of braised hairtail, and three boxes of vegetables on the table. She complained that her uncle gave too much and wasted it, and she also felt a little sorry for the money.

"Mom, these are not expensive. The army provides subsidies. This box of braised pork is only 5 cents, and this box of hairtail is a little more expensive, but only 8 cents. Vegetables are 1 cents each, so all these dishes add up to only 2 yuan. We can afford to eat them every meal."

"Oh? So many dishes only cost 2 yuan in total, wouldn't the canteen be losing money?" Grandpa asked his uncle softly, looking at the large box of dishes.

"Dad, the people who eat in this cafeteria are all family members of the troops. The troops also consider that the soldiers are working so hard here that they can't take care of their families, so they try to find ways to take care of them here. Of course, those who come to visit their families won't stay for long, the shortest is 3 or 5 days, and the longest is less than 3 months, so the troops can afford this amount of money."

The uncle explained it in a low voice, and the family members felt relieved and started to pick up food and eat.

Because they were all family members of soldiers from all over the country, the accents of the people sitting around eating were also varied. Of course, everyone was more careful and no one made loud noises.

My uncle didn't say much at the dinner table. He just asked about the situation in his hometown and then gave everyone a brief introduction to the situation in the army.

After dinner, my mother and grandmother took the lunch boxes to the sink to wash them. My sister didn’t want to go, so my mother dragged her to help.

The uncle took Wang Jiankun, his grandfather and his father to the store next to the cafeteria and bought a box of soda in glass bottles, some candy and other snacks.

After buying the food, the lunch boxes were washed, so the family took the lunch boxes and snacks and walked to the family dormitory. "Come, drink some soda to quench your thirst, Xiangxiang, take some snacks and go play with the sports equipment downstairs. There should be a lot of children there, give some to them."

The younger sister knew that her uncle must have something to do, so she was sensible and didn't ask any more questions. She took the soda, candy and snacks and went out.

This is the family living area within the military region, so there is no need to worry about her getting lost. Besides, my younger sister is used to playing outside in her hometown, so she can't stay quietly in this small room listening to the adults talk. It would be better to send her out to find someone to play with.

After the younger sister left, the uncle closed the door and sat back on the bench.

"Dad, Mom, I plan to get married at the end of this year."

"Getting married at the end of this year? To whom? You didn't mention it in your letter, and when I asked you on the phone you just hummed and hawed and said nothing. Now you say you want to get married. Hurry up and tell us about the woman's situation." When grandma heard my uncle say he was going to get married at the end of the year, her voice got louder and she asked my uncle to tell her about the woman's situation.

"What are you mumbling about? Speak softly. This door is not soundproof. Hongbin, you always plan before you act, and you are very opinionated. Before, we planned to introduce you to someone in our hometown, but it was fine if you disagreed. Now that you say you want to get married, you must have thought everything through. Then tell us about the girl's situation." Grandpa was very calm. He knew my uncle's character, so he spoke softly.

"The woman's name is Zhang Xianghong, she's 22 years old, works as a communications officer in the military region, and has a junior high school education. Also, please be careful not to tell anyone else, she is the chief's niece." The uncle explained the situation softly, then took out a 3-inch half-body photo from his arms and showed it to grandpa and grandma.

"He looks good, but I don't know what his personality is like." Grandma commented after taking a look.

"It's good enough as long as her personality matches Hongbin's. Hongbin, how long have you been dating her? Also, you said that she is the niece of your military chief. Does he agree? Besides, our family is not well-known in the official circle. Don't let her treat you unfairly when you marry her." Grandpa was obviously more rational and considered a lot for his son.

"Dad, I have been dating her for more than half a year. She has a good personality and is sensible and knows how to advance and retreat. In addition, this marriage was arranged by our Chief Zhang, who introduced us, so there is no need to worry about this. The Chief knows my situation very well."

"That's good. In principle, I have no objection, but you have to get the two families together to talk, and you have to come up with the wedding arrangements. You can't just say we're getting married by the end of the year, right?"

"Ha, that's right. I just decided to get married with Zhang Xianghong. I didn't say it before because it's not confirmed yet. I don't want to make empty promises. Since you parents don't object, I will discuss it with her family and find a time for the two families to sit down and meet, and then discuss the marriage."

"You are not a child anymore. Since you like her, we have no objection. By the way, you haven't mentioned the girl's parents and family situation. What are their families like? Have you met them or dealt with them?" said the grandmother.

"Mom, her home is in Hongdu, more than 30 kilometers away from the military base. Her father works on the railway and drives a train. He comes home once or twice a month. Her mother doesn't have a job and grows vegetables at home. I have met her parents twice, and they are both reasonable people. So I will go find Zhang Xianghong later and ask her to talk to her family and arrange a time to sit down and have a meal."

"Okay, then you go quickly." Grandma was in a hurry and urged her uncle to go right away.

"Mom, she's at work at this time. I'll go at 4:. You guys take a rest first. I'll try to bring her over for dinner so you can see her."

"Okay, okay, let's meet first. Hongbin, you go and do your work. I see there's a phone at the door of the building. Call me if you have something. Let's take a break and wash up. We've been rushing for the whole morning and sweating a lot. We need to change." Grandma said.

"Then you guys take a rest here. I'll go do some work and come back before dinner."

……

"Hongbin is really good at keeping secrets. He only tells me when he's getting married. Fortunately, you didn't agree to be a matchmaker, otherwise it would be difficult now." The mother spoke after the uncle left.

"He has been able to keep things to himself since he was young and has his own opinions. But this time he found a good wife who is young and comes from a good family. I just don't know if she is as sensible as he says." The father also said.

"Okay, stop talking. It's not a good time to talk here. This matter is up to Hongbin to decide. We will help him with the wedding and not let his in-laws complain." Grandpa said.

"That's right. Our family is not short of money now, so we have to hold the wedding well. I don't know if half a year will be enough to build the house for them. He didn't tell us before, so we haven't been in a hurry to build the house. Now it's still unfinished and the tiles haven't been covered yet. Fortunately, he told us now, otherwise it would be too late if we told him later." The father said a little worriedly, remembering that the house built for his younger uncle had not been completed yet.

"It should be in time. He should have considered it. Let's go back and ask the workers to speed up. Furniture can be made quickly. The furniture made by the newly opened woodworking factory in Fengshan Commune is quite good. It should be no problem for us to pay a little more money and let them rush and join the queue." Grandpa said.

The Fengshan Woodworking Factory was also newly opened. With the increasing output of the Wangjia Production Team's factory and several factories in Fengshan, most of the production teams in the entire commune have enjoyed the dividends of development. Each family has earned a lot of money by providing raw materials and services to the factories, or by working in the factories.

So now the whole commune is busy renovating houses and updating furniture. One of the sons of Cha, a blacksmith who used to make clocks in Fengshan Commune, saw the opportunity and opened an independent factory specializing in furniture.

"That's up to Hongbin to decide. The furniture may depend on what the woman wants. Mom and Dad, let's go and rest first."

"Go ahead, have a good rest, change your clothes, wash up, and don't wear sweaty clothes to dinner at night." Grandpa gave instructions and sent Wang Jiankun and the others out of the room.

(End of this chapter)