Back to 1984: Earning Money, Raising Kids, and Keeping the Household Busy

Chapter 106 Buying Appliances

After finishing their meal, the family went to their respective rooms to sleep.

Lin Qin didn't do much; a short nap at noon was enough.

As soon as Huang Yuezhen arrived home, she hurriedly brought her the taro and minced meat savory rice she had saved, saying, "Eat this for lunch. I specially saved it for you because it won't keep in this weather, so eat it quickly."

Huang Yuezhen took the bowl and said, "I've already eaten at the construction site."

Lin Qin chuckled twice, "I've worked there before, how could I not know what's going on? Even if you eat, it's just leftovers, sometimes there are, sometimes there aren't, that won't do!"

In fact, Huang Wenlong tacitly allowed the cook to include his portion of food in the bill, but he generally didn't dare to over-count it. Some construction workers had big appetites and ate a lot, so it was hard to control the amount of food, and there weren't many opportunities for leftovers.

Because there was a lot of work to do in Nanyu, Lin Yi would usually cook some porridge or something after his lunch break. Lin Qin noticed that Huang Yuezhen ate a lot, and guessed that she hadn't eaten much at the construction site.

Huang Yuezhen felt a little embarrassed, but she ate the bowl of rice as Lin Qin suggested before going to rest.

At 2 p.m., Lin Yi got up first to take the two children to school, and brought Gao Lei with him when he came back.
Chen Wenjun, still half asleep, sat with Gao Lei under the shade of the pavilion in the courtyard, making tea.

Gao Lei's first question was about what happened in the early morning: "You've stopped fishing and started wholesaling seafood now?"

Chen Wenjun nodded with a simple smile, "Once I had a tin boat, I couldn't stop wanting to travel far away. The first time I went to Nangang, I originally wanted to fish, but I happened to see fishing boats entering the port, so I bought some fish wholesale to take back. I didn't expect them to sell so well, so I just started this business."

I leave home at four in the morning to catch the early market, and then make another trip in the afternoon to deliver goods to restaurants. I finish around ten o'clock every day. It's tiring, but I earn more than fishing.

Gao Lei looked at him with admiration, "Only you can make this kind of money, I really can't do it."

“You also went out to sea in a boat,” Chen Wenjun replied naturally.

Gao Lei gave him a thumbs up, "You can even tell that! Let me tell you, I'm currently involved in shipping in the Guangdong area. I mainly buy goods, transport them to Anshi, and sell them to make a profit from the price difference."

Chen Wenjun's expression changed slightly.

Gao Lei could tell from his expression that he had misunderstood. "It's not smuggling, don't be afraid."

Chen Wenjun's expression softened somewhat.

Gao Lei continued, "My family all work in the government sector, so I wouldn't dare to mess around, or my parents would break my legs!"

Chen Wenjun, considering the Gao family's style and Shen Yunfeng's personality, was completely relieved and reminded him, "If you know what you're doing, I won't say anything. Smuggling is too risky, and the open sea is full of dangers. No one cares about things at sea, and if you get into trouble, you're unlikely to survive."

The government is cracking down on smuggling quite hard now. A few days ago, I went to my father-in-law's village and heard village officials promoting the idea that there are rewards for reporting smuggling.

Gao Lei nodded emphatically, "You can rest assured, I definitely won't do such a thing. But speaking of which, your house is so nicely decorated, but it's empty inside. Aren't you planning to buy some appliances?"

I brought back a batch of appliances, including a TV. Do you want one? I'll give it to you for free!

Chen Wenjun's pupils dilated, and he refused without thinking, "Forget about giving it to you, I can't take advantage of you again. Do you have a refrigerator? My wife is pregnant, and it's getting hot, so having a refrigerator would be more convenient in the summer."

Gao Lei quickly offered his congratulations, "I do have a refrigerator, it's a Rong Sheng brand, a double-door one. I buy them in bulk, so they're not expensive. If you want one, I'll deliver it to you tomorrow."

Chen Wenjun said seriously, "Even between brothers, accounts must be settled clearly!"

Gao Lei paused for a moment, then smiled and nodded.

The next afternoon, Gao Lei brought over the refrigerator Chen Wenjun had requested, along with a 20-inch Sony color television. Chen Wenjun's face changed upon seeing the television. "This is…"

Gao Lei didn't say anything. He had the packaging unpacked and the installer put it in place before saying, "We agreed yesterday that I'd give you the TV, and you just need to pay for the refrigerator."

Upon hearing this, Chen Wenjun refused to accept the money no matter what. After some back and forth, Gao Lei finally accepted five thousand yuan from Chen Wenjun.

As soon as Gao Lei left, the whole family gathered around the TV and refrigerator, excited but also a little heartbroken.

Lin Yi clicked his tongue and said, "These two items cost five thousand. When did money become so cheap!"

He had always thought that earning over eight thousand made him a rich man, but now he dared not say it at all.

Lin Qin watched their chatter with amusement, then picked up the remote and tuned the radio.

Lin Yi and Huang Yuezhen were both stunned by the color images on the television, and neither of them uttered a sound.

When it was time for Chen Wenjun to leave, they realized what was happening and, carrying their hoes, went to the field, looking back every few steps.

Lin Qin immediately turned off the TV. She had watched TV before in her previous life, but the refrigerator was more appealing to her than the TV.

When the two children came home from school in the evening, they were so excited to see the TV that Lin Qin turned it on for a while. The cartoon "Black Cat Detective" was playing, and the whole family was engrossed in watching it.

An hour later, Lin Qin turned off the TV and said seriously to the two children, "From now on, we'll see how you do on your exams. If you do well, you'll get an extra hour of TV time as a reward. If you don't do well, the TV won't be on."

The two children, who were still engrossed in their studies, suddenly felt a sense of urgency upon hearing this and nodded in agreement.

Before you know it, it's time to harvest rice, and every farmer knows how hard it is.

Lin Qin wanted to help, but no one in the family dared to let her do it. She could only try different ways to make fruit popsicles for Lin Yi and Huang Yuezhen, and also make some refreshing mung bean cakes.

The two children also joined in, eating and drinking for free.

After two weeks of busy farming, they had actually gained two pounds.

After the rice is harvested, it needs to be sent to the city to be processed into rice.

Lin Yi's habit is to process fifty or sixty catties at a time, and then process more after they are finished, so as to prevent the food from spoiling quickly in the summer.

But everyone was busy, and Chen Wenjun didn't have enough time to go to the city to process rice, so he had to process 100 kilograms of rice at a time.

Just as the 100 kilograms of rice were being delivered back to Nanyu, a typhoon struck.

This year's typhoon came with great force. The weather changed in the morning, and by 2 p.m. it felt like the sky was about to collapse. The wind was so strong that it was impossible to go out.

Lin Yi couldn't even go to the kitchen. Hearing the sound of plastic film being torn outside, everyone inside was terrified.

"It's so windy, how are we going to get the kids to school!"

Lin Qin quickly hugged the two children. "Dad! You should be glad the weather changed now. It would have been a problem if the weather changed on the way to school! We definitely can't go out in this weather. Just explain it to the teacher tomorrow."

As she spoke, Lin Qin quickly went upstairs and closed all the windows in the rooms. She opened the door and woke up the sleeping Chen Wenjun, saying, "A typhoon has hit, and the wind is too strong now. We won't go out today. You can continue sleeping."

(End of this chapter)