Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 256 Pressure OR Motivation

Xiao Wei said, "Aren't you cold? Come inside, come inside, we'll tinker with it again tomorrow." The group went inside, and the main light by the boiler door came on. Hao Xiaodong, holding a shovel, stood there looking this way and said, "The little boss's back?"

Xiao Wei said, "Yes, we're back. My parents have arrived. You can take care of my dad for a day tomorrow, and then we'll go back the day after tomorrow. If we don't go back soon, my sister-in-law will really get angry." As they spoke, everyone approached.

Hao Xiaodong put down the shovel and said, "It's nothing, it's only been a day or two, why is she angry? She just arrived? Has she eaten yet?"

Xiao Wei said to his father, "This is Brother Hao. He's the only one who runs this boiler. Brother Hao, these are my parents, and this is my brother."

Xiao Wei's dad greeted Hao Xiaodong, who said, "Alright, you guys hurry up and go inside, it's awful cold. I'm going to shovel some coal." He picked up a shovel and headed towards the coal pile.

Xiao Wei led his parents on a tour: "This is the kitchen, everything's ready. We can cook tomorrow after we buy groceries. Oh, Mom, I'll teach you how to use it tomorrow." His family lives in the countryside and uses a traditional earthen stove; they've never used gas or an electric rice cooker before.

After coming out of the kitchen, Xiaowei pointed to the house and said, "This room is for eating. Mom and Dad, you live in this room. The one next to it is mine. Then, that's Lao Xia and Xiao Hui's room. The one at the very end is the living room. You can sit there, chat, drink tea, and stuff. There are TVs in your rooms and in the living room, so you can watch them either way."

Xiao Wei opened the door, turned on the light, took off his shoes and went onto the floor. He took out slippers from the cabinet inside and said, "You have to change your shoes before you come in, Xiao Bing, did you hear me? You can't come in without changing your shoes, or you'll ruin the floor if there's sand on your shoes."

Everyone changed their shoes and went inside. Stepping onto the floor, they looked at the cloth-covered walls, the large wooden bed with blankets laid out, the cabinets, and the TV. Xiaowei's mother touched and looked around, and her mood instantly brightened.

Xiaowei's mother unpacked the clothes she brought from her hometown and put them away one by one in the closet. She put the small items into the large drawer under the bed. Xiaowei's father sat on the edge of the bed, while Xiaowei, Xiaobing, and Xiaobing sat on chairs by the window. Xiaobing wandered around the room, looking at this and that. He hadn't even seen a TV since a few days ago at Uncle Wang's house.

Xiao Wei's dad said, "This room is big, but it feels about the same size when it's empty. Now that it's been decorated, it's at least half again as big as our old room. Is this how they all do it? Are all the rooms in this row this big?"

Chen Hui said, "They're all so big. I didn't know these were military housing. One squad lives in each room, so of course they're big."

Xiao Wei's dad said, "Then this row of houses forms a platoon."

Chen Hui nodded and said, "Yes, a company. The communications company. Only the communications company is required to live in bungalows. This used to be a brigade headquarters."

The young soldier came over and said, "Bro, bro, want to act in a TV show? Can you do it?"

Xiaowei's mother said, "Xiaobing, stop fooling around." Xiaowei stood up and went over to turn on the TV, showing Xiaobing how to turn it on and off and how to adjust the settings. At that time, color TVs didn't have remote controls; changing channels was done with buttons. There were twelve buttons, but in reality, you couldn't receive that many channels.

After tidying up the clothes, needles, and threads, Xiaowei's mother stood up, looked around, and said, "It feels like something's missing."

Xiao Wei laughed and said, "You'll get used to it after a couple of days. You're just a bit unaccustomed to it. Do you guys want some water tonight? I'll go boil some for you. The teacups are in the drawer under the TV." He stood up and walked out. Chen Hui said to Xia Maosheng, "Shall we go do something for a while?" Xia Maosheng stood up and said, "Let's go, no one's going to steal it today." The two of them changed their shoes and ran to the other end of the living room.

Xiao Wei went to the kitchen and lit the stove to boil water. The hot water in the boiler could be used to wash clothes, but not for drinking; you had to boil it yourself. The water dispenser that Han San had promised was still nowhere to be seen.

With nothing else to do, Xiaowei boiled water, took out the vegetables he had brought back and put them on plates, arranged the steamed buns in the steamer, then washed the rice cooker, rinsed some rice, and set the timer to cook. At that time, rice cookers with a timer function were not common; only imported ones had this feature.

Before the kettle of water had even boiled, Mom opened the door and came in. She looked around the kitchen, and finally stood by the stove and asked Xiaowei, "How do I use this?"

Xiao Wei demonstrated it, and then his mother tried lighting it. After learning how to light the stove, his mother turned around and started checking the pots and pans, making sure she had everything she needed.

After taking inventory of the items and examining the refrigerator and washing machine, the water on the stove finally boiled. Xiaowei bought a large kettle, which can boil enough water to fill three thermos flasks.

Xiao Wei was filling the thermos with water when his mother stood beside him watching and said, "This thermos is too big, I can't lift it. Don't you have any smaller ones?"

Xiao Wei said, "I have too many thermos flasks, so I bought a big one. In a couple of days, when the water dispenser arrives, I won't need to boil water anymore; it boils water automatically."

Xiao Wei's mother nodded and said, "That's great. Why is the light on this rice cooker still on? What's going on?" Uncle Wang's family has a rice cooker, and my mother has seen it before.

Xiao Wei said, "I just rinsed some rice in it. I'll make some porridge and steamed buns for tomorrow morning. Don't touch it." He filled the thermos and put the stopper on.

My mom said, "You're having this boiled food for breakfast tomorrow? Is that okay?"

Xiao Wei said, "This pot can be timed. It won't cook now, but it will automatically cook at six o'clock tomorrow morning." He put down the kettle and walked over: "This is the one with the timer. You can set it for a few hours later, and it will cook automatically when the time comes. You don't have to do anything about it." Back then, the timer was a mechanical device, and the error was a bit large, but it didn't matter. Who would care about being ten minutes early or late when cooking a meal?

My mom asked in a low voice, "How much did it cost to clean up here? You bought everything, it must have cost a lot."

Xiao Wei said, "I haven't counted. All the miscellaneous things added up, it's about ten thousand yuan, but not quite twenty thousand. Mom, now that I can earn money, you can just enjoy yourselves. If you need money, just ask me. Don't worry about anything else. I'll take care of my younger brother in the future." Mom smiled, came over, and reached out to touch Xiao Wei's face, saying, "My eldest son has made something of himself. Okay, from now on, Mom will just enjoy her life and won't worry about anything else."

The mother and son turned off the kitchen light and carried the thermos back into the room. The younger brother sat on the bed watching TV. Xiaowei's father wasn't in the room; he must have gone to the living room. Xiaowei's mother took a basin to get water and called to her younger brother, "Bing, come wash your feet."

Xiaobing slowly moved over, watching the TV, and sat down in the chair. Xiaowei's mother squatted down to take off his socks, but Xiaowei pulled his mother away and said, "How old is he? Let him do it himself. Xiaobing, wash it yourself."

The younger brother glanced at his older brother, said "Oh," and took off his socks and soaked his feet in the basin.

After Xiaowei's mom and younger brother washed their feet and got into bed, Xiaowei's dad came home, changed his shoes, and came into the room. Xiaowei's mom asked, "Where have you been?"

Xiao Wei's dad said, "I went to the boss's room for a smoke and watched them play some kind of game. It was quite interesting."

Xiaowei's mother was making the quilt when she heard this and nodded, saying, "That's good. From now on, you can smoke outside, and there will be less smell in the house."

Xiao Wei said, "The heating is good here. We can open the windows for a while during the day to let in some fresh air, instead of keeping it stuffy all the time."

Xiao Wei's dad fetched water in a basin and said, "It's really warm, and we don't even need to heat the kang (a traditional heated bed). We're living the good life. Gathering firewood is more tiring than farming."

Xiao Wei said, "Alright then, you guys get ready for bed. I'm going back to my room. Dad, lock the door." After changing his shoes, Xiao Wei lit a cigarette and slowly walked towards the living room. His feelings were complicated at that moment—excitement, a little pride, and some trepidation. He was filled with hope for the future yet felt lost. The arrival of his family suddenly increased the pressure on him.

(End of this chapter)