CHAPTER 34
The protagonist left the stage, and the spectators also dispersed. Yiyi smiled foolishly at Shen Haiyang, and the man touched his head and told the children to do their homework.
After Shen Haiyang took away her broom, Li Xia took a deep breath to calm down from the displeasure just now. She thought that she had calmed down after her new life and would not be emotional for Fang Zhongcheng anymore, but she was still shaking with anger after hearing what he said. In a hurry, she said everything she had hidden, and all the dirty words came out.
Now that she had calmed down, she felt a little embarrassed to face Shen Haiyang. Would he think she was too rude? She stood there and took a few deep breaths, looking at him, wanting to say something but not saying it, and then turned around and walked out of the yard.
”I haven’t closed my stall yet, I’ll go and close it first. I’ll buy some pressed noodles for dinner, and we’ll have braised noodles. Don’t worry about it, I’ll come back and cook.”
She fled in haste. Shen Haiyang laughed silently behind her, thinking his wife was so cute sometimes. She was just scolding someone, but she was still shy afterwards.
”Huihui, take the flour to the east alley entrance to exchange for thin noodles. Mom said she will make braised noodles tonight.”
Even though he was told not to worry about it, he still scooped out some flour and asked his son to replace the machine-made noodles. Then he took out the dried beans, soaked them, and washed them. He peeled the potatoes and cut them into thick strips. There would definitely be no meat in the dinner that night. He fried the dried beans and potatoes with oil until fragrant, and then stewed the noodles on the dishes.
When Li Xia came in, he had almost finished cooking. She untied his apron and tied it around herself, then took the spatula from his hand and continued cooking.
Add half a bowl of water, a little oil and some chopped green onion and soy sauce to the bowl, mix well and sprinkle a little on the stewed noodles. The noodles made in this way are not dry or woody and have a chewy texture.
”Let’s go buy a TV and a washing machine tomorrow. The backyard is fully equipped so it’s convenient to live here without disturbing anyone.”
”Okay, tomorrow is weekend, let’s go together in the afternoon.”
After May, the weather got warmer day by day, and the whole family went shopping on the weekend. Li Xia and her daughter wore the same thin sweater, and the husband and his sons all wore white shirts and blue waistcoats.
”Mom, everyone is looking at us.”
Hihua was a little shy because she attracted so many attention. But her little brother was different. He was very proud, holding his father with one hand and his brother with the other. He liked the feeling of being noticed.
”Just watch, what are you afraid of, just let them watch openly.”
Huihua smiled, looked around, and whispered to her mother, “Mom, how can you buy clothes of different sizes but the same style? And they look good on me or you, not childish or old-fashioned.”
”I picked out the style after a lot of effort. As for the size, I can just alter the big one to the one that fits you.”
”Ah, adult clothes are more expensive than children’s. You are losing out by doing this, Mom.”
”As expected of my daughter, she knows business as well as she opens her mouth.” She glanced at her daughter, then turned her eyes to the counter. “Is there anything you want to buy?”
“No.” Food, clothing, and daily necessities are all prepared at home. When we go out, we just go shopping and have a delicious meal.
”Mom, there’s a color TV.”
Yiyi saw the TV counter at a glance. Today there were two color TVs on display. The machines were turned on and were playing cartoons.
”The Tales of the Heavenly Book” was broadcast on CTV, and the color TVs clearly displayed its exquisite pictures. The immortals in white Taoist robes, the purple thunderclouds in the sky, the noble vermilion Emperor of Heaven and Taibai Jinxing, and the colorful scenery in the heavenly palace, the world that children like is no longer black and white, and it inspires endless imagination in their hearts.
Yiyi pulled Shen Haiyang to stand in front of the counter without moving, while Shen Hui and HuiHua were also fascinated. Li Xia and her husband looked at each other and simply bought the largest one.
Imported color TVs, imported washing machines, imported refrigerators, when these big guys were unloaded at the gate of the house, all the neighbors were alarmed.
”Xia Xia, you already have a washing machine and a TV at home, why did you buy this?”
”My goodness, what is this tall thing? Why are there two of them?”
The two people who were asking questions were both employees of her steamed bun shop. They all started to help. Feeling that they were exhausted, they started to call their husband at home to come out. While Li Xia was busy unloading the truck, she spoke to everyone.
”The expensive ones are refrigerators. We have one in the backyard. I often can’t take care of my family. With a refrigerator, I can cook at night and put it in. Whenever I want to eat, I can just take it out and heat it up. It’s convenient.”
”Then, why did you buy a TV and a washing machine again? Is your TV this time a color one, or a foreign-language one? Imported? How expensive would it be?”
”I bought this for the backyard. It needs to be fully equipped when my father-in-law comes back.”
”My goodness, how much does this cost?”
”It’s not just about money. Imported goods cannot be purchased without foreign exchange coupons.”
”They have US dollars, so let’s forget about it.”
”Ohh the importance of having a good father.” A teenager started to speak, and his father slapped him in the face as soon as he landed.
”Can you choose your father? It’s all fate. If I could choose, I would like to change my son to one who can get 100 points in the exam.”
”Hey, Haiyang, can you show us this color TV tonight?”
Shen Haiyang was assigned by Li Xia to open the door for everyone, and was not allowed to move such heavy things. Hearing what the neighbor said, he nodded generously.
”Everyone help hold up the antenna, I’ll let it go.”
”Okay.”
Color TV, refrigerator, washing machine, these three major appliances that became popular in the 1990s, they already had them in the early 1980s. And they even had one in the front and back yards. But everyone thought it was Shen Haiyang’s father’s money, and they just envied the couple for having a rich father.
”Xia, you are really generous. You bought two houses for the front and back yards. Even if the old man comes back, won’t one be enough?”
”They are used to living abroad, and these are necessities. The money is theirs, and I am just running errands for them. My TV is black and white, and if you want to watch color, you have to go to the backyard to get it.”
“Foreigners just have money.”
”Of course, they developed earlier than us.” Sister Xu said and turned to the front yard to look at Li Xia’s refrigerator, a double-door refrigerator with a capacity of less than 200. People in later generations thought it was small, but it was definitely a big deal at that time.
”Xia, are you getting this for running errands?”
”yes.”
”That would be great. I wish I had a rich eunuch. I would do nothing all day and serve him as a maid.”
”Don’t worry, we can have everything by ourselves.”
”Oh, it’s easy to talk.”
As the heavy items were carried into the yard, Zhang Qiuhua, who had been hesitant, became more determined to find Li Xia. When the people at the street gate had dispersed and the idle people were crowded in the backyard watching TV, she went into Li Xia’s kitchen.
”Hey, what a rare visitor.”
A neighbor in the same courtyard, this girl had a crush on Shen Haiyang before. She heard that they are now married and they rarely see each other after moving out of the original courtyard.
”I don’t come to you for no reason. I came to you to discuss business with you.”
Li Xia would definitely do a business that makes money. She nodded and poured her a glass of sugar water. “What business? Tell me about it.”
”Assembly of semiconductor components…”
”Don’t.” Li Xia interrupted her before she could finish. “Sister, this is illegal. You may end up in jail. Who told you to do this? You can’t do this if you want to make money.”
”Tsk, Sister Li Xia, I thought you were a trendsetter, why are you so timid? Nowadays, the brave ones will die of overeating while the timid ones will die of starvation. There are so many people who do this kind of thing, but no one has been arrested. Nowadays, all places are developing their economies, and no one cares as long as you can make money.”
Li Xia had been living in the countryside since her divorce in her previous life. She learned about the tide of the times from TV or from people’s conversations. She knew that many people made their fortunes through these side doors, but she was not sure whether any of them had been arrested because of it. But even if she were to start over again, even if she knew how to make money, she still did not plan to try this side door.
”You should find someone else. Oh no, I advise you not to do this. If you want to make money, you can wholesale clothes from me and set up a street stall. Although the money doesn’t come so quickly, it can be considered a side job after get off work and you can make money. Now that the weather is getting warmer, there are many more people setting up street stalls this year than last year…”
”Okay, if you don’t want to do it, I won’t bother you.”
Zhang Qiuhua was a little annoyed and stood up to leave. She thought Li Xia would be willing to do such a lucrative job.
She would have been willing to invest, but who would have thought that she was so timid and only focused on promoting her small clothing business.
”She has no vision at all, she is as timid as a mouse, she would not do a business that can earn money, I wonder what is going on in her mind?”
Zhang Qiuhua rode her bike to Fang Zhongcheng’s workplace while mumbling. Fang Zhongcheng’s mother said Murong Danling was also thinking about doing business. If she went to find her, Murong Danling would definitely not be as timid as Li Xia.
