area51novel Chapter 22 New Home
Chapter 22 New Home
Before the military-civilian relocation in the late 90s, military-owned industries were practically everywhere, especially in Northeast China. As the earliest liberated region and a forward base for the national liberation war, many places, even half of a city, were military-owned. In places like Beixi, many towns were entirely military-owned, and the local government watched helplessly like a wronged child.
The military service center in Heping is located on South Second Road. The car will arrive in no time. From afar, you can see a huge plaque with the five characters "Military Service Center" in Mao Zedong's calligraphy.
Inside, the layout was similar to that of department stores at the time, with wooden counters topped with glass, and shelves along the walls inside the counters piled high with clothes, shoes, socks, gloves, and other goods, except that all the goods were military green.
Without consulting Xiao Wei, Li Zhongguo glanced at Xiao Wei's physique and began asking the soldiers for things. He took luggage, clothes, cotton-padded jackets and trousers, shirts and trousers, several pairs of underwear, gloves, and cotton shoes—nothing was missing.
The officers' high-top leather shoes, which the common people called "military hooks," were so popular that one officer bought two pairs at once; each pair cost nearly a hundred yuan. The ordinary soldiers' green suede boots were cheaper, but not very attractive.
All the odds and ends came to over seven hundred yuan, which was no small sum. Li Zhongguo immediately took out his work ID, as police officers here get a 30% discount. He paid five hundred yuan, then asked the driver, Xiao He, and Xiao Wei to help him load the items into the car and head back.
Xiao Wei asked after getting in the car, "Uncle, what are you buying all this for? Who are you bringing it for?"
Li Zhongguo glanced at him and said, "These are all for you. Even though we're from a small town, we can't lose face. Now that we're in the provincial capital, we have to make a good impression, and our clothes can't be worse than others. With your old outfit, people can tell you're from the mountains. No good, you'll get bitten by bears. From now on, wear these; you'll be presentable anywhere. When you make it big and have money, you can buy better clothes yourself."
Xiao Wei got anxious and said, "That won't do, it's over five hundred yuan, Uncle, I'll give you the money." He then rummaged through his pockets.
Li Zhongguo said, "You want a beating, don't you? Still arguing with me? At home you have to listen to your father, in the county you have to listen to your father-in-law, and here you have to listen to me. What's wrong? You've got a hard time? If you think you can't get by, then make something of yourself. When you're rich, get your uncle a leather coat. I definitely want it."
Xiao Wei was grimacing, not knowing what to do. He stammered for a long time without saying a word. Li Zhongguo said, "When you get back, ask Xiao Hong. If she says she doesn't want it, I'll take it back. If she says she wants it, you can use it, okay? You're not acting like a man at all."
Xiao Wei was a little relieved. After all, it was a 500-plus yuan item. Back then, a 14-inch black and white TV only cost a little over 600 yuan. By 1990, color TVs had entered ordinary households. A 21-inch Changhong TV cost more than 3000 yuan, and not many families could afford it. Most people couldn't afford it either. It wasn't until the late 1990s that color TVs truly became widespread.
Back at Nanhu, Xiaohong had already cleaned the house thoroughly, making it sparkling clean and bright, giving it a homey feel. She then carried the groceries upstairs.
Li Zhongguo and his driver Xiao He were sitting in the dining room smoking and drinking water. Xiao Hong and Xiao Wei had made up Xiao Wei's bed, piling his clothes and other belongings on it. Xiao Hong stared blankly, mouth agape, and asked, "What... what's this all about? Xiao Wei, are you crazy? How much did this cost?"
Xiao Wei licked his lips and said, "Uncle Li bought it for me. At first, I didn't know it was for us. Even with the discount from my work ID, it still cost over 500 yuan. When I said I didn't want it, Uncle Li scolded me and said he would ask you when he got back."
Little Red's face scrunched up like a bun. She stood there staring for a long time before asking, "What did Uncle Li say?"
Xiao Wei said, "People say we come from a small place, so we can't let them look down on us just because we dress like that. If I'm ambitious and make something of myself in the future, I'll buy him a leather jacket and he'll want it."
Xiao Hong bit her lip and thought for a moment, then said, "Let's keep it and wear it. When we earn money in the future, we'll buy Uncle Li a cloak."
Li Zhongguo walked in laughing at the door and said, "See? Xiao Hong is the most sensible one. Alright, when you two become successful, you'll want not only the overcoat, but also Uncle Mink. Okay, stop arguing. Are you ready? Come out when you're done. The police car will be here soon. Go down and move your things."
The three people went out of the house, talking as they went downstairs. They stood under a tree at the entrance of the building waiting for the police station's car. Xiao Wei was completely confused, not knowing which police station it was. There were just too many police stations in Fengtian.
After waiting for about ten minutes, a Jiefang truck drove in from the main road. The driver shouted a few questions to the pedestrians on the side of the road before driving over and stopping.
The driver jumped out of the car, looked around, and said to Li Zhongguo, "Is this Director Li?"
Li Zhongguo walked over, extended his right hand, and said, "Yes, it's me. Thank you for your help, Master."
After shaking hands, Li Zhongguo took out a pack of cigarettes and stuffed it into the driver's hand, then turned to Xiaowei and said, "Xiaowei, come on, unload the truck."
The driver glanced at the cigarette, put it in his pocket, and came over to help untie the rope. He said, "Director Lu has something to do. There's an inspection from above, and he's in a meeting and training session, so he can't leave. He asked me to apologize to you. He said if you're not in a hurry to go back, he'll come over tomorrow afternoon to have a drink with you. The stuff was all brought from the bureau's dormitory. I don't know if you'll like it. Although it's all used, it's still usable."
Li Zhongguo said, "Okay, that's good. The child will be studying here for a few years, so it's good that it's useful. Thank you for your help, Lao Lu. Alright, sir, you just watch from the side, we'll unload it ourselves."
The driver kept working and said, "It's alright, it's nothing heavy, just a matter of reaching out. Oh, there's a TV in the cab, it's black and white, but it'll do. Let's carry it up first, that thing is delicate, we're afraid of it getting damaged."
Li Zhongguo paused for a moment, then went over, opened the driver's cab door, and looked inside. He said, "Oh dear, this is a huge mess. Xiao Wei, come on, lift this up first, don't let it bump into anything, put it on the bed. Master, get this over here, is it alright?"
The driver laughed, rolled up the rope he had untied, and said, "It's alright, there are plenty in every room over there in the dorm, one more won't make a difference. It's been around for a few years, but it looks fine. This isn't for you guys, it's just a neighboring unit borrowing it. Just return it when you're done."
Li Zhongguo nodded and said, "Okay, no problem. The provincial capital is really generous. Thank you so much. Director Lu is very thoughtful. I, Old Li, am indebted to you for this."
Xiao Wei carefully carried the TV upstairs. From downstairs, they could hear Xiao Hong's excited shouts: "Oh, there's a TV! Great! Put it here, put it here, gently, gently! Haha, I was worried we wouldn't be able to catch the cartoons. Long live Uncle Li!"
Li Zhongguo smiled and shook his head, then climbed onto the truck bed by stepping on the wheels. Xiao He and the driver, Jiefang, were below to catch them and unload the cabinets.
Four people, two in each group, quickly brought up several cabinets, a few tables and chairs, an electric fan, and a radio, which drew another exclamation from Xiao Hong. This setup was even better than her home.