Chapter 32#

When he woke up the next day, there was no sound in the room. The long-term nine-to-four life had long changed Chen Yuanming’s biological clock, and he could no longer crawl out of bed at 6 in the morning. But he didn’t expect to sleep so soundly that he didn’t even hear the sound of his parents leaving for work.

The table was still set up in the middle of the room, with a few bowls and plates on it, and a note saying that both of them had gone to work. The stove outside was still burning, and he could heat up the food in the pot after getting up. A short sentence written crookedly, with two typos. Chen Yuanming smiled, put down the note, and opened the door.

January in the north was completely different from Zhuhai and Shanghai; there was plenty of biting cold wind. Blown by the cold wind, Chen Yuanming shivered, casually picked up a towel and toothbrush, and walked to the public sink. It was already past the morning rush hour, and the corridor was empty. The smell of cooking smoke in the early morning had also dissipated completely, leaving only the indescribable stale smell of the old dormitory. The water from the tap still froze people’s fingers numb, but it was refreshing enough. After washing up quickly, Chen Yuanming straightened up and was about to walk home when a figure appeared in front of him.

“Doudou? Is it really Doudou?” The old lady with a bun hairstyle and a floral brown cotton-padded jacket made a clicking sound similar to admiration. “When did you come back? Your mom told us two weeks ago!”

“Grandma Wang, I just arrived home last night and haven’t had time to say hello to everyone…” Chen Yuanming responded with a smile.

This Aunt Wang lived in the first house at the west end of the corridor, right next to the public sink. She was an old resident and lived with her son and daughter-in-law all year round. Her family was the noisiest on this floor. However, apart from being a bit of a gossip, she wasn’t a bad person. In these years, neighborly relations were not like in later generations where no one knew anyone after closing the security door. On the contrary, they were all employees of the same factory and mine. Half of eating, drinking, and daily life were public. There was no entertainment at night, so moving a stool out to chat and play chess was the proper thing to do. In this overly close neighborly relationship, major and minor matters of each family were easily known to everyone.

“It’s good to be back! It’s good to be back!” Aunt Wang praised repeatedly. “Exactly, at such a young age, how can you go out to work? You don’t know how difficult it was for your mom back then. The school came to look for you twice. In these years, who can’t even afford to raise a child and won’t let them finish junior high school? How many people poked their spines behind their backs? Your mom couldn’t lift her head in the yard for several months. It got better later when they knew you made money. Who would have thought that such a young child could be so promising…”

The words were full of praise, but the eyes had an uncompromising interest in gossip. Chen Yuanming’s eyebrows frowned slightly, but the smile on his lips did not fade. “It was all because I was young and ignorant, making my family worry. Thanks to Grandma Wang and others for taking care of them. During the time I wasn’t home, thanks to the neighbors for lending a hand…”

“Hey! What are you saying!” Aunt Wang waved her hand heroically. “We all live in the yard. Who else can we rely on if not neighbors! But Doudou, you won’t leave this time when you come back, right? You are so good at doing business, can’t you make money at home just the same? Why run so far away…”

Facing such persuasion, what could Chen Yuanming say? After perfunctory remarks with a smile, he turned and went back to his room. Putting down the towel in his hand, Chen Yuanming looked at the still narrow and cramped room, and then at the corridor outside which was full of miscellaneous items and almost inconvenient to move, revealing a bitter smile.

In the past two years, every time he sent letters and money home, what was in the reply he received? At first, it was fearful scolding, reprimanding him for suspecting that he had gone astray, then slightly worried care, slightly proud persuasion, until he started trading stocks and no longer had financial constraints. The two bank cards totaling 40,000 yuan completely silenced his family. Sending nearly 60,000 yuan home in two years, what kind of figure was this? If not stealing or robbing, it was enough to prove that he could really make money and successfully fulfilled his promise. Although they might still be worried about novel things like stock trading, his parents had gradually opened their hearts and accepted his actions.

However, the fact that his family no longer questioned his ability to make money did not mean that others would not. Getting rich overnight had too many legendary colors and was too easy to arouse the covetousness of others. Just like everything happening in this small staff dormitory, as long as one step was out of track, countless people would ridicule, question, and accuse. Did his parents have no pressure at all when he left home rashly? Of course not, it was just that this small dormitory building had too much resistance.

Still too small.

This dormitory, this factory, this city… Staying in this well, what one could see would always be a palm-sized sky. To completely change all this, only by going further and walking out would it work. But did he have the conditions to take his parents out now? Or could his parents put down everything in their hands and go out with him?

Chen Yuanming sat at the dining table and sighed deeply. He couldn’t do it yet. The stock market was just duckweed, rootless grass. Even if he made more money, he couldn’t tell his parents directly, causing them to fall into unnecessary panic. And for state-owned enterprise workers in their thirties and forties, they had stayed in this city and this factory all their lives. How could he make them leave their hometown?

In the final analysis, the time was wrong. Chen Yuanming shook his head. There were still too many things that even he hadn’t thought clearly about, so how could he make a decision immediately? Let’s take it step by step. But now… Looking around the furnishings in the room, a smile appeared on the corner of his lips. He could still do something.

When they returned home in the evening, Chen Jianhua and Wang Juan were both stunned. They saw that the neighbors who should have been busy cooking were now gathered at their door, whispering and discussing something, with occasional excited screams of children interspersed. What happened? Ignoring the New Year’s goods in their hands, the two walked quickly towards the door of their home.

Unexpectedly, just as they reached the door, an awkward voice came from the room.

“Pegasus! Meteor! Fist…”

Following this strange sound, the children screamed, and many clapped their hands. The excited voices drowned out the adults’ discussions. Startled by the commotion, the two couldn’t care about being polite, pushed through the crowd, and walked into the room.

As soon as they entered the room, what rushed into their eyes was a big guy that could not be ignored. The miscellaneous items originally placed on the chest of drawers had been cleared completely. A square big box was placed on it, the screen in front was lit, and several little people were fighting on the screen, doing who knows what. The room was full of children, even the bed was full of people, all staring at the screen happily and shouting.

Is this… a color TV? And a big color TV of about 20 inches!

Wang Juan swallowed her saliva and wanted to look for her son, but Sister Ma next to her had already squeezed to her side and started chattering.

“Oh my, big sister, your Doudou is amazing. He just got home yesterday and moved such a big color TV back today~~” While speaking, the other party’s eyes had drifted to the middle of the room, looking enviously at the beautiful big color TV. It’s Changhong, a famous brand! When her family bought a TV the year before last, it was glorious, but that 14-inch small black and white TV couldn’t compare with this thing at all!

“Exactly, exactly!” Sister Li on the other side also chimed in. “Doudou looks different, smart and capable. Others said he didn’t do his job properly, now look at him! The red envelope from the boss is enough to buy a TV set. Who can do that!”

A group of middle-aged women chatted chatteringly. Wang Juan only felt dizzier. Unexpectedly, another voice came from outside the door.

“Come, come, the apples are washed. Don’t be polite, everyone eat, everyone eat.”

Isn’t this Doudou’s voice?! Wang Juan turned her head suddenly and saw her son walking over with a big basin of apples, smiling.

“Red Fuji, crisp and sweet, delicious.”

“Oh my, Doudou, why are you so polite!”

Suddenly, a chorus of modest refusals rang out, but the movements of taking apples were not slow at all. If it were someone else’s family, they might have wanted to decline. But the old Chen family was so developed, wasn’t it only natural to eat an apple from them?

In just a blink of an eye, the apples in the basin were snatched clean, and the crunching chewing sounds rang out. Wang Juan twitched the corners of her mouth in distress. That must be half a box, right? These old women really have no manners!

After laughing and joking for a long time, until that whatever cartoon finished broadcasting, the neighbors dragged their unsatisfied little brats to say goodbye. Hearing too many compliments, her ears were buzzing. Wang Juan only felt her face was stiff from smiling, and Chen Jianhua beside her had an even stiffer expression, not knowing whether to cry or laugh.

After sending off the guests and closing the door, Chen Yuanming smiled and walked to his parents. “I went to the department store today. It happened that the color TV was in stock, so I moved one back…”

“Moved…” Chen Jianhua’s lips trembled. Buying a color TV is such a big thing, can you just move it home like that!

Wang Juan also frowned in heartache. “Doudou, you really are… You didn’t discuss such a big thing with us. A 20-inch color TV! How much does it cost? How can you buy it just like that…”

“It doesn’t matter.” Chen Yuanming smiled. “I brought 5,000 yuan back this time just to add some things to the family. You didn’t spend the money I sent back properly, how can I be at ease?”

“5,000!” Wang Juan let out a small exclamation. “Why so much? Don’t you keep some for yourself? Besides, if you have spare money, you can save it. You will need it when you get married in the future…”

Chen Yuanming’s eyebrows twitched slightly, and then he piled up a smile again. “What are you saying? Money is for spending. If you don’t spend it, it will depreciate. I can still earn more, what are you afraid of? And people nowadays, who doesn’t dislike the poor and love the rich? You are always stingy at home, getting looked down upon for no reason. As long as I am here, no one can look down on our family!”

These words were powerful and resounding. Wang Juan only felt a burst of heat rushing to her eyes, quickly put the things in her hand on the ground, turned her head and rushed out. Still muttering, “You two wait at home, I’ll have the meal ready soon…”

Chen Jianhua’s lips were still trembling slightly, but in the end, he didn’t say a word. He just reached out his hand and patted his son’s not-so-thick shoulder twice. Then he immediately turned around, lowered his head, and studied the manual and remote control on the table.

Looking at the two elders finding things to do, Chen Yuanming suppressed the bitter smile on his lips.

With the new color TV, the meal was much quieter. Although Chen Jianhua and Wang Juan were eating, their eyes were involuntarily attracted by the programs on the TV. Even a simple advertisement could make them stare for a long time. In fact, in these years, TV was not a rare thing, but the old Chen family had never had such a high-end big item. Usually, even the radio was rarely turned on. Who wouldn’t want to look at such a beautiful color TV a few more times?

Looking at his distracted parents, Chen Yuanming smiled and asked. “Dad, Mom, does the factory have any plans to allocate houses recently? That kind of larger apartment type…”

As soon as the words came out, both of them were stunned. Wang Juan thought for a while and spoke first, “Yes, there are, but they are allocated according to professional title and seniority… This time a new building was built near Xiyuan Park. It is said that each room has 50 or 60 square meters. Several leaders of our branch factory are waiting in line.”

Hearing this news, Chen Yuanming couldn’t help frowning. He wanted to change to a larger house for his family, but the biggest problem now was not money, but that there was no such thing as commercial housing in City L in 1993. At that time, housing reform had not yet begun. Employee housing relied entirely on allocation, based on seniority and professional title, and supply fell short of demand. If front-line workers wanted to get a suitable house, they had to wait at least until after the housing reform in 1994, when a large number of units built self-raised housing. If they could get a number and pay, they could move into a new house.

However, in his previous life, even if their family got a number, they still couldn’t move into the new house in the end. For no other reason, the purchase price of more than 10,000 yuan was not a price the Chen family could afford at that time. After missing that opportunity, it wasn’t until he went north to earn some money that the whole family moved out of this staff dormitory in 1999…

Yes, the time was wrong… In the first few years of the 90s, it was absolutely impossible without money, but having money didn’t necessarily mean smooth sailing. At this time, China had not yet transformed into a money society. Power and status were more omnipotent than money. But now, apart from money, what else could Chen Yuanming bring out?

Sighing softly, Chen Yuanming shook his head. “Forget it, I’ll go to Aunt Liu’s house tomorrow. Isn’t Uncle Sun the office director in the First Branch Factory? Maybe I can get some news from him…”

As soon as these words came out, the room suddenly became quiet. Chen Jianhua and Wang Juan both stopped their chopsticks. Sensing that the atmosphere was wrong, Chen Yuanming also put down his bowl and chopsticks and joked, “What? Am I not allowed to interact with Aunt Liu’s family now? I earn much more than her…”

“Doudou.” Wang Juan abruptly interrupted Chen Yuanming’s words, glanced nervously at her husband, and said, “Your Aunt Liu has already moved away. I guess you won’t be able to see her…”