Mrs. He looked at the bananas in the basin and said regretfully, "I heard from He Lang that Ruanruan loves these. With so many already peeled, there won’t be any left if she wants more later."
"It’s okay, Mom. We can just buy more. Call Little Chen and Xiao Yang out, too. We’ll finish them all tonight."
Mrs. He had no choice but to shout toward the second family’s rooms, "Little Chen, Xiao Yang, co out and eat so bananas!"
Before long, several children were standing there, staring eagerly at the bananas in the basin. Xiao Yang and Tuanzi, in particular, kept swallowing, their mouths watering.
"Grandma, are bananas good?"
"Grandma hasn’t tried them either." Mrs. He had seen them before when He Lang had so, and he’d offered her one, but she had refused. ’This stuff is expensive,’ she thought. ’It’s fine as long as the children get to eat.’
As she spoke, Mrs. He gave one to each child, leaving a few in the basin.
Xue Yue watched them and said, "Mom, you should have one too."
Mrs. He waved her hand dismissively. "We aren’t craving any. Let the children eat."
Xue Yue glanced at the children, who were wolfing down the bananas. "Mom, you should try one. There are plenty. We can divide the rest among the children later. My brother said you can’t eat too many of these at once, or you’ll get an upset stomach."
Mrs. He was taken aback. "Is that really a thing?"
Xue Yue nodded.
"Oh my, in that case, we should have the children eat a little less. Co on," she said to Mr. He, "let’s try one too."
Mrs. He also had Little Chen take one inside to Gao Cuiyun.
Seeing that they were eating, Xue Yue picked up the basin and left.
Xue Xingzhou didn’t go ho that night. He was also worried about Ruanruan, fearing she might feel sick in the middle of the night.
Unexpectedly, however, Ruanruan slept soundly until dawn. It was Xue Yue who, consud by worry, woke up several tis and couldn’t sleep well. Being pregnant already, the lack of sleep made her even more exhausted.
In the morning, Xue Xingzhou cooked breakfast again.
After breakfast, Xue Yue went back to catch up on her sleep. Ruanruan, after obediently finishing her food, went to play with big brother Tie Dan.
「A few days later」
He Lang returned, and this ti he brought back sothing big.
Last fall, power lines had been installed from the town to the surrounding villages, so Da Liushu Village now had electricity.
On this trip, He Lang had made a special visit to the departnt store to look at televisions.
With a large box tied to the rack on the back of his bicycle, He Lang was imdiately surrounded the mont he entered the village.
"Hey, He Lang, what did you buy? It’s huge!"
"It’s a television, Granny."
"What’s that? Is it good to eat?"
"Granny Wang, stop joking around. You’ve never heard of a television? It’s not for eating, it’s for watching."
"For watching? What is there to watch? Don’t tell it’s a flower."
"Agh, there’s no explaining it to you. He Lang, how much did you pay for this television?"
"Around two hundred."
"What? Two hundred?" Granny Wang smacked her lips and shook her head. "Good heavens! Not even the most beautiful flower in the world could be that expensive."
Everyone gasped at the price. "Wow, two hundred yuan! We could never afford that. Only soone like you could buy one. It seems factory workers really make good money."
He Lang slowly pushed his bicycle through the crowd and reached his front gate, but a group of people still followed close behind.
"He Lang, this old woman is going to see for herself what a two-hundred-yuan flower looks like today."
He Lang gave a helpless smile and knocked on the door.
When Xue Yue opened the door, she saw He Lang standing at the entrance with a whole crowd of people behind him. She looked at him in confusion. ’What’s going on?’
He Lang shrugged. "Everyone wants to see the television I bought."
Only then did Xue Yue notice the big box tied to the bicycle’s rear rack. "You bought a television?" she asked, surprised.
"Mhm."
Once inside the courtyard, He Lang parked his bicycle and started untying the television. He didn’t even need to ask for help; several villagers imdiately went over and helped him carry it down and into the house.
Xue Yue couldn’t even get inside; the crowd had already packed the doorway.
Before long, Mr. and Mrs. He also ca rushing over with Ruanruan.
Mrs. He asked urgently, "I heard our third son bought a television? Is it true?"
Xue Yue pointed helplessly toward the house. "It’s true, Mom. It’s inside."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. He imdiately squeezed her way into the room. Mr. He also shuffled up to the doorway and stood on his tiptoes to peek inside.
Ruanruan tugged on Xue Yue’s hand. "Mommy, is Daddy back? Why is everyone crowded around our house? What’s a television?"
Xue Yue looked down at Ruanruan and said, "Daddy bought a television, and everyone is curious. You’ll be able to see it in a little bit, too."
Ruanruan blinked, her gaze following Xue Yue’s to the doorway, which was packed so tightly with people that no one could get through.
A mont later, He Lang erged holding a section of an antenna. He found a long pole and tied the antenna to it.
He then propped it up against a wall and shouted into the house, "Do you have a signal yet?"
Soone inside yelled back, "No!"
He Lang moved it to another spot. "How about now?"
"Hey, there’s sothing! A little sothing—argh, it’s gone again! Don’t move! Put it back where it was just now."
"There! We’ve got it now."
He Lang found sothing to secure the antenna in place, then went inside.
The room fell silent as a tomb. Everyone stared with wide eyes at the square box. On its small screen, figures were moving and sounds were playing. Every face shone with excitent and curiosity.
An anti-Japanese war drama was playing. The screen was filled with a hail of bullets, and the onlookers were thrilled.
Hearing the sounds, Xue Yue walked to the doorway and saw the television sitting on a cabinet. Little Ruanruan was too short to see past the crowd and was getting anxious. Mr. He, who was standing near the door, lifted her into his arms. Now, she could finally see.
Seeing the people on the screen talking, Ruanruan gasped and covered her little mouth in astonishnt.
The entire room watched intently, and not a single person left. After about half an hour, the program ended, and the room erupted in excited chatter.
"Why did it stop? Is that all there is?"
"Yeah, I was just getting to the good part! He Lang, quick, fix it! Make it play again."
"Auntie, I can’t control that. The shows play on a fixed schedule."
"Oh, I see. Tsk, tsk. This television thing is wonderful to watch, just a little too short."
"He Lang, we’ll co back tomorrow at the sa ti to watch again. Don’t you dare lock the door on this old woman!"
"Yes, I’ll be here too."
" too."
Mrs. He rolled her eyes at the crowd. "Alright, that’s enough. Ti for everyone to clear out. With so many of you packed in here, my pregnant daughter-in-law has been stuck in the courtyard, unable to even get inside."
Only then did the crowd look toward the door and see Xue Yue standing there with her pregnant belly, unable to enter. They felt a little embarrassed.
"He Lang’s wife, our apologies! We’re leaving right now."
Xue Yue just smiled.
Soon, everyone had filed out of the house. As they left, Xue Yue could still hear them excitedly discussing what they had seen on television.
Once only the family was left, Mrs. He finally turned to He Lang. "This television wasn’t cheap, was it?"
"Mhm. Over two hundred yuan."
Mrs. He flinched when she heard the price. "Over two hundred? So expensive? That’s even more than a bicycle!"
Then, Mrs. He smacked He Lang hard on the back and scolded him, "Just because you have a little money doesn’t an you should throw it around! Your wife is about to give birth any day now. Don’t tell you spent all your money on this thing?"
He Lang scratched his head. "No, Mom, I still have money left. I was just thinking it would be nice to have sothing to help pass the ti at night."
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