The days of being a buyer in Siheyuan

"Auntie, what are you saying? Minghui bought it without even discussing it with me. There's not much money left at home."

Yu Li naturally knew that her family had become very prominent, so she planned to talk about Liu Minghui to divert everyone's attention from her family.

"Sister-in-law, I tried to persuade him, but Minghui didn't listen to me."

At this time Liu Dazhuang said a few words in a simple and honest manner.

This made Liu Minghui a little amused and confused. Why did his wife feel like she didn't have any face in the courtyard?

"Well, the money has been spent, and you can listen to it when you are bored at home."

"How can it just stop when nothing happens? Batteries are so expensive. I think it's better to just return it."

Yu Li didn't quite want this and planned to ask Liu Minghui to return it.

"Why don't you give it to our family? Your uncle has always wanted to buy a radio."

Seeing Yu Li's condition, the third aunt thought about buying her, and maybe she could save a lot of money.

"Oh, that won't work. I remember the street office is promoting the idea of ​​bringing electric lights into households. I'll go to the street office later to get it done."

Liu Minghui really wanted to bring the electrical wires in, otherwise he would have to light a kerosene lamp every day when it got dark, which made Liu Minghui very uncomfortable, and there was also a smell of kerosene in the house.

"I seem to have heard of this, but I heard it doesn't seem to be cheap."

Aunt Lin next to him said that he had a large family and often went to the street office to take on some manual work, and he heard a lot of things during this time.

"Really? I'm thinking of lighting up my house, but if it's too expensive, forget it."

Someone next to him was also talking.

"Come on, Yuli, let's listen to the radio."

Liu Minghui arrived at the door of his house, took out a chair and started fiddling with it at the door.

"Let me see how this works."

As Liu Minghui spoke, he pushed the battery in and then erected the antenna.

After turning on the switch, a voice came out.

Yu Li was watching Liu Minghui operate from the side. When she heard the sound, she was also surprised and said, "Oh, there is a sound. What is it saying?"

Liu Minghui adjusted the volume, and then the sound of opera came from the radio.

"A singer."

The three aunts also came over to listen.

Seeing this, Liu Minghui put the radio at the door.

"Just listen here. I'm going to the street office."

After hearing this, Yu Li nodded and said, "Go ahead."

Yu Li had looked unwilling before, but now she was listening with great interest.

It seems that I have underestimated people's feelings about the radio in this age of entertainment scarcity.

Liu Minghui shook his head and smiled as he left the courtyard. The street office was not far from the courtyard and it only took about ten minutes to walk there.

After entering the door, Liu Minghui found a male clerk.

"Hello comrade, what's your name?"

Liu Minghui walked over and greeted him.

"Hello comrade, you can just call me Li Tian."

Li Tian, ​​who was reading a newspaper, answered.

Liu Minghui sat down opposite him.

"Comrade Li Tian, ​​I'm talking to Liu Minghui from Courtyard No. 95. I want to consult you about the issue of electric lighting in our homes."

Li Tian came immediately. You know, he was in charge of this matter, but after so much publicity, not many people came to handle it.

It was a rare opportunity for someone to come and ask, so Li Tian immediately introduced everything in detail.

"That depends on whether there is anyone in your yard who has pulled the wires over first."

"If it were available, it would be cheaper."

"If not, you'll have to pay for pulling the wires from outside the alley first."

After hearing this, Liu Minghui said, "It seems that no one has pulled wires into our courtyard yet. How is the charge calculated?"

"You need to pay first. After the people in your yard have laid the wires, they will share the money and then return it to you."

Li Tian explained and then looked at Liu Minghui with anticipation. Many people gave up the idea at this step. He wanted to see if Liu Minghui could pay the money.

Liu Minghui thought for a while before making a decision.

"How much money do you need for this?"

Seeing that Liu Minghui did not back down, Li Tian was also happy and said, "We need to go and take a look at this in person. Wait for me, I will call the electrician and have him go with us."

Liu Minghui nodded after hearing this.

Not long after, Li Tian came over with a middle-aged man holding a tool kit.

"Comrade Liu Minghui, let's go take a look at the courtyard where you live."

Seeing that everyone was present, Liu Minghui took the two of them towards the courtyard.

After reaching the entrance of the alley, the middle-aged man looked carefully and walked all the way to the courtyard. Before entering the door, the electrician said, "I estimated that this section of the road will cost about 60 yuan."

"Then let's take a look at the courtyard first."

Liu Minghui said this and took the two of them into the courtyard.

When I entered the front yard, I saw Yu Li and the three aunts sitting at the door listening to the radio.

It took several people who were watching to come back to their senses.

"Brother Minghui, who are these two?"

Liu Minghui introduced Yu Li.

"This is Comrade Li Tian from the Street Office, and this is Master Chen, the electrician who is here to help us pull the wires."

On the way, Liu Minghui already knew the electrician's name.

"Oh, then I'll go get you a glass of water."

After saying that, Yu Li went into the house to pour some water.

"Comrade Liu, you will live in this house, right?"

Li Tian asked after looking around.

"Yes, these three rooms are mine, and I intend to install an electric light in each of them."

Liu Minghui pointed to the east wing and said.

"Well, they are all yours, and you still want to install a light bulb in each one?"

Li Tian was a little surprised. He didn't expect that this ordinary person could be so powerful.

At this time, the third aunt next to him said, "Comrade Li, Minghui is the deputy section chief of the steel mill. It's easy for him to install a light bulb."

Now Li Tian understood. It turned out that he was a cadre. No wonder he could be given three houses.

"I want to ask, how much does this cost?"

The main reason was that the three aunts also wanted to run electrical wires into their homes, and planned to let Liu Minghui try it first.

"Auntie, this is different for every household. It depends on where your home is located."

“My family lives just across the street.”

The third aunt pointed to the west wing opposite and said.

"Comrade Liu, your house is not far from the entrance. It will cost about fifteen yuan."

"Including the outside wires and three lights, it will cost about 80 yuan, what do you think?"

Before Liu Minghui could answer, the three aunts next to him were startled and said in surprise: "Eighty, why is it so expensive?"

Electrician Master Chen didn't get angry when he saw it. He could only explain in detail that the cost of the outside electrical wires needed to be shared equally by everyone in the courtyard.

After hearing this, the third aunt waved her hands and said, "Forget it, I won't install any more wires in my house."