60s: I have a store

Chapter 638 Popcorn

Without waiting for a response from Zhou Yimin and the others, Grandma Zhou turned around and rushed into the kitchen.

Zhou Yimin wanted to help, but his grandmother pushed him out, saying, "You talk to the guests, I'll take care of the kitchen!"

Lu Guofu quickly said, "No need to trouble yourself."

However, Zhou Yimin's grandmother ignored her and continued cooking.

Zhou Yimin could only lead Lu Guofu into the living room.

Lu Guofu glanced into the living room unintentionally, and his gaze suddenly froze.

There was a black television set sitting on the cabinet against the wall in the living room!
The screen wasn't large, and the casing was made of matte black plastic. It also had two small speakers at the bottom. Although it wasn't turned on, he had only ever seen its square shape when showing movies at the homes of some high-ranking officials.

I never expected to see it at Zhou Yimin's house today.

Unable to resist, she walked over to the television, cautiously reaching out her hand, but didn't dare touch it. She just stared at the television for a long time, muttering, "Yimin, your family... has a television?"

Zhou Yimin didn't hide anything: "It was a reward from the factory before. Maybe you were out showing a movie that day, Uncle Lu, so you didn't know."

Lu Guofu also knew that Zhou Yimin had invented many things for the steel plant, so it was understandable that the plant would reward him with such a valuable TV series.

Soon, the sizzling sound of stir-frying came from the kitchen, and the aroma of cured meat mixed with the fragrance of eggs wafted out.

Although Lu Guofu had no shortage of food, it was still difficult for him to eat well.

Before years of famine, people could occasionally improve their lives, but now, when they go to the countryside to show movies, it's good enough if they can get something to eat; it's practically impossible to eat well.

So when I smelled such a delicious meaty aroma, I couldn't help but swallow hard.

A short while later, Grandma brought out two dishes: one was stir-fried cured pork with green peppers, the glistening cured pork gleaming red, and the green peppers crisp and refreshing.

The other dish was scrambled eggs with scallions. The golden eggs were coated with scallions, and it looked delicious with rice.

"I'm so sorry, we don't have much good stuff at home, so I just cooked a couple more dishes..." Grandma said politely as she set out the dishes.

Lu Guofu hurriedly said, "Auntie, you're too kind! These are all good things!"

This meal was even more lavish than what we ate during the Chinese New Year.

So what else is there to complain about?

During the meal, Zhou Yimin and his grandmother kept putting food on Lu Guofu's plate.

"Yimin, this bowl is almost too big for your aunt, you don't need to be so polite."

Zhou Yimin felt a little embarrassed when he saw that the food was piled higher than the bowls.

"Uncle Lu, it's alright, eat more."

The old man then took out a bottle of Moutai: "Xiao Lu, is it alright if I call him that?"

Lu Guofu quickly replied, "Uncle, of course there's no problem with you calling me that!"

Putting aside Zhou Yimin's current connections at the steel plant, there shouldn't be any problems just because the old man is so old.

"Alright! Xiao Lu, would you like some?" The old man pointed to the Moutai.

Lu Guofu's eyes widened immediately, but remembering that he still had work to do later, he could only reluctantly say, "Uncle, I won't drink it. We're going to show a movie later."

Normally, he would have agreed, but since a movie is going to be shown later, which is a delicate matter, he can't afford to ruin his reputation.

Zhou Yimin then smoothed things over: "Grandpa, Uncle Lu wants to show a movie. We can drink after the movie!"

The old man also said, "Yimin is right, let's not drink now."

He then placed the Moutai on the ground.

Lu Guofu breathed a sigh of relief. Although he could hold back now, he couldn't guarantee that he would be able to resist the aroma of the wine.

Lu Guofu hadn't eaten this much in a long time. Looking at his round belly, he couldn't help but shake his head.

It seems that I can't work without taking a break.

In order for the village to be able to watch a movie as soon as possible, Zhou Yimin said to Lu Guofu, "Uncle Lu, you two take a break and have some tea. I'll go find the old Party Secretary and ask him to arrange a few people to help you set up the frame and pull up the screen so that we can get the preparations done quickly."

When Lu Guofu heard that someone was willing to help, he did not refuse: "That's good. If I were to do it all by myself, I would have to set up the projector, hang the screen, and connect the wires. With the help of the villagers, it will definitely save me a lot of trouble."

This kind of thing happens frequently in rural areas, and people don't refuse it.

Zhou Yimin smiled and agreed, then turned and walked out.

The old Party Secretary's house is not far from Zhou Yimin's house; it's only a few minutes' walk.

Pushing open the courtyard gate, I saw the old Party Secretary sitting in the yard, still holding a pipe in his hand.

"Old Party Secretary!" Zhou Yimin called out as soon as he entered the courtyard.

The old Party Secretary looked up and saw it was him, then quickly stood up: "Yimin, has the projectionist finished eating?"

"I just finished eating, and I came here to talk to you about this." Zhou Yimin walked over to the old Party Secretary and sat down in the empty seat next to him.

He then added, "Uncle Lu is all alone. Setting up the frame and hanging the screen takes a lot of time. Could you arrange for a few people to go to the threshing ground to lend a hand? That way, we can get the preparations done faster and start showing the movie sooner, so everyone can get into the spirit of the event sooner."

Upon hearing this, the old Party Secretary immediately slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "That's easy! I'll go get the people right away!"

As he spoke, he walked out of the house and called out to the side, "Daqiang! Erhu! Jianjun! You guys come to the threshing ground right now! There's work to be done!"

Upon hearing this, the people living next to the old Party Secretary's house all came out of their homes.

Zhou Daqiang asked, "Old Party Secretary, why are you in such a hurry to see us? Is there something you need?"

The old Party Secretary didn't hide anything: "You all go to the threshing ground later and help the projectionist set up the frame."

Zhou Jianjun couldn't help but ask again, "Old Party Secretary, what did you just say? Does that mean we can see a movie tonight?"

“Yes!” the old Party Secretary replied.

"Remember, follow Yimin's instructions later."

Zhou Jianjun and the others said in unison, "Old Party Secretary, don't worry!"

They thought they would have to wait several days to see a movie, but they didn't expect that Zhou Yimin would go to the projectionist in the morning and be able to watch a movie that evening.

They suddenly felt full of energy, and all they wanted was to get things done as soon as possible so they could watch the movie sooner.

Soon the old Party Secretary led Zhou Jianjun and the others home, where they saw Zhou Yimin sitting in a chair waiting.

Zhou Yimin was surprised by the old Party Secretary's efficiency; he found three people to help him in one go.

"Old Party Secretary, let's leave now."

The old Party Secretary couldn't wait to leave so he could watch the movie sooner.

Soon Zhou Yimin took Zhou Jianjun and the others home.

Lu Guofu needed to rest because he had eaten too much.

Zhou Yimin invited Zhou Jianjun and the others to sit down first, and even brought out some peanuts and melon seeds.
"Don't be shy, have some."

Zhou Jianjun and the others didn't stand on ceremony; they chatted and ate peanuts and melon seeds at the same time.

About an hour later, Lu Guofu, having rested, said, "Yimin, let's go!"

Zhou Yimin nodded. It had to be done sooner or later, so it was better to finish it quickly. Soon, led by Zhou Yimin, Lu Guofu and the others arrived at the threshing ground.

Since there were enough people, they didn't bring motorcycles over; they had Zhou Jianjun and the others carry the projector and other equipment over.

Zhou Yimin said, "Put it down gently."

Zhou Jianjun and the others knew how precious these things were, and even if Zhou Yimin hadn't said anything, they would have handled them with care.

Then they gently placed the projector and film box on the ground.

Lu Guofu was thinking about how to set up this movie stand, and soon he had an idea.

Zhou Yimin said, "Uncle Lu, the people have arrived. Please give your instructions!"

Lu Guofu quickly pointed to the steel pipes on the ground: "Please have everyone set up these bamboo poles to form a projection frame, just up to my chest. Then set up the screen over there and fix it between the two wooden poles. Be careful not to scratch the screen."

Zhou Jianjun and the others replied, "Okay!"

Daqiang and Erhu were strong and were responsible for lifting the heavy bamboo. They worked together perfectly when building the frame.

Zhou Jianjun is skillful; he carefully secured the screen with rope, afraid of making even the slightest mistake.

Zhou Yimin was also busy, helping Lu Guofu connect the wires and occasionally handing him tools.

With everyone working together, the pre-production work for the film is proceeding smoothly.

The old Party Secretary was still a little worried, so he went to the threshing ground and saw that the progress was very good. It seemed that they could watch a movie that evening.

Feeling happy at the thought, he put his hands behind his back and slowly continued his patrol of the village.

The commotion at the threshing ground quickly spread throughout the village.

The first to gather around were a few teenagers. They had been chasing and playing at the village entrance, but when they heard the noise from the threshing ground, they immediately stopped and stood on tiptoe to look inside.

When the children saw people setting up scaffolding and moving the screen, their eyes lit up and they swarmed over, some squatting on the ground to look at the bamboo.

Some reached out to touch the projector's case, but Zhou Yimin saw them and quickly stopped them, saying, "Laifu, you can't touch it."

Upon hearing his elder brother's words, Lai Fu immediately stopped what he was doing and looked at Zhou Yimin with a guilty expression.

She was afraid of being scolded by Zhou Yimin; if that happened, she would definitely get a beating when she got home.

Seeing that he didn't touch it, Zhou Yimin immediately breathed a sigh of relief: "Laifu, this projector is very precious, you can't just touch it."

"Go and distribute this candy to everyone, and the rest is yours."

When Laifu saw the candy, his unhappy mood vanished instantly.

Then he gave each of his friends a candy, and the few left over went into Laifu's pocket.

Laifu approached Zhou Yimin and asked, "Brother, is this the movie projector? When does it start?"

Zhou Yimin answered truthfully, "We can watch it tonight. You guys go back first, and you can come over after dinner."

Upon hearing this, those present left one after another, and the news quickly spread throughout Zhoujiazhuang.

After an afternoon of hard work, we finally finished all the preparations for showing the movie.

Zhou Yimin glanced at the time and, seeing that it was almost time, said, "Daqiang, you two stay here and watch over these things. Don't let anyone else touch them."

"Otherwise, we won't be able to see the movie tonight."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Daqiang and the others immediately perked up: "Uncle Sixteen, don't worry, we will definitely keep a close eye on things."

Zhou Yimin felt relieved after receiving an affirmative answer from Zhou Daqiang and the others.

"Uncle Lu, let's go back first, have dinner, and then come back."

Lu Guofu did not refuse. After working all afternoon, he had already used up the food he ate at noon.

"it is good."

After tidying up, the two headed towards Zhou Yimin's house.

I got home quickly and found that Grandma Zhou Yimin was already making dinner, and it was quite a feast.

It was no worse than in the morning, so Zhou Yimin hurried inside to help, leaving only the old man and Lu Guofu in the living room.

It can only be said that Lu Guofu is a natural at showing movies; he can talk about anything and everything, and soon he became familiar with the old man.

Zhou Yimin and his companion were not idle either; in less than half an hour, they brought out a sumptuous dinner.

When Lu Guofu saw the braised pork and scrambled eggs, he couldn't help but swallow hard.

"Yimin, isn't this meal a bit too lavish?"

Zhou Yimin said with a smile, "Uncle Lu, it's just a simple home-cooked meal!"

Soon the four of them started eating. At first, they were able to be a little reserved, but when they found the braised pork too delicious, they all began to eat more heartily.

As expected, Lu Guofu ate too much again, but fortunately there was still some time before dark, so he could rest for a while.

Lu Guofu was thinking that he hadn't expected to eat so much at Zhou Yimin's house twice, and he was stuffed at both meals. He could only say that Zhou Yimin's food was just too delicious.

Zhou Yimin went into the room mysteriously, then bought popcorn kernels from the store and went into the kitchen.

When Grandma Zhou Yimin saw this, she went inside and asked, "Yimin, what are you doing?"

Zhou Yimin was startled by the sudden sound. When he saw it was his grandmother, he remained mysterious and said, "Grandma, I'll get you something nice to eat. You can go outside and wait here!"

Without saying much, Grandma Zhou Yimin nodded in agreement. Although she was also curious, since Zhou Yimin had said so, she could only obediently walk out.

The old man asked, "Old woman, what is Yimin doing going in there?"

Grandma Zhou Yimin replied, "I don't know, she just said she was making something delicious and then kicked me out."

This immediately piqued the curiosity of the three people, who sat in the living room, patiently waiting for Zhou Yimin's delicious cooking.

Zhou Yimin first poured some corn oil into the pot, and when he saw the oil get hot, he poured in the corn kernels.

Only a small amount should be poured out at once, and the kernels need to be heated evenly to turn them into popcorn.

Soon Zhou Yimin saw the first corn kernel pop into popcorn, and then the pot lid was used to cover it.

"Bang!"

However, the noise was quite loud, and all three people in the living room heard it. Thinking something had happened, they quickly went to the kitchen.

However, on the way there, a constant "cracking" sound kept ringing out.

Worried that Zhou Yimin might be in danger, the old man rushed into the kitchen.

Upon entering the kitchen and seeing that Zhou Yimin was safe and sound, I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yimin, what are you making that's so delicious? It's making such a racket."

Zhou Yimin hadn't expected making popcorn to cause such a commotion, so he could only honestly answer, "Grandpa, I'm making popcorn."

Soon there was no more movement from the pot. Zhou Yimin removed the lid and said, "Grandpa, you should try it."

The old man looked at what Zhou Yimin was holding. Although he found it a bit strange, he still took a bite and discovered that it was sweet: "Delicious."

(End of this chapter)