50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 473 A Naive News Station
When the two arrived home, it was almost 7 p.m. The nanny, Yang Guihua, had already prepared dinner and was keeping it warm on the stove.

Sun Hongying and Sun Aiguo both went home today, but they didn't eat first; instead, they waited for Tong Jiajia to come back.

They were overjoyed to see Sun Zhiwei and Tong Jiajia return together.

Sun Zhiwei went abroad just before May Day last year, and they haven't seen him for more than half a year.

After chatting for a while, the group prepared to eat, and the first thing Sun Hongying did was to turn on the TV.

Yang Guihua hurried to the vegetable garden to pick tomatoes. She wanted to add some scrambled eggs, knowing that men have big appetites and that without vegetables, there might not be enough to eat tonight.

While the two children went to serve the dishes, Sun Zhiwei took off his coat and sat down to watch TV.

At that time, television was scarce, and the only channels available were CCTV and Beijing TV. Right now, CCTV-1 is on.

The previous program was a lecture on basic mathematics for middle school students: Algebra (3). The content has ended, and the ending credits are playing.

The food was brought out from the kitchen, and Yang Guihua's scrambled eggs were ready. Everyone started eating and watching TV.

Soon, the clock struck seven o'clock, and the evening news began.

He found it particularly interesting to see such an old-fashioned news broadcast opening sequence on TV.

At that time, there was little experience in making television programs, and news was not as formal as it would be later; many things were still in the process of exploration.

But it is clear that some deeply ingrained traits had already begun to emerge at this time.

For example, the three-part news principle:

The first ten minutes show how busy the leaders are; the middle ten minutes show how happy the people in China are; and the last ten minutes show how people in other countries around the world are living in dire straits.

Of course, because news sources are limited now, the news broadcast also includes some content sent from local stations.

Many of these are stories that will never appear in national news again.

Just like today, during the domestic news segment, they actually broadcast a news report about the opening of a teahouse in Chengdu. This was clearly a local news report submitted by Chengdu TV.

My goodness! If this happened decades from now, just this opening announcement alone would have cost that teahouse a billion or eight hundred million!

It has to be said that since we got a TV at home, everyone eats much slower. After the half-hour news broadcast ended, Sun Zhiwei extracted three key points from it.

First, we reiterate the importance of having one child; second, the Gezhouba Dam project successfully completed the closure of the main river dam; third, a direct China-Myanmar air route has been opened.

That's alright. There's one useful piece of news: he won't have to transfer through the small town anymore when he returns to the US.

After the news ended and the weather forecast started, everyone sped up their meal, finishing their food in a few bites. They then helped Yang Guihua clear the table before gathering around Sun Zhiwei.

"Dad, did you bring me a gift?" The daughter always got straight to the point, and even the son looked over expectantly.

“I didn’t know what you guys liked, but I happened to see those sunglasses that young people are into, so I got a pair for you and your brother each.”

"Yay! Great! Where is it? I'll go get it."

"It's piled up in the basement with a lot of other things. Your mother and I will find it and bring it to you later."

"I'll help you tidy up." Then she dashed off to the kitchen to find her sunglasses in the basement, and Sun Aiguo followed her sister.

Helpless, Sun Zhiwei could only use his spatial ability to throw a box of sunglasses into the basement warehouse, along with a bunch of supplies he'd smuggled from the M Army base. Seeing their impatient manner, and worried they'd make a mess of the basement, Tong Jiajia stood up and said to Sun Zhiwei:

"Let's go down and pack up. Are there any fragile items you brought back? We don't want them to break."

"Wait a minute, keep this with you. Tomorrow we'll go to the Friendship Store and see if we can buy a big freezer, otherwise meat won't keep well in the summer."

Sun Zhiwei took out an envelope containing money from his bag and handed it to Tong Jiajia.

Tong Jiajia curiously opened the envelope, only to be startled to find a large amount of foreign exchange certificates inside.

"Where did you get so many foreign exchange certificates?"

"I brought back foreign currency from abroad. Don't worry, it's from a legal source, and the higher-ups know about it. You can use it with peace of mind."

Hearing that it was legal, Tong Jiajia felt relieved.

She knew Sun Zhiwei's ability to make money very well. Even during the most difficult period 20 years ago, her family never lacked meat. Now that things have opened up, it's even more of a problem.

"Then I'll keep it." Tong Jiajia happily ran to the bedroom, hiding the money somewhere, and he was too lazy to use his spatial storage to check.

"Okay, put it away and hurry downstairs. I remember I brought back quite a lot of red wine, so I don't want the two kids to break it."

This time, he received quite a lot of red wine and steak, and he put some in the cellar. The rest were all miscellaneous items. Old M's officer supplies were really a mess.

It seems we should get a freezer for the house, otherwise we won't be able to preserve meat for long. I think the Friendship Store sells freezers; I'll take Tong Jiajia to check it out tomorrow.

As the two walked down from the kitchen to the basement, they heard cheers from Sun Hongying and Sun Aiguo below. It seemed they had found the box containing the sunglasses.

Sure enough, he immediately saw Sun Hongying rush out of a room carrying a box.

Sun Aiguo followed closely behind, calling out, "Sister, save a few for me."

Tong Jiajia held her forehead and grabbed Sun Hongying, saying, "You stop right there."

When she saw the box full of sunglasses, she looked at Sun Zhiwei speechlessly and asked, "How many sunglasses did you bring back for them?"

Sun Zhiwei chuckled awkwardly and said, "Not many, just this one box. I also gave three pairs to Lao Xu."

Tong Jiajia didn't say anything more after hearing this. Instead, she confiscated the entire box of sunglasses and then said to the two children, "One pair for each of you. Come back to me if you break them."

Faced with the tyrannical Tong Jiajia, the two dared not struggle and could only nod and agree with their heads down.

Seeing their pitiful state, Sun Zhiwei could only discuss it with Tong Jiajia:

"Jiajia, this kind of thing isn't rare abroad. It's sold everywhere. Don't be too fussy about it. Just let them take a few to give to their friends."

That's the truth. Sunglasses are very common in the US. Although they are used by US Air Force pilots, they are purchased from abroad and are essentially civilian supplies.

After advising Tong Jiajia, he turned to the two younger children and said, "You two remember this: these sunglasses are not uncommon outside, but they are still quite rare in China."

“You can give these to your very close friends, but you are absolutely not allowed to sell them for money. Otherwise, if you get caught, don’t expect me and your mother to bail you out.”

(End of this chapter)