1979: The child's mother is a celestial being.

Chapter 51 A Little Goodbye Is Better than a New Marriage

That evening, after Chen Fusheng finished talking about his job transfer at the dinner table, he immediately brought up the issue of repaying the money that he had been discussing with his wife in the bedroom.

Unexpectedly, the parents refused the money for the house purchase, and their attitude was very firm, as if they would get angry if they tried to persuade them any further.

Therefore, the matter had to be dropped.

But now that Chen Fusheng is a father, he can understand and empathize with his parents' thoughts at this time.

In their minds, buying this wedding house for their son, even though it used up their life savings, was something they did willingly, without expecting anything in return, and even felt it was their responsibility.

It's not that it was just borrowed.

Therefore, Chen Fusheng and his wife naturally do not need to repay the money.

Similarly, a mother-in-law won't take back the thousand yuan she gave her daughter just because her son-in-law is now rich.

"What should we do, honey? My parents don't want our money."

In the bedroom, Liu Xiaoli came out after taking a shower and saw that Chen Fusheng had put their daughter to sleep again. She spoke to him in a low voice.

"If they don't want it, they don't want it. I can't force them to accept it."

After answering his wife's question, Chen Fusheng carefully placed his daughter in the crib. However, the little one seemed quite sensitive; she almost woke up as soon as she was out of his arms. Startled, Chen Fusheng quickly patted her little bottom gently and hummed a nursery rhyme to her.
"Little rabbit, white as ever, with two ears standing up straight, adorable..."

Seeing that his daughter's breathing gradually calmed down, Chen Fusheng breathed a sigh of relief.

Turning around, I saw my wife looking at the bankbook, so I asked, "How much wealth do we have now?"

"Twenty-three thousand seven hundred yuan," Liu Xiaoli said with delight.

Of course, this doesn't include change.

"Then let Mom help look after Xixi tomorrow. We'll go to the Friendship Store. I'm thinking of buying a TV and a washing machine for our house and the house where my parents live. What do you think, honey?"

Chen Fusheng suggested, and this idea had been brewing in his mind ever since his parents refused to accept money at the dinner table.

"These are all large items, don't you need receipts?"

Although some ration coupons have been gradually phased out since the beginning of this year, Liu Xiaoli still believes that large items like televisions and washing machines should still require coupons to purchase.

"Yes, you need a ticket, but I have foreign exchange certificates, so I said I'd buy it at the Friendship Store."

During this period, Friendship Stores mainly sold foreign goods, and foreign exchange certificates were required to purchase them.

Foreign exchange certificates are different from tickets. Tickets are issued by the government on a monthly basis according to the needs of individuals or families.

Foreign exchange certificates, on the other hand, require you to have foreign currency. They are a special purchase certificate issued to you during a special period, after the exchange rate between your foreign currency and RMB is calculated.

For example, Chen Fusheng's US$10,000 is equivalent to RMB 15,000, so he now has RMB 15,000 in foreign exchange certificates.

The reason why Friendship Stores set such a high threshold for ordinary people is essentially because China is too poor and has very little foreign exchange reserves. It has no choice but to adopt such an incentive strategy to encourage relatives and friends abroad to send money to their relatives in China, thereby increasing China's foreign exchange reserves.

It sounds a bit heartbreaking, but the country was poor, and there was nothing they could do.

Moreover, this method has indeed earned the country a lot of foreign exchange.

Liu Xiaoli listened to her husband's words and hesitated to speak.

What she really meant was that making money isn't easy, and we should be more frugal.

However, it seems inappropriate to say that her husband earned 20,000 yuan in just six months.

In addition, they not only buy things for themselves, but also for their parents, which involves filial piety.

This made it difficult for her to persuade him, so she simply stopped trying.

"Anyway, you earned the money, so you can spend it however you want."

Chen Fusheng could tell that although his wife had agreed to his suggestion, there was still a hint of resentment in her words.

However, coaxing his wife was also one of Chen Fusheng's special skills.

"Honey, are you unhappy with my suggestion?"

Chen Fusheng walked over and put his arm around Liu Xiaoli's shoulder.

"No... Waaah..."

As the saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder, and tonight the weather is cooperating, as it started raining outside the window not long after!
One moment it was pouring rain, the next it was a light drizzle. ...

The next day, Chen Fusheng didn't get up until noon.

He dawdled and didn't take his wife out until the afternoon.

"Huh, there are diapers here."

"Hello comrade, how much are these diapers?"

As soon as Chen Fusheng and Liu Xiaoli entered the Friendship Store, they spotted diapers on the shelf and immediately asked the salesperson about the price.

"15 yuan a pack."

Holy crap, that's expensive?

Even though Chen Fusheng had mentally prepared himself for the price, he still didn't expect a pack of diapers to cost fifteen yuan.

Liu Xiaoli was also shocked by the price and quickly pulled Chen Fusheng away, afraid that he would impulsively buy it for his daughter.

However, Chen Fusheng wanted to give his daughter the best, but he wasn't a sucker.

He could barely accept five yuan a pack, but fifteen yuan a pack, he could only say: Actually, using cloth diapers is quite good, at least cloth diapers are more environmentally friendly, and they can be reused after washing and drying!
Color TVs were already available in my country by 1980, and they were mainly imported from neighboring countries. The sizes available were 12 inches, 14 inches, 18 inches, and 20 inches.

The prices are very high. Even a 12-inch TV costs around 800 or 900 yuan, while the cheapest 20-inch TV is priced at 2380 yuan.

After hearing the salesperson quote the price, Liu Xiaoli wanted to back out again.

However, Chen Fusheng still insisted on buying it because he knew that the meaning of his hard work in earning money was not to deposit it in the bank and wait for it to depreciate.

It was to provide a better life for their families.

"It's too expensive, Sheng-ge. Let's not buy it. I think a black and white TV is pretty good too." Liu Xiaoli felt heartbroken and couldn't breathe when she thought about Chen Fusheng wanting to buy two of these color TVs that cost more than two thousand yuan each.

“A television can last for several years. If you’re going to buy one, buy a good one. Otherwise, you’ll have to replace it in a couple of years, which will be a waste of money,” Chen Fusheng advised. “Besides, my foreign exchange certificates have an expiration date. If I don’t use them now, they’ll expire.”

Liu Xiaoli couldn't argue with Chen Fusheng, so in the end she could only let him buy two 20-inch color TVs and two twin-tub semi-automatic washing machines.

Including shipping and installation costs, as well as other miscellaneous items they bought, their expenses for the day exceeded 7,300 yuan.

In the evening, he inevitably received a long scolding from his elders.

"You brat, you've really grown up, haven't you? It's a matter of several thousand dollars, and you didn't even discuss it with me or your dad before making a decision for us. Are you trying to drive me crazy?"

“If I discuss it with you, you definitely won’t agree,” Chen Fusheng explained in a muffled voice.

"You knew we didn't agree, yet you still bought it? And Xiaoli, why didn't you try to persuade him? You two really don't know how to manage money once you have it."

Yang Hongmei was genuinely angry.

After scolding her son, she wanted him to return the items.

But Chen Fusheng was fine with being scolded a couple of times; once he was asked to withdraw, he started acting like a scoundrel.

Finally, the mother-in-law stepped in to mediate, and the matter was thus resolved.

In the blink of an eye, Chen Fusheng had been at home for half a month. During this time, he hadn't just been a stay-at-home dad. First, he gave two interviews to local media, and second, he took care of his work-related matters.

"Tomorrow is National Day, Brother Sheng, your movie 'Cow' will be showing in theaters tomorrow, right?"

"Correct."

"Our activity for this year's National Day holiday is for the whole family to go to the movies together."

Chen Fusheng said, "Qianqian is too young. It would be troublesome if she cried and fussed if we took her to the movie theater. So you guys go to the movies tomorrow, and I'll stay home and take care of the child."

Liu Xiaoli said coquettishly, "I want you to come with me."

"What about our daughter?"

Just as the mother-in-law was about to speak, her grandmother interrupted, "I'll bring my precious granddaughter tomorrow, and you can go to the movies. It's settled then."

　I've modified the sensitive words; I don't know if it will pass. If it does, I'll delete it after the chapter is released tomorrow.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)