In the fiery red era of the heavens, refrigerators are refreshed daily.

After seeing Political Commissar Yang off, the family of three returned to the main room and sat down again.

On the octagonal table, a few white porcelain teacups still held traces of clear yellow tea, reflecting the intense light streaming in through the window.

The old lady unconsciously stroked the new palm-leaf fan in her hand, the feel of the bamboo strips calming her chaotic thoughts slightly.

With a look of admiration on her face, she slowly swept her gaze over the spot where Political Commissar Yang had just been sitting, and finally broke the silence: "That Political Commissar Yang is a really good person."

Her voice carried the slowness and certainty characteristic of the elderly, "She speaks and acts with a genuine and down-to-earth quality that makes people feel comfortable."

He's an old comrade-in-arms who fought alongside Jianxiong in the same trenches; the bond forged in the fires of war is extraordinary. He genuinely cares about our family's affairs.

Thinking of the camera ticket that Political Commissar Yang gave to his eldest grandson, her tone became somewhat wistful, "It's just... this gift was a bit too extravagant."

They made a special trip to see this useless old woman, just to chat and warm her heart; that's enough of a kindness. The two jars of fruit they brought are quite a treat.

They even gave us such a precious gift... a camera ticket that we wouldn't even dare to dream of normally. I feel so happy, yet also incredibly grateful and indebted.

She even started thinking about what else she could give as a gift next time, since she couldn't accept such a big favor for nothing.

Tian Yufen was tidying up the teacups on the table when she heard this, and her movements slowed down.

After hearing her mother-in-law's words, Tian Yufen looked at her son and said, "Where's the camera ticket? Show it to me. I've never seen one before and don't know what it looks like."

Yang Guangming took out the ticket and handed it to his mother.

She reached out and carefully picked up the exquisitely printed camera ticket with her fingertips, bringing it close to her eyes for a closer look.

Her brows furrowed slightly, forming a shallow "川" shape, and her face showed obvious struggle and conflict. It was an instinctive wariness of unusual expenditures cultivated under long-term material deprivation.

“Mother, you’re right.”

She sighed softly, a sigh tinged with helplessness and a barely perceptible pang of heartache, and gently placed the ticket back on the table. "We certainly appreciate Political Commissar Yang's kindness and will remember it. But this camera..."

She paused again, as if considering her words, "Leaving aside how difficult it is to get these tickets, I heard that they can only be obtained by special units or those with foreign exchange certificates, just buying the camera itself must cost more than a hundred yuan, right?"
I heard that the Seagull brand camera costs this much, and that's the cheapest one.

That's not all. The subsequent film rolls and photo developing—each one costs money. It's a continuous expense.

She looked up at her son, her eyes filled with love and dependence, then glanced at her mother-in-law, seeking her approval, her tone hesitant and admonishing:
"We definitely need to use the bicycle voucher Jianxiong gave us. Having a bicycle at home really makes a big difference."

Buying groceries, carrying things, going to work or school, or running errands can indeed save a lot of effort and avoid many unnecessary detours.

These are necessities we can't live without, so spending money on them is worthwhile.

But this camera…

Her voice lowered, filled with confusion, "Can it keep you fed or clothed? It's just a sightseeing toy, for taking a picture of your shadow and keeping a memento. Spending so much money on it, isn't that... too wasteful? And too conspicuous?"

She was used to a life of careful budgeting, where she would try to stretch every penny to its limit, and she would weigh every little thing, from firewood and rice to oil and salt.

Although she knew that her son was now financially secure and no longer struggling to make ends meet, the thought of spending such a huge sum of money on something that she considered "non-essential" and could neither be eaten nor drunk still bothered her.

Her heart felt like it was being pounded by a small drum, thumping loudly. She instinctively felt waves of heartache and unease, and even vaguely felt that it was a "sin".

The old lady shared the same idea, and it was even more deeply ingrained in her.

She has lived most of her life and experienced too many hardships and poverty, from war and famine to the difficult years of her early years. Frugality and thrift are almost ingrained in her bones and blood.

In her view, money should be spent wisely, not a single grain of food should be wasted, and things that can be used should never be thrown away.

Cameras are beautiful and novel, I've heard they can capture images on paper like magic. But ultimately, they can't be eaten or worn; they're utterly impractical.

But this ticket was given to us by Political Commissar Yang out of kindness; it was a token of his goodwill. It would seem unreasonable to waste it and let him down.

The scales in her heart were swaying between two sides: on one side was the pragmatism accumulated from decades of life experience, and on the other side was the understanding of human relationships and a vague curiosity about new things. She couldn't make up her mind and just felt her heart was in turmoil.

She could only turn her gaze to her grandson, her face showing a mixture of difficulty and dependence, and her wrinkles seemed to deepen even more:

“Guangming, your mother is right. This camera… it’s expensive, and for ordinary people like us, with all our daily needs for food and household chores, we’re really only busy with this camera, so we don’t really use it much. It’ll probably just sit at home collecting dust.”

But this ticket... Commissar Yang brought it all the way with good intentions. It would be a pity to waste it, to squander something good, and to betray people's good intentions.

"This matter... Grandma isn't entirely sure about it either, she's very confused, you should make the decision. You're the pillar of the family now, and you've seen a lot."

She solemnly handed over the final decision-making power to her grandson.

Yang Guangming looked at the obvious struggle and heartache on his mother's and grandmother's faces, and at their slightly hunched backs and rough hands caused by long-term poverty.

Knowing that they are bound by the memories of past poverty, they find it difficult to accept "enjoyment-oriented" consumption that exceeds basic survival needs, and even feel guilty.

He understood their feelings; it was a mark left on many people by an era.

He didn't rush to persuade, but nodded calmly, his tone gentle:

“Mom, Grandma, I understand what you mean. Worrying about money, worrying about impracticality, and fearing waste are all reasonable concerns about living a good life.”

He hesitated for a moment, as if he had made up his mind, and said, "Okay, you wait a moment while I go get something. After you've looked at it, we can discuss it further."

With that, he got up and went into his west room.

The room was small and simply furnished, with a wooden bed, an old desk, and an old-fashioned wardrobe in a dark color against the corner of the wall.

He walked to the wardrobe, opened the door, and took out a wooden box that was neither too big nor too small from the deepest part.

The box itself was unremarkable, even with some wear and tear on the edges and peeling red paint, revealing the natural color of the wood. But what was inside was his explanation and confidence to his family.

He carried the heavy wooden box back to the main room.

He gently placed the box in the center of the eight-immortal table, attracting everyone's attention.

"Grandma, Mom, look at this." Yang Guangming said, reaching out to lift the lid of the box.

Suddenly, a golden, glossy color unexpectedly entered the eyes of Tian Yufen and Qin Lanying.

The box was lined with soft, light yellow oil paper, which made the neatly stacked blocks look even more dazzling.

These pieces of gallstones, deliberately broken by Yang Guangming, varied in size and irregular in shape, but each one was a pure golden yellow with a delicate and oily texture. Under the light of the main room, they seemed to glow on their own, radiating a warm and alluring luster, and a unique and serene fragrance with a faint bitterness wafted out.

Tian Yufen and Qin Lanying were both stunned, their eyes fixed on the dazzling golden yellow, their breath catching in their throats.

The main room was eerily quiet for a moment, with only the occasional chirping of birds returning to their nests coming from outside the window.

Tian Yufen was the first to react; she blinked sharply, as if she had been burned by something.

A thought flashed through her mind: something her son had vaguely mentioned before. A thought she had never dared to think about in detail suddenly surfaced.

Her breathing suddenly became rapid, her chest heaving violently, her eyes widened abruptly, her pupils filled with gold, and her expression was one of disbelief and near terror. Her voice trembled uncontrollably as she tentatively asked in a high-pitched voice:

"Guangming...this...this could be...the bezoar you mentioned before?"

Although my son had mentioned it before, saying that he had acquired some good stuff, exchanged it for money, and made the family better off, seeing such a large quantity and quality of bezoars piled together like a small mountain of gold was a completely different experience in terms of both visual and psychological impact. It was like a thunderclap exploding in my mind.

"Yes, this is bezoar, and it's the highest grade of bezoar, a life-saving treasure."

Yang Guangming nodded firmly, his tone calm, as if stating a perfectly ordinary fact, "They are the same kind that I sold before. They all look the same, they are all top-grade gallstones with the strongest medicinal properties."

He gestured roughly with his hand to indicate the volume of the box, and said seriously, "I roughly estimated that there is more than a thousand grams of bilirubin in here, which is more than two kilograms."

At 80 yuan per gram, the total price here is roughly... over 100,000 yuan. At most, it's more.

"Ten...one hundred thousand!"

Tian Yufen felt as if her tongue was tied in a knot, completely out of her control.

The number struck her like a sudden, devastating blow, hitting her heart with tremendous force. She felt a wave of dizziness, even seeing stars. Instinctively, she reached out and gripped the cold edge of the table to steady her weak body.

One hundred thousand yuan!
This is an astronomical figure that she can't even dream of or imagine! She could only earn four or five hundred yuan a year if she didn't eat or drink, so ten thousand yuan... she would need to work for more than two hundred years!
This was completely beyond her comprehension, leaving her with an almost numb sense of shock.

The old lady gasped, the sound particularly clear in the quiet room.

Her cloudy old eyes were wide open at this moment, staring intently at the box of golden bezoars, as if she wanted to carve them into her pupils.

Hands covered in age spots and blue veins trembled uncontrollably as they reached out, wanting to touch, wanting to confirm if this was just a dream that was too realistic.

Just as his fingertips were about to touch the oily surface, he abruptly pulled back, as if afraid that his rough, weathered fingers would tarnish these gleaming "treasures."

She opened her mouth, making a hoarse sound as if her throat was blocked; her dry lips trembled, but she couldn't utter a single word.

The wrinkles on his face contorted in extreme shock, finally settling into a murmur that was almost a sigh, tinged with a profound sense of disbelief:
"Good heavens... this... this is so much money... ten lifetimes... no, all my ancestors combined have never seen so much money... how much grain could this buy, how many big brick houses could this build..."

She had lived for nearly seventy years and experienced countless hardships and poverty, but never before had she been so overwhelmed by such immense wealth that she was completely disoriented.

Previously, the eldest grandson vaguely said that the family still had bezoars and a financial foundation. They only knew that the family had something to rely on, and they felt at ease, no longer worrying about a few cents or dollars like before.

However, "not lacking money" and "watching something worth 100,000 yuan lying in front of you" are two completely different concepts.

The former is psychological comfort, while the latter is a huge visual and emotional shock and subversion.

At this moment, the real, glittering "100,000 yuan" placed right in front of them completely shattered their long-held values ​​and consumption habits built on a life of hardship.

Seeing his mother and grandmother completely stunned, their faces drained of color and then flushed again, their lips moving but unable to utter a complete sentence, Yang Guang knew that the time was almost right.

He stopped letting the dazzling gold continue to stimulate their fragile nerves, gently closed the lid of the box, and covered the dazzling gold, making the light in the main room seem to dim a little.

Then, he spoke slowly, his voice steady and clear, carrying a comforting power:

"Mom, Grandma, now you see, our family will never have to worry about money again. These bezoars are our family's greatest asset, our peace of mind."

He patiently explained, his tone calm, trying to dispel their last remaining concerns hidden deep within their shock:

"Once I graduate from university and start working, according to national regulations, my monthly salary will be at least fifty yuan, and it will increase with my seniority and professional title."

With two people in the family earning salaries, daily expenses, food, clothing, and other necessities are no problem at all. A steady, consistent income would be enough for us to live much more comfortably than we do now.

He pointed to the box and continued, "Let's keep these bezoars safe and sound, and not use them. Consider them our family's 'gold mine' as a safety net."

"In case of any major emergency in the future that requires a large sum of money, you can always exchange it for cash at a reputable large institution like Tongrentang. This is in accordance with policy, a legitimate source, and there will be no wrongdoing. You can rest assured."

He paused, then emphasized, "Moreover, bezoar is a precious medicinal material that is particularly durable and won't spoil. You don't have to worry about it depreciating; it's even safer than keeping money in the bank. It's there; it won't run away or rot."

His gaze swept over the bicycle ticket and the small camera ticket next to it on the table, and his tone became firm and composed, carrying a determination to guide his family towards a new life:
"Therefore, when it comes to spending money, we really don't need to be as calculating as before, afraid to buy or use anything."

Where resources should be saved, such as grain, we must definitely save – that's fundamental. But where resources should be spent, such as improving our lives or cultivating healthy hobbies, we must be willing to spend and learn to enjoy life.

Money is meant to serve us; we shouldn't become its slaves, living in constant fear.

He picked up the camera ticket, his voice even carrying a hint of longing, which was even more touching to his family: "Just like this camera ticket."

As Mom just said, a bicycle is a necessity, and the reason is obvious: it makes life more convenient.

A camera may not be a necessity, but it has its unique purpose: to make life more meaningful and to preserve memories.

"first."

He looked at his mother and grandmother with sincere eyes, "I have always been very interested in the art of photography. I feel that it can record beautiful moments, freeze time, and turn the flowing into the eternal."

I borrowed relevant books from the school library, such as "Photographic Composition" and "Darkroom Techniques," and had already studied some theoretical knowledge on my own, but I never had the opportunity to put it into practice.

With a camera, I can put the theory into practice by taking photos and developing them myself. This is also a form of learning and improving my skills.

Who knows, I might be able to take promotional photos for factories or organizations in the future; that would be a skill.

Secondly, and more importantly…

His tone softened considerably, his gaze sweeping over his younger sister Shanshan before settling on his grandmother and mother. "With a camera, we can take pictures of our family anytime."

For example, take a photo of Shanshan every year to record how she grows up year by year, from such a little bean to a young lady;

During holidays and festivals, our whole family can take a group photo to commemorate the occasion and show our reunion; we can also take photos to mark Grandma's birthday and Mom's birthday.

Ten or twenty years from now, when we look back at these memories, we'll see how healthy and strong Grandma was, how energetic Mom was, and how mischievous Shanshan was as a child. Those are the most precious memories, memories that money can't buy.

Yang Guangming's passion for photography wasn't as strong as he claimed; it was more about practicality and documentation. But that was indeed a reasonable reason to buy it and could convince his family.

The function of recording the growth and changes of family members and preserving the traces of time has a great and irresistible appeal to elderly women who value family ties and have strong family values.

Sure enough, when she heard her grandson say that he could record Shanshan's growth, take a family photo, and preserve her current appearance, the old lady's eyes lit up instantly.

She seemed to see herself many years later, perhaps too old to walk, wearing reading glasses, sitting in the warm sun, trembling as she stroked the thick photo album, looking at the young faces of her family members in the photos, the upright figure of her grandson, and the bright smile of her granddaughter. How comforting that would be, how it would dispel the loneliness of old age.

Nothing can compare to this spiritual sustenance and warmth, whether it's food or clothing.

The hesitation on her face gradually faded, replaced by a clear longing and approval, and a slight smile of yearning even appeared at the corners of her mouth.

Tian Yufen was also touched by her son's words, especially the words "family portrait" and "recording Shanshan's growth," which deeply touched the softest part of her heart.

Looking at her son's calm and confident face, and then thinking about the box of bezoar worth 100,000 yuan that would have been enough for the family to live comfortably for decades, the string about "money" that had been taut in her heart for many years finally seemed to "pop" and relax.

An unprecedented sense of security and confidence slowly rose from the bottom of my heart.

Yes, the family has a fortune of 100,000 yuan, and their son is so promising, sensible, and resourceful. His future is bright.

Spending a little over a hundred yuan to buy a camera that can record family moments, help my son develop his hobbies, and add color and fun to life seems... not really an excessive thing.

This money was well spent!
The little drum in her heart had stopped beating at some point, replaced by a sense of sudden enlightenment and ease.

"What Guangming said...makes sense."

Tian Yufen let out a soft breath, as if exhaling the heavy burden of many years. The entanglement on her face slowly dissipated, and her brows relaxed.

She looked at her mother-in-law, her tone noticeably softening, "Mother, what do you think? If this camera can really leave a memento for Shanshan and our family, as Guangming said, then... spending this money is worthwhile. That makes sense."

She even started imagining herself holding a camera, taking pictures of her daughter and her mother-in-law.

Seeing that her daughter-in-law had also relented, the old lady Qin Lanying's heart was completely at peace. She no longer hesitated, a relieved and contented smile appearing on her face. She slapped her thigh and declared:
"Alright! We'll do as Guangming says! Buy it! This camera, we'll buy it! In the future, take more pictures of our Shanshan, and take more pictures of this old woman too, so that when we're old and can't walk anymore, and all our teeth have fallen out, we can take them out and look at them to see what we looked like back then!"

Her words carried a lightness and humor that came from letting go of burdens.

Seeing that his mother and grandmother had been persuaded, Yang Guangming breathed a sigh of relief.

He pressed his advantage, saying, "Alright, since you two agree, I'll go to the department store and the designated camera shop tomorrow morning to buy the bicycle and camera together."

The sooner we buy it, the sooner we can use it.

Tian Yufen and Qin Lanying had no further objections at this point, and both nodded, their faces even showing a hint of anticipation.

Tian Yufen even added, with the meticulousness of a matriarch: "Bring enough money, don't settle for less. Buy good quality items, make sure the bicycle is sturdy, and the camera is from a well-known brand, don't go for the cheapest option. Spend the money you need to spend properly."

These words from her were significant, signifying a quiet shift in the family's spending habits.

"Mom, don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I'll make sure to buy the best." Yang Guangming smiled and agreed, her heart filled with anticipation for tomorrow's shopping.

The family chatted for a while about buying a camera and a bicycle, creating a warm and harmonious atmosphere.

Tian Yufen has already started planning whether it would be more convenient to go to a grocery store further away to buy things after buying a bicycle, and whether she could occasionally go out for a stroll outside the city.
Yang Guangming said he bought a camera so he could take some pictures of his grandma and Shanshan in the yard first, and then try it out in the park.
The old lady was also happily thinking about which clothes she should wear to make herself look more energetic in the photo.

The small main room was filled with anticipation and discussion about the new items and lifestyles that were about to arrive.

After a while, Yang Shanshan also ran home from outside and joined the discussion. (End of Chapter)