Chapter 271 Specialties
To get married these days, in addition to preparing a house and furniture, the man must also prepare household appliances.
Four years ago, the "three revolutions and one sound" that families in the Republic sought were bicycles, watches, sewing machines, and radios.
Now it has developed into the new four major items, televisions, washing machines, refrigerators and radio cassette players.
And the gap between the grades of these things is even wider, and they are far more sophisticated than the three turns and one ring back then.
At the very least, color TVs are definitely better than black and white TVs.
A double-cylinder washing machine with spin-drying function is definitely better than a single-cylinder washing machine.
The bigger the "liter" number of the refrigerator, the better. The more speakers the radio cassette player has, the better it is.
As for the original goods imported from Japan, they are the undisputed supreme trump card and definitely represent high quality.
If compared with domestic products, in poker terms, it would be a dead blow!
But on the other hand, there is a shortage of home appliances.
You know, since "Wenhui Po" published the first foreign advertisement for Swiss Radar Watch, although foreign advertisements have come one after another.
Japanese companies even come in groups.
But so far, only Japan's Panasonic has taken the lead in entering the Republic of China market this year, essentially becoming the only large foreign electrical appliance company to carry out economic cooperation with us.
Only with official approval can we set up a joint venture factory and truly expand our products to occupy the market of the Republic.
And don’t look at this year, our country has introduced three more color TV production lines from abroad.
Although our country has only three years of development history of washing machines, its annual output has reached more than two million units.
However, in the face of the country's huge population base, my country's independently produced home appliances are still a drop in the bucket, and supply exceeds demand.
The most obvious evidence is that the newly independent home appliance counter in Wangfujing Department Store is always crowded with people, but color TVs are basically out of stock.
Customers who want to buy come here nine times out of ten and cannot see the goods in stock.
In front of two TV factories in Beijing, scalpers who took color TV tickets from workers had already raised the prices to 800 yuan a piece.
As for what the newspaper said, 70% of Beijing residents already own domestic or imported TV sets.
I’m afraid black and white TVs are still the main ones, mostly nine-inch and 12-inch TVs.
And this data also makes people doubt its authenticity.
Because in the lives of ordinary people, it is a typical scene after sunset.
It was still after dinner, and the small courtyard of the family with a TV became a gathering place for the neighbors.
Even during this period, citizens used their endless imagination in pursuit of good viewing effects.
For example, they can turn a black-and-white TV into color by using blue on top, red on the bottom, and yellow on the bottom.
Or a "plug-in" device that can turn a small TV into a big screen through a magnifying glass.
These clever little inventions constitute the unique popular memory of that era.
But to be honest, the effect is not very good.
What else could be the reason? Isn’t it just that there is no money?
At this time, the first batch of college graduates after the resumption of the college entrance examination only earned fifty-eight yuan and eighty cents.
Of course the general public will be disappointed in the lack of wages for household appliances that cost hundreds of dollars.
The vast majority of people who are about to get married can actually afford a black and white TV set with their savings, which is already amazing.
Most families who can afford a color TV probably pool their family's financial resources to buy a top-of-the-line TV because they have to live with their parents after marriage.
This was also known as "one step to get the job done" at the time.
If the conditions are really good, at most, the man will buy another cassette player and that will be the end.
As for the girl's family, in most cases, she will be given an electric fan, a bicycle, a watch, a pressure kettle, etc. as a dowry.
If the electric fan in the dowry is a floor-standing type, or the cassette player is simply bought by the woman, that is already quite good, and it is for the man’s sake.
Therefore, compared to the indispensable TV set, the radio cassette player is enthusiastically sought after by young people.
Washing machines and refrigerators, these two things are still very advanced consumption for ordinary people, and they are rare things that only high-income people can own.
If anyone on the street can hire a tricycle, pull a newly purchased Baiju washing machine or Snowflake refrigerator home. It is equivalent to announcing to everyone that this family has bid farewell to the era of doing laundry by hand.
Perhaps it has ushered in an era when the sweltering heat can be solved, and life has begun to move to a new level.
They will make people who have no concept of saving time and energy make such sounds with disdain but actually envy.
“What kind of washing machine is better than hand washing? What kind of refrigerator is just to put some leftovers, and it consumes so much electricity! It’s so full! I don’t know how to make it work!”
In short, this kind of ostentatious existence is just like people driving a convertible luxury car speeding down the street thirty years later.
Think about it, how proud Zhang Shihui is in this regard, how much advantage does he have, how much convenience does he have?
In fact, as early as last year, this guy and Liu Weijing bought all the home appliances for their families from other people who needed to buy home appliances.
Everyone regards the four major items as their dreams, but they are the real "Seven Machine Ministers".
And he is also a foreign minister.
They even gained good popularity because of it.
Not to mention that Zhang Shihui himself made many useful "friends", even Liu Weijing's relatives also looked at Zhang Shihui with admiration.
Which aunt, uncle, aunt, uncle, etc. have not benefited from the Liu family’s prospective son-in-law’s favor when buying something?
So in fact, Zhang Shihui has long become the favorite of the Liu family.
Liu Weijing's relatives all hope that this marriage will happen quickly, and they really want to be related to this family.
So the big family gets together during the holidays.
The big guys will inevitably have to push forward the progress of this marriage.
Liu Weijing’s second aunt often said to Liu Weijing’s family.
"Hurry up, what are you waiting for? This son-in-law can do it!"
"Although he is a hotel worker, his rank is not as high as ours, but this kid has connections, in fact, he is better than The director is very helpful.”
“Oh, I’ve benefited from you too. If Xiao Zhang hadn’t helped me buy a color TV, I wouldn’t have known that “Wasted Years” was actually in color… ”
In short, others think that the most difficult thing to do is that in many marriages, the man is the most likely to have conflicts and disputes with the woman.
This is a bonus for Zhang Shihui. This is his specialty.
Not only does he no longer have to worry about this, he can even buy good cigarettes, good wine, and wedding candies more conveniently than others.
At least material issues, for him personally, have really reached the standard of distribution according to needs in advance.
But that’s not all. What surprised Liu Weijing the most was that not long after the marriage was confirmed, she actually got a silver ring set with jade and a pearl necklace from Zhang Shihui.
Zhang Shihuifei took her to the jewelry counter on the third floor of Youyi Store and bought it forcibly for a small sum of three thousand.
At that time, Liu Weijing thought it was too expensive and wanted to live or die.
But Zhang Shihui insisted that this was the treatment his daughter-in-law deserved, and even said that wearing jewelry would look good when taking photos.
No matter how Liu Weijing declined and objected, it was ineffective, so she had to accept this kindness.
But to be honest, Liu Weijing has long been envious of the jewelry of rich ladies in novels and movies.
And last year, British Crown Prince Charles married Princess Diana, and the wedding was broadcast to the world.
Although television was far from popular in our country at that time, the national television station did not join in the fun.
But then, newspapers and magazines also reported it extensively, and even used their wedding photos.
So this "fairytale wedding" can truly let our Chinese people understand the luxury of Western-style weddings.
I experienced the pomp and splendor of the British royal family and the elegance of Princess Diana with her hair covered with pearls and wearing a wedding dress.
Of course Liu Weijing will be affected, and will daydream about it, hoping that one day he can own one or two exquisite and beautiful small jewelry.
Needless to say, these days, the only place where you can buy this in the entire capital is really the Friendship Store.
Therefore, the two things Zhang Shihui gave to Liu Weijing were very suitable for the girl.
It was like accidentally fulfilling Liu Weijing's dream, making her feel that she couldn't be happier.
(End of this chapter)