Chapter 203: Go to the Temple of Three Treasures for Nothing!
Early in the morning, Li Changhe got up early and rode his bicycle to the Overseas Chinese Apartment.

After I told my parents and my parents-in-law about the house purchase yesterday, it caused a sensation.

At noon today, four elderly people were going to come and look at the house, and Li Changhe was thinking about whether he could decorate the house in the morning.

Not long after Li Changhe arrived, several installers from the Friendship Store arrived, led by the comrade from yesterday.

"Brothers, let's hurry up and do it while it's cool in the morning!"

After entering the room and exchanging greetings with Li Changhe, several people immediately started working enthusiastically.

In fact, although Li Changhe's house is empty, it is not difficult to pack things.

If you want something like a bed or a sofa, you just have to assemble it.

Just set up the TV cabinet and other things, and then put the TV on the stand.

With seven or eight people, some were arranging the lines, some were installing, and soon an empty house had the prototype of a home.

"Well, let's install this big air conditioner first, and then turn it on to lower the temperature in the room."

By nine o'clock, the weather was getting hot, and Li Changhe decided to turn on the air conditioner first.

Firstly, to try out the effect, and secondly, Zhu Lin and the others will be here soon, including Li Changhe's parents and father-in-law and mother-in-law who will come over at noon.

He couldn't just turn it on as soon as he came in, so he might as well turn it on in advance and lower the temperature. He didn't mind the electricity bill anyway.

"Okay, it's up to you!"

Of course, the workers were happy to be able to work with the air conditioner on.

Soon, the air conditioner in the living room was installed, and after it was turned on, cool breeze blew out.

Li Changhe sat on the assembled sofa and let out a breath.

That’s the feeling, so comfortable!

After a while, the sound of a door opening was heard outside, and then when Zhu Lin brought Gong Xue in, a cool breeze blew towards them.

"It's so cool!"

Gong Xue said in amazement.

"Well, this is air conditioning. It felt the same when I was at the Capital Hotel before, but they blew air from above our heads."

Zhu Lin said with a smile.

She had experienced the central air conditioning in the Beijing Hotel and found it very effective.

I never thought that one day I would be able to experience this at home.

The two people came into the house and looked at the home that had already been furnished, their faces filled with joy.

"This house is exactly like those foreign houses in the movies."

"That's right. I never thought I could live in a house like this before."

Zhu Lin and Gong Xue sighed in succession.

"We still have to go to the department store this afternoon to buy pots, pans, and utensils!"

Li Changhe said to Zhu Lin with a smile at this time.

Yesterday they only purchased the big items, and many things for daily life still need to be purchased.

The three people then started to help in the house, lending a hand to one and doing some work for the other.

Until noon, outside the garden community.

Li Lishan, Shen Yuxiu, and Professor Zhu came to the outside of the Overseas Chinese Apartment together.

“It’s here!”

"Yes, it's right here. The two white buildings inside are the overseas Chinese apartments designed back then. Let's wait for Lao Liu to come over."

After a while, Liu Shuwan came over from a distance. It was such a hot day and she didn't ride a bicycle.

“This house isn’t even close!”

Like Shen Yuxiu, Liu Shuwan also didn't want her little daughter to live away from home.

Let me make a complaint after I got here.

"It's OK. This location is about three kilometers away. It only takes a short ride on a bicycle. Let's go in and take a look!"

Several people walked inside together and came to the guard post.

"Hello, security comrade, we need to go in and check out my son's house. He lives in here."

Li Lishan walked up and spoke to the guard.

As an overseas Chinese apartment and a residential community for overseas Chinese, it has borrowed overseas management methods from the very beginning, and its security is no less than that of some large courtyards.

"It must be Comrade Li Changhe's family. Comrade Li Changhe has already told us about it this morning."

"Just register your identity and go in!"

After a few people registered, they walked in curiously. Although there were only two buildings, the greening of the entire residential area was very good, much better than their family compound.

"This is the building. You see Changhe's car is parked here."

"Is this white one the electric bike they said they bought last night, the one that can be ridden as long as it's powered on? 1280, they're really willing to spend that."

"Old Li, he should be using lead-acid batteries."

Both fathers are professors of science and engineering. They took one look at the electric car and subconsciously started a discussion.

Li Lishan was about to answer when Shen Yuxiu pulled him inside.

"Don't discuss electric cars anymore, let's go upstairs and look at the house first."

The four people went upstairs and saw the house number.

“This is it!”

"I'll knock on the door!"

Liu Shuwan went forward and knocked on the door. As soon as she knocked, the door opened.

Zhu Lin was sweeping the floor at the door and opened it directly.

"Dad, Mom, you are here."

"come on in."

As soon as Liu Shuwan and the others came in, they all exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh, so big?"

"It's really cool in here."

“The air conditioner is on.”

"What kind of furniture did you buy? They're all foreign stuff."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Lin couldn't help but curl his lips.

"Mom, we bought this from the Friendship Store, there's nothing to be afraid of."

"Come, I'll show you around."

At this moment, Zhu Lin couldn't help showing off to his parents.

Such a big house is considered top-notch living conditions in this era, and she must show it to her parents.

After walking around, Professor Zhu said with a sigh, "No wonder you two insisted on living out here. Even the school principal can't compare to this living environment!"

"Hey, Changhe, what's that white funnel-like thing next to your bathtub?"

Shen Yuxiu came out of the bathroom at this time and asked curiously.

"That's called a toilet, it's what foreigners use to go to the bathroom."

Li Lishan had seen this before when he was abroad, so he took the initiative to explain it to Shen Yuxiu.

"toilet?"

"Yes, there is a lid there. Sit on it. When you are done, there is a water tank button. Press it and the water in the tank will flush the inside clean."

"I see Americans use this."

"Why does this look a bit like bourgeois corruption?"

Shen Yuxiu said with some concern.

There is no way. People of their generation cannot change their minds in a short period of time.

"We call this keeping up with the world. Mom, just wait and see. In less than 20 years, every household will be able to live in a house like this and use these appliances."

Li Changhe said with a smile.

Liu Shuwan curled her lips and said, "Nonsense, do you think the country will continue to build overseas Chinese apartments? Now many people want to live in slums but can't afford to."

"And your air conditioner costs tens of thousands of foreign exchange certificates each. Your father and I work for a year and still can't even afford one."

"Not to mention ordinary people, they won't even be able to pay the electricity bills by then!" Liu Shuwan never imagined how the entire country would develop by leaps and bounds.

At this moment, she was just refutating Li Changhe according to the current situation.

"This house looks complete now, but it lacks the air of home."

Professor Zhu said with emotion at this time.

"Dad, we haven't bought dishes or anything like that yet. Let's go to the department store this afternoon to buy them!"

Zhu Lin said with a smile at this time.

"Well, that's okay."

Professor Zhu nodded.

"You've only been in the kitchen a few times, and you're still going to buy it. I think Yuxiu and I should go buy it this afternoon."

"Yuxiu, are you okay this afternoon?"

At this time, Liu Shuwan turned around and said to Shen Yuxiu.

Shen Yuxiu smiled and said, "I don't have anything to do, but can you ask for leave?"

"I have nothing to do this afternoon, let's go to the department store together. By the way, have you bought sheets and quilts?"

"We bought all of these."

Zhu Lin said hurriedly.

In addition to imported goods, the Friendship Store also sells high-end products for export.

The best bamboo mats and silk quilts are also for sale.

Li Changhe and the others have already bought it.

"Okay then, you two will come with us to the department store this afternoon to see what you need and we will help you choose."

"We can't just choose foreign products in our daily life. The things left by our ancestors are the ones that are suitable for us."

Liu Shuwan probably didn't like the sight of a room full of foreign goods, so she immediately gave Zhu Lin a lecture.

"Okay, let's go there together this afternoon."

Zhu Lin was not angry, as she was not very good at choosing pots, pans, and utensils.

"By the way, Mom, have you guys eaten yet? How about we go out for something to eat?"

Li Changhe asked at this time.

"We've all eaten in the cafeteria, we just came over to take a look."

"Besides, there are so many workers working here. Have you not eaten yet?"

"How about I keep an eye on it for you while you go buy some?"

Shen Yuxiu spoke.

Li Changhe nodded: "Okay, I'll go out and buy some buns and bring some for these chefs."

Li Changhe came early in the morning and didn't eat much. Now it was almost noon and he could not hold on any longer.

Li Changhe went out on his electric bike, took a walk around the area, and found a state-owned restaurant.

He carried food coupons and money in his cloth bag. Of course, some restaurants are not so strict now, and with more supplies, they started to make money.

Li Changhe bought dozens of buns with both vegetarian and meat fillings, and returned home with two large bags.

Normally this kind of installation does not include food, mainly because most people only install small items, not like Li Changhe, who installs the entire house at once.

As expected, several installation workers were also hungry, so they didn't bother to be polite with Li Changhe. They washed their hands and started eating the buns in big mouthfuls.

There is tap water in the water pipe, and Li Changhe also bought an electric kettle, so he just needs to connect it and boil the water.

In those days, people used tap water directly for boiling water. There was no bottled water like in later generations, and there were no water purifiers.

Many children even drink the cool water directly from the tap when it's hot.

After dinner, Liu Shuwan prepared to take Zhu Lin and Gong Xue to the department store to shop.

As for Professor Li Lishan and Zhu, they had already returned to school. They both had teaching assignments.

"After you finish shopping at Wangfujing, just take a taxi back. You have foreign exchange certificates anyway, so don't squeeze on the bus in such a hot day."

Li Changhe instructed Zhu Lin.

Zhu Lin nodded.

After going downstairs, Liu Shuwan couldn't help but ask Zhu Lin: "Linlin, tell me, how many foreign exchange certificates do you have?"

“Why do I feel like I can never spend all the money?”

What kind of family is this? They always use foreign exchange coupons to take a taxi.

Zhu Lin smiled and said to Liu Shuwan, "There are still hundreds of thousands left. Changhe exchanged 100 million Hong Kong dollars worth of foreign exchange certificates."

"One million Hong Kong dollars?"

"Where does he get so much money?"

Liu Shuwan was stunned, but Shen Yuxiu already knew about it last night.

"I don't know either. Anyway, it's about his major in economics. I've reported all this to the government, so there's no problem."

"But don't tell anyone when you get out, it's not good if others find out!"

Zhu Lin finally gave some instructions.

"I'm not stupid, your mom!"

"No wonder you guys are so lavish, buying all foreign electrical appliances."

After the four people left, the workers in the room worked faster.

By around two o'clock in the afternoon, the entire house was basically tidied up.

Mainly, apart from air conditioning, there is not much technical work, it is all assembly work. For example, for curtains, you just need to pull a wire on it and then buckle it.

Unlike later generations, which have both slide rails and rotating wheels.

"Comrade Changhe, everything has been installed. You can check it out. If you have any questions in the future, including repairs, you can come to the Friendship Store to find us."

"Okay, no problem. Thank you for your hard work today!"

"You're welcome. Let's go!"

You don't need to sign anything at this time. Just go back after you finish the work and tell the store.

After they left, Li Changhe turned off the air conditioner and went downstairs.

Now that he had time, he planned to look for his classmate Lao Yang from the Ministry of Railways to help Gong Xue get a train ticket.

Not many classmates knew Lao Yang's home address, but Li Changhe knew it because Lao Yang had told him before.

After all, even classmates have different levels of closeness. Now that Li Changhe is one of the leaders of the Class of 77, many classmates will take the initiative to get close to him.

Lao Yang left his address to Li Changhe and told him that if he needed anything on the railway, he could go to his home. He never thought that it would actually be useful now.

Lao Yang's home is also in the city, belonging to a railway compound. Li Changhe showed his Peking University student ID and was allowed in.

According to their building number, we found the Yang family.

He knocked on the door, and it opened, revealing the face of his classmate Lao Yang, Yang Yuanchao.

"Changhe? Why are you here?"

Although Yang Yuanchao is a student of the class of 78, he is no younger than Li Changhe, and they interact with each other as people of the same age in daily life.

"come on in!"

Li Changhe opened the iron gate outside and walked in.

"Wow, your house is really big."

As soon as he entered the room, Li Changhe was a little surprised.

The house that Yang Yuanchao lives in is at least 120 square meters, and it doesn't look much smaller than the one in his Overseas Chinese Apartment.

"Hehe, my grandfather was an old cadre before the founding of the People's Republic of China, so the housing area allocated to him is relatively large. But now we also live here as a whole family, including my grandparents, my parents and me."

Yang Yuanchao explained with a smile.

"By the way, you came to me because you need help with something on the railway?"

Li Changhe would definitely come to him for no reason, and he probably couldn't help with anything other than railway matters.

"Yes, I really need your help with this matter!"

Li Changhe said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)