Chapter 248: Chapter 248

On February 15, 1980, two days before Chinese New Year, the country issued Monkey Stamps with a face value of eight fen, releasing only five million of them.

Early in the morning, Qin Xi rode a bike with Li Xianglu, who was bundled up in heavy clothes, and Qin Zhen to several different Post Offices, and they did not stop until they had purchased fifty thousand stamps. They also bought five hundred first day covers of the Monkey Stamp for their collection.

Qin Zhen couldn’t comprehend why the two were buying stamps with such fervor, but seeing Li Xianglu’s sly expression, he believed these items would definitely become valuable in the future. He might not understand much about his sister-in-law, but he knew very well her obsession with money, so he took out his own savings of one hundred yuan and bought some stamps for Li Xianglu to keep for him.

Li Xianglu had wanted to purchase as many as possible, ideally sweeping up the entire stock from Post Offices around the capital — it was all about money, money, money in the future.

However, Qin Xi pointed out that they couldn’t do that, as it would disrupt the market. They had already bought enough; buying more would attract the attention of those with ulterior motives. Besides, he had privately acquired another batch, so as not to be overly conspicuous.

On February 16, New Year’s Eve, Qin Xi took Qin Zhen and Li Xianglu back to the Qin Family in the afternoon after having lunch with Mr. Qin. They decided to celebrate the New Year there in the courtyard house.

On New Year’s Eve, Li Xianglu prepared two pounds of minced meat, some meatballs and chunks, a fried fish, and a twenty-pound bag of rice for Sister Xing, so she could go home early for the New Year celebration and return on the eighth day of the new year.

This was Sister Xing’s second New Year with the Li Family, a more abundant one than the last. Mr. Li would also give her some meat, rice, and flour from time to time; her two children had grown taller and plumper over the past year, for which she was very grateful.

Everything was ready, so Li Xianglu’s food preparations on New Year’s Eve were quite simple, with all the dishes being semi-prepared, making frying, stir-frying, and stewing quite convenient. Two hours later, at a little after seven o’clock, the family dining table was set with nine dishes and one soup.

The piping hot steamed rolls were placed at the edge in a basket, accompanied by a bottle of Moutai. Mr. Li was in a good mood today, allowing everyone to have a drink, with Xiangxiang allowed a maximum of half a glass.

Everyone was in high spirits. Li Jianqing was celebrating his second New Year here and felt very happy. Having gone to university, his horizons had broadened, he had gained more experience, expanded his social circle, and became much more cheerful.

He had received a letter from Li Erfu mentioning that the whole family, including Li Jianwen, had gone to Hong Kong, and Chun’er, the child of Li Jianhong, was left with Ge Sanmei.

These matters did not concern him much anymore. At most, he would just fulfill his filial duties and give Ge Sanmei some money when he could afford it; other than that, there was little else he could do.

This year, Li Erfu’s harvest had been good. The country had many supportive policies for revolutionary base areas, and the exchange rate of work points had doubled. Not only was there enough grain at home, but they had also saved quite a bit of money. So this year, Li Erfu did not ask for money from his youngest son, advising him to save up for his future marriage.

Li Jianqing received only a small subsidy, earning just over twenty yuan each month. He spent two to three yuan on himself and saved the rest. He had given fifty yuan to his sister when he returned home, but this was still far short of covering the medical expenses previously incurred by Li Erfu, making him feel restless inside.

The year 1980 was a special one. People born in this year would be called ’post-80s’ in the future, or ’the eighties generation’ in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and ’the Y generation’ in the United States.

In any case, this year marked the beginning of the country’s modernization efforts, a critical period. Mr. Deng announced at the New Year’s tea party in 1980 about the goal to achieve four modernizations by the end of the century. At the same time, he formally proposed a ten-year plan to rectify the chaos of the previous ten years.

The country strongly endorsed economic development, and various factories and restaurants sprang up across the nation. Everyone plunged into the fight to achieve modernization.

On the sixth day of the lunar new year, Li Xianglu lay in Qin Xi’s arms, feeling rather lazy in the early morning. She turned over to find a comfortable position, felt uncomfortable again, and turned once more. Seeing this, Qin Xi decided to take action and fished her out of the blankets: "If you don’t want to sleep, then get up. Stop wriggling around like a worm."

Li Xianglu widened her eyes, displeased, and sprawled across Qin Xi’s chest as if boneless. Her little hand first touched his nether regions, then his robust chest muscles.

Qin Xi swiftly captured the wandering hand, pinned her down on the bed, and stripped off her clothes.

An hour later, Li Xianglu watched with some resentment as the man got dressed in front of the screen. After having his way, he just wanted to leave!

Once Qin Xi had put on his fleece, he came over, pulled her out of the blankets, dressed her in long johns, then helped her into her red cotton-padded jacket. While dressing her, he said, "Hurry up and get up. It’s already nine o’clock. Grandpa has finished his morning exercises, and Qin Zhen left early."

Li Xianglu put on her cotton-padded jacket and cotton shoes and sat in front of the dressing table. As she combed her hair, she asked, "What’s Qin Zhen doing out so early?"

Qin Xi replied, "I guess we will have visitors at home today."

Li Xianglu was startled: "Visitors? Who?"

Qin Xi tidied up the messy bed and picked up the dirty clothes before answering, "Who else could Qin Zhen bring home?"

Li Xianglu twisted her hair into a bun and blinked at Qin Xi’s words: "Really? Is Anna going to come?"

Qin Xi smiled and said, "Actually, I don’t think you understand Lu Anna at all."

Upon hearing this, Li Xianglu’s brows arched, and she stood up, grabbed Qin Xi’s ear fiercely, and demanded, "Then tell me, how do you understand her so well?"

With a yelp from Qin Xi, he quickly lowered himself to sit on the edge of the bed, pulled her into his arms, and lifted her onto his lap before speaking: "If Lu Anna is willing to buy matching couple rings with Qin Zhen, do you think she’s going to hide anything? These days, I actually feel that Qin Zhen and her are quite a match. A simpleton like Qin Zhen probably needs someone like Lu Anna to handle him."

After pondering a moment, Li Xianglu felt that the two of them together presented a rather fantastical image, almost beyond imagination. Yet, she also felt that Qin Xi might be right; perhaps they were indeed the most suitable for each other. Over the past half year, Qin Zhen had matured quite a bit, no longer as childish and had grown considerably.

Since they were expecting guests at home, Li Xianglu decided to prepare. If Anna really came today, she would have to inquire about how the two of them got together, as well as the intentions of the Lu Family. This was crucial because although free love was fashionable, the marriages within influential families had historically never been decided by the children alone.

Li Xianglu had breakfast, then she took some frozen meat inside, while Qin Xi joined Mr. Li in the living room for a game of chess.

While they were talking, there was the sound of the door opening from outside, followed by Qin Zhen’s loud and boisterous shouting.

ps: Off to sleep, good night.