Ning Qin was born in January 1972 and her first child was a chubby son, which made her very happy.

Originally, she left the army quietly, then went straight to her in-laws’ to give birth.

Regarding her departure from the army, neither she nor Zhang Xian mentioned the reasons.

They only said Zhang Xian was busy during that time, and she was pregnant and had to take care of Zhang Qian.

She couldn’t handle it all alone.

Not even her in-laws knew about it, let alone the Ning family.

Ning Qin had been back to her hometown for nearly a year, from pregnancy to confinement, but she hadn’t told her family about Ning Shu’s affairs.

It wasn’t that she was helping Ning Shu; she just didn’t want her family to come and cause trouble.

If it did, it wouldn’t be good for her reputation either.

Ning Qin cared about her reputation and didn’t want to make a spectacle in the residential area.

Besides, she and Ning Shu were on good terms now.

Her life was good.

Her husband was an officer, her in-laws were workers, and her father-in-law was even the director of the factory.

She didn’t want anyone, not even her family, to ruin her good life.

However, hearing that Ning Shu had bought both a refrigerator and a TV, she felt uneasy.

When she was at Ning’s home, she was more favored than Ning Shu.

Why was Ning Shu living better than her after getting married?

She didn’t dislike Zhang Xian’s status being lower than Lin Guodong’s.

After all, Lin Guodong’s family came from the countryside while Zhang Xian’s was from the city.

Conditions were better at Zhang Xian’s home.

She envied Ning Shu’s carefree life.

Ning Qin was moved by the fact that Ning Shu could buy a refrigerator and a TV.

Why couldn’t she? There was a TV in her in-laws’ home.

It wasn’t logical for her not to have one here.

Ning Qin wasn’t willing to spend her own money to buy those items.

Her money was the household allowance that Zhang Xian gave her each month, which was only half of his salary, with the rest saved by him.

She knew Zhang Xian was being cautious with her, and if it weren’t for Ning Shu’s past issues, she might have been able to reclaim the household’s authority after giving birth to a son this time.

But with Ning Shu’s matters, she didn’t feel it appropriate to ask anymore.

However, she also wanted to know exactly how much money Zhang Xian had saved.

If he agreed promptly to buy a refrigerator and TV, then it surely meant he had quite a lot.

If not…

As for Zhang Xian’s personality, Ning Qin understood it.

He wasn’t the stingy type, having grown up in the family of a factory cadre since childhood, which gave him a broader perspective.

So, at dinner that night, Ning Qin brought up the topic of buying a refrigerator and TV with Zhang Xian.

Meanwhile, Ning Shu had no knowledge of what was happening on Ning Qin’s side.

Since Ning Qin moved out, Ning Shu hadn’t paid any attention to her and didn’t even know she had returned.

Tonight, the Ning household was especially lively.

After dinner, many people came to watch TV, and Lin Guodong even moved the TV out to the courtyard.

Nearly every household on this street had someone visiting, filling the courtyard with people.

Even those like Aunt Yang, who lived nearby, brought chairs from home to sit and watch.

It was the first time Ning Shu had encountered such a lively scene since arriving in this world.

She didn’t dislike it; in fact, she found it quite interesting.

Perhaps because in this era, without entertainment, smartphones, or computers, life was monotonous.

Although Ning Shu didn’t have much interaction with the families on this street, they never argued, maintaining a nodding acquaintance as neighbors.

So tonight, everyone gathered to watch TV.

“The people on this TV are really clear, just like watching a movie,” Aunt Yang exclaimed, marveling at how generous Ning Shu was.

She wouldn’t even buy a radio, let alone a TV.

If anyone in the residential area had money, Aunt Yang was definitely one of them.

She managed Sergeant Yang’s salary every month and with collecting firewood and gathering wild vegetables, their family probably managed to save some money.

“But the characters aren’t as big as in the movies, so they’re not as clear as in the movies,” Sun Li remarked, standing next to Aunt Yang.

Sun Li’s son, Wang Wei, chimed in, “Mom, is your eyesight not good?”

Sun Li wanted to retort but then chuckled, “You’re teasing me, aren’t you? This little rascal, let’s see what he’s got.”

Wang Wei quickly clarified with a grin, “Mom, I meant your eyesight, like nearsightedness or farsightedness. That’s why you can’t see clearly on TV. With my vision, the characters on TV are crystal clear.”

Sun Li knew she was nearsighted, but farsighted too? “If my eyes aren’t good, they’re not good. It doesn’t affect what else I can do.”

So many family members gathered together; apart from special programs in the military and schools, this was the first time for everyone.

The men sat together, the women sat together, and the children sat together. Each group chatted and watched TV.

Gradually, the chatting subsided, and the yard became quiet.

The only sound was the TV echoing under the night sky.

Everyone was absorbed in watching.

At 8:30 PM, Ning Shu very promptly told everyone, “Sorry, comrades, our TV only plays until 8:30 PM every day. We’re going to sleep now. If you want to watch more, you can come again tomorrow night.”

“Ah, we’ll come again tomorrow night then,” Granny Yang was the first to respond.

“Usually, I’m already in bed by this time. Today I stayed up because it was lively, but it’s indeed time to sleep now.”

Most people were sensible.

When they heard Ning Shu say it was time to sleep, no one objected.

Even those who wanted to watch more didn’t say anything.

Since they didn’t voice it out, Ning Shu didn’t hear it, so she naturally didn’t mind them.

Guessing that the kids wanted to watch TV, Ning Shu’s three little ones got up especially early today.

While Ning Shu was making breakfast, they got up and went to the kitchen to find her. “Mom, should we start reading now?”

Yesterday, Ning Shu bought first-grade textbooks—Chinese and Math—from the elementary school teacher and had already given them to the kids.

Now, as soon as they woke up, they were ready to read.

Ning Shu thought that if they had this motivation when they started school, aiming for top universities like 211 or 985 wouldn’t be just a dream.

She didn’t have the brains to get into those universities, but she might see it happen through her kids.

Although she didn’t force her children, if they got into 211 or 985, she would be so happy that she might drool.

“Don’t read now, wait until after breakfast,” Ning Shu said.

Erbao’s eyes twinkled mischievously, “Mom, can we watch TV now?”

Ning Shu calmly responded, “What do you think?”

“I think… I think…” Facing his mom’s gaze, Erbao quickly gave in, “I think we should definitely listen to mom, hehe…”

Ning Shu rolled her eyes at him, “Take Da Mao and Tie Dan for a walk. When you come back, breakfast will be ready.”

Yibao asked: “Mom, what’s for breakfast today?”

Ning Shu: “Mung bean soup, fried eggs, and sweet potatoes.”

Since they didn’t make popsicles, Ning Shu cooked a lot of mung bean soup this morning.

It could serve as breakfast and also use up the amount for making popsicles, killing two birds with one stone.

“Mom, we almost finished all the popsicles from yesterday. Are we making more today?” Yibao asked.

Ning Shu replied, “Yes, after breakfast, I’ll make more. You should read your books, and if you have any questions about the phonetics, ask me. When you’re done, read it out loud to me.”

The three kids responded, “Got it.”

Then they called Da Mao and Tie Dan to go for a walk outside.

When it was time for breakfast, just as they were about to eat, He Jiaxing, Yang Wenjie, and Cheng Yingyong came over to read books.

So, after breakfast, there were six kids reading together.

The six kids sat in the dining room, gathered around a Chinese textbook.

After a while, the other kids couldn’t sit still.

He Jiaxing said, “Lin Huirui, we’re going out to play and will come back to watch TV later.”

Erbao replied, “Okay, but for just one hour.”

He Jiaxing responded, “Got it.”

Erbao watched them leave to play, feeling a bit envious, but he stayed focused on his book because he wanted to watch TV later.

Ning Shu’s schedule for watching TV was indeed quite effective.

In the morning, she supervised the kids while they read.

After they finished reading, they could watch TV, and she would exchange popsicles for other kids.

In the afternoon, she scheduled the nursery school class for the last session, so she could continue supervising her kids’ reading.

When they watched TV, she taught the nursery school kids.

Days passed quickly.

One afternoon, after Ning Shu finished teaching at the nursery school and returned home, Yibao came up to her. “Mom, Dongzi just told us that he won’t come to our house to exchange popsicles anymore.”

“Oh?” Ning Shu didn’t mind if people came to exchange popsicles or not, but she was curious. “Did Dongzi say why he won’t come?”

She remembered Dongzi, a child from Class 3 at the nursery school, who had graduated along with her three kids.

If nothing changed, they might be in the same class in primary school.

Previously, when Dongzi came to exchange popsicles, he would bring vegetables because Ning Shu had told the kids they needed their parents’ permission to exchange items for popsicles.

Dongzi’s mom had even come to Ning Shu’s house to express her gratitude and confirm she knew about the exchanges.

Ning Shu had a good impression of Dongzi’s mom, thinking she was a reasonable person.

But why had things suddenly changed?

Yibao said, “Because other families in the residential area have also bought refrigerators now!”