Chapter 689 Zhang Hao's Changes
Song Yuanchao returned to Shanghai a few days in advance. As the Chinese New Year was approaching, the atmosphere was already strong. Red lanterns were hung everywhere and everyone's faces were filled with joy.
On the streets, people's clothing is very different from a few years ago, the most obvious change being the color.
Compared with the monotonous blue, gray and black in the past, the clothes people wear now have many more colors. Moreover, the situation where people's clothes and pants were covered with patches in the early years is less common now. In addition, the Chinese New Year is coming soon, and many people are wearing new clothes, looking particularly energetic.
He brought gifts from Jinling for his wife and children. Yangyang was particularly happy to see his father because his father would always bring him gifts every time he came back.
The gift brought back this time was MATCH BOX, also known as Matchbox car. This thing had just entered the mainland market and attracted many people's love as soon as it was launched on the market.
Those born in the 1970s and 1980s should still remember this kind of toy. The colorful and lifelike cars made countless people love them.
Not to mention children, even many adults like it. Some adults even spend a lot of money and time to collect various types of styles and put them at home to appreciate themselves.
What Song Yuanchao brought back was the latest model of MATCH BOX. When the beautiful car graphics appeared on the big cardboard box, Yangyang jumped up and down with joy, laughing so hard that his eyes became invisible.
"This thing is really good. Where did you get it?" Lin Yan couldn't help asking as she watched Song Yuanchao help Yangyang unpack the box, take out a toy car from it and teach the child how to play with it. Yangyang clapped his hands excitedly while playing.
"I asked Zhengguo to buy it from Hong Kong. It is also available in Shanghai. Although it is small, it is very delicately made. The proportions are exactly the same as the real thing. The ordinary ones are not expensive, just a few yuan. The one for Yangyang, which can be run by himself, is a little more expensive, but not much." Song Yuanchao said with a smile. Lin Yan took the outer packaging curiously and took a closer look. This thing is really delicately made, and the price is not as much as she imagined.
"I think this thing will definitely sell well in the future, especially boys will like it."
"Haha, that's for sure. Boys like mechanical toys like cars. Look how happy Yangyang is playing with them."
MATCH BOX became very popular in China, especially because of its affordable price. Of course, this affordable price means that compared with other products, due to mass manufacturing and industrialization, the actual cost is very low. However, its realistic and trendy shape cannot be resisted. It attracted the attention of adults and children as soon as it appeared.
This kind of toy is a memory of those born in the 1970s and 1980s. Even in the 21st century, many people still buy and collect it.
After the Transformers animated film was released in China in 1989, similar toys also flooded into the Chinese market.
Compared to MATCH BOX, Transformers toys are much more expensive. Ordinary ones cost dozens of yuan, and good ones can cost hundreds of yuan. If you want a set of Hercules, the price will be nearly a thousand yuan. You have to know that although people's wages at that time were much higher than in the early days of reform and opening up, even the average salary in Shanghai was only more than 100 yuan. A set of toys cost nearly a thousand yuan, which was the income of an ordinary person for most of the year, but there were still many people rushing to buy them.
Thinking of this, Song Yuanchao said to Lin Yan, there are two kinds of businesses that are easiest to do in this world, one is women's business, and the other is children's business.
Listening to Song Yuanchao's words, Lin Yan couldn't help but laugh, because she knew that Song Yuanchao's previous clothing business was about women, and now he's also targeting children in the food business?
After lunch, Lin Yan took Yangyang to take a nap. Lin Yan became more sleepy after becoming pregnant. Yangyang was a little tired after playing with Song Yuanchao for several hours in the morning. She took the little guy to the bed and he fell asleep soon.
Gently closing the door for them, Song Yuanchao returned to the living room and took out the gifts for Xiao Haozi and Xiao Pingping. He planned to go to Zhang Jianguo's place and bring the gifts for the children over.
Zhang Jianguo’s home is not far from Song Yuanchao’s. Zhang Jianguo bought a house before, and it only takes about ten minutes to walk there.
When they arrived at the place, they knocked on the door. It was Zhang Hao who opened the door. He was very happy to see Song Yuanchao.
"Brother Yuanchao, why are you here?" Two years passed in the blink of an eye. Zhang Hao has grown very tall and is no longer the same as he was when Song Yuanchao just returned to Shanghai.
Zhang Hao is now a young man. The Zhang family's conditions have improved a lot in recent years, and the children's nutrition has also improved. Zhang Hao is at the age of growing up, and his height is almost as high as Song Yuanchao's chin. It is possible that this boy will be much taller than Song Yuanchao in a few years.
In particular, this boy has some black fuzzy beards growing on his lips. He likes to exercise and has a very strong body.
"You kid, you've grown taller since I last saw you in a few months." Song Yuanchao gestured with his hand. The last time they met, Zhang Hao was as tall as his chin, but now he's almost as tall as his lips. Teenagers just grow fast.
"Hehe..." Zhang Hao scratched his head with an embarrassed smile, then he remembered to let Song Yuanchao in.
"Where are your parents and your sister? And your mother isn't at home either?" After entering the house, Song Yuanchao looked around and asked.
"My mom is accompanying my grandma to get her hair done. You know my dad, he must be busy at work at this time. My sister went to her classmate's house to play in the morning and won't be back until dinner."
No wonder Zhang Hao is the only one at home. Aunt Sun Xia has been doing good business in recent years. Although the profit from clothing is not as high as before, because she has Shenghua Company as her backing, the supply and price are not comparable to ordinary people.
Moreover, after Zhang Yong left, the shops on Maiyang Road were managed by his trusted friends. The people in charge certainly knew the relationship between Sun Xia and Zhang Yong, and took good care of them on a daily basis.
The family's conditions have improved, the son has bought a villa, and the grandchildren are growing up. Mother Zhang sees that life is getting better day by day, and she feels much happier than before.
Previously, Zhang's mother said that she couldn't get used to the house here and still preferred to live in the old place. Later, Song Yuanchao persuaded her that since they had bought a good house, it was a filial piety for the younger generations. If she didn't live there, Zhang Jianguo and his wife would definitely not live there either. In this way, Zhang Hao and Xiao Pingping would not be able to live in the big house, and it would be inconvenient for the whole family to still squeeze in the old house.
Especially since Zhang Hao and Xiao Pingping have grown up, it would be inconvenient for them to continue living in the same room even if they are brother and sister. Besides, Song Yuanchao's home is nearby, so it would be convenient for Zhang's mother to move there, right?
In this way, Zhang's mother was persuaded by Song Yuanchao and moved in with her son and daughter-in-law. She often went to Song Yuanchao's place to help take care of Yangyang. Song Yuanchao's family also reserved a room for the elderly, so it was very convenient for the elderly to live with Song Yuanchao sometimes.
As for the old house, Zhang Jianguo and his wife and Lin Yan would take Zhang's mother back to live there for a day or two when they have time, to meet and chat with old neighbors.
The family conditions have improved, life has become better, the children have become successful, and my mood is getting better day by day, so naturally there will be no problem with my health.
Just like now, Sun Xia took Zhang's mother to get her hair permed. In the past, Zhang's mother would never agree to it, as it costs a lot of money, and Zhang's mother, who has been frugal all her life, would not be willing to spend the money. But now, this little money is nothing to the Zhang family, and the old lady has gradually come to terms with it. With the development of society, traditional concepts have also changed.
"Why don't you go out? Don't you feel bored staying at home alone?"
"It's boring to go out. It's better to stay at home and do your own things." Zhang Hao answered casually, his eyes subconsciously looking at the gift brought by Song Yuanchao.
Song Yuanchao handed the item to him with a smile: "This is for your sister, a girl's item, this is for you."
"MATCH BOX?" Zhang Hao's eyes lit up and he blurted out as he took the box containing the toys.
"You knew this?"
"Of course I know. Don't forget that I'm a member of the model aircraft team of the Children's Palace!" Zhang Hao said proudly. When he said this, Song Yuanchao remembered this. It was he who helped to get Zhang Hao into the Children's Palace . Two years have passed in the blink of an eye. I heard that this kid is very successful in the model aircraft team.
"I almost forgot about this. Oh, by the way, I never asked you this. I heard from your dad last year that you participated in a competition and won a prize?"
"Yes, the first prize in the district and the second prize in the city." Zhang Hao nodded, and at the same time said with some regret: "If I hadn't participated too late and missed the last National Games, I could have won a medal in the National Games. But Teacher Xie told me not to be impatient and to prepare well. He will definitely let me participate in the National Games next year. You will see, I will definitely win a championship!"
"You have great ambition!" Song Yuanchao praised. In the 1970s and 1980s, the model aircraft competition was one of the events of the National Games. This period was also the fastest and most rapid period of development of model aircraft in my country.
At that time, China's model aircraft level was top-notch in the world, and many projects set world records. Unfortunately, due to some reasons, the National Games cancelled the model aircraft competition in the late 1990s, causing this project to be interrupted for a full 24 years. It was not until 2017 that it was resumed.
At first, Zhang Hao wanted to play with a model airplane. Zhang Jianguo was against it, but after Song Yuanchao's persuasion, he agreed to let Zhang Hao give it a try.
Song Yuanchao told him that boys should always have some hobbies, especially scientific hobbies, so as to cultivate his interest in science. Playing with model airplanes is not just about playing, but more importantly, it is about understanding the relevant knowledge of model airplanes, which can also make Zhang Hao interested in learning.
It was because of Song Yuanchao that Zhang Jianguo reluctantly agreed to Zhang Hao's request, but at the same time he also made three rules for him, telling him that if it interfered with his studies and caused his grades to drop, then there would be no need to mention the matter.
But it turned out that Song Yuanchao's suggestion was right. Since Zhang Hao went to the Children's Palace, he has become more and more interested in science as he studies and learns about model airplanes. Because the process of making model airplanes requires a lot of knowledge in mathematics, physics and even other aspects, coupled with the guidance of teacher Xie Ke, Zhang Hao gradually matured from a child who only knew how to play, and studied more seriously than before, and his grades continued to improve with his efforts.
