System: "Congratulations, Host, for creating the first color television in your country by relying on your own abilities. Indeed, the potential of humans is limitless. You should be confident in yourself in the future."
Jiang Mianmian looked at the experimental results of her own research with great satisfaction, feeling proud. She had actually managed to make a color television.
Seeing Jiang Mianmian staring at the color television in the lab without speaking for a long time, the system reminded her, "Alright, Host, please don’t dwell on past achievements. This television is virtual. You should go out and use real materials to make an actual color television."
Jiang Mianmian, feeling the system was being heartless, pouted and complained, "Yeah, I know. Can’t you let me be conceited for a moment?"
With such a self-loving and bragging Host, what could the little system say? It could only silently vanish.
Once Jiang Mianmian had looked enough at her achievements and was satisfied, she came out from the system. She sat at her desk, starting to list all the various materials needed to make a color television.
After making the list, Jiang Mianmian looked at the two full sheets and became a bit worried.
Crafting a television was a rather precise task. While the parts common with black-and-white TVs could be acquired off the shelf, components like the cathode-ray tube and circuit board needed to be made from scratch.
The materials and tools needed for these parts could not just be bought at any ordinary place. It looked like she would need to ask Brother Yu for help.
Jiang Mianmian had been so engrossed in her experiments these past few days that she had ignored the passage of time in real life. Now that her experiment was complete, she checked the calendar and found that today was the weekend. She could call Brother Yu today.
After dinner, Jiang Mianmian batted her big eyes and said to her parents, "Mom and Dad, today is Sunday. I’m going to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative to call Brother Yu."
"Go ahead, here, my girl, Dad will give you a dollar. After the phone call, buy whatever you want to eat," Jiang Changhai pulled out a dollar from his pocket and cheerfully handed it to Jiang Mianmian.
"Thanks, Dad." Jiang Mianmian took the money and happily bounded out the door.
The Supply and Marketing Cooperative was just in front of their house, not far away. A three to five-minute walk was all it took, otherwise Jiang Changhai wouldn’t have felt comfortable letting her go alone.
Since it was the winter vacation, Yu Cheng should be at Grandpa Yu’s house. Jiang Mianmian directly dialed the number for Grandpa Yu’s household.
It was Aunt Sun who answered the phone: "Hello, Yu Family speaking. May I ask who you’re looking for?"
"Aunt Sun, it’s Mianmian. Is Brother Yu at home? I need to speak with him about something."
"Ah, Mianmian, yes, your Brother Yu is here. Just a moment," Aunt Sun said, putting down the phone to call Yu Cheng.
Soon, Yu Cheng’s voice came through.
"Hello, Little Lamb, why are you calling so late? Have you been playing too wild this winter vacation?" Yu Cheng teased her with a laugh.
"It’s not that. But I have been busy, that’s true. Not busy playing, but busy with something serious," Jiang Mianmian said proudly.
"Something serious? What could a little kid like you have that’s so serious?" Yu Cheng teased.
"Brother Yu, don’t underestimate me. What I’m about to tell you will definitely shock you," Jiang Mianmian retorted defensively.
"Alright, let’s hear it. I’ll see if it’s enough to scare me," Yu Cheng said, playing along.
"Brother Yu, actually I’ve been working on how to build a color television, and I’ve almost completed my research. Now, I just need to buy the materials required to assemble the TV," Jiang Mianmian declared proudly.