Back to 1979: Sending the Educated Youth’s Wife Back to the City

Chapter 182 Buying a Siheyuan
December 12th came in a flash. A celebration party was held in the school auditorium at 9pm. Lin Yan brought Yanyan, Qin Hua and Changchang to Beijing Normal University.

In the afternoon, Fang Mingche drove his own car. He parked it in the yard of the previous resident's house and paid for it. This way, the payment was settled in full and it was very worry-free.

There was no choice, Ayan and Yanyan both wanted to come and see. I originally wanted to leave Changchang at home, but I don’t know if the seven-month-old kid noticed anything. Anyway, he just held his sister’s arm and refused to let go.

Thinking that there was a car, he brought all the people he wanted to come. Qin Hua liked to watch this kind of show, and last time Fang Mingche and Yanyan also followed Wang Dexian to the military region to watch the show, so he brought her along as well.

If the kid can't stay any longer, he'll go back to his dad's dormitory. No one in the dormitory is there, some are there to watch the show, some are out playing by themselves.

The school auditorium certainly couldn't hold so many people from the whole school, so most of the students didn't go to watch it. Old Cheng, Xiao Xu and others helped to take up two more seats.

At this moment, Fang Mingche and Zheng Xing went backstage to put on makeup. Old Cheng and the others were happily teasing the chubby Fang Chang.

Lin Yan would definitely dress Fang Chang very warmly when going out at this time of year. But because there were so many people in the auditorium, they exhaled a lot of carbon dioxide, so it was warm. So she unbuttoned his coat.

He is not shy, and when someone reaches out to hug him, he raises his hand in response. He is not uncomfortable sitting on someone's lap.

However, she was worried that the auditorium would be too noisy, especially when the singing and dancing started, so Lin Yan stuffed cotton into both of his ears.

Xiao Xu said: "A big fat boy like this can be hugged without making any noise. It's enough to make people want to have a baby!"

Old Cheng said: "If you want to have a baby now, you can only wait until you graduate from college."

Nowadays, not only female college students cannot get married or have children while in school, but male college students are also prohibited from getting married, even if they have reached the legal age for marriage.

Xiao Xu smiled and said, "That's true. But Old Cheng, you've avoided the danger of becoming a grandfather in two years while you're still in school."

Lin Yan burst out laughing. She had met Old Cheng's children during the Chinese New Year. The eldest son was going to take the college entrance examination next year.

Even Yanyan couldn't help but look at Uncle Cheng. Fang Mingche invited the Cheng family of four to dinner during the Chinese New Year, so she naturally met the Cheng brothers and sisters. They were so big!

Qin Hua was even more shocked. It was really unbelievable that a college student could become a grandfather.

Old Cheng said: "When I was there, the country was in the war preparation stage and called on female comrades to become heroic mothers. As for now, since the country advocates late marriage and late childbirth, my children will definitely respond to the call."

He is not even 40 yet, so he is really in no hurry to become a grandfather.

The English Department drew lots for the chorus earlier, so it was the third turn. Fortunately, Fang Chang sat on his mother's lap and was able to stay there.

As for Yanyan, she sat between her mother and sister Qin Hua. Just like watching a movie, she could see the stage from the gap in between, with no obstruction in her sight.

The chorus was in place, and Fang Mingche came out with an accordion on his back, which was quite impressive. Yanyan pointed to her brother and said, "Look, Dad is here—"

Lin Yan handed Fang Chang to Qin Hua to hold, and took out a camera from her bag to take a picture of Fang Mingche on the stage.

The song that Fang Mingche and his chorus sang was "Yellow River Cantata": The wind is roaring, the horses are neighing, the Yellow River is roaring, the Yellow River is roaring
After the chorus was over, everyone bowed and left. Fang Mingche was the first to leave, and when he got backstage he quickly put on his military coat.

There was limited space backstage, so he got dressed and left.

Lin Yan asked Yan Yan and Qin Hua from the audience, "Do you still want to watch?"

Yanyan and Qin Hua looked at each other and said, "Look."

Lin Yan asked Lao Cheng and Xiao Xu to look after them, and she left through the side door holding Fang Chang. This was a free viewing. The seats were full, but there were people coming in and out. The seat Lin Yan vacated was immediately occupied.

Old Cheng motioned for Yanyan to sit between him and Qin Hua, so that she wouldn't have to sit next to a stranger and wouldn't take up a small space for the stranger.

Fang Chang looked back at his sister, a little puzzled. He wanted to raise his hand to call her, but he was wearing too many clothes and couldn't lift his arm.

Lin Yan said, "Let's go back first. Sister needs to continue watching. You should drink NeiNei in a while."

As he spoke, he buttoned his coat, put on his gloves, and pulled the brim of his hat down to cover his ears.

When she went out, she saw Fang Mingche waiting outside and handed her son to him. She was also carrying a backpack with the kid's supplies and camera in it.

Fang Mingche took his son over and asked, "Are Yanyan and Qinhua still watching?"

"Well, they are both active in literature and art."

The two of them walked towards the dormitory with their son in their arms. When they met acquaintances on the road, they stopped to say hello. Fang Chang looked at them happily.

"Oh, Xiao Fang, your son's smile is so beautiful, it brightens my heart all of a sudden!"

Fang Mingche smiled and said, "At this moment, I must be eating, sleeping and having fun!"

After returning to the dormitory building, Fang Mingche greeted the dormitory manager and went upstairs with his wife and children.

Boys want to enter the girls' dormitory, the management is stricter. Girls can enter the boys' dormitory if they explain the situation clearly. They are a couple with a son who is more than half a year old, so the old man just waved his hand and let them in.

Almost everyone in the school knew that Fang Mingche was married and had children, and he was no exception. Today, the school was holding an event, and it was normal for family members to join in the fun.

As expected, there was no one else in the dormitory. Lin Yan first spread her son's diaper on Fang Mingche's bed, then let him lie on it to check his diaper. If it was wet or dirty, change it immediately.

When it's done, let the little guy sit on his dad's bed. Lin Yan straightened Fang Mingche's quilt and let Fang Chang sit against it.

The little guy looked at the same sheets and pillows everywhere, tried to raise his little hands to touch them, and then cried.

Fang Mingche was rinsing his bottle. "It will be ready soon, don't cry!"

Lin Yan said: "No, he saw me getting into bed and thought I had to take off my outer clothes and pants. Don't we always do some boxing before going to bed?"

"Oh, so you thought we were going to sleep. Drink NeiNei first, then we can sleep."

He fed the mixed NeiNei to his mouth, and Fang Chang held the nipple and began to suck. After he finished eating, he started to make a fuss about taking off his outer clothes. Fang Mingche took them off for him, then opened the quilt and surrounded him from behind.

Fang Chang saw that his arms were exposed from his sweater, so he was not dissatisfied. He waved his arms and punched.

When Yanyan and Qinhua were brought back more than an hour later, their brother had already fallen asleep. Dad and Mom were sitting close to the bed, talking in a low voice.

Lao Cheng knocked on the door before entering, and then opened it with the key. Fang Mingche rolled his eyes at him. What else could he do on such a small bed in the dormitory?
Qin Hua looked at the university boys' dormitory curiously.

Lin Yan used a bottle opener to open two cans of sugar water and gave them to her and Yanyan.

"Thank you, Teacher Lin."

Qin Hua had watched the show for almost two hours and was indeed a little thirsty. He and Yanyan each took the food and started eating with their forks.

"You don't have to be so polite. Lao Cheng, Xiao Xu, do you want to eat?"

She bought this when she just passed by the store downstairs. Soak it in hot water for a while, and it won't freeze you.

Old Cheng and Little Xu waved their hands. This kind of canned sugar water is only liked by women and children. They would rather pour themselves some boiled water.

Qin Hua ate a few pieces of fruit pulp and drank a few sips of sugar water. "Brother Fang, it seems that your university life is very interesting. I just walked along and saw the canteen and the cinema."

The items in that small shop are quite rich, no worse than the supply and marketing cooperative near the slum.

Fang Mingche said: "A larger university campus is equivalent to a small town. It has complete medical care, food, housing, transportation, and everything else, and life is very convenient. Some people say that if you want to live in seclusion, you should do so in a university. This is the best place to live in seclusion."

Therefore, he planned to stay in school to study for a master's or doctoral degree and to teach there. Unfortunately, because of fighting, he could not be recommended for admission and had to take the exam on his own.

After Yanyan and Qinhua finished eating the canned sugar water, Fang Mingche rinsed the bottles for them and poured in the freshly boiled water that he had just drawn in the evening. This way they would be warmer.

Then he took his son away with his quilt and said he would bring the quilt back tomorrow. Lin Yan, still carrying her backpack, said goodbye to Lao Cheng and Xiao Xu with her two children.

Walking out of the school's side door, they arrived at the house where they had parked their car. It was not yet nine o'clock when they got the car and drove back.

Because Fang Chang fell asleep, Fang Mingche drove slowly along the way.

He casually asked Yan Yan and Qin Hua in the second row, "What do you think of our show?"

Lin Yan also sat behind the driver's seat holding her son, and did not allow anyone to sit in the dangerous passenger seat.

Yanyan said: "Not bad, but overall it seems not as good as the military district's performance."

"Of course, the art troupe is professional. But we are better than the old man's chorus at the front. No, the old leader's chorus should be okay, right?"

Qin Hua started laughing. That night she heard some of the old leaders singing out of tune.

Yanyan nodded, "Better than them."

Lin Yan said, "You two are quite capable of sitting still. You actually came back only after the show was over."

"Ah."

Arriving at the small side courtyard, Fang Mingche watched his wife and children go in and turned on the light. He then sent Qin Hua back to the next door and handed her over to her father in the next courtyard.

When he came back, Fang Min had prepared the footbath water for Lin Yan and Yan Yan to soak their feet.

"Uncle Jiu, are you soaking your feet now?"

"I'll wait for a moment, don't worry about it. Can you understand the lessons in the night school?"

Fang Min said: "There are some things we don't understand, Aunt Jiu or Teacher Gao explained them to us."

Fang Mingche went back to the main room. The TV in the west room was still on.

Fang Mingcheng walked with him to the main house. The living room was playing TV, and many neighbors carried stools to watch. He came to the wing room to read English materials.

Fang Mingche asked, "You want to be stationed abroad?"

Otherwise, if you just want to be a driver, knowing some basic terms will be enough.

"Yes, Brother Jiu, I want to go. If I work there for two years, the money I save will be enough to buy an apartment in Tuanjiehu Community."

Fang Mingche looked at the west room, and Han Ping seemed to be watching TV every night. But he was just watching the big bowl tea stall, so there was no room for improvement.

But if he is determined to continue to make progress, I will definitely give him a chance. Opportunities only favor those who are prepared. Don't say later that I took special care of Mingcheng because he is my cousin.

Well, I'd better remind him about it later.

"Okay, then you should practice well. Even if it's not your turn this time, you will have to replace someone else when they have been stationed abroad for two years."

Qiu Yin from the English group had been there for half a year and flew back two days ago to renew her visa. Fei Ming had also been there for more than four months and was now left alone to look after the store in London.

As for the Japanese group, Wu Mingju also came back to renew his visa. Qin Tian can delay for two more months, and then he can come back to celebrate the New Year.

However, the money saved in a year as a posting abroad is enough to buy a house in Tuanjiehu Community. After all, in addition to the basic salary of 800-850, there is also commission. The better the business of intangible cultural heritage products, the higher the commission will be.

Fang Mingcheng smiled, "Yeah."

When Qiu Yin and Wu Mingju came back this time, Fang Mingche asked them to take a break. The business of intangible cultural heritage products in Tokyo and London was really good before, and more and more customers came back. Everyone will meet at the company later to discuss the next expansion plan.

The Wang family quite agrees with Fang Mingche's expansion plan. The current situation is indeed that if they don't seize the market, they will not have the competitive strength in the future.

Mr. Wang even asked in person, "When we open a branch in Shanghai, can we accept a few family members of martyrs to work there?"

It is better to teach someone how to fish than to give him fish. For those families in need, just sending money is not a long-term solution.

Fang Mingche could only reply "select the best and employ the best", and asked them to send two to the travel agency in the capital for internship. Otherwise, since he even accepted Qin Tian, how could he not accept the brothers and sisters of the martyrs? Wouldn't that be a problem with his position?

However, he was also worried that those people would take this as a benefit and not work as hard as Qin Tian. In that case, it would be difficult to lead the team.

Now, the people have arrived. A man and a woman, both about 17 or 18 years old, graduated from junior high school. According to Lingzi and Hanmei, they are quite obedient and hardworking. They are currently living in Wang's house, and will rent a house when they are stable. When Mr. Wang heard that Fang Mingche was determined (as Wang Dexian described) to buy a larger courtyard house, he thought for a while and said, "I'll ask Secretary Liu to ask him. Is he still planning to provide accommodation for out-of-town employees?"

Otherwise, there are only so many people in his family, and his parents and nephews and nieces are also arranged in a small side yard. Why do we need to buy a big yard? A yard costs 20,000 or 30,000 yuan, isn't it better to save some money?

Wang Dexian said: "He said that the Overseas Chinese Apartment was a bit crowded, so he planned to move his office there. It was indeed crowded, and my desk was occupied, so I could only sit on the sofa when I got there."

It would be much easier to let Secretary Liu ask. The old man has more connections than him, so he is naturally more informed!
Mr. Wang raised his eyebrows. "Oh, you bought it with the money from the travel agency account. How much is it?"

"The latest figure is just over 30,000. However, he plans to buy it privately and rent it out to travel agencies. He told me that he is very optimistic about the investment value of the Siheyuan, and it has indeed increased a lot this year."

Mr. Wang said, "This is really profitable. All right, if he wants to buy it himself, then let him buy it himself. How big does he want to buy?"

"He said the bigger the better. He could rent half of it to someone else. The bigger the yard is, the more likely it is to provide accommodation for employees from other places. Didn't the three retired soldiers drivers also live in the Overseas Chinese Apartment? People from his hometown also live in the small side yard."

"Okay, I got it."

The veteran is indeed worth two. On the anniversary of the Xi'an Incident, Wang Dexian said to Fang Mingche, "There is a courtyard with three courtyards and a total area of two acres, about a 15-minute walk from the small side courtyard. Do you want it? It's just that it's not well preserved and needs to be cleaned up. But if it was not so poorly preserved, it would probably be very popular."

Fang Mingche's eyes lit up, "How much?"

"Ask for 140,000, foreign currency preferred! And they said it's only that price because it's not well preserved."

"Take me to see it, and then we'll talk."

"Okay, let's drive. It's windy and frosty to ride a bicycle."

Fang Mingche said, "Can't we walk there? It's only 15 minutes away, so we can do a test. What are we two grown men afraid of? We'll get hot after walking for a while."

"Okay, okay."

Fang Mingche looked at his watch and then walked over with Wang Dexian.

On the way, we passed Tiananmen Square, which was nice. This shows that we are not going out, and the house is within the second ring road. Only in this area can we dare to ask for such a high price.

140,000 is an astronomical figure for Chinese people today. Only overseas Chinese and foreigners can afford it.

Fang Mingche was thinking about how he could get the 140,000 yuan.

On the 15th, he received another yuan in dividends, and he had yuan in his personal account. If he distributed all the money from the travel agency, he could get yuan. But he was still short of yuan!
Unless you use all three commercial vehicles as collateral for a loan. No, no, you definitely can't do that. That's like putting all your assets on the courtyard. Oh, and there's also the Wang family's commercial vehicle.

The Wang family would definitely not agree to his doing this. Even if he bought the house, got the certificate and immediately took it to the bank for mortgage, it would not work. Even he himself could not play such a big game. What if the capital chain was broken?
The two of them indeed reached the place in 15 minutes. Fang Mingche had even been to this area before by bike.

"No, wasn't this a slum before? I think I passed by here last year."

Wang Dexian said, "Yes, it was turned into a slum. It was only at the end of last year that all the houses were vacated and returned to the descendants. When their grandchildren came back and saw it, they thought it was no longer the ancestral home. They had to spend a lot of money to repair it. They didn't grow up here, so they don't have any feelings for it. That's why they wanted to sell it."

Fang Mingche said: "14 is definitely not possible, at least not in one lump sum."

When I went inside, I saw that the layout had been completely changed, and there were many illegal buildings. However, this house should have been quite good before.

Well, if it weren’t for this situation, it wouldn’t be my turn to buy it.

There are 200 households living in Prince Gong's Mansion now, and they haven't vacated yet. So this courtyard should be cleaned up. Prince Gong's Mansion is now even worse than this.

Wang Dexian asked, "Are you interested?"

Fang Mingche said: "But this price is not acceptable."

Wang Dexian looked around and said, "I don't think so either. How about you wait a little longer? Maybe one day there will be another house that you want with clear ownership and in good condition."

"Forget it. This kind of courtyard is hard to come by. Besides, the value of Siheyuan has gradually become known to people, and the price has been rising fast. This courtyard covers an area of two acres and is very close to Tiananmen Square. It was probably originally the residence of dignitaries. It is so convenient to go to court from here! And there is only one house deed, which was sold by the only descendant of that family, so the property rights are clear. But we have to bargain!"

Fang Mingche drove Lin Yan and Yanyan over to take a look. They had no objections, so he let them make the decision.

After all, the family's money was basically earned by him, and he had long said that he liked and wanted a courtyard house. It wouldn't be a waste at all if he bought it, hired someone to clean it up, and then rented it out to a travel agency.

Finally, the two sides sat down to negotiate through a middleman, and finally reached an agreement of 136,000 yuan, but it had to be paid in two installments. 68,000 yuan would be paid first, and the rest would be paid within a year.

The seller agreed. The main reason was that the house was badly damaged and the total price was so high that it was difficult to find another buyer.

That's how 68,000 yuan was taken out. Fang Mingche took out all 24,000 yuan from his personal savings account. Then, before New Year's Day, the travel agency distributed another 21,000 yuan in dividends, so he got 14,000 yuan. (This way, there was only 10,000 yuan left in the account.)
The Wang family received 5250 yuan (1750 + yuan) and each saved it. Mr. Wang even joked: This year we can have a good year!

Although there is a suspicion of tax avoidance by distributing dividends before collecting personal income tax, there is indeed a reason for it: the partners are in a hurry to buy a courtyard house! This is also understandable.

The travel agency then mortgaged a business car and lent the 30,000 yuan to Fang Mingche. He paid the interest personally.

Well, from the first day he saw this dilapidated courtyard house, Fang Mingche asked Gao Xiang to go through the mortgage loan procedures. The process has been proceeding at a rapid pace.

The two parties agreed to go through the transfer procedures after the New Year's Day holiday. Wang Dexian asked an acquaintance at the bank to urge them to pay the money on January 2.

On December 12, the accounts must be closed and all the money for that year must be collected. However, the new year begins on New Year's Day, and the bank can lend money out again.

Fang Mingche felt relieved after this matter was finalized. On the afternoon of December 12, he called a meeting of all the travel agency leaders and above to discuss the plans for the coming year.

The nine people who attended the meeting were Qiu Yin, Ning An'an, Wu Mingju, Cui Yingqi, Zhou Ling, Gao Xiang, Lin Yan, Wang Dexian and Fang Mingche. Han Mei attended the meeting and took notes.

Fang Mingche was the last one to enter the conference room. He looked around and said, "Women really hold up half the sky."

He asked Lingzi to hang up the world map and the China map so that it would be easier to understand.

Sure enough, when we heard that he planned to open a travel agency in Shanghai next year covering the five provinces of East China, and to open overseas offices in the United States and France, everyone immediately understood his intentions by looking at the map.

"It is most convenient to open a store in Paris. Because London, where Qiu Yin is located, is only two hours away from Paris by train. Moreover, she has already looked at stores and houses for rent. The capital for opening a store overseas is mainly the down payment for the first batch of goods. We have the endorsement of the Ministry of Culture, and our credit rating for payments in the past six months has been very good. Therefore, we still only need the down payment. The down payment for opening a store is about 20,000 yuan. When Qiu Yin goes there this time, she will take care of the matter of opening a store in Paris first."

The house was transferred to him on January 10. The remaining yuan was a written IOU, secured by his shares in the travel agency. If paid off within a year, there would be no interest. If paid off within two years, the second year would be calculated at three times the loan interest rate. If not paid off within two years, % of the travel agency shares would go to the other party.

Therefore, after receiving the property title on January 2, Fang Mingche planned to let Gao Xiang use it to help him get a mortgage loan from the bank. This must not affect the normal operation of the travel agency.

When the money arrives, if necessary, I will pay the travel agency 20,000 yuan first, so that Qiu Yin can open a store in Paris. I will try to open a store in New York in the second half of the year.

As for the branch in Shanghai, we will consider opening it after the new year. Because the cost of running a travel agency is higher, a business car costs 35,000 yuan. There is no place to rent a car for them in Shanghai.

However, during the winter vacation Fang Mingche would take Xiao Hu there for an inspection.

For the Paris branch, Xiao Shen, the driver team leader, will be the person in charge and will bring in a new employee with good performance. Xiao Hu will be the driver team leader for the Shanghai branch. The branch president has not yet been decided and will be recruited externally.

As for the driver team leader in the capital, Xiao Jin was appointed. These three retired soldiers had been here since the store opened, and they had always performed well. Xiao Shen was the most outstanding, and he worked overtime during the Chinese New Year last year. And he was indeed capable. So he was sent abroad to be the person in charge.

So the problem now is that we lack the start-up capital for the Shanghai branch financially, and we lack a branch president in terms of personnel.

Fang Mingche felt a little regretful that the unpaid leave for state officials would not start until 1983. Otherwise, there would be many more outstanding talents to choose from.

Now, the branch president is more difficult to deal with than money.

"Think carefully about whether you know anyone who can take on this responsibility. It has to be a college student, or someone who has served as a deputy battalion-level or commune leader."

Wang Dexian raised his eyebrows and said, "Are you going directly to the deputy section level?" The same level as him.

"Yes, you can get commissions from the entire Shanghai travel agency, but the requirements are definitely high. If you introduce it to someone, you can ask for a monthly income of around 500."

The team leader level is around 300, and the branch president, especially the Shanghai branch, will definitely have a level of 500.

"If such a person is doing well, he probably won't want to come." Wang Dexian said. However, a monthly income of 500 is indeed very tempting.

"Let's wait and see. If it doesn't work, I'll ask my cousin to take over. Maybe someone below will be able to emerge soon." Brother Mingfeng should be no problem. Besides, he doesn't have to go to class like me, so he can go away.

Alas, talented people are hard to come by after all. Especially in the Fang family, there are almost no people who can help.

Gao Xiang asked, "Are you in such a hurry to expand to East China?"

"Yes, time is of the essence. We should start from the south and the north. Besides, most of our tourists go to East China."

East China is actually the so-called Jiangnan. Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong both visited Jiangnan six times. There is heaven above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below. And Shanghai was an international metropolis decades ago.

That night was Christmas Eve, and Fang Mingche was invited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to attend a reception dance at the Beijing Hotel. The travel agency had submitted a good amount of foreign exchange in the past year, and had always had friendly interactions with the Beijing Hotel. In addition, selling intangible cultural heritage products also brought fame and fortune to the Ministry of Culture.

He will go with Lin Yan. Wang Dexian will also go, but he will go as a member of the family. There will be many children from the family there tonight, especially those who can speak English. Foreign friends also need someone to entertain them.

Among the children in the compound, Lao Wang's foreign language level is outstanding.

Yang Mei couldn't go because of overtime, so Fang Mingche asked him to take Qiu Yin with him.

As for the rest of the travel agency, Gao Xiang will lead them to a western restaurant to have some fun, at public expense. It's a reward for everyone's hard work this year. Well, the chief and deputy chief of the scrap yard will also go.

In this special time, just watching a movie internally is definitely not enough. Movies are shown once a week, and everyone has watched more than 50 movies in the conference room.

Lingzi was the one who would pay the bill, so she asked, "Can we bring family members?"

The others immediately looked over. Most of them were between 20 and 30 years old, and many of them had families.

Fang Mingche said: "You can pay for it yourself."

Forget it, Western food is too expensive. Who would be willing to spend it if it's not at public expense?
Yanyan can also go with us tonight, she is very happy. Teacher Qiu mentioned to her the Christmas dinner at the Beijing Hotel hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, saying that it is of very high quality.

When we went to the Children's Palace to pick her up, she told her parents, "My piano teacher is going to play at a western restaurant tonight."

"Then the hourly wage will probably be high." Normally, it's OK to play a recording, but tonight it's probably going to require live performances.

Yanyan said: "I think she is very happy. She also told us to practice well so that we can have a chance in the future."

Fang Mingche said: "It would be nice to earn back some tuition fees." Learning piano really costs a lot of money.

Lin Yan was busy taking care of the clothes for the family of three. She dressed Yanyan in a retro winter skirt and a mid-length bright red space suit.

As for her and Fang Mingche, they wore the travel agency's work clothes: a black woolen Zhongshan suit with a military coat on the outside. They each had a military coat. Fang Mingche asked a former student who joined the army to get one for him. Lin Yan's was newly issued by Wang Dezhi last year, and he specifically asked for her size.

They issue them every two years, and his previous ones are still wearable.

That night they did not drive their own pickup truck. Instead, Wang Dexian drove Mr. Wang's military jeep to pick them and Qiu Yin up.

Qiu Yin was also wearing work clothes, otherwise she would have bought some nice clothes abroad. She was attending the banquet tonight as a professional woman.

Qiu Yin had been away for more than half a year, so Teacher Qiu and Grandma Qiu must have missed her very much. So Fang Mingche asked her to stay until Christmas before leaving.

Well, her personal problems have been solved. She is now dating the son of her father's old friend, who is a British Chinese.

When talking about this before, Grandma Qiu consoled herself by saying, "At least he is Chinese. It is much easier for me to accept than marrying a foreigner."

As for what to do after the one and a half years of overseas stationing, Grandma Qiu said it depends on them.

Now that everyone was in the car, Wang Dexian joked, "The buffet at the Beijing Hotel is delicious. Yanyan, did you eat less at noon?"

He actually wore a suit underneath today. He usually wore a Zhongshan suit to work, so it was fine for him to wear a suit on this occasion tonight.

Yanyan said, "I'll feel anxious if I don't eat enough. So, I still ate as much as usual. But it doesn't matter, I'm almost hungry again."

The winter skirt her mother knitted for her had ruffles at the waist, which didn't expose her belly. She didn't have to be so cautious later.

(End of this chapter)