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

Chapter 216 Ultimatum
Fang Mingche chuckled upon hearing this. "In that case, why don't you two set up your own scrap metal recycling station? You two can split the profits 50/50, which is a pretty good ratio. It's just a matter of each person bearing their own profits and losses. I already told you, the scrap metal recycling industry is bound to boom in the future. As for me, I earn five or six thousand a year, and I can hire two other people to manage it. You know, my brother and sister-in-law work hard running a noodle shop, and they don't even earn that much together. Even the travel agency, except for the vice president, doesn't earn as much as you two."

Back in the latter half of 79, when the scrap yard first opened, the crackdown on vagrants was quite strict. But now, the mobility has really increased. His parents, brother and sister-in-law, nephews and nieces living in the small courtyard are all vagrants, and Aunt Yuan doesn't even give them a second glance when she comes and goes. The neighborhood committee hasn't done anything about it either.

If he calls home and says he's short two people, without even mentioning salary, someone will immediately go to the Party Secretary and get a letter of introduction for them to visit relatives in Beijing.

Although he told Xiaomin, Hanping, and the others to go back and keep a low profile—they wouldn't be foolish enough to go back and tell people they earned tens or hundreds of yuan in salary and bonuses—their clothing and appearance had definitely changed a lot in the past two years. They would bring gifts and give money when they went home. The villagers saw all this; how could they not know?
Alternatively, he could simply not go back to call for help; he felt Mingfa was a good candidate. Mingfa took advantage of the huge customer traffic in Dashilan by playing ring toss or selling fried rice. His monthly income fluctuated between 120 and 150 yuan. He only worked three hours in the evenings. He couldn't find any good work during the day, so he helped out at his brother and sister-in-law's noodle shop, earning only 30 yuan a month.

Let him manage a scrap yard; after becoming a full-time employee, he could earn four or five hundred yuan a month, he'd probably be happy to do so. It just requires some retraining. It doesn't require much technical skill; the basics are already covered.

Someone who isn't good at driving or English, but can immediately come up with the idea of ​​going to Dashilan to play ring toss at the stalls of specialty stores, and even prepare consolation prizes for the kids who don't win, should have no problem managing a scrap yard.

As for the other scrap yard, we can either call someone from our hometown or recruit a returned educated youth from Beijing. It'll just take a little more work.

If Lin Yi wasn't just looking for a Sunday part-time job, but had already taken unpaid leave, he might even be allowed to give it a try. Perhaps, considering the monthly income of around 500 yuan, which would be higher than his wife's, he might actually do a good job.

Cheng Changdong, the deputy director of the Shanghai branch of the travel agency, earns only about 500 yuan a month. There aren't even any deputy directors in the capital. Experienced tour guides like Ning An'an and competent office managers like Han Mei only earn a little over 300 yuan a month.

Why don't these two people realize that if they hadn't gotten on board with the scrap yard, where would they have gotten four or five hundred a month on their own?

Zhu Dahai earns 1800 yuan a month, while Hu Yong and his team earn 1350 yuan per fish. Yet, Zhu Dahai and Hu Yong get up at three or four in the morning to collect vegetables. By five, they're already on the road transporting them. Moreover, they maintain all their relationships themselves. Even in the dead of winter, if it rains for several days, they still worry about sourcing and sales.

These two, since getting the tractor, probably don't leave home until 7:30. 8 am to 5 pm, with a one-hour lunch break. A solid eight-hour workday. They can earn four or five hundred yuan like that, and they still complain.

Fang Mingche made up his mind and said nothing more. Seeing the Cui family apprentice bring out the food and wine, he invited the two to eat. If they really had to part ways, then let's treat it as a farewell dinner. After all, they had worked together for a year and a half, so it was a good way to part amicably. As for the future, let's stick to business and see who has the best ability.

Compared to the scrap metal business, he didn't actually value the vegetable business that much. As he said, the vegetable stall had a lower potential. It was only a path of steady, modest profits.

However, Ayan likes it; it's a business she discovered. So let her do it. Besides, at this stage, their family is heavily in debt, the income from the scrap yard won't increase rapidly in the short term, and the travel agency won't be distributing large amounts of dividends due to its expansion plans. Therefore, the 20,000 to 30,000 yuan a year from the vegetable stall is quite substantial.

However, with the rapid industrial development in a few years, it's entirely possible for a scrap yard to earn a million yuan a year. A million yuan a year in the 80s and 90s!

He was already thinking about how he would protect his own little piece of land when his fellow Henan natives fully entered the industry. By then, the limit of seven employees would have been broken. He could then open more branches and try to compete with the Henan people in terms of manpower.

Fang Mingche didn't say anything, only urging people to eat and drink. Liu Qingfeng and Geng Shan, however, were somewhat panicked. In the past year and a half, they had fared much better than the other educated youth who had returned to the city at the same time. Working at the scrap yard, they started with a few dozen yuan a month, then a hundred or two or three hundred, and now four or five hundred. Indeed, as Teacher Fang had said, their income was steadily increasing.

This is partly due to the business becoming more established and the reputation gradually growing, and partly due to the expansion into new businesses (collecting recyclables at the entrance of the Overseas Chinese Apartment and sending people to collect recyclables along the street on tricycles). But more importantly, as Professor Fang said, it is indeed due to the fact that industry has returned to normal and is becoming more and more developed than before.

The more industrial goods are produced, the more affordable they become. And the more things people are willing to discard.

Selling vegetables is something closely related to daily life. Everyone needs vegetables! People in the capital are mostly willing to spend money on food. The only worry is that the state-run vegetable markets don't offer a wide variety of products. That's why Zhu Dahai and Hu Yong's business was indeed very good from the start.

It's conceivable that if they actually succeed in growing greenhouse vegetables, their income this winter will increase rather than decrease.

But that's pretty much it. They can't sell their vegetables to more distant areas; those areas already have their own vegetable vendors. Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake!

If Qi Shun wanted to expand outwards, would he really need to lower himself to ask for favors to make peace, and even give up 2% of his shares to Teacher Lin as an apology?
As for starting their own business, they weren't short of start-up capital. In the past year and a half, they had each saved three or four thousand!
However, they had no choice but to go elsewhere. Because it was Teacher Fang who had signed contracts with both villages, and he was also responsible for maintaining relations with the village committees. He didn't care who the scavengers sold to, as long as the price was acceptable. It's better to stick with what you know; they wouldn't follow the two of them to other places.

Nowadays, the scavengers who deliver the goods mainly stay within a few miles of these two scrap yards.

If they want to steal business, they'd have to do what Teacher Fang did back then and charge three cents more per pound. Three cents is more; a year and a half ago, if they charged two cents more, those scavengers would carry their recyclables several miles to deliver them.

However, competition in this industry is gradually increasing. The government encourages self-employment, and those who have experience in this field are generally aware of the profit margins. Therefore, many people have entered this industry.

They rented a site, hired workers, and oh, they had to buy a vehicle. Having grown accustomed to driving tractors, were they really going to want to go back to riding a tricycle? They never wanted to experience the sweltering heat of delivering recyclables by tricycle again.

The seven or eight thousand yuan that the two of them pooled together could only buy one tractor. Where would they get the money to buy two?
Moreover, running your own business means bearing your own profits and losses. When Zhu Dahai and Hu Yong were competing for business, they also had a tough time. They used to be like enemies in that courtyard. It's only now that they have more people, more capital, and no competitors in the area that they're doing well. They're following a strategy of low profit margins and high volume, a steady and long-term approach. It's also a case of hard work leading to wealth!
But if it weren't for Teacher Fang's advice and financial support, they might not have been able to defeat Qi Shun back then.

Now you have two options: either continue working with Teacher Fang and earning five or six thousand a year, with the potential for your salary and commission to increase exponentially in the future; or go out and start your own business.

Fang Mingche said, "Eat it while it's hot! This food won't taste good when it's cold."

The two men were startled. This scholar had shown no mercy when dealing with Zhu Dahai and Qi Shun. Qi Shun had the upper hand when fighting Zhu Dahai and Hu Yong's four men. But this scholar had combined the two groups and utterly overwhelmed them.

If the two of them became his competitors, he certainly wouldn't hold back. Their only option was to avoid him and open a scrap yard in completely unfamiliar territory. But now that so many people have entered this industry, would the two of them still have an advantage?

Fang Mingche finished eating and put down his chopsticks.

"You two should think it over carefully. If you decide to go out on your own, I can't stop you. Give me your answer within this week so I can make arrangements."

After he finished speaking, he got up, went out to pay the bill, and then walked back to the small courtyard.

When Kang Kang saw him return, he ran out and took the lock off from the inside, opened the door, climbed onto the stool at the eight-immortal table, picked up the teapot, poured a cup of tea, and brought it over.

"Uncle, have some tea—"

Fang Mingche thought of his nephew's wife, whom he had met on the plane that day. "You're quite the emotional provider, aren't you? You're nothing like his brother and sister-in-law's son in that respect. Those two aren't very good at handling things."

He took it, "Where are your parents, brother, and sister?"

He said he wouldn't eat here, so his sister-in-law didn't cook for him. The family should have finished eating and cleaned up by now. As for the elderly couple, they probably didn't want the hassle and will stay at the courtyard house tonight.

Kang Kang said, "My mom said that since no one has been here for so long, the noodle shop must be covered in dust. So she called Dad, my older brother, and my older sister to go and clean it up."

In the afternoon, the family rested at home. After all, they had been traveling for so long, and traveling is tiring. But after resting, they wanted to open for business as soon as possible, so they all went to clean the house.

As for Kang Kang, he wouldn't be able to do much work there. Besides, his brother-in-law is here; it wouldn't be good if they all left.

Yuan Shufen left Kang Kang at home and told him not to run out alone.

It was time to watch children's programs, and Kang Kang didn't want to go out alone. So, the four of them went to the noodle shop at the entrance of the alley without any worries. It wasn't far to begin with, just a few minutes' walk away.

Kang Kang was indeed watching a children's program, along with Song Chi and Niu Niu. But when he heard Fang Mingche enter, Kang Kang ran over to pour tea for his uncle.

His mother had always told him that they were able to study in Beijing and live in such a separate house thanks to his uncle's help.

"Alright, go watch TV. Uncle's leaving now."

He had lived in this area for three years and knew everyone well. Everyone also knew that his family now lived in this small courtyard. If anything happened, Kang Kang could just call out, and his brother and sister-in-law would hear him at the alley entrance. The neighbors would also look after him. Therefore, Fang Mingche felt quite at ease and prepared to leave.

Yan Yan had mentioned earlier that she wanted to go to Dashilan to see the variety show that evening. She's had dinner at the courtyard house now, so she's probably already gone. School doesn't start for a few more days, so they should stay at the courtyard house tonight too.

As he passed the alley entrance, Fang Mingche greeted his brother and sister-in-law, saying he was leaving.

Fang Minghua asked, "Did you come from the Dashilan side?"

"Yes, we have to go through that area."

"Then tell Mingfa when you see him that he should come over at seven o'clock tomorrow morning."

Fang Mingche nodded, "Okay!"

Fang Jian and Fang Fang, who were helping to wipe and clean everything, hurriedly said, "Goodbye, Uncle!"

Fang Mingche walked over, and Lin Yan and her two children, along with Fang's mother and Fang Min, were all there. It seemed they had all rested well in the afternoon. Oh, not only them, Gao Xiang was also there with Xie Ping, who was already showing signs of pregnancy.

Changchang was intently watching the sugar figurine vendor paint Yue Fei, the man and horse depicted with remarkable realism. He stood in a special spot next to the vendor, separated from the children gathered around by the wooden board where the sugar figurine was being painted. Fang Mingche stood next to Lin Yan, "Did Changchang buy this sugar painting?"

Lin Yan said, "Yes. He has bad luck; he spun the wheel three times and still couldn't get a big one. He wouldn't leave, so I had to buy him one. I'll have someone wrap it with that membrane later so he won't drop it."

The membrane was made of flour and was transparent.

Fang Mingche stood and watched for a while. When the vendor handed Changchang the 'Yue Fei' figure wrapped in transparent film, he said, "I'm the owner of the handicraft shop next door tonight. Can you draw anything else?"

Lin Yan just told him that the biggest thing you can turn around here is a dragon. She paid extra to have this Yue Fei painting done, so Changchang could have something unique. Wow, this is haute couture!
The vendor knew about the specialty store he was talking about, which sold handicrafts from various regions. He'd heard they'd already sold their wares overseas to earn foreign exchange. Everyone in Dashilan knew about it. Their business was much better than the previous handicraft store.

He nodded, "I can draw anything, including people."

Fang Mingche said, "Then go to Han Ping's stall tomorrow morning and tell him that I invited you to perform live. Let him arrange it for you. It starts at two yuan a day. If you bring in a lot of business, you'll get a commission. Hmm, you might be able to move to other shops."

The vendor asked with great interest, "Can I go abroad?"

Fang Mingche thought for a moment, "First the capital and Shanghai, then Guangzhou and Hong Kong. Going abroad is not out of the question."

He actually has plans to organize artisans to go abroad for live performances. He is currently inquiring about visa procedures.

"Okay, I'll definitely come tomorrow."

Fang Mingche picked up his son and walked towards Mingfa's stall. The others followed.

Changchang refused to let anyone hold the 'Yue Fei' for him and insisted on carrying it himself. Fortunately, there was a thin film, so Fang Mingche wasn't worried about it sticking to his body and used his arm to wrap it around him.

When they arrived at Fang Mingfa's stall, he was tossing a wok to fry rice for someone. He was also wearing a mask, and when he saw Fang Mingche and his group, he simply nodded without saying a word. Talking to the wok might deter some people from eating there.

Once the pot was ready, he said while rinsing the food, "Seventh Auntie is here to stroll through the night market too? Changchang, Yanyan, would you like some sweet potatoes or taro?"

His stall has two stoves, one for frying rice and the other for steaming sweet potatoes and taro.

It's still quite cold, even before the Lunar New Year is over. The ring toss game isn't doing any business! Who would brave the freezing wind to play ring toss? But the steaming food stalls are doing brisk business. Especially the steamed sweet potatoes and taro – they're so easy to make. And if someone wants something grilled, they can put it in the stove and grill it for them.

Fang's mother nodded in agreement.

Changchang nodded and said without hesitation, "Eat!"

He never feels full. Even if he has just eaten dinner, if you ask him if he wants to eat, he will definitely say yes.

Yan Yan shook her head, "Uncle Fa, I just ate dinner, I'm not eating anymore."

Fang Mingche said, "No need to give them to them, they'll get indigestion if they eat them. By the way, my brother and sister-in-law want you to go help them at seven o'clock tomorrow."

"it is good!"

With no other business available at the moment, Fang Mingfa took off his mask.

Fang Mingche asked, "Have you thought about this for the long term?"

In the long run, whether it's ring toss or selling fried rice and steamed sweet potatoes and taro at the night market, they can't escape being street vendors. While they can earn some money, it's unstable. What if there's another crackdown, and these noisy, boisterous night markets are no longer allowed?
Fang Mingfa said, "How could I not have thought about it? But I don't have any special skills. In terms of craftsmanship, I'm much worse than your sister-in-law. The main problem here is that there's not much competition."

If Minghua and his wife also set up a stall selling noodles and wontons, he definitely wouldn't be able to compete with them. Besides, his current business is entirely due to Mingche's stall.

These days, countless people covet the night market stalls. No one dares to take his spot because it belongs to his distant cousin. But Minghua is his own brother. If Minghua wanted the stall, wouldn't he give way?
He figured the only thing he could do now was earn money, save it, and then figure out the next step.

Fang Mingche said, "Do you want to get another diploma or something? Having a diploma would make things much easier."

Fang Mingfa glanced at Xie Ping, who had wandered off to the side, and said, "I heard she attends a night school that only requires a junior high school education, and it's a nationally recognized secondary education?"

He heard that Xie Ping had attended primary school for two years and that she only passed the entrance placement test because her husband tutored her.

Fang Mingche nodded, "Although it can't replace a regular high school or vocational school graduate, that diploma is still useful. If you can get it, you can work in an office at a travel agency as a dispatcher. Or there are other positions that are easier to obtain with a diploma."

Xie Ping was still studying when she joined the company, but she has already obtained her diploma. Moreover, she joined as a family member, so there weren't any particularly high educational requirements to begin with.

But Mingfa can't learn English, and he can't drive. It's really difficult to arrange things for him! In the long run, he'll probably be worse off than the five who work as drivers for travel agencies.

And then there's Fang Min; she also got her night school diploma. That's something you can earn in a year.

However, Fang Mingche told her that if she wanted to pursue education, it would be best to take the college entrance examination. Getting into a vocational high school would be sufficient in the 1980s. After graduation, he would ask Lao Wang for connections to get her a better job. Working for a travel agency was also an option.

After all, she's only 17 years old, so she can definitely take a chance.

Fang Min is currently reading some of Fang Mingche and Lin Yan's old books. Most of the materials Fang Mingche and Lin Yan used were taken by Xiao Gang and Wei You, and later by their classmates. But now it's easier to buy materials at Xinhua Bookstore.

Fang Mingfa nodded, "Then I'll go ask around myself later to see if there are any weekend shifts."

He could forget about taking the regular college entrance exam; he wasn't up to the task. Fang Min's family had two sons, and they couldn't afford to send both of them to school, so they had to let her drop out. She was actually a decent student. He was a boy, and even with several family members supporting him, they couldn't get him into high school.

With the matter settled, the group strolled around Dashilan for a while before returning to their courtyard house.

Gao Xiang and his wife traveled with them; their monthly rental agreement still had three days left. Their rented apartment wasn't fully arranged yet.

On the way back, Changchang fell asleep on his father's shoulder. Just as his sugar figurine was about to fall, Gao Xiang, who was walking beside him, caught it.

Gao Xiang smiled and looked at Changchang, while Fang Mingche asked, "You want a son?"

Gao Xiang said, "I wish I could have both a son and a daughter, but that wish is not fulfilled."

Unless he quits the job assigned to him after graduating from university and becomes the finance manager of a travel agency. True to his word, Xiao Fang has indeed filled all the other positions besides the travel agency with dedicated finance personnel over the past month or so.

But even just having a travel agency's finance manager is quite good; there are over a hundred of them.

Fang Mingche remained silent; he would never incite others to violate basic national policies. Of course, this wasn't a state-owned enterprise, and he wouldn't be fired for having a second child without permission.

Gao Xiang said, "It's fine as it is now. Xiao Ping and I will work hard to save money and try to buy a house as soon as possible."

He was quite at ease leaving his mother in his sister-in-law's care. Xiaoting had always taken good care of the old lady.

Fang Mingche turned to look at him upon hearing this. "Your sister-in-law is taking care of your mother for ulterior motives, isn't she? If you only go back once a week for a long time, see if she doesn't cause trouble eventually!"
He thought Gao Xiang should watch more palace dramas and family dramas. He has absolutely no skill in tea appreciation!
Xie Ping was also talking to Lin Yan, "Luckily, your teacher Fang pushed him a bit. Otherwise, I don't know when I would have been able to persuade him to live separately. Now he himself feels that he is in a much better state after living separately."

Lin Yan said, "Is your sister willing to serve the old lady like that forever?"

Even a biological mother wouldn't be able to treat a sick old woman like an empress dowager forever.

“If she refuses, we’ll hire someone else. There are plenty of people who crave work these days.”

Gao Xiang works part-time as an accountant, earning a little over 100 yuan a month. She also earns around 100 yuan. Xie Ting is just taking their wages to care for the old lady. If she doesn't do it, plenty of others will. This isn't like before the New Year when Xie Ting pretended to be bullied and the old lady sided with her; now that they're not under the same roof, she's not afraid of her anymore.

(End of this chapter)