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

Chapter 221 Work Commitment
Fang's father contacted his second uncle again, who naturally agreed to go back together. However, Mingfeng didn't have time, so Fang Minghua accompanied the two elders back to their hometown for Qingming Festival.

Fang Mingche asked Han Mei to buy them three sleeper tickets, two lower berths and one middle berth, so they could sleep all the way back to the city. Mingfeng arranged for someone to pick them up at the train station.

After seeing their fathers off on the train, Mingfeng gave Fang Mingche a cigarette.

“Your family has three sons, Fang Jian, Fang Kang, and Fang Chang, for the next generation. Our family doesn’t even have a representative.”

Fang Mingche knew that he still longed to have a third child, and was determined to have a son. So he didn't say anything.

Family planning isn't as strictly enforced in Guangzhou, and it's convenient to register, give birth, and recover at private hospitals. Besides, Mingfeng has already prepared a house, so there's no issue of his wife having to hide from family planning officials while heavily pregnant. Furthermore, his wife is willing to go through with it herself.

"Let's go."

After returning home to sweep the tombs and offer incense, Fang's father quickly came back. He was still thinking about going to Shanghai to guide the guesthouse business. As for Fang Minghua, he was also eager to return to Beijing, as the family restaurant was still open. Although Mingfa had been asked to help, and Fang Jian and Fang Fang often went over, it was still necessary to have him as the main breadwinner.

My second uncle said, "Then let's go together."

So the round trip took a total of ten days, six of which were spent on the train.

It's mid-April now, and the passports and visas for the people from the travel agency who are going to Japan and Europe are gradually coming in. They plan to go after May Day and then spend a month handing over their duties.

That's enough, considering there are still deputies who will be arriving three months later. Therefore, another deputy will be leaving each month after three months.

In addition, Lingzi's father and a group of family members will also be going to visit relatives.

The travel agency's benefits for its overseas employees are either that the employee return home for a month-long vacation each year, or that one of their family members can come and stay with them for a month. Except for Qiu Yin, most employees chose to have their family members stay with them for a month.

Qiu Yin chose to go because Teacher Qiu wasn't interested in traveling abroad, and Grandma Qiu was too old. But the other employees' families, who might only have this one or two opportunities to go abroad in their lifetime, certainly didn't want to miss it. Usually, the parents would go once a year to fulfill their wish to travel and see the world. After all, the round-trip airfare was reimbursed.

All the formalities were handled by the travel agency. They just needed to submit the documents.

Of course, it's fine if family members stay for the full number of months required for a family visit. However, after the first month, they will have to take care of their own food and lodging. If they think the country is too far away and just stay abroad without returning, then their performance will definitely be penalized.

Even worse, some use this platform to illegally immigrate abroad, which is tantamount to cutting off their children's future. Fang Mingche said that such cases will definitely result in expulsion.

Qiu Yin and Wu Mingju, who are returning this time, have not violated any rules. Fang Mingche plans to promote both of them to vice president, and then have them serve as acting presidents for a period of time.

Qiu Yin will stay in the capital. This way, Fang Mingche can spend less time on the travel agency and more time preparing for the exam.

As for Wu Mingju, we've already spoken with him, and he's willing to go to the newly opened Guangzhou branch. Fang Minghui is currently handling the preliminary preparations for the Guangzhou branch.

She handled all the preparations for the travel agency and the specialty store. To be honest, she's not very good at administrative work; she's definitely not meticulous enough. But when it comes to handling these kinds of formalities, Minghui really knows how to manage. She got both things done at once.

This performance will prevent others from objecting when she's sent to Hong Kong in the future. After all, everyone knows that going to Hong Kong, like going abroad, means earning a high income.

Even Fang Mingfeng couldn't help but say to the girl on the phone, "You've really won back your pride this time."

Fang Minghui was overjoyed. "Mingche is right. The right person should be in the right position. I'm more suited to being out in the field than sitting in an office as a tour coordinator."

Yes, Cheng Changdong, the deputy director of the Shanghai branch, had actually been acting as director for quite some time and was very competent. This time, he was directly promoted to director.

Because Fang Minghui's performance this time exceeded expectations, Lin Yan even paid special attention to Lin Yi's driving. Several people from the Fang family came to work, and they were all quite competent. Even Minghui, their only weakness, did a very good job in her new position. It's not fair to say that only her brother is disappointing when it comes to employees.

Xiao Gang and Wei You were doing quite well before, and they both got into school.

Lin Yan definitely wouldn't ask Han Mei, even though Han Mei was in charge of scheduling the drivers and tour guides for the company. She would have to ask an outsider about that.

If someone tells her it's alright, then it's just average. If they say it's just average, then it's not good at all! As for praising her to the skies, that person is not being honest.

So Lin Yan said directly, "I know my own brother well, there's no need for me to cover up his mistakes. Otherwise, you'll just say he's not being honest."

After she said that, the people she asked all said it was alright.

That means his performance was mediocre, and there were probably some flaws. He was similar to Minghui before, not as good as those five members of the Fang family from the same clan or hometown.

Lin Yan told Han Mei, "Part-time drivers and tour guides who perform only moderately can be assigned fewer shifts. Opportunities should be given to those who perform well. You know who I'm talking about who performs only moderately, right?"

Han Mei could only nod, then told Lin Yi, "Your older sister isn't satisfied with your performance. It's probably because the tour guide you worked with gave her some negative feedback. We're in the service industry, so we have to be a little flattering to the tourists. But we have to be careful not to be obsequious. My brother-in-law especially emphasized this point—to be neither servile nor arrogant. After all, many of our tourists are foreigners. He dislikes the feeling of being inferior to foreigners the most. We need to earn money and provide good service, but we can't be servile."

Lin Yi said, "That's quite a high requirement! And you've really put a lot of effort into figuring out my brother-in-law's thoughts."

Han Mei pinched him hard. "I'm trying to figure out what the boss is thinking. I'm the office manager. If I can't even do this, I might as well quit. I've relayed your message. If you don't do a good job and get fired, don't come back complaining!"

Lin Yi was somewhat unconvinced; he put in much more effort than at his regular job. Indeed, this part-time job was quite good; working four Sundays a week brought him roughly the same as his regular salary.

Han Mei said, "You can't just think of yourself as a bus driver. You're in the service industry; you have to have a service mentality. Our tour guides even have to be trained to smile with eight teeth showing. If a guest asks you a question, you have to answer it properly and patiently."

"I don't know how to speak English."

“That’s your weakness. Our drivers can all speak simple everyday phrases. In this respect, you might not even be as good as Changchang, let alone Yan Yan. Come and learn. There’s an hour of English lessons in the conference room every afternoon. Come over after get off work, just to pick me up. We’ll have dinner in the cafeteria and then come back.”

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow. "You even include a meal?"

Han Mei rolled her eyes. "It's not a meal-inclusive. Dinner tonight is for single people or those renting rooms, and they have to pay for it. Unless they've submitted an overtime report and got approval, then they don't have to pay. If you come over for dinner, we'll pay for two people's meals. That way, it'll save Mom some trouble cooking. By the way, Uncle Fang has been learning English these past few days. And foreigners stay at the guesthouse from time to time."

Hearing that her brother-in-law's father was also learning English, Lin Yi felt incredibly embarrassed. Saying that his English wasn't as good as Changchang's wasn't just offensive, it was extremely insulting.

Even Lin's father and mother couldn't help but laugh when they heard this explanation.

Lin's mother said, "Don't deny it! I heard Changchang singing an English song along with a tape recorder the other day, and he sang it quite well." Lin Yi said, "When he was little, he picked up the word 'baka,' and my brother-in-law joked that his son knew Japanese."

Mr. Fang is indeed learning English; he has returned from Shanghai. His guesthouse in Shanghai has opened, and foreign guests are staying there.

Not only did he learn it himself, but he also brought Fang Jian, Fang Fang, and Fang Kang with him.

"Learning a foreign language should start from a young age. We have such great resources, let's make the most of them. Helping out at the noodle shop is a small matter, your parents can handle that. Learning English is the big deal!"

English is a required subject in the college entrance examination, so learning English is definitely a big deal. Mr. Fang is truly proud that Yan Yan can converse directly with foreigners. On two occasions, when foreign customers couldn't communicate with him, he had to call Yan Yan to the rescue.

After hearing Han Mei's account of Fang's father learning English, Lin's father raised an eyebrow and said, "It sounds like he's really into it?"

I ran into him a couple of days ago, and he casually asked about it. Mr. Fang said he had just returned from a business trip to Shanghai. He also mentioned that he often drives that little truck all over Beijing.

"Of course! Uncle Fang gets 70% of the business from the daily necessities counter and the costume rental shop. He earns more than me now!"

Lin's mother exclaimed in surprise, "So many?"

Han Mei nodded, "Uncle Fang's basic salary for managing the guesthouse is already 100. He can also get 5% of the guesthouse's profits. I estimate he can earn more than 1000 a year. Add to that the 70% from these two businesses, and he'll definitely earn more than me."

She was over 300, and her father estimated it to be four or five hundred, or even over five hundred.

At first, when my brother-in-law asked his father to manage the guesthouse, everyone thought it was just to give the old man something to do and a salary. But after a year, everyone changed their minds. They all said, "No wonder Teacher Fang is so amazing; her father is just as amazing!"

Lin's mother asked, "What about your brother-in-law's mother?"

"She helps watch the daily necessities counter, and that's 45 yuan a month."

This money is still comparable to your retirement pension. This is purely my brother-in-law finding something for his mother to do and get a salary.

Travel agencies and specialty stores in Guangzhou opened for business on May Day. Wu Mingju hadn't returned yet, so Fang Minghui was temporarily overseeing things, and the staff under him were gradually being assembled.

Judging from this, Fang Mingche originally only planned to send Fang Minghui to Hong Kong to work as an assistant. Now he has changed his mind and might let her try to be in charge on her own. As a result, her basic salary will have to be increased by one-third.

Fang Minghui was even happier when she received the call! Her new job filled her with a great sense of accomplishment!

Fang Mingche asked, "You said before that you would exchange US dollars on the black market later, is that true?"

"Of course it's true!"

Fang Mingche said, "If you get caught, you should resign automatically."

"what?"

"Yes, that's my stance. It's up to you to decide. We're a foreign exchange earning company, and we enjoy many preferential policies. Being able to open a shop in Hong Kong is one of those benefits. Plus, we have foreign exchange certificates now. After submitting foreign exchange, we can receive these certificates to use at Friendship Stores, Overseas Chinese Stores, and some upscale restaurants. We enjoy the same benefits as those with foreign exchange. So, as a middle manager, if you get caught exchanging dollars on the black market, you'll definitely have to resign. Do you really expect me to betray my own family for the greater good?"

Some things are light on the surface, but become incredibly heavy once weighed. Travel agencies are booming these days, and there are bound to be people trying to bring them down. We can't afford to give them any ammunition!

Fang Minghui told her brother, Fang Mingfeng, that he shared the same attitude.

"You weren't doing well before, so your brother Mingche probably didn't take you seriously at all. Now, you've finally caught his eye. That's why he's giving you extra pointers, not wanting you to ruin your career over something like this. For companies that generate foreign exchange, the central bank tacitly approves of only handing over two-thirds of their foreign exchange earnings. If you want to keep the remaining third and wait for the exchange rate to appreciate to make a profit, no one will interfere. Mingche and many others definitely do just that! But if you try to exchange it on the black market and get caught, that's definitely not allowed."

Fang Minghui scratched her head, realizing that this meant one less source of income.

"So he's letting you choose. Do you want to play it safe and stay with the travel agency? Or do you want to go against the grain and risk making a quick buck?"

Fang Minghui had just felt a sense of accomplishment. Moreover, Brother Mingche had talked to her, saying that if she were sent to Hong Kong to work independently in the future, her income would increase significantly. And that was just the basic salary; the key was that there would also be commission.

"Well, I think I'll just stick to working at the travel agency! I think it's quite interesting."

Fang Mingfeng nodded, "If sales are good, you might be able to afford a house in Hong Kong, let alone Guangzhou."

Fang Minghui, who had recently learned about Hong Kong's property prices, shook her head and said, "They've dropped drastically, I'm not buying!"

Hong Kong's real estate market is on the verge of collapse in the next two years.

Fang Mingfeng shook his head, "Once Hong Kong clarifies its handover date, prices will definitely rise! Guangzhou is the window to the mainland, and Hong Kong is even more so! Going to work in Hong Kong at this time is a tremendous opportunity for you."

If the girl had remained the same as before, he wouldn't have bothered to say anything. But now that she's standing up for herself, he's happy to see her doing better and better.

"Don't just buy when prices are rising and not when they are falling! Think long-term."

Upon learning this, Fang Mingche couldn't help but say, "Brother Feng, why don't you get an MBA from the Chinese University of Hong Kong? I think you have a very accurate grasp of the economic situation."

Although I didn't foresee Shenzhen replacing Guangzhou's current status, I wasn't wrong about the general direction. No wonder Mingfeng was the most successful member of the Fang family in his past life.

Currently, there are no MBA programs in mainland China, but the MBA program at the Chinese University of Hong Kong is one of the best in Asia.

"Why would I study that? Besides, I'm not like you, who can just let the past go."

Fang Mingche said, "Then when Huihui goes there to work on her work visa, you'll have the opportunity to apply for a family visit visa. You should go and take a look then; Hong Kong is really great. Many places there are much more advanced than the mainland!"

Hearing this, Fang Mingfeng was actually a little tempted. He never thought he could count on Huihui one day!

(End of this chapter)