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

Chapter 226 Don't Eat Alone
Fang Mingche said to Wang Dexian, "Old Wang, it's not so easy for people outside to ride horses and shoot guns these days. You see, the military region has some guns and horses that are being phased out. You can buy them and add them to your club's program. Anyway, there are so many veterans, you'll have manpower to help you with the work. You can just rent a hundred or two hundred acres of land in the suburbs."

There was nothing he could do; his son had ridden a real horse once and had been eyeing it ever since.

Although he came home that day complaining of a sore bottom, his mother took off his pants to check, and found that his thighs were chafed and red. She even applied ointment that night.

But he still wanted to ride. He even showed off to Yan Yan and Kang Kang. Although Yan Yan and Kang Kang didn't say anything about wanting to ride too, they were also looking at him longingly.

Fang Mingche couldn't very well let those two brothers take his child to the horse farm all the time. After all, it was a cavalry training ground. Besides, people have to be realistic.

Wang Dezhi took advantage of the military region's holiday to treat him to horseback riding, knowing that suddenly asking for so much money would definitely cause inconvenience to the travel agency. Moreover, this happened right after the Guangzhou branch, the travel agency branch in Guangzhou, and the Hong Kong branch had just opened.

Naturally, it would be better to have a place where you can spend your money freely. The transaction is completed on the spot, leaving no debts owed. These procedures might be difficult to handle, and only someone of Old Wang's status could get them done.

In recent years, people like Lao Wang who have been involved in politics can indeed go into business. Once the official document for unpaid leave is issued next year, he could even apply to start a business directly. However, this is generally the choice of those who are dissatisfied with their political careers and are envious of the high returns of self-employment.

People like Wang Dexian and Yang Mei, who are highly valued by the organization and have just been sent abroad for training at public expense, would not make such a choice. Those who, despite the country's current shortage of foreign exchange, are still squeezing out every last penny to send it abroad, have bright futures ahead of them.

Now, not only can Wang Dexian do business, but in a little over two years until the major troop reduction in 1985, the military will also be able to directly engage in business. Because the country was truly too poor, this was a temporary expedient. For the next ten years or so, the military's business ventures flourished. Signalmen selling pagers and truck drivers running transport services were commonplace. Military regions contracting coal mines was also very common.

There were even two major military regions vying for business, which escalated into a physical fight that directly alarmed higher authorities.

Later, in the 90s, the military's right to conduct business was gradually revoked according to the military region level. After a few years of doing business, troop training became secondary. Moreover, allowing the troops to manage their own supplies and provisions was not an appropriate practice.

Wang Dexian's eyes lit up. If he could really get the paperwork done, he'd definitely earn more money than simply teaching self-defense or working as a bodyguard. During his six-month trip to the United States, he'd truly experienced the gap between the rich and poor. He and Yang Mei had their eyes on many things, but they didn't have enough money to buy them.

When we got back, the old man said it was perfectly normal. They even considered aircraft carriers, but the country doesn't have the money to build one right now. They said it would cost tens of billions!

Therefore, if he could really add activities like horseback riding and shooting to the club to make money, his income would definitely increase exponentially.

Wang Dezhi said, "The Wang family can't keep all the profitable businesses in their hands. But Xiao Fang's idea is good."

In late October, Yan Yan returned home and told Fang Mingche, "Dad, we're going to practice martial arts in the suburbs from now on. The club is moving soon. I heard we can even ride horses and shoot real guns there."

Their family is doing well. She goes to martial arts lessons with her older brother, older sister, and Kang Kang, and the family driver takes them there in a small truck. On Sundays, when Qin Hua's older sister doesn't have classes, she also goes to and from school with them.

However, the other students should be fine too. Since they can afford to spend money to learn this, a few people sharing a black box should be able to afford it.

Fang Mingche was studying so hard that he was completely overwhelmed. "We're moving? Let's go take a look."

Although it's not open yet, it shouldn't hurt to go and take a look.

But what did Brother Wang mean by that? Was he suggesting other families share the profits? Well, the travel agency in which the Wang family owns shares is incredibly lucrative; they're already quite prominent in their circle. The tallest tree in the forest catches the most wind!

But it shouldn't matter if he goes to take a look; it's always related to Old Wang. Besides, his family has four children practicing martial arts there, so it's acceptable for him, as a parent, to go and find out. To run horses, you need pasture. He's treating it as a leisurely outing after studying.

Fang Mingche asked Yan Yan, "Do you have an address?" If not, he would call and ask Lao Wang.

Yan Yan pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and gave it to him; it was a relocation notice. The address was clearly written on it.

"Go and call your brother, and tell him you're going to ride horses."

Now that you say that, that brat will definitely be eager to go.

Sure enough, when Yan Yan entered the children's room and said she wanted to go horseback riding with her dad, Chang Chang, who was playing with building blocks, immediately stood up by supporting herself on the soft mat.

The little guy said succinctly, "Let's go—" and then looked down at his clothes.

Yes, he just came back from downstairs. Sister Min just changed his clothes. He's clean now!
So the third master left without hesitation, went downstairs and got his car.

Fang Mingche said to Fang Min, "We don't need to cook dinner for ourselves. Um, your Ninth Aunt doesn't need to cook either; I'll just drive over and pick her up."

Lin Yan has finished her internship. These teaching internships usually last a month, ending after the National Day holiday. She had classes at school and used the time to research and write her graduation thesis at the library.

Although the workload is lighter in the final year, there are still one or two courses. A graduation thesis is also a must. Lin Yan plans to submit the first draft as soon as possible, and then focus on her family and travel agency affairs. So she's been quite busy lately.

Fang Mingche drove to the entrance of the teachers' college closest to the library and told Yan Yan to go in and call her mother out. If her mother didn't come out, she should come out too. However, he felt that horseback riding and visiting the club were also attractive to Yan Yan.

Yan Yan agreed and opened the door to get out of the car. The university campus was relatively safe, so Fang Mingche was fairly reassured.

Yan Yan had come here with her mother many times before and knew which window seats she liked to sit in the library. So she went straight there after entering the school gate.

Everyone inside was reading or writing furiously. She didn't call out to anyone, but just stared at her mother.

Lin Yan quickly noticed someone watching her and looked up to see her daughter standing outside the window. She tiptoed over and asked, "What is it?"

Yan Yan whispered, "Uncle Wang's club has moved to the suburbs. Dad is taking Changchang and me to see it. He asked Mom if she wanted to go too?"

Lin Yan nodded, "Okay, wait for me."

After saying that, he went back to his seat, packed his things, and took his daughter out.

Lin Yan became a mother when she was almost 20 years old. Back then, the legal marriage age for women was 18. At first, some classmates thought that Yan Yan, who was already six or seven years old, was their little sister.

In those days, there was no mandatory family planning policy, and people generally had several children. It wasn't uncommon for sisters to be ten or twenty years apart in age.

When people found out, they said it was someone's daughter, and that she had a son who was over two years old. She had even taken a year off from school to have her son; otherwise, she would have graduated by now.

Lin Yan and her children sat in the back seat. Fang Mingche said the front passenger seat was the least safe, so he always made them sit in the back.

She laughed and said, "Are you tired of reading?"

"Yes, it's good to go out and connect with nature."

He barely goes to school anymore, except for one major course and two electives. Besides, the greenery on campus and in the neighborhood can't compare to a horse farm nestled against the mountains and by the water. He looked at Yan Yan's notice; it mentioned over 180 acres. Land is only valuable now, especially in the suburbs. In 20 years, with real estate development, it'll be enough to build a medium-sized residential complex. It certainly won't be allowed to remain there so easily.

But that's not necessarily true. Old Wang is the son of a high-ranking official. Even if other shareholders are brought in, they'll definitely be from the same social class. If the business grows bigger in the future, as long as they can afford the rent, they can probably lease the property for a long time. They might as well turn it into a resort.

He drove over, and there was Wang Dexian's usual military jeep. That belonged to Old Master Wang.

Wang Dexian was indeed there. Seeing a car drive up, he came out to check. Seeing the license plate was Fang Mingche's, he laughed, "You're quite proactive!"

"As parents, we'd like to take a look at the future classroom environment."

Wang Dexian still had a cigarette between his fingers, which he stubbed out when he saw the child.

"Okay, I'll show your family around."

This place is huge, almost the size of a park. They've hired people to clean it up, and Wang Dexian just came to check on it after get off work. There are also people supervising the work. The official relocation is in three days, but they've been preparing for a while now.

“I only own 15% of the shares here, and there are several other companies that have invested. My third brother was the one who made the contact.”

Wang Dexian spoke with some frustration, but he also knew that the Wang family couldn't keep everything to themselves. Initially, they didn't know what the travel agency's future held. But now, it was clear that this club would be profitable, possibly very profitable.

Then the Wang family will have to share some of the benefits.

Fang Mingche didn't specifically ask whether the 15% belonged to Wang Dexian alone or the Wang family. In any case, it all came from Old Master Wang's resources, so it should be shared by the Wang family.

Wang Dexian is probably still the same as before, involved in the management and taking a share of the profits. He's likely still the one running this place, probably because he was the one who started the initial club. The other members of the Wang family are probably watching closely, wondering if he's taking a cut from both the travel agency and the club.

Changchang has short legs and can't walk fast. He doesn't want to go shopping; he just wants to ride a horse.

Wang Dexian then arranged for someone to take the mother and her two children there. Now that they had horses and horse trainers, they could ride right away if they wanted. The mother and her two children happily followed the people there.

Fang Mingche and Wang Dexian strolled around leisurely.

Fang Mingche was indeed feeling a bit bored with studying and wanted to go out for a walk amidst the green hills and clear waters.

Wang Dexian said, "When you went to America, didn't you feel like you had too little money?"

"Why don't I feel that way? I feel so poor. Especially since our foreign exchange reserves are so precious, we're reluctant to spend them abroad. It's okay, take it slow. At least you're not like me, still so in debt."

Wang Dexian curled his lip, "You're used to fooling outsiders, aren't you? I check the travel agency's accounts every month."

After opening stores in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, the net monthly income was 60,000 to 70,000 yuan. The Fang family received two-thirds of the profits, amounting to over 40,000 yuan per month.

The reason he still owes so much debt is not only because of the two shops and the travel agency in Guangzhou, but also because he bought a detached house in Tokyo. Since Xiao Fang bought it privately, foreigners who don't work in Japan can't get a loan.

Otherwise, how could there be no money in the account when it's already October?

I bought a detached house and rented it out to a travel agency. I mortgaged it immediately after receiving the keys, at 80% of its market value. So, the only difference in the account is 20% of the purchase price. I heard the full payment was 600,000 RMB. The property deed shows it's less than 100 square meters—that's really expensive!
However, the third brother did take a lot of money this year. When Xiao Fang bought a detached house in June, he took 20% of the purchase price and gave the Wang family a bonus.

Fang Mingche chuckled, realizing he'd gotten used to saying he was in debt. Surrounded by lush greenery, he felt much more relaxed. Constantly burying himself in studying was really depressing.

The exam is in January next year, less than three months away. The closer it gets, the less calm he becomes.

Wang Dexian asked, "By the way, why did you buy a Japanese house first?"

Fang Mingche said, "Japan's economy is currently showing the most obvious upward trend, and it's in the state just before the plane takes off. Europe and the United States are in the midst of an economic crisis, and it will remain sluggish for several more years."

Wang Dexian said, "Yes, you're right. Japan is now the world's second-largest economy! It's quite unsettling. The Americans who lectured us also said they're having a tough time right now. Japanese exports of cars and electronics are really impacting their market."

Fang Mingche smiled and said, "The Americans will take care of them. How could the Americans allow anyone to catch up with them so easily? A small island nation with troops stationed there can't even have a completely independent economic policy."

We ate at the club that evening. There are restaurants open to the public there, and the food is quite good. I expect there will be more and more dining, entertainment, and other activities available here in the future.

This meal was paid for by Wang Dexian! Now it's not just his meal anymore, so he asked him to put it on his tab.

After going out for some fresh air, Fang Mingche's reading efficiency that evening was significantly better than in the previous days. Five days later, the club officially opened for business, but he didn't go. He was in a good state of mind for reading that day.

Lin Yan took the children there, bringing Fang Jian and his two siblings along. They were also part of the martial arts training. It was Sunday, and all the students had to be present. Fang Min also went to help look after Changchang.

Lin Yan drove a small truck with a pair of flower baskets loaded in the back for the opening ceremony. She had Fang Jian, Fang Fang, Yan Yan, and Kang Kang sit in the back, holding the baskets to prevent them from bumping into anything. When they got out, they could carry the baskets over.

In addition, she directly recharged 1,000 yuan to get a gift card. "Recharge 1,000 yuan today and get 200 yuan free! You can use it for food, drinks, and entertainment." However, it seemed like there were quite a few people wanting to shoot guns and ride horses today, so they didn't compete for them.

She said to the children, "Today we're having a buffet. Let's enjoy the buffet for now, and come back another day for horseback riding and shooting, okay?"

The children all saw her top up her account, and the dazzling array of food at the buffet was indeed quite appealing to them. So they all said "okay," even Changchang.

Yang Mei saw them and walked over, laughing, "So you're the only one leading Boy Scouts?"

Lin Yan nodded, "Mingche said he's in good shape and doesn't want to interrupt. He'll be fine in another two or three months. He's been studying for a year, we have to support him!"

Yang Mei nodded, "A higher education is quite advantageous these days."

Those who graduate with excellent undergraduate degrees can still teach at junior colleges, especially local ones. But Fang Mingche clearly doesn't want to settle for second best.

Changchang saw the red balloon on the pillar and reached out to ask for it. Yangmei then asked a staff member to get one for him.

"You all take your time browsing, I need to go attend to other customers."

"Get on with your work, get on with your work."

(End of this chapter)