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

Chapter 228 Shift in Mindset
Of course, Mr. Lin was unwilling to retire early. Although he had reached the age for early retirement, it would mean losing 20% ​​of his pension. He had agreed in the first place to make room for Lin Yan's work. But now, there was no one in the family who needed to take over his job.

Lin Yan thought for a moment and said, "Dad, how about we ask for leave?"

She actually felt that her father didn't need to suffer anymore. 20% of his retirement pension was only a dozen yuan a month these days.

Her father is over fifty and won't have any more opportunities for promotion. Besides, he started working at the factory as an apprentice at 16, so he's already had 35 years of service. If the family isn't short of money, he can definitely take a break. Hmm, I'll go back to the factory and ask if retiring after 35 years of service means I won't lose that 20% penalty.

Her mother retired early for Lin Yi's sake. Now, besides grocery shopping and cooking, she gets quite bored at home. If her father retired too, the two of them could travel together and enjoy the beautiful scenery of their country. It would be a good opportunity to have a good time before they have any grandchildren.

Otherwise, when they have grandchildren, they'll have to help Lin Yi take care of the kids. They'll never have any time for themselves.

The couple's combined retirement pensions are more than enough to cover their daily expenses. If they want to travel, she can afford it.

The key thing is that Lin Yi is starting to show some promise. This month, Lin Yi happily told himself that after receiving double pay, he saved 50 yuan. This is the first time ever.

It's time to put the pressure on him! Whether it's supporting his family or saving money for his children's education, it's all Lin Yi's responsibility.

It's already good enough that he doesn't have to earn money to rent or buy a house. Otherwise, he'll never grow up. He spends all his salary every month and spends his spare time playing cards with his coworkers.

He now has a vision of buying a used minibus in a few years and making money by driving it; he's become much more ambitious. As for the fact that he definitely hasn't saved enough money, as long as he works and lives well, we can lend him the shortfall first. He can pay it back slowly as he earns money driving the minibus.

It's the same as when Mingche agreed to lend money to his brother and sister-in-law to buy a shop and a house. If someone is working hard and being self-reliant, they deserve a helping hand.

Of course, whether or not to retire early is a decision her father should make. Lin Yan now hopes that her father can take some time off to go on a trip together. Looking back, the other three elderly people all have more flexible schedules and are also starting to think about taking a break.

Han Mei was actually happy for her parents to go out and have some fun, as it was inevitable that they would have friction when they stayed at home all day. So she actively tried to persuade them to go out.

“Lin Yi and I are both adults, so you can rest assured. As for meals, we’ll eat in our own canteens. If Lin Yi thinks the food at the factory isn’t oily enough, he can eat at the courtyard house in the evenings. He can also come here to learn more English.”

If the elderly couple isn't home, they can have dinner in the courtyard house, watch an English movie, and then come back. These days, the home theater plays original language films repeatedly every night. Staff members who have free time and are willing to learn are welcome to go.

When Lin Yi returned home from get off work in the afternoon and heard about it, she nodded, "Yeah, let's go out and have some fun. Take advantage of our mobility, and my sister and brother-in-law will pay anyway. Do you really expect us to work ourselves to the bone at the factory?"

Finally, Mr. Lin was persuaded and agreed to take leave so that he could set off as soon as possible.

Lin Yan asked Lin Yi to inquire whether retiring after 35 years of service would result in no loss of 20%. Lin Yi's inquiry revealed that the loss would only be 10%.

The old man listened and seemed to be deep in thought.

A few days later, Han Mei led the four elderly people to the immigration office to apply for passports. Then came the visas, which were also processed smoothly. Nowadays, our capital city and Tokyo are sister cities with a very good relationship.

The four of them were then assigned to the next tour group to Japan.

Lin's father went to request twelve days of personal leave. The workshop foreman approved it without the slightest hesitation, leaving him somewhat disappointed. When he was young, he was a key technical worker and couldn't even get a single day off.

Lin's mother said, "Don't overthink it. The organization asked you to train so many apprentices, and now they're all masters. If you keep refusing to step down, it'll be difficult for them to get promoted."

Nowadays, seniority is still a significant factor. Unless one possesses exceptional or outstanding skills, there is no reason for an apprentice to cut in line with their master.

By mid-November, the four elderly people had made their trip.

Fang Mingche and Lin Yan both went back to school to take their midterm exams, so Lin Yi and Fang Minghua drove them there together.

On the way back, Fang Minghua asked, "Brother Lin Yi, you drive pretty steadily."

At first, he thought Lin Yi might not be a very reliable driver. But with four elderly people in the car, the ride was extremely smooth.

Lin Yi said, "Brother Fang, you must drive carefully. I'm in the car myself, my life is at stake."

"That is."

A few days ago, Yuan Shufen urged Fang Minghua to learn to drive. Such good opportunities shouldn't be wasted. Seeing that even his own father enjoyed driving, Fang Minghua was tempted.

He initially thought that since his brother wouldn't let him work for a travel agency, learning the skills wouldn't be very useful. However, it's always good to have more skills. He might not drive regularly, but he couldn't be completely clueless. Otherwise, he'd be completely lost when he suddenly needed to use his driving skills.

Yuan Shufen added, "You should study hard and teach me when you've learned it. The other day, Mingche told me that maybe in the future our country's car factories will be able to mass-produce cars, and cars will become cheaper. Maybe they'll become a means of transportation, just like bicycles."

Although Fang Minghua didn't believe this claim, he still went to observe the travel agency staff practicing on the playground of a nearby primary school when he had nothing to do in the afternoon.

He's the boss's older brother, so he'd definitely teach him wholeheartedly if he wanted to learn from others. By the end of the month, when the four elderly people returned, he was already able to drive himself.

Mr. Fang looked at the car and said, "You're driving too slowly. If you drive like this on the main road, people will honk their horns to urge you on."

"I'll practice until I'm more proficient."

Mr. Fang said, "There's also theory involved; you have to memorize the traffic rules."

Fang Minghua said, "I know. The younger ones are all waiting for the gifts their grandparents brought them, and to tell them about their experiences. You go ahead and do your work!"

Let him take his time and do things at his own pace; don't interfere.

Apart from Yan Yan, none of the other four grandchildren had ever been to Japan. Naturally, they were very curious about the things the grandchildren brought back and wanted to see the photos they had taken.

This time, they brought along the latest camera that Fang Mingche had bought.

Mr. Fang spoke with them, and when he heard that Fang Mingche had come, he said, "Let your grandmother tell you."

He needed to speak with his youngest son. Lin's parents' only two grandchildren were here. And since it was Sunday, his son and daughter-in-law were also working here. Naturally, they weren't in a hurry to go home.

Mr. Fang invited them to stay for dinner, or even just to stay overnight. There were always rooms available outside of peak season.

There's a shower here, and the water comes out hot. Back home, I'd have to boil water myself, or I'd have to go to a public bathhouse. After the flight, I didn't have the energy to go to a public bathhouse. So I went into a guest room in the side courtyard to wash away the dust of the journey.

After seeing this, Fangfang and the others told their grandmother to go and rest first, while they unpacked the gifts and candies they had brought back themselves.

Upon arriving in Tokyo, Fang Mingche and Lin Yan had their employees give each of the four elderly people some Japanese yen so they could spend it freely. They also had someone specifically explain to them that travel agencies and specialty stores earn yen, so they have daily income and don't need to deliberately save money.

At the time, Lin's mother said, "I saw them spending tens of thousands of yen at a time in TV dramas."

Fang's mother said, "I saw it too; their money is worthless."

After all, I came from that era, having experienced the 60s. Even when faced with a dazzling array of goods in a shopping mall, I still spend quite cautiously.

But considering that travel agencies and specialty stores earn yen every day, I still bought some things when I saw something I liked.

Seeing the children happily unwrapping toys and candies, Fang's mother cheerfully went to rest. Only Fang's father remained, sitting and waiting at the counter.

Fang Mingche will be taking the postgraduate entrance exam in a little over a month. Naturally, he only decided to come over for a visit after hearing that his parents and in-laws had returned.

He felt even more pressure this time than during the college entrance exam! He also brought a stack of newspapers he had memorized, intending to replace the most recent stack with them and take them back after dinner.

Upon entering, I saw several children unwrapping gifts, so I casually asked, "Have your grandparents and maternal grandparents gone to rest?"

Yan Yan looked up and said, "Dad, Grandpa seems to be waiting for you."

Fang Mingche raised an eyebrow. What important thing did the old man have that he had to wait to tell him?
Then he saw that his older brother was back too. His parents had just returned after two weeks away, so Fang Minghua must have quickly handed over the steering wheel and come back as well. However, he had gone to the restroom and returned a little later than his father. Fang's father had heard that he was practicing driving and had gone to see him.

"Brother, do you know why the old man wants to see me?"

Fang Minghua shrugged. "How would I know? But you have exams coming up soon, didn't he say we should wait until after you've taken them before discussing anything else?"

His father believed in the saying, "Of all professions, only studying is noble." From childhood, his second son had always enjoyed preferential treatment because of his academic achievements. So when his second son quit his job and was beaten, his father was initially somewhat gloating.

However, it seems that in this new era, those who are good at studying are doing better than those who aren't. So, Fang Jian is quite gratified that he can now focus on his studies.

The two brothers went inside, and their father immediately said, "I want to buy a house!"

The two brothers exchanged a glance. Fang Minghua thought to himself, "We said we wanted to buy a shop, but we haven't found a suitable one nearby yet." The old man usually lived in the main house in the second son's small side courtyard, and he also had his own room in this large courtyard house. Why would they buy a house?
I've never seen him get along badly with any of his neighbors. Although some people in that tenement may be scheming, none of them are truly wicked.

Fang Mingche thought for a moment and said, "Dad, in what form do you plan to buy it?"

Buying a house is a good idea! Buying a traditional courtyard house near Tiananmen Square in old Beijing now is a sure thing. Currently, a standard 400-square-meter courtyard house with one main entrance is still priced around 30,000 yuan per square meter, the same price Qiu Yin bought in the middle of the year. It might have fluctuated slightly, but it's still a little over 30,000 yuan per square meter.

Mr. Fang said, “I earn a little over 300 a month now, so the amount I can take out at once isn’t much. But I don’t want to end up like Han Ping and the others, buying one and a half rooms in a tenement.”

He could afford to buy one and a half rooms all at once. After all, he arrived last May and started looking at guesthouses in courtyard houses. Initially, it was 100 yuan a month. Moreover, his youngest son basically took care of all his needs for food, clothing, and accommodation.

But the room Han Ping and his friends bought next door wasn't to his liking. Back in the countryside, everyone had their own small courtyard house, which was quite spacious. Even the small side courtyard and this traditional courtyard house he'd lived in for the past year or so were much more comfortable.

Fang Mingche nodded, "Okay, the housing prices are low right now, so you can buy if you want."

Well, after a trip to Japan, my mindset about buying a house has completely changed.

Mr. Fang said, “I’m prepared to take out 3000 yuan myself, and you can cover the rest privately for me first. Then, like Japanese people paying off their mortgages, it will be deducted from my income every month.”

When he went to Japan, he saw how enthusiastically Japanese people were buying houses. Everyone was eagerly taking out loans to buy homes. Moreover, their housing prices had risen exceptionally fast in the last two years! He refused to believe that China, once it develops further, wouldn't see its housing prices rise faster than Japan's.

With a population of over a billion, how many of them want to move to the city!
If he buys it like this, a set costs 30000, and his youngest son will contribute 27000. He can pay off the principal in nine years. As for the interest, it will be calculated at bank interest rates. He should have no problem living another 20 years.

Fang Mingche nodded, "Okay!"

However, upon hearing his father claim that he could live another 20 years without any problem, he suddenly remembered that this day seemed to be approaching in his previous life. But at this time in his previous life, the old man was already in poor health. It was completely incomparable to now.

He's full of energy and plans to work at the bed and breakfast for another 20 years!

Now he organizes a health check-up for his employees every six months, and he takes his parents along as well. In addition, he also invites Mr. Wang's healthcare doctor to check on the elderly couple every month. This prevents the situation from happening again, like in his previous life, where a serious illness was diagnosed but not treated because it didn't appear severe, leading to delays in treatment.

As for the money, he doesn't care much about the 3 yuan anymore; it's fine if he doesn't pay it back. If he does pay it back, the old man can leave it to his eldest son if he wants.

When Mr. Lin heard that his son-in-law had arrived, he took a bath, changed his clothes, and came out as well. He had been quite impressed by the advanced industrial development of Japan in the past. Knowing that his son-in-law was knowledgeable, he wanted to come out and have a chat with him.

When the results came out, my in-laws said they wanted to buy a house. They had indeed witnessed the frenzy of Japanese house buying during their recent trip. However, that didn't concern him, so he wasn't too bothered. He had a factory-allocated apartment and was living better than many others. However, he quite liked the detached house his daughter and son-in-law had bought.

He never expected that his in-laws, while watching a property launch in Tokyo and then taking a translator to the sales office to learn more, would actually develop the idea of ​​buying a house.

However, with an income of 300+ per month, I have the confidence to do so.

After saying what he wanted to say, Mr. Fang went back to his room to rest. But the point is, it's not easy to buy a traditional courtyard house like the one Qiu Yin family owns.

Normal households, like Grandpa Gu's, would never even consider selling their ancestral home. Teacher Qiu and Grandma Qiu made many inquiries before finally buying it.

(End of this chapter)