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

Chapter 232 Extra 1
On the Sunday after Fang Mingche received his admission to the graduate program in Economics and Management at Peking University, he hosted a small banquet at his family's courtyard house. He borrowed the club's chef from Wang Dexian to cook. The vegetable stall in which his family had a stake provided the best produce, including fruits, vegetables, eggs, meat, fish, and seafood. He would simply pay the market price.

Today's meal is just for relatives, friends, and neighbors; no gifts are accepted. It's Sunday, and everyone's happy to join in. People arrived early to help out.

The guests currently residing in the courtyard were also invited. Hearing it was a celebration for the host's admission to Peking University's graduate program, they were all delighted and came. The entire two-acre courtyard was bustling with activity.

After the banquet, Old Wang privately grumbled to Fang Mingche, "The chief architect proposed in late 78 that 'some people and some regions should get rich first.' Why can't there be a place for high-end consumption?"

Old Wang's club not only experienced a slight drop in business due to the incident on October 30th last year, but it was also recently criticized by higher authorities for its high-end consumption and alienation from the masses.

Fang Mingche had previously thought that the "Let Some Get Rich First, Let Some Get Rich Together" theory was formally proposed in a 1985 interview with a Time magazine reporter. He only now realized that the old man had actually mentioned it as early as the end of 78. However, it wasn't until after 85 that it became widely known.

He said, "Progressing through twists and turns, rising in a spiral. That's how things are developing now! Besides, the person who called you out by name definitely wasn't the one who said that. Otherwise, do you think I'm so enthusiastic about running an international travel agency? It's precisely because international travel agencies generate foreign exchange for the country, their banner is very clear. This kind of turmoil won't affect them!"

He was afraid that the powerful and wealthy would seize the property by trickery and force, so he brought the Wang family into the family early on.

Wang Dexian thought about it and realized that earning foreign exchange would indeed enhance the reputation of travel agencies. The country was desperately short of foreign exchange, and had even accepted dollar investments from traitors like Qin Manyun.

1979年，国家外汇储备8.4亿刀；1980年，-12.96亿刀（买美国武器装备有欠款）；1981年，27.08亿刀；1982年，69.86亿刀。

This is the entire country's foreign exchange reserves! Having traveled abroad, Wang Dexian naturally knew how low this figure was!

Fang Mingche held up two fingers and said, "Do you know how much foreign exchange reserves the Soviet Union had? I heard it was over 20 trillion dollars."

All he knew was that their value was 28 trillion dollars on the eve of their collapse. It should be over 20 trillion dollars now.

Wang Dexian gasped. He knew China's foreign exchange reserves were ridiculously low, but he never imagined that the Big Brother had so many!
Fang Mingche curled his lip. The wealth created over 70 years! It was plundered by the United States through financial means just a few years after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Let's leave them aside and talk about ourselves. He mentioned this number precisely to give Old Wang a clear comparison.

Wang Dexian didn't doubt Fang Mingche's source; even he, the section chief of the investment promotion office, didn't know that number. Actually, it wasn't surprising; the Russians were certainly not a target for our investment promotion efforts anymore.

Moreover, the government certainly won't publicize this number. It's too disheartening; it can drive people to despair.

Xiao Fang studied this major and has now been admitted to the graduate program in economics and management at Peking University. It's normal to hear about this from his teachers.

This time, Fang Mingche hosted a banquet to celebrate Wang Dezhi's graduation, and his three siblings, Wang Defang and Wang Dexian, along with their spouses and children, all attended. Old Master Wang entrusted Wang Dexian to deliver congratulatory gifts.

Well, it wasn't money or gifts, but a handwritten calligraphy piece given to me by the old man.

Wang Defang brought her boyfriend, not her lover. The two were well-matched and had been dating for several years. She had originally intended to get married after they both passed the university entrance exams. However, at that time, there were only a few months left before the promulgation of the new Marriage Law in 1980.

Both families must have received inside information, which is why they decided to postpone their studies until after graduation.

Her boyfriend's family was also very powerful, but this was their first time visiting the Fang family. Previously, in their eyes, Fang Mingche was merely a front man for the Wang family. Now, his admission to the Economics and Management Department of Peking University had increased his influence.

Moreover, the travel agency's business was indeed very successful in the past few years. Opening stores overseas attracted many foreign tourists to China, and they also sold many renowned local handicrafts abroad. Both of these were foreign exchange earning projects!
Speaking of Fang Mingche, a master at making money and generating foreign exchange, many in their circle think the Wang family is incredibly lucky. This is a windfall they got for free! Even Wang Dexian was praised for his foresight.

So today, his family invited him to come along too.

With that matter resolved, Fang Mingche moved on to writing his graduation thesis. The first draft was almost due!

However, he didn't have much material to research. His chosen research topic was how English would become increasingly important in future economic development. This meant he didn't need to spend time in the library or search for materials. Besides, his previous preparation for the graduate school entrance exams and interviews had already covered related topics.

He immediately began writing furiously in his study. He needed to submit the first draft before returning home to pay respects to his ancestors during the Qingming Festival so that his supervising professor could provide timely guidance.

Yan Yan came in carrying a tray of food and drinks. "Dad, let's replenish our energy. Dad, you're so amazing! It will be even harder for me to surpass you in the future."

She really idolizes her dad now; he's going to be a student at Peking University. She'll have to work even harder from now on!

Fang Mingche was naturally very pleased with his beloved daughter's actions and gaze.

He put down his pen and said with a smile, "Okay!"

After sitting for a while, he got up to stretch his muscles and then enjoyed his afternoon tea.

The doorbell rang outside, and Fang Min went to open the door, with Changchang following behind her.

"Uncle, Aunt—"

"Grandpa, Grandma—"

When Fang Mingche heard that his parents and grandparents had arrived, he quickly came out of the study.

Mr. and Mrs. Fang did not look too good.

Fang Mingche, who had been carrying a half-eaten snack in one hand and a small plate underneath in the other, walked out casually. Seeing their flustered state, he asked, "What happened?"

Fang's mother asked, "Do you still remember Yang Xiaoli from the next village?"

Fang Mingche thought for a moment, "There's no school in their village. They were the ones who studied together at our village primary school when they were in elementary school?"

I even sat at the same desk as him for almost two years.

"Yes, that's her."

Mr. and Mrs. Fang sat down on the sofa, and Fang Mingche also sat down on the single sofa.

"What happened to her?" This sounds like something bad has happened.

Fang Min went into the kitchen and brought out some snacks and corn juice. The kitchen in the Overseas Chinese Apartment also had a western-style kitchen island, where she was learning to bake some things.

Father Fang looked at his grandson and granddaughter.

Fang Mingche gave them five yuan and told them to go downstairs and get some braised food. "Yan Yan, take your brother and get whatever you want. I'll give each of you a braised wing, chicken wing or duck wing, it's fine."

Yan Yan knew her grandfather liked braised food, and there happened to be a popular restaurant near their neighborhood. The adults wouldn't let them listen to them, okay!
She led the cheerful Changchang down the elevator.

After they left, Fang's mother said, "She had her parents and brother kill her."

Fang Mingche put down his snacks immediately. "How could this be?"

Mr. Fang said, "Yes, who could have imagined? They disappeared right after the Lunar New Year. They just told everyone they'd gone south to work, and nobody suspected anything. If the police hadn't dug up the bodies they'd buried in their backyard…"

Fang Min, standing to the side, turned pale. She'd heard from her Uncle Jiu and Aunt Jiu that the security situation was bad these days. From the capital to Uncle Mingfeng's home in Guangzhou, the journey was fraught with highway robbers and bandits, making it very unsafe. But those places were all some distance away; she lived in the Overseas Chinese Apartment, where the safety level was much higher.

Hearing that someone from a neighboring village had been killed by a relative and buried in their backyard terrified her. Fortunately, she listened to her aunt and only told her family that she would receive a basic salary of 30 yuan.

Even Fang Mingche was shocked. He remembered that Yang Xiaoli had disappeared in his previous life, and many people said that she had become a rich man's mistress in the south and was not coming back.

Could it be that the case was unsolved in a past life, and by some twist of fate, it was solved in this life?
By the way, around this time in my previous life, the Yang family built a small brick and tile house and held a grand wedding for their son.

He frowned and said, "For money?"

Fang's mother nodded, "Yes, it's all because of the money she earned in the south. She refused to give it all out. I heard that during an argument, her brother accidentally hit her, and now her brother has been arrested. Her parents have also been convicted of harboring a criminal."

Mr. and Mrs. Fang were naturally shocked when they received the call from their hometown. That's why they came to talk to their youngest son.

Mr. Fang said, “I’d only ever heard that the security on the streets was bad. I never imagined that a family would do something like this for money. By the way, this incident also got your cousin and the others’ video rental shops shut down. They’re not allowed to show any bloody or violent films. Mingfeng has already rushed back from Guangzhou.”

It was already late March, and Fang Mingche guessed that Mingfeng was mainly concerned about their business partnership. He had managed to transport the goods back; Xu Sheng had black market outlets in counties and townships. As for Fang Mingche, his main use was providing capital. In the transportation and retail industries, money is extremely scarce in the early stages.

Fang's mother said, "That's scary. Have we bought train tickets back? Will something happen on the way?"

Fang Mingche said, "Sleeper berths are always better. If you're really worried, we can fly to Chengdu and then take a long-distance bus from there."

There's no risk of encountering highway robbers on the plane. As for long-distance buses, the roads are paved now. It only takes eight hours! Much shorter than the three days and two nights it takes by train.

He had originally hoped to take advantage of the last half-price train ticket during his student days. For the four years of university, he bought train tickets under the guise of working part-time, using referral letters from his family's travel agency.

It's not that he's unwilling to spend this little bit of money. Before his ID card was issued, he used his student ID as proof of identity.

Since Mother is worried about safety, let's take a plane. Although it'll be a bit more troublesome to transfer.

Mr. Fang thought for a moment, "Indeed, we haven't ridden the new asphalt road back from the provincial capital yet. Let's arrange it like this then!"

Having lived in the capital for over two years and managed a guesthouse, he's become accustomed to the convenience that money brings. Now, he's no longer blindly frugal.

“Okay, then we’ll take off this afternoon and stay in Chengdu tonight. We’ll explore Chengdu a bit the next day. On the third day, we’ll take a long-distance bus again in the morning and go home for dinner in the afternoon.”

This way I can rest better. The main problem is that the asphalt roads weren't paved before, and the highways were full of potholes from overloaded trucks.

In early April, Fang Mingche submitted the first draft of his thesis. He and Lin Yan, along with Changchang, Fang Min, and Fang's parents, embarked on their journey home.

Fang Minghua and Yuan Shufen's branch of the family won't be going back this time. They run a noodle shop, and it wouldn't be good to suddenly close it for a week or two. That would hurt their business! Besides, Fang Mingche is the main person involved in the ancestral worship ceremony, so their absence won't have a significant impact on the overall situation.

Yan Yan will be staying with her uncle and aunt for a while, sleeping in the west wing with Fang Fang. Fang Minghua has learned to drive, and will drive her to and from school in his car.

Fang Minghua was driving them to the airport. The sedan was a bit cramped, so Fang Mingche had him drive the empty, recently serviced minivan.

We now have eight commercial vehicles in the capital, and each one is inspected in rotation. That way, if any of them break down while out in the city, there will be someone to help.

The group set off after lunch, and the plane took off at 3:30 pm.

The flight from the capital to Chengdu takes three hours, and afternoon tea is served between 4 and 5 pm. Fang Mingche directly booked three rooms at the Jinjiang Hotel by phone and arranged for the hotel to send a car to pick him up from Shuangliu Airport.

I don't care about the amount of money, I just want convenience.

Even after boarding the plane, Mr. Fang was still quite excited. This time, they were flying business class, which Fang Minghua had described as "we'd be together even if we fell," making it an even more enjoyable experience than before.

After Fang Mingche bought the house in Tokyo, there haven't been any major developments, and the Wang family hasn't mentioned withdrawing political funds for the time being. Both their public and private accounts are currently quite full. Just as Fang Mingche said, it's not like it's a short-term debt.

Mortgage loans with maturities of three to five years are really nothing when a business is running smoothly. Nowadays, even the newest handicraft specialty stores in Hong Kong are thriving.

Although the state only explicitly proposed protecting intangible cultural heritage in 1991, local governments at present do not actually lack the desire to pay attention; they simply lack the resources. Now, some people are acquiring large quantities of intangible cultural heritage to revitalize the local economy, specifically for export and foreign exchange earnings. These local governments are naturally happy to see this happen and have provided considerable assistance.

Fang Mingche had Han Mei hire undergraduate students majoring in directing and cinematography at the Beijing Film Academy to shoot a documentary-like film, which has now been completed and sent to specialty stores in Hong Kong, Tokyo, New York, Paris, London, and other cities for screening.

A large 21-inch color TV and a VCR were placed there, playing on repeat. Travel agencies in various places also placed them at their front desks and played them repeatedly.

They couldn't get it broadcast on TV, but it was still unrestricted to play it on a video recorder in a private place.

Wang Dexian also set up a film at the investment promotion office. In addition to filming the creative process of the artisans, the filming team also filmed the mountains and rivers they traveled through, and presented the local customs and culture.

With professional camerawork, the beauty of China is truly breathtaking! It would be quite inspiring to show it to foreign investors.

He looked at the accounts and saw that it had cost tens of thousands of yuan! That was tens of thousands of yuan in 1982. Enough to buy two proper courtyard houses within the Second Ring Road.

However, the publicity effect was indeed quite good. He planned to contact the department that announced it and get it broadcast on Beijing TV to expand its influence.

At this moment, Mr. Fang looked at his youngest son, who was fastening the business class seatbelt for him, and asked, "Mingche, is the Jinjiang Hotel really the place where Chiang Kai-shek was entertained before the liberation?"

"Yes, he stayed here when he came here. Chengdu treated him to peaches from Longquan and pastries from the Jinjiang Hotel."

(End of this chapter)