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

Chapter 233 Extra 2
The family was picked up by a Jinjiang Hotel van and taken to the hotel for check-in.

Once inside the room, Lin Yan said, "Yan Yan seems to have grown up a lot. When we came back in '79 without her, my mom said she cried a lot. This time, we talked to her beforehand, and she was very understanding. She's suddenly become a big girl!"

Lin Yan and Fang Mingche both just submitted their first drafts of their graduation theses, and Lin Yan has already secured a job. Didn't Wang Dexian get promoted after returning? His words carry more weight than before; he directly offered her a position as a counselor at the university.

This job is much easier than teaching high school. Lin Yan plans to work while preparing for graduate school. After completing her graduate studies, she can teach at a university directly.

Fang Mingche even got into Peking University, she has no choice but to improve.

Fang Mingche thought for a moment, "After all, she's grown from three to seven years old. Besides, she's now single-mindedly focused on surpassing her parents, so she needs to work hard. Their school uses the overseas Chinese education philosophy, which is even more demanding than ordinary schools. If she doesn't work hard, she might struggle."

This time, Yan Yan herself suggested not going back. She heard that the round trip would take more than ten days, so she asked if it was possible not to go back.

The educational philosophy of overseas Chinese is different from the joyful learning methods used abroad. Overseas Chinese often faced immense difficulties initially, and it was through redoubled efforts that they were able to improve their social standing.

Yan Yan no longer needs to go to the Children's Palace for extracurricular classes; her school offers them. Moreover, the school provides bilingual education from the moment she enrolls. The quality of education is truly top-notch.

Now, Fangfang takes the bus herself to and from her home and the Children's Palace. She values ​​every learning opportunity given to her by her uncle.

Fang Mingche observed that Fang Jian had improved significantly compared to his carefree life in his previous life. However, he still didn't put in as much effort as Fang Fang in all aspects. But he shouldn't have to suffer the same fate of growing old in regret as he did in his previous life.

As for Fang Kang, his childhood was even happier than in his previous life. Fang Mingche only hoped that he would be self-reliant in the future and not upset his grandfather. He feared that if he managed to prolong his father's life, he might end up seeing his grandson, whom he hadn't seen in his previous life, with a rich woman.
If this trend continues, the next generation will likely remain the same as before, with women dominating and men declining.

As for Changchang, he wasn't born in the past life. In this life, we can only ask the same of him as we would of his sister. We hope he can follow in his sister's footsteps and study hard.

However, the family was already quite well-off when this boy was born. You can't spoil your child, no matter how rich you are!
Being a parent is truly a constant source of worry!
"Let's go downstairs for dinner."

After putting down our luggage, we had dinner at the hotel's restaurant. The Sichuan cuisine at Jinjiang Hotel is highly regarded.

It's too late; it'll be 8:30 by the time we finish eating.

Fang Mingche said, "Let's rest today. Tomorrow we'll visit the Wuhou Temple and Du Fu Thatched Cottage. Let's rest in Chengdu for a day!"

On the morning of the third day, the hotel's car took them to the bus station again. The asphalt road had been paved, shortening the journey to the county town to eight hours. Most importantly, the ride was smooth, and they weren't left with aches and pains from the bumpy ride.

Fang Mingche looked at Changchang sitting between himself and Lin Yan. What a happy post-80s generation! Much happier than his sister's first trip to Beijing.

Fang Mingche looked down at his son and said, "You've been sitting for quite a while. If you get impatient, go to sleep."

This is the first time this kid has returned home. The longest trip he's ever taken was the last time he flew to America. But that time he was in first class, and the seat reclined to become a single bed. He sat next to his mother and slept like a log the whole way.

Yesterday, the little guy was running around like crazy. We had to chase after him, leaving Ayan and Xiaomin to take care of the elderly couple.

"Oh." Fang Chang nodded.

He was still quite excited, having only just begun. He hadn't experienced anything his sister had said about 'his feet getting swollen from sitting so long.'

But after an hour, he became very impatient. He wouldn't even eat White Rabbit milk candy.

"I'm getting off the bus—"

Lin Yan said, "Do you think this is our car, where we can just stop whenever we want? Come on, lean against Mom and take a nap. I'll wake you up for lunch later."

She adjusted her son's position, then held him in her arms and gently patted and soothed him. It would be best if her little darling slept the whole way back. At times like this, she realized that a sleeper berth on a train is quite nice. No need to carry him around herself.

Fang Mingche waited until she had put her son to sleep before taking him from her and holding him himself.

Thankfully, I slept for quite a while on the way. We arrived in Simeng Town shortly after waking up and stopped for lunch.

The four hours in the afternoon were relatively easier to pass. The two of them, each holding a storyteller, finally made it to the county town.

It was Brother Mingfeng who arranged a car to pick them up. Seeing Fang Mingche carrying his son out of the car and walking over, looking relieved, he said, "This is a sweet burden for you; I haven't even had a chance to hold him yet."

"What's the rush? It'll happen sooner or later. Then you'll see that leather jackets are all show and no substance. You and your second uncle are coming back, aren't you?"

Fang Mingfeng nodded, "Yes. My mom said that if I had been admitted to Peking University, she would have been willing to go through all the trouble to make the trip. But I'm just a junior high school student. I said, you're really amazing!"

Fang Mingche laughed, "Still at the bottom."

He carried the person ahead. Lin Yan, Fang Min, and Fang's parents followed behind with their luggage. When Fang Mingfeng saw them exiting the station, he quickly went forward to help the two elders with their luggage.

Back in the village, we had dinner at the village secretary's house. He had mentioned it earlier. Mingfeng and his son were also there. No one in their family could cook; they'd been staying in the county town for the past few days. They ate with people from the video arcade.

The Party Secretary chuckled, "Mingche, I heard that phoenixes are male?"

Fang Mingche nodded, "Phoenix, phoenix, Feng is male and Huang is female. But please don't praise me as a golden phoenix that flew out of the mountain valley."

In later generations, "phoenix man" would be an insult!

Fang Mingfeng also laughed and said, "Yes, yes, it sounds kind of awkward."

The village secretary said, "Anyway, you're definitely going to be on our village's honor wall. Besides, not only are you a great student, but you're also willing to donate money to build a library for the village and sponsor impoverished children's schooling. Hmm, you even took several people from the village to the capital, and they're all doing quite well now. Hmm, Ayan is also a good person. She's never looked down on us country folk!"

The production team leader, accountant, cashier, and others who were accompanying the guests also chimed in.

Mr. and Mrs. Fang both looked very proud. Even though the second uncle wasn't being praised for his own son, he was still his nephew. Besides, this nephew was going to be working with their son to make money.

Fang Mingche said, "You flatter me, leaders. Please, let me toast you—"

He had long anticipated that he would not be able to leave without delivering the goods on this trip home.

The Fang family elders were all talking about opening an ancestral hall to worship their ancestors and including his admission to Peking University in the family genealogy. The village officials were also incredibly enthusiastic. He'd feel bad if he didn't contribute. Fang Mingfeng said, "Not only that, Secretary. Mingche and I are going to start a transportation business together. We can take a few of the villagers who can drive to Guangzhou to develop their businesses."

He's helping to ease the pressure. Otherwise, everyone would be thinking about going to the capital or something.

Sure enough, this topic immediately caught the attention of the Party Secretary and others, who all asked them what their requests were.

The village's rice mill is limited in scale, so it would be better if it could send more people out.

Fang Mingfeng said, "Honest, conscientious, and hardworking people are fine. Just find people according to the same standards as last time."

"You're only going to Guangzhou, not the capital?"

"For now, we'll only be running the Guangzhou to Chengdu route. We might add the Chengdu to Beijing route later. But it's still early. Mingche and I are still trying to raise money to buy a car. As for me, I don't have much left after buying that apartment in Guangzhou. Mingche is even worse off than me; he currently owes 800,000 yuan in debt."

"Eight hundred thousand?" The village secretary and the others almost bit their tongues.

Mr. Fang was amused for a moment, but quickly came to his senses. Their vanity at this moment required their youngest son to pay for it with money.

He immediately chimed in, "Yes, he went to the Japanese and bought a detached house. Yeah, the kind of small villa. Otherwise, the rent is too expensive. He borrowed money to buy it and then mortgaged it to the bank. He'll use the loan to pay it off. He has to pay it off in one lump sum in five years."

With Fang Mingfeng and his father changing the subject, Fang Mingche finally felt a little more relaxed and was able to eat in peace.

The village secretary and others were quite surprised. Fang's parents, who had been to Japan, then told everyone how much the Japanese love buying houses and how quickly prices have risen. They added that even Japanese citizens can make a 30% down payment and pay monthly installments for twenty years.
When I got back to my own home, everything was spotless. Even the sheets and blankets had been washed and dried.

This was done by the daughter-in-law of the Party Secretary, leading women from families with stable, honest livelihoods. The daughter-in-law was primarily responsible for assigning tasks.

Fang's mother went to the kitchen and saw, "They've even boiled hot water for us. This treatment is better than what the leaders from above would give us when they come down to inspect."

Mr. Fang said, "The more considerate others are, the more money your son will have to give back. Although there is a rice mill in the village, most people are still not doing very well." Especially compared to their family.

Although it was Fang Chang's first time returning to his hometown, he wasn't unfamiliar with such rural scenes. He often went with his parents to their family's recycling station or vegetable garden. While there were some differences, rural life was pretty much the same everywhere.

He muttered, "Going home, looking for my sister."

Fang Mingche said, "This is our hometown. Stop nagging, I'll take you to the county town tomorrow."

This kid can stay in Chengdu fairly well, but he wanted to see his sister as soon as he got back to his hometown after only a few minutes.

Fang Min has already gone home. He will sleep between his parents again tonight.

The next day, the family of three took Mingfeng's car to the county town to meet Xu Sheng. They arranged to meet at a video arcade.

The video rental store was showing "Huo Yuanjia." The mainland television station's introduction of the series, which caused a sensation and drew massive crowds, happened in 1984. So, the early screening in this small county town generated an unimaginable frenzy.

Mingfeng said, "The poor public security these days is being blamed on us video arcade owners. They won't even let me show Jin Yong and Gu Long dramas, saying it's because 'martial arts heroes break the law.' But you can't say there's anything wrong with fighting Japanese devils or Russian strongmen."

Fang Mingche nodded, "That's right, showing 'Huo Yuanjia' is politically correct."

Lin Yan was also somewhat interested in seeing it; she especially liked Zhao Qiannan's rabbit teeth.

However, Mingche was there to discuss serious matters; she had to take Changchang with her today. She figured the brat would definitely watch it too, which would hurt his eyes. Besides, he'd probably only watch for two minutes, and since it wasn't a cartoon and he wouldn't understand it, he'd start fussing and wanting to leave.

So she only glanced at it, and then took Changchang to the street to make sugar figurines.

Xu Sheng arrived on time and watched for a while. "It's really quite good, no wonder the business is so good. Where shall we talk?"

This place is definitely not going to work, it's so noisy.

Fang Mingfeng said, "A teahouse has opened on that street, and the private rooms are perfect for business discussions."

This isn't your typical old-fashioned teahouse in Sichuan, where old men play cards and brag. This one sells high-end tea, and the decor is quite nice. He must have planned this all along.

The three of them then moved over there, and Fang Mingche asked Xu Sheng about his current business, learning that he had almost completely taken control of the county's black market.

"Not bad, it's only been four years! You've developed so quickly."

No wonder Brother Mingfeng wanted to partner with Xu Sheng. After that, by opening up the supply and turning the black market into a large general store that pays taxes, they could immediately make use of the current consumer network.

Xu Sheng quickly waved his hand, "I can't compare to you at all, Teacher Fang."

When he went to the capital to source goods and stayed at the Fang family's house, Fang Mingche's international travel agency and handicraft shop had already opened. He casually asked Fang Mingfeng about it when he called him. He was quite amazed to learn that they had opened branches in several foreign capitals.

Fang Mingfeng also planned to call over Xiao Song, his apprentice who had seen Fang Mingche off at the train station twice before. Fang Mingche had previously thought Xiao Song was a good driver and a decent person, and had invited him to go to the capital. He didn't go!

Hearing that his cousin had called out to Xiao Song, he nodded and said, "Yeah, Xiao Song is good."

The three of them brewed a pot of tea and sat in a private room to discuss future collaborations. They eventually agreed that each person would contribute one-third of the capital, and the shareholding would be calculated the same way.

Fang Mingche only provided the money and didn't do any work, so he got 20% of the profits. His cousin and Xu Sheng were each responsible for a section, but the transportation involved greater risks. So his cousin got 45% and Xu Sheng got 35%.

The initial agreement is that each person will contribute 70,000 yuan. The cost of buying two cars will be 150,000 yuan, and the remaining 60,000 yuan will be used for purchasing goods and cultivating relationships with various parties.

Fang Mingfeng said, "I've already found a company to affiliate the truck with. I'll also take care of buying the truck. Xiao Xu, you just wait here to receive the goods. I estimate that if things go smoothly, we can start around May Day."

Xu Sheng nodded, "Okay!"

He mainly trusted Fang Mingche and felt that the business was a good one.

(End of this chapter)