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

Chapter 90 Great progress
When Fang Mingche returned home this time, he saw that his relatives were still wearing their old clothes, which were so washed that they became white and hairy.

China today is similar to North Korea 40 years later, both are poor and destitute.

No wonder when he joined a senior tour group to travel to North Korea in his previous life, as soon as he returned to the border, a group member couldn't help but bow in the direction of Sichuan.

Indeed, if there had been no reform and opening up, China 40 years later would probably be just a large-scale North Korea.

Fang Mingche felt that his life was pretty good now. When he came back and saw that his loved ones were not doing well, he decided to make a white shirt for them all.

Don't come out with a fake collar to make up for the fall.

If you haven’t experienced this era, it’s really hard to understand the farmers’ obsession with iron rice bowls and agricultural-to-non-agricultural jobs. That represents good days!

However, we have now entered a new era that they cannot understand for the time being.

Let them get rid of fake collars first. One step at a time!
Tsk, not everyone has a fake collar, and only people who go out to visit others wear one.

After that, Fang Mingche stayed at home to do the final check and fill in the gaps.

Until the morning of the 7th when I took the exam.

His mother made him a fried dough stick and two eggs for breakfast. This had always been the case when he was about to take an exam.

"Eat it, and you'll get 100 points after eating it. 100 points in every subject!"

Fang Mingche couldn't help laughing, "Okay!"

He sold his old 28-inch bicycle and simply rented a single room in the town's guesthouse to save the trouble of traveling back and forth.

It was only five dollars for three days, and including the food it didn’t even amount to ten dollars.

When I got home after the exam, my father asked me, "How was your year?"

Fang Mingche said calmly: "College should be no problem."

I used the review materials for BJ No. 4 Middle School that Lao Wang found for me, and I also prepared for the exam seriously, and I have indeed made great progress.

"That's good, that's good. A junior college is also very good! But, don't tell anyone else until the admission letter arrives."

I failed the exam in the past two years. Even if I have confidence this time, I will focus on being cautious.

Fang Minghua said, "I see. Hey, second brother, I heard that the university provides living allowances. How much is it?"

"Ayan and I have both worked for a few years, and we are paid at the highest level. Each person gets 22.5 yuan per month."

It's not much, but it's enough for food and accommodation at school. After all, the government still subsidizes some of it, so eating in the cafeteria is relatively affordable.

Some people are frugal and can even save some to send back home.

Fang Minghua said, "It's a lot. A strong laborer like me can't even earn 200 yuan a year. Hey, seeing how much you spend, is it profitable to resell the unsalable products of the supply and marketing cooperative?"

The family also knew about the four white shirts. They felt that the second son was too extravagant in spending money, and they also wanted new clothes.

"It's OK. The main thing is that there are no tickets and there are a lot of people, so there is no problem selling it."

"So now that you've passed the exam, you can't open a tea stall, and you can't do this business?"

Fang Mingche said, "You can ride a tricycle and hawk your wares along the street. Just like the peddlers of the past."

Fang Minghua sighed. He couldn't even do this job! His accent would be exposed if he shouted.

Fang Mingche said: "Anhui Xiaogang Village has already implemented the household contract responsibility system. When they have a good harvest, they will definitely promote it. Then the farmers' lives will be much better."

Fang Minghua was shocked and said, "What? Contracting production to each household? Those who wanted to do this in the past few years all suffered."

So in the past ten years or so, no one dared to mention this issue.

How dare you do this?

"Anhui suffered a drought that had not been seen in a century last year. If they don't find a way to save themselves, they will die. Eighteen villagers in Xiaogang Village took the lead. They also wrote a letter of commitment and pressed their red fingerprints. If anything goes wrong, the eighteen of them will take responsibility. Other villagers also promised that if they are arrested for this, they will collectively raise their children. Since the higher-ups haven't called a halt, they must want to see the results. If the results are good, they will promote it."

This letter of commitment, stamped with red handprints, was later put into the Reform and Opening-up Exhibition Hall. It was the heroic deeds of these 18 villagers that opened the curtain of reform and opening-up.

Father Fang was also shocked. He tapped his pipe on the ground and asked, "Are you okay?"

"No, all 18 of them are still working on the farm. When the autumn harvest comes, we'll be able to see everything."

It's no wonder his father and brother didn't know anything. Before there was a clear result, it was impossible to speak out.

Let’s wait for the autumn harvest. After the harvest and the public grain payment, we will know everything.

After Lin Yan finished her exams, she rested at home for a day and boarded the train on the 11th.

She left to avoid Yanyan. Mingche had already left, and if she left again, Yanyan would definitely not agree.

However, it was too painful to carry her on the hard seat.

Getting up early, Lin's mother took Yanyan to buy groceries, and Lin Yan slipped away with her luggage.

"Tell grandma what you want to eat. Grandma will buy it for Yanyan!"

Yanyan ordered dishes without hesitation. However, the food market has limited supply, unlike the black market where you can eat whatever you want as long as you have money.

Fortunately, Lin's mother went there early, and after waiting in line for a while, she still managed to buy half a pound of meat. She also bought celery and dried tofu to stir-fry together.

Yanyan returned home and didn't see her mother, so she asked, "Grandma, did mom go to set up the stall?"

Mother Lin knew that she would cry and make a scene sooner or later, so she said, "She went to look for your father."

Yan Yan was stunned, "Not taking me?"

“The train is so crowded, it’s so uncomfortable!”

It was torture to be crowded like that on such a hot day.

Yanyan cried out "wah" and started crying.

Lin's mother closed the door. Making sure that she couldn't run away by herself, she endured the pain and prepared the food as usual.

When a child cries, you should not comfort him right away. The more you comfort him, the more he cries!

When Yanyan's voice became quieter, Lin's mother poured some hot water and brought it to her to drink. She had cried so much that she needed to drink some water.

"Don't cry, your parents will come back later. Your mother will live with you."

Yanyan cried and hiccuped a little, "You didn't even take me with you, wuwu——"

Mother Lin picked him up and coaxed him, "They don't want you to suffer. If they had to go back to their hometown to handle the paperwork right now, they wouldn't have gone there in such a hot day. Okay, stop crying. They can't hear you crying now. Just stay with grandma during this time. Grandma will definitely not treat you badly."

This is true. Yanyan gets up early every morning to have a boiled egg and a glass of milk. She tries to have some meat dishes at noon and in the evening.

This made the neighborhood kids envious.

When someone asked about it, Lin's mother said, "My father gave me money. Look, he also bought me some clothes."

The neighbor's child saw Yanyan eating so well and started crying at home.

But my family was not well off, so I couldn't do the same. I just poured a basin of water into the courtyard, under my window.

Then he said, "He's just a street vendor, what are you so proud of? And you're still eager to take a bus to remarry. You really don't bring honor to the girls of the capital."

"My son-in-law went back to his hometown to take the college entrance examination. If he passes, he will be a college student."

"Wait until you pass the exam. We only take one out of thirty."

Mother Lin added, "What's wrong with setting up a stall? My son-in-law bought a car and a house for Yan."

(End of this chapter)