Back to 1984: Earning Money, Raising Kids, and Keeping the Household Busy

Since it concerned their grand plan to make a fortune, Lin Qin dared not be careless. After finishing her meal, she immediately went to the study on the second floor with Chen Wenjun to discuss it.

Since Huang Yuezhen returned to her hometown, Lin Qin cleaned up her room on the third floor. Now, Xu Jian, Xu Kang, Chen Xinyue, and Chen Ruiyu live in the room on the third floor.

One room on the second floor was reserved for Chen Ruiming, and another for Xu Xinyi. The remaining two rooms were Lin Qin and her husband's bedroom and a room that was converted into their study.

The couple has not come out since they went in.

Seeing how busy they were, Lin Yi took the initiative to take over the household chores.

Winter break arrived in the blink of an eye.

As Lin Qin and Chen Wenjun's business grew, they became increasingly busy, and with so many social engagements, they couldn't take care of their child.

Chen Xinyue was worried about how to entertain her classmate, so she specially discussed it with Xue Lingxue the day before the holiday, "Lingxue, when are you planning to come to my house? I'll ask my parents to prepare some delicious food."

Xue Lingxue's nose tingled with emotion. Remembering what her parents had said, she immediately hugged Chen Xinyue tightly. "Good Yueyue, my parents are taking me to another city for the Chinese New Year during winter vacation. I have to finish my homework, so I'm afraid I won't be able to come to your house to play."

"Oh, I see!" Chen Xinyue said with regret but also a secret sigh of relief, and then smiled and said, "It's okay, there will be plenty of opportunities next time!"

Xue Lingxue nodded sullenly, knowing in her heart that this opportunity was unlikely to come.

As long as she doesn't go to the Chen family, she won't have to face the gap between the two families and can still retain some illusions.

After Qu Zhiyang learned that Xue Lingxue was not going to the Chen family, he did not mention the matter again.

Chen Ruiyu naturally wouldn't bring it up herself.

The third year of junior high school is a busy time, with every student preparing for the high school entrance exam.

Even during the Chinese New Year, they were busy doing practice tests.

Lin Ying brought her family to Nanyu. As soon as she arrived, she found her two nephews doing test papers. Xu Jian saw this and joined in, cursing.

The three children worked diligently, while the adults tactfully moved tables and chairs to the yard to make tea and chat.

"Your family is the best! This brat wasn't this self-disciplined at home during winter break. He's only just arrived and he's already feeling the pressure." Xu Dahai exclaimed repeatedly, thanking Lin Qin and her husband, as well as Lin Yi.

Then, he asked worriedly, "Will A-Jian be able to get into the high school division of No. 1 High School?"

"It should be fine, right?" Chen Wenjun looked at Lin Qin uncertainly.

Lin Qin told him what she knew: "He's good at sports, so to be on the safe side, we enrolled him in a sports specialty program. If he goes through the specialty program, he'll definitely get in."

Xu Jian had said these words to Xu Dahai before, but as a man of little influence, Xu Dahai was unsure of what he was saying. Only now, hearing Lin Qin's reply in person, did he feel completely at ease.

The couple stayed in Nanyu for a few days, helping Lin Yi tidy up the farm work inside and out before leaving.

The high school entrance exam arrived in the blink of an eye.

Candidates who had worked hard for half a year entered the examination room.

Lin Qin took a rare break from her busy schedule to accompany the examinee.

As she was about to leave after the children went inside, she turned around and saw Yang Caifeng. The two excitedly went up to shake hands.

"Want some coffee?"

"Okay!"

The parent next to him: "."

The two women found the nearest coffee shop, ordered two coffees, and had only drunk half of them when they received a message from their workplace, forcing them to rush back and contact other parents to pick up their children. When Chen Ruiyu and Qu Zhiyang walked out of the examination hall, they found that the parents waiting outside had changed from mothers to grandfathers, leaving them speechless.

Old Qu and Lin Yi exchanged a few pleasantries. One of them took his grandson back first, while the other waited for his granddaughter.

For the next few exams, Lin Yi and Old Man Qu picked them up and dropped them off.

The two old men met a few times and were able to talk to each other.

After finishing his last exam, Qu Zhiyang excitedly asked on his way home, "Grandpa, I saw you chatting quite well with Chen Ruiyu's maternal grandfather. Do you know anything about Chen Ruiyu's family situation?"

Old Man Qu shook his head sternly, "Why would I pry into someone's background? What are you planning to do?"

Qu Zhiyang pursed his lips and muttered, "I just saw you two chatting so well. What else would you talk about if not family matters?"

Old Qu sneered, "Stop looking down on me! Let's talk about fishing! Your classmate's grandfather is a fishing expert. He said he once caught a bighead carp weighing over 20 pounds in Nanxi! He's definitely bragging! Have your dad prepare something for me sometime, I'll catch an even bigger fish to outdo him!"

Qu Zhiyang was stunned and realized something was wrong! His grandfather didn't have many hobbies, except fishing, which he was obsessed with. He never expected that Chen Ruiyu's maternal grandfather was also a master at it. What if his grandfather didn't catch a big fish weighing over twenty pounds? There would be no way to handle this!
Thinking of this, Qu Zhiyang racked his brains for a solution and gestured to persuade his grandfather to give up this terrible idea.

To this end, he even contacted his parents to trick Old Man Qu into leaving Anshi for vacation as quickly as possible.

Qu Zhiyang went along too, and didn't return until almost the start of the school term, thus missing the opportunity to visit Chen Ruiyu's house.

When he found out that they were still in the same class after the start of the semester, he was overjoyed and insisted on continuing to be Chen Ruiyu's deskmate.

To their surprise, Xue Lingxue was also in their class. She was a dancer and was taller than the average girl, so she sat right in front of them.

"Why isn't Xinyue in this class?" Xue Lingxue asked, her face contorted with distress, almost in tears.

Chen Ruiyu said with a gentle smile, "She's in the next class. As for the assignment, the teachers for both classes are the same."

Xue Lingxue was utterly captivated when she saw that exceptionally handsome face smiling at her. She forced herself to remain calm, turned away weakly, and leaned on the table to hide her unease.

Qu Zhiyang went to the next room to peek and, upon spotting Chen Xinyue, immediately waved excitedly at her.

Chen Xinyue's deskmate started teasing her, and she was speechless. She walked out in front of everyone, asking, "What's wrong?"

Qu Zhiyang quickly pointed at Xue Lingxue, "That girl cried because she wasn't in the same class as you."

Chen Xinyue immediately became anxious and rushed over to comfort her.

When I got back, I explained everything to my deskmate to avoid any misunderstandings.

In the following days, Xue Lingxue would pester Chen Xinyue after class. Everyone knew that the two were close, and when Qu Zhiyang occasionally came to see Chen Xinyue, no one thought anything of it.

High school is a demanding course, and the minds of young boys and girls have to give way to studying.

And so, three years of hard study left the four of them thin and frail.

On the day of the college entrance examination, Xue Lingxue entered the examination room with everyone, discussed the exam questions together, and laughed and joked together.

No one expected that she would quietly leave the country right after the college entrance examination.

Chen Xinyue made careful preparations and called Xue Lingxue, wanting to invite her to her home, but she couldn't get in touch with her.

Chen Ruiyu, on the other hand, contacted Qu Zhiyang, and the two agreed to come to Nanyu for the weekend.

Yang Caifeng waited until her son hung up the phone before curiously approaching him, "Going on a date with a young girl?" (End of Chapter)