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

Chapter 218 Let's go to Anshi
Zhou Miaoqing felt deeply sympathetic and grabbed Tang Jing's hand tightly. "The fact that you were able to get into university proves that you are different from them. Your future life will definitely not be like that. Look, we have saved a lot of money in just half a month. You have to believe that we can earn even more money in the two months of summer vacation."

"Life will definitely get better after winter break. Also, if you have the opportunity, you can take the postgraduate entrance exam. The higher your degree, the greater your chances of staying in a big city, and the better family you'll marry into. You don't want to be assigned to a job in your hometown after graduation, do you?"

Zhou Miaoqing didn't say some things out loud, but Tang Jing could still understand her unspoken meaning.

She smiled at Zhou Miaoqing and said, "Thank you, Miaoqing. I will try my best to change my life."

The two girls smiled at each other.

Two days on the train was tiring, but thankfully it was only two days.

Zhou Miaoqing stood with Tang Jing at their own doorstep.

Zhou's mother thought she had seen a ghost. After a long pause, she screamed, "Old Zhou, your daughter is back!"

This is a family housing building. When Zhou's mother called out, dozens of households poked their heads out.

Mr. Zhou rushed out from the house two houses away, grinning like a complete idiot, and charged towards Zhou Miaoqing. "My darling daughter, you're finally back! Oh? And this is... your classmate?"

Zhou Miaoqing quickly introduced Tang Jing to her parents.

After learning that the two of them were making money together by setting up a stall, Zhou's parents became incredibly enthusiastic towards Tang Jing.

The two men rummaged through their belongings and prepared a sumptuous meal for them.

"Xiao Jing, now that you're here, make the most of it! There's a lantern festival and a lantern riddle guessing game in the park, it'll be so lively. The day after tomorrow, most of the shops on the street will be open, let Miao Qing take you around and try some of our local snacks."

Zhou's mother launched into a long list of suggestions.

Zhou Miaoqing quickly interrupted, "Mom, don't think about it anymore. I'll contact Xinyue in a bit. We still need to return the remaining goods to her and settle the bill with her. I won't feel at ease with this matter stuck in the middle."

Zhou's mother scoffed, "Paying the bill, huh! You think you're some big boss? How much is it? Do you even have a hundred yuan?"

Seeing that Zhou's mother looked down on her, Zhou Miaoqing got excited. She got up and closed all the doors and windows of her house, even drawing the curtains. She cleared her throat and said in a low voice, "I'm afraid you'll be scared to death if I tell you!"

Mr. Zhou put down his newspaper, adjusted his glasses, and asked cooperatively, "How much?"

Zhou Miaoqing held up five fingers.

"five hundred?"

"That's pathetic! Five thousand!"

As soon as the words were spoken, Mr. and Mrs. Zhou's expressions changed simultaneously. They looked at each other, and finally fixed their incredulous gazes on their daughter.

"That's utter nonsense."

After Zhou's mother finished speaking, seeing that her daughter and Tang Jing were very calm, she immediately believed most of it. "Wow! It really is five thousand? You earned five thousand in just half a month?"

Zhou Miaoqing shook her finger. "Wrong! It's not 'us,' it's me! If the two of us were together, that would be over ten thousand!"

"Hiss!" Zhou's mother gasped, turned around and grabbed Zhou's father's arm tightly, "Old Zhou, help me up, did I hear that right?"

“No, you heard it clearly, it really is five thousand!” Zhou’s father said.

Only then, filled with lingering fear, did he begin to scold his two children, "You took so much money and traveled by train by yourselves, weren't you afraid of being targeted by bad people! Why didn't you tell us about something so important? I could have just bought train tickets and come pick you up!"

Zhou Miaoqing wasn't angry at being scolded; she just sat down with a grin and continued eating.

Tang Jing felt envious and secretly decided that she would also have a home like that in the future.

Because the two children were going to find Chen Xinyue with a large sum of money, Zhou's parents were worried and decided to go to Anshi with them.

Left with no other option, Zhou Miaoqing called Chen Xinyue and explained the situation.

We agreed to depart on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year. Anshi is located at the southernmost part of the provincial capital, and the climate there is even warmer than in the provincial capital.

After buying the train tickets, Zhou's father began to worry, "Isn't it a bit presumptuous for us to bring our whole family to someone's house during the Chinese New Year?"

Zhou's mother rolled her eyes in annoyance. "You're only finding out now! Hurry up and go out to see if you can buy some nice gifts. People have helped their daughter earn so much money; cheap things won't be presentable."

So the couple started running outside.

Zhou Miaoqing took the opportunity to take Tang Jing out to play, letting her experience the winter in the south.

Early the next morning.

The four of them boarded the bus with a pile of luggage and New Year's gifts.

Now that the national highway has been repaired, the road is not difficult to travel. Everyone chatted and laughed along the way, and finally arrived at Anshi Bus Station at four o'clock in the afternoon.

Zhou Miaoqing went to the convenience store to call Chen Xinyue.

Not long after, Chen Xinyue and Chen Ruiyu appeared in front of the four.

The brother and sister, dressed in exquisite clothes, were strikingly beautiful and stood out from the crowd.

Upon seeing them, Zhou's mother immediately praised them, "What a beautiful little girl, what a handsome little boy! I wonder what kind of parents could give birth to such good-looking children."

Chen Xinyue and her brother were a little embarrassed by the praise.

The two men led them to a car parked across the street. Chen Wenjun got out of the car and exchanged a few pleasantries with Zhou's parents before warmly inviting them to get in. "The car can't fit too many people, so you can get in. The two siblings can ride bicycles."

"This is so embarrassing!" Mr. Zhou said somewhat awkwardly.

Chen Wenjun offered a cigarette. "It's alright, they're used to riding bikes. It's not far from our house. Considering you have a lot of luggage, I drove over. Come on, get in the car first."

This was the first time the four of them had ridden in a private car like this, and none of them dared to speak to Chen Wenjun the entire way.

Chen Wenjun had no choice but to take the initiative to chat with them, making small talk, and they became more familiar with each other when they arrived at Nanyu.

Chen Xinyue and her brother arrived shortly after they rode their bikes into the garage.

Upon seeing Chen Xinyue, Zhou Miaoqing and Tang Jing both breathed a sigh of relief.

After she parked her bicycle, the two of them flanked Chen Xinyue from the left and right.

"Wow! Your family actually has a car. Ji Fang used to mock you for having princess syndrome, but I didn't expect you to actually be a princess!" Zhou Miaoqing exclaimed in surprise.

Tang Jing nodded vigorously in agreement, "Even if she's not a princess, she's still a young lady! My goodness! I never thought I'd actually ride in a car in my lifetime!"

She was still in a daze.

Chen Xinyue was both amused and exasperated. "What are you talking about! My family isn't anything special. It's just that my parents run a business, so we're a little better off financially. We're just comfortably well-off at best."

“Your moderate prosperity is different from our moderate prosperity!” the two said in unison.

When they arrived at the stream and saw the tin boat, realizing that the Chen family lived on the island, the expressions on the four men's faces were priceless.

The tin boat sailed on the river, and from a distance, Gao Lei's island villa could be seen.

Zhou Miaoqing exclaimed in amazement, "What place is that? It looks so grand!"

"Oh, you mean that place? That's Uncle Gao's house. They don't usually live here; they only go there occasionally for a few days of vacation," Chen Xinyue said casually.

Everyone became even more convinced that the Chen family was extraordinary.