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

Xu Fangfang gave a wry smile. "Thank you for your concern, Master Li. I've now been accepted to a school in the city, and I probably won't be going back to Pingxi Town. Things will get better with time."

Li Jianbing admired her strength.

Everyone enjoyed the meal.

After a few rounds of drinks, Li Jianbing unusually asked a few more questions, "It's not easy for a divorced woman like you to live alone in the city. What are your plans for the future?"

Xu Fangfang thought for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, "I really have an idea. The reason my sister can be so independent and live alone without being controlled by her family is because she owns her own house, far away from her relatives in her hometown. She doesn't need to ask for help and is not afraid of anything."

I've thought about this carefully lately. A woman needs her own house to feel secure. Since I probably won't get married in the future, I'll save up for a few years and buy a small apartment in the city to settle down when I have enough money.

Although the teacher's salary is not high, she has a housing provident fund, and she can also tutor people on weekends to earn a little more.

Li Jianbing wholeheartedly agreed, "I mainly work in the plumbing and electrical industry in the city, and I've also done renovations for many teachers. I heard that if you work at a school for a certain number of years, you can buy a commercial apartment near the school, and there are preferential rates."

The government also provides special housing for teachers, which is much cheaper than market prices. You can look into it later if you're interested, and feel free to ask me if you have any questions.

Xu Fangfang expressed her gratitude once again.

In fact, Xu Fangfang did not contact Li Jianbing again until the summer vacation after that meal, and the two did not have any chance to meet.

Until school holidays, Xu Fangfang planned her tutoring money-making scheme and finally found a house of suitable size to rent.

When I contacted the landlord, I discovered that the house actually belonged to Li Jianbing.

The two were overjoyed when they met.

"Master Li, is this your home?" Xu Fangfang still found it unbelievable, so she specially walked out of the alley and looked around, marveling at the fate between them.

Li Jianbing nodded with a smile and explained, "This is Xiatian Village. It was just included in the demolition plan this year, and construction is expected to start at the end of the year. The houses haven't been demolished yet, so I put them up for rent to see how they are. I didn't expect to hear back after only a little over a month."

What are you renting this place for? Are you planning to move?

Xu Fangfang shook her head and pondered, "I moved to a place near the school last semester and rented a single room there. The school provides a housing subsidy, so I won't move unless something unexpected happens."

This is mainly because it's summer vacation, which lasts for more than two months. I'm thinking of renting a place to set up a summer tutoring center, and I've been looking around and I've already spotted your place.

Li Jianbing laughed heartily upon hearing this, "That's perfect. My house is just sitting here empty, so I might as well take the whole place and use it. Just pay a small amount of rent; I don't expect to make a living from rent anyway."

"How can that be! You've helped me, and I haven't repaid you yet. How can I keep taking advantage of you? I'll pay the rent as it is."

After much back and forth, Li Jianbing finally rented all three floors to Xu Fangfang at the price of one floor's rent, and the two signed a two-month short-term rental contract.

As Xu Fangfang was tidying up the house, she asked, "Does Master Li not live here anymore?"

Li Jianbing nodded. "This is my family's ancestral home. Besides this house, I also have an old company-allocated apartment. Now that I'm working independently, I live in the employee dormitory provided by the partner company for convenience. Anyway, it doesn't matter where I live, right?"

Xu Fangfang could tell from his tone that he was easygoing, and she sincerely praised him a few times.

After receiving the keys, she immediately began tidying up the house.

The self-built house has three floors, each over 100 square meters, square in shape, with a living room and three bedrooms, all simply decorated; all that's needed is a blackboard and tables and chairs. She only needs to use it for two months, and buying these things herself wouldn't be cost-effective, so she contacted a friend to find a landlord to rent it to for two months.

In less than a week, her tutoring center opened for business.

Li Jianbing was still worried, so he took some time to go and check on the place. As soon as he got to the front door, he saw a densely packed collection of bicycles parked in the yard. He counted at least twenty bicycles, which meant that there were at least twenty children taking classes there.

He was somewhat surprised and worried that his arrival might affect Xu Fangfang, so he waited outside for the children to finish class before going in to check on them.

Just then, the old lady next door came back from grocery shopping and saw him sitting at the door. She quickly went over to chat with him, "Jianbing! Not busy today?"

"Grandma, there wasn't much work to do this morning, so I came back to check on things." He pointed behind him.

The old woman immediately perked up, "I was just about to ask you that, did you specifically rent out the house to tutor Teacher Xu?"

"Ok?"

Seeing Li Jianbing's bewilderment, the old woman said with an air of knowing everything, "I've been through this before, you don't need to hide it from me. I only found out that Teacher Xu got divorced these past few days after I met her. Let me tell you, it's rare to meet a woman with such good qualities, you have to work harder and not miss this opportunity."

Li Jianbing finally understood and was both amused and exasperated. "Grandma, what are you talking about! I didn't mean it that way. I just wanted to take extra care of Teacher Xu because I know it's not easy for her to come to Anshi alone and work so hard. You should go back and cook, it's almost noon."

The old woman grumbled reproachfully, "You're so old, what's there to be embarrassed about? Let me tell you..."

Amidst the old woman's rambling, Li Jianbing managed to coax and persuade her to return home.

When he came back, there was a sudden increase in noise in the house, probably because get out of class had ended.

He was hesitating whether to go in when he saw Xu Fangfang and a group of children come out.

Everyone said goodbye to Xu Fangfang.

Xu Fangfang watched them leave before greeting Li Jianbing, "Master Li."

Li Jianbing was a little embarrassed. He caught a glimpse of his motorcycle out of the corner of his eye and slapped his forehead in annoyance. "Someone gave me a watermelon. You can have some. I just came to see how your tutoring center is doing. Is it going well?"

Xu Fangfang nodded repeatedly, "It's great. My sister helped me plan the enrollment early on and also mobilized her friends to help. Everyone introduced each other, and there were also some students I taught. There are quite a few people."

Her fees are low and approachable, and with her years of experience, running a tutoring center is quite easy for her.

Li Jianbing nodded awkwardly, and when he saw more children coming, he quickly left.

In the evening, Xu Fangfang saw off the last child from the tutoring class and was about to close the door and leave, looking exhausted. Just then, the old lady next door came out and immediately struck up a conversation with her as if they were old friends.

"Teacher Xu, get out of class is over? You must be exhausted after teaching all day!" the old woman said with a kind smile.

Xu Fangfang smiled faintly and shook her head, "It's alright."

The old woman stepped forward, grabbed Xu Fangfang's arm, and earnestly advised, "Teacher Xu, I think you're a good person, and you're a good catch. Would you like me to introduce you to someone?" (End of Chapter)