Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 807 The Old Man's Feelings

Xiao Wei said, "If you like kids, why didn't you stay at my brother's place a few more days? I thought you guys could stay there for a few months, but you came back after only a few days."

Xiaowei's mother said, "The house is too small, the new building isn't finished yet, and your sister-in-law's mother is also there. It's not only cramped, but the customs of Mongolians are also quite different from those of many other places in China. It's been a bit awkward. Your father and I discussed it and decided to come back. We also have a lot of things to do here. We'll either go there at the end of the year or have them come back."

Xiao Wei said, "Next year will be better. The new building over there will be ready for handover next year. We'll keep two larger apartments up there for our own use, and you'll have a place to stay when you go there."

Xiaowei's mom said, "That's good. Keep two sets of corner ones, higher up. I saw you covered a circle there, the middle one will probably be damaged."

Xiao Wei asked, "You guys went to see it?"

Xiaowei's mother said, "How could we not go see them? They cost so much money. Your brother is going to check on them every day now."

Xiao Wei's dad said, "It's huge! That building is more than a mile long to walk around, isn't it? The country's policies are really good now. In the past, this would have been unthinkable. With this building, we'll have enough to live on for the rest of our lives."

Xiao Wei said, "The one in Xidu is even bigger, about three or four times the size of this one. You should go and take a look when you get there. It spans the street, with a road running through the middle."

Xiao Wei's dad said, "Was it designed by our design institute? It looks like a foreign castle, without any Chinese flavor, but it looks pretty good."

Xiaowei's mother said, "What does 'Chinese flavor' mean? It means something is built in China. Back in the day, we didn't have any tall buildings. Everyone lived in single-story houses. Even if the emperor built a four- or five-story house, that was considered extraordinary; they said it was reaching for the sky and touching the moon. How can you build something with a 'Chinese flavor' then?"

Xiao Hong lay on Xiao Wei's lap, laughing. Xiao Wei said, "Are you alright now? If you're alright, go to sleep. We have things to do tomorrow." He stood up and dragged Xiao Hong upstairs. Xiao Hong was still giggling. Xiao Wei's mother scolded, "This silly girl, I don't know where she gets so many things to laugh about all day long."

Xiao Wei's father stood up and said, "You go to sleep first, I'll go check if Lao Si is asleep." He went downstairs. His fourth uncle had arranged for him to stay in the annex.

Xiaowei's grandpa's house.

Zhang Wang and his wife sat in the old man's living room talking with the elderly couple.

The old man asked, "How are you? You've been here for a while now, have you settled in?"

Zhang Wang said, "It's alright, it's pretty good. I run errands for Xiaowei at the company, and Xiaoyu works at the factory learning a skill."

The old man asked, "What are your plans for the future?"

Zhang Wang said, "Why don't we open our own shop? That's what Xiaowei told me, and I think it's a good idea. I've checked out his shop's business, and it's doing really well. We don't have to tie people up. We just need to hire a few waiters and find a manager. We have a chef here. If Xiaoyu wants to move around, she can do it herself."

The old man asked, "So what do you do? Xiaoyu is pregnant, be careful not to overwork yourself."

Tian Xiaoyu laughed and said, "Dad, it's not tiring. That thing is like playing. It's just about spreading and squeezing some cream here and there. It's so much fun."

The old man smiled and said, "As long as you're happy, that's all that matters. You two won't have to worry about anything in the future. Just live a good life, and I'll help you take care of the baby after it's born."

Zhang Wang said, "Can you stay here? I bet you won't last more than a few days before you have to think about doing something else. This city is big and has a large population, so you can make more money doing anything here than back home."

Tian Xiaoyu said, "I heard Xiao Hong say that Xiao Wei suggested that our dad open a small shop downstairs, selling daily necessities, cigarettes, and alcohol."

Zhang Wang said, "That will definitely work. There are quite a few people in this area, and the factory alone employs several hundred people."

The old man asked, "With so many people in the factory, are they all going to be used?"

Zhang Wang said, "We can't use it all, so everyone takes turns. I heard it's for training people at the lower levels, and it seems like they're going to open a branch factory in every city in the future."

The old lady, who was eating an apple nearby, paused for a moment upon hearing this: "Running such a big business? You must be rich!"

The old man said, "Are you still dreaming? You think you can just move in like that? Did this house fall from the sky? It all belongs to Xiaowei and his family."

Zhang Wang nodded and said, "This whole area belongs to Xiaowei and his family. It's about eight or nine acres of land, including these buildings and the yard next to them. These buildings were all built by Xiaowei and his family. I heard it cost over ten million yuan. A couple of days ago, my second uncle and aunt went to my brother's place in Xingcheng. They said that Xiaowei and his family built a huge building there, even bigger than this one. It's about a kilometer around. Oh, by the way, Dad, my brother Zhang Jun had a baby boy."

The old man said, "Your second uncle told me that he found out late and that we'd talk about it at the end of the year. Oh my, I never expected that among your generation, Xiaowei would be the most successful. He's truly remarkable."

Tian Xiaoyu said, "The buildings next to the West End Police Station all belong to Xiaowei and his group. Xiaowei built the police station building. I heard from Xiaohong that Fengtian has built quite a few. There were about ten police stations last year, and there are more this year."

Zhang Wang said, "Yes, Xiaowei and his group have quite a few houses now, probably several hundred, and they have over a hundred storefronts alone."

Tian Xiaoyu said, "Dad, do you know that Xiaohong also owns houses? I even went to see them with her once. There are six buildings. Xiaohong said that Xiaowei gave her his secret stash of money."

The old lady stopped eating, swallowed hard, and started calculating: "Oh my goodness, how much does this cost? How did it all suddenly become like this? Could it be that I did something bad?"

The old man glared at her: "You have no self-control. What bad thing could you do that has escalated to this extent? Who did you steal from or rob? Xiao Wei is a big shot now, understand? How many people in our province are richer than him? Besides, he's a leader now, a representative of the National People's Congress. You should watch your words in the future."

Actually, back in 1992, there were quite a few people doing big business in Liaodong. It's just that information was slow back then, there was no publicity, and the common people didn't care much. For example, Shenyang Feilong had an annual profit of over 200 million yuan, and there were also factories and subsidiaries of all sizes. There were quite a few wealthy people, and in Wu'ai Nanta, there were many people with hundreds of millions or even millions of yuan. This was a seller's market with pure profits.

The old lady then asked, "Isn't this house government-owned? Aren't houses in the city all allocated by the government? They say you get one if you have a local household registration."

Zhang Wang said, "Those are all old almanacs. They don't distribute them anymore; you have to buy them. Besides, they can't possibly distribute new apartments. They're all just big, single-story shantytowns on the outskirts of the city, where a whole family squeezes into two tiny rooms. Even then, not everyone can get one."

Actually, back then, living conditions in the city were not as good as in the countryside. At least in the countryside, people could build their own homes, and families didn't have to squeeze together. A few years earlier, rural people could get enough to eat, while city dwellers were starving. Back then, many people tried every means to move to the countryside.

Uncle Xiaowei was able to stay in the city but returned to the countryside. Uncle San also wanted to stay in the countryside, but for some reason he was blocked and had to stay in the city as a worker. The conflict between him, Uncle Xiaowei, and Uncle Si arose because of this.

It was all for a bite to eat. Life was really tough for people back then. Even if you had money, you couldn't buy it, and it wasn't allowed to, it was illegal.

(End of this chapter)