The children were on summer vacation, and Lu Ting was on a mission again. Su Yan took two pots of orchids and went to the Su family courtyard with the children.

Su Yan gave the orchid to Su Ze and asked him to give one pot to his father-in-law and one pot to his new boss. Su Ze was naturally very happy. He was very touched that his sister had paid so much for him over the years and was now planning for his future.

After leaving Beijing for so many years, I can't return to my original position. Now I can only plan step by step. Fortunately, I have my father-in-law behind me.

He will definitely be promoted when the time is right. Even if not for him, his father-in-law will definitely help for the sake of his wife and children's good life.

Su Yan and her children stayed at her mother's house for one night. A week later, they returned to their own large courtyard with four entrances.

She rarely comes to her courtyard house. The reason she came this time was to inform the residents that her house would not be rented out tomorrow so that they could be mentally prepared in advance.

Regardless of whether she wants to move into the city with her children next year, this courtyard house must be vacated before the end of the year.

Su Yan also discovered that some old residents had lived there for so long that they regarded her yard as their own home, and even built random structures in the yard, such as bathhouses, toilets, and kitchens, all in the middle of the yard.

She gave the tenants six months to find a house to move out. At that time, she would also have to spend time demolishing the illegal buildings. The entire courtyard would also have to be renovated, and a glass greenhouse would be built in the yard. She wanted to make the courtyard very beautiful, which might take a year.

Because the gate of her courtyard house faces the street and has a very good location, it seems a bit of a waste to leave such a large courtyard house empty. Su Yan is considering whether to clear out two courtyards to open a private restaurant.

She had previously treated a male patient in his thirties in the hospital. His name was Zhuang Hefeng. His great-grandfather was a royal chef for imperial banquets, his grandfather and father were both chefs, and he was the head chef in the hospital cafeteria.

If she could get Zhuang Hefeng and his son to help her, and she could hire an all-round chef, two handymen, and a few waiters, she should be able to set up her own private restaurant.

However, before hiring anyone, she decided to add more windows to the back building facing the street and start by selling braised food.

After Su Yan returned, she wrote the renovation of the courtyard into her future plans and implemented them one by one. What she needed to do now was to grow more food. A major disaster might happen somewhere next year, and she hoped she could be of some help.

Before the New Year, all the tenants moved out one after another. Su Yan took the children to clean up the main courtyard and moved in with the children.

Lu Ting went on a mission in July and didn't return until the Chinese New Year. If Lu Fengnian hadn't told her that Lu Ting was safe, Su Yan would have suspected that he was in danger during the mission.

As for what mission Lu Ting was going on, Su Yan had no idea, and she also had no idea how dangerous it was.

It was impossible to say that she wasn't worried, but no matter how worried she was, she was powerless and could only wait for him to return after completing his mission with honor.

Lu Yirou sat on a small stool in front of the stove, holding a piece of broken wood in her tongs and pushing it into the stove. "Mom, will Dad be back for the New Year?"

"I don't know. Your grandfather didn't tell me either."

"So are we celebrating the New Year in the courtyard this year?"

"Well, this yard will be renovated next year. Your brother is graduating from high school, so I have to find him something to do."

"What to do? Didn't grandpa ask him to join the army?"

Her eldest son will only be fourteen years old on New Year's Day next year. Su Yan will naturally not agree to send him to the army at such a young age. She also wants to let Lu Yiming take the college entrance examination at the end of 1977.

Su Yan planned to let Lu Yiming work as an assistant to the decorators in the courtyard next year to gain some training, and then read and review in his spare time. When the college entrance examination was resumed, she would let her son sign up for it.

"Mom, are An An and I going back to the city to study together?"

"That depends on you. If you come to the city to study, we'll have to find someone to help you. If you attend the military primary school, I'll live with you in the military compound."

Lu Yirou hesitated and said, "Mom, if we go back to the city to study, what will happen to my friends? The courtyard is very big, but we don't have any friends here."

After hearing what Lu Yiru said, Su Yan naturally felt it was not a good idea to force the children to stay in the city to study. They still had one semester left in the second grade, and if they didn't skip a grade or repeat a grade, they would have to study in elementary school for three and a half years.

The triplets have excellent grades, but excellent grades in elementary school don’t mean much. We’ll know whether they are capable or not when they reach junior high and high school.

At the dinner table, Su Yan asked Lu Yian and Lu Yining what they thought, whether to study in the city or in the military farm primary school. Lu Yian didn't care, but Lu Yining had the same idea as Lu Yiru. He felt that there were no good friends in the city and wanted to continue studying in his previous school.

After the triplets washed their faces and feet and went to bed, Su Yan left Lu Yiming behind and said, "Yiming, can you tell Mom what you plan to do when you graduate from high school next summer?"

"I'm going to sign up to be an educated youth."

Su Yan thought he was talking about signing up for the army, but the educated youth had all found ways to return to the city one after another. Is this guy stupid? He still wants to go back to the countryside.

"Your grandfather wants you to sign up for the army."

"Mom, my dad is now the head of a regiment and he's often out on missions, not to mention the soldiers. I know it's not easy for soldiers, and it's even harder for their families. Mom, you've been worried about Dad for the past six months, right? I don't want you to worry about me again when Dad comes back."

"Then tell me, what do you like to do? What do you want to do in the future?"

"When I was little, I wanted to fly a plane like my youngest uncle, do research like my third uncle, be a doctor like my second uncle, and be a teacher. I also wanted to be an outstanding soldier like my father and grandfather, and I wanted to be a translator...

Later, as I grew up, I started to feel confused again. What do I really like? I seemed to like all of these, but also seemed to dislike none of them.

"So what do you like?"

"I want to make a lot of money and sleep on it, but it seems I can't do business now."

Su Yan knew that her son was a restless person. Maybe he worked diligently to pay off the mortgage in his previous life and died suddenly on the operating table. So he just wanted to make more money in this life.

"Your ideal is great. What if reform and opening up allow everyone to start a business? But I think before you start thinking about making money, you should learn more about how to make more money."

“Mom, do you want me to become your disciple? If Shen Wansan is reincarnated, I would like to become his disciple.”

"Yiming, haven't you ever thought that one day the country will reinstate the college entrance examination? You can go to university, learn some skills, and then go out and do business."

"Mom, are you saying that the country will resume the college entrance examination in the future?"

"National development cannot be separated from talents. The restoration of the college entrance examination is inevitable, but please don't say anything nonsense about it. Mom is just guessing.

Over the years, the educated youth have gradually found ways to return to the city. Those who can't return have settled down in the countryside. Why do you still want to run back to the countryside? When you graduate next year, come and learn how to grow vegetables and flowers with me..."

After Su Yan persuaded her son, she asked him to go back and think about it carefully. Lu Yiming thought about it all night and felt that escaping was not a solution. He could not sign up to go to the countryside just because he did not want to be a soldier.

After the Chinese New Year, he will have a good talk with his grandfather about his life ideals and future.