Chapter 195 Public opinion comes first

That night, they had dinner at a restaurant near the Overseas Chinese Apartment. When Fang's mother saw that the kitchen was so clean that it looked as if it had never been used, she almost expressed her opinion again. But she held back when she remembered that her youngest son said that there was no need to "suffer without hardship".

It was agreed before that we would stay here for one night. There are four bedrooms here, so there is a place for the two elders to live.

After dinner, they walked around the community before going upstairs again. When they saw the air conditioner at the door, Fang's mother looked at Fang Mingche and Lin Yan. It is only used for a few days a year, but they spent thousands of dollars to buy one. Obviously, they still need heating in winter!

Lin Yan has never been stingy with money, but she should know how to spend money.

However, it is not good to scold them for being wasteful. They can spend, but they can earn even more! It was okay when I came last time, but this time, I felt that my view of money was shattered and reshaped. Isn't it just 14 months?

However, this big color TV seems to be better than the black and white one. This kind of large apartment has a large living room. It is a bit small to put a 14-inch TV. I don't know why the living room is so big?

I work and go to school all day, I don't know why the living room is so big? The unit price is about 200 yuan, and the living room of dozens of square meters is almost 10,000 yuan.

Hearing Fang's mother ask this question, Fang Mingche said, "Overseas Chinese are those who have returned from foreign countries. In foreign countries, the living room is more of a party function. From simple music leisure to rich family entertainment gatherings, Western families have given the living room a more dynamic form, and the entertainment nature is more obvious. A small living room is definitely not enough."

Fang's father said, "Then our Chinese living room, oh no, the main room is used to receive guests. No entertainment activities! Moreover, the house must be relatively spacious to have a main room. There are so many families in Grandpa Gu's place. A family may just put a curtain between the children, and some even sleep on bunk beds. We even went to see the Tuanjiehu community before. The 52-square-meter apartment has a toilet and a kitchen. There are only two rooms left, and the dining table is in the large room. There is no living room at all! Yes, ours should be a dining table culture. Everyone talks about anything while drinking at the dining table. Then after dinner, when the dishes are put away and the table is wiped, they form a card pair to play cards."

Lin Yan nodded, "Dad is right. Foreigners talk about living room culture, and we talk about dining table culture."

Fang's mother shook her head. Forget it, forget it, it's not her hard-earned money. She won't be annoying and talkative. As long as everything is really peaceful and nothing happens, it's fine. Can't she live a good life?

Before going to bed at night, Lin Yan asked Fang Mingche, "Our mother came into the room and looked at the air conditioner, and then looked at the look in our eyes. Did you notice?"

Fang Mingche nodded and said, "As long as she doesn't say anything, it's fine."

Lin Yan laughed twice, "You're just making her feel unhappy."

"I didn't say that! Don't talk nonsense." Fang Mingche glared at Lin Yan.

Lin Yan said, "I remember that my mother raised chickens and ducks. There was a rule at that time. A family could only raise three, so she valued the eggs they laid more. But after saving them for a month, they only sold for a few dollars."

She didn't say that she was watching closely, she could only say that she was watching more seriously.

"It's difficult to go from extravagance to frugality, but it's easy to go from frugality to extravagance. As long as they are sure that nothing will happen, they will slowly get used to it."

He thought about it. He knew the 'answer' and knew that no one would reverse history, and what he was doing now would not be a big deal. But the two old people didn't know, they were worried about themselves instinctively.

The next afternoon, Father Fang wandered outside for a while and returned to the courtyard. He bought himself a scone and brought one for Yanyan. It was Yanyan's business whether to eat it or not, and it was his business whether to buy it or not. Even if this girl is used to eating good food now, she can still try it.

As a result, he was seen by Fang Chang as soon as he came back. Seeing that boy staggering over with a smile on his face, Father Fang quickly put the two scones behind him.

Mother Fang scolded him, "You are like that kid, buying snacks when you go out? Look, your grandson saw it. If you don't give it to him, he will cry, right?"

Father Fang put his things behind him, and Changchang hugged his legs and followed him behind him.

Father Fang moved to the front again. Seeing that he still didn't give up following the things in his hand, he thought for a while and said, "When Kang Kang is this old, he should be able to eat steamed buns."

Fang's mother said, "At 12 months, you can eat pasta products. Noodles and steamed buns are both edible. But noodles and steamed buns are boiled and steamed, and yours is baked."

Chang Chang hugged his grandfather's legs and cried for food. The more he couldn't eat it, the more he wanted to eat it.

Fang's father had no choice but to take one out and split it horizontally from the middle, just like splitting it. The part separated in this way is the softest part inside. It's crispy on the outside and tender on the inside!

He tore off a wide long strip and fed it to his grandson, "Eat slowly!"

Chang Chang held it in both hands and bit it with his only two little teeth. Such a long, wide and thin strip looks quite visually. He leaned against his grandfather's legs and ate it very contentedly.

Fang Mingche came back and saw the grandfather and the two eating the pancake together. He knew at a glance that Chang Chang was eating the most central part.

"I was wondering who Yanyan took after when she was always out buying snacks. It turns out that she took after you, Dad!"

He and Ayan didn't like to eat snacks sold on the street. Ayan would only feel guilty when she was pregnant, but Yanyan was really greedy.

Father Fang said, "That's because you gave her so much pocket money. Now that self-employed people are encouraged, there are many people selling snacks on the street, carrying loads and pushing carts. How could she not be tempted when she saw them passing by?"

He paused and squatted, "I stood by and took a look. As long as the taste is good, their business is really good. This one makes a few cents, which is worth a day. What do you think about asking your sister-in-law to sell some snacks? She is quite good at cooking."

Father Fang was watching from the side of someone baking cakes, and he smelled how fragrant they were when they came out of the oven. He couldn't help it for a moment! But after all, he was embarrassed to eat while walking on the street, and it was a little hot when it was just baked. So he took it back!

He didn't see Fang Chang when he entered the door. As soon as he stepped through the door, the brat popped his head out of the pillar account, staring straight at his paper-wrapped scones.

"Of course." Fang Mingche nodded. But after going out for a while, he found a snack business for his sister-in-law. Then when the harvest is good this year, if they are willing, they can come to the capital to be blind migrants.

But now the arrest of blind migrants is not strict. Xie Ting and Fang Min are both blind migrants. They are quiet and no one reports them.

Well, they must be blind migrants, because no one buys a house and settles down now. If his parents are willing, they should be able to move their household registration with him. But they may not be willing.

Fang Mingche asked directly, and Fang's father shook his head, "We are old, why should we move to Beijing? Moreover, if we move our household registration, we have to give up the land. No, no! But what about Fang Jian and his three siblings?"

If they change their household registration to Beijing, they will save 600 yuan a year in high fees.

Fang Mingche shook his head, "They can't move, even if they register it under my name. What about family planning? How can they find out that I have five children? What's more, Yanyan and Kangkang are only five months apart."

The high fee of 600 yuan is a small matter. Transferring the household registration to his name is a big deal, and it has hidden dangers.

Later, Yanyan was sent back from the Children's Palace by Master He. Fang's father gave her another pancake, "Try it and see if it tastes good."

Yanyan nodded, "Okay, thank you Grandpa. It tastes good. I've eaten at this restaurant before." She recognized the packaging.

Fang's mother stared at the grandfather and grandson and said, "So you really got it from you."

Fang's father said, "It's not strange that you got it from me. But I wasn't as lucky as her when I was a child. I even had one dollar of pocket money a week. Well, remember to eat it behind Changchang's back. He also gets itchy when he sees other people eating. I've already given him some."

"Yeah, but it's almost dinner time and I can't eat the whole thing. I'll give half to Sister Min!"

Yanyan thought to herself: After moving to the Overseas Chinese Apartment, my pocket money has become ten dollars a month! It will be given to her at the beginning of the month for her to use freely. However, she wouldn't be so stupid as to say it out loud.

Her impression of grandma is still that she keeps a tight grip on things and doesn't give them to the girls in the family, especially her cousin and aunt. Grandpa is easy to talk to. As long as they don't waste food, he won't touch the girls in the family. But my eldest brother has been beaten a few times.

"It's up to you."

After dinner, Fang's father suggested going over to see how the small side yard was run.

"It's still a retro restoration. The west room of the main house is renovated, and the rest is restored. Okay, you will live there in the future, so go and have a look." Fang Mingche said.

After dinner, they should take a walk to digest the food. Walk a hundred steps after dinner, and live to be ninety-nine. So they walked directly there. Lin Yan and Yanyan didn't want to go, especially Yanyan who just came back from school there, so she didn't go.

Fang Chang was in the stage of liking walking the most, and immediately followed with his short legs. He loves going out. Living in a building, he has to go downstairs several times a day.

In comparison, he prefers living in the courtyard. You can walk a lot!

Fang Mingche said: "Okay, I'll take you. You love to walk."

Fang's father said: "I think the child should grow up in a bungalow and can have outdoor activities frequently. Otherwise, let him stay in the courtyard with Xiaomin during the day."

He said that he wanted the little grandson to accompany them here for a few days. How can a few days be enough?

Fang Mingche thought about it and said, "Okay. We'll come over after school to have dinner, and then pick him up."

This way it would be convenient if Xiao Min had to leave for a while. Otherwise, when someone goes to the bathroom, the brat would keep knocking on the door outside. Besides, she was afraid that he would bump into something.

After Fang Min finished dinner and cleaned up, she went to night school. Changchang was being led by his grandmother at the moment, because his father and grandfather were too tall, and it was too hard on the waist to lead him. Even his grandmother had to bend over to accommodate him.

Fortunately, he felt tired after walking for a few minutes. He stopped and raised his hand to be carried.

Fang's mother straightened up and said, "Mingche, come and hold your son."

Leading the way is much more tiring than carrying him directly. When she was asked to carry the older ones when they were young, they were tied directly behind her back with a sling. She had to free her hands to do the work. Besides, with the person on her back, there was no need to worry about bumping into anything.

"Oh, here he comes. Come, son—" Fang Mingche squatted down and picked up Changchang.

Changchang followed suit, "Son, son——"

Fang Mingche immediately said with a stern face: "Don't learn this!"

The brat likes to pick up adults' words to learn recently. But you want to call me son, this is definitely not allowed.

On the way back, many people greeted Fang Mingche and his family of three. Fang's father and mother came to live for a month last year, and many people were offended. And when they walked with Fang Mingche and his son, they looked very similar to him, who else could it be but his parents?

On the way back, the door of the small side courtyard was locked. Fang Mingche took out the key and opened the door. He gave Master Lei a key, which should have been locked after they finished the construction.

The half-moon door between the courtyard and the big courtyard was still locked, and this time he was going to let the construction team seal it up. There was a wall directly in the middle.

Uncle Gu came over to say hello to Fang's father. Although the two had very different backgrounds, they were still quite chatty.

Fang's father said a few words to him and asked him to go there early on May 18th. Grandpa Gu agreed with a smile, and then he went out for a walk with his hands behind his back.

Wang Dexian's mother also came out to talk with Fang's mother.

The whole courtyard is still under construction. In fact, there is not much to see. Fang's father looked at the side next to the half-moon gate. There was a courtyard wall and a half-moon gate on the wall, but no house.

He said to Fang Mingche: "Can we build two rooms on the east side?"

Fang Mingche looked at the courtyard, "If we build it, the courtyard will be very small. Moreover, the room we build will definitely not be as big as the west wing."

Fang's father said: "Make do with it. Otherwise, should we let the two boys live in the west wing or the main house?"

"What's so strict about it? Look at the big courtyard next door, how can we be so particular? Just live in the empty room."

The small side courtyard is big enough for one person to live in. Moreover, the west room of the main house has been renovated. With Fang Jian's personality, he will definitely not be afraid.

As for the two little ones, they can live in the two rooms in the west wing. Fang Fang lives in the big room, and Kang Kang lives in the small room. Fang Fang can also take care of her brother.

"It's not like there's no space. We can build a room of 6-7 square meters, and there will be a courtyard of 20 square meters. Anyway, we don't have to divide it in half with the Gu family father and son." Fang's father said.

Fang Mingche heard him divide it so clearly, and knew that he had been thinking about this idea for a long time. Thinking about it, there was no point in opposing it, and it wouldn't cost much more. Even if the courtyard is small, they can live in it. In this way, the two nephews can each have a small room.

So he nodded, "Then ask Master Lei and his team to build two small houses. When the time comes, we can sleep in single beds, with small tables and wardrobes."

The whole courtyard will be unified in style, and it will be integrated. Take advantage of the fact that the government has not yet freed up its hands to take care of the relevant matters of the renovation of old houses.

Fang Mingche looked at the entire yard and said, "That would be great. If my brother and sister-in-law come, they can live together. Dad, you wouldn't stop them from living in the main house and being equal to you, right?"

Fang's father said, "There is no place to build another room for them, so let them live in the empty room. This house and the courtyard are only about 100 square meters, not as big as my hometown. But it is much more expensive than my hometown!"

"The land is always expensive!"

In a blink of an eye, it was May 18th, Fang Chang's first birthday, and the opening day of Fang's homestay.

Amid the sound of lion dance, at the auspicious time, Fang Mingche lit the firecrackers himself.

Fang Chang's ears were blocked with cotton and covered by his sister's hands. So he just watched the excitement and was not scared.

Only Fang Wu and Gu Wenle were held by their mothers and hid in a relatively far place. Fear of scaring them!

Seeing that the firecrackers were all set off, Yanyan let go.

Song Chi was about to run over to pick up the firecrackers that had not been set off. Then Yanyan and Niuniu also wanted to go over to pick them up.

Lin Yan hurriedly said, "Don't pick them up! Buy new small firecrackers for you to set off."

If the children rushed over and another firecracker happened to explode on the ground and blew them up, it would be a disaster.

The store will open at 8:08, and the children can be taken there by the pickup truck to go to school at 8:30. So they can all participate this morning.

When Song Quan and others heard this, they quickly grabbed their children. If something really happened, it would add to the bloody disaster of other people's opening. Even if Xiao Fang is reckless, it is not good. Moreover, it would be heartbreaking if the explosion really hit their own children!

Yanyan, Niuniu, Song Chi and others got on their own pickup truck to go to school.

Yanyan asked, "Mom, when will you buy new firecrackers for us to set off?" Or, allow her to buy them herself.

Lin Yan said, "New Year's Day."

Yanyan said "ah". Isn't this the same as not saying anything?

Lin Yan laughed, "Did mom lie to you?"

Yan Yan said sullenly, "No."

"Forget it, seeing that you guys are doing well, you didn't go if you were not allowed to go. You are allowed to buy a box this afternoon and set it off with your friends."

"Okay! I have asked the teacher for leave, and I will come back from school at noon to eat my brother's birthday cake. Niu Niu and Song Chi will come with me."

The Yuhong class is originally for dual-income families to take care of children, and the supervision is usually not strict.

Niu Niu and Song Chi are also very happy to come over to eat birthday cake at noon. They have actually eaten it. Last year, when Yan Yan turned five, Uncle Fang bought a birthday cake.

At that time, they put candles on it and sang "Happy Birthday to You" to Yan Yan.

Birthday cakes are not very delicious, but nowadays, only families with good conditions can have them. It's happy to eat something new!

Song Chi's father also promised to buy him one next time.

Well, Song Quan has left the handicraft cooperative. Although the cooperative does not want to let him go, it wants him to continue to pull the broken cart and contribute to the collective.

But he was determined to leave, and the cooperative could not force him to stay. Of course, there have been voices saying that he has no sense of collectivism and is selfish. But he just ignored them. At

this moment, his son was sent away by a small truck, and his wife took a car to work in the factory. He did not leave, but sat down and started his bamboo weaving business. This job of his can be done anywhere with production tools, regardless of the place.

The stall owner next to him in Dazhalan came to take a look and urged him: "There are too many people buying bamboo zodiacs. Please speed up. Ensure the quality and quantity!"

He wanted a commission, so he asked Master He to take photos of the travel agency giving bamboo dragons to foreign tourists as souvenirs. He took several photos and hung them on the stall, and then claimed that this bamboo dragon was a product specially exported. With this reputation, the bamboo weaving sold very well.

Song Quan said: "Okay, okay, I'll hurry up."

He made money from every sale, and he didn't have to pay 15% to anyone. Song Quan is also very motivated now. He had promised his son that he would buy him a birthday cake on his sixth birthday and invite his friends to eat it together.

That thing is so precious! It's just a formality. But Xiao Fang is right, life needs a sense of ritual. As long as the children are happy!

There are no guests at the moment. Those who want to stay will not come so early in the morning. But the courtyard is very popular!

After watching, the people from the travel agency walked towards the first courtyard to go to work. Zhu Dahai, Hu Yong and the other five also went to set up a vegetable stall.

But most of the neighbors who came to watch the excitement did not have to go to work and were visiting inside. Everyone gave gifts, no matter how much. Fang Mingche must treat them at noon later. Besides, Changchang will have a one-year-old celebration at noon.

There are also new neighbors here who come in out of curiosity. Although the door is open for business, people will only be allowed in at will today.

Well, the formalities are naturally complete.

Wang Dexian is here too. He came to congratulate on behalf of the Investment Office. The travel agency also often introduces foreign businessmen to them. So, even though it was not Sunday today, he was still here.

He said to Fang Mingche, "There may be some public opinion storms about the employment issue recently, you should pay attention to it."

Fang Mingche nodded, he remembered this public opinion storm. The People's Daily opened a column and discussed it fiercely for three months.

Wang Dexian looked at the crowds of visitors and said, "Don't look at the flowers and flowers now, there must be people who are dissatisfied with us."

Such people can also do bad things if they get the chance.

He and Xiao Fang are now living a prosperous life. Xiao Fang, needless to say, this is the third business besides the travel agency and the handicraft shop. The big bowl tea stall is not counted, it is just attached to the handicraft shop.

It's him, the club's business is pretty good now. The key is that his cost is low! He rented a small Soviet-style villa and hired seven retired soldiers to start the business.

Nowadays, the public security is not good, and many families with a little money or loving daughters are willing to spend a sum of tuition to send them to learn martial arts.

If he dares to hire more employees, his profit can double.

Fang Mingche said, "Well, there are always bugs among the flowers. As for hiring more people, just wait and see! There is no other way. In the past two years, in order to find jobs for the 17 million educated youth who returned to the city, it was clearly stipulated that no workers were allowed to be hired. Now it is a little more relaxed. Self-employed people can still hire a few people to help."

Wang Dexian said, "You can only employ seven people at most in one place, and the total number will be counted."

Fang Mingche said, "The scrap yard and the vegetable stall are collectively owned, and the shareholders do it themselves. I didn't hire them!"

Wang Dexian smiled, you are just playing a trick! However, with the golden ticket of export and foreign exchange earnings, it's okay as long as there is no large-scale crackdown on businessmen. There are many more serious cases than yours. Now the problem of private employment has been highlighted. Otherwise, there would be no public opinion storm.

Now the official is preparing to publish a column to discuss it, which is originally to guide public opinion. This is news from the People's Daily, and it should not be far away.

According to the current development, it should not come to this step. After 30 months of reform and opening up, the number of overseas Chinese, Chinese, and foreign businessmen who dare to come back to invest in China has gradually increased. Another campaign is going to happen!

Fang Mingche said, "Isn't my small side yard being repaired now?"

The per capita living area is still only 5 square meters, and his small side yard was originally exceeded. Now that he has bought a large yard of more than two acres, there will be many people who are envious, jealous and hateful.

Uncle Gu talked about this matter privately, and kept cursing in front of Fang Mingche.

There is only one tenant that he can decide to evict now: Xie Ting!

Xie Ting is the only one who rented the single room after the house was returned to the original owner. If it weren't for Fang Mingche's trick, those tenants before would have been too much.

Human nature is like that, bullying the good and fearing the evil. They think that it is too much for an old man like him to collect rent from so many households, and they are unwilling to pay him. They have to wait for the public security to say that those who don't pay the rent will be directly deducted from their wages before they are willing to pay on time. But they are unwilling to think that these houses were originally the old houses of the Gu family.

Uncle Gu, an old man, could only do this at that time.

Now Fang Mingche is also a rich man, with more than two acres of houses under his name. People who are dissatisfied with this can only curse a few words behind his back, but they dare not provoke easily.

Lin's mother must be here today. Father Lin and Lin Yi couldn't come to work, and Han Meigang joined in the fun at the back and went to work at the front. She stayed with Father Fang and Mother Fang to help greet some elderly guests.

When no one was around, Mother Lin also expressed her concerns. She was worried that Fang Mingche would pay the workers too high a salary, and people would say that he messed up the market.

(Now even the distribution according to work has not been proposed, and wages have always been paid according to level and length of service.)

Father Fang said: "We are actually worried that he hired too many workers and would be labeled a capitalist. But he showed us his business license and said that he was running an enterprise under the Ministry of Culture, and it was an export-oriented enterprise. It is not subject to this restriction!"

Mother Fang said: "Mother-in-law, to be honest, I am actually panicking. I feel that many of the things Mingche is doing now are not related to clear policies. He is simply testing the law with his own body!"

Ordinary people often dare to do something only when the policy clearly states that they can do it. Even the old man and others participated in the early distribution of land, but that was after the relevant regulations of the provincial government came out. It's just that their steps are bigger than that.

But Mingche dared to do it even though there was no relevant policy. It was said that the country encouraged self-employed individuals, and what he did was to earn foreign exchange. But it was unclear, what if the other party went back on their word?

Alas, the boss's mediocrity has its advantages. No need to worry about him so much.

The older group in the courtyard was talking in one place. The young people were in another.

Fang Mingfeng also joined the conversation between Fang Mingche and Wang Dexian. He took out a copy of the "Yangcheng Evening News" on May 9th, "Look at the article on the front page."

This was sent to him by a friend in Guangzhou, and he had just received it two days ago. It talked about hiring workers. When he heard the two talking about this, he took it out to show them. He had brought it with him to show them.

Fang Mingche and Wang Dexian looked together, "Which article?"

"It's in a very conspicuous place."

The two walked to the stone table next to them and read it together. It was about an old man named Gao Deliang, who started "Taiye Chicken" in 1980. In less than half a year, they hired 6 helpers, and were accused of capitalist exploitation.

Fang Mingfeng said, "This is the first time that the newspaper has mentioned the issue of hiring workers so clearly!"

Wang Dexian felt that Fang Mingfeng was very good at grasping the direction. He knew that there would be a big discussion recently because his father had a subordinate in the People's Daily, so he wanted to see which way the wind would blow. He saw this purely from the newspaper.

As for Fang Mingche, he knew his own business. He was the one who knew the "answer". In his previous life, he was in the village school, and that was "hiding in a small building and being alone, regardless of spring, summer, autumn and winter". Anyway, he had a guaranteed income regardless of drought or flood, and the two of them earned wages to support a daughter.

Wang Dexian looked at Fang Mingche and said, "You said seven ups and eight downs before. According to Marx, six should not be considered exploitation."

"It's not Marx's statement, but others' dogmatic misinterpretation of Marx's statement."

Wang Dexian continued to talk about what he knew, "Nian Guangjiu, the melon seeds of Silly Melon Seeds, was very famous. He was too busy to handle it, so he hired unemployed young people to help. By the autumn of 1979, there were 12 helpers."

Fang Mingche thought about this time. At that time, he had just opened his first scrap yard and hired a few helpers.

Fang Minghui nodded. He had also heard of this buddy Nian Guangjiu. In 1976, he was worth a million, and he just sold melon seeds. It is said that he first sold them at the entrance of the cinema. Every time he weighed them, he would take the initiative to add a handful to the people. Many people said he was a fool. Then 'Silly Melon Seeds' became famous. He is really wise but foolish! What a good publicity!

Wang Dexian said: "At the end of 1979, he found that there were quite a lot of self-employed people in Guangdong, some of whom employed more than ten, twenty, or even hundreds of workers. How to deal with the issue of employment also troubled him, so he asked the Guangdong social science community to "study it carefully". Mingfeng, the newspaper you took out should be the one that was studied to see the direction of public opinion. Well, Guangdong is the forefront of reform and opening up, and this public opinion front also fired the first shot."

Of course, when it comes to influence, the People's Daily is definitely much more powerful than the Yangcheng Evening News.

(End of this chapter)