In the evening, the six of them went to a small restaurant outside the school. This time everyone had money in their pockets, so they splurged and ordered all the expensive dishes in the restaurant.
It was agreed that everyone would share the bill, but Gao Lei came to pick up Bai Junjun, settled the bill directly, and also sent Lin Qin back to Nanxi.
When Lin Yi saw Lin Qin's luggage, he scolded her, "Why didn't you call and tell me so I could pick you up."
The seafood restaurant started installing telephones this year, and Lin Qin would call back to let them know if anything happened.
"No need, Gao Lei drove me back."
Lin Yi was stunned for a moment and asked, "Gao Lei and Jun Jun should be getting married! I see that the land in Dongyu has been reclaimed almost completely, and the houses are big and beautiful."
The so-called Dongyu is the deserted island closest to Nanyu. It is smaller than Nanyu, with a small hill on one side and wasteland on the other side. It is not as private as Nanyu.
Ever since Gao Lei took over Dongyu, he had people design it according to the model of Nanyu. Since there were no natural barriers in the wasteland, they built high walls. With strong financial support, they built the entire Dongyu to look like a Western palace.
Every time Lin Qin and his friends returned home, they could see the magnificent roof from afar.
Lin Qin nodded slightly, "It's almost time. They will get the marriage certificate when Junjun officially graduates. They will probably get married during the Mid-Autumn Festival."
"Oh my! Will they live here then? If so, we'll have neighbors." Lin Yi smiled from ear to ear.
Lin Qin smiled, "Dad! What are you thinking! The Gao family and the Bai family both have villas in the city. This place is at most a private garden or something. They come here to play occasionally. How can they live here!"
"That's such a waste!" Lin Yi couldn't understand.
Lin Qin knew that the old man's deeply rooted ideas could not be changed, so she simply changed the subject, "The results of the high school entrance examination should be out soon, and I don't know which school Ajian will be admitted to! I heard from my sister that Ajian's cousin has been in the third grade for another year and is also taking the high school entrance examination this year. I don't know what the situation is."
Last year, the eldest grandson of the Xu family, Wang Fengying's only son, Xu Jie, took the college entrance examination. The couple firmly believed that even if their son did not go to study in the city, he would be able to get into a high school in the city based on his own abilities. For this reason, they spread the news around the village early on and even prepared a graduation banquet in advance.
Wang Ximei even boasted about her eldest grandson to everyone she met, implying that Xu Jie was her most promising grandson, and the others were all losers and useless.
The villagers of Xujia Village were tactful and did not pour cold water on the couple. Instead, they praised Xu Jie a lot.
But Xu Jie didn't get into Anshi High School as everyone expected. He even missed the county's No. 1 High School where Xujia Village was located by a few points and was only admitted to the county's No. 5 High School.
In the eyes of Wang Fengying and her husband, the County No. 5 Middle School is a rubbish school that anyone can get in without taking an exam.
The two could not accept this fact and even used their connections to inquire at the county education bureau and the school. Only then did they find out that Xu Jie's grades were not as good as they thought, and that by the third year of junior high school, Xu Jie had become somewhat averse to studying and often stayed outside the school.
Wang Fengying was so angry about these truths that she fell seriously ill. After waking up, she gritted her teeth and bought a small shabby house in Anshi, moved her and her child's household registration to the city, and used many connections to send Xu Jie to the city to repeat his junior high school.
At that time, Wang Fengying wanted Xu Jie and Xu Jian to go to the same school. She bought some things for the first time to please Lin Ying, hoping that Xu Jian could take care of Xu Jie.
Lin Ying did not agree, so Wang Fengying asked Xu Dashan to find Xu Dahai.
As a result, Xu Dahai knew nothing about anything and kept blaming his father-in-law for everything.
It was impossible for Xu Dashan to go find Lin Yi, so the couple finally held their breath and sent Xu Jie to No. 7 Middle School to repeat his studies. Lin Ying was not clear about the details of the operation, and Lin Qin was even less aware of it.
But she did remember it.
Apart from anything else, just because of what Wang Ximei said, Lin Qin also hoped that Xu Jian would fight for his position and suppress Xu Jie. She also hoped that the efforts she had invested in her two nephews over the years would not be in vain.
Lin Yi helped Lin Qin get her luggage inside. "I asked, and the boy said he would definitely get in. He's not sure about No. 1 Middle School, but No. 2 Middle School will definitely be no problem."
The best middle school in Anshi is No. 1 Middle School, followed by No. 2 Middle School, and then No. 3 Middle School, No. 5 Middle School, No. 6 Middle School, and No. 7 Middle School.
Lin Qin breathed a sigh of relief. "It would be great if I could get into No. 2 Middle School. At least I'd have one foot in college."
If she remembered correctly, the guaranteed job assignment system had been cancelled since 1996, and Xu Jian would not be able to catch the last train. Fortunately, he had made good progress in learning the saxophone in the past few years, and he also played ball in his spare time and was good at sports. His grades were above average. If he worked hard in his three years of high school, he would definitely have more opportunities in the future than others.
The father and daughter talked for a while, and Lin Qin started to go upstairs to pack her things.
A few days later, her work assignment came down and when it was confirmed to be at the TV station, she was so excited that she set off a long string of firecrackers at home.
Zhou Shuifang's five-sailed boat passed by, and the people on the boat looked at Nanyu suspiciously.
"What happy event is happening in Wenjun's family? It's so lively!" Zhou Shuifang stretched her neck to look.
Chen Yongding took a sip of water and sighed comfortably, "Let's go and see, and then we'll know. By the way, tell Wenjun about the government's news and see what he thinks."
Zhou Shuifang hesitated for a moment, but finally agreed.
The couple arrived at the gate of Nanyu Gap and called out twice before Lin Qin heard them.
When she opened the door and found Zhou Shuifang's family outside, she was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly invited them in, "Uncle and aunt, please sit in the room. I'll go make tea."
Chen Yongding waved his hand, glanced at the firecracker debris on the ground, and asked, "Is Wenjun home?"
Lin Qin shook her head. "He's busy outside and won't be back until after six. What does uncle want to talk to him about?"
Chen Yongding pondered and said, "A few days ago, a group of leaders came to Nanxi for an inspection. They said they wanted to plan a piece of land so that all the boat people on Nanxi could move ashore. No one would be allowed to live on the water anymore."
"This is good news!" Lin Qin was stunned for a moment and then smiled, "Uncle and aunt have always wanted to build a house on the ground, but the plan was put on hold because the brothers Wen Hai and Wen Jiang were not in Anshi. Now the government is willing to give us a piece of land. In the future, we can build houses on the ground without being afraid of being looked down upon by other villagers."
Chen Yongding thought the same, but he was still a little worried, "What if the government doesn't allow us to fish after we move ashore?"
Lin Qin was amused. "That's definitely not possible! But since the government is allocating land to everyone, there must be fields. In the future, we can grow our own food and vegetables, raise chickens and ducks, and occasionally go fishing. Our lives will get better and better.
Besides, we don’t make a living by fishing, so what are we afraid of?”
When she was just reborn, there were still some Tanka people in Nanxi who really made a living by fishing. Over the years, there are fewer and fewer of them, and this year it seems that there are only one or two families left.
It’s not that these two families are unwilling to change, but they are unable to leave due to various reasons, just like her and Chen Wenjun in their previous life.
"That's true!" (End of this chapter)
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