An'an is now twelve years old (by Chinese reckoning) and will be admitted to junior high school this autumn.
He went back to the same middle school his mother had attended, No. 3 Middle School.
Moreover, An'an has already won many awards in competitions, including being named an outstanding student, second place in the National Youth Calligraphy Competition, third place in the National Youth Painting Competition, and many other awards.
He gained all of this during his five years of primary school.
Teacher Geng no longer teaches; she's retired and stays home to read, practice calligraphy, paint, and teach An'an—she's living a very peaceful life.
He hoped that his apprentice would become a well-known young painter.
He was also very satisfied with An An's previous achievements.
When the couple arrived at the Lin family's house with Zhao's parents, An'an was doing her homework.
When he saw his father come back, An'an grinned at him, but didn't rush up to hug him. He was past the age of impulsiveness. Now he was a middle school student and needed to be more mature.
Lin Yuan smiled back, went over and patted her son's head, asking him about his midterm exam results. An'an said he was second in the class.
Lin Yuan smiled and praised her, saying, "Very good."
An'an asked in surprise, "Dad, why didn't you ask me why I didn't get first place?"
Lin Yuan said with a smile, "With your abilities, you can definitely get first place if you want to. Dad won't ask about that. You must have your own ideas."
An'an smiled, greeted her grandparents, and then said gratefully to Lin Yuan, "Thank you, Dad, for understanding me. The one who got first place was my deskmate. She's a girl, and her family favors boys over girls. Whenever she doesn't get first place, they go to the school and threaten to stop her from studying and make her go home to earn money to support her younger siblings."
"It's precisely because she always gets first place in the class that her parents don't want to pressure her, because it's a condition that we, her teacher, have agreed upon with her parents."
“I didn’t know that when she got first place in the first monthly exam, her parents came to the school and made a scene. They almost hit her, which scared me to death. Later, when the teacher told me about it, I found out why.”
After An'an finished speaking, she asked Lin Yuan, "Dad, do you think what I did was right?"
Lin Yuan smiled and said, "Do it your way. If you think it's right, then keep insisting. If you think it's wrong, then you don't have to let her have it."
"However, at least in our family, no matter what rank you get, your parents will not interfere with your studies because of your grades."
"Hehe, thank you, Dad!" An'an's anxiety disappeared. He felt that it didn't matter what rank he got; what mattered was that he could help his classmates.
After listening, Zhao Huanhuan raised an eyebrow and asked, "Lin Hong'an, what's your deskmate's name?"
“Call her Shen Mengling!” An’an looked at her mother, puzzled, and said to her.
Zhao Huanhuan thought for a moment, and the name sounded familiar. Wait, isn't this the wife of Gu Zhiwei, the son of Gu Yifeng and Yang Man in the original book?
What did that girl do later? Oh right, I think she became a big star, or maybe an award-winning actress.
Someone who can become a movie queen must be very beautiful. So, her parents don't want her to study more and want her to go back to help the family earn money. Could it be that they want to marry her off to a rich man named Lao Qian?
Such a thing could actually happen in a book.
However, despite the speculation, Zhao Huanhuan would never say such a thing in front of her son.
She then chatted with her parents about the shop.
She's been busy these past few days trying to buy a factory; she'll go to the shop once and then leave.
After the New Year, she planned to go out and take a look at the machine.
Over the years, she has saved up more than 100,000 yuan.
“The holiday is coming up soon, and more and more people are coming to buy clothes. If you don’t have much to do these days, why don’t you come and help out at the store?” Zhang Jinhua said.
After listening, Zhao Huanhuan nodded, "Okay!"
She had her eye on an abandoned factory, but the price was too high and it wasn't in her plans, so she decided to wait.
It would be better to open a shop in December and earn tens of thousands more.
After deciding that Zhao Huanhuan would start working at the store tomorrow, the Zhao couple went home.
Zhao Huanhuan and Lin Yuan accompanied Lin's father to the convenience store to deliver food to Aunt Chu. The family sat in the store for more than an hour, drinking tea, chatting, and talking about things in the village.
Because their small shop wasn't far from the station, villagers would stop by to check in when they came to Yuancheng, chat with them, have a cup of tea, or eat a meal.
Now everyone in Taojia Village knows that the Lin couple came here with Lin Yuan, they have a house, and they've opened a small shop. They're living a good life.
Lin Yuan's wife even opened two clothing stores, but her parents helped her run them. She also went to school and worked. People in the village said that the Lin family's success today was due to the good marriage they had with their daughter-in-law.
When people said these things to the Lin couple, they didn't refute them. They just smiled and agreed, saying that they had married a good daughter-in-law who would plan their lives and help them become rich.
If the villagers knew that their family now had 100,000 yuan in savings, who knows what they would say!
With Zhao Huanhuan joining the business, her clothing store did even better that winter. By the time it closed on the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, almost nothing was left in the store.
Zhao Huanhuan planned to go to Shanghai during the first month of the lunar calendar.
Before the Lunar New Year, a clothing factory from Benyuan City came to her shop, wanting her to sell two styles of clothing from their factory.
Zhao Huanhuan arranged for her son to meet with the staff of that clothing factory during the first month of the lunar calendar to check out their styles.
If they are also willing to take custom orders, I could design a few clothes myself, have them made, and then sell them.
The lively and festive New Year has passed in the blink of an eye.
The year was 1985.
On the eighth day of the first lunar month, Zhao Huanhuan went to a teahouse to meet with the deputy director of the No. 2 Garment Factory, who had approached her before the Lunar New Year, to discuss business. Lin Yuan accompanied her.
The deputy factory manager was also accompanied by one of their factory's sales representatives, a woman in her thirties who looked very capable.
However, when Zhao Huanhuan and the salesperson made eye contact, Zhao Huanhuan raised an eyebrow.
Zhao Fang!
Although she had only met her once, she still remembered this woman.
When Zhao Fang recognized Zhao Huanhuan, she paused for a moment and subconsciously looked at the man in the leather jacket next to Zhao Huanhuan.
Lin Yuan also recognized Zhao Fang, and he was surprised.
"Lin Yuan? It's you?" Zhao Fang subconsciously ignored Zhao Huanhuan and looked at Lin Yuan with surprise.
Lin Yuan nodded. "Oh, it's an old classmate. You got a job at the Second Garment Factory?"
Zhao Fang quickly nodded and introduced him, "This is our Deputy Factory Director Hu. I joined the factory last year as a salesman."
Lin Yuan nodded, glancing at his wife's expression.
According to Huanhuan, she had met Zhao Fang once, but Zhao Fang acted as if Huanhuan didn't exist and didn't greet her, which made her very unhappy, so she didn't want to talk to Zhao Fang anymore.
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