Chapter 215: 208: A Trip to Beijing
The person who surprisingly claimed the third position was Chen Lidong. His progress over the past six months was incredibly fast, as Tang Yuxin had pointed out. Chen Lidong possessed excellent logical thinking abilities, but his grades were initially poor due to a lack of effective study methods. However, now his academic performance was skyrocketing, largely because he had learned to discipline himself, hence the rapid enhancement of his grades.
Now, Chen Lidong was held up as a model student by the class advisor. Speaking highly of Chen Lidong was very frequent, mentioning how he had initially ranked last in class. But now, in just over a year, Chen Lidong had progressed to rank third in the class. They were told that if they worked hard, they too had the chance to excel, especially given that they were only in the eighth grade.
In reality, the ninth grade was just around the corner.
At this point, Tang Yuxin was looking forward to the summer vacation because her father had promised to buy her a house in Beijing. She dreamed of owning a home in Beijing, where she could live off-campus once she entered college. She could have her own little nest, where she could make herself a cup of tea when she had some free time, enjoy the distant views, witness the world’s era evolving, and realizing her growth.
In her previous life, these were the things she longed to do. However, her life in college didn’t offer such luxuries. She had spent all four years of college busy studying, and working part-time. She had to earn her own living expenses, as the Wei Family had stopped supporting her financially. She was reluctant to spend the money earned by her aging father, who had lived a hard life. She met Zhang Yong’an later and supported him through his postgraduate study and his going abroad for further study. She had neglected the only person in the world who would cry for her and instead gave her heart to a man who was both ungrateful and disloyal.
In this life, what she aspired to was a different college life.
She pulled her report card back and went home with her school bag on her back.
Sisi also performed well this time, ranking in the top five in the class. It was a good ranking, so Zhang Xiangcao prepared chicken legs for Sisi. However, Sisi saved all the chicken legs for her sister and didn’t eat a bite herself.
“Sisi, go ahead and eat. Your sister doesn’t like this,” Tang Yuxin said.
Indeed, Tang Yuxin was not too particular about food. As long as she could eat and feel full, it was good enough for her.
“Thank you, sister,” Sisi said, happily accepting the chicken leg and starting to eat. Tang Yuxin returned to her room, and stared blankly at the telephone in the living room.
She extended her hand, which was now as white as porcelain without any blemishes. It had gradually become fairer over the days without becoming any darker. She wasn’t sure if it would darken after being exposed to the sun in summer, but she hoped it wouldn’t.
A few days later, Tang Zhinian returned home, but Tang Zhijun didn’t. He was still selling cassettes, and now he was even a supplier. Some peddlers bought tapes from him, doing wholesale business like others. It was unclear how he found this opportunity but now he was a major supplier, reducing the cost from two yuan per box to one and a half yuan. He wholesaled it to others for three yuan and fifty cents, making two yuan per cassette. Of course, there was considerable volume in the wholesale business. Even if they didn’t sell at retail, they could make more than two thousand yuan a day.
The more business they did, the sharper their minds became. A month later, the two brothers each made forty thousand yuan. It wasn’t as high as the first time, mainly because they had more complex routes and couldn’t always get the tapes, so they got fewer than the first month.
While that seemed like a lot less for them, for others, this amount was an overwhelmingly considerable fortune. The two brothers made money hand over fist, but Zhang Xiangcao at home still lived frugally. Her lifestyle hasn’t changed; the money was saved and she didn’t dare to spend frivolously.
Although they were making money now, Tang Zhijun didn’t make it easily. She couldn’t spend it impulsively. Therefore, her lifestyle was basically the same as before. However, having money definitely brought some peace of mind. At the very least, she didn’t need to worry about the future.
“Let’s go, I’ll take you to Beijing to buy a house,” Tang Zhinian, her father, said.
He had always remembered his promise to his daughter. He had seen the prosperity of big cities during his travels in the past six months. Tang Zhinian claimed that house prices would definitely rise in the future, so buying a house now would absolutely not be a mistake.
Tang Zhinian of course had not thought this far. He was only thinking of buying a house for the convenience of his daughter, Yuxin. It was an additional assurance in case there was nowhere to go, or in case the dormitory in the school was poor or her roommates were not good. At least she would have a refuge outside.
What he hadn’t expected was that the place he bought would eventually surge in price to such a terrifying extent.
They directly boarded a train to Beijing. At that time, train tickets were not issued in the individual’s name and the trains were still slow green car trains. Tang Zhinian was accustomed to traveling by train in the past half year, but for Tang Yuxin, it was her first time taking a train. Tang Zhinian, who was not short of money now, bought sleeper tickets for himself and his daughter.
Approximately 30 hours on a train would indeed be uncomfortable if sitting in hard seats.
He himself didn’t mind, but his daughter Yuxin was still growing. No matter what, he wouldn’t let his daughter feel uncomfortable.
There were many people on the train, which portrayed a vivid picture of the late 80s. People from all over the place dressed similarly, with not much variation in color or style.
Tang Yuxin held a cup in her hands, soaking the herbal tea she made in it. The tea had a faintly fragrant smell of herbs, which could refresh her mind, and tasted pretty good. The water available on the train had a peculiar taste, which she didn’t mind. But if this could be removed, wouldn’t it be even better?
Tang Zhinian had been drinking this herbal tea for many years. It was made from a special herb in the mountains. Tang Yuxin toasted tea leaves and this medicinal herb together, resulting in a unique tea with a remarkable fragrance.