Chapter 1350: Chapter 166: Do Not Belittle Yourself! (Part 2)

Zhang Jiangkun took a small sip of tea, smiled, and said, "You guys have to pay off the mortgage, and the pressure is high. Although the loan for exchanging ships is more than your loan for a house, the ship can make money; as long as you’re willing to run it, there’s income every month. They said they didn’t help when you bought the house, and now they’re not as tight as before, so they’re giving you fifty thousand yuan to help you out."

"What kind of emergency help? We’re not short of money, we have enough to pay the loan!"

"It’s their token of goodwill. If you don’t take it, they won’t be happy. Over the years, they’ve been helping Han Shen and Xiao Hong a lot, but haven’t really helped you guys, so they feel guilty and want to keep things fair."

"It’s true that they didn’t help us much, but they didn’t help you much either. To talk about contributions to this family, you and my sister have contributed the most."

"Your sister is different from San’er. Your sister got married, and once a daughter’s married off, she’s out of her parental home; there’s no reason to ask for money from the family again." Zhang Jiangkun laughed and continued, "Besides, our situation is different from yours. My parents are helping me and your sister."

"San’er is like a son-in-law who joins the wife’s household, just like marrying into my family, so I can’t take this money."

"Han Han also has the surname ’Han,’ as long as Han Han has the surname ’Han,’ San’er isn’t considered an outsider."

"No way, I can’t accept this fifty thousand yuan no matter what you say."

"Dad and Mom knew you wouldn’t accept it, so they didn’t mention it over the phone and directly asked me to bring the money to you." Zhang Jiangkun put down the teacup, thought for a moment, and added, "Besides, this is also Han Shen and Xiao Hong’s wish. If you don’t accept it, they definitely won’t be happy and might not even have a good New Year."

Poor parents all over the world.

Dad and Mom are both over sixty and still worrying about their children.

Han Yu felt uncomfortable and didn’t know what to say for a moment.

Han Xiangning realized that her parents-in-law genuinely wanted to help, and at the same time, realized that her brother-in-law and sister-in-law felt really uneasy. If they didn’t accept this fifty thousand yuan, they might really be unhappy, so after hesitating, she said, "Okay, I’ll help them save it for now. Just because their health is good now doesn’t mean it will always be good in the future. There are plenty of things to spend money on, so when they need it, I’ll give it back to you."

"That’s not my concern. My task is to hand the money over to you."

"Brother-in-law, does my sister know about this?"

"She knows. She thinks it’s right to give it, and you should accept it."

It can be imagined that the parents-in-law must have discussed this with the brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and brother and sister before. They might even know that it’s the end of the year, and I need to gather money to repay the loan from when I borrowed from Xiao Yu to pay the down payment for the commodity house, so they gathered fifty thousand yuan before the end of the year and let brother-in-law bring it back."

Han Xiangning was moved to tears.

Han Yu was equally moved, but had no position at home nor much say in such a serious matter, so he could only change the subject: "Brother-in-law, how are Dongdong’s grades?"

"Not bad, he can rank in the top ten in his class."

"So getting into college isn’t a problem!"

"He’ll definitely get into a university, the key is which university. A few days ago, the school leadership approached me and said that as long as Dongdong’s academic performance and school conduct maintain, he’ll definitely meet the recommendation criteria."

"Which university can he be recommended to?"

"East Sea Transport University."

"East Sea Transport University is good, it’s a prestigious university!"

"East Sea Transport University has a maritime program, which is the Department of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering. Your sister and I think being recommended to East Sea Transport University is great, but ever since he went to the Salvage Bureau with me and saw the helicopter, he’s wanted to be a pilot and has a single-minded desire to participate in flight recruitment."

Han Yu laughed and asked, "Dongdong doesn’t want to learn to steer ships anymore, he wants to learn to fly planes?"

Zhang Jiangkun smiled wryly, "Being a pilot isn’t that easy. Regardless of whether he can be recruited, even if he is, he might be eliminated in flight school. But he’s now in the second year of high school, which is the most critical time, and we can’t dampen his enthusiasm."

"If he can be recruited, it means joining the military. It seems Dongdong still wants to be a soldier."

"It’s easy to want to be a soldier. On the way from East Sea to Linghai, I asked Deputy Chief of Staff Yang from the guard district. He said the Nanjing Military Region cooperates with East Sea Transport University to select and recruit national defense students. You don’t need to pay tuition for university, and once you graduate, you can serve as an officer in the army."

Zhang Jiangkun paused, then continued, "Dongdong has been serving in the reserve since he was sixteen and is still a reserve soldier. Deputy Chief of Staff Yang said that someone like Dongdong, as long as he’s willing to participate in the selection for national defense students, will definitely be selected. Maybe he can even become the commander of the national defense student brigade at East Sea Transport University by his second year!"

Not only did Dongdong serve in the reserve at sixteen, but he also participated in flood rescue efforts, even earning merits. His starting point is so much higher than his peers.

Thinking of this, Han Xiangning laughed and asked, "Dongdong isn’t interested?"

"It’s not that he’s not interested, he just wants to be a pilot."

"What do you and my sister think?"

"Our thoughts are simple. Firstly, as I mentioned earlier, it’s not certain that he’ll be recruited. Even if he is, he might be eliminated at flight school. Secondly, being a pilot is very dangerous, much more dangerous than sailing. We only have one child and don’t want him doing such a dangerous job in the future."

"Putting aside the danger, it’s primarily about putting all hope on flight recruitment, which is very uncertain."

"Exactly."

After weighing it for a bit, Han Yu smiled and said, "How about this: when you go back, have a good talk with him, let him make preparations on both fronts. Participate in flight recruitment as usual, it’d be great if he gets selected, but he shouldn’t be discouraged if he doesn’t. Even if he can’t fly a plane, he can sail a ship; he has the foundation and interest. Learning ship navigation, piloting ocean-going cargo ships in the future isn’t bad."

Zhang Jiangkun nodded, "It seems that’s the only way to tell him."

"In any case, he must know how important going to university is, and how difficult it is!"

Reflecting on recent events, Han Yu said emotionally: "The previous director at Liangzhuang Police Station of Si Gang Police Station was also surnamed Han, nicknamed ’Han Daji’. He had excellent academic performance, a bachelor’s degree graduate from Jiangcheng University, and became a police station chief shortly after starting his career.

Later, he continued learning while working, and not only got admitted to graduate school at Public University but also at Beijing University. At Si Gang Police Station, he was a double major in chemistry and law, and by the time he graduated with a master’s degree, he was a double master’s from Public University and Beijing University!

Though we’re both police officers, he outshines me. During my internship at Binjiang City Bureau in the winter, Director Chen had Captain Wei personally pick him up at the airport and even told Wei to treat him well and make arrangements, showing how important academic qualifications are.

This could definitely be something to tell Dongdong; having multiple skills is always beneficial. He has a background in ship navigation and machinery, so he shouldn’t give up that advantage. Even if he studies something else at university, he should enhance himself through self-study. Who knows when it might be useful!"

Han Daji, Old Lu mentioned him more than once. He’s quite famous in Liangzhuang and even the now-merged native town of Dinghu.

Seeing it, Han Xiangning laughed at the slight sheepishness of her schoolmate, "San’er, you shouldn’t just envy others. Who knows, they might also envy you."

"What do I have that others would envy?"

"Don’t underestimate yourself. First of all, you started working before Han Daji. While he was becoming a director, you were already a Deputy Division Commander! Also, can ’Han Daji’ do the work you can? Speaking of criminal investigation experts, there are many national experts, and Han Daji might not even rank. But how many Water Police like you are there in the country? I’d estimate it’s fewer than five!"

Zhang Jiangkun couldn’t help but laugh too, "And not just a police officer, you’re also a Navy Reserve Major. Could that skilled Han Daji ever receive a First-level Merit from General Politics and Guangzhou Military Region? Could he participate in the tri-service joint amphibious operations exercise? Could he have the chance to visit with navy ship formations?"

"If you put it that way, he can’t compare to me."

"It’s not that he can’t compare; he’s far behind you. Otherwise, Secretary Lu wouldn’t always have you look out for him."

"Secretary Lu was joking, it can’t be taken seriously." Han Yu touched the bridge of his nose, laughing, "That reminds me, tomorrow afternoon they’re holding a report on heroic deeds at the Criminal Police Team. I might even run into ’Han Daji.’"