Back to 1984: Let's Work Hard Together to Raise The Kids!-Chapter 180: The Rhythm of 1990

By dusk, the six of them went to a small restaurant outside the school. This time, they all had money in their pockets and decided to splurge by ordering all the expensive dishes on the menu.

They agreed to split the bill evenly, but Gao Lei came to pick up Bai Junjun and ended up paying the entire bill, also giving Lin Qin a ride back to Nanxi.

Lin Yi saw Lin Qin’s luggage and chided, "Why didn’t you call home to let us know? I could have come to pick you up."

The seafood restaurant had installed a phone this year, so Lin Qin would call home whenever she had anything to discuss.

"No need, Gao Lei drove and gave me a ride back."

Lin Yi paused for a moment and asked, "Gao Lei and Junjun should be getting married soon, right? I see that the development over at East Island is almost done, and the houses are large and beautiful."

The so-called East Island is a deserted island closest to Nanyu, slightly smaller than Nanyu, with a small hill on one side and barren land on the other, less private than Nanyu.

Since Gao Lei acquired East Island, he had it designed to resemble Nanyu. Without natural barriers, they built high walls around the barren land. With substantial financial support, they transformed the entire East Island into something resembling a Western palace.

Every time Lin Qin and the others returned home, they could see the majestic roof from afar.

Lin Qin nodded slightly, "Yes, it’s about time. Once Junjun officially graduates, they plan to get their marriage certificate and likely marry around the Mid-Autumn Festival."

"Wow! Are they going to live here afterwards? If they do, we’ll have neighbors," Lin Yi said, grinning 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. At most, this place is just a recreation residence for occasional visits; they won’t actually live here!"

"That’s too wasteful!" Lin Yi couldn’t comprehend it.

Lin Qin knew that her father’s deep-rooted thoughts couldn’t be changed, so she quickly changed the topic, "The middle school exam results should be coming out soon. I wonder which school Ah Jian will get into! I heard from my sister that Ah Jian’s cousin repeated the ninth grade this year and also took the exam. I don’t know how it went."

Last year, the eldest grandson of the Xu family, Xu Jie, also Wang Fengying’s only son, took the college entrance exam. The couple firmly believed that even if their son didn’t attend school in the city, he could still get into a city high school on his own merits. They even spread the word around the village early on and prepared a celebration feast in advance.

Wang Ximei went around boasting about her eldest grandson, insinuating that Xu Jie was her most promising grandchild, and the rest were useless good-for-nothings.

The villagers of Xu Family Village, considerate enough, didn’t dash the couple’s hopes but instead praised Xu Jie.

But Xu Jie didn’t perform as everyone expected. He didn’t get into An City’s high school, or even the first county high school, missing by a few points, only managing to get into the fifth county high school.

In Wang Fengying’s eyes, the fifth county high school was a garbage school one could attend without even passing an exam.

The couple couldn’t accept this fact and even went out of their way to inquire at the county education bureau and schools, only to learn that Xu Jie’s grades weren’t as good as they thought. Moreover, by the ninth grade, Xu Jie was showing signs of school burnout and often lingered outside the school.

Wang Fengying got so upset with these truths that she fell seriously ill. After recovering, she gritted her teeth and bought a small rundown house in An City, moved her and her child’s household registration to the city, and went through great lengths to get Xu Jie to redo the ninth grade in a city middle school.

At that time, Wang Fengying even wanted Xu Jie and Xu Jian to attend the same school, going so far as to buy gifts to curry favor with Lin Ying, hoping Xu Jian could look after Xu Jie.

Lin Ying didn’t agree, so Wang Fengying had Xu Dashan approach Xu Dahai.

However, Xu Dahai professed ignorance, pushing everything onto his father-in-law.

Xu Dashan couldn’t possibly go to Lin Yi, so the couple held their breath and sent Xu Jie to redo the year at the seventh city school. How exactly they did it, Lin Ying wasn’t clear, let alone Lin Qin.

However, she remembered this matter.

Without saying anything else, Lin Qin hoped Xu Jian could make her proud, outshine Xu Jie, and ensure those years of effort invested in her nephews weren’t in vain.

Lin Yi helped Lin Qin bring her luggage inside, "I asked, and that kid said he would definitely get in somewhere. Not sure about the first one, but certainly the second."

The best middle school in An City is the first one, followed by the second, then the third, fifth, sixth, and seventh.

Lin Qin let out a sigh of relief, "Getting into the second school isn’t bad. At least it’s half a step towards college."

If she remembered correctly, job assignments stopped being guaranteed from 1996 onwards. Xu Jian missed that last chance, but in recent years, his saxophone skills have improved greatly. In his spare time, he also plays basketball and other sports. With his middle-to-high grades, and by putting in more effort during high school, his future options will certainly be brighter than others.

After the father and daughter talked for a while, Lin Qin went upstairs to unpack her things.

A few days later, she got her job assignment confirmed to be at a TV station, and excitedly set off a long string of firecrackers at home.

Zhou Shuifang’s five-awning boat passed by, with people on the boat suspiciously looking at Nanyu.

"What’s the good news with Wenjun’s family again? Such a buzz!" Zhou Shuifang craned her neck to look.

Chen Yongding took a sip of water, letting out a contented sigh, "We’ll find out once we go and see, and we can share the government’s news with Wenjun and see what he thinks."

Zhou Shuifang hesitated for a moment but ultimately agreed.

The couple arrived at the big gate of Nanyu’s breach and called out twice before Lin Qin heard them.

When she opened the door and saw that it was Zhou Shuifang’s family outside, she was momentarily stunned but quickly invited them in, "Uncle and Aunt, please come in and have a seat. I’ll go make some tea."

Chen Yongding waved his hand, glanced at the firecracker scraps scattered 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. Do you need to see him for something, Uncle?"

Chen Yongding pondered aloud, "A few days ago, a group of leaders came to Nanxi to inspect. They said they planned to designate a piece of land and wanted all the Dang people living on the water in Nanxi to move ashore—the water will no longer allow people to reside there."

"That’s a good thing!" Lin Qin was taken aback for a moment, then smiled, "Uncle and Aunt, didn’t you always want to build a house on land? But kept delaying because Wenhai and Wenjiang weren’t in An City. Now the government is willing to provide a plot of land. In the future, when everyone builds houses on land, they won’t be looked down upon by other villagers."

Chen Yongding thought the same but had some concerns, "What if we move ashore and the government doesn’t allow us to fish anymore?"

Lin Qin laughed, "That definitely won’t be the case! However, since the government is allocating land, there will surely be fields too. In the future, you can grow your own grains and vegetables, raise chickens and ducks, and fish occasionally. Life will keep getting better.

Besides, we don’t rely on fishing for a living, so what’s there to worry about?"

Back in the time she was reborn, there were still a few Dang families in Nanxi who truly relied on fishing for a living. But these years, they had dwindled, leaving just one or two families this year.

These one or two families weren’t unwilling to change but were stuck due to various reasons, just like she and Chen Wenjun were in the previous life.

"That’s true!"