Fang Xiaoxia also returned home, and Fang Zhiyi prepared meals for her as always.
Looking at his daughter's somewhat haggard face, Fang Zhiyi asked calmly, "Do you want to take the college entrance exam?"
"Huh?"
"Everyone is preparing for the college entrance exam now. Do you want to take it?"
Fang Xiaoxia was a bit bewildered. "Take the college entrance exam? Me?" She was already very satisfied with her current life; the leaders valued her, and the other workers at the factory treated her well.
"Being a technician is good, but your horizons should be broader." Fang Zhiyi picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and popped it into his mouth. "Of course, the choice is yours. Your father doesn't have much ability and can only stay in the village, but you are different. To borrow a phrase from the educated youth, 'in the vast world, much can be accomplished.' Don't let your vision trap you in this small place."
Fang Xiaoxia lowered her head and remained silent for a long time.
Fang Zhiyi didn't say anything more. He had always been a reasonable father, knowing that a child must make their own choices.
However, that very night, Fang Xiaoxia picked up her books once again.
Amidst this atmosphere, Wei Xiangyang sat with a dark face, saying nothing. He didn't even care that Zhang Qingqing, who was about to give birth, was gritting her teeth in pain. Fortunately, the director of the women's federation came to check on them and had someone send Zhang Qingqing to the town hospital. However, due to a lack of nutrition, the baby was born very thin and weak.
Looking at the child and then at Zhang Qingqing, Wei Xiangyang's face was full of confusion about the future.
The postman rode his bicycle to deliver the admission letters, but before he even entered the village, he was stopped by a woman holding a baby.
"Who are you?"
"You're here to deliver the admission letters, right?" Zhang Qingqing asked with a smile.
The postman nodded.
"Let me take them. I'm here to help them collect the letters; the village is very busy today."
Without waiting for the postman to speak, Zhang Qingqing snatched his bag and started rummaging through it on her own. When she saw the names of several educated youths, her face filled with hatred. When she finally saw Fang Xiaoxia's name, the resentment on her face practically overflowed.
"What's wrong with you?" The postman noticed something was amiss and reached out to grab the bag back, but Zhang Qingqing tilted her head back defiantly: "Try touching me! If I fall, it's on you!"
"You!"
"I'll show you how to be happy!" Looking at the admission letters in her hand, a trace of twisted pleasure surfaced in Zhang Qingqing's heart. As long as she tore these things up, these people wouldn't be able to go anywhere. They would all be just like her!
Just as she was about to act, a hand grabbed her wrist. Turning around, she saw that the villagers and the educated youths had all arrived.
"I was just saying that the results are out today, so I brought everyone here to wait for the notices. What a coincidence, you're here too?" Fang Zhiyi smiled, his eyes narrowing.
Coincidence? Another coincidence? Zhang Qingqing glared at Fang Zhiyi, wishing looks could kill.
"You're just in time. This woman came up and snatched my bag, and I didn't dare grab it back since she's holding a baby..."
"Thank you for your hard work. Leave the rest to us," Fang Zhiyi said with a smile. The postman cast a disdainful glance at Zhang Qingqing, got on his bicycle, and slowly rode away.
"Oh, Xiaoxia, you got in!" A village auntie didn't care about the tension; she stepped forward and snatched the admission letters from Zhang Qingqing's hands. The very first one belonged to Fang Xiaoxia.
The scene became lively. People continuously stepped forward to take their letters from Zhang Qingqing, not forgetting to roll their eyes at her.
No one was stupid. Couldn't they guess what she was trying to do?
Watching this lively scene that had nothing to do with her, Zhang Qingqing was furious. The baby in her arms started crying, so she cursed a few times, turned around, and left.
After she gave birth, Wei Xiangyang didn't care at all. She had to take care of the child all by herself, which gradually twisted her personality.
Watching her back, Fang Zhiyi shouted loudly, "Zhang Qingqing, go back and tell your husband that everyone is coming to my house for dinner today! We're all going to celebrate."
Zhang Qingqing's body stiffened. She felt as if something was blocking her chest.
It shouldn't be like this.
How dare they do this?
As soon as spring arrived, many people left the village. Some young people and the educated youths who had passed the exam teamed up and went to the town to take the train away. Those who stayed were either willing to remain or waiting for the next batch of quotas.
Meanwhile, Fang Zhiyi was visited by two officials.
"Someone reported you for abusing your power for personal gain," the visitor said. "There have been seven or eight report letters written."
Fang Zhiyi was fearless and simply told them to investigate as they pleased. He didn't believe that his years of hard work could be faulted.
Sure enough, after a round of inquiries, Fang Zhiyi's reputation was excellent. Since only two people had numerous complaints against him, even a fool could tell what was going on. The investigators sternly warned Wei Xiangyang and his wife before leaving. The other villagers cursed the couple for being ungrateful wretches. Wei Xiangyang slammed the door shut, his eyes locked onto Zhang Qingqing like a vicious wolf.
He was originally the type of scum who would commit domestic violence.
Zhang Qingqing trembled all over but was completely helpless.
When the new news arrived that educated youths could freely choose whether to return to the city or stay in the countryside, Wei Xiangyang's furrowed brows finally relaxed.
He left with his family almost without hesitation, not forgetting to spit at the village before he departed.
He swore to return in glory in the future! He would ruthlessly slap these people in the face!
His actions were all seen by Fang Zhiyi, who merely shook his head and sighed. You couldn't even make it in the village, so you think you'll do well when you go back? Bullshit!
Fang Zhiyi continued his daily work methodically. During this period, the large-scale return of educated youths to the cities created a massive unemployment problem, whereas life in the countryside actually became much better.
However, no one knew that ever since Fang Xiaoxia went to college, Fang Zhiyi had started an "underground business" at home. Simply put, he set up a small workshop and occasionally made some toys to sell on the black market. At this point in time, almost no one inspected the black market. Fang Zhiyi's small toys were very popular, which allowed him to make a small fortune.
"Raising a child is really expensive..." Fang Zhiyi muttered to himself, while Little Hei smiled without saying a word.
Another year passed, and to the villagers' surprise, the usually quiet Fang Zhiyi did something huge. He went to the city to borrow money from the bank under the name of the village production brigade, which gave the villagers a huge scare. Immediately after, he expanded his small workshop into a large one, but publicly declared it a toy factory.
This was against the policy!
But even with such a massive move from Fang Zhiyi, no one came to investigate, and everyone gradually began to believe that the policies had been relaxed.
The work at the toy factory was relatively simple, just processing some basic small toys. Fang Zhiyi had already figured out the workflow, and anyone could pick it up after watching it once. This sparked discussion among the villagers, but the educated youths who stayed in the village joined in, harboring trust in Fang Zhiyi.
When it came to running a factory, Fang Zhiyi was more familiar with it than anyone else. Although the era was different, the basic principles remained the same. What he needed to do was be fast; he had to be faster than anyone else.
The spring breeze of reform thoroughly swept across the country. Many people realized it in hindsight and also threw themselves into this tide.
But even they couldn't catch up to someone like Fang Zhiyi, who had already gotten a massive head start.
Children's toys bearing the "Xiashan" brand began selling like hotcakes in the surrounding areas, even attracting merchants from other provinces who traveled all the way just to stock up. Naturally, almost all the villagers of Xiashan Village threw themselves into working on the toy factory's production lines.
After all, making toys brought in cash much faster than earning collective work points!
Far away at a university in another city, Fang Xiaoxia was completely oblivious to the changes back home. She only knew that the allowance her old man sent her grew larger with every remittance. It got to the point where she seriously began to wonder if Fang Zhiyi had gotten involved in some kind of highly illegal racket.
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
