The Educated Youth 012

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.