The literary era since 1979

Chapter 106: Money or face?
When Fangyan got home from get off work, he found several printed manuscripts of "Under the Hawthorn Tree" in his bag. The handwritten manuscript was already in the editorial department of "Wenyi Bao" and was scheduled to be published on June 6, with a full 1 pages.

More than 5 words are serialized every day for 5 days.

As soon as I reached the door, I saw Fang Yan, who had been waiting for a long time, rushing over like an arrow with a stack of test papers in her hand.

"Brother! Look at this! Look at this!"

"Wow, that's quite a progress!"

Fangyan looked at the grades in various subjects, including Chinese, mathematics, English, geography and history, especially Chinese, which had shown rapid progress.

"Of course, I am your sister."

Fang Yan put her hands on her hips and raised her chin. "The results of the midterm test came out a long time ago. If mom hadn't told me not to bother you recently, I would have been the first to show you!"

"You're thinking about your novels and tapes, aren't you?"

Fangyan looked at the younger sister with a teasing look.

Fang Yan grabbed his arm: "Anyway, you have to keep your word!"

"Come to my room and get it. It's in the locked drawer."

Fang Yan saw her take the key but didn't move, "You're not going yet? Why, you're not worried about your treasures anymore?"

"Brother, you haven't given me the reward yet!"

"award?"

"Yes, a reward for progress."

Fang Yan jumped a few times excitedly, "My mom and sister gave it to me, saying they would buy me a set of braided dresses."

Fangyan raised his eyebrows, feeling surprised.

The clothing of this era was mainly in single colors such as blue, black and green, and the styles were even more monotonous. Suits, cheongsams, and even slightly fancy clothes would be labeled as "strange clothes."

The Russian's khaki dress is an exception.

It is mainly composed of floral and striped patterns, with a large neckline that highlights the female figure. It is almost every woman's dream dress. Wen Li in "Golden Wedding" has such a dress. After she put it on, she immediately led the fashion trend among women in the factory.

"Actually, I want jeans, the kind Zhang Yu wore in Lushan Love, but mom won't agree."

Fang Yan tugged at his sailor shirt.

"It's no use looking at me like that. The state-owned stores don't sell these jeans. If you want to buy them, you have to go to the south."

Fangyan recalled that in his previous life, the jeans he sold on the street were imported from the Red Sun Market in Hangzhou.

They cost more than ten dollars a pair, but they are not authentic jeans, they are all shoddy goods.

The small vendors at that time had no real raw materials. Jeans were made of work cloth, and the dyes they dyed would fade as soon as they were washed.

Later I found a new way, a channel in Yangcheng, stone-ground jeans, more than 20 yuan a pair, and they never fade!
"what?"

Fang Yan blinked, "Then what reward will you give me?"

"You studied for the exam because of me."

Fangyan took the novel unhappily and patted her head.

"Ouch."

Fang Yan pretended to be hurt by the blow, but when "Under the Hawthorn Tree" appeared in her sight, her eyes lit up instantly: "Novel!"

"Brother, give it to me! Let me see it!"

"You, you."

Fangyan rolled his eyes helplessly.

"Hey, brother, this is barely a reward for my exam." Fang Yan stretched out her hand and said, "Where's my Children's Day present?
"How old are you? Do you still want to celebrate Children's Day?"

Fang Yan said: "Are you itching for trouble? Watch out, I'll hit you!"

At this moment, the unique tornado bell sound of Phoenix brand bicycles came from outside the house, clear and pleasant, ringing continuously.

"sister!"

Fang Yan ran out, "Brother, he's going to beat me to death!"

Fang Yan followed him out of the yard and saw Han Yuemin and Fang Hong standing under the old locust tree. They both smiled at him.

"Yanzi, Yuemin wants to discuss something with you."

Fang Hong pulled Fang Yan and said, "I'll go in first."

Fang Yan was very surprised and looked at Han Yuemin who was worried:
"Brother Han, what's the matter?"

"Ah."

Han Yuemin frowned and told the truth.

Something strange has happened in the last few days. I am often assigned to work the night shift, either in the first half of the night or in the second half of the night. There is not a single day shift. Not to mention that my opportunities to spend time with Fang Hong have decreased, I can hardly find time even to attend night school. I really don’t know what to do?
"Let's stop hiding this from each other."

Fangyan asked: "Do you need my help?"

"You don't need to help, just give me some advice."

Han Yuemin didn't want Fang Yan to step in, and he didn't want her to use her connections for his own sake, even though he was dating Fang Hong.

After all, the reason why I like Fang Hong is not because I want to become a relative of Fang Yan, nor because I want to gain benefits from Fang Yan.

"Staff officer?"

After listening to the dialect carefully, I realized that Han Yuemin was thinking of going into business, especially the implementation of the "suspension of pay with retention" policy.

This is equivalent to letting those who want to go into the sea but are afraid of the depth of the water put on a life jacket and swim freely in the sea.

"The factory encourages employees to take unpaid leave and start their own business, and the longest period of unpaid leave is two years."

The more Han Yuemin spoke, the more excited he became: "I don't want to burn the boiler anymore! This is a good opportunity to do my own thing!"

Fangyan asked, "What is Han going to do?"

"Making clothes, tailoring, and setting up stalls to sell small commodities." Han Yuemin learned a good skill in night college, and he had nothing to do during the day, so he went out of his way to investigate the situation of self-employed stall owners. He was shocked to find that they could make a lot of money.

Just from selling small items like socks, you can earn more than ten yuan a day!
The profit from just over a month is almost as much as his annual salary!

"You've already thought it through, why do you need my advice?"

Dialects are confusing.

"Isn't this just being a self-employed person? Setting up a stall is shameful!"

Han Yuemin was embarrassed and didn't know what to say.

Fangyan understood his concerns deeply.

Being a self-employed person at this time is not glorious at all, let alone a formal job. It is equivalent to giving up a formal job as a civil servant or a public servant and ending up setting up a street stall.

Yang Xia and Fang Hong cursed him for having ruined his stable job in his previous life, and they sighed all day long, worrying about his future.

It was not until he sold clothes, electrical appliances, and treasury bonds and returned home with bag after bag of money that she felt relieved.

Although he made a lot of money, he was shy at the beginning. When he met acquaintances while setting up a stall, he subconsciously covered his face with newspapers.

I'm just afraid of being recognized and embarrassed!
Knowing Fang Hong's attitude towards self-employed people, Fang Yan frowned: "My sister won't despise them, she is not that kind of person!"

"Of course not, she just doesn't understand."

What Han Yuemin was worried about was what he and Yang Xia thought.

After all, my future brother-in-law is a great writer and a famous person, but I am just an individual business owner selling things on the street. Wouldn't that be embarrassing for him?

"So, Brother Han, do you want money or face?"

Fangyan said half-jokingly.

"I want to make your sister happy!"

Han Yuemin said this with absolute certainty.

Fangyan was stunned. Good! I give full marks to this answer!
"Although money doesn't mean happiness, and your sister doesn't value it, I must at least have enough money to buy a house that can house happiness."

Han Yuemin's eyes were firm.

Fangyan asked: "Brother Han, have you chosen a house?"

"not yet."

Han Yuemin shook his head and said, "Not long ago, you asked me to inquire about the Siheyuan in the housing exchange meeting. The conditions inside shocked me. If I rely on this salary, I don't know how long it will take to save up. The good thing of the company allocating housing will not fall on the head of a boiler operator like me. If I want to change houses, I can only rely on myself."

"Brother Han, I support you!"

"Ah? Really?"

"Just based on what you just said, how can I not support you?"

Fangyan comforted him, "Don't feel ashamed to be a self-employed person. Maybe in the future, others will envy you."

"I don't care whether others envy me or not, as long as you don't despise me." Han Yuemin showed an honest smile.

Fangyan waved his hand and then asked about the condition of the house.

It is not easy to find an entire courtyard house. It is basically a once in a lifetime opportunity. Moreover, the property rights are unclear now. Most of them are "public housing", which means they cannot be bought or sold. They can only be renamed. After the name change, the property rights still belong to the housing management office, and a monthly rent is paid.

Or it could be private property with clear ownership, but after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Housing Management Office arranged for a lot of residents to move in, and it became a slum.

Residents living in these properties are protected by policies; homeowners are not allowed to evict them by force, and residents can only vacate their homes voluntarily.

Therefore, a complete courtyard house with clear property rights, which can be bought and sold without any troubles, is extremely rare.

Han Yuemin did help him find out about the Overseas Chinese Apartments and the residential buildings in Tuanjie Lake, which were built in 76. Two of them are now available for sale to individuals, with an average price of 180 yuan per square meter.

"Forget about the Western-style building. I want to buy a courtyard house."

Fangyan shook his head and laughed.

"I think so too. Western-style buildings are too expensive!"

Han Yuemin said: "I may not be able to earn this much money in my lifetime. If I had this much money, it would be enough for me to buy several courtyard houses."

“It doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t earn it.”

Fang Yan said, "I want to make Fang Hong happy." Fang Yan would never stand idly by while her brother-in-law started a business, so she said, "Brother Han, is it convenient for you to take a leave now?"

"Ask for leave?"

Han Yuemin said: "Of course it is convenient, Yanzi, you don't know, I am so idle during the day, it's no different from a holiday!"

Fang Yan said bluntly: "In a while, the first Golden Rooster Awards will be held in Hangzhou, and I may have to go on a business trip to attend the meeting. Do you want to go to Hangzhou with me then?"

Han Yuemin was getting more and more puzzled. "Accompany you to Hangzhou?"

"As for me, I heard from a friend that there is a Red Sun Market in Hangzhou that specializes in clothing. They sell a lot of fashionable items, such as jeans."

Fang Yan smiled and said, "Are you interested in broadening your horizons?"

"Really? Yes! Of course!"

Han Yuemin suddenly became interested and asked many questions.

Fang Yan answered the question patiently, "Don't worry, Brother Han, I'll let you know when the time comes. Remember to bring more money."

"Eh!"

Han Yuemin nodded excitedly, because "Lush Mountain Love" made jeans popular, and jeans are now the most popular item on the market.

"Brother Han, please continue to help me keep an eye on the matter at the Siheyuan."

Fangyan patted his brother-in-law on the shoulder.

"Okay, no problem. I'll continue to ask for you."

After chatting for a while, Han Yuemin took out the movie tickets issued by the noodle factory from his pocket and specially invited their whole family to watch a movie.

(End of this chapter)