2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 14 Returning to Ningbo
"These two are so close they're practically inseparable, it's amazing."

"Who can argue with that? But it's not surprising that they've been classmates since elementary school."

"I wonder how much money these two have made. I feel like Tan Jincheng has changed a lot, but Zhang Xupeng hasn't changed much."

"Really? I didn't notice, but Tan Jincheng got tanned and isn't as handsome as before; his skin used to be whiter than many girls in our class, so I feel much better now."

"I don't think so. I think Tan Jincheng is more manly than before; Louis Koo is handsome, but Louis Koo is even cooler."

Chen Shuyi stared at Tan Jincheng's departing figure, the sounds of her classmates' discussions filling the air. As his deskmate, she could sense the changes in Tan Jincheng.

Most women mature earlier than men.

While boys are still engrossed in silly pranks and games, girls are already at the age where they begin to experience romantic feelings.

In later generations, Tan Jincheng's height wouldn't be considered tall, but for a child who grew up in an era of relative scarcity, Tan Jincheng, who was 175 cm tall, didn't seem particularly short.

What girls envy most is Tan Jincheng's skin. During his student days, Tan Jincheng had fair skin and delicate features; his eyebrows had a touch of the early days of the White Ancient.

Tan Jincheng has a good temper and is lively and cheerful; his grades are not particularly good, but they are above average.

His sunny, cheerful image made him quite popular among his classmates.

Tan Jincheng himself was unaware of these things, but Chen Shuyi knew them, and even she herself had some vague feelings of affection for Tan Jincheng.

In her second year of high school, after learning that her cousin had become Tan Jincheng's future aunt, Chen Shuyi often found excuses to get close to Tan Jincheng and acted like an elder.

However, this guy is really a bit slow.

In fact, Chen Shuyi could sense that Tan Jincheng was being perfunctory in his advice; he was just being polite and unwilling to refute her face-to-face.

For some reason, Chen Shuyi always had a feeling that perhaps they would have a chance to meet again in the future.

However, Chen Shuyi felt that Tan Jincheng's turn around meant that he would not have much interaction with everyone in the future.

We've reached a crossroads in our lives.

"I hope you will have a better future, and I also hope I will have a better future," Chen Shuyi thought to herself as she watched Tan Jincheng's retreating figure.

Sunday, October 10, 2004.

Early in the morning, Tan Jincheng got up; Tan Lihua and Zhang Suzhi, the couple, also got up.

A mother worries when her son travels a thousand miles. Last time, she thought it would be a simple trip, and although Zhang Suzhi was somewhat worried about the safety of the journey, she didn't want it to be like this time.

This time, my son is really going out to work; he's truly entering society.

Anyone can talk about grand principles, and these days there are quite a few young people who go out to work at the age of seventeen or eighteen, or even earlier.

But when it comes to my own son, I still find it hard to accept.

Seeing his mother's low spirits, Tan Jincheng comforted her, "Mom, I'm just going to take a look this time. I'll be back soon. If I feel that business isn't going well, I'll just come back to study."

Zhang Suzhi glared at Tan Jincheng: "Just keep lying to us. There's no way you'll ever study again."

Tan Lihua continued, "You've grown up and have your own ideas now. Your parents won't and can't stop you; but remember to be careful outside and avoid causing trouble."

"Okay, I understand," Tan Jincheng nodded.

"Pengya and I take care of each other while we're out. We call home often to let them know we're safe."

"Making money is not important; you must take care of your health when you're out there."

"Okay, I understand, I'll be careful."

In his previous life, Tan Jincheng had three major regrets: first, missing out on university; second, the changes in his family; and third, growing distant from his parents due to his busy work schedule. Tan Jincheng has now let go of the regret of not attending university, and as for his own family, it's too early to talk about that now.

Parents are the ones who can make up for it the most right now.

When he left home in his previous life, his parents also gave him a thousand and one instructions; at that time, Tan Jincheng only felt impatient, and his mind was full of thoughts about the freedom he would have after being set free.

Nowadays, Tan Jincheng would no longer have such thoughts.

"Dad, Mom; you should go back to sleep for a while. It's still early. Mom, you should get some rest."

It's only a little past six in the morning, and there's no train from Yicheng to Yongcheng. The only option is to catch the early morning bus. Before he bought a car, Tan Jincheng often didn't want to come back for this reason.

The minibus would stop at an unknown roadside restaurant for a meal, ostensibly for a rest stop.

The price is a flat 30 yuan, but the food is barely edible; if you don't want to eat, we'll give you a bucket of instant noodles for 30 yuan, it's up to you whether you eat it or not.

Speaking of the traffic situation in Yicheng at that time, Tan Jincheng was truly speechless with frustration.

After having breakfast and bidding farewell to his parents, Tan Jincheng, carrying his backpack, embarked on his second journey away from home.

At the entrance of the residential area, he met up with Zhang Xupeng, and the two took a taxi towards the bus station.

"Why did you come out with just a backpack?" Zhang Xupeng asked, somewhat surprised, when he saw Tan Jincheng traveling light.

He brought a large suitcase, which was filled with a lot of things.

"You won't be staying long anyway, why bring so much stuff? The climate there is pretty much the same as at home."

“We only stayed for a few days after we disembarked last time. How do you know the climate is similar to that at home?”

"You're a terrible student, fine, but after a year at sea, you've forgotten even the latitude?"

"Oh? I didn't think of that. By the way, where should we go first after we get there? This time it's up to you, so you have to make the decision."

"Don't worry, I'll take you flying."

"Get lost, you're younger than me, okay?"

"That's not necessarily true; we'll only know after comparing them."

"What do you mean? What are we comparing?"

"It's nothing, go to sleep, I didn't sleep well this morning."

The journey is about 600 kilometers, and the driver won't take the entire way on the highway. Including the time spent stopping along the way, it will normally be evening when they arrive in Ningbo.

The last time the two of them went ashore to go home, they couldn't buy train tickets and had to change trains on the way. This time they arrived during the day.

A trip to Ningbo takes more than 10 hours; it's really not a good option if you're looking for work.

The most popular cities for Yicheng residents to work are Beijing and Shanghai; the next most popular choice is Jiangsu Province.

In Zhejiang Province, the majority of construction workers are from Hangzhou and Huzhou. In Ningbo, they mainly work in the decoration industry. Construction workers from Anhui Province can be found all over the country.

At 7:30 p.m., Tan Jincheng and Zhang Xupeng got off the bus; they had finally arrived.

This is the second time in his life that Tan Jincheng has set foot on this land, which is both strange and familiar.

Thank you to reader jnllsnake-04 for the generous donation, and thank you to reader with ID ending in 1741, 何处可桃, for the generous donation.

Thank you everyone for your votes. I'll remember this and add extra chapters after the new book launch period.

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(End of this chapter)