2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 41 Chance Encounter
Autumn comes quickly and goes quickly.

As December arrives, Yicheng, a city with a humid climate in the south, is getting colder day by day, and the chill of early winter has already set in.

Getting up early in this kind of weather is really not a pleasant thing.

Tan Jinyue changes every day, and she even lets out a few howls every night, making Tan Jincheng, who already has trouble sleeping, even more depressed.

In an era when even internet access was inconvenient, let alone short videos, and there weren't many entertainment options at night, why would someone use a Nokia to play Snake?

forget it.

International football matches are broadcast too late, which would disturb my family's rest, so I won't bother with it.

At this moment, AC Milan was at its peak. Ancelotti was still a young coach, and superstars such as Maldini and Neymar were gathered in the Rossoneri.

Most importantly, AC Milan's lineup at that time included Tan Jincheng's favorite star: Kaka.

"A silver saddle shines on a white horse, swift as a shooting star; a gentleman on the road is as beautiful as jade, a peerless young master in the world."

Back then, people bought football magazines just to get a free Kaká sticker; that's a memory for so many people born in the 80s.

Messi and Ronaldo are strong, but Kaka is even better!

"Hurry up, what are you dawdling for? You'll be late for the exam."

"I understand," Tan Jincheng said weakly.

Today is the day for my driver's license test. I don't know why the test center is located in such a remote place, and the test time is so ridiculous that I have to get up very early.

Tan Lihua drove him to the exam venue. He knew far better than his son what taxis in Yicheng were like, and he was really worried about taking a taxi to a remote place so early in the morning.

Sitting on the back of the motorcycle, Tan Jincheng was filled with regret. "Why didn't you lend me a car!"
When he arrived at the examination hall, Tan Lihua turned around and left. He had to rush back to work. With an extra person in his family, Tan Lihua was full of energy lately.

Don't assume that state-owned enterprises necessarily have weekends off; you still have to work overtime when necessary.

"Tan Jincheng!"

As soon as Tan Jincheng entered the examination room, he heard a crisp shout from behind him.

When I came back, hey; I actually ran into an acquaintance here.

It was Chen Shuyi. She was wearing a light khaki cotton jacket, white trousers, sneakers, and a small bag slung across her shoulder.

Her Korean-style outfit perfectly aligns with the mainstream fashion trends of this era.

"What a coincidence, what are you doing here? Taking the exam too?"

After saying that, Tan Jincheng smiled; indeed, the social network in a small city is actually quite simple. Everyone is related through various connections, so it's not surprising that they can find the same driving school to learn to drive by using their connections.

But why have I never encountered this before?

Thinking of this, Tan Jincheng asked, "Why haven't I run into you practicing driving before?"

Chen Shuyi rolled her eyes and said, "I have classes, okay? I've been enrolled for over a year. But you, it's only been a little over two months since you came back, so why are you taking the exam?"

Chen Shuyi is currently a sophomore at Yicheng Normal University. During normal class hours, she naturally doesn't have time to practice driving, so it's not surprising that she doesn't encounter it.

"The coach sent me; come on, let's go inside, it's so cold, how did you get here?"

“My dad drove me there; he’s waiting outside,” Chen Shuyi said, pointing to the old Jetta parked at the entrance.

"That's perfect. My aunt will give me a ride after the exam."

Tan Jincheng shamelessly said that he never wanted to ride on Old Tan's motorcycle again; he would definitely get a car after returning this time. "What are you yelling about? Giving you a ride is fine, what's in it for you?"

"No problem. I'll treat you and your dad to dinner when we get to the city. You can choose the place."

"You're a boss now, quite the big shot; by the way, why are you back learning to drive? Didn't you say you were going to do business?"

"My sister was born, so I came back to visit. I figured I was just sitting at home doing nothing anyway, so I decided to get my driver's license first."

"Oh, by the way; I haven't congratulated you yet. You're almost 20, what's it like being an older brother?"

Chen Shuyi had heard from her cousin that Tan Jincheng's mother was pregnant, but she hadn't inquired about the exact date of birth. She was surprised to learn that the baby had already been born and was a girl.

Time seems to have flown by unnoticed, and in the blink of an eye, it has been a year and a half since we graduated from high school.

"I can't quite put my finger on it, but I'm definitely happy," Tan Jincheng said with a smile.

At 20, a time when one is neither fully grown nor fully mature, Tan Jincheng in his previous life was somewhat resistant to the arrival of this younger sister, mainly because he was caught off guard.

However, this feeling comes quickly and goes even faster.

When his younger sister was born, Tan Jincheng was overjoyed. Later, after he became successful, he doted on her even more, even more than he would his own son.

When he was dating his ex-wife, she was quite jealous of this younger sister.

Thinking of his ex-wife, Tan Jincheng couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness: "Sigh, I hope I never run into her again in this life. May we both be at peace."

My life trajectory has completely changed, so I guess I'll never meet him again.

His ex-wife was neither from Yicheng nor Ningbo. Their meeting was an accident, and their separation was not due to any problems in their relationship. On the contrary, their relationship was quite good after the separation.

Unexpected business dealings and family troubles at his ex-wife's home led to a friendly end to their seven-year relationship.

By the end of 2019, after that three-year-long black swan event, Tan Jincheng even felt somewhat fortunate about the separation.

If I had stuck to my principles back then, and those three years had passed, I might not have even been able to keep the rest of my assets.

Even when that time comes, the two people who are still bound together, including their child, will live a very painful life.

Time and life.

The fleeting sadness in Tan Jincheng's eyes did not escape Chen Shuyi's notice; however, she did not understand why Tan Jincheng, who had just been smiling, would suddenly have such a sad look in his eyes.

Logically speaking, Tan Jincheng shouldn't have that kind of look in his eyes at his age.

Chen Shuyi wondered to herself, "What exactly did he experience during that year at sea?"

At this moment, Tan Jincheng had recovered from his thoughts. All the students taking the exam today had arrived, and the instructors were arranging for them to take the exam in batches.

Looking around, Tan Jincheng saw that although there were students of similar age to himself and Chen Shuyi, their numbers were extremely small.

Most of the students are around 30 years old.

In an era when cars were expensive, many people from average-income families rarely considered getting a driver's license unless it was for work.

Even fewer college students take driving tests, so from this perspective, Chen Shuyi is quite avant-garde.

It's important to know that in many situations in the future, a driver's license will be more useful than a regular academic qualification.

Soon, it was Tan Jincheng and Chen Shuyi's turn.

(End of this chapter)