Siheyuan: Starting from 1958

Times have changed. In just a few years, prices in Beijing have doubled compared to when the reform and opening up began. Savings that I planned to use for a lifetime now only last for a little over ten years.

Aunt Zhang didn't want to increase her son Zhang Linbao's burden, so she thought of supplementing her family's income by doing odd jobs and collecting recyclables.

But this kind of work is not very stable. After a month of hard work, she's lucky if she can earn fifteen or sixteen yuan. But this income is far from what Aunt Zhang expected.

When she heard an old man ask her to help his son-in-law take care of his child, Aunt Zhang's first reaction was to agree.

With a monthly salary of thirty-six yuan, and no need to pay for meals, it's like earning thirty-six yuan for free. The money earned in a year is enough to cover two years of retirement expenses. This is a windfall that you can't even find in heaven.

But despite her thoughts, Aunt Zhang did not immediately agree.

He is no longer alone; he also has a son who is in college.

No matter what she does, her first thought is always her son. Only after she is sure that helping Chen Weinan take care of the child will not affect her son, and after winning his support, will Aunt Zhang truly nod in agreement.

Under the watchful eyes of both the old man and Wang Dong, Aunt Zhang quickly replied, "Uncle... Dongzi... I really want to help you take care of your child. I believe I can definitely help you take good care of your child."

“But this is a huge matter, and once I agree, I will have to go to Huai County with you, and there will be no one to take care of my family. If Lin Bao comes back from school, there will be no one to cook for him.”

"So I need to discuss this with him before I can make a decision."

"Tomorrow is Lin Bao's release date, and I will give you an answer by tomorrow at the latest."

Wang Dong nodded and replied, "Okay..."

"Then I'll wait for your reply tomorrow..."

As expected, when Aunt Zhang wanted to go to Huai County to take care of Wang Dong's child, Zhang Linbao did not raise any objections.

Three days later, after packing her luggage, Aunt Zhang followed the processing plant's truck to Huai County and began her career as a nanny.

At the same time, his wife Chen Jun's transfer order also arrived.

So, after staying with Wang Dong and Chen Jun in Tangshan Town for only one night, Aunt Zhang had to move into the county town's residential compound.

…………

With Aunt Zhang as a caregiver, Wang Dong's burden of taking care of his family was immediately reduced by more than half.

While his wife worked in the office every day, Wang Dong wandered around the streets and alleys of the county town, looking for new investment opportunities.

Compared to poor towns like Tangshan Town, which are mountainous and have little land, the towns surrounding the county seat are obviously much wealthier.

There are still many ordinary people who live a good life by growing grain, thanks to their large families and abundant land.

But the majority of ordinary people are still struggling below the poverty line.

After all, the current grain yield is too low, far from reaching the level of more than a thousand catties of grain per mu in later generations.

After a hard-earned harvest of a few hundred kilograms of grain from an acre of fertile land, almost half of the grain had to be given as public grain, and only the remainder was left for everyone's own consumption.

The family's daily clothes, medical expenses, and holiday supplies are all basically paid for with the little food they have left over, making it difficult to live a good life.

As for industry...

Perhaps because it was too close to Beijing, all the factories were moved to Beijing, and the vast Huai County couldn't find a decent factory to blast.

Without factories, Huai County would lack skilled workers. Even if Wang Dong wanted to invest in and build a factory in Huai County, he would have to find workers from other places, which would not only be troublesome but would also greatly increase the factory's operating costs.

Chen Weinan may have a lot of money, but not enough to waste. So, the idea of ​​investing in and building a factory in Huai County was rejected by him as soon as it came to mind.

After spending the entire day in the county town without finding anything, Wang Dong could only drag his exhausted body back to the family compound.

He had barely stepped inside the house when his wife, Chen Jun, followed him in.

Her expression was very serious; it was clear at a glance that her work day hadn't gone well.

"Honey, is someone giving you a hard time at work?" Wang Dong couldn't help but ask as soon as his wife sat down on the sofa.

Chen Jun shook his head: "In the entire Huai County, apart from the Party Secretary, I have the highest rank. Who would dare to provoke me like this..."

"Moreover……"

"The contributions I made in Tangshan Town were all genuine."

"Although only half of the year has passed, based on the rough statistics compiled by cadres at all levels in Tangshan Town, it is certain that the average household income of the people in Tangshan Town will double this year."

"No one can take this credit away from us."

"As long as I have this merit, the Party Secretary will treat me with utmost respect."

"Many county leaders, seeing how well I've developed the economy, are openly or secretly trying to curry favor with me..."

"So your wife is no longer a lonely woman."

"Although I haven't reached the point of being able to challenge the Party Secretary, I'm not to be underestimated. I'm sure no one will dare to make things difficult for me at work."

After hearing his wife's explanation, Wang Dong was very happy.

My wife is my own, and I wouldn't even dare to mistreat her, let alone let anyone else do it.

But this happiness only lasted a few seconds before disappearing. Looking at his wife's still furrowed brow, he continued to ask, "Since no one is making things difficult for you, why do you look so gloomy as soon as you get home, like someone owes you tens of thousands of dollars?"

After letting out a long sigh, Chen Jun replied, "The pressure is too much..."

"Now everyone in the county has placed the heavy responsibility of developing the economy on my shoulders, but I have no clue what to do. How can I not be anxious?"

"I reckon that in a while, I won't even be able to leave work on time."

"Besides the county government, higher-level leaders also place all their hopes for developing Huai County's economy on me."

"If Huai County's economy can develop, the Party Secretary, as the leader, will also make a great contribution. He has given me people, power, and money whenever I asked."

"It wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe it as having absolute power."

"But if the economy doesn't develop under my leadership, it would be a huge embarrassment."

"The Party Secretary will definitely use my incompetence as an excuse to attack me, and then none of the higher-ups will be able to protect me."

After listening to his wife's explanation, Wang Dong frowned.

County towns are different from townships.

The town's population is only about 20,000 to 30,000. With the current size and assets of Dongjun Hotel, any project it starts could help most of the town's residents get rich.

A county can have anywhere from one or two hundred thousand people to three or four hundred thousand. Without a good project and a sound plan, even if I were to open five factories simultaneously under the name of Dongjun Hotel, I still wouldn't be able to make all the people in the county wealthy. (End of Chapter)