Year 1979: Eating meat with my wife and children

When the Ge family entertained their relatives from afar, both Uncle Ge the eldest and Uncle Ge the second were very generous in spending money.

Today's lunch was as plentiful as ever!

Not to mention the children, Li Xiangdong felt he had eaten his fill.

Touching his belly, Li Xiangdong felt that if he continued eating like this, he would gain seven or eight pounds by the time he returned to Beijing.

Suddenly, he began to miss the days when he carried a tin kettle and busied himself moving between the various train carriages.

Huh?

It gives off a kind of cheap, sleazy vibe...

"Dongzi?"

Li Xiangdong quickly swallowed a piece of pork belly in his mouth. "What's wrong, brother-in-law?"

"How was my pork stew with glass noodles?"

"Great! The taste is absolutely amazing!"

Li Xiangdong smiled and gave a thumbs up, then raised his glass and clinked it with his cousin-in-law from Northeast China.

A dull mouth.

This is really bad. Li Xiangdong quickly picked up a piece of vermicelli with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, and pressed it down.

Yesterday, we all got together for a reunion dinner, and we talked about everything that needed to be said and asked each other. The topic then returned to the age-old issue of children's education.

The main character of the topic is, of course, Ge Youfu, since he is currently the most academically successful child among the two families.

"You're lucky. What major did your teacher recommend you study? Tell your great-uncle and three cousins ​​about it."

Brother Ge was thinking that the country had been promoting reform and opening up for the past two years, and Beijing was the political center of the country.

My aunt's family lives in Beijing, so they definitely know more information than they do here.

He thought he should ask Li Xiangdong and his two brothers for their opinions, in case they came up with something that would give his son Ge Youfu some options.

"My teachers said that electrical engineering, chemical engineering, and engineering are all promising majors, and they told me to think carefully about which one to study before the college entrance examination, as it would be easy to find a job no matter which one I choose."

"If you study electrical engineering, you can choose to come back to work after graduation. But if you study chemical engineering or engineering, it would be better to work in the southeastern coastal areas."

The boy who poured the wine, Ge Youqing, put down the wine bottle in his hand.

She was confident and not at all shy, and she talked about the majors recommended by the teachers and the career options available after graduation in detail.

This was a major event in Ge Youfu's life, and everyone in the room except the children listened attentively.

The old lady at the next table suddenly called out, "Youfu!" after Ge Youfu finished speaking.

"Oh, what's wrong with Great-Grandma?"

"Could you learn a skill that allows you to arrange a job in Beijing?"

The old lady still wanted her great-grandson to return to live in the capital, and no one in the Ge family objected to this.

In their hearts, Beijing is the capital, one of the most important cities in the country, and also their hometown. Returning to Beijing is naturally the best thing!

"Okay, Great-Grandma, I understand."

Ge Youfu nodded to the old lady, who smiled with satisfaction.

Ge Youfu had heard about the capital city from his elders since he was a child, and he longed to visit it.

"Uncle, Weiguo, the old lady wants Youfu to return to the capital in the future. What do you think he should study in college to increase his chances of staying in the capital?"

Father Li glanced at his eldest nephew, then exchanged a look with his eldest and second sons.

If we change the question, what ratio of pulverized coal and yellow mud should be used to make briquettes that burn for a long time? How long can a boiler burn when it is full of coal?

Father Li, eldest brother Li, and second brother Li are sure to chat from now until dinner.

But if you ask them what majors they studied in college that would allow them to stay in Beijing, they wouldn't know a thing or two!

Isn't this making things difficult for them...?

Seeing his father and two older brothers looking troubled, Li Xiangdong, being the caring person he was, certainly couldn't let the three of them continue in this awkward situation.

He took the initiative to say, "As long as it's not a very niche major, it's fine. Job choices after graduation are two-way. If you perform well during your time at school, you'll have more control over your job assignment after graduation."

"To put it bluntly, he can study anything as long as he consistently excels in his studies. When it comes to job placement after graduation, he can directly choose a company in Beijing, and the company will take care of his household registration issue."

Everyone understood and repeatedly urged Ge Youfu not to slack off even after going to university, and to find a way to re-register his household registration in Beijing.

Li Xiangdong pondered for a while and decided to say a few more words to give this nephew, who seemed quite agreeable to him, some pointers.

"Good luck, do you have a major that interests you?"

Upon hearing this, Ge Youfu looked at Li Xiangdong and shook his head, "Uncle, I didn't."

"Do you have any ideas about what industry you want to work in in the future?"

"nor."

"How about your uncle gives you some advice, and you can think about it?"

The people talking inside held their breath, eager to hear what Li Xiangdong would say.

Ge Youfu felt the same way. In his mind, his uncle's job involved traveling all over the country by train, so he must be a very knowledgeable person.

In the past two days, while chatting with Li Xiangdong, he heard many novel and unfamiliar words from Li Xiangdong's mouth.

Li Xiangdong's thinking and ideas always gave him a fresh perspective, a feeling he had never experienced before from any of the school's teachers.

"Uncle, you say so, I will definitely consider it seriously."

"Your uncle thinks you should study chemical engineering, and he hopes you can get into Tsinghua University."

Tsinghua University is a top-tier university in China. Even though Ge Youfu believes he is quite capable, he is not sure if he can get into Tsinghua.

"Dongzi, what's the story behind this?"

Brother Ge was puzzled. Tsinghua University was a good university, and chemical engineering was a good major, but Li Xiangdong's goal was so clear. He wanted to ask why.

"Ahem~ There's no reason why, this is just my personal opinion. I heard it from others, and it's really good."

Li Xiangdong coughed twice, waved his hand, and didn't explain why to everyone.

Because some things are hard to say...

Ge Youfu is going to university this year and will graduate in the first half of 84.

Li Xiangdong's idea was this: Hou San had a cousin who worked as a secretary for a big shot in the Beijing municipal government. He could use Hou San's cousin's connections to arrange for Ge Youfu to be assigned to the Xiamen municipal government office in Fujian Province after graduation.

During his university years in Beijing, Ge Youfu could spend his spare time learning Fuzhou dialect, Minnan dialect, and Hakka from the language prodigy A Zhe.

Then we can just wait for the big shot to come to Xiamen in 85 to take charge of things...

When transferring to a job over a long distance, leaders generally do not bring their secretaries.

As for why Ge Youfu was asked to learn the local language, it was to facilitate communication during work and to bridge the gap between him and other local colleagues in the office.

Why did you choose chemical engineering at Tsinghua University?

Because the big shot graduated from this school and this major, it's a definite plus at first glance!

If Ge Youfu really goes along with Li Xiangdong's plan, tsk tsk tsk...