Back to 1984: Let's Work Hard Together to Raise The Kids!-Chapter 221: Graduation Season

On the weekend, the youngest son of the Tang family, Tang Yu, came home. Mother Tang conveyed Tang Jing’s message to him, "Your sister wants you to study hard and strive to get into college. She will be working part-time this summer and won’t be coming back.

Xiao Liu, you have to study hard for your sister’s sake. That one thousand yuan will be enough for your college. If it’s not, you can work part-time like your sister. Your father and I will work hard to make money."

Tang Yu slowly lowered his eyes and nodded obediently, "Mom, I know. I’ll work hard."

Originally, he planned to focus all his efforts on the college entrance exam. Regardless of whether he got in or not, he intended to work. Now, things have taken a turn for the better, and he must work even harder to not let down the expectations of his parents and sister.

Father Tang and Mother Tang saw that their youngest son had listened, and both smiled with relief.

A semester passed in the blink of an eye.

The incessant cicadas’ chirping of midsummer meant that summer vacation was just around the corner.

After the college entrance exam, Tang Yu filled in his preferences and took the train to the capital, following the instructions in Tang Jing’s letter to find a morning market on the outskirts of the city.

It was still a little past seven in the morning. The simple boy with a woven bag weaved through the crowd at the morning market, looking around. Based on the information in Tang Jing’s letter, he finally found the stall selling clothes and shoes in the morning market.

He also saw Tang Jing, who was smiling like a flower in the morning sun, warmly greeting customers.

This Tang Jing was entirely different from the fifth sister he remembered. Tang Yu just stood there, watching in a daze.

Tang Jing noticed something, looked up, and saw Tang Yu standing in place. Overjoyed, she quickly waved and called out, "Xiao Yu, you’re here! Come over quickly!"

Tang Yu hurriedly ran over.

Tang Jing still had to sell things and couldn’t chat with him, so she took ten yuan from her bag and handed it to him, "Go buy something to eat at the market, buy whatever you want, take a walk, and rest. We’ll talk properly when I’m done for the day."

Xu Jiahui, beside her, immediately spoke up, "Jingjing, go chat with your brother for a while. We can watch over the stall for you."

They were still operating one stall each, continuing last year’s model, selling different things.

Tang Jing smiled and shook her head, "No need, no need, my brother just arrived. Let him eat something and take a break. We’ll have plenty of time to catch up at noon."

The weather in the summer was hot, the morning market would pack up by eleven, and only by three or four in the afternoon would people come out to set up again, wrapping up by around six in the evening.

Tang Yu wanted to refuse but met his sister’s concerned gaze and immediately complied obediently.

There were many snacks in the market that he had never seen. Not knowing what to eat, he quietly observed, bought some cheaper snacks, and also bought a bottle of soda for Tang Jing.

When he returned to the stall, Tang Jing had just sent off a customer.

The two had time to talk, "How did you do in the exam this time?"

Tang Yu gently replied, "I performed as usual and estimated my score. I’ll have no problem getting into university, and I also applied to a school in the capital to be there with you, sister."

Tang Jing grinned, "Not bad! If you get into university too, our family will become famous, and mom and dad can hold their heads up high."

Tang Yu nodded firmly, "Sister, let me help you sell things."

Tang Jing pointed across at Xu Kang and Chen Ruiyu, "Those two are the brothers of my roommates, they originally didn’t plan to set up stalls, but knowing you were coming, they did it for a few days. You should take over their stall, make your own money, save it for yourself, and you don’t need to make money for me."

"Sister!" Tang Yu was very surprised.

Tang Jing gave him a loving smile, "Go over and greet the brothers and sisters, help them sell things, keep your eyes open, and see how they do business."

Tang Yu obediently went over.

He quickly started chatting with Chen Ruiyu and the others.

Tang Jing watched quietly, feeling pleased.

This summer was destined to be busy and fulfilling, and the hard work and sweat of two months brought new life to the siblings of the Tang family.

Together, they earned over thirty thousand.

For them, this money was definitely a huge sum. They didn’t know how to use it and just honestly deposited it into the bank.

After the school term started, Chen Xinyue brought up the matter proactively with her roommates, "Now that you have money, do you want to consider investing?"

"Investing?" Tang Jing and the others looked over simultaneously.

Chen Xinyue nodded seriously, "My mother said that with the new policy this year, the allocation of jobs for university students has been canceled, which means that when we graduate, the state will not assign us jobs; everything depends on ourselves."

"What? Then what was the point of all our hard work to get into college?" Xu Jiahui was particularly agitated.

Chen Xinyue sighed, "There’s no choice, we can only say it’s our misfortune. My mom says it’s an inevitable trend, after all, there are only so many state-owned units, and with so many graduates every year, saturation is bound to happen. We just weren’t lucky enough to catch a good time.

But you shouldn’t be discouraged, although there’s no job allocation, we have more choices. If financially comfortable, we can continue studying for a master’s or even a Ph.D.; there’s a good chance to take up a position at a university.

If you don’t want to continue studying, you can apply for government jobs after graduation; being university students, employment won’t be an issue. You can join large enterprises or start your own business, those are all paths.

What I mean is now that you have money, you can plan for the future. If you plan to stay in the capital, you can buy a house while the prices are still low. That’s what my mom says, she’s very farsighted, and I think you should consider it seriously."

The three of them looked at each other, still unable to recover from the shock of job allocation being canceled, not knowing what to say for a moment.

After a while, Zhou Miaqing spoke with a troubled face, "I’m the only one at home, I definitely have to go back. Since there’s no job allocation, my parents will most likely push me to take the civil service exam or work in their units, staying in the capital isn’t realistic. If we’re buying a house, it would be back home."

"That works too, houses back home aren’t expensive now. You can discuss it with your parents when you go back for winter break." Chen Xinyue said with confidence.

Zhou Miaqing had to face the issue and began contemplating the feasibility.

Xu Jiahui looked at one and then the other, decisively saying, "I’ll also return to An City. You know how it is there, the homesick sentiment is strong. My home is in the county, so I’ll probably go back to take the civil service exam and settle down in the city."

As she said this, she looked at Chen Xinyue enviously, "You’re still great, born in Rome, waiting for me to come find you in Rome."

Chen Xinyue laughed heartily, "Sure! I’ll be waiting for you! If you want to buy a house in An City, I can offer you advice."

Xu Jiahui made an "OK" gesture.

Only Tang Jing was left.

Everyone looked at her.

In Tang Jing’s eyes, there was still a trace of confusion. Thinking of those thirty thousand, she instinctively pursed her lips, "With the money we have, we definitely can’t afford a house in the capital....."