Chapter 5 I want to beat this kid up Fang Wei was watching TV, his mother was cooking, and his father was tinkering with his motorcycle in the yard. Both my parents have names that are very contemporary. My father’s name is Fang Xianfeng and my mother’s name is Tian Xilan. Also reflecting the flavor of the times are some of the furnishings in the home. Placed in the middle of the wall is a photo of a big family, including grandparents, parents, uncle and aunt, and cousin who is the same age as Fang Wei. The living room was filled with dark-colored, solemn-style wooden furniture, a landline telephone with a long telephone cord, a thick, huge TV with a protruding screen, a radio and a tape player to the right of the TV, and enamel cups and a kettle on another table. Compared with the home appliances, they showed obvious signs of age, with lotus-style patterns printed on them and the paint peeling off the edges. On the left side of the TV is a red and white game console, which is connected to the TV with a wire and can be played by inserting game cards. This was the birthday gift that Fang Wei's father gave him last year. It was said to be a gift for Fang Wei, but Fang Wei seldom played it. He only played it occasionally to "recall the taste of childhood." But his father played it quite a lot. Occasionally, the father and son would compete together, playing Rocket Car, Super Mario, Contra, etc., to see who could clear the level the fastest. If anyone died, they would take over. In fact, in his previous life, there were very few such enviable father-son relationships. In this life, he has gained more life experience. When he gets along with his parents now, Fang Wei finds that there is no generation gap as in the past. They understand each other better, and daily communication and getting along have become quite harmonious. After tinkering with the motorcycle, Fang Xianfeng came in with a bottle of Coca-Cola, walked to his son who was watching TV, and put the Coke on the table in front of him.
"Awei, take this and drink it. A boss gave it to me when we were collecting fish this afternoon." "Hey, I thought you bought it, Dad." "This stuff is very expensive, and it tastes like sugar water. Only you kids like to drink it. Who would buy this to drink normally?" In the past twenty years, the prices of various commodities have changed countless times, but the price of this can of Coke has remained unchanged, at three yuan a bottle. Back in 2000, a meal at school cost only two dollars and a fast food meal for people working at the port would cost only three or four dollars at most. In comparison, a bottle of Coke at three dollars was indeed quite expensive. Of course, things will be different in twenty years. The price of Coke has not changed over the years. If you still can't afford it, you really need to reflect on whether your salary has increased and whether you have been working hard. Fang Wei likes to drink Coke. He has been drinking it for twenty years and still likes it. He happily took the bottle of Coke his father brought him. He felt the warmth in his hand, probably because it was left on the motorcycle for the whole afternoon and was heated up by the hot weather. Although the old man didn't say that this was specially reserved for his good son to drink, Fang Wei could also feel the thoughtfulness behind it. But Coke at room temperature really doesn’t taste good, so he got up and put the Coke in the freezer to enjoy it later. "You don't want to drink?" “It tastes great frozen!” "Hey, you're too particular..." Fang Xianfeng lit up a Hongtashan cigarette and looked at the screen on TV. What was being played was not a children's cartoon, but CCTV's News Broadcast, which Fang Wei had been watching just now. Fang Xianfeng was already accustomed to his son's rather mature personality and preferences. He had been like this since he was a child. He seldom liked watching cartoons, playing video games, or fooling around like other children of the same age. Whether in study, life, or even in dealing with people, Fang Wei is so sensible and self-disciplined that it's outrageous. For Fang Xianfeng as a father, you say this is a good thing... Of course it is! Whenever an old friend praises Fang Wei, the old father is so pleased and proud. It's just that this kid has never made him worry since he grew up, which makes the old father a little unconfident, as if his identity as a father is useless except giving birth to him, raising him, and playing Contra with him... Not to mention that there was no need to beat him up, there was almost no chance to teach him a lesson on a daily basis... It's impossible that when this kid becomes successful in the future, when reporters come to interview him about how this old father educated such an outstanding son, he hesitates for a long time, touches the back of his head and scratches his hair, and finally can only say "Anyway, it became like that after raising him for a while..."
I really want to find an opportunity to beat this guy up! Can I also experience the feeling of my old man beating me up? However, as the boy grew up and is now in junior high school, such opportunities may become even less likely. The old father, who claims to be proficient in education but has no place to put his skills to use, can only sigh that perhaps this boy has really come to repay his gratitude. Suddenly thinking of something, Fang Xianfeng's eyes lit up and he asked: "You guys start school on the 1st, right? Did the teacher tell me when to report?" "Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow will be fine." "That's fine. Dad will take you to school tomorrow to report. I heard that there are a lot of things to do for the enrollment report. I'll take you there." "No, I can go by myself. I've made an appointment with Cai Ling and A Sheng. There's nothing to do. Just focus on your own things. I can handle this little thing... Oh, by the way, Dad, remember to give me the household registration booklet later, in case I forget it tomorrow." "...You really don't need me to accompany you?" “No need.” The old father looked at the brat with an indifferent expression, wanting to say something but stopping himself. Finally, he went back to the room obediently and brought him the household registration book, three hundred-yuan bills and a fifty-yuan bill. Although the concept of nine-year compulsory education was proposed a long time ago, it was not until September 2006, that free nine-year compulsory education was implemented nationwide, including in junior high school. Nowadays, you still need to pay tuition to attend junior high school. The basic tuition plus miscellaneous fees and textbook fees are about three hundred yuan per semester. This amount is not cheap for many families, so some poor families do not even allow their children to go to junior high school after finishing elementary school. Fang Wei's family conditions were okay, so the tuition fee was not a big problem for him. Mainly, Fang Wei had good grades, so no one dared to stop him from studying. "I don't need that much. Three hundred and twenty is enough. Dad, don't you have any change?" Fang Wei took the household registration book and the money his father handed to him. "It's okay. Take it. After you register, you can buy some school supplies or something with the remaining money." After thinking for a while, the old man broke into another gold coin. He took out another fifty-dollar note from his pocket and stuffed it into Fang Wei's hand: "After you go to town to register tomorrow, you can see if there are any clothes you like and buy two new ones." Just get some gold coins when you have nothing to do. This is probably the only thing that the old father, who is unable to use corporal punishment to educate his child, can do for this kid. Fang Wei was stunned for a moment, but didn't refuse and accepted the money from his father with a smile. "Thank you so much, Dad!" "Don't waste the money I give you. If I catch you in the game hall, I'll beat you up." After the pretentious warning, the old father felt much better. "It's time to eat!" came my mother's voice from the kitchen. Fang Wei moved as soon as he heard the sound and went into the kitchen to help serve the dishes and rice. The cat outside the yard also heard the noise and ran into the house. With the addition of a large sea bass, tonight's meal is much more sumptuous, with a fish head soup, a plate of steamed sea bass, a plate of cold kelp shreds, and a dish of pickles left over from lunch. Tian Xilan's cooking skills are beyond reproach. There is no need to compare her with other chefs. Even the simplest ingredients can be processed into different delicacies in her hands. Sometimes after wandering in a big city for a long time, occasionally in the dead of night, when you can't sleep, you will miss the taste of your hometown food madly. You will go out to find food as soon as the sun rises, but after walking around the whole big city, there is no restaurant that can replicate the taste in your memory. Maybe it’s because the food today is good, or maybe it’s because it’s the time for growing up, Fang Wei’s appetite has increased a lot recently.
My mother always picks food for him, as if she is afraid that he won't have enough to eat. What she says most is "You are too thin, eat more." The family was eating and chatting at the dining table. Most of the time, Fang Wei was the one who listened. His mother talked about her work, his father talked about his fish collection, what fish was hard to sell, what fish was expensive but hard to collect, etc. "Hey, what did you do at the village committee in the afternoon?" Fang Wei thought of this and asked curiously. "Nothing much. The village committee recently set up a breeding office and invited an expert in breeding to guide us in mussel breeding. So they called everyone over and encouraged us to give it a try." Fang Xianfeng continued while eating, shaking his head: "If breeding is possible, who wouldn't want to do it? The village has also tried breeding scallops, abalone, and kelp before, but in the end, nothing was accomplished. The only relatively large-scale breeding left now is kelp, and it's almost impossible to make any money. All the individual breeders who did it before have lost a lot of money." "Hey, Lao Fang, I think there seems to be some progress. The county seems to be taking this matter very seriously this time. You see, they have set up a breeding office in the towns and villages and invited experts to provide guidance. There was none of this before." Tian Xilan said. "It's not as simple as it sounds. How can experts from other places understand it as well as our local fishermen? Mussel farming is not something that no one has done before. There are still individual farmers doing it now, but you see, the production is not high, and the market sales are also a problem..." "Didn't the breeding office say they have a way to sell it? They can transform fresh sales into deep processing..." "No, no, I still don't think so." "I think it's worth considering." "Have you ever thought about..." …… Listening to his parents' conversation, Fang Wei didn't say a word. It seemed like an ordinary chat at the dinner table, but his expression became serious. Mussel farming, the largest mussel farm in East China, ten thousand acres of marine ranch...the mussel hometown of the future! This is a great opportunity! (End of this chapter)