Chapter 710: Chapter 400, Korolya Pays Taxes
The changes in the Green Bee Street District made Shang Yanwen feel a sense of unreality.
He hadn’t returned for four years, how could it feel as if he had entered a completely different world?
Not to mention four years, even in the past forty years, the Green Bee Street District had never seen such significant change. In the old days, in the Lower Nest District of Nest Capital, the faces of people changed one by one, but besides the people, those buildings, those streets, the ceiling crammed with pipes… they seemed to be frozen in time, never changing.
Before he went to study at Flying Wing Star University, Shang Yanwen experienced firsthand the reforms brought by Mayor Isabel, which provided their neighborhood with enough food, jobs, and a future for its residents; while studying at Flying Wing Star, he also saw from various newspapers that the Alliance’s reforms continued to deepen, and that the major Nest Capitals on Korolya changed a lot.
However, can the impact of seeing the transformations of one’s hometown with one’s own eyes be the same as reading about them through texts and pictures in newspapers?
The hometown had changed drastically, no longer the image he remembered, but Shang Yanwen wasn’t upset at all, only happy and exhilarated.
…
Such changes were what he hoped would come faster and more abundantly!
What he regretted was not being able to witness the changes of the past four years with his own eyes; what excited him was that, from now on, he would not miss them anymore.
Reinvigorated, he first went home to see his parents and siblings.
The surprise of his family members goes without saying, but he was the one who felt even more sentimental.
Originally, his family had seven members, and apart from an elder brother who passed away at a young age, the remaining four children, including himself, were all raised under the careful watch of their parents through hard times.
And now, everyone was doing quite well.
His father and mother both worked at a cooperative store that had opened in the district five years ago, his father as a cargo handler, and his mother as a sales guide in the store.
In earlier years, both parents started at grade E5, but now they had both risen to E8. The welfare, supplemented by food and necessities, along with subsidies, was now sufficient to support a family. Besides him, the other four family members had moved into a newly constructed collective apartment, receiving a sixty-square-meter apartment.
The apartment had three rooms, a washroom, and a small dining room with an open kitchen.
His parents lived in the master bedroom, while the two smaller secondary bedrooms were sufficient for his brother and sister to live separately.
The overall environment was still somewhat small and cramped, and the decoration was nothing to remark upon, just some simple furniture and cabinets. But at least every family member had a place to sleep, their own space. They could cook for themselves, had a table to gather and eat together, and owned a set of kitchenware and tableware.
This was already much better than the ‘home’ he remembered growing up in.
His sister had worked in a textile factory, and with her literacy, some mathematical knowledge, and accounting skills, she worked as a clerk in the factory. She married a young man two years ago, has already moved out to live with her husband.
Her husband was from another area and worked as an office clerk in the district, currently in charge of building a new cooperative store. The couple already had a child and had received a sixty-square-meter apartment as well. Their little niece, just over a year old, was healthy, and it seemed that the young couple’s future was looking bright.
His sister and brother were still in school. Although his sister’s performance was not as outstanding as his had been when he consistently ranked first and shot up the grades, she was still a good student at the district middle school. She had the opportunity to compete for a spot at the community college. Although the scholarship was challenging, being accepted with grade E4 or E5 could guarantee living costs, subsidies could cover part of the burden, and school fees could be managed with educational loans, which would be paid back after starting work.
Generally, if you reach at least a grade E8, you can pay off the tuition loans in two or three years of work. And an E8 job grade is not difficult for graduates of the community college. Moreover, with her results, she could also try for a local university on Korolya after high school, despite the considerable tuition pressure. Now that Shang Yanwen was back, he could help support her a bit.
His younger brother was a bit problematic, however, as the boy’s mind was not on his studies. Unlike his brother or even his sister, who could focus on their studies and even enjoy the knowledge, he would feel sleepy as soon as he opened a book, but as soon as he put it down, he was full of energy.
Despite some worries—like his younger brother’s education and future prospects—Shang Yanwen was reassured to see that his family’s situation had improved over the years he was away.
He talked a lot with his parents at home and even busied themselves preparing a meal together. By dinner time, his sister, who had been informed, also rushed back, bringing her husband and daughter, and they enjoyed a lively family reunion dinner.
He spent the night in his brother’s room, making do with a single bed that was somewhat cramped but not too problematic.
Before sleeping, he chatted a lot with his brother, named Shang Yanwu, a name that obviously indicated they were brothers.
Shang Yanwu felt inspired by his brother.
What Shang Yanwen said about his life at Flying Wing Star University was quite good, but the stars and vast seas he described truly made Shang Yanwu yearn for them.
But he also felt somewhat disheartened, as he did not think he was cut out for studying. Unlike his brother or even his second sister, who could immerse themselves in their studies and even take joy in learning, he would fall asleep as soon as he started reading and become full of energy the moment he put down his books.