I'm back in 1990

Chapter 80: Returning to School

Although it was Sunday, Zeng Jiahua was still working overtime at the factory, but he was happy to do so!

Having received such a large foreign trade order, the factory has now started operating on two shifts, and workers are paid double overtime pay for working overtime.

There's a substantial bonus for meeting monthly production targets, and the workers are even more motivated than the factory manager.

This business was highly profitable and demanding, disrupting the factory's original day shift production schedule.

To improve production efficiency, Zeng Jiahua followed Cai's advice and divided the factory workers into two shifts, and added some workers to work in shifts.

Now, Mr. Cai has taken a leave of absence without pay and is fully committed to Zeng Jiahua's factory, living and working there and only going home once a week.

Of course, money was the most important reason that led Engineer Cai to make this decision.

Now, Mr. Cai earns over three thousand yuan a month after taxes, whereas he only earned a little over two hundred yuan a month at his old factory. And even that little money wasn't always paid on time.

In a city like Shanghai, and during this period of soaring prices and inflation, it cost more than 100 yuan to buy my son a decent brand-name shirt.

With a large family to support, including elderly parents and young children, how can we provide for them without earning more money?

This is a predicament that every ordinary middle-aged person in this era will face.

At noon, Zeng Jiahua went home on time. When he arrived home, the food was already laid out and the old wine was warmed.

Upon seeing his uncle return, Huang Xiaochuan went up to greet him.

With the head of the household back, the family feast officially began.

However, the only thing that left Zeng Jiahua somewhat disappointed was that no one was there to drink with him.

Huang Xiaochuan resolutely refused to drink. He had to rush back to school in the afternoon, and if he drank, he would be drowsy all afternoon and unable to do anything.

Zeng Jiahua glanced at everyone at the table, and finally his gaze settled on Zeng Xia.

Zeng Xia was a little unhappy: "Dad, why are you looking at me like that? I don't drink alcohol!"

Upon hearing her daughter say this, Zeng Jiahua was furious.

The day before yesterday, that scoundrel Aqing was showing off in front of me. The festival was coming soon, and his eldest daughter's boyfriend came to visit early with gifts. The young man was not only eloquent but also had a good capacity for alcohol. Aqing was extremely satisfied.

Ah Qing's boasting sounded like a mockery to Zeng Jiahua, because Ah Qing also had two daughters, the older one being the same age as his two daughters, and the younger one being a senior in high school this year.

They're both daughters, but other people's daughters can bring their future sons-in-law home, while my two daughters haven't made a move at all. It's driving me crazy!

Since I don't have a son, it's good to have two sons-in-law to accompany me for drinks!

Thinking of this, Zeng Jiahua's poker face hardened.

"Other people's daughters brought their boyfriends home early, and their houses are bustling with activity. My family is in such a mess, I don't even have anyone to drink with. What's the use of raising you all?"

Upon hearing this, Zeng Xia was absolutely not going to take the blame! Pointing at Huang Xiaochuan, she said, "You didn't say anything to your younger brother for refusing to drink with you, but why are you getting angry at me?"

"I'm talking about your own business now, don't drag your brother into it. You're twenty-one already, are you planning to become a nun?"

Zeng Xia didn't dare argue with her father, so she started to whine to her grandmother, "Your Majesty."

Grandma didn't want the father and daughter to argue about this at the dinner table, so she tapped the table with her hand.

"Alright, alright, let's eat! The food's getting cold. We can talk after we eat."

The matriarch spoke up, and the matter of whether the twins should have boyfriends came to a temporary end.

In the afternoon, A Liang took Huang Xiaochuan back to Shanghai, and Zeng Xia also went back to school with him. She could have stayed at home for a couple more days, since tomorrow is the National Day holiday.

But today, she was caught in the middle of her parents' conflict and couldn't stay in this house any longer. Since she couldn't afford to offend them, she decided to just go back to school.

On the way back to her school, Huang Xiaochuan had a run of bad luck, and all his anger came out on him.

"It's all your fault. If you had a girlfriend, I wouldn't have been scolded today."

Huang Xiaochuan resolutely refused to take the blame: "Second sister, please help me out! Aunt and Uncle are telling you to find boyfriends quickly, what does that have to do with me? Besides, how old am I? What's the rush?"

"I don't care, you have to find a girlfriend before you come back for the New Year. If you don't have one, I'll introduce you to one." Zeng Xia was shrewd; she thought that if Huang Xiaochuan had a girlfriend, the pressure on her would be much less.

Unexpectedly, Huang Xiaochuan saw right through her little scheme: "You're going to introduce me to someone? You'd better make your own arrangements first!"

At 3:30 pm, A Liang dropped Huang Xiaochuan off at the school gate. He was originally going to take him to the dormitory building, but Huang Xiaochuan wanted to get off the car and walk back, so he insisted on getting off at the school gate.

Ah Liang had just driven away in his Santana when, by sheer coincidence, he ran into an acquaintance.

"Wow, I didn't expect that! Junior, you even have a private car to pick you up?"

Now that he'd been seen, Huang Xiaochuan decided to stop trying to hide it.

"My uncle picked me up today to have a meal at his house, and after the meal he drove me back. Because it's a long way, as you can see, the license plate wasn't from Shanghai."

Sang Weihong waved her hand: "Alright! No need to explain in such detail."

However, Sang Weihong had a remarkably good memory: "Your family is from Suzhou? I remember when you registered, the address on your household registration transfer form was Qingjiang, wasn't it?"

"Senior, are you checking my household registration? My maternal grandparents' home is in Suzhou, which is nearby. It's Sunday, so you're inviting me home for a family reunion dinner."

Sang Weihong looked on with envy: "Tsk tsk tsk! Look at you, your grandma's house is so close, how great is that!"

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Huang Xiaochuan asked, "Senior, are you heading out or just got back?"

"I just got back. Since we've run into each other, would you like to walk with me for a bit?"

Is it good or bad? Of course it's not good. This is 1990. In that era, if a man and a woman walked together alone or ate together alone, it was considered as a romantic relationship.

How could Huang Xiaochuan possibly agree to such a request? Otherwise, he wouldn't have invited so many people to accompany him when Sang Weihong asked him to dinner last time, all for this reason.

"Senior, I'm sorry, I suddenly remembered I need to buy a magazine to take back to my dorm. My roommate asked me to buy it, and I almost forgot. I have to go now, so I can't keep you company any longer. Goodbye!"

After saying that, he didn't give Sang Weihong a chance to react at all, and he quickly walked towards the newsstand.

Sang Weihong glanced at Huang Xiaochuan's figure and smiled thoughtfully. This junior was really interesting. He was not as naive as other freshmen. He seemed very experienced.

However, she always felt quite resistant to herself. Was it because her figure and appearance were not good enough? Sang Weihong couldn't help but lose confidence in her figure and appearance.

Since the excuse was to buy magazines, I might as well go with the flow and buy a few magazines and newspapers to take a look. I bought a copy of "Stamp Collecting" and a few newspapers.

When I got to the dormitory, it was empty; it seemed everyone had gone out to play during the holiday.

Huang Xiaochuan spread the newspaper on the table and slowly began to read it. There was nothing special in today's evening paper. The main contents included: the need to accelerate the development of Pudong, and an incident in which a railway worker was knocked unconscious by a steamed bun. That was about it. He didn't see any useful information.

Another example is the popularity of the TV series "Aspiration". Reporters interviewed some viewers about their thoughts after watching the show. "Aspiration" depicts the everyday life and emotional stories of a group of ordinary people.

However, this TV series is also a microcosm of an era, allowing viewers to feel a sense of empathy to some extent, which can be called resonance, since people of a certain age have all lived through that era.

Therefore, the reporter interviewed viewers and wrote reports to publish their impressions.

If you could only read one urban novel in your lifetime, it would probably be "1990, I'm Back".