Chapter 472: Reassured

Chapter 472: Reassured

  2:00 PM.

  Xiao Dong’er, Dongzi, and Zhu Shiba, armed with the special ice skates their grandfather had given them, set off for A’bao Ice Rink under the guidance of Deng Siyan (Ou Guohua’s daughter) and Deng Siguang (Ou Guofang’s son).

  On the way, Xiao Dong’er asked, "A’yan, A’guang, do you know how to ice skate?"

  Deng Siyan replied, "I've been learning since the summer break started. I can skate, but my technique isn't great. I can only go slowly; if I go too fast, I lose control."

  Deng Siguang chimed in, "I started learning at the same time. My skill level is about the same as Yanjie's. I can skate slowly without any issues, but I can't go fast."

  Dongzi asked, "Is it easy to learn?"

  Deng Siguang said, "As long as you’re not afraid of falling, you can learn pretty quickly. But if you want to do the fancy tricks like the experts, you’ll need to practice a lot."

  Xiao Dong’er, curious, asked, "Who in our village skates the best?"

  Deng Siyan blurted out, "Fenjie is the best in our village. I heard she often went to the ice rink in the county town and has been practicing for a long time. She can even skate backward better than most people, and we all envy her."

  Xiao Dong’er said, "We should see if she’s here. If she is, we can ask her to teach us."

  Deng Siyan replied, "She’s definitely here. Ever since A’ge opened this ice rink, Fenjie spends most of her time here."

  As they spoke, the energetic music from the ice rink grew louder.

  In less than three minutes, they arrived at A’bao Ice Rink.

  A’bao Ice Rink had been open for almost a month. While it wasn’t as crowded as when it first opened, the number of people visiting during the summer break was still high.

  Looking around, the rink was packed with people.

  Skaters who were good glided freely through the rink, while beginners clung to the specially designed railings for new skaters, slowly moving their feet.

  There were also some intermediate skaters, who skated cautiously a short distance from the railings, their movements stiff and unsteady, looking like they might fall at any moment.

  At that moment, Deng Sibao was watching over the rink with his mother, Chen Xiaohua.

  Seeing Xiao Dong’er and the others arrive, Deng Sibao hurried over to greet them, "Aunt Dong’er, Uncle Dongzi, you’re here!"

  Xiao Dong’er smiled and nodded, taking out some money and handing it over, "A’bao, we want to go in and play."

  Deng Sibao smiled, "Aunt Dong’er, you can come play anytime, no need to pay."

  Xiao Dong’er said, "That’s not right; you’re running a business."

  Deng Sibao, with a broad smile, said, "Aunt Dong’er, don’t make it hard for me. Go in and play. The skates are over there, A’yan and A’guang, you can take them yourselves."

  Xiao Dong’er had no choice but to put the money back. In the village, everyone was so kind that no one would accept payment from her and Dongzi, which made them feel a bit embarrassed.

  Soon, Xiao Dong’er and the others had put on their skates.

  Watching others skate looked easy, but when it came to doing it themselves, they realized how difficult it was.

  Especially for first-time skaters, it was nearly impossible to stand up without something to hold onto.

  Fortunately, the entrance to the rink had railings, allowing Xiao Dong’er and the others to hold on and slowly slide into the rink.

  Because of the loud music, Deng Siyan leaned in close to Xiao Dong’er’s ear and said, "Aunt Dong’er, I’ll go get Fenjie to come over."

  Xiao Dong’er nodded, "Sure, go ahead!"

  Deng Siyan then skated off into the crowd, her movements still a bit unsteady.

  After about two minutes, Deng Siyan skated back with Deng Sifen, who was a 19-year-old girl and the granddaughter of Deng YunGui.

  Deng Sifen skated up to Xiao Dong’er and greeted her loudly, "Aunt Dong’er."

  Xiao Dong’er also shouted, "I heard from A’yan that you’re the best skater in our village. We don’t know how to skate, so can you teach us?"

  Deng Sifen smiled, "No problem. I’ll explain the basics first, then I’ll take each of you through it."

  She then proceeded to explain the techniques in detail to Xiao Dong’er and the others before saying, "Aunt Dong’er, I’ll take you through a few rounds to help you get a feel for it."

  Xiao Dong’er nodded, "Okay, what do I need to do?"

  Deng Sifen said, "I’ll face you and hold your hands, and we’ll skate together."

  Xiao Dong’er agreed, and Deng Sifen took her hands, leading her slowly around the rink.

  "Aunt Dong’er."

  "Grandma Dong’er."

  "…."

  As Xiao Dong’er entered the rink, many of her clan members called out to her.

  Since most of the people skating were young, the majority were her nieces and nephews.

  Xiao Dong’er could only nod. In the entire Ye Deng Clan, everyone except the very young children knew her. After all, she was not only the eldest granddaughter of the clan head but also a top student who received the highest scholarship every semester. How could anyone in the clan not know her?

However, Xiao Dong’er only recognized a small portion of the clan members. Most of them looked familiar, but she didn’t know their names.

Xiao Dong’er had someone to guide and teach her, and with her sharp mind, she quickly got the hang of it after just a few rounds with Deng Sifen. Soon, she was skating on her own, albeit slowly.

Seeing this, Deng Sifen couldn’t help but praise her, "Aunt Dong’er, you’re really smart. You learned so quickly."

Xiao Dong’er smiled, "With you guiding and teaching me, I would be a fool not to learn. A’fen, go teach Dongzi. I’ll practice on my own for a bit to get more familiar with it."

Deng Sifen smiled, "Alright, Aunt Dong’er, be careful. Don’t go too fast at the beginning."

Xiao Dong’er replied, "I know."

Soon, Deng Sifen returned to the entrance and said to Dongzi, "Uncle Dongzi, it’s your turn. Do you remember what I told you earlier?"

Dongzi, a bit embarrassed, said, "A’fen, could you go over it one more time?"

Deng Sifen smiled, "Sure, I’ll go over it again. Uncle Shiba, you should listen too."

Zhu Shiba nodded and listened attentively.

After explaining again, Deng Sifen said to Dongzi, "Uncle Dongzi, I’ll take you around a few times to help you get a feel for it."

Dongzi nodded, "Alright, let’s go!"

Deng Sifen then faced Dongzi, holding his hands, and skated backward while guiding him.

When Xiao Dong’er entered the rink, many clan members greeted her, but when Dongzi entered, it was different. He only received greetings from his nieces and nephews from the village. Most of the clan members didn’t recognize him, even though he was the eldest grandson of the clan head. After all, Dongzi had never gone on stage to receive a scholarship.

It was understandable that people from nearby villages wouldn’t recognize him.

Although Dongzi wasn’t good at academics, he had a natural talent for skating. While he didn’t learn as quickly as his sister, with Deng Sifen’s guidance, he soon got the hang of it and could skate on his own.

Next, Deng Sifen used the same method to teach Zhu Shiba.

After that, the three cousins skated with Deng Siyan and Deng Siguang, enjoying themselves to the upbeat music. They played until five in the afternoon before heading home for dinner, thoroughly satisfied.

...

On July 14th, every household in Naye Village started slaughtering ducks for the festival.

Deng Shirong’s family was large, so one duck wasn’t enough. They also slaughtered a large goose.

The meat of ducks and geese raised in the countryside was of top quality. Even with average cooking skills, one could make a delicious dish, highlighting the importance of good ingredients.

In the future, many people would boil an entire goose in water until it was neither tough nor too soft, then cut it into pieces and dip it in coarse salt. The flavor was excellent.

Of course, this only applied to geese raised in the countryside for a long time. For geese raised on feed for a shorter period, this method wouldn’t work.

The goose that Deng Shirong slaughtered today was very "old water." He didn’t do any extra processing and tried the method from the future, dipping it in coarse salt. The meat was incredibly delicious, and everyone praised it.

Indeed, as "A Bite of China" said, high-end ingredients often require only simple cooking methods.

After a satisfying meal, the adults started drinking tea and chatting.

Zhu Shiba, eager, said, "Sister, Brother, let’s go skating!"

Now that Zhu Shiba had learned to skate, he was in the best phase of his new hobby.

People’s interests are strange. For example, when you first learn to ride a bicycle or motorcycle, you want to ride it all the time. Once you become an old hand, the enthusiasm fades.

Similarly, the initial excitement of a new relationship can be incredibly intense, with some even trying to do it seven times a day, enjoying it immensely. However, as time goes on and the novelty wears off, that intensity fades, and even once a day becomes a challenge.

Xiao Dong’er and Dongzi were also excited. Hearing Zhu Shiba, they nodded, "Let’s go skating."

Little Shi Tou, who was not yet three years old, was also eager. He said, "Brother, Sister, I want to go play too."

Deng Yunzhu smiled, "Shi Tou, you’re too young to go to the skating rink. If you really want to learn, Mom can teach you at home."

Shi Tou blinked, "Mom, can you really teach me to skate at home?"

Deng Yunzhu said, "Of course. We just had a big meal, so let’s rest a bit. Later, Mom will teach you."

"Alright!"

Little Shi Tou nodded in satisfaction.

Seeing this, Xiao Dong’er and the others said their goodbyes, took their ice skates, and headed to the ice rink to play.

Deng Shirong, of course, wasn’t worried. Playing at the village ice rink was very safe, unlike the ice rinks outside the village, which were mixed with all sorts of people and more prone to accidents.

While drinking tea and chatting, Deng Yunzhu asked curiously, "Dad, when will the film city be completed?"

Deng Shirong smiled and said, "There are simply too many scenic spots that need to be built for this film city. It will take at least ten to twenty years of continuous construction to build a film city with significant influence nationwide and even globally."

Zhou Haidong praised, "Dad, you have incredible vision."

Fan Yuemei added with a smile, "Sister, with this film city, you can consider opening a hotpot restaurant in our hometown."

"Indeed, I should start preparing in advance!"

Deng Yunzhu nodded and asked, "Dad, do we have a suitable plot of land for this?"

Deng Shirong replied, "If you want to open a hotpot restaurant, you can build it on our orchard. During the fruit harvest season, customers who spend a certain amount at the restaurant can freely eat the fruits from the entire orchard. This should be quite attractive to them."

Deng Yunzhu’s eyes lit up, and she said excitedly, "Dad, that’s a brilliant idea. Let’s do it that way. I believe even the big stars shooting movies in our film city won’t be able to resist the temptation of picking and eating fresh fruit from the orchard."

Deng Shirong reminded her, "If you’re going to do it, do it well. Compared to other branches, this restaurant will likely host the most celebrities in the future, so it’s important to put in the effort."

Deng Yunzhu nodded, "I understand. I’ll make sure to do a great job with the decoration of this branch, especially by preparing more private rooms. Celebrities value privacy, so private rooms are a must. I’ll also assign our strongest chef team to this branch.

In short, I want to make this hotpot restaurant the strongest in all aspects."

Zhang Xiuping also reminded, "There’s another issue. If the hotpot restaurant is built, there needs to be a parking area at the foot of the mountain. But right now, the land at the foot of the mountain belongs to others, which will be a bit tricky."

Deng Shirong took a sip of tea and said, "That’s not a problem. I can call in a favor and exchange some of our land with the clan members."

After discussing the hotpot restaurant, Deng Yun Tai looked at his sister-in-law and asked, "Junjie, has the land acquisition for the Shuangwang to Bobai expressway been completed?"

Zhu Junjie nodded and said, "It’s done. The construction of this expressway is highly valued by both the county and city governments. They aim to have it completed and operational by 1997, so the construction schedule is very tight. Under the full efforts of the county leaders, the progress has been very encouraging."

Deng Yun Hua asked, "Once the expressway is built, the drive from our Shuangwang to Bobai should take about an hour, right?"

Zhu Junjie smiled and said, "It won’t even take an hour, probably around 50 minutes."

Deng Yun Hua sighed, "They say, ‘To get rich, first build roads,’ and it’s indeed true. Before the road from Tanlian to Shuangwang was built, it took at least two to three hours to drive to Bobai. If it rained continuously, turning the road into mud, the travel time would be even longer.

But once the expressway is completed, it won’t take an hour to get there. The difference is really significant."

Deng Yun Tai smiled and said, "Of course, ordinary mud roads or winding asphalt roads can’t compare to expressways. Once the expressway from Shuangwang to Nanning is built, the travel time will be greatly reduced. It should take about three hours."

Deng Shirong added, "Actually, what I value most is the railway."

Deng Yun Hua pouted and said, "Dad, the railway is only good for transportation. In terms of speed, it’s far behind expressways. What’s so special about it?"

Deng Shirong shook his head and said, "You don’t understand. No matter how well an expressway is built, the speed limit for vehicles is around 100 kilometers per hour. It’s almost impossible to go faster without risking accidents.

But trains are different. While they are slow now, they have a lot of room for improvement. In the future, trains will definitely be faster than cars, possibly even two to three times faster.

At that time, besides airplanes, no other mode of transportation will be as fast as trains."

Upon hearing this, the family members were stunned.

In this era, only Deng Shirong, who had experienced the future, could imagine the birth of high-speed rail technology and its incredible speed.

Deng Yun Zhen was amazed and said, "Dad, trains being two to three times faster than cars, is that possible?"

Deng Shirong smiled and said, "It’s definitely not possible in the short term, but with the development of technology, who knows what will happen in ten to twenty years."

Zhu Junjie thought for a moment and said, "Dad has a point. I’ve heard from railway department officials that they are already working on speeding up the railways."

Deng Shirong wasn’t surprised by this. The large-scale speed-up of China’s railways began in 1997, so it was normal to start preparations now. He sighed and said, "I wonder if our film city can help Shuangwang secure a railway."

In the future, the prowess of China’s high-speed rail was well-known to everyone.

Unfortunately, until his rebirth, Deng Shirong never saw Yulin open a high-speed rail line, which was a significant regret.

It’s worth noting that Yulin’s population had already reached 7.43 million, second only to Nanning in the entire Guangxi region.

Despite this, Yulin, a city with a large population, lagged far behind other cities in Guangxi in terms of high-speed rail development. This was a sore point for the 7.43 million residents of Yulin.

Of course, before his rebirth, the high-speed rail in Yulin was already under construction, just not yet operational.

Now, with a second chance at life, Deng Shirong naturally wanted to secure a railway for his hometown.

When the high-speed rail era arrives, the film city would likely be well-established. Perhaps, with the significant influence of the film city, Shuangwang could be one of the first small towns to get a high-speed rail connection, which would be perfect.

...

Evening.

After dinner, Xiao Dong’er and the others went skating as usual, while Deng Shirong took Little Shi Tou out for a walk.

Seeing this, Deng Yun Tai said, "Aizhen, Azhu, Xiaohua, this year is Dad’s 60th birthday. We should definitely throw a grand celebration. Do you have any thoughts on where to hold the birthday banquet?"

Deng Yun Zhen said, "For Dad’s 60th birthday, I think it should be held in our hometown."

Deng Yun Zhu agreed, "Sister is right. I agree with holding it in our hometown."

Deng Yun Tai said, "I agree with holding it in our hometown, but if we do, how big should the celebration be, and who should we invite?"

Deng Yun Hua said, "If we hold it in our hometown, we should probably invite the entire clan!"

Zhang Xiuping said, "If we’re inviting the entire clan, then so be it. After all, we’re not short of money, and it’s Dad’s 60th birthday. It should be a lively and joyful celebration."

Zhu Junjie said, "We should call Yun Heng and Yun Song to see if they can come back for Dad’s birthday."

"I’ll call them later."

Deng Yun Tai smiled and said, "I originally planned to discuss this with you all and surprise Dad, but if we’re going to have a grand celebration, we need to inform Dad in advance. Such a large-scale event requires thorough preparation."

Deng Yun Zhu smiled and said, "Big Brother, we can inform Dad about the banquet in advance, but we, as his children, can secretly prepare a birthday gift for him. That would be a pleasant surprise."

Zhang Xiuping nodded and said, "Azhu’s idea is good. Let’s each prepare a birthday gift to surprise Dad!"

Fan Yuemei said, "Nowadays, people in the city celebrate birthdays with cakes. Should we prepare a birthday cake for Dad’s celebration in our hometown?"

Zhang Xiuping said, "Of course, I’ll take care of it. I’ll make sure all the guests can enjoy a birthday cake on Dad’s birthday."

Deng Yun Hua volunteered, "Big Brother and Big Sister, Elder Sister and Elder Brother-in-Law, Second Sister and Second Brother-in-Law, you all have busy jobs, but I’m relatively free. I’ll take full responsibility for organizing Dad’s 60th birthday celebration!"

Deng Yun Tai and the others all agreed. Deng Yun Hua’s words were true; among the seven siblings, he was indeed the most relaxed.

Deng Yun Hua’s business was now managed by his wife, Fan Yuemei, allowing him to live a carefree life of eating, drinking, and enjoying himself!

After making the decision, Deng Yun Tai called Deng Yun Heng, Deng Yun Song, and Deng Yun Heng’s brothers one by one.

Upon receiving the calls, Deng Yun Heng and the others all agreed to come back for their father’s 60th birthday.

When Deng Shirong returned with Little Shi Tou and saw his children all looking at him, he couldn’t help but ask, "Why are you all looking at me like that? Is something wrong?"

Deng Yun Tai said, "Dad, this is about your 60th birthday. We discussed it among ourselves and decided to throw a grand celebration in our hometown, inviting the entire clan and all our relatives and friends. What do you think, Dad?"

Deng Shirong was taken aback for a moment, then a gratified smile spread across his face.

In his previous life, his children had also thrown a birthday celebration for his 60th birthday, but they didn’t invite outsiders. Only his sons, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren were present. His third son, Deng Yun Song, had even bought a cake.

It was the most grand birthday celebration he had in his previous life, and he was the first person in the village to celebrate a birthday with a cake.

This birthday left a deep impression on him.

Now, 15 years after his rebirth, it was time for his 60th birthday again.

The idea of his children inviting the entire clan and all their relatives and friends to celebrate his birthday was the happiest thing for Deng Shirong.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end