Chapter 73: Top of the Class
Chapter 73: Top of the Class
"Father, how are you feeling? Are you still dizzy?"
The next morning, Derek Shih-Rong’s eldest daughter asked with concern as soon as he woke up.
"I’m fine. I just needed a good night’s sleep."
In this era, the rice wine was all locally brewed. Whether it tasted good or not was subjective, but at least there was no need to worry about its safety. No matter how drunk one got, they would always wake up feeling normal the next day, without the splitting headache that often followed a night of heavy drinking.
In the future, some unscrupulous merchants would add the highly toxic pesticide, dichlorvos, to their Chinese White Liquor to improve its flavor. Drinking such Chinese White Liquor might not kill you, but the long-term damage to your health was undeniable. As a result, many doctors only drank Chinese White Liquor from trusted brands, avoiding any with an unknown origin for fear of accidentally consuming a batch laced with dichlorvos.
Derek Yun-Chen sighed with relief. "That’s good. You all drank so much last night that you nearly finished all the rice wine at the commune supply department."
Derek Shih-Rong chuckled. "Drinking is all about the food and the atmosphere. Last night, both were exceptional. It’s no wonder everyone drank a bit too much. I remember your two uncles were pretty tipsy too. Where did you arrange for them to stay?"
Derek Yun-Chen replied, "They did drink quite a bit, but they sobered up after resting for about an hour and then went back home with their wives."
Derek Shih-Rong nodded and went to brush his teeth and wash his face.
At this point, the other children also started to wake up and get ready for the day.
Yesterday was Derek Shih-Rong’s birthday, and it happened to be a Saturday, so his second son, Derek Yun-Heng, had come back home. After everyone finished their morning routines, they sat down for breakfast.
Despite the large number of people who had eaten the previous night, Derek Shih-Rong had prepared such an abundance of food that there was still plenty left over. In Naye Village, whether in this era or in the future when living conditions improved, no one would ever throw away leftover food. If it wasn’t eaten the next day, it would be used to feed chickens, ducks, or pigs. The main principle was to avoid wasting food.
After breakfast, Derek Yun-Tao said goodbye to his father and went to work at the pottery factory.
Being a master potter was indeed lucrative, with a monthly income of over 200 yuan, which was a fortune in the rural areas of this era. However, Derek Shih-Rong, as a master potter himself, knew how demanding the job was.
When Derek Shih-Rong was younger, martial arts were very popular. In the early years of his potter career, an elder in their village had offered to teach him martial arts. Derek Shih-Rong had shaken his head like a rattle drum, refusing the offer without a second thought.
Joking aside, back then, he was so exhausted from making pots that he needed help just to use the bathroom. How could he possibly have the energy to practice martial arts?
Therefore, seeing his eldest son work so hard at the pottery factory, Derek Shih-Rong couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy.
Derek Shih-Rong already had a preliminary plan for his eldest son’s future, but the timing wasn’t right yet. For now, he would let him continue working at the pottery factory. After all, the reform and opening-up policies were still unclear, and it wasn’t the best time to venture out into the world.
Of course, Shenzhen Special Economic Zone had already become China’s first economic hub, and Derek Shih-Rong could send his eldest son there to seek opportunities. If he could seize the right chance, he might become a prominent figure in the region.
However, this thought was quickly dismissed from Derek Shih-Rong’s mind.
The reason was simple: Deng Shirong was unwilling to let his eldest son take the risk.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the period following China's reform and opening up, was one of the most chaotic times in the country's recent history. While this era was indeed full of opportunities, it was also fraught with various dangers. The premature death of his eldest son in his previous life had been a lifelong pain for Deng Shirong. How could he bear to let his eldest son go to Shenzhen alone to seek his fortune, where he would be a stranger in a strange land, vulnerable to any misfortune that might befall him? With the memories of his past life, Deng Shirong could easily ensure that all his children became billionaires. There was no need for his eldest son to take such risks.
Besides, his eldest son was about to get married. It was better for him to stay in the countryside and give Deng Shirong a few grandchildren first.
...
When his eldest son started working at the pottery factory, Deng Shirong turned his attention to his second son, Deng Yunheng. "Yunheng, how are your studies going? Where do you rank in your class?"
Deng Yunheng’s lips curved into a proud smile. "Dad, thanks to my hard work, my grades are really good now. I’m not only the top student in my class, but also the top in my grade."
Deng Shirong was somewhat surprised. He knew that Yunheng had always been a good student, and in his previous life, Yunheng had only needed a few more points to get into university. At the time, Deng Shirong had suggested that Yunheng take another year to retake the exams, but Yunheng had refused, choosing instead to return home to learn the pottery trade.
Yunheng’s decision wasn’t entirely wrong, as the pottery business was booming back then. A skilled potter could earn a monthly salary of several hundred yuan, while even a university graduate with a stable job would earn far less. However, in terms of long-term prospects, a stable job was definitely better. But taking another year to retake the exams didn’t guarantee success, so after much consideration, Yunheng made a choice that he would later regret.
Now, with Deng Shirong’s rebirth, a few words of encouragement and a straightforward monetary reward had brought about such a significant change in Yunheng. This was something Deng Shirong had not anticipated.
Chinese parents all have high hopes for their children, and seeing such a dramatic improvement in Yunheng’s grades, Deng Shirong was overjoyed. "That’s great news, Yunheng. You must continue to work hard and never become complacent. The high school you attend is quite ordinary, and you’ll be competing with students from all over the country in the college entrance exam. You need to study even harder to stand out."
Seeing his father so pleased, Yunheng felt a surge of happiness. He nodded. "I understand, Dad. I’ll keep working hard and do my best to get into a good university next year."
Feeling elated, Deng Shirong pulled out 10 yuan from his pocket and handed it to his second son. "Studying is something you have to do on your own, but you don’t need to worry about food. Buy whatever you want to eat at school. If you run out of money, I’ll give you more."
"Thank you, Dad. I won’t let you down," Yunheng said with determination.
Now that his grades were the best in the grade, his progress had caught the attention of his homeroom teacher and subject teachers, who considered him a key candidate for further development. With the dedicated support of his teachers, he was confident that he would definitely get into university next year. The only question was which university he would attend.
(End of Chapter)
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