Classmates Come to Visit

Fang Qingye locked the door and returned to his room to play video games, but it wasn't long before someone knocked on the door again, and they were looking for his father once more!

After brushing them off with a few words, another one came...

Within an hour or so, two people had brought gifts to see them, leaving Fang Qingye feeling quite helpless.

Coming now was merely a last-minute resort; what good would it do?

It seemed he couldn't stay at home anymore, and he needed to go out for a while to avoid the hassle.

Fang Qingye shut down his computer and, just as he was about to head down the stairs, he saw a young man with a buzz cut coming up with gifts in hand.

"Fang Qingye!"

The other person greeted him with a smile upon seeing him.

"Wang Lei!"

Fang Qingye recognized him; he was his high school classmate.

"Are you heading out?" Wang Lei asked.

"Yeah. What about you?"

"I wanted to chat with you about something. It won't take much of your time."

Looking for me?

Seeing the gifts in the other person's hands, Fang Qingye could guess the purpose of the visit, but since Wang Lei said he was looking for him personally, it wouldn't be polite to refuse on the spot.

"Alright then. Come on in, let's talk inside," Fang Qingye said, reopening the door and letting Wang Lei in.

"You're all alone, Fang Qingye? Are your parents not around?" Wang Lei asked, looking at the empty living room.

"My parents went on a trip."

Wang Lei didn't seem too surprised upon hearing this.

"Have a seat, Wang Lei. I'll get you some watermelon, it's so hot today," Fang Qingye offered as he walked toward the kitchen.

"Don't bother, I'll just sit for a bit and leave," Wang Lei said hastily.

Fang Qingye still retrieved half a watermelon from the kitchen fridge, cut it into several pieces, placed them on a plate, brought them to the coffee table, and invited Wang Lei to help himself.

After some polite hesitation, Wang Lei picked up a piece, eating while they made casual conversation.

"Fang Qingye, a while ago I saw you and Jiang Chen making a bet in the grade group. You were good at studying back in school, and I never expected you to be so good at stock trading either... You've won my complete admiration."

The compliment in Wang Lei's words was obvious. Fang Qingye smiled and said, "Not at all. That was just a blind cat hitting a dead mouse."

"Are you working at Dongfang Bank?"

"Yes."

"Banks are great workplaces—good environment, high salary," Wang Lei remarked.

"So-so... Where are you working, Wang Lei?"

"I work at the Panlong Town Government."

"You passed the civil service exam?"

"Yes, passed it last year, and only officially became a regular staff member not long ago."

"That's pretty good too," Fang Qingye said.

"It's alright. Although Panlong Town is the most remote township in our Nanxin, I'm already content," Wang Lei replied, then added, "You know that Liu Dong was transferred from the Committee on Aging to the Publicity Department, right?"

"I know. I heard he's very busy in the Publicity Department, accompanying leaders on grassroots research during the day and staying up late writing documents at night," Fang Qingye didn't hide anything.

"Right, he followed Minister Wang to our town for research, and I saw him once. He looked much more energetic than when he was at the Committee on Aging... I reckon he'll be able to stay in the Publicity Department in the future, his prospects are boundless."

"I hope so... Work hard in the township, Wang Lei, and one day you can become a town mayor or party secretary!" Fang Qingye replied with a smile.

"I wouldn't dare think about that. As you know, Fang Qingye, my family is from the countryside. I'm already quite satisfied just to have passed the exams and earned an official salary. I really wouldn't dare hope for anything else."

Of course Fang Qingye remembered. Like Liu Dong, Wang Lei had transferred from a rural township school to Chengguan Middle School in the second year of junior high, and they had been in the same class in high school, though they weren't as close as he and Liu Dong were.

After chatting idly for a bit longer, Wang Lei said, "Fang Qingye, since you're busy, I won't take up any more of your time. I came to see you today because I want to ask for a favor."

"Go ahead."

"My cousin, my third uncle's son, is graduating from elementary school this year and wants to get into Chengguan Middle School, preferably the key class. Could you put in a word with your father to get him assigned there? If it works out, both my third uncle and I will be very grateful." Wang Lei finally revealed his purpose.

Fang Qingye wasn't surprised; he had guessed Wang Lei was there for this very matter. Getting into Chengguan Middle School wasn't a difficult task in itself, so he asked, "Where does your third uncle live? Which school district does he belong to?"

"He lives back in our hometown village."

"Well..." Fang Qingye showed a troubled expression. "You know how it is, Wang Lei. Nowadays, which middle school students attend upon graduating from elementary school is strictly determined by their parents' place of residence. Since your third uncle lives in the countryside, it's quite difficult for your cousin to study in the city."

"I understand the policy, which is why my uncle bought an apartment in the city. But the problem is the developer dragged their feet and hasn't handed over the property yet, so we can't get the property ownership certificate... That's why I wanted to ask you to speak to your dad and do us a favor."

"This requires going to the county admissions office; they are responsible for placing students according to school districts. My dad doesn't have that kind of authority," Fang Qingye stated honestly.

"I know, but I don't know anyone at the admissions office," Wang Lei said. "You know my family is from the countryside, and not a single relative in our extended family works in a government department. I racked my brain and could only turn to an old classmate for help."

Fang Qingye didn't respond and fell silent.

Seeing Fang Qingye like this, Wang Lei thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "Earlier I said I was completely satisfied just passing the exam to enter the town government. That was from the bottom of my heart."

Fang Qingye looked at him, not understanding why he suddenly brought this up again.

"Society nowadays says that knowledge changing destiny is just a joke, but I firmly believe in it, because I am an example of it!" Wang Lei continued.

"Because you passed the civil service exam?"

"Yes. While it might not completely change my destiny, it feels a lot better than staying in the countryside."

That's true as well... Fang Qingye nodded.

"That's because I went to university and became qualified to take the civil service exam. You have no idea how poor the teaching quality in rural areas is, Fang Qingye! More than half of the people in my class when I was studying in the countryside didn't make it to high school. They either went to vocational technical schools or simply went out to work. If you go to high school in the countryside, the best you can test into is a junior college."

"Therefore, I'm very grateful that my parents went to great lengths back then to get me out of the countryside and into the city to study. My cousin has been very smart since he was a kid, so I urged my third uncle early on to buy a house in the city so my cousin could study here, but I didn't expect this glitch."

At the end, Wang Lei let out a deep sigh.

Fang Qingye remained silent for a while longer before saying, "Wang Lei, how about this? Send your cousin's registration number and other information to my QQ. Oh, and take photos of your third uncle's household registration booklet, the cover of the purchase contract, and the basic information page, and send them together! I'll talk to my dad, but I can't guarantee whether it will succeed."

"Thank you so much!" Wang Lei was overjoyed upon hearing this. "I'm sure it will work."

Fang Qingye smiled without replying.

"Alright then, I won't disturb you anymore, I'll be leaving." With that, Wang Lei stood up.

Fang Qingye didn't keep him, pointing instead to the large package of gifts on the edge of the coffee table and saying, "Take those things back with you."

"How can I do that? How can I come empty-handed?" Wang Lei refused.

"Hey, we're old classmates, there's no need for this routine... If you don't take them back, I won't mention this to my dad, alright?"

"Alright then... Once the matter is settled, I'll come back to thank you properly!"

Wang Lei left cheerfully carrying the gifts. A few minutes later, Fang Qingye received a text message from him.

He looked over the information inside, thought for a moment, and added a long paragraph—mostly detailing the sentiments Wang Lei had expressed during their chat earlier.

After editing it, Fang Qingye first sent a greeting message to his father and then forwarded the text.

Before long, his father called.

"Dad, have you reached Hulunbuir? Was the trip smooth?" Fang Qingye asked.

"Quite smooth, your mother and I have already checked into the hotel... Little Ye, I never expected you to be taking on favors for me at home! Why on earth did I run off in this sweltering heat?!"

"To escape the summer heat..." Fang Qingye joked, then hurriedly said, "Dad, Wang Lei is my classmate, and I've explained his situation to you in the text... Don't worry, just this once, and never again!"

"Alright then. Tomorrow when work starts, I'll give Director Zhang of the admissions office a call," his father said over the phone.

"That's great! Dad, make sure he gets assigned to your school, and into the key class," Fang Qingye quickly added.

"I know, if you're going to help someone, you help them all the way. Besides, this Wang Lei is your classmate and works in a government office; who knows, you might need his help in the future."

If he had just left school after his rebirth, Fang Qingye definitely would have blurted out, "How vulgar!"

Instead, he kept it to himself and replied with a smile.

"Alright then, Mom and Dad, enjoy yourselves and have a wonderful time. You don't need to worry about things at home! Bye..."