Chapter 30: Drinking and Chatting

The heavy snow had just cleared. Warm sunlight bathed the land of Sanchong Township, refracting into a colorful display of brilliance.

Chen Yuan, Huang Tianyue, and Tang Jiancheng sat by the window of the state-run restaurant, enjoying a hot pot and sipping on some light liquor. They chatted idly, appearing exceptionally relaxed and at ease.

"Next year, our Sanchong Township will open up to the private economy and strongly encourage the public to engage in trade. Do you two have any thoughts on this?" Chen Yuan asked casually as he took a sip of his drink.

Huang Tianyue laughed and said, "My thought is to turn this state-run restaurant into a private one. Would that work?"

Chen Yuan shook his head. "I'm afraid that won't do for now. If you really want to run a restaurant, you’d be better off starting from scratch and opening a new one."

Huang Tianyue grinned cheekily. "I don't have the capital! How about you, Mayor Chen, invest and become a partner?"

Chen Yuan replied, "You have the nerve to talk about not having capital? I will never invest. I have dedicated my life to the service of the country, so I will never go into business." He turned to Tang Jiancheng. "And you, Tang Jiancheng?"

Tang Jiancheng leaned back in his chair, letting the warm winter sun wash over his body. It was cozy and comfortable. He held his glass in his right hand, gently rubbing it, his mind a blank slate. He wasn't thinking about anything at all—just stealing a moment of leisure from a busy life.

Hearing Chen Yuan’s question, he slowly returned to reality. "I don't have any particular plans. In this life, I just want my wife to live a good life and to see my nine daughters grow up healthy and happy."

Chen Yuan was surprised. "Jiancheng, you call that having no plans? Achieving such a wish is no easy feat!"

Huang Tianyue nodded in agreement. "That's right. Children are the hardest to raise! I only have three sons and I’m already at my wits' end; you have nine daughters! Just thinking about it is terrifying!" He paused, then added, "But your daughters are all so well-behaved, I’m quite envious!"

Chen Yuan smiled. "Others look down on having daughters, but in my opinion, raising daughters is what makes us fathers the happiest, because they are our lovers from a past life!"

Huang Tianyue quipped, "In that case, wouldn't Brother Jiancheng have been a 'scumbag' or a 'Chen Shimei' in his past life?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized his mistake. He quickly apologized to Tang Jiancheng, "I'm sorry, Brother Jiancheng, I misspoke. Let me punish myself with a drink!"

If Huang Tianyue’s words had been spoken a few decades later, they would have been perfectly fine. But in the 1980s, such language could easily bring unnecessary trouble upon Tang Jiancheng. The era had only just begun to open up, and social attitudes remained incredibly conservative. Terms like "scumbag" or "Chen Shimei" were forbidden, or one might risk being labeled a hooligan.

"It's fine, we're all close friends, it doesn't matter. I'll join you," Tang Jiancheng said with a faint smile. He clinked glasses with Huang Tianyue and finished his drink in one go. He then picked up the bottle, filled his own glass, and topped off the glasses for Chen Yuan and Huang Tianyue. "Our township is too backward. Unless we can attract external flow, even if the business environment is fully opened, not many people will be willing to trade."

"Attract external flow?" Chen Yuan and Huang Tianyue both looked at Tang Jiancheng in surprise.

"Exactly. It means attracting people from outside to come to our township." Tang Jiancheng did not hold back. He didn't care if they found it strange that a farmer like him understood such things; he wouldn't explain it anyway, leaving them to guess.

In his previous life, at this very time, Chen Yuan had already been removed from his position as mayor and was under investigation, while Huang Tianyue had been implicated and was busy pulling strings to clear his name. But in this life, due to Tang Jiancheng’s intervention, they were able to sit here safely drinking in the sun. Since he had already altered their fates, he might as well add fuel to the fire and voice concepts that wouldn't typically be proposed for decades. He trusted that with Chen Yuan’s capability, Sanchong Township could realize these things ahead of time.

"How do we attract them?" Sure enough, Chen Yuan was very interested in the topic.

Tang Jiancheng said, "Our Sanchong Township may not have much else, but we have mountains, forests, and picturesque scenery. If we can make something of that, we will surely attract many visitors."

"Of course, the whole country is currently focused on solving the basic problem of food and clothing, so there aren't many people with the spare money or leisure to travel. But we can lay the groundwork early. In the future, when people have satisfied their basic needs and start pursuing quality of life and taste, we will be one step ahead!"

"As the saying goes, 'one step fast, every step fast.' Only then will Sanchong Township have the chance to move ahead of other towns."

Chen Yuan listened intently. Huang Tianyue, however, pursed his lips. "To put it plainly, that’s developing tourism, but that requires long-term planning—five, ten, even twenty or thirty years. What are we supposed to do right now?"

"Sanchong Township is a poor, backward town deep in the mountains. We have no industry, no transportation, and very few literate people. It's hard to develop such a place unless..." Huang Tianyue suddenly stopped.

"Unless what? Just say it, why keep us in suspense?" Chen Yuan said, clearly annoyed.

Huang Tianyue smiled. "Unless there are mineral resources!"

"Mining?" Chen Yuan pondered. "Our predecessors thought of that a long time ago. But we’ve searched all of Sanchong Township and found no coal, oil, iron, or copper mines. Even if there were, they aren't on a scale worth mining."

Huang Tianyue laughed. "I was just throwing it out there. Of course, if the mayor approves, I could find experts to survey the area again. Who knows, maybe there is something worth mining?"

"Have you discovered something?" Chen Yuan looked at him suspiciously.

Huang Tianyue shook his head repeatedly. "No, I was just speaking hypothetically."

Chen Yuan didn't believe him for a second.

Tang Jiancheng, however, suddenly recalled that in his previous life, Sanchong Township did indeed find two types of minerals: quartz and scheelite, both in significant quantities. It was just that both mines had been monopolized by big-city bosses; once extracted, the ore was hauled away immediately without leaving any benefit for Sanchong Township, which was why the locals knew so little about them—it was just idle gossip at best.

At this thought, Tang Jiancheng’s heart began to race. If he could get involved, wouldn't he reach financial freedom very quickly? Is there any industry that brings in money faster than mining? When his daughters went out to boast in the future, they could simply say, "My family owns a mine!"

For now, Tang Jiancheng said nothing, knowing that Chen Yuan and Huang Tianyue wouldn't believe him anyway. Furthermore, he only had a few hundred yuan to his name; dreaming of opening a mine was absolute insanity. Fortunately, the discovery of the quartz and scheelite mines in his previous life didn't happen until two years later, so he had plenty of time to accumulate capital.

The three of them chatted and drank for over two hours. Neither had overindulged, but all were in high spirits. After leaving the state-run restaurant, Tang Jiancheng headed home.