Chapter 418: Summer Vacation Time

"Your eldest brother is right; I have practiced this skill for thirty or forty years, training through the three hottest days of summer and the three coldest days of winter."

"I am older than your parents, but do I look younger than them?"

"Mm, Uncle Zhang is amazing."

Fifteen-year-old Qi Tongren looked full of admiration; he didn't even want to get up in the morning for school now, let alone persist for decades.

"Hahaha."

Although this kid's grades weren't great, he was very clever and could get along with teachers and classmates alike; he was the type of mischievous troublemaker found in every class.

"Tongwei, do you have any plans for the summer vacation?"

"Godfather, I want to go out and work."

"Oh? Why do you think that?"

"I want to temper myself. I've heard that university is a small society. I have no experience, and I want to take advantage of the summer vacation to get some training."

Qi Tongwei had money at home now and wasn't that desperate for it; he mainly wanted to get in touch with society so he wouldn't be completely clueless when he started university.

"Mm, not bad. I have a few supermarkets in Sijiucheng; go be a Salesperson there. That is the best place to train a person."

A supermarket Salesperson deals with different people every day—grandpas, grandmas, uncles, and aunts alike.

"Okay, thank you, Godfather."

Qi Tongwei had originally intended to do some kind of sales work, and being a Salesperson fit his requirements perfectly, plus he could broaden his horizons in Sijiucheng.

"Uncle Zhang, do you think I can do it? I also want to get some training," Qi Tongren interjected at the first opportunity.

"Mm... no. You aren't ten yet. If you still have this intention next year, I will arrange it for you then."

"Oh, alright then." Qi Tongren was a bit disappointed, but he could understand.

"If you kid put half of your energy into your studies, you wouldn't be sitting in the back row of the class."

"Hehe, Uncle Zhang, I just can't get into books."

"You," Zhang Ping'an smiled and shook his head, saying no more.

After the meal, Zhang Ping'an arranged for someone to send Qi Tongwei's family back to Qi Family Village, and after agreeing on a time, he went to the Eastern Distillery.

In the span of a month, the distillery had expanded by fifty mu on its original foundation; this was a plot Zhang Ping'an had specifically cleared out, intending to use it for his own brewing.

The layout was a complete, scaled-down version of the distillery, and Zhang Ping'an prepared to fire up the furnaces and brew in the winter once construction was finished.

At the same time, the foundation for the distillery's Family Building was being laid; the entire staff of the distillery acted as if they were on stimulants every day, working with endless energy, and they would even stop by the construction site to check the progress after getting off work.

Zhang Ping'an wasn't giving them the houses for free; or rather, they only had the right of residence, not ownership.

Either you pay the cost price to purchase it, or you obtain it for free after working at the distillery for fifteen years starting from this year.

Zhang Ping'an had already stated these terms when he was building the Family Building, and he was following the path of state-run factories, just with slight modifications.

State-run factories used pooled funds for housing or cost-price purchases; not many people could afford houses these years, especially in the Mainland, so Zhang Ping'an's approach was undoubtedly more in line with their wishes.

After all, most of the staff were around forty; even for the older ones, their years of service could be factored in for a discount, which would be analyzed in detail when the time came.

At the Municipal Committee Family Building, Zhang Ping'an and Liu Haiyang sat opposite each other, drinking; at the end of the month, Liu Haiyang was to be transferred to Luzhou to take up his post.

"Little brother, you must come to Luzhou to drink with me when you're free in the future."

"Haha, deal."

Zhang Ping'an was also quite curious about Yueya Lake; after all, that was where Zhao Ruilong made his fortune, and it was also the starting point for Gao Yuliang's power dealings.

If possible, Zhang Ping'an also wanted to lease Yueya Lake, build a villa on the island in the center of the lake, fish when he had nothing to do, and use it as his own breeding farm.

Three days later in the morning, Qi Tongwei had already appeared at the Reception House with his luggage.

"Let's go, the two of us will head back together. Tongwei, are you going to stay at my house or in the dormitory?"

"Godfather, I'll stay in the dormitory. I won't get any training if I stay at your house, and I don't want them to know about our relationship."

"Hahaha, good lad, alright."

The two boarded a plane in Jingzhou; it was Qi Tongwei's first time flying, and he seemed very excited, touching this and looking at that.

"It's your first time, so listen carefully to the flight announcements and follow what they say."

"Oh, okay, Godfather." Qi Tongwei hurriedly sat up straight and listened carefully to the announcements on the plane.

Two and a half hours later, the two of them left the airport, and Zhang Weidong was already waiting outside.

"Dad, Tongwei."

"Eldest Brother."

"Mm, let's go back first. Tongwei, there are a few aunts and younger brothers and sisters at home this time that I want to introduce to you."

"Mm, okay."

Qi Tongwei had been in school when Zhang Weidong and the others got married, so he only knew five or six of Zhang Ping'an's family members at the moment.

The three wives and the children had all returned for the summer vacation, so it was a good time to introduce them to each other.

"This is your Wang Yi, Zhong, Lou, eldest sister Wanqiu, eldest younger sister Wandong, eldest younger brother Wei'an..."

The family also knew that Zhang Ping'an had a godson named Qi Tongwei, but most of them were seeing him for the first time.

Qi Tongwei greeted them in turn, but his brain wasn't quite keeping up; he only knew that Zhang Ping'an had two wives in the past, but he hadn't expected there to be two more now, plus a whole bunch of children.

Weidong and Weijun quickly got familiar with the younger brothers and sisters while with Qi Tongwei, and Qi Tongwei shared the Yantai specialty snacks he brought—big cakes, sugar twists, and grass-oven cakes—with everyone.

"This is delicious, Brother Tongwei, bring more for sister next time."

"Oh, oh, okay, Sister Wanqiu."

"And this one, hee hee."

"You all eat less; you still have to eat lunch in a while."

"Oh, okay, Mother."

After lunch, Zhang Ping'an handed Qi Tongwei over to Qin Huairu and told her to treat him the same as the others.

Qin Huairu had naturally seen Qi Tongwei when he was a child, but now he just looked familiar.

"Alright, Uncle."

"Go on, Tongwei."

Both of them were riding a Bicycle, and all the way there, Qin Huairu was wondering who this Qi Tongwei was, until it suddenly occurred to her that Zhang Ping'an had a godson who seemed to be named Tongwei.

"Are you Uncle's godson?"

"Yes, Cousin-in-law. You can just pretend you don't know me; I'm just out working during summer break to gain some experience."

"Fine, I understand."

Upon arriving at the supermarket, Qin Huairu arranged for him to learn at the checkout counter, and by evening, Qi Tongwei witnessed the terrifying nature of the supermarket.

The checkout process barely stopped; there were people paying the whole time, and while he was flustered and clumsy at first, he gradually adapted.

"Not bad, young man, you're quite sharp. What is your relationship with our Supervisor Qin?"

"Big Sister, I'm just from Supervisor Qin's hometown, the same village."

"Mm, work hard, and ask me if you don't understand anything."

"Alright, thank you, Big Sister."

Half a month passed quickly, and since Qi Tongwei was not lacking in emotional intelligence, everyone had come to approve of this diligent young man after half a month of getting along.

Then Qi Tongwei was transferred to work as a shopping guide, a stock clerk, and a warehouse manager; this summer break could be said to have been very fulfilling for Qi Tongwei.

"Ring-a-ling, ring-a-ling."

"Hello?"

"Hello? Is this Brother Zhang's house? I am Qi Qinghai, Tongwei's father."

"Oh, oh, hello Uncle Qi, I am Zhang Ping'an's daughter, Wandong. Brother Tongwei is still working at the supermarket."

"Oh, is that so? That makes sense. Then please tell Brother Tongwei that his university acceptance letter has arrived."

"Oh, oh, alright, I will tell Brother Tongwei right away."