Chapter 15: Determination

An Songyu took only one morning to get everything done.

At noon, she used her student card to enjoy a long-awaited meal at the school canteen.

Compared to the taste in her memories, what An Songyu found more striking was the cost of living at this time.

A meat dish, a vegetable dish, a free seaweed and egg drop soup, and plenty of white rice cost only 4.5 yuan.

Furthermore, in terms of taste, it wasn't particularly bad.

Of course, An Songyu had specifically chosen Canteen No. 3, which she had fondly remembered in her past life.

However, the spicy diced chicken she craved most was nowhere to be seen.

She wasn't sure if her memory was mistaken, or if that chef from Sichuan Province had not yet started working in the Nanshi University canteen.

Thinking carefully, An Songyu vaguely remembered that this dish could indeed only be eaten right before her graduation.

Earlier on, Canteen No. 3, the last one to be built, had actually gone through quite a bit of trouble. It was only after the school implemented reforms that it became the most popular canteen among students.

Finishing the meal with a hint of regret, An Songyu hurried to leave the school before the large crowd of juniors arrived.

Nanshi University was located in the central urban area of Nanshi. Shortly after leaving the campus, she entered the bustling streets.

An Songyu was in no hurry to return. In addition to bringing her friend's favorite pastries, she had also specially prepared portions for Sister Xia and the colleagues who were supposed to be off today as a token of her gratitude. Beyond that, she hadn't forgotten to bring extra so she could share the taste with her other colleagues later.

Along the way, looking at a Nanshi that was completely incomparable to the city twenty years later, An Songyu couldn't help but sigh.

In truth, An Songyu actually knew more about Nanshi than she did about Shuncheng. After all, according to the original timeline, after her three-month internship, she would have been fortunate enough to join the Nanshi Grand Hotel through campus recruitment, and then settle down and build a life in Nanshi.

At this thought, An Songyu suddenly realized something. Since her rebirth, it seemed she hadn't contacted her husband at all.

Thinking carefully, it seemed he was also currently an intern. And his internship location was in another city? But exactly where? After such a long passage of time, An Songyu couldn't quite remember clearly.

Fortunately, this allowed her to breathe a sigh of relief.

Thinking of this, An Songyu couldn't help but let out a self-deprecating chuckle. With twenty years of life experience, she had actually long since grown accustomed to such partings. From the moment Jian Ziyu chose that specific major, it meant that their future lives were destined to involve more time apart than together.

During those twenty years, An Songyu had actually felt depressed about this more than once. She had even thought countless times that if she could do it all over again, she would probably rather never have met him at all.

But now that she truly had the chance to start over, as An Songyu carefully considered her current feelings, it seemed... she no longer held that thought at all?

Sitting on the bus back to Shuncheng, An Songyu looked out at the city, which was quite backward compared to twenty years later, and began to think with extraordinary seriousness.

Perhaps, if she were to do it all over again, she might have other ways to ensure their lives didn't have to be lived that way?

By the time An Songyu returned home, it was almost dinner time.

Seeing An Songyu returning with so many bags, Bi Lizhu, who had been worrying about money lately, immediately looked displeased.

An Jianping, however, didn't think much of it. He had just finished a phone call with the village chief, Jiang Wenlin. He had already gone to help inquire about the loan.

However, the loan amount available was not enough to satisfy An Jianping. Before this, there had been no such occurrence in the village. Even the banks were extremely cautious about handling such business.

Jiang Wenlin had asked An Jianping if he wanted to proceed with the application. If he didn't, he could actually go to other banks or branches to ask. Besides, he promised to continue inquiring for An Jianping regarding policy incentives and other matters.

After all, these abandoned mulberry fields and fish ponds in Jiang Village were not just a headache for Jiang Village, but a concern for the entire Rongdi area, and even many parts of Shuncheng. If An Jianping could truly revitalize them through contracting, it was believed he would receive a great deal of support.

Most importantly, setting aside Jiang Village, even among the other villages in Shuncheng, there were very few people with the intention to contract these remote mulberry fields and fish ponds.

Furthermore, An Jianping himself was an employee of the silk factory. In recent years, he had been helping the village with its silkworm farming, which would likely give the higher-level leaders more confidence in him.

Such a result was originally extremely advantageous for An Jianping. But he knew his own situation best; when he initially planned to return to the village, it wasn't with the intention of truly developing this enterprise.

And now, not only were people placing their hopes on him, but they were even running around on his behalf. For a moment, An Jianping even felt an impulse to refuse Jiang Wenlin's kindness.

But thinking carefully, setting aside whether his refusal would even be taken seriously by Jiang Wenlin, did he truly want to refuse now?

Seeing the worry on her father's face that had never appeared before, An Songyu, who had just put her things down, doubted for the first time whether her actions were correct.

"Then let's really do it that way from now on!" Bi Lizhu looked at her husband and said seriously.

An Songyu and the others were momentarily stunned, but they quickly reacted.

Indeed, they had only been thinking about whether they should do these things before the demolition, but they hadn't thought at all about what to do after the demolition!

Regardless of what their original thoughts were this time, if they could prove over the next few months that this endeavor truly had value, then after receiving the demolition compensation, they would not only be able to continue, but they wouldn't even have to worry about money like they did this time.

"That's true!" An Jianping looked at his exceptionally serious wife, and his heart felt somewhat relieved.

"If that's the case, then even if the time is short, the mulberry fields and fish ponds in Jiang Village will need to be managed and operated properly," An Songlin also planned seriously. "That way, if we really... if we continue this business in the future, we will have more experience."

An Songyu and the others nodded in agreement. They all began to seriously inquire about the situation in Jiang Village.

In the family, only An Songlin and An Jianping had recently returned to Jiang Village. Therefore, the two of them were indeed more knowledgeable about the situation there. Even so, the two sisters secretly decided that when the next holiday came, they would definitely visit Jiang Village more often.

When the next holiday actually arrived, An Songyu stood in front of their family's residential plot, looking in disbelief at the large man waving a shovel while clearing the site.

"A-Yu, you're off today?" Yuan Qionghua, who had rushed over from next door, called out.

Hearing her voice, An Songyu quickly responded, "Auntie, you're home today?"

"Yes! Your family and your uncle's family are both starting construction at the same time, so there's no one to keep an eye on your house's work."

"Since I have some free time, I thought I'd stop by and help keep an eye on things while I'm at home."

"Thank you, Auntie!" An Songyu said gratefully.