Chapter 55

  On the twenty-fourth of the twelfth lunar month, because Liangzi and Pangzi were keeping a close eye on the construction site, they didn't dare to do anything else, so there was no summary by Fang Mennai. However, Da Shu did settle the dividend for the "Jiajiale" store, which clearly decreased by one-third compared to when Liangzi and others were in charge.

  Fang Mo took over the deposit slip, on which there was only 500,000 yuan. Her eyes immediately turned cold. The standard of living in the county had clearly improved over the past two years. They were really ruthless.

  The big aunt cried with a sad face, pitifully saying: "This is not that we can't manage the business, but it's getting harder to do business. You know how many small shops like this have opened on Commercial Street. I'm very sorry, the business in our store has not only failed to make new achievements, but also declined."

  The elder uncle sat on the bench, listening to his daughter-in-law's words, with a look of discomfort on his face, and finally lowered his head, pretending not to hear.

  "Well, in that case, just return it and be done with it. It's so embarrassing, and yet you're still getting up early and working late, how tiring." Little Aunt said with a smile.

  "No way!" The big aunt suddenly raised her head and shouted loudly.

  Fang Mo Nan and Xiao Yi gave a cold, seemingly smiling gaze to Da Jiu Ma. She steeled herself and turned her face away, continuing to speak to Nai Nai in a soft voice: "Mom, we will work hard to ensure the success of Liang Zi's business."

  "Off you go." The grandmother dismissively sent them away.

  Fang Mo Nan muttered to himself, "She's really got a thick skin, if she can match the performance of Liang Zi and the others in the future, then the extra profits can be taken away with impunity."

  Watching Big Aunt and the two of them leave, Little Aunt said disdainfully: "Listen to their nonsense, the store is bustling with customers, especially the clothing business, it's booming. Compared to Liangzi, they are already far superior." She sneered: "Do they think we're all fools? Who doesn't know that she's using the store's money to support her own family?"

  "It's all right, don't be angry! It's not worth it." Grandma said helplessly, a hint of despair flashing in her eyes.

  "Mom... forget it, I won't say anything. Who let him be your son? All of us put together aren't as good as his toe." Little Aunt said with a sour tone. "Don't appear in front of me again."

  Auntie picked up the New Year's goods sent by her elder brother, pointing with her fingers and saying, "Tsk... since she entered our house, I really haven't seen her send New Year's goods for the first time. This pork must be over a week old! Fortunately, it's cold, otherwise it would have gone bad; this fish is only as big as a palm, how can you eat the fish bones? This chicken is all skin and bones, what meat can you eat?"

  "Alright, stop being so sharp-tongued and critical, Little Swallow. If you don't want to eat it, just take it out." Old Mother glared at Little Aunt for a moment, then nodded towards Grandma's direction, "Speak less, if you don't speak, nobody will think you're mute."

  "Alright, I'll take it out now. Go south, and give it to Auntie at the farm to feed the dogs." Auntie didn't forget to leave with a few sarcastic remarks.

  Mom saw that both Xiao Yan and Fang Mo Nan had left, "Mom, don't be sad, Xiao Yan has a sharp tongue but a soft heart."

  "It's all right, Big Yan, don't say anything more. I understand in my heart, I'm not a fool." Grandma waved her hand and muttered despairingly: "I can no longer count on them." The 'divine woman's' previous warning had also come true, so she completely gave up hope, and that store was considered to have been worth it for the mother to rely on them.

  As soon as they left Grandma's house, Big Aunt glared at Big Uncle with a cold expression, pointing at him and saying, "You're a dead man! Watching your sister talk about us like that in the house, if it wasn't for me, who knows, maybe the store would have been taken back too, and nobody would have spoken up to help."

  Her eldest uncle looked at her with difficulty, "Girl, you've gone too far, I really can't listen to this. Don't treat everyone like a fool. My mother and the others really can't see through it." After taking over the store for more than ten months, he knew how much profit there was, but he only gave his mother a quarter of it. He even felt embarrassed holding the money.

  They were both out of work and envious of others making money, but unexpectedly they got a windfall. His wife quit her job and started running the store seriously, but she didn't expect his wife to do so, which was really unbearable to watch. In the past, he had a low status at home and was often bullied, daring not to speak out.

  "Mo Yonghui! You heartless thing, I get up early and work late, taking care of the household and the store. The money I earn, can I just squander it? Isn't it all for you people? My daughter is going to college next year, and my second child is going to junior high, aren't these things that cost money? So much money, so many beautiful clothes, do I dare wear one?" His sister-in-law scolded, one hand poking at his chest, the other hand occasionally wiping away dry tears.

  The elder uncle's heart softened and looked at the people coming and going, looking at them, he said with embarrassment: "But this is also too much."

  She wiped her eyes, staring at him, "How did you pass that, it's your mother's property, sooner or later it's all yours." She paused for a moment, "I just took it in advance, besides, if we really follow the profit-sharing ratio as said before, wouldn't your two sisters be at a disadvantage?"

  "It's our family business after all, everyone has a share." said Big Uncle.

  "My goodness! How did I end up marrying you, this stupid guy? A daughter who's married out is like water that's been splashed out - what business do they have here? Are you stupid?" She circled around him, sizing him up from head to toe with a look of "how can you be so silly", and finally stood in front of him, her finger poking at his forehead.

  "This is my house, I have the final say." She said in a harsh tone, and then softened: "I'm doing this for our family's good. Grandma has just as much money as we do, and in the end, it'll be us who supports her when she's old. It's only right that we set aside some extra money."

  Her brother-in-law heard her tone, coupled with her accumulated prestige for a long time. Her brother-in-law had no choice but to retreat and not say anything else. At most, he would take good care of his mother when she grew old. However, he did not think that all the money was controlled by the 'leader' at home, and later on, he was helpless, just thinking about it.

  The twenty-ninth of the twelfth lunar month became a personal concert for Mo Bei, but most of the violin songs she played were popular songs, changing and adjusting her mood. Or they were movie or TV theme songs that everyone hummed along to! Those who couldn't sing clapped their hands and tapped their feet, everything was lively as before.

  After the end, Fang Mo Nan took out the jade, and the bangles were one pair for each of Grandma, Old Mom, Little Aunt, and Liang's wife. The pendants, jade cards, and bracelets were taken by the men present, who chose what they liked. The remaining small pendants were all distributed to the women present by Fang Mo Nan, and even if they were older, the women couldn't resist the sparkling ornaments.

  The golden silk was divided equally between the two sisters. The person who received the gift, Fang Mo Nan rarely saw his aunts wear bangles, they were all stored at the bottom of the trunk. On the other hand, small pendants, they listened to Fang Mo Nan's words, jade is good for the body, and only then did they wear it close to their bodies. Only Lennard and Old Master Lin knew the goods, knowing that jade nourishes people, and people nourish jade, wearing it close to the body, generally not taking it out easily.

  After the commotion died down, Old Man Lin and Father grabbed Fang Mo Nan who was trying to enter the bedroom. "Mo Nan, tell me what's going on with the stones at the farm?"

  "Oh dear! You're talking about stones, just stones!" Fang Mo Nan said with his hands spread open and a shrug.

  "That's not a stone, what is it? You're really extravagant, where did you get so many stones from, are you going to build something again?" Dad thought about the construction.

  Upon hearing Old Dad's words, Lin Lao Ye Zi and Fang Mo Nan were taken aback! Fang Mo Nan burst out laughing, "Old Dad, you're really funny, you just want me to build a grand house."

  Mr. Lin pointed at him and stuttered twice, "Zhengping, come with me."

  As for what the two said, Fang Mernan didn't know, but after the New Year, Dad brought over a few large local dogs to the farm. Looking at the scene, it seemed that Dad knew which stones were what! He also found the construction team from before, and after the spring warmth arrived, they quickly dug the foundation and built an oversized underground storage room for these "stones". By default, Fang Mernan's method was to think of a way to help her "make up for it".

  Little Aunt and Old Mother, in order to avoid seeing Big Uncle's family's disgusting faces, on the last day of 1984, early in the morning of New Year's Eve, they left Grandma behind and everyone else went to the farm for the new year.

  Dad thinks it's not good to do so, and voluntarily stays behind to accompany grandma for the New Year. After all, they are a family, and in the future, leaving a thread of connection is not just for others, but also to make his mother-in-law feel better.

  On New Year's Eve, after having a reunion dinner, everyone sat around the TV waiting for the 1985 Spring Festival Gala. In 1985, the director of the Spring Festival Gala made a bold attempt at the presentation form of the Spring Festival Gala, moving the stage to the Beijing Workers' Stadium. Unfortunately, it was too cold and there was no heating; the stage was too big, and the lighting and audio-visual effects were not good. Only in terms of costumes, with the sponsorship of Han Zhijian and others, they looked more elegant, fashionable, and showed the progress of the times.

  "Hmm, this 'Tomorrow Will Be Better' is really nice to listen to. And there are famous singers from the mainland too! This one's from Hong Kong and that one's from Taiwan!" exclaimed Little Auntie, it's quite an effect with so many people singing the same song. In the middle of the song, there's even a narrative "Hong Kong returned, the motherland will be even more beautiful tomorrow, what a stirring sentiment."

  Fang Mo looked at Nan with a puzzled expression, wondering if she had forgotten this part of the evening, but it was possible that it was related to Han Zhiqian. Having a good relationship with the mainland would be better for future development.

  When Fang Mo Bei heard this song and saw the lyrics, she found out that the composer was Bei Bei and the lyricist was Wa Wa. Her face showed both tension and excitement as she quietly slipped away to the study room. The phone rang at this moment, and she carefully picked it up, "Hello! Happy New Year!" she said softly.

  "Hey! Xiao Bei! Happy New Year! Can you hear me?" Han Zhiqian's cheerful voice came from the receiver, he called at the agreed time.

  Han Zhiqian took Mo Bei's lyrics, just with a try-on attitude, didn't expect the record company to be shocked. Hurriedly asked who the author was and wanted to have a meeting.

  Han Zhiqian said at the time that he was an agent, and it didn't matter what he talked about. In the end, after negotiations, he did not sell the copyright all at once, but instead took a percentage of the record sales, one yuan per album. Fang's family had a money-making machine, and they weren't in a hurry to use the money, so they were willing to take a long-term approach to catch a big fish. They also knew that the song was good and the market prospects were promising.

  "I heard that, thank you Brother Han. I'll treat you to a big meal when I get back." Mo Bei said happily. "Brother Han, what's with WaWa writing the lyrics and BeiBei composing the music?"

  "Oh! This, the name I gave you, can't let others know your true identity, you're called Mo Bei, homophonic with Baby. As for doll, it's a term coined by Nan Nan, in my eyes, isn't it just a foreign doll." Han Zhiqian explained, also considered as his 'revenge' against Fang Moei Nan's surprise attack on them back then.

  Growing up, Mo Bei thought this stage name was too 'flattering' and also a way to 'repay' her 'cultivation'.

  "You gave me about ten songs, handed them over to the record company for operation, and with the Spring Festival Gala, sales are expected to be very good. Just wait for the money!" Han Zhiqian said.

  "Wow! Now I can go to Moscow for the competition without worrying about money and making Mom and Dad anxious." Fang Mo Bei exclaimed.

  "Indeed! Wishing Xiao Bei a victorious start."

  "Thank you, I will definitely work hard and strive for first place." Fang Mo Bei said excitedly.

  "Good, you have spirit." Han Zhiqian said.

  She hung up the phone and quietly walked back, covering her reddened face with her hands. She watched TV for a while, pretending nothing had happened, then went to sleep. Her family knew nothing about what had just occurred.

  Same time, same place. Fang Mo Nan entered the space again at dawn, and as soon as she went in, she smelled a strong fragrance. The scenery of the space was even more beautiful and ethereal, and she hadn't seriously appreciated it for a long time. Following the fragrance, she walked deep into the forest. Suddenly, she saw a golden light shining through the dense leaves, and continued to move forward, dazzlingly bright, making it hard to open her eyes.

  "Wow... what is this?" Fang Mo Nan This was the big tree that had been discovered a few days ago, and now it was full of golden fruit hanging from its branches. The fragrance was rich but not cloying. She teleported to the top of the tree, looking at the fruit, "It looks a bit like ginseng fruit." They were about the size of ginseng fruit, with a shiny golden color all over.

  "Ginseng fruit, how can it be compared with you." Mu Jing said disdainfully, he suddenly appeared in the air, looking at her, sitting on a cloud.

  "Ginseng fruit blooms once every three thousand years, bears fruit once every three thousand years, and takes another three thousand years to ripen. It's only edible after a short ten thousand years." He snorted in disdain: "Hmph! Our Bodhi fruit is different. This tree absorbs the essence of heaven and earth, the light of the sun and moon, and grows in space. Of course, it's a hundred times stronger than ginseng fruit. It blooms once every nine thousand years, bears fruit once every nine thousand years, and takes another nine thousand years to ripen." The wooden spirit muttered to himself, swallowing repeatedly, his face filled with regret.

  "Huh? That's not right! It's still a thousand years away from maturity!" He counted on his fingers, circled the big tree again, and finally stopped beside Fang Mo Nan, staring at her closely.

  "I remember now." He exclaimed in surprise: "It's you... Last time you leveled up, the spiritual energy in the space surged greatly, no wonder the Bodhi fruit ripened ahead of schedule."

  "This is indeed a sacred object for us cultivators, eating it while cultivating will double the effect. Even if an ordinary person eats it to wash their marrow and cultivate their veins, taking it outside of space will have the same effect." said Mu Jing

  "Oh! It's so amazing." Fang Mo Nan picked one off and put it in his mouth, where it melted instantly. The flavor was rich but not cloying, extremely refreshing.

  She immediately sat down and worked on her internal energy, an hour later, indeed, she had achieved twice the result with half the effort, and her vital energy was much fuller.

  Fang Mornan wanted to eat more, but Mu Jing intercepted him and said: "These fruits are not easy to ripen, so eat them slowly, don't finish them all at once."

  "Why aren't you eating?" Fang Mo Nan thought he also wanted to eat, but she had been cultivating for a while and hadn't seen him eat.

  "We'd like to eat it, but our cultivation isn't enough. If we eat it, there will be side effects - exploding and dying." The wooden spirit looked at the Bodhi fruit with a wanting yet fearful expression.

  "Oh! And there's this saying, how come I'm fine?" Fang Mo Nan looked at his own body, not only was he fine, but he was also very well.

  "You are a disciple personally taught by the master, so it's no big deal. Moreover, you are a cultivator of immortality, and we are still in our spirit bodies." explained Mu Jing.

  "Then I can take it out and give it to Mom and them to eat, right?" Fang Mo Nan asked.

  "No problem, ordinary people can eat it to wash their marrow, prolong their lifespan, and strengthen their bodies." Mu Jing said enviously, but they couldn't compare to the benefits of ordinary people cultivating immortality.

  Fang Mo Nan was in high spirits today, jumping into the sea with a 'splash', swimming freely. Deep-sea diving was child's play for her.

  Without diving equipment, come and go freely like fish. Fish swim in groups through the coral reef, some are fully covered with colorful

  Colorful stripes; some with a cluster of red tassels on their heads, looking extremely beautiful; some with fans all over their bodies, fluttering and swaying as they swim; some with round eyes and full of thorns, puffed up like a ball. There are countless varieties of fish. The school of fish darts back and forth around her, gazing at the breathtaking scenery. Look, that spotted school of fish, that emerald green water grass, those colorful shells...

  "Huh! Such a big clam." Fang Mo Nan looked at the clam that was even taller than her, curiously circling around it, wondering if there were any pearls inside.

  "Wow..." The shell opened, and Fang Mo Nan saw it open. A purple glow instantly enveloped the surroundings. Round and smooth, like pigeon eggs, the pearls lay quietly inside. With a thought, one pearl, perfectly intact, lay in her palm, emitting an enticing magical aura.

  Fang Mo Nan was full of energy today, swimming in the ocean for half a day, casually picking up some seafood and sending it to the kitchen. After a satisfying meal, she began her cultivation, studying medicine and martial arts again.

  Taking a deep breath of the chilly air, Fang Mo Nan looked up at the dark sky, another brand new year. On New Year's Day, Fang Mo Nan and his family returned to their grandma's house before dawn, prepared breakfast, and mixed pomegranate juice into millet porridge.

  Auntie looked at the millet porridge and saw that it was much more golden than before. She took a sip, and it was incredibly fragrant and sweet. "You added sugar, it's so delicious!"

  "No! Eat more if it's delicious." Fang Mo Nan said.

  After everyone finished breakfast, they ended up running to the toilet twice, with an extremely foul smell that made people breathless.

  By evening, Fang Mo Nan carefully observed that everyone was no longer uncomfortable, and each person's skin had become rosy and radiant, with a healthy glow.

  The eldest uncle just had a bowl of dumplings on the 30th day of the lunar year and came over to take a look; on the first day of the new year, the whole family was just sitting at grandma's house, the children took the lucky money and left. Grandma was thoroughly disappointed with her son and his family, but after all, they were still her own son, as long as she could save face, there was no longer any expectation in her heart.

  Fang Mo Nan and Mo Bei received five one-mao bills from their elder uncle as New Year's money, which were still the crimson color of old times.

  "My goodness, even Iron Rooster would pluck its own feathers!" Little Aunt exclaimed. "Quickly open it and see how big the bill is."

  "Xiao Yan, mind your manners. Luckily Mom's not here." The old lady said with a bitter tone: "You talk nonsense, and Lao Da's family listens to it without being affected. But only hurting Mom's heart, what are you trying to achieve?"

  "Alright, sis, I know that from now on, out of sight, out of mind, and I'll keep a distance." Little Yan muttered to herself, "Can't even let others have the satisfaction of hurting me."

  "It's satisfying for you to say that." Dad said: "But Mom is heartbroken, 'don't let loved ones suffer and enemies rejoice'."

  "Auntie, this money is actually very valuable." Fang Mo Nan said to himself, holding the money, twenty years later.

  "You mother and daughter are of one mind, I have nothing more to say to you. I'm going out to pay New Year's visits." Xiaoyi put on her coat and disappeared behind the screen wall.

  After a busy and hurried New Year's celebration, Mo Bei set out on his journey. In order to participate in the preliminary round, he arrived in Moscow at the beginning of March.

  Reynard, Fang Mo Nan and Mo Bei first took the train to Beijing, then flew to Moscow. The Rotary International Youth Music Competition in Moscow is such a competition. In the youth group competition, it can be counted as one of the best. But compared with the adult competition, there is still some distance.

  At that time, this place was still called the Soviet Union. People liked to affectionately call it "Old Big Brother". Moscow was very beautiful, with both European humanistic charm and its own unique heroic style. Fang Mernan really liked it here, and the three of them took several photos in front of Red Square and the Kremlin Palace gates as a keepsake. The guards were very handsome, but unfortunately, Moscow in March was still quite cold, and they all wore military coats. Fang Mernan especially liked their stylish leather boots and belts, which made them look even more handsome and dashing.

  When Fang Mo Bei arrived, she brought the small gift dress sent by Han Zhi Qian and others. The top was a white bubble-sleeved shirt with a red bow tie on her chest, a Scottish plaid skirt, and white sheepskin boots on her feet. In short, at her current age, she was as cute as could be.

  The night before the final, Fang Mo Nan temporarily taught Mo Bei some techniques. "In terms of actual skills, I can't help you, I can only tell you not to be nervous during the competition, just treat the judges like a big white radish, or even us. The judges are also human beings, they have their own preferences, that's how human nature is, and you need to use what kind of emotions to play in order to get a better impression. What about male judges? What about female judges... I've analyzed all the information about the previous judges for you, I'm sure you know what to do, just perform well." Fang Mo Nan said some words about how to handle the competition.

  "You're teaching your sister how to cheat." Reynard said disapprovingly.

  "This is reality, Lei. What kind of world this is, I believe you know better than me, it's not all white and pure. And speaking to your taste, I believe you've done it too." Fang Mo Nan continued: "Within the allowed range of rules, using some tricks is fine. However, Xiao Bei, this is just for coping with the match temporarily; but in a lifetime, one must have great strength, and in front of any strong power, tricks are useless."

  "I understand, I will defeat them with strength." Fang Mo Bei said.

  Fang Mo Nan provokingly looked at Rennard, "How's that? My sister isn't bad, right? Don't worry!" "Mo Bei! Treat every match with the attitude of 'being content with what you have and not worrying about what you lose'. The road is long, slowly hone your skills. May God be with you." She also drew a cross on her chest.

  "Haha......" Fang Mo Bei was amused by her funny appearance and his tension miraculously disappeared.

  Mo Bei, thanks to the help of Lennard and Cheng Shigui, directly participated in the final with a wild card, without going through the domestic preliminary stage. In Mo Nan's eyes, it seemed like an advantage, but actually lost the initiative, didn't get a glimpse of the competitive atmosphere first, nor understand the strengths and weaknesses of his opponents, and could only rely on Mo Bei's performance on the spot. Looking at Mo Bei's calm face, she seemed to be focused in her own world, unaffected by external disturbances.

  There were thirty children in the violin competition, all under fifteen years old, Fang Mobei was the youngest.

  Fang Mo Nan and Lian Yu accompanied Fang Mo Bei to sit in the backstage, Fang Mo Bei was arranged to go on stage twentieth, she sat there checking her violin for the last time while listening to the performance on stage.

  "How does it feel?" Fang Mengnan asked, listening to the performance in front of her. She felt that there were too many geniuses in this world, and they were all gathered together.

  "They're really good! But I'm not bad either." Fang Mo Bei said confidently with a smile, fearless and ignorant.

  Everyone has four pieces to play. Because of the limited range, there are often the same pieces being chosen. This makes it easier for the judges to compare. So when Antonio Vivaldi's "Spring" in E major was played, Meng Bei stood up and listened carefully.

  Quick plank - wide plank - quick plank, this is the style that Fang Mo likes to use when he's calm and collected, and also the one he practices the most. However, it's only a ten-minute performance.

  She was startled and her heart skipped a beat. This was the first song she had heard all day that sounded so good, but also made her feel even more pressure, wondering how Mo Bei felt after hearing it. Looking at Mo Bei's face, sometimes frowning, sometimes calm, with a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth, confidence written all over his face.

  International competitions, universal English. Fang Mo Bei's English level is also growing, ordinary conversations are not difficult for her.

  "This contestant's name is Ludwig Olivier, sounds like a German." Fang Mo quietly read out his name. She elbowed Renard, "How strong is he?" She was just an amateur here and didn't know much about the professionals, so she could only ask him.

  "Very strong, he is the strongest so far." Reynard judged, furrowing his brow, apparently somewhat worried that the youth competition was already at such a high level.

  "It's all right, don't worry about it anymore, let's talk after the comparison." Fang Mo Nan pointed to Mo Bei, "She is calm and quiet, so you don't have to frown."

  After a while, Fang Mo Nan and the others saw a blond young man carrying a violin coming down from the stage and walking into the backstage. He should be Ludwig Olivier.