Chapter 33: The Future Is in Your Hands

Fang Mingyuan naturally had no idea that his chance encounter with Su Aijun on the train had led to his words being relayed to the Director of the Railway Ministry's Planning and Development Department, Su Huandong. He was even unaware that this high-ranking official of the Railway Ministry had already taken a keen interest in him. At this moment, he was revisiting the sights of the capital city with the two elders of the Fang family, accompanied by the Bai family. In Fang Mingyuan's memory, the last time he came to the capital was in the winter of 1988, and the four years since then had brought significant changes to the city.

During these few days, Fang Mingyuan's "great achievements" in Hai Zhuang Town had already spread widely among the Bai family. His shocking remarks, which had caused everyone to burst into laughter repeatedly, left a deep impression on his cousins and aunts. His uncles and aunts, who were particularly fond of this youngest, sweet-talking, and seemingly most intelligent nephew, would each bring the best snacks and toys when they visited.

Since the two elders of the Fang family did not plan to stay in the capital for long and intended to return to Hai Zhuang Town before the Spring Festival, the main focus of the reception work these days was to accompany the two elders on tours of the capital. Fang Mingyuan naturally followed along. However, the Bai family, who had lived in the capital for a long time, found it strangely that Fang Mingyuan seemed very familiar with the scenic spots in the four urban districts of Beijing. He knew the exact locations of these places, and sometimes he even seemed a bit bored when visiting them. Even places like Beihai, Jingshan, the Forbidden City, and the Summer Palace were no exception.

When discussing this, everyone thought it must be an illusion. Perhaps children were not yet interested in these scenic spots and preferred the zoo instead. In 1984, the capital did not have a proper amusement park. The famous Capital Amusement Park would only start construction this year and open to the public two years later. Before the Spring Festival, few people might have even heard about the construction.

Actually, this was not an illusion. In his previous life, after returning to the capital in 1989, Fang Mingyuan had lived in this city for nearly twenty years. While he might not remember every alley and street, he was extremely familiar with the scenic spots in the four urban districts. From school trips in junior and senior high school, to accompanying his girlfriend after college, and later taking his aunts out for leisure, he had visited these places many times and knew them inside out. Although he tried to hide his familiarity, occasional lapses in his memory sometimes revealed his efforts.

"Here, a pavilion will be built in the future, and the pond in front will be filled with lotus flowers..."

"On New Year's Day of that year, we once waited here for the sunrise of the new year..."

"In the future, there will be a carousel here, which will be the favorite of girls and children, but..." But the girl from that time was probably not in the capital yet; she was likely still in the northeast. Thinking about his unfulfilled love from his previous life, Fang Mingyuan felt a pang of sorrow, and his vision seemed to blur.

"Xiao Yuan?" Grandfather Fang also noticed his grandson's abnormality and asked softly, "Are you tired?"

Fang Mingyuan shook his head and, taking the opportunity to turn his head, temporarily put aside his memories. "Grandpa, I'm fine. But Grandma has walked so much; she must be tired. It's almost noon, so let's go find a place to eat. The restaurants in these scenic spots are not only expensive but also not very good."

"What do you want to eat?" Although Grandfather Fang did not understand why his grandson seemed particularly down just a moment ago, he knew that this child was already quite mature. He would speak when he wanted to and would not reveal what he did not want to. Trying to pry information out of him would be like a joke, and it was uncertain who would end up prying from whom. All he could do was care for him as much as possible and pave the way for his future. The future of the Fang family was in his hands, and as long as he could spread his wings, all the Fang family members would follow him onto the path of prosperity.

"Quanjude Roast Duck on Qianmen Street!" Fang Mingyuan said without hesitation. Since they were in the capital, they should try the most famous roast duck, and the most famous roast duck was undoubtedly Quanjude.

"You little rascal, you always go for the best food! But let me tell you, Quanjude Roast Duck is very expensive. For the four of us, this meal will cost about twenty yuan. That's almost half a month's salary for Auntie. Are you willing to spend that much?" Bai Bin, his uncle's son, who was accompanying them, couldn't help but laugh. This little guy seemed to know all about the famous old brands in the capital, and they had indeed enjoyed a lot of delicious food these past few days.

"Money comes and goes!" Fang Mingyuan retorted, raising his head. "You can't bring it with you when you're born, and you can't take it with you when you die! Earning money is for spending it. If you only earn and never spend, you're a miser. If you only spend and never earn, you're a wastrel. If you don't spend, you won't earn! Although this meal is expensive, I believe I can earn more in the future."

"Old man, Xiao Yuan is right! Let's go eat that Quanjude Roast Duck." Grandma was the first to clap and cheer. Since Grandma approved, everyone else had no objections.

Qianmen Street is a famous commercial street in the capital. Located on the central axis of the city, it runs from Qianmen Moon Bay in the north to the Tianqiao intersection in the south, connecting with Tianqiao South Street. Before the Ming Dynasty built the outer city, it was the imperial road for the emperor to travel to the Temple of Heaven and the Altar of the Earth. After the outer city was built, it became the main north-south street of the outer city. It was known as Zhengyangmen Street during the Ming, Qing, and Republican eras, and was commonly called Qianmen Street by the people. In the Ming Dynasty, Qianmen Street was the boundary between the Zhengdong and Zhengxi districts, with the east side belonging to Zhengdong and the west side to Zhengxi. Because Zhengyangmen was the main gate of the capital, the area around Qianmen Street was wider than other city gates.

The long history of Qianmen Street has given rise to many famous Chinese brands, such as Liubiju Sauce Garden, Tongrentang Pharmacy, Ruifuxiang Silk Store, Changchun Tang Pharmacy, Neiliansheng Shoe Store, Zhangyuan Tea House, Yu Shengzhai Sauce Meat Store, and Dou Yichu Dumpling Store, among others, lining both sides of the street. The entire street is bustling with people and traffic. However, Fang Mingyuan knew very well that in a few years, this famous commercial street of the capital would become a shopping center for people from other regions, with fewer and fewer old Beijing residents shopping here. The quality of the goods would also decline, and even street vendors would dominate. The renovation of Qianmen Commercial Street after 2000 made it neither Chinese nor Western, further losing the interest of the people of the capital.

However, at this moment, it was still a famous commercial area in the capital. As the four of them walked down the street, looking at the old brand stores on both sides that still retained their original appearance, Fang Mingyuan felt much better. Since he had been reborn and given this precious opportunity by heaven, he must seize it!

The future, anything is possible!

And what he needed to do was to firmly grasp the future in his own hands!