Chapter Six Back to Middle School

  In the morning at the dinner table, Feng Sizi had breakfast with his grandparents and aunts.

  Today, Feng Siche changed his usual low-headed eating posture, and with a straight body, he kept putting some small salted dishes that his grandparents liked to eat into their bowls. This made his grandmother say "good" repeatedly, while his grandfather didn't speak much because he didn't know what Feng Siche was thinking in his heart. Instead, Aunt Zhao Lijuan couldn't help but mutter a sentence "bootlicker!" as she watched Feng Siche being overly flattering.

  "What's wrong with flattering, at least Zhe'er has done this. You, I've supported you for so many years, but I haven't seen you be so diligent before. Besides, I also like the dishes that Zhe'er serves me." As soon as she heard her own daughter dare to scold her grandson, He Jia Yu immediately became somewhat displeased.

  "Mom." Hearing her mother say these words out loud, Zhao Lijuan's face also showed a hint of shyness. No matter what, she was already over thirty years old, and this was just too embarrassing.

  "I think your mom is right." Zhao Mingyuan suddenly added, and Zhao Lixue immediately shut up, not daring to say anything else. On the other hand, Feng Zhe chuckled and said, "Auntie is angry, so I'll give you some food, flatter you a bit, and apologize to you."

  Feng Siches' smiling face, even a bit of a hippie smile, immediately made the atmosphere at the dinner table lively. Everyone who heard his words couldn't help but chuckle. Especially General Zhao Mingyuan felt that his grandson had changed somewhat, but whether this change was good or bad, he wasn't sure yet.

  After finishing breakfast, the service staff at home naturally cleaned up the table. Eldest maternal uncle and second aunt also hurriedly tidied up and went to work, attending a meeting at the Ministry of Defense, General Zhao Mingyuan was also under his wife He Jiaoyu's "attendance" wearing a crisp general uniform, getting into a dedicated car heading towards the Beijing Military Region compound, leaving only Feng Sicheng and Auntie Zhao Yuzhu behind.

  "I'm telling you, Auntie, hurry up!" Feng Zhe urged his aunt in the courtyard. It was already 7:15 and his aunt still hadn't finished packing, she was still dressing inside the house, which made Feng Zhe anxious. In his memory, class started at 8 o'clock sharp, if they were late, he feared they would be tardy.

  "Wow, wow, wow! Today's sun is really shining from the west, isn't it? Our little Zhe also knows that he's in a hurry to go to class? Aren't you always eager to be late and get expelled? Oh, I see, is there some beautiful girl in your middle school class that you've fallen for, so now you want to go to school?

  She wore a pair of white overalls that were just popular in the 90s, with a light blue jacket on top, and inside was a black shirt with a chicken heart-shaped collar. The perfect wrapping made her prominent chest look very youthful, making 32-year-old Zhao Lijuan look more like 23 or 24."

  "Wow, if you say that Xiao Yi is beautiful, then she's indeed more youthful than Er Yi after dressing up." Feng Si Zhe's words weren't wrong. Maybe it was because she had been the youngest in the family since childhood, Zhao Li Zhu had always been a bit mischievous and liked to dress herself up, unlike Er Yi Zhao Li Shu, who was only thirty-six years old but deliberately dressed like someone over forty, as if afraid that others would think her too young.

  "Alright, you've said quite a lot today." Although Zhao Lijuan was happy to be praised by others, she couldn't help but give Feng Sicheng a dirty look when she thought about how her parents had scolded her at breakfast for saying he was sucking up.

  Feng Sicheng smiled and said, "It's often said that women love to hold grudges, looks like it's really true."

  Following Zhao Lijun, Feng Sizhe got into a military jeep and headed to the Central Party School. Even in the car, Feng Sizhe was still thinking that Xiao Yi was not only the director of the department but also the daughter of a lieutenant general. Moreover, discipline in national ministries is not very strict now, otherwise, with Xiao Yi's outfit, could she enter the public hall for work? This point is worth doubting.

  Lingzhu Feng's position is the director of the second division of the personnel department, and at her age, she has already mixed up to the deputy department level. Obviously, this is inseparable from General Zhao's promotion. Usually, it was the director of the second division who personally sent Feng Zhe to attend classes in the middle and young cadres class at the party school. For this reason, Zhao often joked that Feng Zhe, as a middle and young cadre student, had a somewhat high level, but he was just a primary student, and yet he was already letting a deputy department-level cadre serve as his secretary to pick him up.

  The car stopped at the entrance of the Party School, and Feng Lizhu hurriedly urged the driver to hurry up. Now she was already late for work, and if she delayed any further with Feng Sichao, she would really be late.

  Feng Siche bid farewell to his aunt, then took out his ID and had it checked by the armed police at the entrance of the Party School, before heading towards the Central Youth Class inside the school.

  The Central Youth Class is a short name for the training class of young and middle-aged cadres. It is a learning and training class for reserve cadres trained by the Party.

  While the Central Youth League is also divided into many types, for example, the central-level Central Youth League mainly trains provincial and municipal-level leading cadres. The Central Youth League of Feng Zhe, on the other hand, is for those who already have a high level of education but do not have any work experience. This type of Central Youth League is also called an ideological re-education crash course. The main content studied is to enable these students to quickly gain more knowledge about the party and its policies. Generally speaking, there are no connections that cannot enter this Central Youth League. However, once you enter this Central Youth League, it can be said that one foot has stepped into the cradle of politics. As long as you graduate smoothly, generally speaking, even the worst will get a positive title. Don't underestimate this positive title; many township cadres spend their entire lives trying to reach a peak.

  Feng Sicheng walked into the middle school class with a light and somewhat nervous step, after all, this was something from more than 20 years ago in his memory. To say it, he indeed felt some unfamiliarity.

  "Hey, Feng Siche is here." A young man about the same age as him saw Feng Siche and hastily shouted a sentence.

  As soon as he saw this young man, Feng Sizi was delighted. He remembered that this young man, who looked a bit shorter than himself, was called Xie Zhiyuan. His grandfather seemed to be an official at the National Grain Bureau, and his rank didn't seem low either. There wasn't much of an impression left, it seemed like he had retired not long after. That's why Feng Sizi's impression wasn't very deep. However, he was certain that his relationship with Xie Zhiyuan was very good. Even when Feng Sizi stopped being involved in politics in the previous parallel world, he still kept in touch with Xie Zhiyuan. In Feng Sizi's last memory, it seemed like in 2010, Xie Zhiyuan had become the mayor of a certain city at the age of 42, which was already very young at that time.

  "Hey, Zhiyuan." Feng Sicheng saw Xie Zhiyuan greeting him and politely waved his hand, walking over to the row of seats behind him.

  "What's wrong? Comrade Feng Sizhe, you don't want to come again, do you? Look at the time, you're almost the last one to arrive in class except for that young master from our class." Seeing Feng Sizhe sit down beside him, Xie Zhiyuan started teasing him. He knew that Feng Sizhe was not enthusiastic about attending this Young Cadres' Class, and this returnee from overseas studies seemed to be not very interested in politics and power.

  "Xie Zhiyuan, speak softly, don't let others hear." Another girl's voice sounded in Feng Sichao's ear, and it wasn't until he turned his head that he noticed the long-haired girl sitting next to him was a girl named Xu Yuanyuan. The name flashed through his mind immediately.

  In Feng Zhe's mind, there were still some memories of Xu Yuanyuan, only knowing that she was also the daughter of a high-ranking official in Beijing. At that time, Feng Zhe was not very willing to contact his classmates, so he knew very little about some people's affairs. This Xu Yuanyuan was just treated as a classmate by Feng Zhe at that time, and someone who came to visit him occasionally, so even now, he didn't know much about her and what happened to her later on.

  "Look, girls are ultimately timid, don't be afraid, he's not here anyway. Besides, we have our own freedom of speech." Xie Zhiyuan heard Xie Yuanyuan's reminder and chuckled, smiling at her timidity while talking about freedom of speech.

  At that time, the country's freedom of speech was not very obvious. People's perception of the outside world, apart from television and newspapers, was basically just rumors and hearsay. Even telephones were only available in a few places, and the reports were also moderate and mediocre. Now, when Xie Zhiyuan talks about free speech, it's actually quite laughable.

  After hearing this, Xu Yuanyuan also covered her mouth and giggled. What can I say, Xu Yuanyuan is still a pretty girl, seemingly only one year younger than Feng Zhe and Xie Zhiyuan, and it's said that she has some background too. In fact, who among those studying in the Youth Class didn't have any background at the time? It's just that everyone wasn't quite clear about each other's.

  Three people were chatting and laughing when a boy who looked obviously older than Feng Zhe and others walked into the classroom, taking big strides with a steady pace, looking straight ahead, as if there was no one else in his world, and he seemed extremely arrogant at first glance.

  As he watched the man sit down in the front row, Xie Zhiyuan snorted softly, "What's so great about him? He just has a better background, that's all. Look at him, his eyes are practically looking up to the sky." Of course, Xie Zhiyuan said this in a very low voice, only loud enough for Feng Sicheng and Xu Yuanyuan to hear.

  Feng Siche knew that this young man was indeed the Taizi Party's Wen Rujie, whom Xie Zhiyuan had mentioned earlier. However, Feng Siche was very clear that Wen Rujie, who was only one year older than him, did not have a smooth path in politics later on. Perhaps it was because he had a narrow mind and limited vision. As he grew older, his performance was not impressive, and eventually, he went into business. On the other hand, his brother Wen Ruhao became a rising star in politics, becoming the youngest Central Committee member, and might even become one of the country's future leaders.

  However, Feng Siche, who had been a social commentator in a parallel world, did not like Wen Ruhao. Most of his political achievements were based on sacrificing the interests of ordinary people, and he had not done anything truly good for the country or the nation. Moreover, when the Zhao family was struggling under the pressure of another major faction, the Lu faction, it was Wen Ruhao who had secretly manipulated things, causing the Zhao family to lose their voice in the high-level power struggle. This led to Old Man Zhao Mingyuan being unable to withstand the blow and suffering a stroke, becoming bedridden.

  Therefore, when Feng Siche saw Wen Rujie, he subconsciously regarded him as an opponent from the bottom of his heart.

  That Wen Rujie in the first row seemed to have also sensed a chilly gaze behind him, and he couldn't help but turn his head around to look towards Feng Sicheng. However, Feng Sicheng reacted quickly, and as soon as Wen Rujie moved, he sat up straight like nothing was wrong, leaving only Xie Zhiyuan still gesturing towards Wen Rujie's back with Xu Yuanyuan. It wasn't until Wen Rujie turned his head around to see Xie Zhiyuan that our comrade Zhiyuan stiffened and slowly sat down. Wen Rujie also thought it was Xie Zhiyuan discussing him, so he glanced over in their direction before turning back around.

  Looking at Xie Zhiyuan, who had become his scapegoat, Feng Zhe chuckled and shook his head. With his somewhat abnormal mental age, neither Wen Rujie nor Xie Zhiyuan could possibly surpass him. Moreover, he possessed the ability to foresee the future for over twenty years, granting him absolute precognition. In Tian's heart, he couldn't help but feel proud and confident. He believed that with his current abilities, no matter what he did, he would always put in less effort than others. However, he ultimately chose to become an official, not for any other reason, but because he didn't want to see the disappointment in his grandfather's eyes again, nor did he want to see someone riding roughshod over the Zhao family. Feng Zhe wanted to use his rebirth to change the course of the Zhao family's history and contribute to the country's development.