Chapter 48: The 1990s Teacher Supporting Character Who Despises the Poor and Favors the Rich (End)

In the corruption case involving the compensation funds for land acquisition in Fangjia Village, it ended up implicating more than just the few cadres of the village committee.

From the city to the town and down to the village, a whole chain of people were uprooted. From top to bottom, the amount involved reached tens of millions.

As a small-time player, Uncle Fang alone had embezzled over 1.5 million. When he was stealing money, he was bold. But once he ended up in the detention center, he became timid and tried everything to get a lighter sentence, constantly revealing information.

All the embezzled funds had to be returned in full. He even had to pay a fine of over 300,000 and hand over more than 400,000 yuan in compensation money that he had privately taken from Fang Yuwei.

The Fang family fell into misery overnight. Much of the embezzled money had already been spent on eating, drinking, and having fun. In order to get more compensation, they had spent a lot of money building a house.

These were illegal actions. The extra compensation funds were invalidated, and all the money they had thrown in was wasted.

On top of that, Fang Feng hit someone and not only had to pay medical expenses but also got involved in a lawsuit.

After one thing and another, the Fang family was left with barely any money.

Let alone buying a luxury car—if they could afford to buy houses for each son, it would already be a blessing. The village land had been requisitioned. If they didn’t buy houses, the entire family would be left homeless.

Unfortunately, at such a critical moment, Fang Wei got addicted to gambling. He dreamed of getting rich overnight and regaining his dignity.

After the village got rich from demolition, many people started targeting them. Some even offered car service just to take them to gamble. Fang Wei was flattered and won a little money a few times. Fang Zhou couldn’t resist temptation and went with him.

In one night, they could win several hundred or even thousands of yuan. With good luck, they could win a few thousand. How could working ever earn them that much?

The two brothers were completely addicted and told Aunt Fang that they had made a lot of money from some investment project.

Aunt Fang, clueless, believed them. She only waited for her sons to make a fortune and turn the family’s fate around. When Fang Wei and Fang Zhou asked for seed money, she gave it to them bit by bit without hesitation.

The two were already consumed by madness. To get more money, they didn’t care about anything and made up all sorts of excuses.

Uncle Fang, after handing in the embezzled funds and paying the fine, was sentenced to four years and three months.

He still thought that there was demolition money at home. Once he got out of prison, he could still live well. By then, he could think of ways to make big money.

Before the debt collectors came to the Fang family’s door, Aunt Fang thought the same.

Because Fang Wei and Fang Zhou told her that there was a rare national project. If she invested 100,000, she could double it in a month and triple it in six months. If she kept investing, the interest would keep compounding and she could earn millions.

She wasn’t greedy. She planned to withdraw it after six months. By then, it would still be a huge sum.

While she was imagining this, someone knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” she walked outside.

“Is this Fang Wei and Fang Zhou’s home?”

“Yes.”

…

After hearing what the person said, Aunt Fang’s eyes widened in shock. She found out that the money Fang Wei and Fang Zhou had taken wasn’t used for business but for gambling.

Not only had they lost everything, they even owed 250,000 yuan in high-interest debt.

She fainted on the spot.

At that time, debt collectors were aggressive and ruthless. Fang Wei and Fang Zhou didn’t dare to return home and ran off to live like vagrants.

When Fang Feng found out that the family’s money had been gambled away, he immediately got into a violent fight with Aunt Fang. Fang Wei and Fang Zhou’s wives had only married in for the money and had been treated poorly. After giving birth, they took the last bit of cash in the house and disappeared without a trace.

They left behind two crying infants.

Aunt Fang cried out to heaven and earth, cursing everyone in despair.

Fang Feng’s wife originally wanted to live well at home and give the child a complete family. But seeing this crazy mother-son duo, she couldn’t stand that kind of life. She packed up and, one night, left with the child when Fang Feng wasn’t looking.

From then on, the Fang family’s life could only be described as miserable. Aunt Fang got too worked up and had a stroke.

But what could she do? She dragged her paralyzed body and continued to live in hardship.

They couldn’t go back to the countryside, nor could they afford a house. In the end, they were forced to rent a dilapidated rural house to live in.

After winning the lawsuit, Fang Yuwei stopped paying attention to the Fang family. These things were all told to her by Lin Yan.

Lin Yan also told her, “The redistributed compensation funds will take some time to be credited. The land-loss insurance will follow too. As long as you meet the qualifications, not a single person will be left out. You’ll be notified when it’s time to process it. I’ll go with you.”

There was a large amount of money involved, and everything related to land acquisition had to be re-investigated and reassigned. This time, each case would be confirmed individually, and many steps had been added to the process.

Something this big had happened, and many eyes were watching. With a batch already sent in, the person in charge wouldn’t dare be careless. Not only would the person involved need to be present, but multiple signatures were also required for confirmation.

Fang Yuwei nodded.

She met the requirements too.

When Lin Yan and Fang Yuwei returned to Fangjia Village to process the paperwork, many women who had married outside the village also came back. They looked happy. When they saw her return, their eyes were filled with gratitude. Some older women even had tears in their eyes and said to her, “They say that thirty-something thousand yuan of the compensation money is all for us.”

Before, people in the village said it was for their natal brothers. Their families believed it too. Some kind-hearted brothers would give them a few thousand, while others gave them nothing and even cut ties, afraid they’d come asking for money.

“If it was meant for you, then it’s yours. Didn’t the law say it? Men and women are equal and enjoy the same rights,” Fang Yuwei said firmly.

“Yes, men and women are now equal with no gender distinction,” she murmured, wiping her tears and choking up. “My daughter didn’t marry well and doesn’t even have a house. Once I have the money, I will buy her a house so she can have a place to settle down.”

Their generation had suffered a lot. Many grew up not having enough food or clothing and had to learn to do housework from a very young age. After getting married, they still had to support their natal families and spent their entire lives being drained by them.

Women who had not yet awakened continued to oppress their daughters, resulting in tragedies repeating from one generation to the next.

It was precisely because the issue in Fangjia Village had stirred up such a commotion that, during subsequent land acquisitions, those with ill intentions no longer dared to withhold shares from girls. In some urban villages, girls could not only receive money but also shops and plots of land.

They enjoyed equal treatment just like the boys.

Everyone mentioned Fang Yuwei with gratitude and felt fortunate to have stood up with her back then and fought for their own rights.

Fang Yuwei later became a key teacher. Her public class won an award at the provincial level, making her widely known. Coupled with her reliable character and serious attitude, countless parents came to her by name, wanting her to teach their children.

Yang Liyu was the most gifted student among those Fang Yuwei had taught. After entering the city’s top middle school, he became unstoppable, consistently ranking first in his grade every time. Ever since he reached the top, no one could surpass him for three years.

Every year on Teacher’s Day and during winter and summer vacations, Yang Liyu would come to see Fang Yuwei and would bring toys for the two little kids. Sometimes it was a remote-controlled race car, sometimes a doll, sometimes building blocks…

Of course, sometimes it was practice questions.

As soon as Yang Liyu arrived, Xiao Yangyang would be thrilled and run over excitedly. But when he saw it was practice questions, he would pull a long face and flee faster than anything else.

This would make Fang Yuwei burst out laughing.

Later, Yang Liyu was admitted to the top provincial high school with a full scholarship and tuition exemption.

However, he did not seem to care much about getting into high school. The first thing he was concerned about was whether Fang Yuwei had been accepted into the postgraduate program for in-service teachers.

“I got in, yes, Normal University. It’s not far from your high school,” said Fang Yuwei.

Yang Liyu asked, “When do classes start?”

Fang Yuwei replied, “During the winter and summer vacations.”

“I’ll be working a part-time job in the provincial capital during the holidays. I’ll treat you to a meal then.”

Over the years, Yang Liyu had become more mature and had grown taller than her. Fang Yuwei smiled gently and said, “You’re still a kid. How could I let you treat me?”

That one word — “kid” — made a flicker pass through Yang Liyu’s eyes. He pursed his lips and, for the first time, did not stubbornly refute her.

Three years later, while Fang Yuwei was busy with graduation matters for her postgraduate studies, she received a call from Yang Liyu.

“Teacher, the results are out—”

As she listened to his casual tone over the phone, her hand gripping the phone turned pale from how hard she was squeezing it, and the corners of her mouth lifted higher and higher into a smile.

That evening, the fireworks at Tahe Town Central Primary School were several times louder than when four students from a single class had been admitted to the city’s top middle school six years ago. Banners were nearly strung all the way to the city.

The top middle school also continued the celebration. Firecrackers filled the nearby streets with smoke, and the city’s main roads were covered in banners.

The two schools seemed desperate to announce to the world that Yang Liyu, a student who once attended their school, was the year’s top scorer in the provincial science exam.

The top scorer in science.

Enough for two principals and the teachers who had taught him to brag for a lifetime.