Ethan Franklin faced his father's intense gaze calmly and said, "Dad, I've already told you, everything I said to Director Lawson was the truth. If you don't believe me, I can prove it to you..."

At this, he grabbed some paper and a pen, and without hesitation, wrote a few lines, handing them to Liam Franklin. Both Liam Franklin and Susan Harris leaned in to take a look. On the paper were clearly several different scripts. There was English, which Liam Franklin could recognize; there was also German—Liam Franklin had learned a few phrases from William Franklin, so at least he could tell it wasn't fake; as for Japanese and Russian, their features were obvious; the last script was unfamiliar to the couple, but according to Ethan Franklin, it was Spanish, and Liam Franklin and his wife could only accept that.

"Xiaochen, when did you learn so many things? Why have you never told us?"

Susan Harris was delighted. Her son could write in all these languages—even if it was just a phrase or two, it was still impressive. In recent years, society's atmosphere had changed; whenever colleagues gathered, two out of three sentences were about their children's studies. At such times, Susan Harris never dared to speak up—both her sons only had junior high diplomas, and couldn't compare to those "study god" kids aiming for college.

But now it was different. It turned out her own son was the real "study god." At best, other people's kids might get into a technical secondary school or junior college, but could they learn five foreign languages? Her son had learned five foreign languages from her late father-in-law, and even the big leaders from the capital admired him, specifically wanting to transfer him to Beijing for important work, with a formal position and central government salary and benefits...

Well, even if she made up the rest, who could expose her? If you don't believe it, let your son go to Beijing and ask around. Or do you want my son to show your son the way?

"Xuezhen, Xiaochen is going to Beijing, and he's leaving in just a few days. We need to get things ready for him quickly," Liam Franklin called out, snapping Susan Harris out of her daydreams about Sagittarius. With a bit of "waking up grumpiness" from her interrupted fantasy, she glared at her husband, but then started to get anxious too:

"Oh dear, that's right, why is it so sudden? Going to Beijing—that's up north, the water freezes in winter! He'll need cotton-padded clothes and pants, right? The quilt needs to be thick, at least eight jin. Old Franklin, can you still find that old cotton-fluffing master? Oh, and more importantly, you can't dress too casually in Beijing, or people will look down on you. Xiaochen, tomorrow I'll take you to the department store to buy some fabric and make a few good outfits. Old Franklin, try to borrow some fabric coupons—we don't have enough at home..."

"Uh... isn't that a bit much?" Ethan Franklin was speechless again. "Mom, Beijing is cold, but they have heating. It's not cold indoors. I won't need cotton-padded clothes and pants; just bringing my army coat from home is enough. As for a thick quilt, that's even less necessary—the rooms in Beijing are warmer in winter than here."

"How do you know?" Susan Harris stared at Ethan Franklin, puzzled.

"...That's what Director Lawson told me. Also, that's how it's written in the novels I've read..." Ethan Franklin had to shift the blame—he couldn't exactly say he'd lived in Beijing for over twenty years in a previous life and knew the city better than Xinling, could he?

"Hey, that reminds me of something..." Liam Franklin, worthy of being the head of the family, managed to think of something even more important amid all the excitement:

"Xuezhen, Xiaochen is a temp worker at the Metallurgical Bureau, a position arranged for us as part of implementing Dad's policy. Now that Xiaochen is leaving the Metallurgical Bureau and his job in Beijing isn't connected to the bureau, doesn't that mean his temp position will be vacant?"

"Hmm?" Susan Harris was stunned for a moment, then immediately caught on. She turned to look at Lucas Franklin, her face lighting up. "That's right, Xiaochen doesn't need the position anymore, so Little Lucas can use it. That solves Little Lucas's job problem."

Back then, job opportunities were a kind of private property—whoever held a spot could pass it down for generations. Officially employed workers, when they reached retirement age, could pass their jobs to their children; this was called "replacement." Ethan Franklin's temp position at the Metallurgical Bureau had been allocated to the The Franklin Family as part of policy implementation. Now that Ethan Franklin didn't need it, it could naturally be passed to Lucas Franklin—this was only right. Liam Franklin and Susan Harris didn't even need to consider whether the Metallurgical Bureau would agree, because there was simply no reason for them to object.

Ethan Franklin hadn't thought of this before, and was a bit surprised when his parents brought it up. After a second's pause, Ethan Franklin waved his hand and said seriously, "Dad, Mom, don't get ahead of yourselves. There's something else I want to talk to you about."

"What is it?" both Liam Franklin and his wife asked.

"I want Little Lucas to open a shop," said Ethan Franklin.

"Open a shop?" Once again, the couple was shocked by their eldest son's words—no less than when Ethan Franklin told them he was going to work in Beijing.

"What kind of shop? How can Little Lucas open a shop?" Susan Harris asked, confused.

Ethan Franklin said, "The country now allows private businesses. Aren't there already a private restaurant and a private store on our street?"