Clearview City, an ordinary small county-level city on the border, not particularly developed economically. It's less than five kilometers from the China-Myanmar border, and only about four kilometers from the provincial capital, Southport City. It's also Shawn Young's hometown.
A black Audi sped down the national highway toward Clearview City. After driving for more than five hours, it entered the secondary road within Clearview City's borders. Another hour ahead, and they'd be inside the city.
The road was lined with sprawling banana and sugarcane plantations—Clearview's two main cash crops and the primary income source for local farmers. Besides these, there were also some orchards and scenic garden bases along the way. Rainie Cheng, who was driving, glanced at the scenery outside the window with interest and asked Shawn Young, sitting beside her, "Hmm, the climate here is pretty nice! And there really are a ton of bananas and sugarcane. If we set up an orchard, a pond, maybe a strawberry field, that'd be great. Does your family have any land for planting?"
Shawn Young shook his head and said, "My family lives in the city—we're city folks, so we don't have land for bananas or sugarcane unless we rent it. Honestly, the farmers around Clearview live much better than us city dwellers! They have land to grow cash crops, and it's easy for them to make tens of thousands a year. But for us city people without land, many are just scraping by, and not many can say they're truly well-off."
Rainie Cheng giggled, her pretty face lighting up. "Hehe—so that's how it is. Honestly, I don't know much about your family. You should tell me more, so I don't embarrass myself when I meet your parents!"
Shawn Young replied, "Oh, my family's pretty ordinary. My dad works at a barely surviving pharmaceutical factory in the city, and my mom used to work at a state-run department store, but that went bankrupt ages ago. So these days, she's been running a fruit stall at the market to get by. My sister and I are both in school—you know my situation, and my sister's in her last year of high school, living on campus most of the time and only coming home on weekends. Honestly, we're just getting by."
Rainie Cheng asked curiously, "Oh? What about that reward money you got last time?"
Shawn Young scratched his head awkwardly and said, "I... I saved the money. My sister's doing well in school and she's about to take her college entrance exam. Going to university will cost a lot, and my parents will be under a lot of pressure, so I plan to use that money for her when she gets accepted. I haven't told my family about it, because they'd keep asking where it came from—especially my mom, she's the nagging type, and she'd definitely want to know every detail. So, I just didn't bother explaining! If my sister gets into a good university, that money will be her special reward! Hehe—"
Rainie Cheng laughed sweetly, "Haha, with a brother like you, your sister's really lucky!"