Er-dai listened to his father and became a hard-working student, eventually graduating from the College of Law and Business Administration of the National Northwestern University. He then went into government service, first as the youngest county chief in Sanyuan County in Fukien Province.
身不由己，資賦異人的二呆子，只有順服地走上中國傳統讀書人的路子﹘﹘經世致用、立業成家。他放棄投考蘇州藝專的心願，進入北平大學法商學院，因成績優異，一畢業就成為福建三元縣縣長，接著娶妻生子。