Chapter 375
Zhou Zedong walked out, looked at his younger brother's guilty expression, and asked him, "What did you do?"
Second Child's eyes darted left and right. "N-nothing."
Zhou Zedong: ...
Forget it, he didn't ask any further.
Today they got a new English teacher. Since it wasn't his mother teaching him, Zhou Zedong was a little disappointed, but thinking that his mother wouldn't have to teach and work so hard, he quickly accepted the change of teachers.
The new teacher was also a woman, very gentle, but her teaching wasn't as amazing as his mother's.
After class, the other students were all very disappointed and gathered around to ask him when Teacher Si would come back.
Zhou Zedong felt a bit proud. He couldn't help but lift his chin and say he didn't know.
Everyone looked disappointed.
Zhou Zedong, however, was very happy. Now his mother would only teach him and wouldn't have to teach these annoying crybabies.
They were already in the third and fourth grades, yet they still acted spoiled and cried all day, always pretending to be pitiful in front of his mother. It was unbearable; they were even more annoying than his younger brother.
In a good mood, he took out his book to read, but he smelled a familiar scent.
He subconsciously followed the scent and saw Fang Bowen, who was sitting in the first row, holding an egg pancake and eating it.
He took small bites, his eyes looking a bit panicked as he glanced left and right from time to time.
It was exactly the same as his younger brother's guilty look from this morning.
Zhou Zedong instantly understood.
Si Nian taking the college entrance examination was a major event, so much so that the Lin family from her hometown even called her.
Usually, if there was nothing important, Lin's mother would just write letters.
The fact that she made a special phone call this time was enough to show how much importance they attached to this matter.
Although they had heard that Si Nian's academic performance was very good before, taking the college entrance examination had always been extremely difficult for them.
The number of children from the surrounding villages who could get into college could be counted on one hand.
Lin Sisi used to have such good grades, but even she didn't pass.
Si Nian also had a good idea of how difficult the college entrance exam was in this era. Recently, she had done a lot of past exam papers.
She had gone through all of them from the resumption of the college entrance examination to the present.
It wasn't exactly easy, but to her, it definitely wasn't hard either.
She was practically guaranteed to pass this year's exam.
Coupled with her mature mental age, Si Nian had never panicked at all.
After reassuring her family, she took her bankbook and went out to deposit money.
She now had her own bankbook. Besides Zhou Yueshen's money, Si Nian also deposited her own salary into her bankbook.
Having worked for six months at ninety a month, plus bonuses, she already had 600.
Si Nian hadn't deposited her previous earnings, so she brought them all along this time.
Six hundred yuan was considered a small fortune.
Adding the 8,800 bride price the man gave her, the 3,000 yuan Lin Sisi returned to her, and the 2,000 she got from selling her job.
Si Nian's bankbook already had over 10,000 yuan.
She was now a ten-thousand-yuan household herself.
She would save her own money and spend her man's money.
Rounding it off, it was equivalent to not spending any money at all.
Her bankbook was kept separate from Zhou Yueshen's, for fear that the man would see her little secret stash.
The more Si Nian thought about it, the sweeter she felt. Wasn't this exactly the life she had fantasized about in her previous life?
She never expected to achieve financial freedom in this impoverished era.
When Zhou Yueshen returned home, he heard Si Nian humming a strange song while cooking.
"We are having a feast tonight."
Hearing the noise, Si Nian tilted her head and glanced at the man. Zhou Yueshen took off his jacket, revealing a white tank top underneath.
He casually wiped the sweat from his forehead. In June and July, the city was much hotter than the village.
Hearing her words, he gave Si Nian an extra glance and asked in a deep voice, "Is today a special day?"
In fact, they ate very well every day. Not to mention the children, even Zhou Yueshen had gained weight.
But because his body was all muscle, it wasn't obvious.
Si Nian subconsciously replied, "Of course it's a good day. I saved... ahem, I'm about to take the college entrance exam, isn't that a good day?"
Zhou Yueshen remembered this matter. After the swine fever passed recently, many factories were shut down overnight, causing their order volume to skyrocket, and he had been working from dawn to dusk every day.
By the time he got back, Si Nian would already be fast asleep.
He had almost forgotten that Si Nian was taking the college entrance exam.
He looked at the calendar nearby; it was June 25th.
That meant there were only a few days left.
However, she didn't seem nervous at all.
True, she had been a teacher after all.
Zhou Yueshen's voice was gentle.
"Are you confident? What school are you planning to go to?"
Si Nian stopped chopping vegetables and lowered her head slightly. A few strands of hair fell down, tickling her. "I want to go to Jing University."
Zhou Yueshen suddenly froze.
He had thought that Si Nian's goal probably wouldn't be low.
But he didn't expect her to aim for the absolute highest standard.
After a moment of silence, he replied.
"Okay."
Si Nian couldn't help but look back at him.
Zhou Yueshen was expressionless and didn't seem overly surprised.
She was, after all, someone repeating a year. For anyone else, just getting into any university would be considered incredible.
Let alone Jing University.
The best university in the country.
That was simply a fantasy.
But this man hadn't even considered such issues.
He didn't seem to think she was being whimsical either.
Si Nian withdrew her gaze and asked him, "What do you think?"
Zhou Yueshen chuckled softly, "Of course it's good."
The top educational institution in the country, could he possibly say no?
"Aren't you afraid that I'll run away once I go there?"
Si Nian continued chopping vegetables, the kitchen knife pressing against the cutting board with a rat-a-tat-tat sound.
Zhou Yueshen fell silent again.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Si Nian; he just didn't have much confidence in himself.
If Si Nian was confident enough to go to such a good school, what kind of life couldn't she have?
Why would she need to take care of three children for him and be a stepmother?
For her, this was already a stain on her brilliant life.
After Si Nian finished speaking, she received no response.
Turning around, she saw the children standing at the kitchen door, looking at her in horror.
Si Nian's hand slipped while chopping, and she almost cut herself.
...Oh no.
Second Child cried and ran over first, hugging her thigh. "Mom, please don't go. I won't be playful anymore, I will definitely study hard."
Si Nian immediately said, "I'm not going anywhere. I was just joking with your dad."
Second Child didn't believe it. He was no longer a three-year-old child; he was already seven.
In the past, there was a child's mother in the village who said the same thing and then ran away secretly.
But those families were living very poorly, and they would beat their wives, which was why they ran away.
Could it be that Dad secretly bullied Mom, so Mom wanted to run away?
Second Child figured it out and immediately said, "Mom, if you're going to run away, take me with you. I run fast, Dad will definitely not catch up to us."
"Big Brother and Little Sister can stay with Dad, because they can't run fast and will hold us back."
"Mom, don't worry, even if it's just me, I will be a filial son to you. I will raise a lot of rabbits to make money, buy you clothes and shoes, and I will study hard and never be naughty again."
Hearing this, Si Nian didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Hearing their younger brother's crazy words, Zhou Zedong and Yaoyao both darkened their little faces.
Yaoyao came over and gave Zhou Zehan a push, her chubby little face quivering with anger. "Second Brother is bad! I'm never talking to you again! I want to go with Mom too."
Zhou Zedong was older, after all. Though he was dissatisfied with his younger brother's words, he didn't dare say he would leave with their mother right in front of their father.
If he were to run away, he would do it secretly. He wouldn't be like his brother.
Even though that would make their father very pitiful, it didn't matter. He would secretly send him money in the future.
He absolutely wouldn't let his father become a pitiful, lonely old man.
Seeing that the three children were about to start arguing, Si Nian hurriedly stopped them.
"Alright, alright, I'm really not leaving."
"Mom, are you really not leaving?"
"Mom, if you don't leave, I won't leave either."
"Mom, look, I even know how to recite poetry now. I can memorize two poems a day. I'll recite them for you."
"I'll cook for you, Mom."
Si Nian looked at the three siblings and said, "Okay, okay, whatever you say."
The three little ones saw that she really didn't look like she was going to run away, and only then did they truly relax.
"Mom, go rest, I'll cook."
"Okay."
Si Nian was pushed out of the kitchen by the Second Child. Behind them, Zhou Yueshen sighed helplessly. These kids didn't have their father in their eyes at all... Whatever.
That night, Si Nian swapped places with Zhou Yueshen, stating that she wanted to sleep on the other side.
Usually, it was the man on the left and the woman on the right, but today she insisted on taking Zhou Yueshen's spot.
Simply because from this position, she could see the cabinet where she kept her bankbook.
Looking at her bankbook, Si Nian fell asleep feeling completely satisfied.
Zhou Yueshen, on the other hand, couldn't sleep. Even though Si Nian said she was joking, he couldn't help but take it to heart.
Beijing University?
It really was far away...
After Lin Sisi returned, Liu Dongdong gradually disappeared from the family compound's sight.
Whenever anyone asked, Lin Sisi would explain, "Her? My mom saw that she isn't getting any younger, so she found a few good families for her. She's probably busy with blind dates these days."
Hearing this, everyone felt that the Si family was quite nice. "I heard that girl came from the countryside where you used to live. The fact that your mother still cares enough to find her a good family means she's benefiting from your good fortune."
"Yes, she's already nineteen. It's time to find a husband's family for her."
"If you ask me, her older sister is no good, so she's probably not very clean either. I saw her running over to the Fu family's house before. I'm not trying to ruin your relationship, but as an unmarried girl, Sisi, you should be careful."
Lin Sisi tightened her grip. It turned out that everyone knew about this, and she was the only one kept in the dark all along.
"Alright, alright, let's not talk about that anymore. I heard Sisi is going to take the college entrance examination, right? Are you confident?"
Lin Sisi was from the countryside and had even been to prison.
The fact that she was actually thinking about taking the college entrance examination now inevitably drew more attention to her.
After all, education in the countryside wasn't very good. It was said that in some villages, you couldn't even find a single college student.
For Lin Sisi to even consider taking the exam was quite surprising.
It had been more than a year since Lin Sisi was recognized and brought back, but people didn't know her very well. Now, they couldn't help but wonder just how capable she really was.
Was she really brave enough because she had good grades, or was she just putting on an act?
Lin Sisi, however, was quite confident. She said, "I can't guarantee a top-tier prestigious university, but I can definitely get into a college. Thank you all for your concern."
Everyone was astonished to hear this.
Other people were always nervous and afraid during the college entrance examination, terrified that they wouldn't pass.
How could she be so certain that she would get in?
If she really could get into a university, then she wouldn't be considered a bad match for Fu Yang anymore.
"Then we'll wait for your good news."
"I heard that since Fu Yang came back from the Northwest, he's been staying at the military base for training and hasn't come back much. If he finds out you got into college, he'll definitely come back to celebrate with you, right?"
"Yeah, it's such a big deal."
Thinking of Fu Yang, everyone couldn't help but feel curious again.
They heard that something had happened back then; there was an accident during his mission, and Fu Yang was seriously injured.
Since that incident, Fu Yang rarely appeared in the public eye.
When Lin Sisi was released from prison, acquaintances came to visit, but not even a shadow of him was seen.
No one knew what was going on.
Hearing this, Lin Sisi lowered her head shyly.
She had also heard about Fu Yang's situation.
She figured that Fu Yang must have suffered quite a blow.
Lin Sisi had also gone to the Fu family to ask about the situation, but they were very dismissive.
Lin Sisi didn't know what was happening either.
Therefore, she was now eager to start the college entrance examination as soon as possible.
As long as her results came out and she got into a university, Fu Yang would surely look at her in a new light.
In her previous life, he had initially treated Si Nian like a mere vase, ignoring her just like he was doing to her now.
But later, after Si Nian left, didn't he fall in love with her anyway?
Lin Sisi felt that she understood Fu Yang very well. She knew that he liked independent women who could stand shoulder to shoulder with him.
On the eve of the college entrance examination, the Si family even specially invited acquaintances over for a meal.
Now, basically the entire family compound knew that Lin Sisi was going to take the exam.
The Fu family naturally knew as well, but they had no intention of showing any reaction.
Even if Lin Sisi turned into a flower, Mother Fu was in no mood to let her son continue his relationship with her.
Especially since the Si family was using Lin Sisi's college entrance examination as a threat to prevent them from getting a divorce, dragging it out time and time again.
Mr. and Mrs. Fu were both extremely angry.
If it weren't for the fact that they all lived in the same family compound and tearing each other's faces apart in a big scene would be too ugly, they absolutely would not have allowed this to happen.
Since Lin Sisi wanted to take the exam, fine. They would watch closely and see if she could actually achieve anything spectacular.
Since Si Nian was taking the college entrance examination, Yu Dong also volunteered, saying that he would treat his sister-in-law to a meal after the exams were over.
In the past, he always went to the Zhou family's house to freeload meals, but now he was a restaurant owner himself.
Yu Dong also planned to secretly learn some cooking recipes from Si Nian to make his restaurant flourish.
Actually, at first, Yu Dong was very annoyed at being forced to go home and inherit the restaurant.
His old man said that if he could make it successful, he would let him manage the family property in the future.
At the time, Yu Dong was thinking about how to run the restaurant into the ground. That way, his dad would realize that his son had no talent for business and wouldn't make him manage it anymore.
But later, when he saw Fu Qianqian's workplace organizing a meal at his restaurant and saw her surprised expression, Yu Dong changed his mind.
He decided he was going to make the restaurant flourish!
Si Nian taking the college entrance examination was also a major event for the Zhou family.
For the past few days, they hadn't let her do any chores, allowing Si Nian to prepare for the exam in peace.
In the evening, while Si Nian was calmly taking a bath, Zhou Yueshen had already started packing the stationery she would need for the exam.