Chapter 26 : Father and Son
Chapter 26: Father and Son
In the afternoon when Chen Fan returned home, he unexpectedly found that his father Chen Jianye was also home.
"Dad, didn't you go to work today?"
His mother Li Jinqiu glanced at her husband.
"Your dad was anxious about how you did on the exam, so he took off early to come back."
Chen Fan laughed.
"There was no need for that, he would have found out in the evening after work anyway."
Chen Jianye glanced at his son.
Feigning nonchalance, he still couldn't help but ask:
"How did the exam go?"
"Not bad."
"What does 'not bad' mean?"
Chen Jianye exchanged a slightly anxious look with his wife, then looked at his son.
"Weren't they supposed to estimate your score this afternoon?"
Chen Fan took off his school uniform jacket and tossed it into his bedroom.
"Yeah, it's been estimated."
"How...how many points?"
"Enough for a second-tier university? A third-tier is fine too?"
The parents' hearts suddenly leapt into their throats.
Chen Fan walked over and sat beside his father, pouring himself a cup of cold white tea and drinking it down in one refreshing gulp.
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, then finally spoke.
"My estimated score is 575."
"Oh, that score should allow you to apply for..."
Chen Jianye nodded, then suddenly froze.
He looked at his son in disbelief.
"How, how many points?"
Chen Fan smiled.
"575 points, above the first-tier line."
Whoosh!
Chen Jianye abruptly stood up, losing his usual composure for the first time as a habitually calm middle-aged man.
"575...575 points."
"Damn, I didn't mishear that, did I? My son scored 575 points."
Li Jinqiu's eyes were already red, nodding vigorously.
"You didn't mishear, our son said he scored 575 points."
"Above the first-tier line."
"That's wonderful...wonderful."
"Haha, my son got into a first-tier university."
Chen Jianye excitedly paced around in a small circle, rubbing his hands together.
"Quick! Dear, go stir-fry a couple more dishes, no, there's no time for that. Go out and buy some nice ingredients, and get a couple pounds of pig's head meat too. Buy a bottle of good liquor..."
Chen Fan smiled and joked: "No need to be so dramatic, right?"
"Dad, are we not going overboard?"
"Cut the chatter!"
Chen Jianye glared at him, then broke into a laugh.
"Your old man is happy today, keep me company with a good drink tonight."
Li Jinqiu also smiled as she untied her apron.
"I'll go buy the ingredients right now."
That evening, the family of three sat together with six dishes laid out on the table before them.
This level of extravagance was only seen during Chinese New Year celebrations normally.
Chen Jianye smiled and took out two liquor cups.
"Now that the college entrance exam is over, you've become an adult. Keep your father company with a drink tonight."
Li Jinqiu glared at her husband.
"You're really going to let him drink?"
Chen Jianye laughed.
"It's fine, our son has grown up, a little bit won't hurt."
Chen Fan also smiled and said, "Mom, Dad's happy today, I'll drink a little with him."
The two men clinked cups, and Chen Jianye excitedly downed a large gulp.
Chen Fan only took a small sip.
"Come on, eat something!"
Li Jinqiu hurriedly used her chopsticks to put a piece of pig's ear on her son's plate.
That evening, the family of three merrily chatted and talked about many things.
Especially Chen Fan's father Chen Jianye, who became flushed after just two cups and spoke noticeably more than usual.
At one point, Li Jinqiu curiously asked her son which university he planned to attend.
"Yunhai University, the International Trade program in the School of Economics and Management."
Chen Fan unhesitatingly gave his answer.
In fact, Chen Fan should have applied to the Computer Science program based on his experience from his previous life.
But in order to be in the same major as Su Ruochu, Chen Fan changed his mind without a second thought.
Moreover, based on his previous life's experience, even if he did enroll in Computer Science, he likely wouldn't learn much anyway.
The professors might not even be as knowledgeable as he was.
"Yunhai University? Is that in the neighboring Yunhai Province?"
Li Jinqiu didn't understand this and curiously asked,
"Is it very prestigious? With your score, you should be able to attend university in the capital, right?"
As a down-to-earth rural housewife, Li Jinqiu wasn't familiar with these universities.
She just instinctively felt that only universities in the capital were truly good ones.
Beside her, her husband Chen Jianye knocked his liquor cup on the table with a hmph.
"What does a rural housewife like you know?"
"Our son is grown up now with his own views. He understands better than us."
Li Jinqiu glanced at her husband and said flatly, "Yes, yes, I don't understand. At least I have a high school education."
Hearing this, Chen Jianye immediately deflated.
Because he only had a junior high school education, and didn't even graduate.
Seeing his father's embarrassment, Chen Fan quickly smiled and explained,
"Mom, Yunhai University is also one of the top universities in the country, and it's a Project 985 university which is very difficult to get into."
"Another thing is that this school is close to home, just in the neighboring province. If I miss you two elders, I can come back by car anytime."
Chen Jianye raised his cup and took a sip, looking at his son with utmost seriousness.
"You understand these matters better than the two of us, so make the decision yourself."
"Remember, no matter where you go to study in the future, you must study diligently and be an upright person."
"Your mother and I don't expect you to achieve great success in this life, but you must be righteous and upstanding, never lose your conscience."
"As long as you keep your conscience, your life won't be too bad."
Chen Fan nodded.
"I'll remember that."
Chen Jianye looked at his son, hesitated for a moment, but still spoke up.
"Study hard, strive to make something of yourself, and get out of our small town."
"Never be like your father, wasting your life away."
Chen Fan's eyes reddened.
"Dad, I understand."
"I will make something of myself for sure."
After saying this, he raised his cup and clinked it with his father's.
It's unknown if it was because he had just been reborn, but Chen Fan actually got drunk that night.
He couldn't really remember how he got back into bed.
The next morning when he woke up early, his mother was cooking in the kitchen while his father was pulling weeds in the vegetable garden.
"You're up?"
Li Jinqiu glanced at her son.
"Go wash your face quickly."
"You're not allowed to drink alcohol from now on."
Chen Fan exchanged a look and a smile with his father.
He turned to go back inside, and soon came out the door squatting on the steps while brushing his teeth.
"Dad, aren't you going to work today?"
"I swapped shifts with someone, I'll go in the afternoon."
Chen Jianye stood up and patted the dirt off his hands, looking at his son.
"When will the results be released?"
Chen Fan thought for a moment.
"It seems to be the 23rd."
"And filling out the college application?"
"In a couple days, maybe the 12th."
Chen Jianye nodded, then walked over to wash his hands.
Chen Fan thought about it, then tried asking,
"Dad, Mom, I want to discuss something with you."
"What is it?"
Chen Jianye lathered up some soap while turning to look back.
"Can you give me five thousand yuan?"
Chen Jianye was stunned.
"Why do you need that much money?"
Chen Fan trotted out the reason he had prepared the night before.
"Well, summer vacation is coming up soon. I want to find something to do."
"My classmates and I have discussed signing up for a computer class together."
"If we learn it well, we won't fall too far behind when we get to university."
Li Jinqiu came out of the kitchen holding a ladle.
"Five thousand yuan is too much, isn't it?"
"That's almost as much as your father and I make in a month."
"What do you know!"
Chen Jianye glared at his wife.
"Such a narrow view."
"Our son said this is for his future studies."
"Dad will give you the five thousand."
"But..."
Chen Jianye looked at his son with utmost seriousness.
"You must understand, five thousand yuan is not a small sum, it's what your mother and I earned through hard work and difficulty."
"You must study diligently, don't waste it, understand?"
Chen Fan's eyes reddened.
"I understand."
He felt a bit guilty towards his parents, because he had lied to them.
He wasn't actually planning to use this money to learn computers.
After breakfast, Chen Fan took the five thousand yuan cash from his mother and rode his bicycle straight to the city center.
The college entrance exam was over, it was time to start promoting Yuming.com.