Chapter 1525: Excitement
Wei Kaiyun felt a bit unhappy. Han Xiangjun had prepared a house for the children, so what kind of gift should he give to them? It felt like everything was somewhat lacking.
When they returned home that evening, everything seemed just the same as usual. The ordinary meals, the same expressions on their family’s faces. There was no noticeable change despite the good exam results and college admissions.
Their restless hearts calmed down. When they heard about the five students’ scores from the Li Family Village, they just calmly nodded. Whether they were truly calm, only they knew.
Red Army and the others finished their calls, declined Jin Erlin’s invitation to dinner, and hurried back home.
“Feifei’s outstanding score was expected, yet somehow surprising. How did she answer the test? This little sister is truly impressive,” Hongling marveled.
All three nodded, “I’ve worked very hard. When taking the exam and answering questions, I felt many inadequacies,” Changhe sighed.
All four shared this feeling.
“Time to prepare for returning,”
“Second brother, are you that confident?”
“Teacher Jiang said our scores weren’t a problem,”
Upon reaching home, they stopped directly at the brewery.
Lv Beiguang, knowing the scores of the daughter and son-in-law, son, and daughter-in-law, wore a broad smile.
Yang Xiuqin was genuinely pleased, “I’ll prepare the bedding now. They’ll need it when they start school.”
“Auntie, there’s no need. My mom has nearly finished preparing, and we have everything. Just waiting to take the wine to the Capital, and have the truck carry it over.”
Yang Xiuqin nodded, having already made cotton-padded clothes for the nine of them during the nights. This time, they’ll also take them along. Plus, she prepared 3,000 yuan, giving 1,000 to Jing Chu’s family, 1,000 to Guodong’s family, and the remaining 1,000 as living expenses for the three younger ones.
The car stopped right at the brewery. The four walked back, inadvertently glancing at the familiar houses and dirt roads they often saw in the village.
All knew they were leaving, unsure when they’d return. Even if they did, it would be in a rush, never the same life they had here.
Back home, Qu Xiaoli came out in a hurry, looking eagerly at them, but carefully refrained from asking.
“Mom, my second brother scored the top in the city’s science stream for the college entrance exam,” Cheng Lin said with a pleased smile.
Qu Xiaoli’s hands trembled with excitement. The four young men quickly gathered around, addressing her as mom and second aunt.
“Mom, I scored 429 points, second place in the city. Cheng Lin scored 426, and Hongling scored 425.”
“What about your sister-in-law? How did your sister-in-law do?”
Wang Menglin also came out from inside.
“Sister-in-law, you scored 418 points.”
Changhe handed a note to Wang Menglin, “Sister-in-law, these are the scores for Brother Xiao Chun, Sister-in-law, and Sister Xiao Zhen. We’ve called them all.”
Wang Menglin read through it, relieved; it also included Feifei and the others’ scores, with Chaoyang scoring the lowest. Nonetheless, everyone should be able to attend college.
Cheng Lin and Hongling led Qu Xiaoli into the house.
“Mom, you don’t know that some didn’t even score one hundred.
We five are in the top five, and the sixth place is more than fifty points behind my sister-in-law.”
Surrounded by her son and nephews, Qu Xiaoli looked at each, knowing they would all definitely get into college.
Wang Menglin read out other family members’ exam results to her. Even though her second son’s scores were the lowest, Red Army assured his second aunt, “Teacher Jiang said we all could get into college.”
Suddenly, Qu Xiaoli stood up, “I need to find your dad.”
“Mom, Dad knows we’re back and will surely return soon. No need to look for him, if you must, I’ll go.”
At that moment, Li Yungui returned. His hurried breathing showed his rush to get back.
“Second Uncle, here are our scores. Look, we all can get into college.”
Li Yungui’s hand trembled as he took the note. After looking it over, he suddenly turned away.
After a while, he turned back, “Good, excellent! Haha, our Old Li Family’s grave is showing smoke*, and our Li Family Village has university students now.”
Li Yungui paced around the room several times, unsure what to do or how to express his excitement.
The six in the room watched him. After about five minutes, Li Yungui finally responded, “Have you told Uncle Lv?”
“We did, on our way to park the car.”
“That’s good. Does your big brother know?”
“We called too, my dad will definitely come back once.”
“Let Jiushang pick up your big brother on Friday night.”
Wang Menglin saw her father-in-law so excited, “Dad, if anyone asks about our scores, just say them. But if they want to treat us to a meal, let’s wait until we receive the admission notice.”
“Yes, I understand, I understand, though I wonder when that notice will arrive?”
“It should be soon. Teacher Jiang said everything goes to the Capital to prepare. We told her our luggage is ready, and she’ll send them over when the wine is delivered.”
“Yes, when the time comes, you’ll take the train, and you’ll have sleeper berths.”
Li Yungui now knew many people, including at the train station, making it possible to get sleeper tickets.
Qu Xiaoli suddenly remembered, “Doesn’t that mean once the notice arrives, you’ll be leaving? There’s not much time until the Chinese New Year; you won’t be home for it?”
“We’re not sure yet. The notice will probably state when school starts,” Wang Menglin said, holding her mother-in-law’s hand.
Qu Xiaoli felt deeply conflicted, hoping the notice would come soon, yet wishing it would arrive later. If it came before the year-end, they’d leave, leaving the old couple and two grandchildren at home.
“Alright, stop overthinking. We will be happy at home, and the children have succeeded. Isn’t this what we hoped for?” Li Yungui quickly comforted his wife.
“I know, I just thought it would be wonderful if they could celebrate the New Year at home. But it’s okay. If they’re not home, they’re not home.”
At that moment, the four young men truly understood the saying a thousand-mile journey makes a mother worry.
“Right, you four haven’t eaten yet, have you?” Qu Xiaoli suddenly realized.
“Mom, I thought you wouldn’t ask. We haven’t eaten yet,” Cheng Lin said exaggeratedly.
“Alright, I’ll cook then. There’s rice in the pot and braised meat; I’ll just fry some vegetables.”
Wang Menglin and Qu Xiaoli went to prepare the meal, adding firewood to steam more rice.
Li Yungui sat on the kang, listening to the four young men discussing other county candidates’ scores. Even if he didn’t know them, he marveled at the score differences.