Xia Heping responded in a deep voice, "I'll go ask the captain about the specific procedures tomorrow."

Of course, he also hoped that his daughter could get this spot. If she could be recommended to go to university and then be assigned a job after graduation, Qingqing would become a city dweller from then on.

Thinking about it is one thing, but actually implementing it is another.

That night, Zhang Hongyan and Xia Heping, a married couple, didn't sleep well, their minds preoccupied with the issue of the available spots.

Xia Qingqing, who was separated from her parents by a wall, had no idea about the worker-peasant-soldier student spot. Even if the spot were offered to her, she wouldn't take it.

Although they are all college students, there is still a difference between college students who are admitted on their own merits and those who are admitted by workers, peasants and soldiers. Furthermore, those who are recommended to go to college do not have the right to choose automatically.

Xia Qingqing had long planned to apply to Beijing University; otherwise, given her background, there would have been no need for her to study so hard.

Battalion Commander Zhang Yougen's hair had turned several strands white from worry. Ever since the battalion was allocated a worker-peasant-soldier student spot, he hadn't even had time to be happy before he started to feel troubled.

In recent years, he has been envious of other brigades being allocated worker-peasant-soldier quotas one after another, and he wished that his own brigade could also get one.

It's such a source of pride to have a college graduate from our brigade.

But once he actually got the spot, his selfish thoughts surfaced: he wanted to give it to his youngest son.

Of his children, his eldest and third sons are married with children, and his second son is serving in the army, so he doesn't have to worry about him.

The only remaining son is unemployed and unmarried. He is 19 years old this year, a junior high school graduate, and fully meets the enrollment requirements for worker-peasant-soldier students.

Unfortunately, the brigade wasn't his personal fiefdom; he couldn't do whatever he wanted. Even if the team members had no objections, the brigade leaders wouldn't agree.

Today alone, several families have come to him about this spot. Everyone wants to fight for their own child. It's really a headache.

On the other side, Accountant Ding was even more worried and went bald.

He has two sons and one daughter. He and his wife are not sexist and love their youngest daughter, Ding Miao, just as much as their two older brothers. The three children get along very well.

However, once the issue of worker-peasant-soldier quotas came up, the atmosphere at home started to become a bit strange. Not to mention that the quotas hadn't even been allocated to his family yet, even if they had, they wouldn't have been distributed equally.

Accountant Ding's wife, Wang Chunxiang, watched her husband puffing on his pipe, his face not looking too good. After a moment, she said, "This spot must be given to Miaomiao."

“The eldest son’s wife is already a teacher at the village school, and Xiaopeng is still so young. She wants to go to university. Why doesn’t she just go to heaven?”

"The eldest brother is also a fool. He's completely infatuated with a woman. Doesn't he worry that his perfectly good wife will run away?"

When her eldest son first took a liking to Qi Xue'er, Wang Chunxiang wasn't very satisfied. But as a mother, how could she go against her child's wishes? In the end, she still let him marry Qi Xue'er.

Once inside, I realized that this woman was neither good at farm work nor at housework, no wonder she was so eager to marry my eldest son.

In the end, it was her own husband who managed to get her a job as a teacher at the village school. It wasn't until Qi Xue'er gave birth to another grandson that Wang Chunxiang's complaints about Qi Xue'er finally lessened.

But I never expected this woman to start causing trouble again. She's already had a baby, yet she still wants to compete with her sister-in-law for a chance to go to university. How can she be so shameless?

"Even if we don't consider the eldest son's wife, what about the second son?" Accountant Ding took a deep drag on his pipe, his brows furrowed so deeply they could almost trap a mosquito.

Wang Chunxiang looked a little awkward and mumbled, "It's only right for him, as the older brother, to be considerate of his younger sister. Besides, isn't he already engaged and about to get married? Why would someone like him go to university at this time?"

To put it bluntly, Wang Chunxiang simply favored her younger daughter a little more.

At first, Wang Chunxiang did like most people and preferred her son, after all, she had been instilled with the idea of ​​valuing boys over girls since she was a child. However, Ding Miao was more considerate than her two older brothers since she was a child.

When her children were young, only her daughter cared for her when she was sick. The little girl would bring her tea and water and stay by her side every step of the way, while her two sons would be playing wildly and disappear from sight.

Relationships between people are based on sincerity, and gradually Wang Chunxiang's heart naturally leaned towards her youngest daughter.

"We'll see when the time comes. This spot might not even go to our family. The brigade leader, the secretary, and the women's director are all eyeing it," Accountant Ding disagreed with his wife's opinion, but he didn't argue with her.

Although he loves his daughter, she will eventually get married, and if he could get the spot, he would like to give it to his second son.

As for marriage, we can discuss it later. As long as I can go to university, I can marry any kind of girl I want in the future.

——

The incident dragged on for two days, and then Captain Zhang Yougen convened a meeting with all the brigade officers.

In the end, it was decided to hold a vote. Anyone in the brigade who met the requirements could sign up, and then each household would send a representative to vote. Whoever received the most votes would go to university.

After the battalion commander announced the news, the entire battalion was filled with excitement.

Although the brigade has 78 households, not every household has a qualified candidate.

Those families who didn't sign up became the objects of everyone's vying to curry favor with.

"Mom, what are you doing?" Xia Qingqing asked, puzzled, as she watched Zhang Hongyan pack a basket of eggs into portions of six.

Zhang Hongyan said without looking up, "I'm distributing eggs, don't bother me."

"No, why are you dividing the eggs?"

When pressed again, Zhang Hongyan stopped what she was doing, her face showing a hint of worry: "I'm giving them away. The election for worker-peasant-soldier quotas is about to begin, and I want to give some eggs to the families who aren't registering, so they'll all vote for you."

Xia Qingqing's eyes widened; she hadn't expected her mother to have such a thought: "Isn't it unnecessary to go through all that trouble?"

“We must send a gift. If we don’t send gifts, but other families do, then those people will just vote for the other family.”

"Oh dear, don't worry about it so much, we don't have enough eggs at home, we need to go buy some more," Zhang Hongyan waved, signaling Xia Qingqing to go away and not disturb her while she was dividing the eggs.

Xia Qingqing's feelings were complicated. Zhang Hongyan and Xia Heping were reluctant to eat these eggs, only occasionally making a couple for her and Gou Dan. They never expected that because of her, they would give them all away without hesitation.

A determined glint flashed in her eyes as she gently put her arm around Zhang Hongyan's shoulder and whispered in her ear:

"Mom, you don't need to worry. I know some inside information. The college entrance examination will be reinstated in a few months. I can take the exam myself and won't have to go to a worker-peasant-soldier university."