Zhang Hongyan and Xia Heping nervously rubbed their hands as they watched the leaders sitting in their main room.

"Comrade Xia, you have a wonderful daughter. Qingqing has brought great honor to our Pingxi County," a square-faced leader said with a smile.

There are so many counties in the entire Southern Province, but there is only one provincial top scorer in the college entrance examination, and that top scorer comes from their Pingxi County. Now, the entire Pingxi County is going to become famous in the Southern Province. Thinking of this, the leader felt extremely excited.

Xia Heping scratched the back of his head somewhat embarrassedly: "It's mainly because the child loves to study; we parents didn't do much."

"Comrade Xia, there's no need to be modest. Besides delivering the bonus, I also wanted to meet our provincial champion. We have other matters to attend to in the county, so we'll be leaving now," the square-faced leader said, then paused, gesturing to the young man holding a camera beside him.

"By the way, this is Comrade Fan, a reporter from the newspaper. He's here specifically to interview Qingqing. This is such a joyous occasion that we should publish it in the newspaper."

Zhang Hongyan had noticed the young man long ago, after all, the camera he was carrying on his chest was too eye-catching. When she heard that he was taking pictures of her daughter and that her daughter was going to be in the newspaper, she was so happy that she almost fainted. She immediately urged Xia Qingqing to go back to her room and change into some new clothes.

"Wear the new dress Mom made for you for Chinese New Year, hurry up and go."

Xia Qingqing didn't want to go through all that trouble. The photos and newspapers were all black and white these days, so changing clothes wouldn't make much difference. But she couldn't persuade Ms. Zhang Hongyan, so she had to go back to her room and change into a new cotton coat.

Xia Qingqing cooperated with the reporter to complete the interview before taking photos.

"Excuse me, reporter, could you please take a family photo of our whole family? I'm willing to pay," Xia Qingqing asked the young reporter after taking her individual photo.

In this day and age, without cell phones or computers, you have to go to the county to take a picture. If there's a camera readily available, why not use it?

Fan Wenwei was momentarily stunned by Xia Qingqing's smile, but when she spoke to him, he immediately replied, "Of course, no need to pay."

"That won't do. I'd like to trouble you to take a few more pictures for us. How about one yuan per picture?" Xia Qingqing remembered that the photo studios in the county seemed to charge around that price.

Fan Wenwei quickly waved his hand: "No need, no need. If you really want to give money, just give me 50 cents a piece."

Xia Qingqing didn't mind taking a couple more photos; his job today was to take pictures of her. However, if he took too many, the film company wouldn't reimburse him.

He was hesitant to sponsor the film for free, so he only charged about the cost of the film.

Xia Qingqing's insistence on giving money made Fan Wenwei's impression of her even better. As expected of the provincial top scorer, she was unwilling to take advantage of anyone.

When Zhang Hongyan and Xia Heping heard that Xia Qingqing wanted to take a picture of the whole family, they immediately wanted to object.

They're all so old, what's the point of doing this? It's a waste of money.

"Mom and Dad, this is a rare opportunity. When we get old, we can take these photos out as keepsakes. In twenty or thirty years, we can still see how we look now. Isn't that wonderful?" Xia Qingqing tried her best to persuade her parents.

This did indeed tempt Zhang Hongyan and her companion, who agreed to take the photo.

Xia Qingqing made a series of arrangements, and Zhang Hongyan and Xia Heping took several photos together, as well as a solo photo of Gou Dan and a family photo of the four of them. In the end, a total of 7 photos were taken.

Xia Qingqing insisted on giving Fan Wenwei 5 yuan. She didn't care whether he made a profit or not, she couldn't let him lose money.

She had also arranged with Fan Wenwei that she would go to the county newspaper office to get the photos herself, without having to trouble him to bring them over.

As soon as the leaders and reporters left, the neighbors immediately surrounded Xia Heping and his wife.

They showered them with all sorts of sweet words as if they were free.

Xia Qingqing's face was almost frozen from smiling.

Everyone envies Xia Heping and Zhang Hongyan for having such a wonderful daughter; it must be a blessing from their ancestors.

Many families in the brigade thought that education was useless, and not only were girls not allowed to study, but many boys were also not allowed to study. Now, people's ideas are starting to change.

Many families are starting to consider sending their children to school. They don't even dare to dream of their children becoming provincial top scorers. But if one of them becomes a college student, wouldn't that be a stroke of good luck for their ancestors?

While praising Xia Heping and his wife, some people also mocked the old man and woman, saying that they were blind to their daughter's worth and did not cherish her, but instead spoiled their useless eldest grandson.

"She's just a little girl. No matter how capable she is, she belongs to someone else. She can't carry on the Xia family line," Old Mrs. Xia said firmly, her goal of spoiling her grandson unwavering for a hundred years.

But what she was really thinking is unknown.

However, while she could ignore her granddaughter Xia Qingqing, who had a bright future, Xia Laoda and Xia Laosan could not; both of them wanted to try to get involved with this niece who was the top scorer in the province.

Therefore, the two began to try to ease their relationship with Xia Heping, constantly saying that they were all brothers and it was only right for them to take care of each other, without mentioning their neglect of Xia Heping as a brother over the years.

Wang Xiaofen was clearly smarter. She encouraged her son to play more with her older brother Gou Dan, and also sent her eldest daughter, Xia Xiaodou, to visit Xia Qingqing and ask her for help with her studies.

If it were her two sisters-in-law coming to visit, Zhang Hongyan might have given them a cold shoulder, since their relationship wasn't really good back then.

But once the child is at the doorstep, there's really no way to stop them from coming in.

Xia Qingqing looked at the little girl standing outside her room and gently waved to her: "Is this Xiaodou? Come in quickly."

She wasn't very familiar with this younger cousin; they had met but never spoken.

Xia Xiaodou blushed shyly and whispered, "Sister Qingqing, my mom asked me to come and play with you."

Xia Qingqing was slightly taken aback. She hadn't expected the child to be so honest, but her impression of her improved.

The two looked at each other, and the air was somewhat quiet. She really didn't know what to do with a 10-year-old girl.

"Xiaodou, what do you usually do at home?"

"Take care of my younger siblings and help Sister Daya with the chores," Xiaodou said honestly. Her younger sister, Xiaomi, was only 3 years old and needed someone to look after her, so this task naturally fell to her.

However, Xiaomi is very well-behaved, and she finds taking care of her quite easy.

Then, when I have free time, I help with tasks like starting a fire, picking vegetables, and feeding the chickens—things I can manage.

Xia Qingqing didn't find it strange. Nowadays, many people have children, but adults need to work in the fields every day, so older children have to take care of younger ones.

In a few years, the one-child policy will be fully implemented. At that time, you won't be able to have more children even if you want to; if you are found out, you will be fined.

"Sister Qingqing, I've heard everyone say that you're a top student and even better than the boys. I'll be able to go to school in the second half of the year," Xia Xiaodou said, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Xia Qingqing. She wanted to be like Sister Qingqing.

Xia Qingqing smiled at her: "That's great. You should study hard. But I probably won't be home when you're at school. If you have any questions, you can ask Gou Dan."