Chapter 73 Everyone turned around subconsciously to look...

Ever since Yang Xiaomei's mother went back on her word last year, Chen Pan has never visited Yang Xiaomei's home again.

In addition, during the entire Spring Festival period, she almost spent all her time answering calls in customer service at her company at home, so Chen Pan did not return to Qingshui Village for the entire winter vacation.

And since she was reborn, Chen Pan wanted to work hard to get the best grades. She always remembered what the principal of No. 6 Middle School said to her when she first transferred there, and she also remembered the special policy of No. 6 Middle School that would waive tuition and textbook fees for students with outstanding academic performance.

Although Chen Pan's family seems to have no shortage of money now, Chen Pan still wants to give it a try.

Because of these reasons, Chen Pan worked very hard throughout the second semester of the third year of junior high school.

Now she even cares less about the family business, so naturally she has no time to deal with the Yang family's affairs.

But even though she went back to the village less often, she would occasionally receive letters from Yang Xiaomei.

Compared to making phone calls, Yang Xiaomei obviously prefers writing letters.

In the past six months, she wrote a total of six letters to Chen Pan, which means she has always maintained the rate of one letter per month.

Since the other party has written to him, Chen Pan naturally won't be so cruel as to not reply.

Plus, there was a little thought in her heart: since she couldn't change her friend's family, she might as well encourage her to stand on her own. Later, when Chen Pan wrote back to the other person, she never mentioned her father and mother again, but only secretly encouraged her to study hard.

Then, let me reiterate: No. 6 Middle School offers preferential policies for the top three students from its own school and the top three students from other schools. As long as the top three students from its own school choose to continue their high school, or the top three students from other schools choose to attend their high school, No. 6 Middle School will waive their tuition and textbook fees. For students from financially struggling families, the school may even consider waiving their accommodation fees.

Of course, in addition to those, Chen Pan would occasionally ask the other party about Li Chengcai.

Regarding the incident of Chen Pan beating Li Chengcai, no one else probably knows about it except Li Chengcai himself and his busy father.

But ever since Li Chengcai blocked Chen Pan on the school bus last year, although Chen Pan and his grandfather intervened in time, there were still rumors in their village that Li Chengcai had a crush on Chen Pan, and there were even rumors that Li Chengcai was in love with Chen Pan.

Chen Pan had actually been secretly inquired about this matter. It was during the National Day holiday last year when the person her great-grandmother and sister-in-law Xiufen had sent for didn't show up. Later, Chen Pan contacted two of her classmates in Qingshui Village, who could be considered her friends, so to speak. It was from those two that Chen Pan learned about the village rumors.

The main reason the rumor hadn't reached her or her family was that it wasn't completely confirmed. Furthermore, her family was currently harvesting the village's rapeseed and wheat, and many villagers were afraid that inquiring would offend them and affect their wheat sales, so they didn't bring the matter to their attention.

As for Chen Pan's two former classmates, while their relationship wasn't particularly close, they had been in the same class since childhood. So, compared to the cautious adults, they were relatively innocent. After hearing the rumors and having questions, they came to Chen Pan's aid and asked her directly.

As for Yang Xiaomei, she should have also heard of this rumor.

After Chen Pan secretly asked the other party about Li Chengcai, she must have remembered him. Or maybe she didn't believe the rumors, but she saw a little bit of the discord between her family and the Li family. In any case, after learning about the Li family's situation from her father, she called Chen Pan in advance.

"I see. I'll keep a close eye on him. Thank you for telling me this in advance. Okay, enough about this. The high school entrance exam is coming up in just two weeks. My good friend, how have you been studying lately? Do you still remember the promise we made to strive for the top three spots in our grade at Sixth Middle School? Do you have the confidence now?"

With the attitude of "if the enemy comes, we will fight him; if the water comes, we will block it with earth", Chen Pan still focused on the high school entrance examination in half a month.

For students of their age, this is the worst thing that can happen.

"I feel like I'm doing okay academically. I've always been in the top ten in my grade. For the past year, my sister has been tutoring me every night, and we've been studying very late. You know, normally if we use electricity or read, my parents will scold us for wasting electricity and not studying well. But if we study hard, no matter how late we stay, my parents don't care. Anyway, this past year, my sister and I have been working very hard, studying until around 11pm every night."

"That's great, you're definitely in the clear this time."

Chen Pan liked to hear such words. Like a real head of the family, she held the home phone and showed the most sincere smile.

"Of course not. Even so, I'm not 100% sure that I can get into the top three in the grade. And my dad might not let me study anymore—"

Hearing the long-lost laughter, Yang Xiaomei, who was speaking on the phone at the supply and marketing cooperative, also smiled softly. But then she thought about her own family's situation, and she couldn't laugh anymore.

"Why do you care? Even if you didn't make the top three in your grade, with your current grades, you can easily get into No. 6 Middle School. The tuition for a semester at No. 6 Middle School is only 40 yuan, and the tuition and textbook fees add up to only 20 yuan. Adding the accommodation fee, it's only 80 or 90 yuan a semester. Even if you add in the cost of food, the maximum cost per semester is 200 yuan.

Xiaomei, you've also worked outside before. Do you think two hundred yuan is really a lot? Do you think you can't earn two or three hundred yuan in a month or two with your skills? Think about how much we earned in that one month last year? Summer vacation is coming soon. If you're worried about your future tuition and living expenses, we can even come back this year. If your family really doesn't want to give you money and won't let you work outside,

As your best friend, Xiaomei, I can tell you this: if you can come over, I'll use my savings and even borrow money to help you finish high school. You'll have to work hard in high school, but once you get to college, you can move away from home completely. If you attend a normal school or military academy, you won't even have to pay tuition; they'll even give you some living expenses.

Even if you go to another school, you can still get a student loan, or you can work part-time while you're in college. "Xiaomei, I know life is hard, but sometimes, if you just work a little harder, take more responsibility for yourself, or even be a little bolder and more ruthless, it's actually not that difficult."

Chen Pan was excited.

Listening to her good friend's excited encouragement, Yang Xiaomei's eyes reddened silently in the spacious village supply and marketing cooperative: "Well, I understand. Panpan, let's go to People's Park again this summer!"

"Okay, let's go to People's Park and do it again."

After hearing this, Chen Pan suddenly burst into laughter.

Yang Xiaomei didn't know why she was laughing so suddenly, but she felt that the other party must be happy about her answer and decision. Yang Xiaomei held the phone and listened quietly for a while, then she was also affected by the other party, and the corners of her mouth showed a wider and wider smile.

*

"Child, high school tuition isn't much. As long as you stick with it, your good days will begin when you go to college. My daughter is studying at a normal school in Wuhan. The government has covered her tuition for several years, and the government will also arrange a job for her after graduation. We don't give her much living expenses at school now, but they say the government will pay her living expenses every month.

"My child, if you don't have money, you can go to a normal school or military academy. That way, you won't have to worry about tuition and living expenses in the future. In any case, if you want to have a good life in a family like yours, you have to work hard to get out. You have to learn to stay away from and resist people like your father! You can't just listen to him. He's uneducated and has a very short-sighted vision."

Yang Xiaomei had just hung up the phone and was taking out the fifty cents of pocket money she had secretly hidden away when the supply and marketing cooperative boss, who had taken the money from her, suddenly said this.

Looking at this middle-aged uncle who had no relationship with her family but seemed to have been the boss of the supply and marketing cooperative since she was born, Yang Xiaomei burst into tears in the supply and marketing cooperative where no one else was before she realized what was happening.

"I've heard about your family's situation. In short, if you really want to go to school, then do your best to study, even if you have to borrow money. Once you get through these three years and actually get into university, you'll be thankful you worked so hard. Even if you're unlucky and don't get in, you can still go to a junior college, become a kindergarten teacher, or apply to be a worker in a regular company. They don't want many junior high school graduates right now, but if you have a high school diploma, you'll be eligible for their social recruitment."

Seeing that the other party was only a few years younger than his daughter, Boss Du, who was well-informed about the news from running a shop every day, put on a stern face and tried to persuade him seriously.

Although he is not from Qingshui Village, he has been working here for almost 30 years, so he is actually half a Qingshui Villager.

He could be considered to have watched the other party grow up, so after hearing their conversation through the old phone with severe sound leakage, he couldn't help but cheer her up.

"Okay, I understand. Thank you!"

That night, Yang Xiaomei left the supply and marketing cooperative in tears.

In fact, a month ago, her father told her not to continue her studies after finishing junior high school.

He also said he had already arranged a marriage for her. He wanted her to get engaged to him as soon as she graduated. After that, she would go to the city with him to work for a year or two. Then, when his family had saved enough for the betrothal gift and she had been earning money for the family for two years, they could get married when they were seventeen or eighteen.

In the past, Yang Xiaomei thought that her father said these things as a joke, testing her, or even to stimulate her to study hard.

But recently, he'd told her several times that high school tuition was too expensive and he couldn't afford it. He'd also told her several times to get engaged after graduation and go out to work to support the family. After hearing this so many times, she couldn't help but believe it, and she no longer dared to be naive.

Because she was scared, and she happened to learn from her drunken father that Li Chengcai was coming back to take the college entrance examination. Because she knew that Panpan seemed to be paying close attention to Li Chengcai, she took this opportunity to suddenly run out and call Chen Pan.

“Woooooo!!!”

Thinking about how her father had been mentioning these things to her recently.

Thinking about the more than two thousand yuan that the other party had snatched from her last year, the little girl cried even louder in the dark night.

"Hey, what are you howling about in the middle of the night? Be careful, someone might wake you up and start yelling at you!"

Just as Yang Xiaomei walked to a crossroads in Shangcun crying, someone suddenly spoke in the corner against the wall.

"..." Yang Xiaomei was frightened by the voice at first, but when she recognized the other person's voice, she was suddenly not afraid anymore: "Chen Laosi, haven't you gotten off the bus a long time ago? Why are you still here!"

Yang Xiaomei left home at seven in the evening. It was just getting dark outside when she emerged. The last bus, which had previously passed through their village but had now been rerouted through, had stopped right in front of the supply and marketing cooperative. Yang Xiaomei spotted Yang Laosi getting off the bus, carrying a schoolbag and two large handbags. Knowing he usually had one day off a week, Yang Xiaomei wasn't surprised. After catching a glimpse of him in the crowd, she quickly went inside to make a phone call. But she hadn't expected him to still be there at nearly eight o'clock.

"Why do you care why I'm standing here? I haven't told you yet why you're howling in the middle of the night." Chen Laosi, who was carrying a backpack but put the handbags in his hands on the ground, was as impatient as before.

"I—" The grievances in her heart surged up again. Looking at Chen Laoshi, whose facial features were invisible in the dark night, Yang Xiaomei said in a very low and aggrieved voice: "My father has been saying that high school tuition is too expensive recently. He told me not to continue studying after junior high school. He also said that he has found a future partner for me—for me. He said that after I graduate in a while, I can get engaged to him/her, and then—then go out to work with him/her. After working and earning money for two years, he will let me marry him/her!"

People are actually very sensitive to whether others like them or not.

Yang Xiaomei hadn't told her good friend Chen Pan about this just now. She also didn't say much when the supply and marketing cooperative boss comforted her just now.

But seeing this, I have always liked to amuse myself.

When they were in the same school, Yang Xiaomei cried and told her troubles to her fellow villager Chen Laosi, who occasionally followed her in the morning and evening, sent her off from afar, waited for her, and protected her many times.

"I—how could your father—"

Chen Laoshi was breathing heavily in the dark night. He seemed to be angry about something, but also seemed to be panicking and enduring something.

He mumbled for a moment, then took a small step forward. "Your father is a muddleheaded man. The people he knows are either workers at the cement factory or those who drink and play cards with him. Don't—don't just listen to him. If you really want to study and need money, I can lend you tuition and living expenses. Don't overthink it, I'll definitely charge you interest. But don't worry, I make sixty or seventy a month now, and my family doesn't have any urgent need for money right now."

So if you really borrow this money, I definitely won't rush you to pay it back immediately. And don't think I'm lending you money out of pity. I'm just being kind and happened to run into this situation, so I'm just feeling a little sorry for you. And after all, we've known each other since childhood and are from the same village. And before—before, when I was being scolded by others, you helped me in front of others! !

Following the other person's words, Yang Xiaomei recalled when she was very young. It was in this place that she heard others discussing Chen Laoshi's family. It was also in this place that she saw many children of the same age in the village scolding each other, saying that they deserved to be unwanted.

Thinking that she had just said a word loudly for the other person and the other person had remembered it for so long, Yang Xiaomei, who had just wiped her eyes, raised her head and burst into tears again.

*

Although he knew that Li Chengcai was coming back, Chen Pan didn't pay much attention to it for the time being.

The high school entrance exam is just half a month away, and Chen Pan really feels that studying is the most important thing now.

Their school was incredibly crowded, with five or six classes per grade, each with around 50 students. The entire high school had around 800 to 900 students, and with the junior high students included, the total number of students in their school was almost 1,000.

With so many students, Chen Pan didn’t think he would be able to find himself soon.

Moreover, her high school entrance examination is on June 25th. If the other party is really here to take the college entrance examination, he will take the exam between the 7th and 9th of next month.

Anyway, no matter how he took the college entrance examination or how he came to their school, if he really took the college entrance examination seriously, he would stay in school honestly before July 9th.

So during this period, Chen Pan felt very safe.

Thinking this way, Chen Pan deliberately forced himself not to think too much.

But no matter how she tried to comfort herself, a few days later, during class, she suddenly heard a car horn outside. Everyone turned around and looked outside, and saw a familiar tall black figure getting out of a familiar black car. Even as Chen Pan looked outside, her heart still trembled.

Just as she was looking down, she seemed to see Li Chengcai below slightly raising his head, as if he was looking at the floor where she was.

He didn't know what he was thinking, but when he came to his senses, Chen Pan subconsciously shrank his body inside.

Her life is really good now, and for the time being, Duan Chenpan really doesn't want to face that madman again. After the last incident of blocking the shuttle bus, whether Chen Pan admits it or not, she doesn't want to face him a little bit.

In her previous life, he had killed her grandmother, and in this life, she had kept him in the intensive care unit for a month. For the time being, before this body of hers truly grew up, and before her family's business was fully established, Chen Pan really didn't want to confront him again.

Anyway, at this moment, Chen Pan shamefully left the dormitory and hid away.