Chapter 116

The admission letter arrived in the evening.

After resting for a night, Jiang Ning returned to the training team. When he came back for dinner in the evening, he heard the good news and couldn't help but smile with tears in his eyes.

She looked at Jiang Bai, who buried his face in his arms, crying silently, and wiped his face with the sleeve at his shoulder, and thought of their conversation many years later.

Many times, she asked him if he regretted it?

He firmly said that he had no regrets.

Only that time, she asked him if he regretted not repeating his senior year to go to college.

He was silent for a long time and said that it was no use to regret.

He said that he lay on the cold ground to repair the car in winter, and even with something under him, he still coughed from the cold.

He said his ears were cracked and bleeding from the cold, and the backs of his hands were all cracked from the cold. People from the barber shop next door were inside, looking at him outside, pointing and laughing at him.

He didn't know what those people were saying, but he knew they were laughing at him. He said that after so many years, he still remembers that scene.

He also laughed and said that in the summer when the sun was scorching hot with temperatures of 30 or 40 degrees, the ground temperature was very high. He lay under the car while repairing it, and beads of sweat as big as soybeans rolled into his eyes, stinging him so that he couldn't open his eyes. His body was dirty but he couldn't wipe it off.

But even such days were the stability he had achieved after working hard for a long time.

Have your own store, your own house, your own job, and earn your own money steadily.

She believed that what he said in the first few years was true.

I also know that after experiencing years of hardships in society, he truly regrets the choices he made in his youth.

Now, maybe he will have fewer hardships and regrets in the future, right?

Thinking of this, Jiang Ning also smiled.

After receiving the university admission letter, they had to prepare to go to Shanghai in advance to prepare for military training, but before that, he called Jiang's father and told him the good news.

After learning that his son had received the admission letter, Jiang's father's heart seemed to be filled with something all of a sudden, as if some regret had finally been filled. He smiled and said, "Good job, study hard. As long as you can study, I will support you to study for a master's or doctoral degree. Have you and your sister's bankbooks been opened? I'll transfer them to you."

It was a big deal for her son to go to college, so Jiang's mother didn't skimp on his tuition, but she was reluctant to give him too much for living expenses: "Ten yuan a month is not enough, how much will it cost? How much did we earn a month working in the past two years?"

"Besides, he's already 18 years old. Most people get married and have sons at the age of 18, and become the backbone of a family. He's eating and spending all the money at home now. Can't he go out and earn money during the winter and summer vacations? How much money can he spend at school?"

Jiang Ma herself is a very frugal person. To what extent is she frugal? Ever since Jiang's father braised duck feet, he realized that braising is convenient. All he has to do is wash them clean, add the marinade bag, put the ingredients in a large steel bucket, and cook them on the stove. This can bring him some extra income.

So I bought dried tofu, chicken legs, duck legs, duck heads, duck necks, chicken feet and duck paws, and put them in the pot together to stew.

Jiang Ma is responsible for cleaning all the ingredients at home. She sees that the chicken legs and duck legs are very big and plump. After cleaning them, she cuts off a thumb-sized piece of meat from the top of the chicken legs and duck legs without affecting their complete appearance.

They have only been selling braised food for a few days now, and they can sell about a hundred duck legs and chicken legs every day, which means that she can cut two large bowls of duck meat and muscle pieces from these duck legs and chicken legs. She marinates all these thumb-sized pieces of chicken and duck meat to make cured chicken and duck meat.

Jiang's father thought it was troublesome and told her not to do it. Jiang's mother argued: "I can save two bowls of meat a day. In a year, I can save at least dozens of kilograms of cured chicken legs and duck legs." She glared at Jiang's father and said: "Don't think that we have made some money this year and want to spend it lavishly. This meat may seem small, but when you go back home for the New Year, you must bring something back. When I go back to my mother's house or visit relatives and friends, I will bring this bowl of cured chicken legs. It is more delicious than anything else!"

Jiang's father laughed. After all, it was Jiang's mother who did it, so it wouldn't be a problem for him. He smiled and said, "Okay, cut it whenever you want." Jiang's mother cut the meat in a very clever way, and the cut was not big. Others couldn't tell that there was a finger-sized piece of meat missing from the chicken or duck leg.

The same is true in life. The biggest conflict between her and Jiang's father is that Jiang's father spent an extra dollar or fifty cents.

Every time, Jiang's father felt that it was not worth arguing over such a few cents or a dollar. In order to avoid arguing with her, he might as well keep some money for himself and not tell Jiang's mother how he spent it. This way, he could avoid quarrels.

But for Jiang's mother, who has been accustomed to spending every penny carefully for so many years, wasting money and spending money recklessly is a huge sin for her. Not to mention arguing over fifty cents or a dollar, she thinks it's worth arguing even if Jiang's father spends one more cent.

She was really scared of the poverty and hardship she had experienced in the past few years.

In order to save on vegetable costs, they not only had to ride ten kilometers every day to the wholesale market to buy ingredients, but also when Jiang's father was selling lunch boxes, Jiang's mother had nothing to do after washing and cutting vegetables, she would reclaim an acre of wasteland behind her house and plant potatoes, corn, peanuts, cabbage and other vegetables.

In Jiang Ma's own words, it's just a little tiring when you start working the fields, but in the future it's just watering the fields every day, it's a simple thing, why bother?

The couple, one is always thinking about how to increase income, while the other is always thinking about how to reduce expenditure.

After sending Jiang Bai's tuition and part of his living expenses to Jiang Bai, Jiang's father secretly sent Jiang Ning's tuition to her and told Jiang Bai to call him again if the money was not enough.

Jiang Ning received the eight hundred yuan from Jiang's father and didn't say anything.

She had the right to take the money. Not to mention that she was still a minor, it was also his responsibility to support her. Over the years, Grandpa Jiang had used all his salary to subsidize Dad Jiang. Even if she didn't use the money, wasn't it her duty to honor Grandpa Jiang?

Jiang Ning's training team had to attend classes and couldn't leave, so Grandpa Jiang took Jiang Bai back to the village to worship their ancestors.

The cattle herders on the embankment saw Grandpa Jiang coming back and asked him curiously, "Old Fa Cai, you and your little grandson can't come back for the double robbery. The double robbery is over. Why are you back? The double robbery was because your eldest son's housework was not finished, so you hired people to do it."

Grandpa Jiang walked slowly on the embankment with his back hunched over, and shouted to the cattle herders below: "My little grandson has been admitted to university, I have to come back and tell our ancestors about it!"

The water in the Shahe River has receded. After the double-crop rice harvest and rice seedling planting, the pumps of the hydropower station began to pump water day and night. However, due to the heavy rain this year, the riverbed has not been exposed even after three days and three nights of pumping. Therefore, we cannot go fishing on the river beach like we did last year.

The rain made the grass on this side of the river bank lush and abundant. Every day, the old people and children drove the cattle to graze on the river bank, and the children jumped into the river to fish or pick lotus pods.

The old people were not as energetic as the children, so they watched the children, making sure they didn't drown. They also picked some water chestnuts and lotus pods for their children to eat, and then sat on the river bank and chatted.

After hearing Grandpa Jiang's words, the old people sitting on the riverbank could no longer sit still. They stood up and ran towards Grandpa Jiang. Looking at Jiang Bai who was supporting Grandpa Jiang, they said, "Is it true? Did your second son really get into college?"

Grandpa Jiang's face was as happy as a blooming chrysanthemum. His deep wrinkles were stretched out, and his hunched back was straightened a little. He said proudly, "Of course I'm here to worship our ancestors, and I'll report to school when I go back!"

He couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth. He wanted to pretend to be calm, but he couldn't.

The other old men all looked at Jiang Bai, who had grown to a tall and thin 1.82 meters. "You are so good, your second son looked quiet when he was young. Everyone said your eldest son was smart and had a chance to go to college, but who knew that the eldest son didn't make it, but the second son did!"

"Your family now has three college students!"

"There are only five college students in the village, and your family has three of them. This is really a great honor for your ancestors. It must be that your father (the name given to father by the older generation) was buried well and is blessing you. You should come back to pay your respects!"

In addition to Jiang Guoan and Jiang Guoliang, there is also the son of the brigade secretary, the best friend of Grandpa Jiang, and the grandson of the old man who runs the old store at the entrance of the village, all of whom have been admitted to college.

The old man's son is promising. He opened a kiln factory in the neighboring city. After a fierce competition for projects this year, and with his son's networking skills, he also took over the construction project of a highway in the neighboring city. Not only did he buy a house in the neighboring city, his life is getting better and better. He has always been unique among the old men in the village.

Now that the old rich family has three college students, they have suddenly snatched the limelight from his old friend. Grandpa Jiang is so proud that he puffs out his skinny chest!

When we arrived at the entrance of the village, the old men who were sitting under the locust tree on the waterproof platform of the old store at the entrance of the village to enjoy the cool air saw Grandpa Jiang walking back slowly. They stood up and shouted in surprise: "Oh my! Old Fa Cai is back!"

"Great country! Great country! Look, isn't that your old man coming back?"

Jiang Daguo, who had just had a break after the double harvest, was incredulous when he heard that his old man had returned: "Why is he back at this time? The double harvest is over."

"It's really your old man. Your little nephew is here too!"

Everyone on the platform stood up, including Jiang Daguo. Seeing that it was Jiang Bai who brought Grandpa Jiang back, he couldn't help but mutter, "What a joke this old man is. He didn't come back earlier or later. He came back with his second kid just after the double harvest yesterday. I don't know what he came back for."

Seeing Grandpa Jiang wearing a thin polo shirt and black pants without patches, and looking much better than the last time he came back from the Qingming Festival, the old men on the platform couldn't help but say, "After being away for a year, Old Facai looks good."

"Can picking up rags outside support a person? Not only does he look better, but he's also in better spirits."

"When he smiles like that, I know it's a good thing." Thinking that Jiang Bai will also take the college entrance examination this year, the old man who runs the old shop at the entrance of the village asked Grandpa Jiang with a smile: "Did your second son get into college?"

Grandpa Jiang walked with a proud step, a proud expression on his face, and stepped onto the platform step by step. He sat down on the stone pier on the platform with his horse and sword, and said happily: "My little grandson got into university! Hahahahaha!"

On the high platform, the neighbors heard it and laughed happily, "The second kid got into college? This is really great news!"

"It's really a blessing in disguise for the big guy. Another college student is born in the family!"

"How come their family has so many college students, three already? Could it be that their ancestors were buried well?" For a while, many people came up with the idea of ​​finding Taoist priests and monks to relocate their ancestral tombs. Those who have elderly people in their families also envied the ancestral tomb of Jiang's father and wanted to be buried next to the tomb of Jiang's father's grandparents after they died.

Grandpa Jiang smiled even more proudly. Seeing him so proud, the old man in the store also smiled proudly and said, "You have three college students in your family, and I have one, too. Maybe I will have two soon!"

The old man has two grandsons and one granddaughter. The eldest grandson also passed the exam last year. The eldest granddaughter is the same age as Jiang Bai and is studying in a high school in the neighboring city. She is also taking the college entrance examination this year. His son's family has settled in the neighboring city and only comes back for two days during the Chinese New Year. Therefore, the villagers are not familiar with his grandchildren and don't have any feelings for them.

But Jiang Bai grew up in front of them. They watched the beautiful girl who was raised as a little girl grow up so tall and become a big boy and a college student. For a moment, they all sighed that time passed so quickly.

Someone else said, "Your second son is about 18 or 19 years old this year, right? Is he looking for a partner? My mother's family has a niece, who is very pretty. She can earn more than 300 yuan a month in the factory and can bring back 3,000 to 4,000 yuan a year. Maybe she's working. When she comes back for the New Year, I'll introduce someone to your second son!"

"Come on, that guy is a college student now, and he will look for a college student in the future. Even if he doesn't look for a college student, he will at least look for a high school student, right?" said the old man who ran the shop.

He said to Jiang Bai earnestly, "Second boy, you are still young, don't rush to find a partner. When you go to college, do your best to study hard. If you meet the right one in college, try to find one there. Your parents have worked so hard to get you out, don't come back again!"

It is very difficult for people here to get out of the mountains.

A sand river divides the people on both sides of the river into two. The tan mountain on the other side of the river has had electricity for many years, but it is finally their turn to have electricity, and there are power outages every two or three days. For many years, many people, on the night of power outage, stare at the brightly lit tan mountain on the other side of the river, hoping that electricity will come soon.

The roads and bridges are blocked, so people have to drive tricycles. They still have to rely on boats to get out. Without boats, it takes more than an hour to walk along the river embankment to reach Tanshan on the other side. If you ride a bicycle, you have to carry the bicycle to cross the river.

So his son was able to buy a house and settle down in the neighboring city, and only come back for a few days a year, but the old man wouldn't let them come back.

What are you coming back for? Are you going to stay in this remote mountain village forever and dig for food in the fields?

In a short time, the news that Jiang Bai was admitted to Shanghai University quickly spread throughout Jiangjia Village.

At this time, the villagers no longer thought that the Jiang family's house was small and shabby. They all came to the Jiang family with vegetables, meat, eggs, chickens, fish and other things. People from the third branch of the family would also come to give red envelopes to the Jiang family, two yuan from your family and three yuan from my family. Even the brigade secretary, team leader and village chief came to the Jiang family when they heard about it.

The brigade also gave Jiang Bai a cash reward of 50 yuan, asking him to study hard, not forget the cultivation of the motherland, not forget his hometown, not forget our Linhe Brigade, and not forget the village.

The brigade secretary patted Jiang Bai's arm with emotion. He could hardly recognize him. Jiang Bai was so handsome that he looked like someone from TV, and his height was almost as tall as his father's. "Your father called me to ask for your contact information before, wanting to know if you were admitted to the university. It's only been a few days, and the good news came." He patted his arm again: "Good boy!"

"You and my family's Shengzhi and Hehua are all brothers and sisters. The future belongs to you young people. You young people should get together more often and come to my house more often during the Chinese New Year. You are all college students and you will have a lot to talk about when you are together."

He had long known that Jiang's father and mother were good-looking. From the previous generation to the current one, each generation in the Jiang family was better looking than the last. Not to mention Jiang Song, who in the village didn't like him, from the grandpa and grandma in their seventies and eighties to the little boys and girls?

Jiang Bai wasn’t obvious when he was a child, but who knew that he would be so... How does one say that? As bright as the moon!

Looking at Jiang Bai, who is now standing quietly beside Grandpa Jiang and smiling modestly and shyly in the face of everyone's praise, the brigade secretary has only this thought in his mind: He is just like the bright moon rising slowly into the sky. He has just been admitted to university, but he doesn't seem to be from the same world as them.

After these people dispersed, Uncle Jiang also took out fifty yuan and gave it to Jiang Bai, saying to him with emotion: "You are the most promising one in your generation! Your three brothers will be like me in the future, working as bricklayers in the village. They have a skill that will not make them rich, but they will not starve to death. I don't know what your eldest brother will be like in the future. Since you have passed the exam, you should study hard. This generation depends on you."

Who would have thought that among the five boys in his and his brother's generation, he, the youngest and most inconspicuous one, would be admitted.

He originally wanted to offer thirty yuan, but the brigade offered fifty. As Jiang Bai's uncle, facing a nephew who obviously had a bright future, he couldn't offer less than what the brigade offered, so he simply offered fifty yuan as well, which made Uncle Jiang very distressed.

Aunt Jiang reminded her, "Since the second kid got admitted to university, shouldn't you also go to your uncle's house to announce the good news?"

Getting into university is a big deal for them, and families with good financial conditions will hold a wedding banquet.

But for some reason, Jiang's mother was not at home, and Jiang Bai had no desire to go to his uncle's house to announce the good news. However, this was a courtesy, and he had to announce it, so he had to say: "I will go back to Wucheng tomorrow, and I will go to school to register for military training first."

Uncle Jiang and his wife didn't know what military training was, so they said to Jiang Bai, "Go to the brigade and call your mother to find out how to report the good news."

This good news is not just a simple good news. People over there are going to give red envelopes to us.

Jiang Bai had indeed never experienced such a thing, and he didn't understand it, so he listened to Aunt Jiang and called Jiang's mother.

After Jiang Bai finished speaking, Jiang's mother patted her head and said, "Look at me. I was only worried about Songzi and forgot about Jiang Bai's good news of being admitted to university."

Then I called my brothers and sisters from my mother's side one by one.

Jiang Ma has seven brothers and sisters. Except for the older brother, she raised all the younger brothers and sisters by herself. When she heard that Jiang Bai was admitted to university, she was very happy and shouted: "Oh my God, Jiang Bai was admitted to university!"

Their news spread from one family to another, and everyone was very surprised.

They thought about the education of the three children of their aunt, and maybe one of them would be admitted to university, but no one thought that it would be Jiang Bai, who had always been so quiet that he had almost no sense of existence.

But no matter whether it was Jiang Song or Jiang Bai, their nephew's admission to university was a great event that brought honor to them, so they all made an appointment to go to Jiangjia Village together to announce the good news. Those who were away from home due to work would ask their close brothers or sisters to help wrap a red envelope first.

My uncle's family has always been well-off because my grandfather has always been the team leader. He was a small team leader when he was young, and later became the big team leader of the village. He was also the team leader of Tanshan. They respected Jiang Ma, so they all agreed on the amount of red envelopes. Each family gave Jiang Bai a red envelope of 28.8 yuan, and they praised him and were polite to him a lot.

Jiang Bai not only has little presence in the Jiang family, but also in his uncle's family.

My uncle's family favors the eldest son and grandson, so they have always favored Jiang Song. No matter what happens, they call Jiang Song. Jiang Bai is either a little tail behind Jiang Song, or he seems to have the ability to become invisible, and everyone can't see him and ignores him.

Now, this kid who could perform invisibility finally eliminated his invisibility spell and officially stood in front of everyone. Everyone began to look at him squarely.