Chapter 142

That may be a scene that they will never forget.

Many girls who had gone home for the New Year and had not had time to go out to work came out in groups of two or three from their homes or from the platforms at their doorsteps, and stood on their own waterproof platforms, looking down. Some walked directly down from the platforms and surrounded the cadres in the brigade headquarters to watch the excitement.

The open space in front of the brigade office was as big as a threshing ground. Behind it was the living quarters of the first and second branches. The girls who had gone out to work early and bought new clothes and dressed up beautifully because they were going home for the New Year stood behind the brigade office, looking at the girl who was surrounded by a large group of people, standing in the center and front of the crowd, wearing a red silk robe and a big red flower on her chest, with two teachers holding a banner behind her.

At this moment, it seemed as if a beam of light shone on the girl who was familiar yet unfamiliar to them. Everyone's eyes were focused on her, blankly, as if they didn't know her.

She was so close to them, so close that they had watched her grow up, and yet she seemed so far away from them. She was clearly standing at the entrance of the village, yet as far away as the clouds in the sky. They could see her but could not touch her.

There was a complete silence among the crowd.

Reporter Wu took the microphone and walked up to the brigade secretary with a smile on his face: "Hello, I am a reporter from Wucheng TV Station. Are you the secretary of Linhe Brigade?"

Although the brigade secretary had been in office for more than ten years, it was the first time he was interviewed by a reporter. He coughed uncomfortably and said, "I am... You are..."

"We want to do an in-depth interview with Jiang Ning from Jiangjia Village, Linhe Brigade, about her winning the gold medal in the National Olympic Competition and being admitted to Beijing University in advance. We want to learn more about her hometown and her growing environment. Do you know that Jiang Ning was admitted to Beijing University in advance?"

The brigade secretary looked at Jiang Ning with complicated eyes, nodded stiffly, and said in a hoarse voice: "I know."

Yesterday, the big guy came back and started setting off the loudest firecrackers at the brigade headquarters. After that, he kept setting off firecrackers, sixteen bangs, all the way to his own doorstep. He was still setting off firecrackers, and the entire third room was alarmed. How could he not know?

He had been staying at home these days and came to the brigade headquarters today after hearing about this incident.

If it weren't for the Lotus incident, how happy he would be to see such a scene at this moment.

Jiang Ning is also the girl from their third room. The big guy's family has two college students, and his two cousins ​​are also college students. His own family already has a college student, and with He Hua, there are two in total. Their two families are obviously brothers and sisters from the same clan and can help each other. Why did things develop into this state?

But he still slowly smiled, looked at Jiang Ning, and said kindly: "Her father came back yesterday and set off fireworks all afternoon. Our whole village knows about it. We are discussing it at the brigade headquarters and are going to give her a scholarship. Last year, her brother was admitted to university, and our brigade gave her brother a scholarship. She was admitted to Beijing University, which is the honor of our village and even more so the honor of our brigade!"

As he spoke later, the brigade secretary became more and more fluent, his full sense of self returned, and the smile on his face became more and more natural.

"Okay, thank you, Secretary of the brigade. Can you tell us how much scholarship the brigade has given to Jiang Ning?" Reporter Wu asked curiously.

The brigade secretary turned sideways and said, "This is the accountant of our Linhe Brigade. Let Accountant Xu talk to you."

Almost all the cadres serving in the brigade headquarters came from several villages in Linhe Brigade.

Accountant Xu was from Xujia Village across the street. He smiled gently and said, "Last year, when her brother was admitted to university, our brigade gave her a 50-yuan scholarship. This year, she was admitted to Beijing University. She is the first college student in our Linhe Brigade to be admitted to a top university in the country." He glanced at the brigade secretary and the brigade leader, and said with a smile, "Our brigade has tentatively set a scholarship of 100 yuan."

One hundred yuan is not a small amount in this era. Reporter Wu smiled and nodded: "Okay, thank you."

Reporter Wu wanted to interview other people who were watching, but when they saw Reporter Wu coming, they were scared and scattered, or they were too shy to speak, and kept pushing the girl next to them: "Tell me, tell me."

The girl being interviewed was a bit bolder, but still very shy.

"Excuse me, do you know that Jiang Ning from your village was admitted to Beijing University? What do you think about this?"

The girl looked at reporter Wu, covered her mouth with her hands and smiled shyly, then put her hands down: "I heard the firecrackers from the second room yesterday, and I knew that someone from the third room was admitted to university, but I don't know which university. My feelings..." She shook her head shyly: "I dare not think about it, I dare not think about it."

"Hey! The reporter is asking you what you think!" A girl next to her couldn't stand it anymore.

Because this place is closest to the settlement of the big house, most of the people gathered around to watch the fun are from the big house.

Jiang Qinqin loved to watch the fun. She climbed up to her own bungalow and watched from afar. Then, like a monkey, she nimbly jumped down from her own persimmon tree, and using the courtyard wall to jump onto the high platform of her neighbor's house. Then, she quickly moved her feet on the stone fence of the neighbor's high platform, climbed over another tree, and soon climbed onto the high platform closest to the brigade headquarters. She waved desperately to Jiang Ning across the stone courtyard wall, shouting, "Ning Ning! Ning Ning!"

Reporter Wu immediately noticed the blonde girl on the courtyard wall. The girl was dressed very fashionably, with her hair dyed straw yellow. However, she did not wear any fancy big earrings or anything like that. Instead, she combed all her hair up and tied it into a high ponytail. This exposed the red acne on her forehead and cheeks.

This was her doctor's last words: don't use thick bangs to cover acne, as the dust and bacteria on the bangs will make the skin condition worse.

Reporter Wu walked to the stone under the platform and raised the microphone high in his hand: "Excuse me, what is your relationship with Jiang Ning? What do you think about Jiang Ning's early admission to Beijing University?"

Jiang Qinqiang bent down deeply, put her mouth close to the microphone and shouted loudly: "I am her good friend! Ning Ning is awesome!" Then she raised two big thumbs up, climbed up to the wall of the courtyard and shouted: "Ning Ning is awesome! Ning Ning is awesome!"

Such an unrestrained and outgoing girl suddenly appeared in the reserved and shy little mountain village, and reporter Wu burst out laughing.

Uncle Jiang and his family of four were working in the fields below the brigade headquarters, measuring how to dig the foundation and how deep to dig it.

When he saw the group of people coming towards him, he was still a little confused. He was so busy working that he didn't even look. It was his youngest son who saw them and quickly called his two brothers, "Big brother, look, it's Grandpa and Ningning!"

Jiang Hongjun and Jiang Hongbing were also helping Uncle Jiang measure. When they heard Jiang Jun's words, they looked up blankly: "Grandpa is back?"

Jiang Jun was extremely excited: "Look, look, there are reporters!"

The Jiang family's paddy fields are in a very good location as farmland because of their low terrain and there is no shortage of water. However, as a homestead, it is not so good. There is water in the fields. When they measure the foundation area, they wear long rain boots. The long rain boots are deeply embedded in the mud. With every step, they have to pull up with force by the knee-deep rubber boots.

When Uncle Jiang looked up, he only saw the crowd gathering around him, but did not see Jiang Ning and Grandpa Jiang.

Jiang Jun said excitedly: "Hey, someone blocked us. Ningning has a big red flower tied around her chest!"

Uncle Jiang suddenly remembered what his younger brother said yesterday, that Jiang Ning was admitted to Peking University ahead of schedule. Without even measuring, he took his three sons and said, "Let's go and take a look!" He then said to his youngest son Jiang Jun, "You're quick on your feet, go call your uncle over." With those words, he went ashore.

Although this paddy field was close to the brigade headquarters, there was a ditch between them. If he wanted to get to the brigade headquarters, he had to go around in the opposite direction, cross the stone bridge, and then turn back.

By the time Uncle Jiang and his two sons arrived, reporter Wu had already finished their interviews.

Uncle Jiang pushed through the crowd and saw Grandpa Jiang in the center of the crowd, dressed in brand new clothes, and Jiang Ning, who was supporting him and wearing a red flower. For some reason, Uncle Jiang seemed to see the scene on TV of the top scholar returning home.

Last year, when Jiang Bai was admitted to university, it was already a lively occasion. Everyone in the third room sent red envelopes and gifts. The brigade also sent red envelopes, but there was no such a big scene as Jiang Ning's.

Looking at the people from Dingjia Village and Shijia Village who followed behind her to watch the fun, and then looking at the people from the first and second houses surrounding her, the two teachers holding the long banner, and the tall man with a slicked-back hair, dressed in black, stern and domineering, Uncle Jiang thought at first glance that this man was the kind of big boss shown on TV, but this man introduced himself as the principal of No. 1 Middle School.

It was the first time that Uncle Jiang knew that the principal could be so strong and powerful.

Uncle Jiang stood in front of these people, looking at the mud on his hands and body from measuring the homestead, and suddenly regretted standing up.

He should have gone home and changed into new clothes before coming out, but it was too late. He called Grandpa Jiang: "Dad, Ningning, what are you doing..."

Reporter Wu immediately came over to interview Uncle Jiang: "Excuse me, who are you to Jiang Ning? Can you introduce yourself to us?"

"I..." Uncle Jiang rubbed his hands nervously: "I am her uncle."

Jiang Hongjun also came over: "I'm her elder brother!"

Looking at Jiang Hongbing who was eager to try and excited, reporter Wu handed the microphone to him: "I am her second brother!"

Jiang Hongbing smiled like a fool, his face full of pride.

When reporter Wu heard that it was Jiang Ning's eldest and second brothers, she had heard that Jiang Ning had two brothers, both of whom were students at No. 1 Middle School, and the second brother was admitted to Shanghai University of Science and Technology. She immediately excitedly asked, "So it's the eldest and second brothers." She asked Jiang Hongbing, "I heard that the second brother was also admitted to Shanghai University of Science and Technology last year. What is campus life like in college? What do you want to say about your sister surpassing you and being admitted to Beijing University in advance?"

Jiang Hongbing's face flushed immediately. Jiang Hongjun pulled him away and said into the microphone: "We are her cousins. Her other two brothers are doing some kind of part-time job during the winter vacation..."

“Work-study program.”

"Yes, I worked and studied, and I didn't come back."

Uncle Jiang's face also turned red as he looked at Grandpa Jiang who was being supported by Jiang Ning and walking at the front of the crowd.

Grandpa Jiang had never been so glorious in his life. Before he even reached the door of the pianist Jiang's house, children from the village jumped forward and shouted in their childish voices: "The number one scholar is back! The number one scholar is back!"

They didn’t know what it meant to be the top scholar or not. Many illiterate people in the village didn’t understand either. Anyway, they probably heard from Jiang’s father that he won the gold medal in the Olympic poker, so that meant he was the top scholar, right? When they said this, the children at home heard it. They thought that Jiang Ning had passed the imperial examination and came back wearing a red flower, just like the character in "Justice Bao" who passed the imperial examination and started shouting.

The old and young in the village had come out of their homes long ago. Every household stood on the high platform looking down. Many women who had returned to their parents' homes, holding their young children or leading their four or five-year-old children, stood by the fence. Some families' high platforms had no fences, but only some peach trees planted. They all stood on the edge looking down. Some people walked down directly from the high platform, stood on the steps of the stone stairs, and then followed the crowd to Jiang's house.

At first, it was the children who shouted, "The champion is back!"

The adults watching the excitement from behind also shouted enthusiastically: "Big guy! Come out and see! Your daughter who won the top prize in the imperial examination is back!"

Jiang's father didn't call out, but Jiang's mother did.

Jiang's father went to the village chief's house to discuss Jiang Ning's inclusion in the family tree, and Jiang Jun had already run to call him.

The village chief is the elder of the fourth branch. He has a round head and a round body. In that era, he looks very wealthy.

After hearing Jiang Jun coming over and shouting that Jiang Ning was back and that reporters from TV stations had come to Jiangjia Village for interviews, not only did Jiang's father rush home, but even the village chief, the former brigade secretary, the former brigade secretary's sons and daughters-in-law who had a good relationship with Jiang's father, and the village blacksmith all came out of their homes and went to Jiang's house at the foot of the village. Before they reached Jiang's house, they saw the road below full of people watching the fun. The road was crowded with people. They climbed onto the Jiang's pigpen, the roof of the cement toilet next door, and the earthen wall of the yard in front, not to mention the high platform of the small shop at the entrance of the village and the high platform of Jiang's uncle's house. It was crowded with people watching the fun.

There were also people from the second and fourth rooms upstairs. After hearing the noise, they spread the news and rushed down too.

Some people even ran to Uncle Jiang's house and called out to Jiang Guoliang, "Guoliang! Guoliang! This is incredible! Your niece was admitted to Beijing University, and a TV reporter came to interview her! A lot of people came, and they even held up a banner. I heard that your niece was wearing a red flower, how glorious!"

Jiang Guoliang is 1.805 meters tall.

He is a physical education teacher. Whenever someone introduces his height, he always says, "1.8 meters."

He would then add very rigorously: "It's 1.805 meters."

After a long time, everyone knew that he was 1.805 meters tall.

He was tall and thin and liked playing basketball. He took a few steps and jumped, then ran down quickly like a monkey. However, his friend who came to report the news could not catch up with him and shouted, "Why are you running so fast? Wait for me!" But he could never catch up with Jiang Guoliang.

Jiang Guoliang pushed through the crowd and immediately saw Principal Sun and Director Wang. He immediately called out politely, "Principal Sun, Teacher Wang."

When he was in his senior year of high school, Principal Sun had just become the principal of No. 1 Middle School, and Director Wang was not yet the director.

Teacher Wang still remembered Jiang Guoliang. After all, Jiang Guoliang's appearance was also outstanding. Although his grades were not among the best in No. 1 Middle School, his outstanding appearance successfully made Teacher Wang remember this student. However, he did not remember his name.

"You are Jiang..."

Jiang Guoliang smiled brightly and said, "Jiang Guoliang."

"Yes, Jiang Guoliang." Director Wang greeted him, "Where are you going now?"

"I am now a teacher at Chengxiang Town Central Primary School."

On the other side, Jiang's father had already seen Jiang Ning returning wearing a big red flower.

This is not ancient times. Wearing red silk and red flowers should be a very embarrassing and funny thing. But here, in this village, it is not funny at all. Dad Jiang, including the people of Jiangjia Village, Dingjia Village, and Shijia Village, feel extremely honored.

There are many girls in Jiangjia Village who marry to the surrounding villages, and there are also girls from their village who marry to Jiangjia Village. Several villages are from the same brigade, so they not only know each other, but also have many relatives. At this moment, they look at Jiang Ning, Jiang's father and Jiang's grandfather, and they feel that the Jiang family is simply too glorious, especially when Jiang Ning walked up to her own simple high platform and stood in front of her own shabby and short house with gray earthen walls and bricks below and above. She was wearing a red flower, and it seemed as if there was a thousand-foot light shining on her, making the people around her stare at her for a long time.

Of course, reporter Wu also noticed that the brand new two-story buildings of every household around formed a sharp contrast with the Jiang family's dark and dilapidated house.

The cameraman was also very good at shooting. He immediately found this disparity and created a huge contrast between the white tiles of Uncle Jiang's mother's house next door, which looked particularly large because his two sons built their houses together, and the short house made of gray bricks and tiles that lived next to them and huddled under the wall not far from them.

This sense of contrast is exactly what they want.

He took pictures of the surroundings one by one, and then someone shouted, "The big guy is coming!"

"The village chief is here too!"

"The old secretary is here too!"

The old secretary still has a very high prestige in the village. Even though he has retired, the villagers still respect him very much. Otherwise, his influence would not have allowed his son-in-law to become a strong contender for the next brigade secretary. In fact, the next brigade secretary was indeed his son-in-law. Later, he was reported and investigated for using the brigade's money to lend out at high interest rates. That was more than ten years later. His son-in-law had already used the interest from lending the brigade's money over the years to buy a house in a city very close to Shanghai, and his family moved to that city.

Father Jiang walked forward very enthusiastically and shook hands with Principal Sun, Director Wang and Director Wang respectively, and also shook hands with the cameraman.

Reporter Wu said to the camera: "Now let's interview the legendary father who has trained two college students, one of whom was admitted to Beijing University."

The four words "legendary dad" made Jiang's father's face flush with excitement. His smile almost reached his ears, and he kept saying, "I don't deserve it. I don't deserve it. In fact, I didn't do anything. My children are very worry-free. We don't need to take care of them. They just study hard."

"Do you have anything to say about your daughter's good results?"

Father Jiang said happily: "Since they were young, I have told my children that they must go to college. Going to college is the only way out. As long as they can pass, I will continue to support them to study for a doctorate or postdoctorate. My daughter has been smart since she was young. No matter what I teach her, she will learn it once I teach her."

He suddenly remembered that he used to praise his daughter's intelligence to everyone he met. However, after his daughter entered elementary school, her grades were mediocre in the class. She was like an invisible person, and was even laughed at by the teachers who knew her, saying that he was exaggerating.

Those teachers were from Xujia Village. It was a pity that they were not there, otherwise he really wanted to ask them loudly: "Am I bragging or not? Is my daughter very smart?"

Father Jiang had completely embellished Jiang Ning's childhood memories by this time, and said excitedly: "When she was still in school, at the age of five or six, she could recite 300 Tang poems and the multiplication table by heart, and she started reciting classical Chinese in the first and second grades of elementary school! She could recite such a long classical Chinese text in its entirety, and in the third grade she could do fifth grade elementary school math problems."

He took the reporter to his and Jiang's mother's room. There was a bookshelf in his room, which was filled with books. In addition to some study books he bought for his three children, there were also many other books such as "Cihai" and "Guide to Chicken and Duck Breeding".

Jiang's father pulled out a very old book called "Collection of Classical Chinese" and "Mathematical Olympiad Questions for Primary School Students" and showed reporter Wu the traces left by Jiang Ning when he was reciting and doing the questions. The cameraman followed behind and filmed.

Because the room was not big and was filled with wardrobes and cupboards, not many people followed in.

These books were originally bought to teach Jiang Song, but Jiang Song was a restless person who couldn't sit still and didn't want to read them at all. As soon as Jiang's father tried to teach him, he would disappear like a monkey and you couldn't catch up with him.

Later, he showed the books to Jiang Bai, but Jiang Bai was not interested either. So he gave all his fatherly love as a teacher to the youngest child, Jiang Ning. Jiang Ning was the only one who finished reading and learning all the books on this bookshelf.

I have to say that Dad Jiang is a person who cherishes books very much.

The books of the three children of the Jiang family from childhood to adulthood were all well preserved and collected by him.

He climbed to the roof.

Because of Grandpa Jiang's mountain patrols, he would drag back home any dead trees on the mountain every year. Over the years, the roof is covered with a row of trees, just waiting for the year when he builds a new house so that these trees can be used.

He took out a large box from the water chestnut pots on the trees, wiped off the dust, opened it, and saw that it was full of various books that Jiang Ning had owned since childhood. Except for some books that Jiang Song had torn up and folded into airplanes and various square playing cards when he was a child, even her childhood homework books were preserved.

Jiang Ning knew about this.

Later, the Jiang family built a big house and used the upstairs room facing the sun as a reception room. In this reception room, there was an entire wall of bookshelves. The bookshelves with glass sliding doors were filled with all the books, awards and certificates that Jiang Song, Jiang Bai and Jiang Ning had owned over the years.

Every time she returned to her hometown during the Spring Festival, she was moved when she saw those traces of her childhood that were carefully preserved.

Dad Jiang is always like this. After she sees through this world, this village, and even his own nature, she still retains a little warmth for you.

And he is not pretending to be warm and gentle, he is genuine about it.