The cannon fodder daughter doesn't take over the family business, part 3. Chen Xia also follows suit...

Chen Xia followed suit and buried herself in her studies with everyone else. On the surface, Bai Ling seemed to have the most and most complete study materials.

No matter who asked her for a loan in the educated youth compound, she would lend it to them generously. Coupled with her consistently caring and understanding nature, she quickly became the most popular person in the compound.

Bai Ling plans to pursue a career in business. She knows that her fellow comrades from the educated youth compound, who have struggled together, will all achieve great things if they get into university.

Offering help in times of need is far better than adding flowers to brocade; what she needs to do now is build good relationships with them. In the future, when they start working, those will all be her connections.

Compared to Bai Ling, who portrays herself as a genius and a caring older sister, Chen Xia appears much more ordinary and low-key.

Ever since the news of the resumption of the college entrance examination came, the village has been in constant turmoil. Every few days, a chaotic farce breaks out.

These are all families where either the daughter married an educated youth or the daughter married an educated youth.

Why create such a commotion at this critical juncture? Simply put, it's because they're afraid the educated youth will run away after getting into university. After all, He Erya's example is a stark warning!

The family of He Laoshuan at the east end of the village was particularly noisy. His daughter, Wang Hexiuying, had married Zhao Ming, a sent-down youth, a few years ago.

Now that his eldest son can walk, Zhao Ming went crazy as soon as he heard that the college entrance examination had been reinstated. He didn't care about anything else and studied like a madman, hanging his head from the rafters and pricking his thigh with an awl.

Every day, He Laoshuan would stand guard outside his son-in-law's house with a rolling pin, fearing that Zhao Ming might secretly move back to the educated youth compound like He Da Kui's daughter-in-law.

"Zhao Ming! You get out here right now! You bastard, you've neglected your wife and kids for studying, are you even a man?"

Old Man He grew angrier the more he thought about it, and couldn't help but yell at the top of his lungs outside the door, "If you dare to take the exam, I'll break your legs!"

Zhao Ming hid in his room and studied hard without saying a word. He vowed that as long as He Laoshuan didn't beat him to death, he would crawl to the exam even if he had to.

Of course, he knew that his father-in-law was just venting his anger, and with his wife He Xiuying around, he wouldn't dare to break his own leg.

Zhao Ming wanted to go to university, but more than that, he hoped to get a good job in the future and bring his wife and son to the city.

That's right, this guy never thought that going to university would be a one-way trip. He and He Xiuying were in a free-love relationship, and they have a lovely son.

Zhao Ming may be a bit cowardly, but he would never do something like abandoning his wife and children.

Most importantly, based on his understanding of his wife He Xiuying, if he dared to abandon his wife and children, He Xiuying would definitely take his dowry and change Zhao Chen's surname.

He's not mentally ill; how could he possibly let another man sleep with his wife and beat his child? He wouldn't even consider it.

He Hongjun's family lived at the west end of the village. His wife, Liu Fang, was an educated youth from Shanghai. He Hongjun pursued Liu Fang relentlessly for three years before his efforts finally paid off.

Liu Fang, who had been married for less than a year, found out she was pregnant last month. The family was overjoyed for only a few days before the college entrance examination was reinstated.

Liu Fang's parents sent her review materials from Shanghai, urging her to study hard and apply to universities in Shanghai so that the family could be reunited in the future.

He Hongjun was worried that his wife would never come back after getting into university, but he didn't have the courage to stop Liu Fang from studying for the exam.

So he thought about it and then instigated his mother to make a scene, preventing Liu Fang from studying and from applying for the exam.

Under the guise of doing what's best for Liu Fang, the old lady earnestly advised, "Fang, it's not that I'm stopping you, but you're newly pregnant and need to rest. How can the baby in your belly withstand taking the college entrance exam at this time?"

"It's not that Mom doesn't want you to take the exam. You can still apply after you have your baby next year, right?"

He Hongjun meekly tried to persuade Liu Fang to give up, but he underestimated Liu Fang's determination. The obstruction from He Hongjun's family not only failed to dissuade Liu Fang, but also made her more determined to return to Shanghai for the college entrance examination.

Liu Fang had learned a lot about traditional Chinese medicine from her maternal grandfather since childhood. She prepared the medicine, resolutely aborted the child in her womb, and firmly divorced He Hongjun, moving back to the educated youth compound.

He Hongjun's mother was so angry that she would rant and rave outside the educated youth compound every day, but Liu Fang just pretended not to hear. He Hongjun never expected Liu Fang to be so resolute, and now he regrets it terribly.

Liu Fang had discussed with him that she would apply to a university in Shanghai, and that He Hongjun could go back to Shanghai with her when she went to school.

We can find temporary jobs in Shanghai. The pay may not be much, but at least the couple won't have to live apart anymore.

Life would be better after she graduated from university. But because of his ulterior motives, he not only lost his child he had never met, but also his beloved wife.

No one cared about He Hongjun's grief, and Liu Fang's resolute decision frightened the other families in the village. Those families who had married female educated youth no longer dared to follow He Hongjun's example and prevent their daughters from taking the exams.

The busy days flew by, and on December 10th, Chen Xia and her classmates entered the examination hall with their admission tickets and stationery.

Given the large number of applicants, they arrived in the county town two days in advance and checked into the county guesthouse using a letter of introduction from their village.

Chen Xia applied for liberal arts, majoring in Chinese literature. The original owner only asked to get into a university far from home and live a good life. She didn't have much ambition; she wanted to find a leisurely job, and in her spare time, she would make a living by copying articles and buy a small courtyard of her own in Beijing.

If she meets the right person, getting married and having children is not out of the question. Of course, the original owner didn't have this requirement, so Chen Xia won't force herself. Anyway, the original owner only said that she wanted the life she wanted.

In this year's college entrance examination, English was not a required subject. Chen Xia chose the humanities stream, and the subjects tested were Ideological and Political Education, Chinese Language and Literature, Mathematics, and History and Geography.

Due to varying printing techniques, some exam papers were printed, while others were mass-produced using handwritten mimeographing.

The test paper that Chen Xia and his classmates made was the latter. Although the writing and layout of this test paper were entirely done manually, the neat and vigorous regular script and the simple and elegant layout were still admirable.

But as anyone who has taken this exam knows, because it is printed with ink, your hands will be covered in ink if you are not careful while doing the questions.

Despite the rudimentary conditions and the freezing cold in the classroom, with the candidates bundled up in layers of clothing yet still shivering, not a single person considered giving up.

Chen Xia even saw several young women who were pregnant and came to take the exam. They all had only one thought in mind: to do their best to complete the exam and not leave any regrets in their lives.

However, since the resumption of the college entrance examination was not announced until late October, there were only about two months to review. Those who graduated recently were fine, but those who were older had long forgotten the content of the textbooks.

In just two short months of last-minute cramming, they could only retain a limited amount of knowledge. Several other candidates in Chen Xia's exam room broke down in tears mid-exam.

Hearing the crying coming from the back of the classroom, many test takers were inevitably affected. But no matter what, they chose this path, and even if they cried or broke down, they had to keep going.

After two days of exams, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and returned to the guesthouse. Some people had already started another round of reviewing with their books, clearly knowing they wouldn't pass this time.

Liu Fang lay motionless in bed; the divorce, studying, and exams had exhausted all her strength.

She didn't know if she would pass the exam this time, but she knew she didn't have the courage to try a second time.

Therefore, when applying for university, she not only applied to her desired university, but also filled in a backup junior college and chose to agree to be transferred to another major.

Chen Xia applied to the Chinese Department of Peking University. The system estimated her score, and she had absolutely no problem getting into this school and this major.

Sure enough, she received her acceptance letter from the Chinese Department of Peking University. Bai Ling also received her acceptance letter at the same time; she was admitted to Qingdao University.

Liu Fang was admitted to Fudan University. On the same day she received her admission notice, she quietly left with her luggage.

When He Hongjun's family heard that she had been admitted to a university in Shanghai, they came to the educated youth settlement to find her, but Liu Fang had already boarded a train to Shanghai.

Chen Xia and Bai Ling, along with several other educated youths who passed the exams in Beijing, left together. This time, only six people in the educated youth compound failed the exams.

Chen Xia and the others left their review materials and notes to a few of them, and after receiving the notes, they began to review intensively.

In fact, there were only five months left until the 1978 college entrance examination. They didn't have much time to review, and the six of them had to fight with their backs against the wall.

The trains haven't been upgraded yet. Taking a train from Heilongjiang Province to Beijing still requires a hard seat, and by the time you get to your stop, your buttocks are numb.

Bai Ling rubbed her backside and complained, "The sleeper carriages are empty anyway, what's wrong with us paying for an upgrade ourselves? But they just won't let us, I don't know what they're so arrogant about?"

Chen Xia also felt helpless; these days, soft sleeper berths aren't something you can just buy whenever you want. You have to reach a certain level and have a letter of introduction from your work unit to purchase one.

For people like them, paying for an upgrade is just a pipe dream; the flight attendants simply ignore them.

Chen Xia, Bai Ling, and two other male educated youths who had been admitted to Qingdao University took a bus to the school.

After agreeing to have a meal together sometime, Chen Xia carried her large and small bags of luggage into the gates of Peking University.

After completing the enrollment procedures, Chen Xia took the key she received from the teacher and went to her dormitory.

She was assigned to room 305 on the third floor. The door was ajar, and Chen Xia pushed it open, startled. Her five roommates stood in a row behind the door, welcoming her.

The round-faced girl with braided pigtails took her luggage: "Our dorm is missing you. I just bet with Xiaoling and the others that the one coming will be a great beauty, and I didn't expect that I was right."

Come on, this is your bed. Our beds are assigned by the school, and everyone's name is on their bed. Yours is on the lower bunk.

My name is Wang Juan, and I sleep in the bunk above you. The tallest girl is Li Nan from Shandong; her real name is Tang Shiyue, and next to her is her cousin, Li Xueying. This is Zhang Ning, the oldest girl in our dorm.

We arrived yesterday. Let me tell you, Sister Zhang Ning and her husband both got into Qingdao University and Peking University, respectively.

What's most impressive about Sister Zhao Ning isn't that both she and her husband got into university, but that she also gave birth to a pair of fraternal twins, a boy and a girl.

Chen Xia suddenly looked up: "Twins? Sister Ning, you and your husband are amazing!"

Zhao Ning waved his hand with a smile: "So-so. I went to the countryside early, and my family connections were just so-so. I thought I would never be able to go back."

Later, I met my partner, and it was love at first sight. We got together and had two children.

Both of us came to Jingzhou to study this time, and we couldn't bear to leave our children in our hometown, so we brought them along. Fortunately, they're old enough to go to kindergarten, and my spouse and I plan to rent a place to live outside.

So after school, I take the kids to a rented room. It's not that I want to be different, but rather that there's no one to take care of the two kids, and it's inconvenient for them to live in a dormitory.

"If I need anything from school while I'm staying off-campus, please let me know."

The mini-system popped up: "Host, this Zhang Ning is a transmigrator, and she carries a level-two sign-in system with her. Should we extract and capture her now?"

Chen Xia quickly replied, "No need, no need. As long as her sign-in system doesn't harm this world, let's ignore it for now."

"Didn't you want to recycle the exchange points? We'll disconnect both systems when we leave. Just keep an eye on them. As long as they don't cause any trouble, we're not professionals in the recycling business, so let them be."

Zhang Ning was unaware that his identity as a transmigrator and his cheat abilities had already been exposed to Chen Xia and her system.

After receiving their university admission notices, she and her husband came to Beijing ahead of schedule. Thanks to her husband Lu Chen's connections, they bought a large courtyard house on the very day they arrived in Beijing.

She has twins, and it's inconvenient for her to live in a dormitory with two children, which is why they bought a house in Beijing early on.

To the outside world, Chen Xia said he was renting a friend's courtyard house, but he entrusted the entire matter of buying the courtyard house to Ling Yi.

She wants to buy a large, two-courtyard house, preferably with a garden, and renovate it to make it her future home.

After half a semester of intense study, summer vacation arrived. After coming to Beijing to study, Chen Xia wrote a letter to her parents, telling them that she had been admitted to a university in Beijing.

Mr. and Mrs. Chen were not very happy when they replied. In their view, since Chen Xia went to study in the faraway city of Beijing, she would most likely stay in Beijing after graduation.

Living so far from home, they can't rely on their daughter anymore. Mr. and Mrs. Chen are filled with regret now; they thought they should have let Chen Xia go back to take over Mrs. Chen's job.

In their view, their second son found a partner and got married soon after taking over the business.

After getting married, they clearly favored their own little family more. Their son was henpecked, and their second daughter-in-law loved to help her own family. The old couple often had disagreements about this.

At times like this, Chen Ma couldn't help but complain: "In the end, it's all Xiaxia's fault. We agreed that she would come back to take over the business, but instead, she showed her true colors and let the second son come back."

Now we're in such a passive position, and she's gone off to study in Beijing. What's the point of a girl studying so much?

When she comes back from her vacation, I'll give her a good talking-to; it would be better for her to come back and work after graduating from university.

Mr. Chen sighed, "You should talk to her properly. We can't count on the eldest and second eldest. If Xiaxia doesn't listen to us, who will we rely on in the future?"

The more Chen's mother thought about it, the more she felt she should find Chen Xia a partner as soon as possible. That way, after graduation, she would have a partner back in her hometown to keep her from staying in Beijing.