Bai Jiaojiao didn't have high hopes, only saying, "Yancheng is so big, it's hard to find."

Bai Shibao, looking rather foolish, said from the side, "Jiaojiao, didn't you grow up in Yancheng?"

This made the already somber atmosphere even more awkward.

Bai Shiqing pinched Bai Shibo: You brat, you bring up things you shouldn't mention, don't you?

"It's somewhere near Yancheng, but Yancheng is too big. My school is far from there. Third brother, I've been here for so long, and they haven't contacted me. I guess they've started a new life. We have our own lives to live, and I don't want to see them again. Let's not mention it again."

Bai Jiaojiao spoke very calmly, so calmly that Bai Shiqing was a little worried that she was too heartbroken.

But this is for the best. Judging from the way Bai Jiaojiao acted when she first arrived in their Shili Village, it's clear that her adoptive parents' family wasn't well-off.

Now that you've finally grown up, don't let yourself get involved with those people from over there and go astray.

Bai Zhiman was reminded of Ding Shifang by Bai Shibo and Bai Jiaojiao's words.

What Bai Jiaojiao was talking about was also Ding Shifang. It's just that it wasn't that they didn't want Ding Shifang as their daughter, but that Ding Shifang didn't want to contact them.

Bai Zhiman sighed deeply, thinking that even the younger generation had come to terms with it, so he should also be more open-minded.

He then said, "Yes, we don't need to mention it anymore. As long as our family is together, that's enough."

“That’s right! Dad, my eldest brother just mentioned having a banquet, and our family should contribute too. We’ve earned quite a bit this year with my little sister, so if you don’t let me pay for this, I won’t stand for it!”

Bai Shiqing plans to move out of the Li family home after the New Year. The child will be taken care of by Li's mother during the day and will go back to sleep with them at night.

Bai Shiqing also planned to tell Li Shuxian about her business after the family division was completed. She didn't tell the old couple not because she didn't want to support them in their old age, but because she was afraid they wouldn't approve.

Telling Li Shuxian about this sooner rather than later is also a way of showing respect.

"Then I'll contribute too, sister-in-law. How much of my allowance do I still have?"

Bai Shibao didn't want to miss out on such a good opportunity, but Deng Min laughed and said, "You only have two allowances, taking a little from this and a little from that. What will you use to get married?"

"I can get married later. I can't get married while I'm serving in the army. I'll focus on my younger sister first."

Bai Shibao has completely given up on finding a partner.

Bai Shihai said, "Then let's discuss it and make it a proper event."

That left Bai Jiaojiao and Shen Heng to deal with, so Bai Jiaojiao let them do whatever they wanted: "Then, big brother, I'll leave this to you. You absolutely mustn't lose face!"

"You can rest assured." Bai Shihai had already planned it out. He would not only invite people from Shili Village, but also all his relatives from the Bai family. Anyone who could be related by blood would be notified.

Whether they come to the banquet or not doesn't matter, the important thing is that such a good thing has to be shown off!

After seeing the Bai family off, Bai Jiaojiao folded the two people's admission notices and put them in her small box.

"Brother Heng, this is not only all our belongings, but also our future. We have to keep a close eye on it from now until we start school."

Bai Jiaojiao looked at her small wooden box and felt that it was emitting golden light.

"Don't worry, anyone who dares to steal from our house would be asking for trouble."

Shen Heng propped his head up on his arm on the kang, watching Bai Jiaojiao holding a small box like it was a treasure chest, somewhat like a squirrel holding a pine cone.

"Brother Heng, you really need to change the way you talk. If you keep talking like that when you get to the city, you might get arrested and charged with hooliganism."

In the village, people's thinking is still stuck in a more feudal era. They think that the police station is like the old government office, where good people go for fun, and any conflicts in the village are resolved privately.

However, as the most central place in the country, Yancheng has already taken initial shape in its legal system construction. If Shen Heng had continued to shout and kill like this in the past, he would have been arrested as a petty thug.

"So, if you put it that way, I really have to accept your offer of amnesty?"

Bai Jiaojiao laughed: "Didn't you say you weren't a bandit? You weren't happy when I said that before."

Shen Heng was amused and said, "Isn't it because you always say such things to me?"

"Heng-ge, we'll be college students soon, with bright futures ahead of us. Promise me you'll control your temper and we'll be law-abiding citizens, living a good life in Yancheng, okay?"

"OK."

Shen Heng felt that his temper had improved a lot.

To be honest, if things hadn't been tough back then, who would have been willing to be so prickly towards others?

Bai Jiaojiao fiddled with the radio, found a channel where a storyteller was playing, and the two of them snuggled together on the kang (a heated brick bed) to listen to the story.

Now, the two of them just listen to the radio when they're bored at home. If there's nothing to listen to, they go to the kitchen to figure out what to cook. They didn't earn any money during the two months they were preparing for the college entrance exam. Bai Jiaojiao wanted to earn as much as possible before going to university. Although Yancheng is economically developed, they were unfamiliar with the area and might not have such good opportunities to make money.

According to Wang Fushun, last year's snow-covered glutinous rice balls were very popular with the officials. Wang Fushun went to great lengths to get ten catties of milk coupons and begged Bai Jiaojiao to make more this year, specifically the frozen kind.

Bai Jiaojiao also started making semi-finished taro and sweet potato balls, daring to sell them only because they wouldn't spoil easily in winter.

This stuff is really fragrant when it's fried. It's crispy on the outside and sweet on the inside, and its golden, round shape looks festive. Who wouldn't want to buy some to take home and try during the Chinese New Year?

Wang Fushun took several of Bai Jiaojiao's fried products to sell, and they sold incredibly well.

Bai Jiaojiao's admission notice had just arrived when someone came to see them early the next morning.

It's quite sensational news nationwide that two students from the same village were admitted to Peking University, and they were even a married couple.

"Excuse me, is this the home of Bai Jiaojiao and Shen Heng? We are staff members from our city newspaper. We heard that you received your admission notices from Peking University yesterday. Could we take a little of your time for an interview?"

Looking at Shen Heng's roguish face and stature, the reporter struggled to utter the word "classmate".

"Please come in."

Bai Jiaojiao and Shen Heng welcomed the reporter in. The reporter looked around and said, "Your family seems to have a pretty good standard of living. There aren't many places in town with such good living conditions."

"Yes, there are only two people in our family, so we don't spend much. Heng is capable and earns a lot of work points."

The reporter was just asking casually and didn't try to dig deeper.

People are very naive now. They're here for the two students' exam scores, to promote their hard-working spirit and even wish they were penniless, so that their propaganda would be more inspiring.

Seeing that their living conditions were not bad, they would deliberately avoid them.

When Bai Jiaojiao saw that they had brought a camera, she went back and changed her clothes.

"You may begin."