Chapter 329 Gao Mingwan's Bad Luck

Xiaowang Village is said to be a descendant of Wang Anshi. They migrated from Linchuan during the Ming Dynasty and settled down there, as evidenced by their family tree and ancestral hall.

But regardless of whether it is true or not, Xiaowang Village has a very strong academic atmosphere. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were many candidates for the imperial examination and scholars, and it was not uncommon to see scholars. The private schools opened in this area at that time were all run by members of the Wang family. Anyone who wanted to go to school would go to the private schools run by members of the Wang family.

Until now, the academic atmosphere in Xiaowang Village is still very strong. Here, unless your family is so poor that you can't afford food, your children will be sent to school, and that's when they can go to high school, never just to junior high school.

The saying "selling everything you have to send your children to school" is no joke.

Whenever someone is admitted to a good school, the whole village will give gifts to help the student succeed in his or her studies.

Gao Mingwan’s blind date, Wang Xiuxiu, was already in junior high school. It was very rare in the nearby villages for a girl to be able to go to junior high school.

Wang Xiuxiu's brother studied at a normal school and was assigned to be a teacher at a primary school in the town after graduation. Many years later, through his own continuous efforts, he eventually became a teacher at the No. 1 Middle School in the county.

The No. 1 High School in the county is the best high school in their county. Every year, twenty to thirty students are admitted to 211 and 985 schools. And everyone says that as long as you get into the No. 1 High School in the county and work a little harder, you will definitely get an undergraduate degree.

Gao Mingcheng didn’t know what kind of good luck Gao Mingwan had, not only did he fall in love with Wang Xiuxiu in this life, but he was also with Wang Xiuxiu in his previous life.

The Wang family may really have a gene for studying. Gao Mingwan's two children were both admitted to 211 schools, one studying medicine and the other studying physics, both of which are very promising majors.

And the two of them are also the most educated among this generation of brothers and sisters.

In his previous life, Gao Mingcheng's eldest son was relatively honest and earned a college diploma. His younger son was naughty and did not even finish junior high school. He followed his bad friends and went out to hang out in society.

Thinking of this, Gao Mingcheng suddenly felt sad and wanted to slap himself twice.

At eight o'clock in the morning, Gao Mingwan dressed up and drove a pickup truck to Xiaowang Village to pick up people, and took them back to Gaojia Village at nine o'clock.

On their side, if both parties have a good impression of each other after a blind date and are willing to get married, then before getting married, the woman will go to the man's home, commonly known as house-viewing.

At this time, the man must entertain the woman well. As long as the woman is satisfied, they can discuss the wedding date and the gift and dowry.

When Huang Dazhi and Luo Li were dating, the ceremony was simpler than this. This was because Luo Li's family was too poor and she didn't have many requirements for the man.

But they were lucky to have met Huang Dazhi, so Huang Dazhi arranged all the necessary procedures.

On this day, Gao Mingcheng and Xuanyue also came to their parents' house to help entertain the Wang family.

There are not many people in Wang Xiuxiu's family. There are six people in total, including grandparents, parents, Wang Xiuxiu and her brother.

In an era when other families generally had five or six children, Xiaowang Village also had a custom that other villages did not have, which was to have a maximum of three children, and the most common custom was two.

Gao Mingcheng thought that this might be related to the strong academic atmosphere in Xiaowang Village. After all, the effort and cost involved in raising a child casually and raising a child carefully are really different.

Even though birth control has been relaxed now, there are only two types of people who are willing to have many children: the rich and the poor.

The rich can afford it, and the more children the better. And if someone really has an heir to the throne, it is understandable that they would try to have a son.

As for the poor, their motto is: having one more child means having one more pair of chopsticks.

When they raise children, they really only care about providing them with food and clothing, and then pray that one of these children will become successful so that they can live a good life.

From ancient times to the present, only the middle class dare not have more children, because the cost of raising children is too high and they cannot afford too many.

"Xiu Xiu, are you tired from the car ride? Come in and sit down." Luo Xiaohua, wearing the new clothes that Gao Mingcheng had given her, entertained the Wang family with a smile on her face.

They were warmly welcomed into the main room and sat down.

A wooden table coated with tung oil was wiped clean and shiny, and various snacks and candies were placed on the table. Luo Xiaohua also brought them hot tea in time.

This tea was bought from the supply and marketing cooperative. It is better than the tea I make at home, more fragrant, and without that astringent taste.

Wang Xiuxiu is nineteen years old this year. She has been staying at home since she graduated from junior high school. She is not very good-looking, but she is quite thin and has fair skin. She looks special at first sight.

In an era when girls generally had to work in the fields, few had fair skin. Even though she was very beautiful, her skin was not very white. Before she married Gao Mingcheng, it was even a little rough. This was because she was exposed to the sun too much and did not take care of herself in time.

Of course, after life got better, many beauties' skin improved visibly. Up to now, perhaps because of the early pregnancy that made them feel a little weak, their faces are paler than usual.

The Wang family was well-educated and it was easy for them to entertain. The main object of their assessment was Gao Mingwan, who they asked about his career plans and his intentions after marriage.

Gao Mingwan said everything one by one, and also secretly expressed his love for Wang Xiuxiu.

The Wang family was indeed quite satisfied. After lunch, both parties sat down and began to discuss the bride price and dowry.

During this process, Gao Mingcheng and Xuanyuemei don't need to interrupt, they can just sit beside them and accompany them.

Finally, Gao Mingwan agreed to give Wang Xiuxiu a betrothal gift of 1,011 yuan, which means one in a thousand. Whether it is the amount or the meaning, it shows his sincerity to the girl's family.

In addition to cash, Gao Mingwan also agreed to some other things.

He was straightforward, and so were the Wang family members. In front of Gao Yuanjian, Luo Xiaohua and others, they said that they would bring the money and things along when they got married.

It is extremely rare for a family to let their daughter take all the betrothal gifts and other things. Parents who can give their daughter half of the betrothal money are already very good parents.

When Wang Xiuxiu's parents said this, her brother had a normal expression, without a trace of dissatisfaction, which shows that their family tradition is indeed good.

After the two families happily discussed the marriage, the Wang family did not stay any longer.

Gao Mingwan enthusiastically drove them back to Xiaowang Village again.

Gao Mingcheng and Xuanyuemei also left, strolling towards Niuweiling. Along the way, Heihu and Jingling followed closely behind them, with the word "clingy" clearly written on their faces.

"There were a lot of people around just now, and I didn't ask if you were okay." Gao Mingcheng lowered his head and looked at Xuanyimei. He had vaguely felt that Xuanyimei's face looked a little unhappy.

Xuanyuemei said, "I can't stand the smell of cigarettes. Your father smoked before, and the smell made me uncomfortable. Mingcheng, it's a good thing you don't smoke."

Gao Mingcheng...he was silent.

In his previous life, he was a heavy smoker!

Did many women not like the smell of cigarettes when they were pregnant? He had heard that smoking and secondhand smoke during pregnancy could easily cause fetal malformation.

Now that I think about it, is it because he is away from home all year round that his two children are healthy?

Thinking of this, Gao Mingcheng felt even more sad, and felt that he was a real jerk in the past.

He promised, "Don't worry, I won't smoke anymore."

Manyu Mei looked up at him, with sweet smiles on her pretty faces. Her husband was so good!

(End of this chapter)