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As the saying goes, illness comes like a mountain falling, and goes like a thread being pulled out. Even though Xu Nian wanted to find Xu Hongqi, his body would not allow it.
Fortunately, the neighbor next to Xu Nian’s house is the original owner’s best friend and classmate - Xu Yan.
Moreover, Xu Yan came to play with Xu Nian whenever she was free these two days. Seeing Xu Nian studying, the two of them studied together, which made the time less boring.
Xu Nian felt that this friend was quite simple and was fundamentally different from the fake sisters in her previous life. Taking advantage of her simplicity, she would sometimes ask questions to find out more about Xu Hongqi.
But perhaps because she was a girl, young, and confined to this area, she ultimately didn't get any answers. With her family constantly reminding her that exams were coming up and she needed to focus, Xu Nian decided to put other things aside and wait until she finished the exams.
Xu Nian was quite serious about studying. He hadn't been able to learn before, but his attitude was still very good. Busy times always flew by. Today was his exam, but everyone in his family had gone to work two days ago, leaving only Xu's mother at home to look after the children.
She herself felt guilty and didn't know the way, so she made an appointment with Xu Yan to go to school together. So she stood at the door early, with Xu's mother calling out to her from behind, "Niannian, do well in the exam, don't be nervous."
Xu Nian confidently replied, "No problem," and waved to Xu's mother with a smile. Looking down at the army-green schoolbag slung across his body, he felt a warm feeling in his heart as he thought of the pencil and eraser that Third Brother Xu had given him last night. Just then, Xu Yan came over, and they left the house hand in hand.
"Niannian, are you nervous?" Without waiting for Xu Nian to speak, she continued, "I am very nervous, but I guess I won't do well on the test. I can't even understand math. If I had known earlier, I would have studied hard in school. If I hadn't done well on the test, my dad would definitely not let me continue."
Xu Nian could only comfort him: "It's okay, don't scare yourself before the exam."
"Niannian, why aren't you afraid? We both study at about the same level!"
“…”
"I feel like I've finally gotten my bearings lately, and I feel like I'm doing pretty well in my studies. My third brother even gave me extra lessons," Xu Nian said with a guilty conscience.
The two of them then cramd and memorized the text on the way. After walking for about half an hour, they arrived at the Fourth Brigade Primary School. The Fourth Brigade included three villages in total, and most of the people there were surnamed Xu. There were also other outsiders assigned here.
As soon as she entered the school, someone saw Xu Nian coming over to talk to her. In the spirit of saying less and making fewer mistakes, Xu Nian didn't say much, just echoing with "hmm" and "ah". It was basically Xu Yan who was chattering. Although the exam was about to start, no one seemed nervous anymore.
Only when she followed her classmates into the classroom did Xu Nian's senses refresh. She had never seen such a shabby desk even in the orphanage in her previous life. She didn't even know if it could be called a desk.
The table should be the cross-section of a thick tree that has been split and polished, and the cross-section of the wood board is placed on three mud blocks to keep it stable. Most of the students have already sat in their seats.
But no matter how surprised he was, Xu Nian still sat in the third row. There weren't too many students in the class, and there were more boys than girls.
As soon as Xu Nian put down his schoolbag, he felt someone poking him in the back with a small stick. Thinking it was an accident, he ignored it.
But not long after, he was stabbed a few more times. Xu Nian was a little angry and turned his head sharply. It was a boy with thick eyebrows and big eyes. He had the youthfulness and immaturity of his age, but at this time he was smiling playfully, which made Xu Nian not like him.
Xu Cong smiled and asked, "Xu Nian, why haven't you gone out to play recently? I haven't seen you for several days. I also left a cookie for you. I'll give it to you after the exam."
Xu Nian had seen this kind of trick many times and shook his head with no interest.
Xu Cong was anxious: "Why don't you want it? Didn't you say you wanted to eat it last time? If my dad wasn't the captain, I wouldn't have been able to get it. I specially left a piece for you."
Xu Nian raised his eyebrows and couldn't help thinking, it turns out that the other family is quite powerful. I don't know what the relationship between the original owner and him is like. But no matter what it was like in the past, Xu Nian is not interested now.
With the idea of not offending or provoking him, he said in a friendly manner: "I've eaten and I'm not hungry. You eat. I want to read for a while." Then he turned around.
There were other boys watching nearby, and they made a few "oh, oh, oh" noises, but no one said anything.
Not long after, the teacher came in with the test papers, said some things to pay attention to, and then handed out the papers and started the exam.
Xu Nian glanced over the paper and felt that most of it was fine, so he started writing quickly. Since there weren't many subjects at the moment, he finished the exam in one morning.
Xu Nian breathed a sigh of relief and went home with Xu Yan. He didn't feel it when he came, but it was noon when he went back. He was hot and tired. When he slowed down his pace, the environment became clearer, and he naturally felt deeply the strength of the motherland and its spirit of tenacious struggle.
The reason for this idea is that the people's clothing, food, housing and transportation here are in stark contrast to the future. Everywhere you look, there are mud houses. The walls of the houses are generally not high. What's worse, some families use fences as walls, and through the fences are still mud houses. After walking for such a long time, you only see two or three blue brick and tile houses.
Xu Yan said that they had just finished harvesting the wheat and everyone needed two days to rest. The food they had recently eaten had just improved and would be back to normal in two days. They could only have two meals a day, and each meal was watery. She looked regretful as she spoke.
After walking for a while, the two of them returned to their respective homes. When Xu Nian came in, he went to the kitchen and poured a bowl of boiled water, which he drank heartily. Everyone in the Xu family was eating at this time. Seeing Xu Nian's red face, Xu's mother quickly took a wet towel and handed it to Xu Nian.
Xu Nian accepted it readily, but she didn't dare touch her face directly. The towel wasn't exactly black, but it certainly looked unhygienic, which made her feel depressed. Fortunately, the weather wasn't hot, so she had been washing her face and drying it naturally for the past two days. So she wiped her hands with it, handed it back to Xu's mother, and had to say it wasn't hot against her will.
Today, Xu's mother had intended to wait for her daughter to come home before eating, so she cooked dinner late. When Xu Nian came back, everyone asked how she did on the exam.
Xu Nian hadn't had time to eat yet and didn't want to say too much. It was just coarse grains and not much oil, so she was hungry in a short while. So after Xu's mother distributed the food to her, she focused on filling her stomach.
Seeing that her sister-in-law didn't say anything, the eldest sister-in-law thought Xu Nian didn't do well in the exam, so she gloated a little and deliberately said: "Niannian, it's okay. It doesn't matter if you didn't do well in the exam. Girls don't need to study too much. It's enough to be able to read. The most important thing is to marry a good family."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu's father's face darkened. "If you can't speak, don't speak. You can't even keep your mouth shut while eating."
Everyone was silent for a moment, and Mrs. Xu's face immediately turned red. She really didn't expect that her father-in-law, who usually didn't talk much, would humiliate her in front of her.
Although Xu Nian didn't agree with his sister-in-law's views, he didn't want to have a bad meal, so he said to his father with a smile: "Dad, don't worry, I think I did very well in the exam, just wait for my good news!"
"Our teacher said that the test results will be out in three days. Those who do well can then take the county junior high school entrance exam, which is equivalent to a class placement exam. Anyway, I'm confident now. I'll ask Dad to take me there and give me a reward. Hehe, I've already decided what I want."
Seeing this, the eldest brother looked at the younger sister with gratitude and said, "Sister, if you do well in the exam, Dad will give you something, and I will give you something too."
"Then I'll make a high stool for our little sister. I heard that she has to bring her from home when she goes to junior high school."
Xu Nian learned that his second brother had learned carpentry from others for a few months, so he said this on purpose.
With this interruption, the atmosphere returned to normal, and Xu's parents were also satisfied with their children's harmony and mutual love.
Xu Nian agreed to all of them shamelessly.
As for the small quarrel coming from his eldest brother's house at night, Xu Nian automatically ignored it.
While waiting for the results, Xu's mother also went to work, and the task of taking care of the child was given to Xu Nian. Rural children are tough, so it is not difficult to take care of them. But no matter how easy it is, Xu Nian has no experience in this and past lives combined, so no matter what he wants to do, he still can't leave.
The weather was getting hotter by the day, but the children didn't mind the heat; they just wanted to go out and play. Xu Nian couldn't stand the scorching sun. In the mornings and afternoons, she'd spread a straw mat under a tree in the yard for Tietou and the others to play on, while she kept the children entertained.
"Little Iron Head, why are you called Iron Head? Do you think you have an iron head?" The five-year-old nephew can still communicate.
"Aunt, I don't know."
"Then let auntie try," Xu Nian pretended to be serious and took a small stone to hit Tietou on the head. Tietou hugged his head and pulled his brothers and sisters to hide everywhere, saying that auntie was bad, and laughed and twisted into a ball.
The sun came out, and in order to avoid taking them out to play, Xu Nian showed them how to weave flowers, small animals, and straw hats with straw ropes to attract their attention.
Sometimes when Xu Yan comes to play with her, she is always surprised by the little things Xu Nian makes, and thinks they are so cute. Xu Nian will also shamelessly ask others to praise her more.
It is said that when God closes a door for you, he will open a window. What was closed for Xu Nian was her IQ, and what was opened might be her hands-on ability. From childhood to adulthood, her handicrafts have always been very good, so Xu Nian generously gave it to the only friend she knows now.
Life without a mobile phone is painful, but after a long time, I don’t miss it so much.
It's fine to just chill at home, not needing to keep track of time. But it's really inconvenient when things get busy. Today, I went to get my report card. I'm used to waking up with the alarm, but today, I had to wait until Xu Yan woke me up before I got up in a panic.
Xu Nian asked Yan Zi to wait for a moment while he quickly brushed his teeth and washed his face. He went to the closet at the end of the bed to look for clothes, but there were only a few pieces of clothing. He could only find a set of summer trousers. However, because the shirt was too big, Xu Nian tucked it into the trousers. Not only did he look more energetic, but he also made his waist look slimmer and his legs longer.
Turning around, she saw Xu Yan looking at the hair ornaments she was about to discard. She realized they were still loose, so she decided to tie them into a bun that looked fluffy but not messy. It was both cool and pretty. She casually picked up a red rubber band and gave it to Yanzi. Knowing Xu Nian had several rubber bands, she didn't refuse and took her hand and hurried out.
Passing by the fields, Xu Nian met fellow villagers who were working. He smiled and greeted them together with Yan Zi. When they arrived at the school, as expected, most of the classmates had arrived and the teachers were already there.
Some students have already learned about their grades from other sources. Anyway, there are those in the class who are happy, those who are sad, and those who don’t care at all. They are all chattering and have endless things to say.
Seeing that most people had arrived, the teacher patted the podium and said, "Quiet down, I will hand out the results now. As long as you have scored 85 points or above in each subject, you can go to the county to take the exam next Sunday. Those who do well can choose County No. 1 Middle School or County No. 3 Middle School. If you feel that your score is not so good, it is best to go to County No. 3 Middle School."
After saying that, he gave the test paper to the boy who took the photo of Xu Nian last time. Xu Cong was happy in his heart. He had come to school yesterday and knew that his scores were enough. He was just worried about Xu Nian. But when he accidentally glanced at Xu Nian's paper, he saw that he had scored 93 points on the Chinese paper. He thought he was seeing things, but he looked at it again and found that it was true.
He felt a sense of melancholy. He'd been happy before, even though Xu Nian wasn't good at school but was pretty. But now that her grades were up, he felt bad. My mom always said that women don't need to be smart; the best thing is to take care of men and children.
I can only say that it’s a good thing that Xu Nian didn’t hear this, otherwise, even though she doesn’t like to cause trouble, she would also want to hit Xu Cong with a brick. He eats too much and thinks too much.
When Xu Cong looked at Xu Nian with a complicated expression, Xu Nian thought she had done poorly on the test, and her heart skipped a beat. Even when she got the test paper, she couldn't help but roll her eyes, thinking this guy was sick and she should stay away from him.
After receiving all the papers, she felt even happier and more at ease. Except for the slightly lower score of 90 in ideology and morality, she actually got 97 in mathematics. She, who had always been a poor student, almost cried with joy.
What’s more important is that the school actually rewarded me with one yuan and a teacup. This was really a pleasant surprise. You know, money was really “valuable” in the 1970s.
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