The festive atmosphere in the village was stronger than in the city. Jiang Wanqing stayed at home for a few days and saw different decorations every day.
As if to accumulate good karma for the New Year, those gossipy aunties and grandmas also restrained themselves. Apart from the occasional whispers that reached her ears, Jiang Wanqing didn't hear much more talk about herself.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, the brigade sent her a letter. The brigade leader himself brought it, beaming with joy, almost handing it over with both hands.
I heard his loud voice early in the morning.
"Is Wanqing home? A letter has been sent from the Beijing area!"
She was helping her mother cook when her arm was bumped.
"Go and see, maybe Cheng Ran wrote you a letter."
Her father nodded to her, repeatedly saying yes.
“The battalion commander personally delivered the message, there must be something going on. I’ll go with you to take a look.”
The father and daughter went out together, and the brigade leader smiled even more brightly when he saw them. He strode forward and took Jiang Jianguo's hand.
"Jianguo, your Wanqing is so accomplished! I just heard she took the college entrance exam, but I didn't expect Huada University to send a letter so quickly. It seems like she's almost certain to be admitted!"
"Hua University?" Jiang Jianguo was greatly surprised: "This letter is..."
"Ah, I was so happy I forgot to mention, this letter is from a professor at Huada University for Wanqing. Here you go." The brigade leader smiled as he handed the letter to Jiang Wanqing, eagerly waiting for her to open it, wanting to know what good news it was, preferably something that would bring honor to the village!
It wasn't Cheng Ran who sent the letter. Jiang Wanqing took a shallow breath. Just by looking at the handwriting, without even seeing the signature, she already knew it was written by Professor Xue.
The letter, consisting of just a few lines, read: "I am delighted to hear that Comrade Wanqing has successfully completed her college entrance examination. I would like to invite you to Beijing for a chat. If you are interested, we can meet at the Juwangting Pavilion at Huazhong University of Science and Technology on the tenth day of the first lunar month..."
Seeing that she remained silent for a long time, the captain exclaimed in anxiety and urged, "What does the letter say?"
Jiang Wanqing was overjoyed by Professor Xue's invitation; it was more meaningful and valuable than ten letters from Cheng Ran!
She carefully folded the letter and put it back in the envelope, smiled at the brigade leader, and then turned to look at her father with excitement.
"Professor Xue from Huazhong University of Science and Technology invited me to visit the university on the tenth day of the Lunar New Year!"
"What?! The...the professor wants you to come?"
"Um."
"Hahaha...That's great! Our Xiyang Village can finally hold its head high!" The brigade leader clapped his hands with joy.
Because of Jiang Xiu and Yuan Zhong's repeated crimes and imprisonment, he couldn't hold his head up in the surrounding brigades. Everyone said that he hadn't done a good job in ideological education, and who knows what other shady things might be going on in the village. But now, Hua Da sent a letter saying that Jiang Wanqing has a good chance of getting into university, if not ten points, then nine points. This is an honor for the whole village!
Hearing the noise, Xue He wiped her hands on her apron and came out.
"What's so great?"
"Our Wanqing is going to Huada University in Beijing on the tenth day of the Lunar New Year. A professor has invited her to visit. We need to prepare something for her quickly. She can't go empty-handed. What should we bring her?"
Jiang Jianwei and his wife pressed their ear against the door of the side room, listening to the sounds outside. They exchanged a glance, their eyes practically blazing with jealousy.
"Why does Jiang Wanqing succeed in everything! Poor Xiuer..."
"What can we do? Xiuer broke off the engagement herself. We and Mom tried to stop her, but she just wouldn't marry Cheng Ran!"
"What do we do now? Are we really going to just watch your older brother's family become rich and powerful while we're stuck in this godforsaken village for the rest of our lives?"
It would have been better if she hadn't talked about it, because talking about it made Jiang Xiu's mother even more aggrieved. Originally, she was counting on having a battalion commander son-in-law to live a glorious life, and it was very likely that she could move to the city in the future. Who would have thought that she would have nothing now, and she didn't even dare to dream about it!
"Hmph! Isn't Jiang Wanqing supposed to go to the capital on the tenth? Well then, I'll make her go!" Jiang Jianwei gritted his teeth.
What do you want to do?
“Come out with me.”
Before the woman could react, Jiang Jianwei yanked her out forcefully. His previously kind words had instantly turned sour.
"Quickly apologize to your elder brother, sister-in-law, and Wanqing!"
"Smack!"
"You...you hit me?!"
Jiang Xiu's mother was shocked, covering her face where she had been slapped.
"So what if I hit you? It's all because of you, you bitch, that my brother and I are at odds. If it weren't for your meddling, Xiu'er and Yuan Zhiqing wouldn't be in jail, and our mother is bedridden. Isn't all of this your fault? Now Wanqing is the only hope for our Jiang family. You better apologize to her properly!"
As he cursed, he winked at his wife. Jiang Xiu's mother felt indignant, but she guessed that this was a ruse. She could only suppress her dissatisfaction, squeeze out two tears, and looked at Jiang Wanqing's family.
"I...I'm sorry." She said, stepping forward and grabbing Jiang Wanqing's arm: "I was bewitched before, which is why I did bad things to you. Now I know I was wrong, please forgive me."
Something was definitely amiss when things seemed out of the ordinary. The fact that they jumped out to apologize just as the captain came to deliver the message made it clear to Jiang Wanqing that something fishy was going on.
He sneered and shook off her hand: "If an apology were enough, what would we need the police for? You think you can erase the harm done over the past ten or twenty years with just an apology? You're dreaming!"
Seeing that she was unyielding, Jiang Xiu's mother bit her tongue and, in a fit of anger, slapped herself twice.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry, it's all my fault!" After hitting her, she looked at Jiang Jianguo and Xue He: "Big brother, sister-in-law, you will forgive me, right? You are so good... Dad has always said that you are sensible, big brother, and you won't hold it against us."
What a clever tactic of moral blackmail! Jiang Wanqing shook her head at her father, and even Xue He tugged at her husband's sleeve. A moment of weakness would only bring a lifetime of regret.
He stood there, conflicted and embarrassed. Jiang Jianwei hadn't expected that his self-inflicted injury would still fail at this point, so he turned around and picked up the wood-chopping axe.
"Brother, since you refuse to forgive us, then I'll pay with my life! I'll die, I only ask that you take good care of Mom... I ask for nothing else..."
"No, Jianwei... Waaah... Why are we so unlucky? Our daughter is gone, and our son-in-law is in jail. What are we going to do? This family is broken. I remember Dad told us to stay together when he passed away... Ah, I don't want to live anymore. I'll go with you..."
The couple were putting on an act. Jiang Wanqing watched coldly, but she couldn't persuade the family of three. However, the captain was moved first and quickly pulled the two who were trying to kill themselves up.
"Alright, enough of this talk about death during the New Year. Your family is about to have a golden phoenix like Wanqing fly out, so why would they bother with you two? I'll be the peacemaker. Let's have a proper meal together during the New Year, brothers, and let bygones be bygones. Let's live our lives well from now on, okay?"
"That's great! Thank you, Captain. You're so understanding. With your words, my brother will definitely be able to see things clearly."
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