Chapter 77
◎Back at the Shikumen, walking into the alley, Bei Bitang saw the little boy and her five or six-year-old child lying together in the distance◎
Returning to the Shikumen and walking into the alley, Bei Bitang saw from afar the little boy and her own five or six-year-old child lying on the ground, playing with a wooden frog.
Miao Xiuxiu sat under the shade of a tree not far from Xiao Maotou, lying on a bamboo lounge chair, half-closing her eyes, waving a palm-leaf fan, with a three or four centimeter long mosquito coil burning on the ground.
Bei Bitang passed by her silently. The little boy was having so much fun that he didn't notice his beautiful aunt coming back.
"Stop!" Miao Xiuxiu suddenly called out to Bei Bitang, her eyes fully open.
Bei Bitang stopped and looked at Miao Xiuxiu to see if she had anything to say.
Miao Xiuxiu gently waved her palm-leaf fan and said, "When are you going to meet that person? I can make an appointment with him."
Bei Bitang was utterly disgusted. Another marriage! After the college entrance exam, Miao Xiuxiu and the others hadn't once asked her how she'd done. Did they really have so little confidence in her?
Bei Bitang's face showed a hint of sarcasm, and she said coldly, "It's only been a month, can't Mommy wait?"
After saying that, Bei Bitang ignored Miao Xiuxiu's words and quickly walked up the stairs.
In the following days, Bei Bitang had to stay at home, and Feng Guangmei went to her grandmother's house.
The deal with Zhou Jiewen has ended, and I feel embarrassed to disturb her again. It's a hot summer day, and the Zhou family lives in the attic, and there is a patient. If there is one more person, the room will only get hotter.
As for Gu Wangxi...
Bei Bitang took the tram to the Bund, where the melodious and pleasant bell sounds rang out from the Customs House, spreading all around.
After getting off the tram, she walked to the street across from the Peace Hotel. While waiting to cross the road, Bei Bitang looked up at the green roof of the Peace Hotel with mixed feelings.
She wanted to end this relationship with Gu Wangxi, but she didn't know how to say it. Whenever she met Gu Wangxi's deep and bright eyes, she would swallow the words that were on the tip of her tongue back into her stomach.
Gu Wangxi also knew that Bei Bitang had no intention of being his girlfriend. In order to prevent herself from being desperate in the future, she just wanted to find a meal ticket. If this invoice was not for him, it would be for someone else.
In just one year, Bei Bitang not only caught up on her high school courses but also made rapid progress, completely betraying her weak junior high school academic foundation. He was more confident that Bei Bitang would be able to get into a good university than he was that his sister, who had a host of renowned teachers to tutor her, would be able to do so.
Bei Bitang’s admission letter to Jiaotong University is her new journey and also her swan song.
Bei Bitang could sever their ties without hesitation because she didn't owe him anything. He called it a meal ticket, but he hadn't even paid for it yet. Given Bei Bitang's self-reliant nature and her precious university student status, she wouldn't need him in the future.
He gave Bei Bitang many gifts, but she never took them out. They lay in the drawer of the bedside table, and most of them were still unopened.
He told everyone around him about the money he spent on Bei Bitang. Even Huo Shixun, who was wary of Bei Bitang, would scold him for being stingy. It turned out that Bei Bitang would get nothing from you, and his worries were in vain.
"Mr. Gu."
Bei Bitang sat on the bed, hugging the quilt and called out softly.
Gu Wangxi was called back from his immersed thoughts. His slender white hands paused as he buttoned his clothes. Then he quickly picked up the black suit jacket at the end of the bed and said quickly, "I have something urgent. I have to fly abroad this week and I don't know when I will be back in Shanghai."
After saying that, without giving Bei Bitang a chance to speak, he took a step with his long legs and strode towards the door.
Bei Bitang behind him closed her mouth, looking as if she wanted to say something but hesitated. In fact, she wanted to remind Gu Wangxi that the white shirt on the back of him was not tucked into his belt and was exposed.
But Gu Wangxi’s driver should remind him, right?
Bei Bitang thought uncertainly.
Being certain is one thing, but the long wait is another.
Bei Bitang was waiting anxiously at home. The more she showed up in the Shikumen, the more opportunities her neighbors had to talk about her.
But Bei Bitang is a negative example. If they had a daughter like her, they would not be able to sleep.
Bei Bitang is always used by middle-aged aunts to describe their daughters who resist dating and are unwilling to fall in love or get married.
Look at that girl! Bei Bitang is so pretty! Can you be as pretty as her? No one wants to be her matchmaker now, just sitting at home eating for free. Do you want to be another Bei Bitang?
There are also those who don’t want their daughters to go to school and take the college entrance examination.
I remember how many points Bei Bitang got in junior high school. Your grades are even worse than hers. Look at her, what can she possibly get? Be a good boy and work in the factory to support your family. Forget about going to college.
Feng Guangmei came back from her grandmother's house. The two of them snuggled in Feng Guangmei's little bed, lowered the mosquito net, ate ice cream, imitated the words of the old aunts, and smiled foolishly.
Feng Guangmei took the ice cream out of her mouth, raised her eyebrows, raised her head, and snorted coldly, "Just wait and see, they won't be able to see it well! Just wait for their jaws to drop!"
The sky became brighter day by day. It was only five o'clock and the sky was already bright. The lights on the roadside seemed redundant.
A few rays of morning light streamed in through the window. Bei Bitang climbed up from the mat, shaking her collar.
She glanced out the window and saw that it was another sunny day.
Miao Xiuxiu was old, and when it got hot, she couldn't sleep. As she carried the toilet downstairs, Bei Bitang instructed, "After you wash your face and brush your teeth, take some money from the little pouch I've put under your pillow and go to the street corner to buy some soy milk and fried dough sticks."
Bei Bitang said yes. She looked at herself in the mirror and touched her two braids that reached her shoulders. Her hair had grown longer. She silently admired her beautiful hair for a while.
Bei Bitang lifted the mosquito net and glanced at the little boy who was sleeping with a red face. She couldn't help but reach out and touch his soft face. Then she took out Miao Xiuxiu's wallet from under the pillow and took out a five-cent note.
Walking back from the street corner, Bei Bitang saw Huang Dashan and Xue Guizhi again. Huang Dashan was touching his belly with one hand while talking to Xue Guizhi, and the smile on his face never faded.
Xue Guizhi laughed so hard that her body shook, her eyes narrowed, and she covered her mouth.
When the two saw Bei Bitang, Huang Dashan deliberately raised his voice and said, "Comrade Xue, thank you so much, husband. You helped me find a job. I'm making a little more money this month."
Xue Guizhi's husband was from the geological team, and he was the same bag carrier at the dock as Huang Dashan. They were not related at all, so it was obvious that they were trying to cover up their guilt. Moreover, Xue Guizhi and her husband had such a weak relationship, would she ask her husband for help? Would he really help her?
Xue Guizhi's eyes widened, and she did not respond to Huang Dashan's words. She covered her mouth and let out a series of laughs.
Bei Bitang turned her head away and walked past the two of them with cold eyes from a distance of three or four meters.
Xue Guizhi said indifferently, "No one talks to your brother-in-law."
Huang Dashan dragged out his tone and said, "A college student."
Xue Guizhi started laughing again.
When Bei Bitang came back with soy milk and fried dough sticks, Miao Xiuxiu had already lit the stove and cooked some hot porridge. She also used chopsticks to pick out a small dish of shredded bamboo shoots, peanuts, and pickled cucumbers from the pickle jar.
Bei Bitang placed the soy milk and fried dough sticks on the table, lifted the lid that was about to burst open, removed the aluminum pot from the stove, and replaced it with another pot. Inside was the washed rice for lunch, which she would keep simmering in the residual heat to save coal.
Miao Xiuxiu brought the bowls and chopsticks and placed them on the square table. Huang Dashan was nowhere to be seen at the table. She frowned and asked, "Where is my son-in-law?"
Bei Bitang silently glanced at the little kid who was twisting his butt in Lin Bilan's arms.
Lin Bilan said casually: "We went out to eat."
Miao Xiuxiu put the extra dishes and chopsticks back and said unhappily, "If I had known that my son-in-law wouldn't be home for breakfast, I wouldn't have needed to buy soy milk and fried dough sticks."
Lin Bilan didn't say anything. Isn't this a matter of course?
Three women who were related by blood sat together, but they had nothing to say to each other. The only sound in the room was the noise of the little kids.
Later in the morning, Lin Bilan glanced at Bei Bitang and said with ill intent, "Has the admissions process started? I heard quite a few people have already received their university acceptance letters."
Bei Bitang drank some soy milk and said calmly, "That's for the military academy, studying medicine, and they were admitted early."
Lin Bilan choked, curled her lips, and said, "Who would believe that?"
Bei Bitang said with a calm face, "Believe it or not."
Lin Bilan said harshly, "Humph, if you pass the exam, I'll tear my head off and let you kick it like a ball."
Bei Bitang raised her eyebrows slightly, and said with a half-smile, "Some people's words should be regarded as farts, otherwise they would have died eight hundred times already."
Lin Bilan spoke as if her life was valuable and precious. Every time she knew she was wrong, she would swear and curse herself.
In the past, Bei Bitang gave Lin Bilan some leeway out of consideration for family harmony and sisterhood.
Now, full of energy, Lin Bilan has nothing to say.
Lin Bilan bit the dough stick in her hand several times with resentment, wiped her mouth and said, "Mom, I'm going to work!"
Before leaving, Lin Bilan glanced back at Bei Bitang proudly, as if to say, "See, I have classes to attend! You unemployed vagrant!"
The sun was scorching, and there was a hint of heat in the air. In the grocery store, the ceiling strip fans were whirring, and the salesperson inside was yawning and swatting flies.
Bei Bitang came out of the grocery store carrying a wicker basket. The strong sunlight hit her eyes directly, and Bei Bitang couldn't help but put her hand in front of her forehead to block the sunlight.
A postman in army green overalls passed by Bei Bitang, riding a bicycle very fast, the bell ringing, making people irritated.
Bei Bitang walked downstairs in the scorching sun and saw Feng Guangmei and the postman standing at the foot of her building. Feng Guangmei was holding two document bags in her hands, with a look of ecstasy on her face.
Feng Guangmei seemed to sense Bei Bitang. She turned around and looked into the alley. The next second, she pointed at Bei Bitang and shouted to the postman, "She is Bei Bitang!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Feng Guangmei rushed towards Bei Bitang.
"Next! Bitang, this is your acceptance letter!"
Feng Guangmei couldn't wait any longer and threw a file bag at Bei Bitang.
Bei Bitang was stunned, her expression blank for two seconds, then her eyes widened, she leaned forward hurriedly, and reached out to catch the file bag.
As soon as she got the file bag, Bei Bitang tore it open with trembling hands.
The first thing she saw was the name of the school she had always dreamed of. "... Jiaotong University Admissions Notice. Comrade Bei Bitang, the Shanghai Municipal Admissions Committee has approved your admission to our Mechanical Engineering Department, majoring in Vehicle Engineering. Please report to the university in September 1979... with this admission notice..."
Bei Bitang had better look at the big red seal of the school at the signature.
Feng Guangmei took Bei Bitang's hand, spun around in place, and started jumping.
Under the scorching sun, the two girls shouted loudly.
"Bitang, I passed the exam!"
“I passed the exam too!”
"School of Finance and Economics!"
"National Chiao Tung University!"
"Ha ha ha ha!"
The two jumped for a while, then suddenly stopped and hugged each other tightly, tears of joy welling up in their two pairs of young and clear eyes.
Only they themselves know the confusion and bewilderment they experienced this year, the many times they wavered and the countless times they gritted their teeth to persevere.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
