At the same time, the examination papers in the capital were also being graded one after another.
The Admissions and Examinations Authority has set this year's passing score for candidates to use as a reference.
The candidates' scores are still being sorted and have not been announced yet, but the top scorers in science and liberal arts have already been announced.
Before Grandma Xie had the time to read her grandson's report for the third time, there was a bustle of activity in the military compound.
Grandma Xie put down the newspaper and walked out to take a look. It turned out that a group of reporters had come to the military compound, and the entrance to the compound was packed with people.
Neighbors from all directions found it very novel and rushed over to join in the fun.
The neighbor said to Grandma Xie, "I heard that our compound has produced a top scorer in the college entrance examination. Reporters have blocked the entrance to the compound. Let's go and take a look."
Grandma Xie muttered to herself, "We've already done a round of interviews in the countryside, and it's already been reported in the newspapers. Why do we need another round?"
She found it a little unbelievable and thought the interview was troublesome.
But in order not to embarrass her grandson, Grandma Xie changed her clothes, combed her hair meticulously, and looked in the mirror several times before going out.
There were guards at the gate of the family compound. Before the reporter even walked in, he was shocked by the row of eight-foot-tall soldiers dressed in pine green.
They were not qualified to enter the military compound, so they had to conduct the interview in an open space outside the compound.
Passersby asked curiously: "Why is it so busy so early in the morning?"
A neighbor watching the excitement nearby said happily: "This year, our compound has produced a top scorer in the college entrance examination."
"The Zhou family's child is really promising. This time he has earned enough face for the compound!"
Grandma Xie, who had dressed up carefully for the interview, looked a little strange when she heard these words.
She asked, "The top scholar is a child of the Zhou family?"
Grandma Zhou's daughter, Ding Xiaohong's face was flushed and her mouth was always open.
Grandma Zhou was not very happy after hearing what Grandma Xie said, but she still said proudly:
"Just a few days ago I mentioned that Ping Huai estimated his score to be 430, and he said he was not sure about getting into a key university in the capital. And today a top scorer was announced. This kid is still a little modest..."
She couldn't help laughing out loud.
Grandma Xie asked: "I'm a little confused. How many points did Ping Huai get in the exam this year?"
Grandma Zhou opened up her mouth when she mentioned her grandson. "It's four hundred and fifty-three points! He underestimated it by ten points because he was not sure."
Grandma Xie said calmly: "Congratulations, it's not easy for a child to do so well in the exam."
After saying this, Grandma Xie went home and did not stay to join in the fun.
The other family members in the compound were shocked by the reporters' presence.
When the family members passed by the door and saw a TV station interviewing the family, they all stopped in their tracks.
This is... the top scholar!
This was the first time in all these years that the family compound had produced a top scholar, and the neighbors looked at the Zhou family with envy.
In the eyes of the family members, Zhou Pinghuai, who was being interviewed, seemed to be covered in gold. It was no exaggeration to describe him as a gold nugget.
In the eyes of the older generation of intellectuals, studying is the only way to have a future.
Those who can continue to study will have good future development, and the top scorers in the college entrance examination are even more rare and good seedlings.
There is a living example in the military compound, where educated officers have great opportunities for promotion.
What's more, Zhou Pinghuai was the top scholar in the capital. He was the first among hundreds of thousands of candidates. Others were one in ten thousand, but he was one in hundreds of thousands.
You will have a bright future!
It would really bring honor to the Zhou family.
Zhou Pinghuai had become a man admired by everyone in the compound, and even his farts were considered fragrant by others. Young men and women of similar age all looked at him with admiration.
Zhou Pinghuai's interview did not end until noon.
However, before noon, the Zhou family had already set up a wedding banquet and invited everyone in the entire compound to attend Zhou Pinghuai's graduation banquet.
Because time was so tight, all the free neighbors in the entire compound came to help, and the wedding banquet was lively and had a bit of the festive atmosphere of Chinese New Year.
Grandma Zhou recalled the look on Grandma Xie's face in the morning, and she felt upset.
Today was her grandson’s wedding day. After the wedding banquet, she followed the others and asked, “What happened to Teacher Yan this morning?”
When Zhou's daughter-in-law Li Rong heard this, she just smiled but did not get involved.
She had never taken the Xie family's affairs seriously before, but people always compared her son with the kid from the Xie family.
When it comes to Xie Tingyu, Ping Huai seems to be inferior to him in every way.
The Zhou family and the Xie family had a good relationship. Due to their years of friendship, Li Rong felt uncomfortable about these things, but she never said anything.
Instead, he worked hard to teach his son and urged him to make progress.
In contrast, Grandma Zhou has a bad temper and is straightforward.
After enduring for so many years, of course I have to vent my anger today to give Ding Xiaohong some relief!
As Li Rong listened, she couldn't help but frowning. She pulled her mother-in-law's sleeve, trying to stop her endless complaints.
The Zhou family's neighbors watched the fun from the morning until they helped prepare the banquet at noon. They never had a moment to rest, so naturally they had no time to read the newspaper.
They realized later that "it seems that Professor Yan didn't come to dinner..."
The neighbor shook his head and couldn't help lamenting: "Xie Tingyu didn't get into college this year. Professor Yan must be feeling very sad right now."
"Xie Tingyu seemed like a good kid before, but now he seems to be getting worse and worse," said Grandma Zhou.
She drank a few glasses of white wine, and the alcohol made her drunk. Her tone was filled with a hint of contempt:
"Young people have too many ideas. The reason he is in this situation is that the Xie family indulged him too much..."
Others thought it made sense and started discussing: "No one in your family is as stable as you when it comes to marriage and important matters like the college entrance examination."
"Where in the country can I take the exam safely?"
Examples like the story of Zhongyong are not uncommon.
Xie Tingyu was so smart and performed so well when he was studying, but a few years later, he had become just like everyone else.
It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t get into university this year. But if he fails next year, the year after, or every year, it would be a joke.
The Xie family has always been the focus of discussion in the entire military compound.
Although they won’t talk about it openly, there is always a lack of topics to talk about in private.
In the entire compound, the Xie family is the most prosperous family. In the past ten years, other families have suffered more or less misfortune, but the Xie family is the only one that remains standing.
How can this not make people jealous?
However, the eldest son of the Xie family divorced and married a wife with no background, and the second son was transferred to another place and stationed on a southern island. Now the two grandsons of the Xie family have mediocre grades, so it seems...
The Xie family is not as prosperous as it appears.
Grandma Xie was not interested in joining the fun of the top scorer in the college entrance examination. She had to go to the hospital to visit her eldest grandson today. Therefore, she missed the wedding banquet held by the Zhou family...
When she returned to the compound, the family members there invited her to the Zhou family for a wedding banquet.
She walked to the gate of Zhou's yard carrying a basket of fruit and happened to hear what Grandma Zhou said.
The smile on Grandma Xie's face faded, and she asked calmly, "Why can't you prepare for the exam in peace in the countryside?"
"Who has not touched mud for several generations? After living in the city for a few years, they start to forget their roots and disparage their ancestors?"
"My family is very good, and he has always been very well behaved. We in the Xie family indulge him because he is a young man with ideas, who can stand up and run on his own, and does not need the support of the elders for his whole life."
After Grandma Xie finished speaking, she picked up the basket of fruit that she had originally intended to give to the Zhou family and turned around to go home.
You really can't associate with people like this.
Regardless of other things, Grandma Xie came from a scholarly family and never looked down on country people.
When the old man and grandma Zhou of the Zhou family first came to the city from the countryside, they were trembling even when eating Western food. It was grandma Xie who taught them step by step. It has only been a few years, and the old couple has begun to dislike rural people.
Li Rong, the daughter-in-law of the Zhou family, was originally accepting toasts from others. She heard a conflict broke out at Ding Xiaohong's table, and then Grandma Xie turned around and left.
Her face turned pale and she hurried to chase after Grandma Xie.
Li Rong ran out and the atmosphere at the wedding banquet became awkward for a moment.
In order to ease the embarrassment, the neighbors and their families had to toast Zhou Pinghuai's father Zhou Shan one after another and say some warm words.
"Ping Huai has a bright future!"
"He applied for Peking University or Huazhong University. He can go to either school, right?"
"A strict teacher produces excellent students. It's all because of you two who taught well..."
Ding Xiaohong muttered unhappily: "Why is Yan Chun so disrespectful? It seems that she is praised too highly and she won't listen to other people's advice. Her grandson has nothing now. I told her that she can't accept that country woman and she should transfer Xie Tingyu back to the capital as soon as possible..."
After eating and drinking, someone took out a newspaper to read.
You don’t know until you see it. It’s almost scary to look at it. The neighbor who came to the wedding choked on his white wine.
He rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
"The top scorer in the national college entrance examination is... Xie Tingyu?"
The guest next to him sneered when he heard this, but he lowered his head to glance at the newspaper and spat out a mouthful of wine.
The bold headline in the newspaper was eye-catching and easy to recognize. Province G was indeed the place where Xie Tingyu went to work in the countryside. The person in the photo in the newspaper was indeed Xie Tingyu, whom they had watched grow up. They would recognize him even if he turned into ashes.
"Oh my god, Brother Tingyu actually got the top score in the national exam without saying a word this year!"
The boy came out of nowhere and shouted at the top of his voice. The voice change that boys go through at the age of fourteen or fifteen makes his voice become very hoarse and heavy.
The news of the national college entrance examination champion broke the lively atmosphere of the banquet.
The guests' endless compliments seemed to be silenced at this moment.
Did they hear it right?
The top scorer in the college entrance examination, Xie Tingyu? I recognize every word in this sentence, but why is it so difficult to understand when it is put together?
Ding Xiaohong sneered at the first sight: "The number one scholar was my Huaiping, how come it became Xie Tingyu?"
Do you have any shame to distort the facts?
The boy took the newspaper and flipped through it quickly. The page reporting on Xie Tingyu was not just one page. He flipped down and found there was another page!
As a newspaper with a high circulation across the country, it is not easy to give Xie Tingyu a prominent page.
The content of the G Province Daily is really very well written. The thoughts, actions and consciousness demonstrated by this year's top scorer in the college entrance examination are closely aligned with the Party organization, and he is truly a role model for contemporary youth.
The People's Daily did not even change the first headline and directly reprinted it.
The newspaper was split into two and handed to Ding Xiaohong.
She said: "How could Xie Tingyu be the top scorer? He can't pass the exam--"
Before she could even utter the word "university", Ding Xiaohong saw Xie Tingyu's slightly smiling face printed on the newspaper.
Look at what this title is?
"A role model for young people in the new era: An ordinary day for the top scorer in the national science college entrance examination"
We originally thought that the top scholar in the capital was already prominent and remarkable enough, but suddenly a top scholar in the national college entrance examination appeared, and everyone was stunned and speechless.
"Hey, the top scorer in the national college entrance examination means... the first one among the four million candidates who took the exam this year, right?"
A guest rubbed his eyes and felt that his comprehension ability was rapidly declining.
There are a total of four million candidates taking the college entrance examination this year. What does it mean to be the top scorer among them?
The guests were all in a mess, especially the one who had just praised Zhou Pinghuai by flattering the superior and bullying the inferior, stepping on Xie Tingyu. A thin piece of newspaper seemed like a slap in the face.
Didn’t they say Xie Tingyu couldn’t get into university?
You got the first place in the country without saying a word, and then turn around and make fun of them for failing?
The wedding wine was hard to drink, and some guests left in disgrace. Other guests thought it was not a good idea to stay at the banquet and continue to watch the old lady of the Zhou family slap her face.
After a while, the guests left in twos and threes.
After Li Rong chased out of Zhou's house, she could no longer see Grandma Xie.
Only then did Li Rong realize that Professor Xie was angry this time.
Her mother-in-law, who came from the countryside, had no idea of the seriousness of the matter.
Normally, when Grandma Xie heard people teasing her in the compound, she would not get angry easily. Recently, the eldest grandson of the Xie family had a car accident, and the old lady was worried. At this time, when she heard such words again, how could she still be nice to others?
If the Zhou family were to fall out with the Xie family at this time, the loss would be severe.
Li Rong thought of her mother-in-law and resisted the urge to curse.
Ding Xiaohong only causes trouble for Ping Huai. She has no idea how much suffering Ping Huai has gone through to get to where he is today.
Although she didn't think Xie Tingyu was that successful, but saying such things openly would hurt other people's feelings and show her terribly low emotional intelligence.
Li Rong chased all the way to Xie's house and politely said to Grandma Xie:
"Professor Yan, my mother-in-law didn't mean it. She usually has a lot of mouth and gets drunk after drinking two glasses of wine."
"Is this okay? I'll have my mother-in-law come to your house and apologize to you in person someday."
Although Li Rong was apologizing, there was no apology in her eyes.
The cold voice sounded as if it was just a routine matter.
Grandma Xie had a stern face, but she finally softened her tone and said, "You can go back. It's okay."
She casually put the fruit basket in her hand on the table and went to the kitchen to make lunch.
Li Rong was about to leave with satisfaction, but her eyes fell on the daily newspaper quietly placed on the table, and her eyes froze.
In the most prominent position in the center of the newspaper page is a black and white pixel photo.
This... this is Xie Tingyu!
The young man in the photo is wearing a long black trench coat, with a cool and aloof temperament. He has a smile on his face, and the faith in his eyes seems to light up the entire night at that moment.
It faithfully preserves the hero's demeanor.
This photo was carefully selected by the editorial department after they stayed up half the night. It makes the man look exceptionally handsome and dignified.
Li Rong continued to read on. The eye-catching title, bold font, and powerful headline of the news shattered Li Rong's confidence.
"A role model for young people in the new era: An ordinary day for the top scorer in the national science college entrance examination"
Her heart was pounding and she picked up the newspaper in disbelief.
She quickly glanced through the news, and when she saw the score of "478", the newspaper in her hand fell to the ground.
Grandma Xie in the kitchen thought something had happened, so she poked her head out to take a look. She said angrily:
"Pick up the newspaper!"
"Sorry." Li Rong remained calm and bent down to pick up the newspaper.
After she finished reading, she looked up at Grandma Xie and said, "Your family jade also did very well in the exam this year."
"Why... aren't you planning to have a wedding banquet for him?"
Grandma Xie turned off the fire on the stove, walked over, took out her handkerchief and wiped the newspaper with the word "good grandson" printed on it, and then carefully put the newspaper into the glass bookcase.
She said calmly, "No."
In Grandma Xie's opinion, although her grandson did very well in the exam this year and won a lot of honor, he is not in the capital. What's the point of holding a banquet? Isn't it just showing off?
Besides, Yejia Village had already held a wedding for him, so he couldn’t even think about the wedding for his grandmother.
Do you have to attend a wedding?
Just wait for him to come back during the Chinese New Year and eat it by himself!
Li Rong's face was burning, but she remained calm as she said, "Congratulations, Professor Yan."
Li Rong was deeply traumatized. With a sullen face and pursed lips, she walked back to Zhou's house step by step.
Xie Tingyu actually got the top score in the national exam?
This fact hit her like a slap in the face.
The guests who were attending the wedding banquet at Zhou's house dispersed and returned home. Those who had subscribed to a newspaper rushed to the mailbox to look for the newspaper to read, while those who did not subscribe to a newspaper ran to the street to buy one.
When they were at Zhou's house, the newspapers were not delivered to them to read. They only knew what happened but had no idea what was written in the newspaper. They were so curious that their hearts were itching.
After they read the newspaper from beginning to end, all they were left with was admiration.
"Xie Tingyu from the Xie family is really not a simple person."
Xie Tingyu passed the national college entrance examination and became the top scorer. This matter is intriguing. This has nothing to do with the people in the compound, and it has nothing to do with the Zhou family, but thinking back to the unpleasant incident in the Zhou family during the day...
Some people felt a burning pain on their faces.
Some people shouted in surprise, "What's wrong with Xie Tingyu's brain? He said he would get first place and he did it?"
Some people couldn't help but laugh and patted their newspapers: "This kid from the Xie family is quite interesting..."
If Zhou Pinghuai is one in hundreds of thousands, then Xie Tingyu must be one in millions, right?
Now when I think about what the old lady of the Zhou family said during the day, it is really laughable and a slap in the face.
Is it the same to be first in the capital as to be first in the whole country? Moreover, the Xie family's child got two perfect scores this time...
The more they read the newspaper, the more interesting it became. In order for their grandson to do well in the exam, the Zhou family quickly transferred him back to the capital to concentrate on preparing for the exam.
The Xie family also encouraged their children to contribute to the country. While Zhou Pinghuai was comfortably flipping through textbooks and memorizing at home, Xie Tingyu might be doing hard labor beside a smelly biogas tank.
But when it came to the old lady of the Zhou family's mouth, it became "no future" and "nothing you want"?
In fact, people with real ability will shine wherever they go...
That night, some people in the capital's military compound couldn't sleep.
Yejia Village, Province G.
The weather is getting colder and colder, and the Laba Festival is approaching. People in the countryside have begun to prepare food for the New Year.
The Ye family raised two more pigs this year, and at the end of the year they received 20 kilograms more pork than other families. Last year, Ye Qingshui was afraid that if he received more pork than the villagers, he would be envied.
But this year, not only did the Ye family not want all the beautiful pork belly, but the village cadres even wanted to send pork to the Ye family.
Why send pork?
Of course it is a reward for the top scorer in the college entrance examination!
The old lady of the Ye family rejected the kindness of the villagers to raise money for the wedding banquet. After all, it was not easy to save money these days, and the Ye family was not so poor that they could not even afford to eat. They appreciated the kindness.
So the cadres of Yejia Village took the initiative to add 20 kilograms of pork as a reward.
Grandma Ye said: "Shuiya, let's make sausage and bacon out of the pork!"
The whole family is very happy to talk about this. The sausages and bacon made by Ye Qingshui were eaten up before March last year. The taste was so good that it is unforgettable.
Aunt Ye gave birth to a child. She has been eating pork and crucian carp for the past two months, which has helped her produce enough milk.
She is not as greedy for meat as before, but she still can't help drooling when talking about sausages.
Ye Qingshui nodded. A few fat pigs had just been slaughtered at the entrance of the village. She got the meat and asked Xie Tingyu to cut and chop it.
Xie Tingyu washed the pork and chopped it with a machete.
After a while, he wiped his sweat and said, "Shui'er, I've finished chopping it."
Ye Qingshui was about to add seasoning, but as soon as he bent down, he smelled the greasy smell of fat, and his stomach churned.
She covered her mouth and hurried to the yard to vomit.
Aunt Ye was holding her daughter in the sun and her eyes suddenly darkened when she saw this scene.
Xie Tingyu frowned and asked his wife, "Did you catch a cold last night? Can I make you a bowl of ginger soup?"
Aunt Ye smiled and said, "You're not catching a cold, you're pregnant, right?"
When Xie Tingyu heard this, his whole body froze. He looked at his wife in disbelief and surprise, his eyes falling on her belly.
He reached out his hand and touched his wife's belly. His usually calm and clear voice became stammering: "Shui'er...is that so?"
Xie Tingyu remembered that during the Chinese New Year, he and his wife had discussed the signs of a woman's pregnancy, and the more he thought about it, the clearer it became.
Xie Tingyu felt an inexplicable surprise at this moment, as if he had suddenly soared into the sky. His belly, which he touched with his fingertips, was soft.
The warm feeling spread from his thumb to the tip of his heart, and he suddenly felt a sense of responsibility as he was about to become a father.
This touch made his eyes slightly moist.
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