"You can definitely do it," the tone was unwavering, as if it were certain that Qian Xiao could get into the best university if she wanted to.
Qian chuckled dryly and scratched her cheek. This person had trusted her quite a bit since they had just met, but she herself wasn't even sure she could get into the best university. How was she supposed to respond to this? It would be so embarrassing if she didn't get in!
"Hehe, hehe, eat quickly, eat more, I made a lot of food."
Wu Dan stared with eyes almost identical to Qian Xiao's and asked curiously, "Big sister, isn't Longda the best university you mentioned? Didn't you say you were sure you could get in?"
Qian Xiao... What a terrible younger brother! Is he here to sabotage her? She's just being modest, okay?
"Eat up, even eating won't shut you up. I'm just motivating myself. Who knows whether I'll pass the exam or not?"
Liu Dan chimed in, "No, big sister, didn't you say you're the best big sister, that you're guaranteed to get into the best university? I've been bragging to all my friends about it. If you don't get in, I'll be so embarrassed!"
Qian Xiao looked at her two younger brothers with a forced smile: "If you want to save face, earn it yourselves. You can just get into the best universities yourselves. Why do you need me to make you look good?"
The two boys immediately lowered their heads and shoveled rice into their mouths. They were proud of their outstanding older sister, but they didn't want to be proud of her either. Didn't they see how pitiful their older sister was, studying all day long and not even having time to play?
There were also Third Brother and Fourth Brother who wrote to say that school was so hard, and if they didn't do well in their studies, they would get scolded by their aunt. They didn't want to go to school; they thought it would be so much better to play every day.
I don't know who my second uncle's two mischievous boys took after; they're nothing like my second uncle in personality. They're so talkative, they can chatter even more than my own two younger brothers.
Sun Kaicheng found it amusing and somewhat envious. He was the youngest in his family, and perhaps because of his past troubles, his family treated him with great care. He actually liked this kind of sibling affection, but the excessive caution made him feel somewhat distant.
Qi Dan was overjoyed to see his two older brothers get the short end of the stick: "Big sister is the best, fourth and fifth brothers are idiots."
Five protein eyes for two younger brothers, sycophants.
Qian Xiao laughed and said, "You guys should eat too."
These two from my third uncle's family are really good at flattering and have a keen eye for people; they're much better than their four silly older brothers.
After the meal, Qian Xiao helped clear the table, and Sun Kaicheng also got up to help: "No need for you, I don't need to wash the dishes either, just help clear them away."
Sun Kaicheng didn't put down his bowl and chopsticks either: "It's okay, I'll help Grandma clear the table at home too."
The men in their family also do housework. His grandfather said that although living conditions are better now, their sons should not be allowed to become lazy and ignorant of farming.
After the Zhou family left, Qian Xiao remembered to ask, "Grandma, haven't we all started eating at the cafeteria? Is it okay for us to cook at home like this?"
"It's okay to have one meal here once in a while. Even if our family doesn't go over to eat, other people can still have an extra bite each."
"How's the food in the cafeteria?"
"How is it? It's the same as always. We'll eat the same things we usually eat. Do you think we can feast on meat and fish every day just because we pay a little grain? If we keep eating and drinking like this now, what will we do when the grain runs out? We'll be in trouble then."
"You know Shangguaizi Village, right?"
"I know, it's quite far from here, isn't it?"
If she remembered correctly, Shangguaizi Village was about four or five villages away from their village.
"My goodness, ever since the canteen was set up, the villagers have been eating like there's no tomorrow. I heard that in just a short time, a third of the grain has already been used up. I don't know what we'll do then, since that grain probably won't last through the winter."
"Ah! Doesn't their village chief plan this out? A village only has so much grain. If they keep producing like this, won't people starve to death when the grain runs out?"
"That's right. In the first few days, the people in our village were envious of Shangguaizi Village for being able to eat their fill. But after your great-uncle explained it to everyone, they had nothing to say."
"These people just don't understand that even though they don't have to cook for themselves anymore, the food is still the same food. Do they really think the country is so rich that it can let you produce as much as it wants?"
"There are only so many people farming, so where will the extra grain come from? It's just nice talk from above to appease people. Your great-uncle knows what's going on. When the village handed over grain, they only paid one month's ration per person. They say this won't last long."
That's true. I remember that the furnace would be finished soon, and many problems broke out in the canteens in various places, and then the main canteen was disbanded.
"My great-uncle is so shrewd. That's the right thing to do. Otherwise, if all that food is eaten up, how will we get through this winter?"
"That's exactly what I meant."
Qian smiled and leaned closer to her grandfather: "Grandpa, did they really put a lot of iron in that furnace?"
Old Man Qian chuckled, knowing his eldest granddaughter was clever: "Just let go of the scrap metal you brought back, and hide all the others that were collected."
Qian Xiao gave a thumbs up, knowing that with his grandfather and great-uncle around, the people in their village wouldn't be so foolish as to believe everything they heard. He knew that steelmaking wasn't that easy; even legitimate steel mills had losses.
How could people like them, who lack both technical skills and proper tools, possibly forge steel?
"Won't someone find out?" Qian Xiao was still a little worried. If someone found out, her great-uncle would be in big trouble.
Old Man Qian shook his head, his face relaxed: "Our commune alone has so many furnaces. Who has time to check them all? And even if they did, what could they possibly find out? They're all engulfed in flames."
"Hehe, sir, do you think my cleverness comes from you? You're the smartest person in the family, and I'm just the second smartest."
Old Man Qian was so amused that he couldn't suppress the corners of his mouth from smiling: "That's right, of all our children, you're the only one who took after me."
Grandma Qian scoffed, "This old man is just trying to pat himself on the back."
Old Qian pretended not to hear his wife mocking him. He was smart enough as he was, why should he be allowed to say that?
When Sun Kaicheng and his grandfather arrived home, they quickly heated up the kang (a heated brick bed). That's the downside of using firewood; you always have to add more, and the fire goes out if you leave for too long.
"You seem to be getting along quite well with the Qian family's daughter?"
Sun Kaicheng looked at his grandfather with a helpless expression. This old man was such a rascal, even enjoying his own grandson's jokes: "I even saw you serving food to someone?"
His little grandson has a lot of bad habits. He never serves food to others, and of course, he doesn't like others serving him food, saying it's unhygienic. Hey, back when things were tough during the war, a group of soldiers would take turns taking a bite of a hard, dry pancake.
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