After taking the exam, Qiu Dashu returned home and immediately plunged into building his own family.
Then he went to the fields and cut grass during his breaks. This year there was a donkey, so Li Qingmei only took two sheep. Together with his sister-in-law's dowry, there were three sheep, a donkey, two pigs and ten chickens.
The burden of the side job was indeed heavy. Neither Qiu Jianshe nor Li Qingmei had ever had a rest at home, and they would not go home until late at night.
The little bit of meat that was grown last winter shrunk in just a few days due to the harsh rain.
Qiu Dashu feels sorry for his parents, but others don’t think so.
"Dashu didn't pass the exam? It's okay. Your family has a heavy workload from their sideline business this year, and your parents are very busy. Even if you didn't pass the exam, it's just fine. You can help out and lighten the burden."
It sounds like he's saying nice things, but it would be better if the tone wasn't so gloating.
Qiu Dashu didn't say anything either. He and his sisters all had the same problem: they rarely showed off in public.
Just like his sister, who always ranked first in the school and always ranked first in the township in joint examinations. If it weren't for the school's fanfare and awards, everyone in the team would have thought that Qiu Jianshe was in a panic and had sent all his sons and daughters to the school.
He works so hard at home, and I don't know what he's trying to achieve.
"What's he after? A good reputation." The person next to him laughed and replied, "The leader emphasized the importance of talent and that knowledge is power, so he couldn't wait to send his son and daughter to school.
Waiting for people in society to praise him for his high level of consciousness... Isn't this all just training a successor to the peasants?"
"Hahaha, don't be jealous. My kid told me when he came back that other kids are like this in school." The person who spoke gave a thumbs up.
No matter what people outside say, it will not affect the Qiu family's ability to live their lives quietly.
At dinner that night, Qiu Jianshe lost his patience and asked first, "Dashu, you must have done poorly on the test. I'm telling you, if you didn't do well, then you didn't do well. Our family is all looking forward to future success. Dad will support you for another year. At worst, you can go to high school. Don't hold it in your heart."
This is also what Li Qingmei meant. As for the opinions of her eldest son and daughter-in-law, they are not important to the couple.
The tone was set at the beginning: I will not interfere in your affairs as a couple, and it is not your turn to criticize the affairs of this big family.
What they fear is that once their eldest son's family becomes stable, conflicts may arise over issues such as his siblings' studies and work. This is why the couple is trying their best to develop a side business.
Now the eldest son and his wife are both good, but people are impatient to think over. When the new daughter-in-law grows up to be a mother-in-law, everyone's stove will be in trouble, and naturally there will be troubles at that time.
But Huang Duoer really didn't have these thoughts, at least not at the moment. She herself couldn't read, and now Qiu Dashan was teaching her at night. Her parents-in-law were so poor, but the four children in the family were all educated and literate.
She couldn't express her admiration enough. Her brother-in-law hadn't gone to school these past few days and had been working tirelessly with the old couple. She wanted to persuade him, but she felt that she was the new sister-in-law and they hadn't been together for long, so she shouldn't bother him with her words.
She hesitated and thought about it, waiting for her father-in-law to ask this question first, but she was also actively expressing her opinion at this moment.
"It's good to study. If you want to study, the scorekeeper, secretary, accountant, and team leader on the team can all write.
They say working people are the most glorious, but those who work hard have the hardest time living. Those with a little education can eat public food, and even if they don't work hard, they can still live well.
"That's right, your sister-in-law is right. It's not easy to endure hardships once you think about them. Once you turn around, you will suffer endlessly. Studying looks easy, but it's actually difficult. You have to be determined, don't you know?" Li Qingmei also joined in in time.
Everyone had the same idea: as long as one wanted to study and could concentrate on studying, one should study hard. With four strong laborers in the family, how could one avoid famine?
Only Qiu Yuling knew that her third brother was in such a relaxed state, which meant he was probably stable.
Sure enough, when the day of the results announcement came, Qiu Dashu was on the list.
Admitted to Northwest University of Metallurgy.
Hundreds of students in the county took the joint entrance examination, but less than one-tenth were admitted, and only two were from their town.
The school put up banners and played music, and Qiu Dashu became a celebrity in the Harvest Commune again.
Those who were saying sour things in the team stopped talking and came to watch the fun. It seemed that Qiu Laoer's family was going to produce a cadre.
As a result, Qiu Yuling's reputation of being the first in the county's joint entrance examination from primary school to junior high school was not able to take away much of the glory.
The neighbors in the brigade even thought that it was natural for the sister of a top student to be a top student.
Qiu Jianshe's cousins, especially those of his great-grandfather, all knelt before their ancestors, burning paper and telling them not to be too partial in this matter and to take the time to care for each branch.
After both of them finished their exams, summer vacation arrived. Qiu Dashu suddenly became more sensible and busy with the family every day. His skin darkened, but he became stronger.
Qiu Yuling still made more invisible contributions, such as nourishing her family's bodies and growing their brains, and she also took the time to write back two letters to her distant aunt Jinlan.
The letter talked about what had happened recently, and that he would be a junior high school student at the beginning of the next semester. Another thing was that he might not stay in junior high school for too long. He wrote whatever came to his mind, and it spanned two long pages.
Jinlan replied immediately after receiving the letter, asking her when she would come over this summer vacation. She also said that she had visited Li Qingju's house and met her little cousin. At first, he was not as good-looking as her, but recently he seemed to be a little more human...
At the same time, Li Qingju also sent back a large package, as well as several black-and-white photos of her new baby. One of the photos specifically asked Li Qingtong to give it to her eldest sister, and one of the supplies was for her eldest sister's family, so don't forget it.
Li Qingtong brought the food over and lazily sat down under the grape trellis. He didn't know the grapes were sour, so he stretched his neck and took one, but it was still sour.
"Fourth uncle, please don't waste it. It will only make your nephew's wife stutter."
Qiu Yuling unpacked the package and found, besides all kinds of candies, a Western dress and white sneakers, which were obviously bought for herself. The rest were some hair ornaments, scarves, and so on.
Qiu Yuling has been writing letters these two days. Her parents are reluctant to take a break at noon. Li Qingtong is rushing to the town to send things and reply to letters, and then goes back to work. Her schedule is also very tight.
She took the initiative to write a reply, imitating the tone of Qiu's mother and explaining some precautions for babies, such as the correct care of eczema and prickly heat, and how to identify milk curds. She wrote five pages before stopping. Li Qingtong stood beside her and read it all without missing a word.
Wow, this niece has improved again!
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