After the afternoon preparations were complete, the remaining buns were sold out by 4:00. Yao Jianfen cooked three dishes using the ingredients she had bought. It was another rare dinner tonight.
After dinner, while it was still light, Lin Xiaoman was still writing furiously at the table, while Yao Jianfen pulled Zhixue to her room, and the mother and daughter sat on the bed and talked.
"Xiaoxue, when you go to college, your mom and sister will also go to the city to sell buns. When we earn enough money, we will buy a house in the city. With a house, our family will be city dwellers..."
Yao Jianfen chattered on and on, with a face full of longing, as she recounted to Zhixue the beautiful prospects she and Lin Xiaoman had for the future.
Listening quietly to Yao Jianfen's bright outlook on the future, Zhixue felt uncomfortable in her heart. She felt as if she was immersed in bitter water, and even breathing was bitter!
She knew that her mother and sister had high hopes for her. They worked hard so that she could study to change her fate, get into college, and make a name for herself in the future.
She understood it all, she understood it all, but she just didn't do it!
During the exam, her mind was in a mess and she was completely confused. She didn't even know what she had written!
This time, she was definitely going to disappoint her mother and sister.
She knew that she should do well in the exam and get a brilliant high score to be proud of herself!
However, whenever she thought of Feng Wan and their words, her heart ached and she couldn't concentrate at all. She couldn't control herself at all!
"Mom, what should I do if I can't get into college?" Zhixue's face was full of sorrow. She felt heartbroken, guilty, scared, hesitant, and bewildered...all kinds of emotions intertwined, as if a mountain was pressing down on her, making her so worried that she couldn't breathe.
"It's okay, it's okay. At worst, I'll just have to repeat a year." Yao Jianfen still didn't take her words to heart. In Yao Jianfen's mind, it was impossible for Xiaoxue to fail the college entrance examination.
"Xiaoxue, are you used to today? Are you tired? Well, it's all because of mom's incompetence that I have to make you two suffer with me." Yao Jianfen skipped the topic of grades and started talking about family matters.
At this time, college students were at a premium, and Yao Jianfen felt very guilty for letting Zhixue, a future college student, help with the bun shop.
"Mom, this is just a small job, it's not hard at all. You are all doing this for me, it's just..." Zhixue lowered her head, her face full of pain, but she was going to disappoint them in the end.
The results are out, what should I do?
"Why, too tired? Then why don't you let your sister do it tomorrow..."
"No, Mom, I can do it. Sister doesn't have to get up tomorrow. A good sleep will give you inspiration."
"Well, that's fine. But Xiaoxue, if you feel too tired and your body can't take it, you must tell mom in time. Your health is the most important thing. The worst that can happen is that we earn less money."
"Yeah, Mom, I know."
…
As it got dark, Yao Jianfen asked Zhixue to go wash up. Lin Xiaoman also stopped writing and waited in line to wash up.
After washing up, I went to bed early.
A little before three in the morning, when Yao Jianfen went into the bathroom to wash up, Lin Xiaoman woke up, but she lay there motionless, while Zhixue next to her was sleeping soundly.
There was the sound of water and footsteps. Yao Jianfen finished washing up and stood at their doorway, calling out in a voice neither too loud nor too soft, "Xiaoxue, are you awake?"
Yao Jianfen's voice was obviously not loud enough to wake Zhixue up, so Lin Xiaoman pushed her.
"Xiaoxue, Xiaoxue..."
"Well, sister?" Zhixue woke up slowly under Lin Xiaoman's push, her face full of confusion. After a long while, she remembered that she had to get up and work.
"It's time to get up."
"Xiaoxue?" Yao Jianfen called again outside the door.
"Mom, I'm getting up." Zhixue sat up with a sleepy look on her face, "Sister, I'll get up first, you can continue sleeping."
"Yeah." Lin Xiaoman closed his eyes with peace of mind.
Although she couldn't fall asleep due to her biological clock, she had no choice but to lie down. Yao Jianfen and the original owner had spoiled Zhixue too much from the beginning.
It’s time for her to experience the hardships of life.
Downstairs, everyone was busy until after 6 o'clock. Zhixue was so tired that she felt she couldn't even straighten her waist. Because of kneading the dough, her hands seemed to weigh a thousand pounds and she couldn't lift them.
But there was no other way. Starting from this time, more and more customers came, and Yao Jianfen couldn't handle it all by herself, so she could only help collect the money.
After finally making it past 8 o'clock, the number of people buying buns gradually decreased. Before Yao Jianfen could speak, Zhixue couldn't help but say, "Mom, I'm going upstairs to sleep for a while."
"Hey Xiaoxue, eat a bun first to fill your stomach."
"I'll eat later." Zhixue had no appetite at all. She just felt extremely tired, and every cell in her body was clamoring to lie down and sleep.
"Okay, go and get some rest."
Dragging her tired body upstairs, when Zhixue returned to her room, Lin Xiaoman was already sitting at the table writing.
Seeing her, Lin Xiaoman showed her concern as if she were a fake sister. "Xiaoxue, you look..." This look is like you've been staying up all night in the Internet cafe. "Hurry up, lie down on the bed and catch up on some sleep."
"Um."
Zhixue responded weakly through her snort. She didn't even have the strength to speak. She just lay down on the bed. She was so tired and exhausted that she fell asleep in less than a minute.
Lin Xiaoman looked at her for a few seconds and then looked away. He touched his stomach, got up, and went downstairs to get two meat buns and a cup of soy milk.
Today's buns taste especially delicious!
In the next few days, Lin Xiaoman completely ignored the work in the bun shop. She was only responsible for writing and earning royalties.
Because so many manuscripts were sent out, Zhou Xiang would come to deliver the remittance slips to them on time almost every day. Yao Jianfen would smile so much that her eyes would almost disappear when she saw the remittance slips that came in like snowflakes.
Although Zhou Xiang is not a loud speaker, being in the newspaper is a big deal for people in a small town!
In the minds of the masses, those who make money by writing articles are writers, intellectuals, and scholars! They are big figures that they don’t even see on a daily basis!
So within a few days, Lin Xiaoman became a celebrity in the town. His fame immediately surpassed that of the future college student Zhixue and he topped the list of "the most famous person in town".
When regular customers buy steamed buns, they no longer say to Yao Jianfen, "Your daughter Zhixue is really promising. She will be a college student soon." Instead, they say, "Your daughter Zhiqiu is really amazing! Even newspapers give her money. She is a cultured person, a real cultured person!"
What's even more exaggerated is that the mayor came over and asked Lin Xiaoman for an "autograph", saying that he wanted to put it at home to have a touch of cultured atmosphere.
Yao Jianfen was laughing so hard that she couldn't stop.
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