Chapter 100
Taking advantage of moments of inspiration, Gu Xi would spend her days writing stories in the kitchen.
If you feel cold, stop and sit in front of the fire to warm up, eat something, chat with your two younger sisters, ask for their opinions, or help them with their homework and help them memorize their lessons.
Xu Yuansheng hadn't expected that even after graduating from junior high school, he would still be forced to study, and his feelings were quite complicated.
She doesn't want to go to high school, so what's the point of learning all this?
Although she would be willing to learn if her older sister wanted her to, she was still quite puzzled.
When Xu Yuansheng asked this question, Gu Xi said, "There's no harm in reading more books. Now that it's the New Year holiday, there's not much to do at home, so why not learn some knowledge? When the weather gets warmer, you can learn if you want, or it's fine if you don't want to."
She couldn't say that this was to prepare for the college entrance examination in the future, but she hoped that both of her younger sisters would take the exam and go to university with her.
However, there is still plenty of time. It's impossible to make Xu Yuansheng study every day, so let's compromise and let her study when she has nothing to do during the winter each year. If we do this for a few years, we can consolidate her knowledge every year and stuff it into her brain so that she won't be caught off guard when the college entrance examination is reinstated.
Xu Yuansheng pouted. Fine, she'd listen to her eldest sister. Even if the three sisters just stayed together to study, she'd be happy.
At least she can manage the rest of the time except when it's cold and she has to study, which is pretty good.
By the Lantern Festival, Gu Xi's story was almost finished and was nearing its end.
This story is also a short story, estimated to be around 30,000 words. At 2 yuan per thousand words, I can get 60 yuan—provided it gets accepted.
The day before the Lantern Festival, Gu Xi specially soaked several kilograms of glutinous rice to make tangyuan (sweet rice balls).
We eat tangyuan (sweet rice balls) on the Lantern Festival.
These days, families with the means all do this: they make their own glutinous rice balls.
Gu Xi specifically told Qiao Hui and her brother and sister-in-law that they didn't need to make tangyuan (sweet rice balls), she would make extra and send them over, since she had time at home and her two younger sisters could help.
After soaking the glutinous rice, the next day, Gu Xi took her two younger sisters and Gu Tuantuan, who had been sent to their house to play, to borrow a stone mill from their neighbor to grind the glutinous rice. After grinding it, they would give their neighbor some glutinous rice flour as payment.
The three sisters took turns grinding the glutinous rice, and soon the rice was ground up. They then took it home to make glutinous rice balls.
Gu Xi plans to make several flavors of glutinous rice balls, including peanut and sesame, brown sugar, and jam, all of which are sweet.
Knowing that everyone has different tastes and not everyone likes sweet food, she also made savory meat dumplings.
This was the first time the Xu sisters had ever seen that glutinous rice balls could be made in so many different ways.
However, they didn't ask any further questions, assuming that this was how it was eaten in Beijing. Ordinary people always have a kind of self-imposed fantasy about Beijing, and as long as it's said to be available in Beijing, they would never doubt it.
In this era of limited information, Beijing was that authoritative.
Gu Xi led her sisters and Gu Tuantuan to make tangyuan (sweet rice balls). After making some, she asked Xu Huaisheng and Gu Tuantuan to deliver some to the neighbors.
When the two returned after delivering the glutinous rice balls, they saw Qiao Hui carrying her daughter.
Qiao Hui came to help. Seeing that they hadn't finished making the glutinous rice balls, she put her sleeping daughter on the bed of Xu Yuansheng and her sister and let her sleep there. She washed her hands and helped them.
Gu Xi told Qiao Hui that the story was almost finished.
"So fast?" Qiao Hui was surprised, thinking that she would have to wait until after the New Year to start writing.
Gu Xi said, "After hearing about Sister Ye's family situation, I had some inspiration. I've been writing these past few days, but it's cold, so I haven't been able to write much each day..."
After hearing about Ye Fenghua's family situation, Qiao Hui frowned.
She couldn't stand such things. Whether it was the preference for sons over daughters or the social phenomenon of women being oppressed, she couldn't bear it. But such things were so common that it made her feel unbearable.
Although great men say that women hold up half the sky, more often than not, women are still the oppressed and have to give way to men's interests.
Qiao Hui felt a little heavy-hearted and said to Gu Xi, "You should write this story well."
She sighed inwardly, hoping that more and more women would awaken in the future, like Ye Fenghua, and not be bound by family ties and societal prejudices, but bravely break free and live their own lives.
Gu Xi smiled and said, "I know, I'll think about it carefully."
-
In the evening, Gu Yuanyang and his wife came over after get off work, and everyone ate steaming hot glutinous rice balls together.
After eating the glutinous rice balls, it was still early. We learned that there was a movie and a cultural performance at the military base that night, so we took our small stools and went to the military base's square to watch the movie. We also brought some snacks like sunflower seeds and peanuts so we could eat while watching.
Xu Huaisheng was especially pleased.
I couldn't see the military performance on New Year's Eve because of the snow, but I didn't expect there would be one on the Lantern Festival.
She and Gu Tuantuan walked ahead, each carrying a small folding stool made by Gu Xi, hopping and skipping happily. Gu Xi, Shen Mingzheng, Gu Yuanyang, Ji Ya, and Xu Yuansheng walked behind. Qiao Hui and Chief of Staff Gao did not go to see the performance because their child was still young.
When they arrived at the square, the movie was already halfway through, but that did not dampen Xu Huaisheng's enthusiasm.
A group of people found a spot to sit down and watch a movie.
Shen Mingzheng sat in the windy spot, shielding Gu Xi from the wind, and took out some sunflower seeds from the pocket of his military coat, asking her if she wanted to eat some.
Gu Xi was also wearing a military overcoat and holding a hot water bottle. She wouldn't want to go out in the cold wind if she didn't have the hot water bottle.
She didn't want to reach out, so she said to him, "Brother, you peel it for me."
Shen Mingzheng peeled sunflower seeds for her, holding one to her mouth as he peeled it, and she opened her mouth to eat.
Gu Xi watched the movie for a while, discussing the plot with him as she watched, occasionally offering her comments, pointing out what was illogical and what was well-done. She sounded extremely professional, but anyone familiar with the internet could tell that she was just talking theory without any real understanding.
These days, people don't know anything about the internet and have never been involved in it, so they were all stunned by what she said.
Xu Yuansheng finally couldn't help but say, "Big sister, please say less. I can't concentrate on watching the movie."
Everyone sat close together, so even if she spoke in a low voice, they could still hear her.
Having witnessed firsthand how Gu Xi argued with Zhang Wanxia and Ye Fenghua, Xu Yuansheng knew that his older sister was very eloquent and easily fooled.
Ji Ya laughed and said, "I think what Xi Xi said was quite interesting. It felt even more exciting than watching a movie."
She doesn't really enjoy watching movies; she prefers to sit quietly by herself reading medical books and learning techniques.
If it weren't for spending time with her daughter, she probably would have gone home already.
After watching the movie, they went to the auditorium to watch a performance.
This was the army's Lantern Festival gala, performed by the cultural troupe. The female soldiers' performance was youthful and radiant, while the male soldiers' performance was vigorous and powerful. Unlike the flashy stage performances of later generations, Gu Xi finally saw a different kind of beauty.
She watched intently, especially during the performances by the male members of the cultural troupe, staring for a long time at a particularly handsome man on stage who was waving a red flag.
That cool and powerful move struck a chord with her.
Shen Mingzheng: "..." She likes this kind of thing?
As they went to bed that night, Shen Mingzheng said with a hint of jealousy, "You like that kind?"
"What?" Gu Xi didn't react for a moment.
"When the male members of the cultural troupe were performing, I noticed that you seemed to really like the one who was carrying the flag."
Gu Xi suddenly realized, and then said, "His flag-raising movements were very cool, crisp, powerful, and beautiful."
She admired this kind of masculine man; he looked powerful, and that's how men should be.
Seeing his silence, she suddenly realized what was happening and pounced into his arms like a little frog, clinging to him with all four limbs, and said with a smile, "But, big brother, you're more handsome and fierce than him, you're the man of men, I like you the most!"
Shen Mingzheng's face flushed from her words; what a man among men, really...
But secretly, he was quite pleased. He pulled her into his arms, unable to resist her charms; she was getting better and better at sweet-talking people.
**
Not long after the Lantern Festival, it was time for the children to start school.
A few days before the start of the school year, Gu Xi and Xu Yuansheng took Xu Huaisheng to register at the junior high school affiliated with the military.
Although the school has not yet started, the principal and teachers have come to the school to prepare for the start of the semester and to receive parents who have come to register their children for enrollment.
The junior high school in the military compound is quite far from the family compound; it takes about twenty minutes to walk there, according to Gu Xi's pace. However, it would be much faster to ride a bicycle there.
There's a disabled veteran with a missing arm over there at the gatehouse.
Gu Xi asked, "Sir, how do I get to the principal's office? We're new here and we're here to register our child for school."
There are often transfer students like this who enroll halfway through their studies, so the old man wasn't surprised and gave them directions.
After thanking him, the three walked toward the principal's office.
When they arrived at the principal's office, they found the door open but no one inside.
The three of them waited for a while.
About five minutes later, a middle-aged man with graying temples and a thin build came over. He stood up straight and walked with a very proper posture, which made it clear that he was from the military.
Seeing the three of them standing there, he asked, "Who are you...?"
The person in front of me is Principal Yao of the junior high school section of the military unit. He used to be a soldier, but he retired due to injury and came here to become the junior high school principal, teaching and educating students.
When Principal Yao learned that they had come to register for school, and that one of the children had transferred from the countryside, he took them to his office and asked them some simple questions, such as their names, home addresses, and where they had previously studied. He learned that they were military dependents and currently lived in the family compound, and wanted to study here. He asked Xu Huaisheng a few more questions and readily admitted them.
After they register, a teacher will come and take Xu Huaisheng to test her level so that she can be assigned to a class.
Gu Xi and Xu Yuansheng waited outside the classroom. Xu Yuansheng was a little worried, afraid that his sister's grades would not be good and would leave a bad impression on the teacher and principal.
"Don't worry." Gu Xi patted her. "Huaisheng has been studying very hard these past few months, and she will definitely get good grades."
The test was quick, mainly because it only involved one test paper, which was completed in half an hour.
Xu Huaisheng came out of the classroom, smiled at his two older sisters, and whispered, "Big sister, the questions are all so easy. You've taught them all before."
Gu Xi smiled at her. She had previously looked through Miao Cuini's textbooks and knew how to teach her in a targeted way.
Xu Yuansheng finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After the teacher finished grading the test papers and saw the scores, they were very satisfied.
It seems that this student who joined midway through the program has a very good foundation and is an excellent child.
Then they registered, paid ten yuan in tuition, and that was considered a successful registration. They were to come and attend classes three days later when school started.
Back home, Gu Xi made white flour dumplings and a hot pot of preserved meat to celebrate Xu Huaisheng's successful registration. The family gathered around to eat.
"Did the registration go smoothly?" Shen Mingzheng asked.
"Of course it went smoothly." Gu Xi smiled. "Huaisheng got a perfect score on the school's test."
Shen Mingzheng looked at Xu Huaisheng and said approvingly, "Not bad."
Xu Huaisheng smiled shyly, but he was also happy.
She never expected to get a perfect score on the entrance exam, which gave her a sense of satisfaction and made her very motivated to study. She wanted to maintain her good grades so that more people would praise her and her older sisters would be proud of her.
Before we knew it, the first day of school was here.
Gu Xi got up very early to insist on taking her child to school.
Seeing her yawn, Xu Huaisheng, who was eating breakfast, felt a pang of guilt and said, "Big sister, go back to sleep. You don't need to take me. I've already made plans with Cui Ni, Cui Yu, and Xiao Yue to go to school together."
Gu Xi rubbed her eyes. It had been a long time since she had gotten up this early. The sky outside was still dark, and she felt a little disoriented.
She patted her face, cheered herself up, took the pancake Xu Yuansheng handed her, took a bite, and said, "It's okay, this is your first day of school here, we'll see you off no matter what."
She took this matter very seriously, wanting to let her younger sister know how much she valued her, so that she could focus on her studies and not worry too much.
Gu Xi was still eating breakfast when there was a knock on the door.
Xu Yuansheng went to open the door and saw Miao Cuini and her sister, as well as Yu Xiaoyue, carrying their schoolbags to greet him.
Xu Huaisheng had already finished eating, leaving only Gu Xi still eating. She haphazardly stuffed the pancakes into her mouth and mumbled, "Wait two more minutes."
Seeing this, Miao Cuini quickly said, "Aunt Gu, no need to rush, we're early, please take your time eating."
"Aunt Gu, are you taking Sister Huaisheng to school?" Miao Cuiyu asked curiously.
Gu Xi nodded, "It's Huaisheng's first day of school here, so I definitely have to see him off." Then she said to them, "I'll see you off too."
Upon hearing this, Yu Xiaoyue couldn't help but show an envious expression, envying Xu Huaisheng for having such a sister.
However, upon hearing Gu Xi's next words, a smile appeared on her face, and she felt a surge of joy.
Afraid they would be late, Gu Xi didn't dare to dawdle. She hurriedly tidied herself up, pressed down her hair, and said, "Alright, let's go."
"Big sister, a hat!" Xu Yuansheng brought a woolen hat and put it on her head. "It's windy in the morning, you need to wear a hat so you don't get sick."
"Okay, I know. As Yuansheng grows up, he'll become more and more bossy, just like his mother."
Xu Yuansheng's eyebrows furrowed in anger, but then she reached out and pulled Xu Huaisheng out of the house with her other arm, and her anger immediately dissipated.
She smiled helplessly, quite fond of her increasingly lively and cheerful older sister.
Compared to her older sister who used to be dull and listless due to the pressures of life, she prefers her current older sister who lives life to the fullest.
As soon as I stepped outside, a cold wind blew in.
Gu Xi shrank back, turned to look at the girls present, and said with great enthusiasm, "Let's go, I'll take you to school."
She touched each of the girls who were about to go to school, and the girls whose heads she rubbed all showed shy smiles.
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